What Do You Do With Everything When You Leave For Holiday?

[WingRyderMan]

I will be traveling to Chiang Mai sometime this next year with the plan on probably retiring there. It has been many years since I have been to Thailand but I hope I will enjoy it as much if not more now. I have traveled the world many times over but this is the first time I have ever thought of making another country my home. If my plans work out, I will likely rent an apartment for a year or so and then make up my mind as to purchasing a home there or not. I do plan on buying a motorcycle at first just to have my own way of getting around town and maybe a 4 wheeled something at some point later. I plan on staying there about 10 months out of the year and returning to my home country (USA) for the other 2 months.

My current questions are for you seasoned veterans having been there and have the knowledge I seek.

1. What do you do with all of your "stuff"?

2. Do you lease your apartment for the year and just leave it empty (with or without your belongings) during your away time?

3. Where do you store or whatever your mode of transportation whether it be a motorcycle or car?

I am sure I will have many more questions but these seem to be the top of the unknown questions for me at this point.

Let me thank any and all of you in advance who respond with sage advise.

Cheers...... Rob

[hellodolly]

Well I don';t have a vehicle but I do live in a condominium.

I lock the door and turn of all the electricity.

I never worry about breaking and entering here it does happen but compared to the part of America and Canada I lived in it is not a big concern.

[chiangmaibruce]

We have a house so we leave the car there. The wife's family plus our neighbours keep an eye on things for us (never any problems).

I do sometimes see secure storage advertised but it's not commonly available as per western countries ... possibly because it is so cheap just to rent a small studio apartment to use as storage. In other words you could rent a nice apartment to live in while you are here, and then just empty it into a thai worker studio apartment across the road while you are away. But then you would probably get a cheaper rate on the nice apartment on a 12 month rental (versus renting month by month) and this would cancel out any saving from relocating your gear for two months/year. With regards to the m/bike or car, well you could just leave that with me (pref. Harley or BMW)

Edited December 10, 2011 by chiangmaibruce

[ludditeman]

You can rent a really nice place for 3000-5000bht a month.

Just keep it all year round, it won't break the bank.

A lot of these places have covered parking, just leave your m/c there.

[NancyL]

Many people in our condo building are in Chiang Mai for just a few months each year. They keep their stuff in their condo, turning off the electricity and water before they leave. They have a friend in the building keep a key and check on the place from time-to-time. Our building has problems with termites and water leaks around the windows, so it helps to have a friend look over the place and mop up any water from the window leaks. The leaks aren't bad and usually happen just one or two times a years if it's a strong wind-driven rain. But, you have to mop up the water promptly to prevent water damage to the walls or floors.

OP -- if you're here 10 months of the year, you'll develop friends among your neighbors to look in on your place when you're gone. We lived in another place where our Thai neighbors watered our plants and looked after the place and we could barely communicate with each other. But, we saw that they were around all the time and seemed like honest people and they saw that we took an interest in our plants and keeping the place looking nice, so our friendship worked out good.

P.S. One couple we know has a great technique for "rewarding" the friends who look after their place. From time-to-time they'll send them emails like "go to our place and look in our copy of "War and Peace" on the bookshelf. You'll find a surprise inside." They had hiden a gift certificate to a restaurant inside the book before they left. They have other surprises hidden in their condo and email their friends with news of the latest surprise every couple weeks.

Edited December 11, 2011 by NancyL

[just_Elaine]

We have a house so we leave the car there. The wife's family plus our neighbours keep an eye on things for us (never any problems).

I do sometimes see secure storage advertised but it's not commonly available as per western countries ... possibly because it is so cheap just to rent a small studio apartment to use as storage. In other words you could rent a nice apartment to live in while you are here, and then just empty it into a thai worker studio apartment across the road while you are away. But then you would probably get a cheaper rate on the nice apartment on a 12 month rental (versus renting month by month) and this would cancel out any saving from relocating your gear for two months/year. With regards to the m/bike or car, well you could just leave that with me (pref. Harley or BMW)

I agree with ChiangMaiBruce about getting the 12 month rental. It can be kind of a pain to move your stuff back and forth. Regarding vehicles, we, normally, rented a condo with parking so that was part of our criteria when we rented a place. We paid a friend to check on our car and condo once a month. Also, we have him pay our water/electric bills. We either estimate the bills and give them the money in advance or give them access to an account (it has to be someone you really trust). Phone/internet bills we have paid automatically from our bank account.

