Moving to Thailand General Questions

[dia1]

Hi All,

I am planning on moving to Thailand later this year to stay for a year on a Student Visa. Of course, my mind has been wracking a million different questions at once, so I apologize if any of these questions have already been answered. I have searched and could not find the answers to most.

1. As a foreigner how do most of you get money from the US to Thai? I don't have a plan to open a Thai bank account since I will only be there for one year. Do most of you simply make an ATM withdrawl and absorb that MASSIVE ATM fees and foreign transaction fees involved with that?

2. What is the most common way to pay rent for a Thai apartment? Again, this relates to the #1... Here in the US I always pay with a check, but in Thai I imagine I will need to pay in cash. Since most ATM withdrawls are limited to around $500, if I rent an apartment for $1500 I will need to make 3 ATM withdrawls to pay my rent. I don't even like the idea of walking around with that kind of money.

3. While I am in Thailand I will be studying for a few classes. Is it difficult to get mail delivered to a Thai apartment? I have read mixed opionions on the issue. If for example I ask a friend to send a textbook to assist with a class will I have any problems with the package magically disappearing or is mail pretty safe? Are there mail pickup centers that will make the address delivery location easier?

4. Are most Thai apartments/rented condos "community entrance" like the hotels with a key card entry? I.E. everyone passes through the same door which has a front desk and a security guard. Are there usually any issues with bringing guests (or multiple guests) back to an apartment or condo? Do they make you check in guests like they do at hotels?

Thanks for all help in advance!

[benalibina]

Student visa, renting some condo for USD 1.500 and you worry about ATM fees ? Strange !!

[dia1]

$1500 is a high estimate, but hopefully I'll find a nice place for around $1000. I live in a very expensive part of the US, so that rent isn't really unusual.

The transaction fees add up. Let's say it's a 3% foreign transaction fee, plus 3x Thai ATM withdrawl fees, plus 3x US atm withdrawl fees. I've wracked up around $70 in fees just to make a $1500 withdrawl to pay my rent.

Although I'm willing to pay for a nice place, I don't like getting ripped off by the banks. That $70 could pay for my food for a month if I'm lucky.

So I'm guessing most people just eat the fees and make multiple ATM withdrawls to pay their rent?

[Jdietz]

"Most" students make a single transfer, pay the rent and have more than half of the money left to live on.

[lunatic farang]

where is your study institution located in thailand so we can get an idea of the price location of accommodation you arent going to be paying anywhere near 1500 or even 1000 dollars in most everwhere in thailand.

[dia1]

I forgot to mention I plan on living right off of Sukumvit near the Asoke BTS. From most of the apartment hunting sites I've looked at, it seems difficult to find a nice place for less than 30,000-40,000 baht in that area. I didn't pull $1500 out of thin air.

If anyone has a recommendation of where to get a semi-new apartment within easy walking distance of the Asoke BTS for less than please share! I'd be delighted if I got away with spending only 15,000 baht for a nice place (not a shack) and still be in very close BTS walking distance.

I'm a bit scared to live too far down any soi, since last time I was in BKK I got stopped by fake police who attempted to shake me down for $$$... I'd rather do as little walking alone as possible. LOL

[dia1]

where is your study institution located in thailand so we can get an idea of the price location of accommodation you arent going to be paying anywhere near 1500 or even 1000 dollars in most everwhere in thailand.

Soi 12 Sukhumvit.. I got $1000-$1500 by looking at apartment sites.

I don't need to live in a mansion, but I want to live in a newer place with a Gym, Wi-Fi, and a rather newish place.

[metisdead]

A trolling post has been removed as well as a reply.

[thaibeachlovers]

Why wouldn't you open a bank account? It's not like they charge fees.

Get bank to bank money transfer and avoid the ATM limit.

Mail is only as safe as the value of what is within it, in my experience.

[TheSpade]

You can find nice and modern apartments close to BTS stations all over Bangkok, Asoke included, for under 15,000B per month with all mod cons, gyms, pools etc.

I'm a bit scared to live too far down any soi, since last time I was in BKK I got stopped by fake police who attempted to shake me down for $$$... I'd rather do as little walking alone as possible. LOL

if I rent an apartment for $1500 I will need to make 3 ATM withdrawls to pay my rent. I don't even like the idea of walking around with that kind of money.

You seem like you might be scared of your own shadow. I don't think BKK is for you. It's super safe for a big capital city but bad things do happen here and if you're worried about all this before even arriving you'll be a nervous wreck when you get here.

It's not common for people to get mugged and robbed in the street so it's not something I even consider but common sense applies. Don't withdraw large sums of money late at night in dark soi's or in front of shady looking characters.

