moving to thailand now or later

[thailiketoo]

The problem with dreamers is they already made up their mind.

Listen to both positive and negative camps. They are both correct. Everything bad about Thailand is really bad. Everything good about Thailand is really good. Personally if I had kids in Canada, I would never be here. Not feasible.

don't understand this post,

As someone who lives here, I get it loud and clear, what he says makes sense.

You want to meet some of the guys who post on here, and hear their heart breaking stories, they only come to visit their kids, if the kids were with them them in farangland they would never set foot on these shores again.

Poor little kids who dont know whats going on, some upcountry "mair mot" sees them as nothing more than a bargaining chip to extract more money from the hapless father.

You said it, loud and clear. I like Thailand. Anyone who reads my posts can tell you that but kids? No. Keep your kids in the West until they are old enough to make up their own minds.

[Gecko123]

Boris, its good that people are suggesting you to not come in Thailand. As you may notice all of them are old, frustrated men, So you should listen to them, but not follow !

If you have support of your wife, don't hesitate to come back. If your children will not like Thailand, heyy as its familiar to me you have boarding school, send them in some boarding school in UK, but I really doubt that they won't like it Thailand. you are 36, you really dont risk nothing, but seriously. go for it

Steven23:

Almost all of the comments which you are lumping under the category of "negative" or "pessimistic" should actually be under the category of "realistic" or "pragmatic" considerations.

Move to Thailand and dump your kids in boarding school back in England. Now there's some sound advice!

BTW, not everyone on this forum is either old or frustrated.

[boris77]

foolish! your kids come first. stay in uk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I won't even bother going past the first page.

Can't say it better than choochoo.

Move to Thailand if you don't love your kids. Compared to the West, worst place to educate and raise your kids... they'll end up hating you one day.

Stay where you are, give them a chance at proper schooling and standardized upbringing, one they would welcome in the long run much more than some village off the beaten track, if my assumptions are correct.

Good luck, if your still toying with the idea, you'll probably need a lot of it.

village off the beaten track. u been to chumphon have u, ? showing your knowledge of thailand here mate , im 36 why would i wanna live in a shitty village

[boris77]

^^^^,

how many get here and before the first year is up realise in aint the tropical paradise of their dreams?

Best of luck to the guy, 2 kids in an international school in Bkk, theres almost 2 million baht per year gone.

He says he can save 1 million baht by working 6 months in the UK, thats 20 thousand quid in six months, over three grand per month, sorry I dont know any joiners earning that sort of money.

Thats after his living costs of say 1 thousand per month in the Uk and sending his mrs 1 thousand per month.

Take home pay after tax of 5 thousand per month, best of luck to him, as I mentioned before, what contract is he on and where is he working?

Might have to get the overalls looked out and go back to the tools.

hi rgs , its not my first time here mate, didnt mention schooling in bangkok, try working for yourself a good carpenter can earn that sort of money, why would i bother saying it, london , alot of people there pay a lot of money for a good job. thousand pounds living costs if im here by myself , rent free dude . its all managable

Please excuse me, sorry a bit out of touch with the UK.

You remind me of myself, I felt the exact same way 24 years ago, upped sticks and left, younger than you are now (moot point) the difference is I didnt have a wife and two kids in tow.

Do you actually realise how lucky you are?

Do you realise how many guys reading this would love to swap places with you (if the truth be told).

You have a wife and kids who I presume love you, you are young fit and healthy, you are in your peak earning years, you are knocking down a good wage, you have a fair wedge in the bank, you are debt free.

You have acces to the welfare state, free NHS and childrens education, and you want to give all that up for what?

I can assure you, never mind what you read on here, Thailand aint no Paradise Lost, she can be a cruel mistress as many have found out to their cost.

I know you wont listen, you have an itch you cant scratch, you have the same as I had, the wanderlust.

Go for it, but dont burn any bridges in the UK

hi rgs , all of what u have just said does make alot of sense, like i said im not gun ho to get there, it will still be there in 15 years time and i suppose i will be 51 and the youngest would be 20. not too old to enjoy the good life.i know thailand s no paradise but the uk is getting no better . cheers for advice

[puanddavid]

I think it is pretty clear that the OP would benefit from further research into the practicality of his plans.

Cost of visas, cost of living, cost and quality of schools, cost of travel back an forth between Thailand and England, the long term educational future of your children, start up costs, house maintenance costs, health care costs, vehicle transportation costs (you're not going to put the whole family on a motorcycle are you?), work restrictions in Thailand (you can't just do any job just because you're married to a Thai national), and the dependability of future employment in England are all variables which need to be considered. How much do you know about the area you are thinking about moving to? What about your Thai language skills for both social and employment in Thailand? Most guys out in the countryside earn 300-400 baht a day for construction work. Also, if you are in the construction field, because this is manual labour, you won't be able to do this forever. What would you do if you became disabled on the job?

