You will have read all the other posts before , or if you ever get to mine .

My advice to you is to forget it . Thailand isn't Utopia , where everything is easy and the cost of living low .

Unless you have a university degree you will not legally be able to teach .

By all means come to Thailand for a holiday , but do not think of settling here unless you have sufficient independent means to do so .

Thank you everybody for your replies, some positive, most negative but I'm a complete newbie so just need to hear the facts.

Myself and my partner both hate it in the UK, the reason Thailand appealed is because I have many friends that have been there and loved it.

Realistically we'll have about £6k savings by the time we arrived there after paying for travel etc. I've looked online and seen condos for rent in Jomtien for 10,000 baht per month including air con etc.

As these equates to around £220 I don't see how we couldn't survive on another 10,000 baht per month for food and water. Myself and partner have no interest in restaurants, bars, girls etc. we'd be happy to buy groceries and cook for ourselves. The simple basic life doesn't deter us as that's kind of what we live like in the UK only in the UK it's not by choice.

We'd be happy to just come and explore for a while and if we like Thailand and have to come back to the UK after a few months then at least we'll have a future target to aim for.

We'd even thought about beach huts but they seem more of a temporary solution. All I'm wanting to know I suppose is how long we could last out there living a very basic life on £6k which is about 282,000 baht.

Thanks again.

Adam

Thank you everybody for your replies, some positive, most negative but I'm a complete newbie so just need to hear the facts.

Myself and my partner both hate it in the UK, the reason Thailand appealed is because I have many friends that have been there and loved it.

Realistically we'll have about £6k savings by the time we arrived there after paying for travel etc. I've looked online and seen condos for rent in Jomtien for 10,000 baht per month including air con etc.

As these equates to around £220 I don't see how we couldn't survive on another 10,000 baht per month for food and water. Myself and partner have no interest in restaurants, bars, girls etc. we'd be happy to buy groceries and cook for ourselves. The simple basic life doesn't deter us as that's kind of what we live like in the UK only in the UK it's not by choice.

We'd be happy to just come and explore for a while and if we like Thailand and have to come back to the UK after a few months then at least we'll have a future target to aim for.

We'd even thought about beach huts but they seem more of a temporary solution. All I'm wanting to know I suppose is how long we could last out there living a very basic life on £6k which is about 282,000 baht.

Thanks again.

Adam

Apart from your rent a car, etc, realistically, it will take you less than 6 months and the Money will be gone. On whose ground are you going to build beach huts? Keep in mind that you will have to buy a Stretch of beach, which might cost you easily 10 mio Baht (for 1 Rai) in the cheaper places...

My suggestion is try Canada or Australia.

Is Thai visa this desperate for "footfall"

Come again?

"is thai visa this desperate for footfall". I am suggesting anyone with an ounce of sence would know they can not just walk into another country to live and am wondering if this is a geniune query.

That's a valid question. However, where I come from (USA) you'd be surprised how many people think they have the right to just decide to move to most ANY country ... (what's a visa?!?)

My advise would be to take a sabbatical of 3 to 6 or even 12 months, make long visits to more countries than just Thailand, also include Aussie, Canada, Chile, etc, all countries that are much easier to get in to if you're English. Thailand is a great holiday destination, if you come here to make money without investment be prepared for a difficult and long start.

I made a similar move almost 10 years ago, my partner of than lost interest after 2 and an half years, it took me another year to get to a reasonable income, than the financial crisis hit, nothing for a year, since than climbing up again.

In the mean tome the cost of living in Thailand doubled in Baht and in Euro or Pound might even have tripled! Prices will keep going up here for sure if I see what is happening now. I was in the UK for 10 days 2 months ago and prices of groceries are almost the same, clothes probably even cheaper in the UK now than in TH. Next to that it was very refreshing to see polite and friendly people on the street, in hotels, museums and many other places, how charming England is' you'll miss that!.