Those police were probably real police. That's what they do here.

To get round withdrawing larger sums of cash for rent you can do what I do. Every Monday I go to the ATM to take out a weeks worth of money and on top of my weekly budget I take out a few extra thousand to stash away towards rent and bill costs at the end of the month so when the time to pay rent comes around I've got the money there and ready to pay without having to withdraw a large amount or do multiple trips.

[Goompa]

Normally I am in holiday mode when I go to LOS but I am soon to be living there , I can withdraw money at the ATM in amount to the limit of 20,000 and only cost 20 or 30bht , can do in multiples up to 100k but I am not sure I can change the amount criteria at the bank

Sure have to pay for every transaction but.. not that much I consider. $5 for 100,000bht , it is ok by me , and I don't feel over-apprehensive at the ATM on soi 6 any time of day or night , just be alert

[TerryLH]

You should be able to get a higher amount by skipping the ATM's and getting money over the counter at a bank.

[dia1]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will probably do what the previous poster suggested and just withdraw the maximum each time I go to the ATM for spending money. That is still a lot of foreign transaction fees to eat though. I wish there were more alternatives.

I guess the main reason I would not open a Thai bank account is because it seems unecessary. I'm not even sure if you can open a bank account when you only have a studen visa. I will consider it as an option if transfering between a US and Thai bank is easy and I can avoid the massive foreign transaction fees.

Thanks everyone!

I didn't see anyone mention anything about the community entrances at apartments? Is pretty much every apartment building setup that way or are there some that have private entrances?

Also, in response to a previous poster I have been to BKK a couple times and felt relatively safe even when I went to the bad areas, and the non farang areas with my Thai friends. I am not afraid of my shadow haha. I know there are crazy things that happen there, but I just think it would be a wise move to pay a little more to live closer to the main street than down a longer dark soi. I've been saving up to make sure I can afford whatever is thrown at me, and paying an extra $500 a month is better than paying a $500 bribe to some thugs trying to bully me because I'm farang. To be honest I was surprised when I got stopped by the police when I was doing nothing, but I know for a fact that they did it because I was walking down an unlit street where I was the only person in view in the middle of the night- My bad.

I appreciate everyones help. Pretty stoked about living in the LOS for a while

[TheSpade]

Private entrances to apartment? What do you mean?

Any decent place will have security, key card and CCTV.

What are these 'bad' areas you went to?

I think police looking to extort farang are more likely to hang around main tourist streets than random soi's with little people tbh.

There's a story posted earlier today or yesterday about a guy who was stopped by police at Nana in the middle of the day and asked for money for no reason. Whilst other tourists watched.

If te police want to extort money from you they will. Better just not to worry about it and not give into their demands for cash if you have done nothing wrong.

It's not worth paying $500 a month more based on some 'what if' situation that probably won't happen again.

[dia1]

Private entrace as in you walk up to your door from the outside, rather than passing a front desk and going up and elevator. The reason I ask is the two times I have brought friends back to my hotel the front desk wanted their ID to hold... I can understand this as the hotel I was at I saw many guys bringing what appeared to be random ladies back to their room. Unfortunately, one of my thai friends (strickly plutonic friend whom I have been friends with over a year) was very embarrassed/confused as to why she was asked for her ID. I think she felt like she was being treated like a hooker, when we had no plans of doing anything naughty... She is from BKK, but had never been to the Farang part of town. (or so she says)

I can't tell you what the "bad" area was as I just followed my friends to wherever they had took me. That was probably a poor choice of words. I would say a more "rough" part of town where there were no fancy hotels/condos and I was the only foreigner in sight. Things were kind of run down and it appeared that many buildings had been demolished and the rubble was just kind of still sitting there.

Hmmm I will definately keep looking to see if I can find a nice place for less than my max. I am still pretty dead set on being as close to the BTS as possible, and hopefully close to Asoke as my school is in that area and I know the area as well. The apartment hunting sites on the web for BKK aren't that great to say the least. I'm sure I'm going to make some mistakes on this journey.

[Swiss1960]

NOT opening your own Thai bank account is stupid, as it is simple and you CAN do on an education Visa. Scb and Kasikorn will be two options and while you might have to go to different offices to find one that let's you do it, it is still the best and only option to avoid the ATM fees.

Sent from my HTC One XL using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[dia1]

NOT opening your own Thai bank account is stupid, as it is simple and you CAN do on an education Visa. Scb and Kasikorn will be two options and while you might have to go to different offices to find one that let's you do it, it is still the best and only option to avoid the ATM fees.