It's easy to tell the OP "Go for it", and part of me wants to do the same, but the truth is Thailand is not the kind of place you want to just leap blindly into, especially at the age of 36 with a wife and 2 kids depending on you. Just FYI, I planned and researched my move here, studied the language and the culture and made multiple trips here over a 10 year period before making the leap.

The OP has made several trips over here, he has a Thai wife, and seems to have a good sense about himself. I'd say he's more than capable of making this move. Worst case scenario: he comes over, blows through half his savings in the first year, decides he can't make ends meet, and moves back to merry ole' England. What's so terrible about that? (Side-note to OP: if you're uncomfortable with the notion that you might lose half your savings on this adventure, then you might not want to dive in).

The OP is at a crossroads in his life, and he will either achieve success, or recover from a bad decision, with equal vigor. All of us have spent those same rainy days gazing out the window dreaming about Thailand, and wondered if and when we should make the move. He's simply going through the same gyrations all of us went through, and the positive side of the aforementioned 'worst case scenario' is that he won't spend anymore time staring out the window dreaming about Thailand, right?

[meatboy]

I think it is pretty clear that the OP would benefit from further research into the practicality of his plans.

Cost of visas, cost of living, cost and quality of schools, cost of travel back an forth between Thailand and England, the long term educational future of your children, start up costs, house maintenance costs, health care costs, vehicle transportation costs (you're not going to put the whole family on a motorcycle are you?), work restrictions in Thailand (you can't just do any job just because you're married to a Thai national), and the dependability of future employment in England are all variables which need to be considered. How much do you know about the area you are thinking about moving to? What about your Thai language skills for both social and employment in Thailand? Most guys out in the countryside earn 300-400 baht a day for construction work. Also, if you are in the construction field, because this is manual labour, you won't be able to do this forever. What would you do if you became disabled on the job?

It's easy to tell the OP "Go for it", and part of me wants to do the same, but the truth is Thailand is not the kind of place you want to just leap blindly into, especially at the age of 36 with a wife and 2 kids depending on you. Just FYI, I planned and researched my move here, studied the language and the culture and made multiple trips here over a 10 year period before making the leap.

The OP has made several trips over here, he has a Thai wife, and seems to have a good sense about himself. I'd say he's more than capable of making this move. Worst case scenario: he comes over, blows through half his savings in the first year, decides he can't make ends meet, and moves back to merry ole' England. What's so terrible about that? (Side-note to OP: if you're uncomfortable with the notion that you might lose half your savings on this adventure, then you might not want to dive in).

The OP is at a crossroads in his life, and he will either achieve success, or recover from a bad decision, with equal vigor. All of us have spent those same rainy days gazing out the window dreaming about Thailand, and wondered if and when we should make the move. He's simply going through the same gyrations all of us went through, and the positive side of the aforementioned 'worst case scenario' is that he won't spend anymore time staring out the window dreaming about Thailand, right?

the worst scenario,4million wont go far,nobody has mentioned the extended family,and we all know what can happen.if the wife is strong enough to resist their demands that will be ok,then the house build we all know that doesn't go smoothly unless he is on sight to over see everything,so no earnings,then the kids education cost,the medical cover,i am not in his position but I wouldn't want to see my kids or wife in a gov.hospice with 20 or so to a ward.then he will need transport,mayby buy an old banger again we all know what they can cost.then there's the food,what have the kids been brought up on,does the op want his western food now and again[often] does he like a drink,the price of food is out of control, you can list the have's and cant have's,and there will be more cant have's,and where is he going to find a job to compare with his earnings in the uk.so don't do it until your in a more healther position or you could end up making the biggest mistake in your life.i don't know if the op is a sportsman,but I played,football,rugby,cricket,was a very keen fisherman,the boys will have access to all of this in the uk.there is not a better feeling to see your flesh and blood on the field of play,one thing that didn't happen for me.the op should understand there is so much jelousy here between the have nots and the ones that have.so unless the wife is hell bent on going to Thailand you have to say NOT YET.

[Straight8]

foolish! your kids come first. stay in uk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I won't even bother going past the first page.

Can't say it better than choochoo.

Move to Thailand if you don't love your kids. Compared to the West, worst place to educate and raise your kids... they'll end up hating you one day.

Stay where you are, give them a chance at proper schooling and standardized upbringing, one they would welcome in the long run much more than some village off the beaten track, if my assumptions are correct.

Good luck, if your still toying with the idea, you'll probably need a lot of it.

village off the beaten track. u been to chumphon have u, ? showing your knowledge of thailand here mate , im 36 why would i wanna live in a shitty village

Regardless of your opinion of Chumphon, my opinion still stands if you're planning to [in your mind] the best part of Thailand, do it if you don't love your kids.

