Leaving Thailand - Where now?

[Berkshire]

Well at least the OP is not leaving bitter and twisted and claiming to be taking his millions elsewhere. OP, have you checked out the Myanmar and Cambodia forums? Probably your best source of info.

[Boxclever]

I just finished a 3 year contract in Phnom Penh, loved it there and I highly recommend it!

Cheap as chips, friendly people, fabulous restaurants and a great nightlife!

If I didn't have a Thai based family, property etc I would certainly have stayed there.

Best of luck buddy!

[rct99q]

Ah Dave, you see that is why when you assume something it is usually wrong. I did exactly what this young fellow is trying to do for the better part of 30 yesrs. I started out at 18 now not as good ss the guys who travelled innthe 60 snd 70's but was still a wild and untamed world. Parties wrre good without people trying to drug you or kill you. You gad the standard STD's but nothing that would kill you.

So did all that for years. But comes a time in every boys life when you realize you must become a man and accomplish something

for yourself or your family. OP talks about his girlfriend and has no clue. When the time comes and meets the right person maybe his perspective will change. As it will be less about what country is next on your list, but food, shelter, and safety for his family.

Then again he may be the type of person to just say sod it, and walk away from them. Yeh I work for someone else but they pay really well, my wife is happy as we will be moving into our new house, and my daughter will be looked after till she goes out on her own. Thats reality brother.

By the way I am always curious as to what these great digital gonads do. They always claim they make money "even when their sleeping" yet when asked what the website is or an address to go look no one ever tells, why is that.

[phuketrichard]

Having lived in Cambodia, have a Cambodian GF and travel there frequently

Thailand is better ( even she likes it better here)

BUT if u have to go its not bad, just a bit different

[JB300]

Following this thread closely as I'm leaving Singapore after 6 years on 30th November & trying to decide between staying in Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia in that order, though my Filipina thinks otherwise) or making the move back to Europe (France, Spain, Portugal in that order).

Agree with the Poster(s) who recommend spending some time in each place so plan is to spend the 1st 3 months (Gardening Leave) split between Thailand, Bali & Penang with 2 weeks over Xmas/New Year visiting Filippina's family in Davao (which is where I'd recommend living if you did decide on Philippines, Visas are a doodle... 30 days on arrival, extend it to 59 days then extend every 2 months to 16 months, do a Visa run & start again).

[Issangeorge]

I wonder about these young guys putting all of their eggs in one basket and not securing a future for retirement.

A good website can be blown away by a competitor with more money and perhaps a group with brainpower. If the website is only making a living now, where's the future.

Back in the 1980's Yahoo was the #1 search engine and you had to pay a modest fee to belong and use it. I guess we know what Google had to say about that. It was just some kids with better ideas on search algorithms and how to monetize the site.

At the same time Yahoo was the only viable auction site but I guess we know what Ebay later had to say about that.

Several guys put up classified ad sites and did OK until Craigslist blew them out of the water. Ebay owns 25% of Craigslist and has auctions and classifieds covered, but from what I've see, ten or twenty years from now it's possible someone will bury them.

Barnes and Noble, a large bricks and mortar book store chain put up a website selling books and did quite well. That lasted until Amazon.com opened selling not only their books from warehouses only, but soon allowed anyone to sell books and then anyone to sell almost anything and who's heard of Barnes and Nobles' site lately?

IMHO these young people scraping by with a website are running a big risk. So are those who develop websites because within 10 years there will be software that will allow anyone to do it. In many ways there already is such software.

Ganted, there are people who have gotten in on websites or software that hit it big. They sold out and are wealthy. But I don't see the posters here as being in that position.

NeverSure, having read many of your posts you seem to be a pretty negative guy, you may be right about the website, but you may be wrong and if the guy is ambitious and smart enough to be making money on a website he is probably the type of guy that will do well anywhere. In today's society there is no sure thing anywhere, I was just lucky I landed a good union job, that allowed me to retire after 30 years on a fair pension, and then had a government pension kick in a few years later and in a little over a year will have old age pension kick in. Not too many of those jobs left anymore. The OP is making his own security, good for him.