Sent from my HTC One XL using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Thanks Swiss... I think that is what I needed to hear, and I have been searching the forums about opening a Thai bank account since my last post, and it seems pretty straightforward with a standard ACH transfer just like here in the US. I will open a Thai bank account.

[billaaa777]

1. As a foreigner how do most of you get money from the US to Thai? I don't have a plan to open a Thai bank account since I will only be there for one year. Do most of you simply make an ATM withdrawl and absorb that MASSIVE ATM fees and foreign transaction fees involved with that?

Read the link below, that is by far the least expensive and most convenient way to transfer money from the US to Thailand.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/BusinessBanking/BusinessSolution/TransferingFunds/ReceivingFunds/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUSA.aspx

[HeijoshinCool]

Absolutely open a Thai account. Bangkok Bank is great for that, if you're home account is in the States.

Never pay cash for rent. You should pay it as follows: get your landlord's bank info, go to an ATM at your bank (after you do open that account), use the ATM to transfer money from your account to his. That gives you an undeniable "paper trail." You can also use an option to SMS him on his phone, that the deposit has been made.

As for mail, in country, send or receive using EMS. It's insured, very fast, and trackable.

[Goompa]

Very easy and quick to do internet banking , the best choice I have found from home country to thai account , sure some fees to send via the net but a TT will give you a higher exchange and same day if not within a few hours .

Just find it quicker for me at the ATM , that's all.

[Bangkokhatter]

Hotels may ask for some girls I.D but a privately rented apartment ? get real.It's good to have a place with a communal entrance with security guard ( if they are awake ). Open a bank account and stop sweating the small stuff.

[yourauntbob]

Most things are paid in cash

Set up a Schwab account onllne and you can withdrawal from any ATM free, they even reimburse the machine fee at the end of the month. i deposit money into my local bank and do an online transfer to Schwab and then withdrawal as i need it for free. fyi, there is no minimum balance for this service.

1,500 is a lot more than you will need to pay. You can get a decent studio for 250 or a decent one bedroom for 300-400 in prime location. A friend of mine rents a place in the heart of the city just a short walk for the sky train 100 sq meters two bedroom for 650. its your money, but you may want to check around before paying that much.

most apartments have a communal entrance, not sure why this would matter.

[TheSpade]

Private entrace as in you walk up to your door from the outside, rather than passing a front desk and going up and elevator. The reason I ask is the two times I have brought friends back to my hotel the front desk wanted their ID to hold... I can understand this as the hotel I was at I saw many guys bringing what appeared to be random ladies back to their room. Unfortunately, one of my thai friends (strickly plutonic friend whom I have been friends with over a year) was very embarrassed/confused as to why she was asked for her ID. I think she felt like she was being treated like a hooker, when we had no plans of doing anything naughty... She is from BKK, but had never been to the Farang part of town. (or so she says)

I can't tell you what the "bad" area was as I just followed my friends to wherever they had took me. That was probably a poor choice of words. I would say a more "rough" part of town where there were no fancy hotels/condos and I was the only foreigner in sight. Things were kind of run down and it appeared that many buildings had been demolished and the rubble was just kind of still sitting there.

Hmmm I will definately keep looking to see if I can find a nice place for less than my max. I am still pretty dead set on being as close to the BTS as possible, and hopefully close to Asoke as my school is in that area and I know the area as well. The apartment hunting sites on the web for BKK aren't that great to say the least. I'm sure I'm going to make some mistakes on this journey.

You must be planning on bringing back a lot of hookers for you to be concerned about what the front desk might think.

Your privately rented apartment is not going to ask you for ID for any women you bring back. It's your apartment you can do as you please (within reason) like I've had buddies crashing on my couch for a few days, regularly bring girls back etc.

Mines has signs up saying all non residents must register with security when entering for safety purposes but it's not enforced. How do security or anyone else who works there know who lives in the building?

I doubt you'll have any problems.

You can be a stones throw from the BTS for much less than you've budgeted for. Tons of apartments in Asoke for 10-15,000B that meet your requirements.

Best thing to do is stay in a hotel for first few days then pound the pavement and check places out when here. Take a Thai friend with you and just go look in apartment complexes or better yet send her any addresses of place you want to check online and get her to make a plan and call in advance to check they have rooms to save some time.

Whilst looking for them you'll find other places to look at too.

[Sheryl]

You can most definitely open a bank account with a student visa and it is quite easy to do.

And it is what most people do, thereby allowing fort easy transfer of money from abroad. ATM fees for withdrawal or transfer from a Thai bank account are minimal.

it is often possible to pay your rent (and other bills) through an ATM transfer.