[Gecko123]

I think it is pretty clear that the OP would benefit from further research into the practicality of his plans.

Cost of visas, cost of living, cost and quality of schools, cost of travel back an forth between Thailand and England, the long term educational future of your children, start up costs, house maintenance costs, health care costs, vehicle transportation costs (you're not going to put the whole family on a motorcycle are you?), work restrictions in Thailand (you can't just do any job just because you're married to a Thai national), and the dependability of future employment in England are all variables which need to be considered. How much do you know about the area you are thinking about moving to? What about your Thai language skills for both social and employment in Thailand? Most guys out in the countryside earn 300-400 baht a day for construction work. Also, if you are in the construction field, because this is manual labour, you won't be able to do this forever. What would you do if you became disabled on the job?

It's easy to tell the OP "Go for it", and part of me wants to do the same, but the truth is Thailand is not the kind of place you want to just leap blindly into, especially at the age of 36 with a wife and 2 kids depending on you. Just FYI, I planned and researched my move here, studied the language and the culture and made multiple trips here over a 10 year period before making the leap.

The OP has made several trips over here, he has a Thai wife, and seems to have a good sense about himself. I'd say he's more than capable of making this move. Worst case scenario: he comes over, blows through half his savings in the first year, decides he can't make ends meet, and moves back to merry ole' England. What's so terrible about that? (Side-note to OP: if you're uncomfortable with the notion that you might lose half your savings on this adventure, then you might not want to dive in).

The OP is at a crossroads in his life, and he will either achieve success, or recover from a bad decision, with equal vigor. All of us have spent those same rainy days gazing out the window dreaming about Thailand, and wondered if and when we should make the move. He's simply going through the same gyrations all of us went through, and the positive side of the aforementioned 'worst case scenario' is that he won't spend anymore time staring out the window dreaming about Thailand, right?

Just to clarify, I'm not debating whether the OP has the "capability" to move to Thailand; I am just questioning the advisability of such a move. I'm not adamantly opposed to the idea; I'm just saying that more preparation and research, which are key to the success of such ventures, is needed.

More to inject some humor into this discussion than for any other reason, I have to ask: why do you cap the OP's worst case scenario at losing half his life savings? The OP could easily blow through his entire life savings building a house (a potentially illiquid investment), setting his wife up in business (a potential money pit), buying a car, and paying for other unanticipated expenses. Coming back to England broke at the age of 40 is no laughing matter, especially if you have a wife and kids to support.

The OP talked about going back to England every six months for 3 months. I'm not too good at math, but doesn't that mean he would be living half the time back in England? What kind of strain would that put on his marriage? Have the back and forth travel expenses to England and lodging costs during work stints back in England been taken into consideration?

And what about the kids? Sure, giving them the opportunity to "see the world" would be educational, but the impact on their formal schooling needs to be carefully considered. This decision could have a lasting impact on their academic progress. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but unless the OP's kids were fluent in Thai - - and I mean fluent like you were born here - - the options of where they could attend school over here would be severely limited. There are schools in Bangkok, such as the International School, which teach in English, but the tuition would bring the OP to his knees.

Edited August 13, 2014 by Gecko123

[jackted]

Hi Boris, I can understand your frustrations about living in the UK along with the `urge` / `dream` to live a `better` life in Thailand. Before I moved here I too had many frustrations with life in England and did opt to make a better life here. I now have a lovely wife, 15 month old son, a loving extended family, 2 small successful businesses and live on a tropical island. Bliss you might think? On the whole `yes` but that has not been without lots of hard work and many unpredictable things that living here throws at you which can cause just as much frustration as living at home.

You sound like a sensible bloke so I`m sure you`ll weigh up the pros and cons of what you already know and take into account some of the comments here. This is one of lifes decisions where there is no clear cut `right` or ` wrong` option.Ultimately it seems it will come down to you decide.

You are doing the right thing by trying to find out as much as you can about living here.But as you`ve read, there are many that say `definitely No` and those that say `go for it!`. Which I imagine makes you even more frustrated. I`d say don`t let your dream cloud reality though.

Some posts are correct here in that life isn`t always a bed of roses in Thailand. Living here is totally different to holidaying here. Some of the gloss can ware off and for some turn into a nightmare. But those that really adjust to life here say they have a better life than back home.

I have no agenda on here just a normal bloke trying to offer you some advice, a realist if you like. So I would say based on what you have said -based on your finances it would be difficult to live here but not impossible. A large part would come down to income which, as has been pointed out, for your line of work is illegal on your own. You and your wife could set up a business but income is less predictable than being on a salary and requires a significant part of your budget to get started.