I was an IT consultant before I moved to Thailand, last hourly rate 10 years ago in Europe 175 Euro ex VAT per hour, so reasonable level and I'm a garbage man now (recycling), very difficult to get in to IT here at a level that you can live of.

By now I make a decent living here, not easy and not very stable. With 1 kid in an international school and 1 in a bilingual school, a nice house and normal food I actually need more income than I would need in Europe.

And still after almost 10 years, married to a Thai, having kids, colleagues, friends, paying tax, speaking and reading the language, etc. you remain in many occasions a second rate citizen. Still have to report every 90 days, still have to go trough the visa and workpermit procedures every year including since 2 years regular tests for terrible diseases like syphilis 3rd stage.

Think again and compare many countries!

Thank you everybody for your replies, some positive, most negative but I'm a complete newbie so just need to hear the facts.

Myself and my partner both hate it in the UK, the reason Thailand appealed is because I have many friends that have been there and loved it.

Realistically we'll have about £6k savings by the time we arrived there after paying for travel etc. I've looked online and seen condos for rent in Jomtien for 10,000 baht per month including air con etc.

As these equates to around £220 I don't see how we couldn't survive on another 10,000 baht per month for food and water. Myself and partner have no interest in restaurants, bars, girls etc. we'd be happy to buy groceries and cook for ourselves. The simple basic life doesn't deter us as that's kind of what we live like in the UK only in the UK it's not by choice.

We'd be happy to just come and explore for a while and if we like Thailand and have to come back to the UK after a few months then at least we'll have a future target to aim for.

We'd even thought about beach huts but they seem more of a temporary solution. All I'm wanting to know I suppose is how long we could last out there living a very basic life on £6k which is about 282,000 baht.

Thanks again.

Adam

I have many friends that have been there and loved it.

The reason your friends loved it is because they were 2 week millionaires.

I don't see how we couldn't survive on another 10,000 baht per month for food and water

Wait 'til you get here and you will very quickly see why you cant survive on 10k per month, for two people that equates to roughly 150 baht per person per day, I wouldnt even like to attempt it on 300 baht per day per person.

we'd be happy to buy groceries and cook for ourselves

The type of places you are talking about staying in have no cooking facilities, its probably illegal to cook in them as well.

Myself and partner have no interest in restaurants, bars

Glad to hear because on you budget that aint going to happen.

The simple basic life doesn't deter us as that's kind of what we live like in the UK

So why travel half way round the world just to live the same as you do in the UK?

Sorry to be so harsh, but it sounds like neither of you have a clue, theres been lots of good advice given on here, best you come over and seen for yourself.

You have made no mention on the type of visa you will apply for, or how you intend to do visa runs.

Thank you everybody for your replies, some positive, most negative but I'm a complete newbie so just need to hear the facts.

Myself and my partner both hate it in the UK, the reason Thailand appealed is because I have many friends that have been there and loved it.

Realistically we'll have about £6k savings by the time we arrived there after paying for travel etc. I've looked online and seen condos for rent in Jomtien for 10,000 baht per month including air con etc.

As these equates to around £220 I don't see how we couldn't survive on another 10,000 baht per month for food and water. Myself and partner have no interest in restaurants, bars, girls etc. we'd be happy to buy groceries and cook for ourselves. The simple basic life doesn't deter us as that's kind of what we live like in the UK only in the UK it's not by choice.

We'd be happy to just come and explore for a while and if we like Thailand and have to come back to the UK after a few months then at least we'll have a future target to aim for.

We'd even thought about beach huts but they seem more of a temporary solution. All I'm wanting to know I suppose is how long we could last out there living a very basic life on £6k which is about 282,000 baht.

Thanks again.

Adam

Yes you can rent a furnished, aircon apartment for 10k baht. The rest of your expectations are unrealistic, such as food and not allowing for utilities, phones, internet, sundries, etc. I don't think 2 can eat on 10k. I couldn't. That's about 300 baht per day or 100 baht per meal for two. The food would get unhealthy and tiresome. I'd need double that to just get by. I'd want more.