[swissie]

As beautiful as they are, reckon living in Spain/Port being surrounded by 18-30 crowds and the like after living here would get old fast. I also think prices wouldn't be much cheaper than Ireland, Spain especially.

I'd do Cam first if I were in your shoes. Easy 1 year visa, very cheap beer etc and close to here if you feel the need. Wouldn't worry about gf either, esp since she duped you with previous kids. Can't be trusted.

Move on and don't listen to the boring old farts who tell you to get a 'proper' job. Get your site tweaked and you could rake it in fast. More importantly, just enjoy yourself in your best years like they never could.

First step for OP: Compare cost of living in Portugal/Spain versus Cambodia.

Next step: Dump that conniving, lying Thai-leech on the spot.

Cheers.

[NeverSure]

I wonder about these young guys putting all of their eggs in one basket and not securing a future for retirement.

A good website can be blown away by a competitor with more money and perhaps a group with brainpower. If the website is only making a living now, where's the future.

Back in the 1980's Yahoo was the #1 search engine and you had to pay a modest fee to belong and use it. I guess we know what Google had to say about that. It was just some kids with better ideas on search algorithms and how to monetize the site.

At the same time Yahoo was the only viable auction site but I guess we know what Ebay later had to say about that.

Several guys put up classified ad sites and did OK until Craigslist blew them out of the water. Ebay owns 25% of Craigslist and has auctions and classifieds covered, but from what I've see, ten or twenty years from now it's possible someone will bury them.

Barnes and Noble, a large bricks and mortar book store chain put up a website selling books and did quite well. That lasted until Amazon.com opened selling not only their books from warehouses only, but soon allowed anyone to sell books and then anyone to sell almost anything and who's heard of Barnes and Nobles' site lately?

IMHO these young people scraping by with a website are running a big risk. So are those who develop websites because within 10 years there will be software that will allow anyone to do it. In many ways there already is such software.

Ganted, there are people who have gotten in on websites or software that hit it big. They sold out and are wealthy. But I don't see the posters here as being in that position.

NeverSure, having read many of your posts you seem to be a pretty negative guy, you may be right about the website, but you may be wrong and if the guy is ambitious and smart enough to be making money on a website he is probably the type of guy that will do well anywhere. In today's society there is no sure thing anywhere, I was just lucky I landed a good union job, that allowed me to retire after 30 years on a fair pension, and then had a government pension kick in a few years later and in a little over a year will have old age pension kick in. Not too many of those jobs left anymore. The OP is making his own security, good for him.

Would you consider substituting "negative" with "experienced and realistic?" You found a plan and worked it but all along you knew about what your retirement would be and you stuck with it. Good for you.

I don't believe that all of these digital nomads have the same support system. Perhaps some do. But I would certainly warn them that everyone gets older faster than he thinks he will, and he needs to have a viable plan for his future that's proving itself right now.

[krisb]

How about Laos?

Heard great stuff about that place. Good value for money also.

[peterb17]

Ah Dave, you see that is why when you assume something it is usually wrong. I did exactly what this young fellow is trying to do for the better part of 30 yesrs. I started out at 18 now not as good ss the guys who travelled innthe 60 snd 70's but was still a wild and untamed world. Parties wrre good without people trying to drug you or kill you. You gad the standard STD's but nothing that would kill you.

So did all that for years. But comes a time in every boys life when you realize you must become a man and accomplish something

for yourself or your family. OP talks about his girlfriend and has no clue. When the time comes and meets the right person maybe his perspective will change. As it will be less about what country is next on your list, but food, shelter, and safety for his family.

Then again he may be the type of person to just say sod it, and walk away from them. Yeh I work for someone else but they pay really well, my wife is happy as we will be moving into our new house, and my daughter will be looked after till she goes out on her own. Thats reality brother.