As you stated in your opening post `schooling is the most important`. If that is the case and I know you say schools in England aren`t what they use to be, nevertheless your kids will be much better educated in the UK. I have previously worked in the education system here in Thailand. Home schooling, private schools, International schools, yes they are all an option here but again they will be a big drain on your budget. Of course a childs education isn`t all at school I know. But as you`ll know having kids means putting them first and having to sacrifice some of the things you want.

Urges are difficult to put off but some people had to wait quite a while for their dream to become reality - Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King. Not the most relevant examples to give you I know. But the point is you have time on your side. You could still move here when you are older, as most do and still enjoy the life. Plus think how much more money you would have saved which would give you a better chance. You already saved 80,000 in 6 years which is fantastic.

On the whole I think moving here would be a massive risk for your family but not impossible. But if you can live with the frustrations you have in the UK (because after all you`ll get frustrations living here for sure) for a few more years and save at the same rate think how much better chance you`d have of living here.

Whatever you decide I wish you and your family well.

[monk213]

Seriously mate, things have changed here in 6 years, a lot. Add to the fact the illegal land you are better off where you are.

[boris77]

Hi Boris, I can understand your frustrations about living in the UK along with the `urge` / `dream` to live a `better` life in Thailand. Before I moved here I too had many frustrations with life in England and did opt to make a better life here. I now have a lovely wife, 15 month old son, a loving extended family, 2 small successful businesses and live on a tropical island. Bliss you might think? On the whole `yes` but that has not been without lots of hard work and many unpredictable things that living here throws at you which can cause just as much frustration as living at home.

You sound like a sensible bloke so I`m sure you`ll weigh up the pros and cons of what you already know and take into account some of the comments here. This is one of lifes decisions where there is no clear cut `right` or ` wrong` option.Ultimately it seems it will come down to you decide.

You are doing the right thing by trying to find out as much as you can about living here.But as you`ve read, there are many that say `definitely No` and those that say `go for it!`. Which I imagine makes you even more frustrated. I`d say don`t let your dream cloud reality though.

Some posts are correct here in that life isn`t always a bed of roses in Thailand. Living here is totally different to holidaying here. Some of the gloss can ware off and for some turn into a nightmare. But those that really adjust to life here say they have a better life than back home.

I have no agenda on here just a normal bloke trying to offer you some advice, a realist if you like. So I would say based on what you have said -based on your finances it would be difficult to live here but not impossible. A large part would come down to income which, as has been pointed out, for your line of work is illegal on your own. You and your wife could set up a business but income is less predictable than being on a salary and requires a significant part of your budget to get started.

As you stated in your opening post `schooling is the most important`. If that is the case and I know you say schools in England aren`t what they use to be, nevertheless your kids will be much better educated in the UK. I have previously worked in the education system here in Thailand. Home schooling, private schools, International schools, yes they are all an option here but again they will be a big drain on your budget. Of course a childs education isn`t all at school I know. But as you`ll know having kids means putting them first and having to sacrifice some of the things you want.

Urges are difficult to put off but some people had to wait quite a while for their dream to become reality - Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King. Not the most relevant examples to give you I know. But the point is you have time on your side. You could still move here when you are older, as most do and still enjoy the life. Plus think how much more money you would have saved which would give you a better chance. You already saved 80,000 in 6 years which is fantastic.

On the whole I think moving here would be a massive risk for your family but not impossible. But if you can live with the frustrations you have in the UK (because after all you`ll get frustrations living here for sure) for a few more years and save at the same rate think how much better chance you`d have of living here.

Whatever you decide I wish you and your family well.

cheers mate , helpful post, appreciated.

[belg]

2 kids, international school, will eat you a million a year

[boris77]

so after a week or so madness have come to the conclusion that the uk is the best place for us as a family. im settled in a job on the whole i dont mind doing, my wife has 2 part time jobs that gives her own independence, kids are settled in school and various clubs , swimming and football etc. I think i just had an urge big time, which was mentioned in other posts as parents we have to live thru and do the best we can as parents. I have read all the posts which i am grateful for even the ones that did seem a little harsh (no names a beetle juice). This way i can still enjoy thailand once every 2 years on holiday and look forward to the possibility of one day if still wanting to have an early retirement in the land of smiles, thanks again everybody

[Spaniel]

I think you made the right decision. Good luck.

[Franky Bear]

Smart move mate

[AnotherOneAmerican]

BTW, not everyone on this forum is either old or frustrated.

In America I was young and I was frustrated,

In Thailand, I'm old, but never frustrated.

Edited August 16, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[mikecwm]

You only live once, go for it Just make sure you have a plan to make some $$$$

You only live once?

There must be about 60 million people living in Thailand who would argue that point with you.

Not that it's relevant to this discussion.