I'd still think of just visiting and while you're at it visit Cambodia simply because they will let you work, and you can get visas on arrival easily. Cambodia has come a long way and isn't bad at all. I wouldn't consider anything other than Phnom Penh or Siem Reap.

I don't know if you understand visas for Thailand, but being under 50, you can't get retirement visas and even if you were over 50 it doesn't sound as if you have enough money to qualify. Your hope would be education visas via studying, or work permits. You can't just walk into Thailand and stay.

Some of us probably come off as Debbie Downers, but there is some wisdom to be had here.

I appreciate the advice, it is a lot different to what I was expecting or have been told by previous people but this is why I came on this forum, to get the facts.

So would it perhaps be more realistic to come to Thailand for 3 weeks, jump on a plane to Cambodia where we would get a visa on arrival then try and find work there?

Does anyone know how long the Cambodian visa lasts for and how easy it is to renew it?

Adam

Thank you everybody for your replies, some positive, most negative but I'm a complete newbie so just need to hear the facts.

Myself and my partner both hate it in the UK, the reason Thailand appealed is because I have many friends that have been there and loved it.

Realistically we'll have about £6k savings by the time we arrived there after paying for travel etc. I've looked online and seen condos for rent in Jomtien for 10,000 baht per month including air con etc.

As these equates to around £220 I don't see how we couldn't survive on another 10,000 baht per month for food and water. Myself and partner have no interest in restaurants, bars, girls etc. we'd be happy to buy groceries and cook for ourselves. The simple basic life doesn't deter us as that's kind of what we live like in the UK only in the UK it's not by choice.

We'd be happy to just come and explore for a while and if we like Thailand and have to come back to the UK after a few months then at least we'll have a future target to aim for.

We'd even thought about beach huts but they seem more of a temporary solution. All I'm wanting to know I suppose is how long we could last out there living a very basic life on £6k which is about 282,000 baht.

Thanks again.

Adam

Yes, you can rent a condo, bungalow or house for 10k baht/m, but you may need minimum 15,000 for daily needs (food) for two people, that’s about 500 a day. Count another 5,000 b/m for other expenses. Thailand may be a bit more expensive when you actually stay here, than what you believe from reading abroad. However, Thais can survive for less, so it is a question of life style.

Your 280,000 baht / 30 will last for up to 9 month. However, you have to consider two very important factors, Visa (what type and if you need to make so-called “visa runs”) and insurance (for up to 9 month) – it can be very risky to stay in Thailand, without insurance.

It may be difficult just to find work as a foreigner, unless you have qualified skills. Visa for work permit (non immigrant may need to be applied for in a foreign country – may depend of the work, if it can be arranged in Thailand. There is a number of treads on ThaiVisa about this.

I appreciate the advice, it is a lot different to what I was expecting or have been told by previous people but this is why I came on this forum, to get the facts.

So would it perhaps be more realistic to come to Thailand for 3 weeks, jump on a plane to Cambodia where we would get a visa on arrival then try and find work there?

Does anyone know how long the Cambodian visa lasts for and how easy it is to renew it?

Adam

Generally many long stayers in Cambo use a business visa. You pay some money for that, not so much. No actual business is actually required (gotta love it!). I think each one is good for a year. You can renew using travel agents. Last I heard anyway. Night and day from the situation in Thailand! I have PMed a Cambo forum. Cheers.

Where are you flying from? You seriously might have a problem BOARDING the plane in your home country to Thailand with no visa and a return date over 30 days. Thailand doesn't kid around!

Edited May 20, 201313 yr by Jingthing

what many of the poster also forgot is that you will have to pay a deposit for your condo, that is gonna be around 3 times the monthly rent, and if you are lucky you might even get all that back.

Internet in the condo is gonna cost you around 700 baht per month if it is installed.

Telephone credit around 300baht per month if you are clever users.

Food, depends on where you eat from 100baht per day upwards per person

TV in the condo, might cost you extra, from 300baht upwards

Travel might be cheap but it eats at the money slowly but surely.