By the way I am always curious as to what these great digital gonads do. They always claim they make money "even when their sleeping" yet when asked what the website is or an address to go look no one ever tells, why is that.

Personally I would suggest London- its really booming at the moment- but you need heaps of money.

Me too- just what exactly do the digital nomads actually do? If it was that easy , then everyone would be sitting at home tapping away and watching the cash roll in.

[Digitalnomade]

I m a digital nomades and you can make some money on line.

You can by example organise tour in Thailand, take care of people who need to see a dentist, you can look for job for people, take care of visa, ... I know a few guys too who are digital nomade. We are all kind of consultants. We don't make a lot because one month you can make a lot and then nothing for 6 months until you got a new bright idea like selling underwear of your gf to some perverts. (that doesn't work)

[ukrules]

I m a digital nomades and you can make some money on line.

You can by example organise tour in Thailand, take care of people who need to see a dentist, you can look for job for people, take care of visa, ... I know a few guys too who are digital nomade. We are all kind of consultants. We don't make a lot because one month you can make a lot and then nothing for 6 months until you got a new bright idea like selling underwear of your gf to some perverts. (that doesn't work)

I'll just leave this here :

[tmcard]

All these youngs will pay for your retirement.better not to screw them.

Give me a break - no-one is paying for my retirement other than me. Every cent I have is courtesy of my Superannuation back in Oz, and it's all money that came from employers I worked for over a 30+ year period - unlike many here I'm not on any form of aged pension and never will be. When the money's gone, so am I, and I'm 100% fine with that,

You have a clear agenda here, and that's understandable, but my advice is to keep it to yourself unless the topic specifically calls for your expertise. The whole 'digital nomad' issue is one that governments need to address, but I suspect that you already know that it only ruffles feathers here. I have zero interest in your online income stream - or the OPs - and I'd appreciate it if you didn't make sweeping statements about the provenance of my income.

Paying for you retirement is fine, if you have your private retirement insurance, because our government pension is not all that secure anymore.

I suppose the important part is to get some life before we get to the pension, since most of us are limited to enjoy life by then. Enjoying life while we live is what Thais and many others, not so well to do people understand. By the time we reach our pension age, most of us forgot how to enjoy life, and enjoyment is no all about money!

[3NUMBAS]

rent in spain is cheap due to a glut of houses they built in the boom years and cant sell so inland would be very cheap ,so as a base for others things would be good

[3NUMBAS]

Ah Dave, you see that is why when you assume something it is usually wrong. I did exactly what this young fellow is trying to do for the better part of 30 yesrs. I started out at 18 now not as good ss the guys who travelled innthe 60 snd 70's but was still a wild and untamed world. Parties wrre good without people trying to drug you or kill you. You gad the standard STD's but nothing that would kill you.

So did all that for years. But comes a time in every boys life when you realize you must become a man and accomplish something

for yourself or your family. OP talks about his girlfriend and has no clue. When the time comes and meets the right person maybe his perspective will change. As it will be less about what country is next on your list, but food, shelter, and safety for his family.

Then again he may be the type of person to just say sod it, and walk away from them. Yeh I work for someone else but they pay really well, my wife is happy as we will be moving into our new house, and my daughter will be looked after till she goes out on her own. Thats reality brother.

By the way I am always curious as to what these great digital gonads do. They always claim they make money "even when their sleeping" yet when asked what the website is or an address to go look no one ever tells, why is that.

could be java programers or writing apps for phones or web builders or poker players,3d Cad modelers, so many options out there to work from PC .or even just selling items on ebay.

if you have a money spinner you keep it to yourself ,right

or it gets poached by others

Edited September 19, 2014 by 3NUMBAS

[kannot]

how about the Azores- similar cost of living and it is part of Portugal though no visas requiered?

Thanks for that recommendation, I will seriously look into it, looks Beautiful and not too far from the Green Isle.

madeira better

[fish fingers]

Phnom Penh looks great, its next on my travel list. Maybe a short term move there .. 30 is still young!