Oh regarding the car, we have a steering wheel lock as we do not want something to happen and we end up being responsible. Also, we used to have the person start the car once a month, but then we got a battery charger so now we disconnect the battery. I don't know if you have to worry about that if you are gone for only 2 months. Hope this helps.

[binjalin]

Agree with comments - go rent a condo in a place with good security and reception staff. Many do not have this which is why I would choose somewhere like Supanich, Hillside Four or maybe Riverside. Switch off at main electric and water and leave some cash with reception to ensure you are not cut-off.

[SwaziBird]

Posted Today, 00:56

I will be traveling to Chiang Mai sometime this next year with the plan on probably retiring there. It has been many years since I have been to Thailand but I hope I will enjoy it as much if not more now. I have traveled the world many times over but this is the first time I have ever thought of making another country my home. If my plans work out, I will likely rent an apartment for a year or so and then make up my mind as to purchasing a home there or not. I do plan on buying a motorcycle at first just to have my own way of getting around town and maybe a 4 wheeled something at some point later. I plan on staying there about 10 months out of the year and returning to my home country (USA) for the other 2 months.

My current questions are for you seasoned veterans having been there and have the knowledge I seek.

1. What do you do with all of your "stuff"?

2. Do you lease your apartment for the year and just leave it empty (with or without your belongings) during your away time?

3. Where do you store or whatever your mode of transportation whether it be a motorcycle or car?

I am sure I will have many more questions but these seem to be the top of the unknown questions for me at this point.

Let me thank any and all of you in advance who respond with sage advise.

Cheers...... Rob

Hello Rob,

Can't help but feel that whilst some of the responses contain advice that might be helpful - I believe that, in the main, your situation has been mis-read/understood and your query has not really been fully addressed.

Perhaps it's just me - another of my hazy-mind days !!

Aren't you asking what to do about your untenanted apartment and vehicle back in the USA for the year that you plan to be away from that place ( excepting for the 2 months) ?

If I'm possibly right in this assumption, perhaps other posters could address this more helpfully. If I'm wrong - my sincere apologies to those who have responded and I promise to crawl back under my rock!

Regrettably I cannot give much advice other than that an estate agent/realtor could probably take very good care of your property back in the USA and produce a fairly good income that will certainly pay for decent accommodation here. I would ditch the transport and repurchase second-hand on my return to USA. Probably an inexpensive exercise.

All I can say is that if you're running true to the experience of most of us you're likely to remain in Chiang Mai permanently.

Cheers and best of luck.

I HAVE JUST TRY TO SELF-MODERATE BY DELETING THIS POSTING ON THE GROUNDS THAT IT MAY MAKE ME FEEL FOOLISH. I HAVE FAILED TO DELETE IT. I HAVE SUCCEEDED IN FEELING FOOLISH. I HAVE RE-READ ROB'S POST AND REALISE THAT MY ASSUMPTION WAS PROBABLY QUITE INCORRECT. I HAVE CRAWLED BACK UNDER MY ROCK !

Edited December 11, 2011 by SwaziBird

[NancyL]

Don't feel bad, Swazibird. In re-reading the OP, I realized that yes, it could be a reasonable question to ask how to people take care of their stuff in their home country while they're over here.

We came over here before we were able to sell our home and farm in the U.S. So, we paid one of our former employees to walk thru the buildings daily, check that the house was heated to 50 deg F and do to snow removal and yard maintenance to make the place look occupied. And to email us if there were any problems. The cost of utilities and wages for this fellow was just about equal to what we spend on housing, food AND entertainment here! We were sure glad when we finally sold the farm.

[SwaziBird]

Don't feel bad, Swazibird. In re-reading the OP, I realized that yes, it could be a reasonable question to ask how to people take care of their stuff in their home country while they're over here.

We came over here before we were able to sell our home and farm in the U.S. So, we paid one of our former employees to walk thru the buildings daily, check that the house was heated to 50 deg F and do to snow removal and yard maintenance to make the place look occupied. And to email us if there were any problems. The cost of utilities and wages for this fellow was just about equal to what we spend on housing, food AND entertainment here! We were sure glad when we finally sold the farm.

I feel better now !!!! Thank you.

Cheers