Visa runs every 30days for two people.

Of course there are going to be costs for medicines and other essentials, that you have not calculated into your costs.

But hey I came here with a suitcase and under 200 euros, in my hand, now have 2 condos, a nice car, a lovely wife, and have traveled a lot during the time, maybe I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time, but it took a lot of work and a lot of finding things out the hard way.

Edited May 20, 201313 yr by beano2274

to add.

I know guys who came here with the same plans as you and the same amount of money, they thought it would be easy, after a while no money, no passport no visa and debts. It takes a lot of work, and also the ability to understand the Thais and the way they do things.

Open your own business, but employ enough Thais and have the capital, or become teachers.

What about opening a tattoo shop? ( Sarcasm)-

You can get by fairly cheaply in Thailand, but your standard of living (and "quality of life") are going to suck very quickly. If you were to live in a "Thai" style apartment (single room with attached bathroom), they can be found for around 2,500 baht/month. Add water, electricity (cable ? internet ?) and you are probably over 5,000 a month (depending if you have an air-con and how addicted to it you become).

Cook rice in your room and buy other food stuffs from the street vendors. Eat frugally and maybe get by on 100 baht/person (plus the cost of the rice, and water and whatever else you're going to drink - don't even think about drinking the tap water or you'll be needing the medical insurance mentioned below a lot sooner than you'd like !). That's another 6k onto the monthly bill, assuming you don't "splurge" once in awhile, and no boozing at all.

Medical insurance ? Easy to get hurt and without coverage, don't be surprised to be asked to pay up front for any treatment. Add a couple thousand baht/month per person (?) for some basic coverage.

Clothes ? Toiletries ? Phone credit ? Transport ? Even taking baht buses to get around, 10 baht per person one-way = 40 baht round trip for 2. Do that 5-6 times a week and you've added almost another thousand to the monthly expenses.

Visas ? (You can get the 30 day on arrival at the airport, but unless something has changed recently, when you do a "border run" to get it renewed, if you re-enter Thailand by land, they only give you a 15 day stamp. Better off getting multi-entry tourist visas before arriving,. Note that the "visa run" companies charge what, 2,500 baht (per person) for the visa runs these days ? But you usually get a couple meals and perhaps a decent movie out of the trip. You're probably not going to qualify for any other visas unless you can line up a job beforehand.

You can try for the education visa as well, but of course, it isn't free. You have to pay for the course (no idea what they cost). Add that to the expenses (and attend the classes, at least it'll get you out of your tiny little room once in awhile).

Can't be bothered with renewing visa ? No problem. Eventually you'll get caught and thrown in the Immigration Detention Center (jail) where you'll stay until someone (family/friend) can get you a plane ticket out of the country AND pay your fine. Or you can "pay off" the fine at the rate of 1 day in jail per 200 baht of fine. (Someone will no doubt mention that if you can get to the airport (with a plane ticket of course) the max fine is 20,000 baht so you may want to plan ahead for a "rainy" day or something). I'm sure you can google Thai prisons and guess how much fun it'd be to stay in one for more than 2-3 minutes.

Want to work in Thailand ? There is a list (somewhere) of the different trades restricted to Thais only. Get caught working without the proper visa and well, basically read the paragraph above. There was an article just the other day of a foreigner getting busted. He HAD a work-permit, but NOT for the place he was caught working in ! And don't worry, no unscrupulous boss in Thailand would hire you, work you up until the day before payday and then cry a tear when the Immigration Police do a "raid" and arrest all those working illegally !

So what are we looking at now, over 20k a month and you are barely surviving and praying like mad that prices don't go up for anything any time soon. Your spending 90% of your time sweating in your little room watching Thai TV and trying desperately to not turn the fan on for more than a couple minutes. You've probably cashed in your return plane tickets, spent the baht meant to do your next (or last) visa run and are worried about that persistent pain in your gut that just isn't getting better.