[Datebayo]

There may a simple answer to this. Are you leaving your girlfriend or is she coming with you to wherever you move ?

She doesn't want to move to Europe and also this is a bit personal but she has two kids from a Thai Guy that she only told me about 2 years into the relationship so its a not ideal situation. So maybe best for both of us to move on.

Well, don't u think that a big red flag? after 2 years...

[TheSpade]

Cambodia seems like the wise choice. It's close. They issue 12 month business visas on arrival to anyone who asks so no visa runs or problems with immigration.

It's cheap and you can easily see your g/f regularly.

"looking for a secure future" followed by thinking of moving to Cambodia! I have just moved back to North America making 1.7 million baht per year vs 350,000 in Thailand. Cost of living (other than housing) nearly the same. At the end of the day I am pocketing 60,000baht a month.
Boring job, climate not the same .... SECURITY! I am providing myself and my family with a secure future. I am not sure I could do this in Cambodia.

I dont believe you are serious about a secure future, more likely you want to fumble thru making a bit of money via your internet business. All the while wasting your prime earning years whilst parading around Asia because it is......?

But hey, good luck I enjoyed my time in Thailand, then I growed up(yes I know).

He's got more chance of a secure future with his own business than he does working for someone else in a job that can disappear in an instant should the company go bankrupt, find it's self in financial trouble, or that no longer needs him.

Also the problem with 'normal' jobs i.e. 9 to 5 type ones is that as soon as you stop working the money stops flowing. You only get paid for the hours you put in and there's only a limited amount of hours in the day you can work.

Even if you could work 24hrs a day you likely still wouldn't get rich. Someone else usually gets rich off your hard work.

Trading hours for dollars makes no sense.

You're not building anything for your self. Not building anything for your future. Not giving yourself an asset which can be sold.

Compare that to an online business much of those are passive income. You don't have to be sitting at the computer to make money. You can be out with friends, travelling the world, sleeping and your online project is still taking in money on auto-pilot.

You do the work once (whether it be selling an ebook, affiliate marketing, creating content etc). Put it out onto the web. And then it continues to generate income over and over again without any further work on your part.

Then you keep on putting out more and more content / ebooks / whatever which does the same. And before you know it you've got hundreds of things out there on the net making money.

You build up YOUR own business that belongs to YOU. All the hard work you do benefits YOU. You make all the money. You build up a secure future for yourself.

And along the line if you wish to you can sell that business. And don't think online businesses don't sell for much. They do.

Websites, even ones that are just 2-3 months old, will sell for 20x their monthly earnings. Build a site up over a year or longer that has sustainable income and it will sell for MUCH MUCH more.

"Parading round Asia" bootstrapping his online business and building up a secure future for himself whilst living a much better standard of living for a much lower price than he could back home is actually incredible smart.

What's not smart is slaving away for someone else in a 9-5 style job that can only take you so far, that you could lose at any time, thinking you're 'doing the right thing' because that's what 'everyone else' does.

And before you say that an online business can fail too. Yes it can.

But once you have the skills you can easily start a new project for next to nothing financial wise (as is the benefit of online business) and work on the mistakes you made last time....something much harder in 'real life' business due to the start up costs and other headaches that come with it.

Most of the population are clueless sheep who do what they are told. They don't have the brains or the bravery to go out their into the world on their own, live abroad, see the world, risk their own money and be their own boss. Too scared.

People who do it should be commended.

I wonder about these young guys putting all of their eggs in one basket and not securing a future for retirement.

A good website can be blown away by a competitor with more money and perhaps a group with brainpower. If the website is only making a living now, where's the future.

Back in the 1980's Yahoo was the #1 search engine and you had to pay a modest fee to belong and use it. I guess we know what Google had to say about that. It was just some kids with better ideas on search algorithms and how to monetize the site.

At the same time Yahoo was the only viable auction site but I guess we know what Ebay later had to say about that.