The good news is..........you've actually read (most) of the posts here and realize that you have A LOT of planning, preparation and homework to do BEFORE even considering a move like this. And you've woken up and realized that maybe everything you've heard from "friends" has possibly been "embellished" somewhat.

(Don't feel too bad. When I was working in Kabul from 2003-2005, at one point in the space of barely 6 weeks, I had spoken to a bunch of different people and mentioned living in Thailand. 3 of those people all said almost the same bluddy thing "Thailand ? Oh yeah, a friend of mine went there. Said he rented this fantastic house right on the beach, had one woman to do the cooking and another to do the cleaning and was sleeping with both of them, all for $50 a month" !

Seriously. 3 people in less than 6 weeks all telling me basically the same story. "My friend" or "My buddy's friend" or "I know a guy that.." I just looked at them and said the same thing to each of them - "Go tell your (friend/buddy/buddy's friend) that the Vietnam War ended 30 years ago." Of course they don't have a clue what I mean so I tell them that that little story of theirs has been floating around since the Vietnam War ended and that was probably the last time anyone was able to rent a house on a beach and 2 women for $50 a month.

And take this into consideration. I used to live in one of those Thai style apartments (more as a convenience than anything), but now have a house, couple of motorcycles, a military pension, (some) money in the bank, a 1 year visa, and I'm still working in a sh!th0le of a place because I'm worried I won't have enough to get by on (as a single guy). And that's from someone who first visited in '93 and has been calling Thailand home since 2004.

Like we used to say in the army - Fail to Plan ? Then Plan on Failing.

Thank you everybody for your replies, some positive, most negative but I'm a complete newbie so just need to hear the facts.

Myself and my partner both hate it in the UK, the reason Thailand appealed is because I have many friends that have been there and loved it.

Realistically we'll have about £6k savings by the time we arrived there after paying for travel etc. I've looked online and seen condos for rent in Jomtien for 10,000 baht per month including air con etc.

As these equates to around £220 I don't see how we couldn't survive on another 10,000 baht per month for food and water. Myself and partner have no interest in restaurants, bars, girls etc. we'd be happy to buy groceries and cook for ourselves. The simple basic life doesn't deter us as that's kind of what we live like in the UK only in the UK it's not by choice.

We'd be happy to just come and explore for a while and if we like Thailand and have to come back to the UK after a few months then at least we'll have a future target to aim for.

We'd even thought about beach huts but they seem more of a temporary solution. All I'm wanting to know I suppose is how long we could last out there living a very basic life on £6k which is about 282,000 baht.

Thanks again.

Adam

We've come to Thailand with much the same idea in mind... my husband, son and I are here (with a small income coming in from outside Thailand) and we're hoping to make our money last as long as possible. We have jobs/home/things to return to when our money runs out or when we get homesick.

Having said that, here is our first month's *almost* budget... May 1st - today. I've been trying to keep a very accurate record of what we've spent since we arrived April 26th. Keep in mind this is for 2 adults/1 child living on Phuket:

Rent: $18,000 Thb (one bedroom condo with aircon and pool; weekly maid service included but no washer/dryer)

Laundry: $510 Thb (40 Thb per kilo)

Dining: $2755 Thb (you get tired of eating at home; no hot water in the kitchen makes clean-up a pain)

Groceries: $10,215 Thb

Internet/Cell Phones: $1600 Thb

Pharmacy: $3075 Thb (antibiotics, advil, sunscreen, bug spray, etc., we've all three been sick once since we got here)

Transportation: $5,300 Thb (for a 10-day scooter rental, taxis for longer trips)

Utilities: $2500 Thb budgeted for monthly electricity... we haven't gotten a bill yet

Visa Runs: $4,000 Thb budgeted monthly for $12,000 Thb after 90 days

Once we have a full month's budget we're going to try and trim where we can... we're only at this condo for two months and we're not set on staying only in Phuket. Hope this helps you get a better idea of what people are spending in Thailand now.

Good luck!

Why not find out if you can get a job in IT? Seems the logical solution to me and the money is likely to be much better too. Your partner could possibly go the teacher route and that would provide you with a reasonable income. Don't forget you will both need medical insurance cover and that's not cheap.

Coming from the UK with all its faults you'll find a whole lot of new ones here so it's a lot of swings and roundabouts although IMO it's also down to where you decide to stay. Pattaya/Jomtein are not cheap areas as they are considered tourist traps. Think Blackpool/Brighton price wise. Suggest you check out the cost of living in a few alternatives as bars, etc., are not your scene.

Edited May 20, 201313 yr by Anon999

This is really a place for the older and accomplished farang. To come here and try to make a living without capital is not going to get you rich in these parts.

Best strategy is to work hard and save and get retirement and pensions built up and sell out in an up market and do your research on things locally.

Or get a rich Chinese-Thai wife that is connected, and don't cheat or piss her off!

My suggestion is try Canada or Australia.

Yes sure. Canada and Australia no longer welcome immigrants, unless you are a rich immigrant that can start a business and employ some of the many unemployed people.

I'm 34, my partner will be 35 when we get there.

We have looked at condos for rent and seem to only cost 10,000 baht per month. We were
hoping that another 10,000 per month would be enough for food and water.
By the sounds of it so far I get the impressive this isn't enough?

We didn't plan on taking part in the usual tourist activities of eating out and drinking in bars every night. Also we would bother with cars or scooters etc.
Adam

My partner and I live on about 25,000 eating cheap good local thai food and drinking beer (from shops not bars) every night. You could get by on less if you don't drink. We use bicycles, green buses and some hitching (have made some life-long thai friends this way, altho they all tell us not to do it - lol - we have not had problems) for transport and love our uncomplicated life in the chiangmai/lamphun area.

I'm 34, my partner will be 35 when we get there.

We have looked at condos for rent and seem to only cost 10,000 baht per month. We were

hoping that another 10,000 per month would be enough for food and water.

By the sounds of it so far I get the impressive this isn't enough?

 

We didn't plan on taking part in the usual tourist activities of eating out and drinking in bars every night. Also we would bother with cars or scooters etc.

Adam

My partner and I live on about 25,000 eating cheap good local thai food and drinking beer (from shops not bars) every night. You could get by on less if you don't drink. We use bicycles, green buses and some hitching (have made some life-long thai friends this way, altho they all tell us not to do it - lol - we have not had problems) for transport and love our uncomplicated life in the chiangmai/lamphun area.

Op. If you have no interest in bars etc and you want to do some travelling. Why are you looking at Jomtien or Pattaya. Many. Many cheaper places to live.

Example: 1 bed apartment 5.500b. Has air and furniture. Add approx 2-3k for electric. Water. Internet etc. (If you just want one large room. 4k) there are cheaper as well.

That's in a town 45mins from bkk and 2hrs from the beach or waterfalls etc.

As for visa. Get a non b from Hull consul. Pm if you req info.

As for teaching. You could start on about 30-35k. Some include accommodation and airfare home once a year... some don't

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

You mentioned Jomtien ,Now thats a place for a new couple lol ,your eyes will stray and then your daily budget will increase and your misses will feel unease from day 1.use ur cash to get to a place you can actually work matey,Like others mentioned try Oz on a working holiday visa.Thailand isnt place place for you both long term.

280k? My buddha, i burn through that much a month.

You can get by fairly cheaply in Thailand, but your standard of living (and "quality of life") are going to suck very quickly. If you were to live in a "Thai" style apartment (single room with attached bathroom), they can be found for around 2,500 baht/month. Add water, electricity (cable ? internet ?) and you are probably over 5,000 a month (depending if you have an air-con and how addicted to it you become).