Several guys put up classified ad sites and did OK until Craigslist blew them out of the water. Ebay owns 25% of Craigslist and has auctions and classifieds covered, but from what I've see, ten or twenty years from now it's possible someone will bury them.

Barnes and Noble, a large bricks and mortar book store chain put up a website selling books and did quite well. That lasted until Amazon.com opened selling not only their books from warehouses only, but soon allowed anyone to sell books and then anyone to sell almost anything and who's heard of Barnes and Nobles' site lately?

IMHO these young people scraping by with a website are running a big risk. So are those who develop websites because within 10 years there will be software that will allow anyone to do it. In many ways there already is such software.

Ganted, there are people who have gotten in on websites or software that hit it big. They sold out and are wealthy. But I don't see the posters here as being in that position.

So someone working a career / job all their life isn't putting all their eggs in one basket?

A job can vanish overnight. Companies go bust. They downsize. They pay off.

Then you find yourself unemployed and unable to get any work as the economy is in a mess and no one is hiring.

Or that 'skill' that you spend 25 years honing is no longer in demand and people aren't interested in hiring a 'dinosaur' with limited skills.

I know too many people this has happened to.

Thought they were nice and secure in their jobs for life only for a rude awakening and suddenly they couldn't pay the mortgage or their bills and struggled to find work elsewhere.

When you work online you aren't limited to finding work in the location you currently reside in. There's people all over the world looking to pay people or buy things and you can work / sell from anywhere.

It's not just about running websites. Many people offer services, trade stocks and shares, code, design, run mailing lists etc.

And the internet is a big place. Everyone can carve out their own niche or USP online.

Don't assume everyone is "scraping by".

Like with everything some people prosper and some people struggle.

As you say already there is software that means ANYONE can create a stunning website - Wordpress, Wix, Weebly. It's drag and drop simple.

Stupidly easy that even a techophobe could master it in a few weeks.

So why isn't everyone doing it? Why is there still huge demand for websites? From everything from $5 wensites to $500,000 websites?

It doesn't matter how easy it is most people will never even try to do it for a number of reasons - lazy, not interested, too busy messing about on Facebook, think it's bullshit, don't have the ambition to try something new etc etc etc.

There's ALWAYS going to be a demand for services online as even with the easiest to use tools in the world many people just don't have the time or incilination to do it themselves, they are busy, lazy, want a specialist, need an expert or whatever.

Building up a location independent, sustainable, and long term business is a SUPER smart move.

And why again do you assume they don't secure their retirement?

It's not hard to stash away some money every month

In my home country most employers no longer supply a pension to employees so the only pension people will get is a state pension - whether they've worked all their life or never a day in their life.

Everyone gets the same.

So having a 'real job' doesn't put you in any better a situation

Ah Dave, you see that is why when you assume something it is usually wrong. I did exactly what this young fellow is trying to do for the better part of 30 yesrs. I started out at 18 now not as good ss the guys who travelled innthe 60 snd 70's but was still a wild and untamed world. Parties wrre good without people trying to drug you or kill you. You gad the standard STD's but nothing that would kill you.
So did all that for years. But comes a time in every boys life when you realize you must become a man and accomplish something
for yourself or your family. OP talks about his girlfriend and has no clue. When the time comes and meets the right person maybe his perspective will change. As it will be less about what country is next on your list, but food, shelter, and safety for his family.

Then again he may be the type of person to just say sod it, and walk away from them. Yeh I work for someone else but they pay really well, my wife is happy as we will be moving into our new house, and my daughter will be looked after till she goes out on her own. Thats reality brother.

By the way I am always curious as to what these great digital gonads do. They always claim they make money "even when their sleeping" yet when asked what the website is or an address to go look no one ever tells, why is that.

And building your own, location independent, sustainable business that allows you to live freely and travel wherever you like in the world isn't an accomplishment?

I think you'll find it's far more of an accomplishment than following the same path 99.9% of the planet follows and taking up a job / career and working away until retirement - if you get that far of course.

Life should be lived now not delayed until the retirement that might never come. Or it could come but you might not be quite as well off as you hoped.

I'd guess no one tells you what their web site is because it's none of your business?

I wouldn't ask you to tell me the exact address and location of your current place of employment...I think you'd find it strange if I did, right?

So don't expect a digital nomad or online worker to spill the beans to you.

Many people who work online are quite private people which is why online work appealed to them in the first place so they don't go around shouting from the rooftops what they do or where you can find them to strangers.

Edited September 20, 2014 by TheSpade

[JLCrab]

Sometimes it seems that -- other than from pornography -- the way most people make money on the internet is from selling information to other persons on how to make money on the internet.

[A1Str8]

"looking for a secure future" followed by thinking of moving to Cambodia! I have just moved back to North America making 1.7 million baht per year vs 350,000 in Thailand. Cost of living (other than housing) nearly the same. At the end of the day I am pocketing 60,000baht a month.

Boring job, climate not the same .... SECURITY! I am providing myself and my family with a secure future. I am not sure I could do this in Cambodia.

I dont believe you are serious about a secure future, more likely you want to fumble thru making a bit of money via your internet business. All the while wasting your prime earning years whilst parading around Asia because it is......?

But hey, good luck I enjoyed my time in Thailand, then I growed up(yes I know).

Then you grew up and moved to America.. That's a good one.

Tremendous growth had taken place there.

[nzvic]

Head for Spain...loved it in 1964, and enjoy the young Spanish tourists I meet regularly...food is great too.

[Berkshire]

Sometimes it seems that -- other than from pornography -- the way most people make money on the internet is from selling information to other persons on how to make money on the internet.

5555555555. Yeah, porn and gambling seems to be the most profitable. All other e-commerce just seems to be tons of people trying to make a small amount of money doing the same things. Only a few can be like Alibaba or FB.

[jspill]

Sometimes it seems that -- other than from pornography -- the way most people make money on the internet is from selling information to other persons on how to make money on the internet.

Digital nomads are aware of that stereotype, it's an industry in-joke, they laugh at that too. But it's normal, it's a product that sells

5555555555. Yeah, porn and gambling seems to be the most profitable. All other e-commerce just seems to be tons of people trying to make a small amount of money doing the same things. Only a few can be like Alibaba or FB.

Well all you need is $2k/month passive income and a little bit of savings squirreled away for emergencies and you can live anywhere in the world, monitoring things from an island paradise. No need set out to be the next Facebook (worth $100bn) or decide not to even attempt starting a website because only a few can be extreme outliers on the success charts.

[JLCrab]

So does that make me an industry insider? BTW I just put in a generic search 2 words on Google and I am linked to 2 items on the first page.

[NeverSure]

So does that make me an industry insider? BTW I just put in a generic search 2 words on Google and I am linked to 2 items on the first page.

So, now write a short e-book on how to rank #1 and #2 on google. That sells too.

[thai20144]

What about this forum and many other started by a Digital Nomad?

[jspill]

What about this forum and many other started by a Digital Nomad?

I guess he didn't listen to logic like 'there's already a Lonely Planet forum that will blow me out of the water.' Or 'I'll never be as big as TripAdvisor so what's the point.'

[MobileContent]

To the OP my advise would be continue with your online business and find some consulting jobs on the sideline. If you are good in what you do online you will be surprised how many companies in Southeast Asia would be willing to hire you for big money,

I have been doing it for 18 years already and have sold over 200 websites in the past plus around 160 mobile apps in the past 3 years.

The online business always worked well for me but the sideline consulting really brings in the dosh.

[JLCrab]

So does that make me an industry insider? BTW I just put in a generic search 2 words on Google and I am linked to 2 items on the first page.

So, now write a short e-book on how to rank #1 and #2 on google. That sells too.

I'll give it out for free: Comments and Twitter links to comments -- but you have to have something on which to comment.