Cook rice in your room and buy other food stuffs from the street vendors. Eat frugally and maybe get by on 100 baht/person (plus the cost of the rice, and water and whatever else you're going to drink - don't even think about drinking the tap water or you'll be needing the medical insurance mentioned below a lot sooner than you'd like !). That's another 6k onto the monthly bill, assuming you don't "splurge" once in awhile, and no boozing at all.

Medical insurance ? Easy to get hurt and without coverage, don't be surprised to be asked to pay up front for any treatment. Add a couple thousand baht/month per person (?) for some basic coverage.

Clothes ? Toiletries ? Phone credit ? Transport ? Even taking baht buses to get around, 10 baht per person one-way = 40 baht round trip for 2. Do that 5-6 times a week and you've added almost another thousand to the monthly expenses.

Visas ? (You can get the 30 day on arrival at the airport, but unless something has changed recently, when you do a "border run" to get it renewed, if you re-enter Thailand by land, they only give you a 15 day stamp. Better off getting multi-entry tourist visas before arriving,. Note that the "visa run" companies charge what, 2,500 baht (per person) for the visa runs these days ? But you usually get a couple meals and perhaps a decent movie out of the trip. You're probably not going to qualify for any other visas unless you can line up a job beforehand.

You can try for the education visa as well, but of course, it isn't free. You have to pay for the course (no idea what they cost). Add that to the expenses (and attend the classes, at least it'll get you out of your tiny little room once in awhile).

Can't be bothered with renewing visa ? No problem. Eventually you'll get caught and thrown in the Immigration Detention Center (jail) where you'll stay until someone (family/friend) can get you a plane ticket out of the country AND pay your fine. Or you can "pay off" the fine at the rate of 1 day in jail per 200 baht of fine. (Someone will no doubt mention that if you can get to the airport (with a plane ticket of course) the max fine is 20,000 baht so you may want to plan ahead for a "rainy" day or something). I'm sure you can google Thai prisons and guess how much fun it'd be to stay in one for more than 2-3 minutes.

Want to work in Thailand ? There is a list (somewhere) of the different trades restricted to Thais only. Get caught working without the proper visa and well, basically read the paragraph above. There was an article just the other day of a foreigner getting busted. He HAD a work-permit, but NOT for the place he was caught working in ! And don't worry, no unscrupulous boss in Thailand would hire you, work you up until the day before payday and then cry a tear when the Immigration Police do a "raid" and arrest all those working illegally !

So what are we looking at now, over 20k a month and you are barely surviving and praying like mad that prices don't go up for anything any time soon. Your spending 90% of your time sweating in your little room watching Thai TV and trying desperately to not turn the fan on for more than a couple minutes. You've probably cashed in your return plane tickets, spent the baht meant to do your next (or last) visa run and are worried about that persistent pain in your gut that just isn't getting better.

The good news is..........you've actually read (most) of the posts here and realize that you have A LOT of planning, preparation and homework to do BEFORE even considering a move like this. And you've woken up and realized that maybe everything you've heard from "friends" has possibly been "embellished" somewhat.

(Don't feel too bad. When I was working in Kabul from 2003-2005, at one point in the space of barely 6 weeks, I had spoken to a bunch of different people and mentioned living in Thailand. 3 of those people all said almost the same bluddy thing "Thailand ? Oh yeah, a friend of mine went there. Said he rented this fantastic house right on the beach, had one woman to do the cooking and another to do the cleaning and was sleeping with both of them, all for $50 a month" !

Seriously. 3 people in less than 6 weeks all telling me basically the same story. "My friend" or "My buddy's friend" or "I know a guy that.." I just looked at them and said the same thing to each of them - "Go tell your (friend/buddy/buddy's friend) that the Vietnam War ended 30 years ago." Of course they don't have a clue what I mean so I tell them that that little story of theirs has been floating around since the Vietnam War ended and that was probably the last time anyone was able to rent a house on a beach and 2 women for $50 a month.

And take this into consideration. I used to live in one of those Thai style apartments (more as a convenience than anything), but now have a house, couple of motorcycles, a military pension, (some) money in the bank, a 1 year visa, and I'm still working in a sh!th0le of a place because I'm worried I won't have enough to get by on (as a single guy). And that's from someone who first visited in '93 and has been calling Thailand home since 2004.

Like we used to say in the army - Fail to Plan ? Then Plan on Failing.

Very sensible and realistic post.

If I could tell you I'd be living there full time myself. Teaching is one of the few options if you are suitably qualified.

Please remember that many schools now employ Thai teachers, anyone else looking for teaching work need to have

teaching degrees and experience, gone are the days anyone who spoke English could get a job, now many people are

in Laos and Cambodia trying their luck there but the same problems are happening there also, it seems the jobs are

now going to the local people.

Thank you everybody for your replies, some positive, most negative but I'm a complete newbie so just need to hear the facts.

Myself and my partner both hate it in the UK, the reason Thailand appealed is because I have many friends that have been there and loved it.

Realistically we'll have about £6k savings by the time we arrived there after paying for travel etc. I've looked online and seen condos for rent in Jomtien for 10,000 baht per month including air con etc.

As these equates to around £220 I don't see how we couldn't survive on another 10,000 baht per month for food and water. Myself and partner have no interest in restaurants, bars, girls etc. we'd be happy to buy groceries and cook for ourselves. The simple basic life doesn't deter us as that's kind of what we live like in the UK only in the UK it's not by choice.

We'd be happy to just come and explore for a while and if we like Thailand and have to come back to the UK after a few months then at least we'll have a future target to aim for.

We'd even thought about beach huts but they seem more of a temporary solution. All I'm wanting to know I suppose is how long we could last out there living a very basic life on £6k which is about 282,000 baht.

Thanks again.

Adam

Hey Adam,,

Something you should also budget for is Health Insurance,, something we didn''t think of much or gave it much credit but it's something the Thai

government are cosidering making it a law for all foreigners, keep your money in the UK and use a credit card to access your funds, don't bring

too much cash as you will loose it fast, if you are strapped for cash it's cheaper in Cambodia.

Adam,

You are very idealistic about Thailand and how little it will cost you to live there. Reality is going to be different. Much different. Even if you see condos advertised at 10,000 baht per month... this is Thailand... when you get there, you may find that the price "has gone up a little since it has been posted"... And even if you think that you can exist on 10,000 baht today, inflation and other costs escalation will make it not so possible in the near future.

For less than $1,500 US dollars you will find it a very meager existence. Don't forget that you will not be forever young and healthy. While hospitals are not expensive in Thailand, they still do cost money.

You will be much better off working longer in the UK, living on a tight budget there, saving as much as you can, and only then think of coming to live in Thailand. In any case, if you try it for a few months to a year, you will have a more realistic and practical picture.

It is possible for a foreigner to get a work permit for bar work. I had one along with a 1 yr non B visa that the Thai bar owner had set up through her lawyer. BiB came by the odd time to check but we kept a copy at the bar. I don't think it's easy to get but it is possible. PM me if I can help with any advise on it.

I think many are living too large. I lived in Bangkok at nice little room for 2500 a month. No aircon, but I don't like aircon. Get used to the heat, you will be healthier. I don't own a car or motorbike: big savings and little less chance of needing medical attention.

"Internet in the condo is gonna cost you around 700 baht per month if it is installed. (skip it, use cafes if you must)

Telephone credit around 300baht per month if you are clever users. (don't talk so much. Talk face to face)

Food, depends on where you eat from 100baht per day upwards per person (6k/month for 2, right?)

TV in the condo, might cost you extra, from 300baht upwards (you could live without this too. We just used broadcast tv in Bangkok)

Travel might be cheap but it eats at the money slowly but surely."

I choose to live simply. I like to walk. I am happy as things are, and don't feel I am denying myself anything that is worth it. Maid service? Get out of here. I hand wash my own clothes. I am a regular Gandi (haha). My income is around $3k month. I am not sure how much I spend per month, but it is way under $1000. "Your needs aren't your wants"