How can I take the fear of my parents to move to Thailand?

[LarryBird]

New Zealand is an amazing country, with incredible natural beauty.

[Ahriman]

New Zealand is an amazing country, with incredible natural beauty.

qft

[Konini]

“Why can't you open a studio in Germany where you will have the benefit of a reasonable just system, culture, and competitors will look to actually compete with you, rather than find new and improved ways to report you to law enforcement?”

See above what I wrote about the EU, the judge system changed dramatically in Germany, foreigners who did honor killing or rapists got set free because it’s part of their culture and this is unfortunately not a single case. Many other things like that are happening as well.

Ah, so it's the Muslims. Got it.

[Konini]

@RedQualia

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I will definitely think about Vietnam. Greece doesn’t sound good to me cause I dislike the politics of the EU.

And yet you are quite happy with the politics of a country who have elections and once the government get comfortable a military coup is staged? 19 in total since democracy was brought into the country in 1932. That's an average of one every four years.

Just sayin'........

[NancyL]

Ahriman, you may wish to check out the thread currently running on how the U.S. dollar is now fetching 35 baht or more. I think you may find some kindred spirits here in Chiang Mai -- like this guy:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845644-thai-baht-at-35-us/?p=9715608

[Konini]

Ahriman, you may wish to check out the thread currently running on how the U.S. dollar is now fetching 35 baht or more. I think you may find some kindred spirits here in Chiang Mai -- like this guy:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845644-thai-baht-at-35-us/?p=9715608

Oh dear. I haven't been watching that thread because it sounded boring. Off I go to read it all the way through

[xjbond]

You need to bring them over the Chang Mai. Sounds a good choice business. Your most important first step is to get a good lawyer to do the main setup, company, work permits etc. If you are interested I have lived in KHON KAEN for 7 yrs I set a business up, I have 2 very good friends she is a top Thai Lawyer who also does government work her husband is an Australian with a Dr Degree. She is very strong on looking after the rights of Falangs speaks very good English. They have clients all over the country and know all the pit falls.

Email me through ThaiVisa if you would like their details.

And NO, to the odd one who would ask how much I will make on this, JACK SHIT. I will do it to help the guy.

They'll still ask. Afterall, this is TVF !

[sammygood]

sounds like another dreamer....

yoga teacher? thai only

[LarryBird]

It's funny, I had a friend who was thinking about moving his family over, so he could be a yoga teacher. He told me he was going to be making 300,000 baht a month doing it. I told him he was optimistic.

[Linzz]

1. Risky? Is the political situation stable enough?

2. Is this your folks living their dream or yours?

3. Agreed, after Germany it will be ridiculously hot and uncomfortable enough for them to pine after sitting around a fire in Germany in winter.

4. Greece? Someone suggests? You think they won't find ways you've never thought of to tax your business to pay back the $$M's coincidentally Greece owes Germany?

5. Economically Germany is strong. Do your business there where it will be appreciated and as others have said RETIRE in Thailand with your parents if need be but not involved in a business at their age (if that was the intention).

[ilostmypassword]

3. Agreed, after Germany it will be ridiculously hot and uncomfortable enough for them to pine after sitting around a fire in Germany in winter.

This is exactly why Germans shun Thailand in the winter.

[phrodan]

For years I tried to persuade my cousin and her husband to move

here,they used to come for 3 months per year and loved it,but nothing

would make them do the move,with the sale of their property and pensions,

they could have lived like Kings,plus better weather,at the moment they

will be huddled around the fire every winter.

The excuses were,we cannot speak Thai,there are no libraries here,

how will we receive our pension,what will happen if we fall ill,we would

have no friends here.they were happy to come for 3 months at a time,

but could not make the break from the UK.

So good luck with trying to get your parents to move here,especially

if you want them to invest in a business.

regards worgeordie

* Maybe they couldn't handle more than three months a year with you.

Amazing how the obvious escapes some people.

[northernjohn]

Well you have certainly received a lot of advice here. I would tend to listen to Gonzo if I was you. He is and has been a proven success. do your home work with a lawyer so you will be prepared for unexpected events. There was an offer of assistance with this take it.

There is no question in my mind about it being a difficult thing to set up. But if you do your home work and are prepared to work hard you will have a chance. Check out some of the nay sayers. Many of them as a rule have nothing good to say about Thais.

As for your parents well that is a personal thing. As has been pointed out the treatment of meat is a red herring as they don't eat it. If they did they could get it at many western type markets along with other western food.

Bottom line be prepared to work hard and willing to accept little gain at first. I doubt that there will be lots of competitors opening up if you succeed. That is more likely to happen on inexpensive business to get into.

The one thing that worried me was you mentioned a cheap house. I think you are going to have to think bigger than that.

Good luck no matter which way you go.

[puukao]

I have heard there are tons of plastics and chemicals in the fruit in CM........oh, they told you it was organic??? LOL. believe nothing.

have your parents take yoga to relax.

the heat can be very bad for your health......and the pollution will be horrible for older lungs for a few months out of the year

i think CM is awesome, but there are some realities to consider

[steven100]

like I said, every expat I know goes to CM looking for a yoga resort.

no one goes there for sex & bars and mountain air ...

[connda]

I'd suggest your parent (and you) find I different country to open your business in. This is not a foreigner friendly place. Yeah, it's pretty, but so are a lot of other locations in this very large world.

Anyway, have you done your business plan yet. Do you know how many yoga places already are here in Chiang Mai. What's going to set you apart from the masses?

Well, that is unless you are a certified Iyengar instructor, in which case I'll be one of your first students. Lol

Edited August 22, 2015 by connda

[connda]

Thank you very much minimaxx for your constructive post.

​"- Why do your parents have to move with you in the first place? May it be possible to try it out by your own for the first months?"

Politics and economy are changing dramatically in the EU. The EU is suppressing the people more and more by taxes etc. There might even be a war in Europe because the USA want to have a war with Russia. Recently the EU set up a law which allows the police to shoot demonstrators even if they are unarmed. That’s also a reason why I would like my parents to move away from Europe.

"- What are your reasons/expectations for/in opening A yoga studio IN Chiang Mai?"

Many yogis, lots of national parks so I can offer nature yoga retreats, food is growing very good, it’s very cheap, people are even more friendly than in the south and the climate is very good.

"- What are other possible options for the near future?"

Moving to New Zealand, Canada or Indonesia and opening a yoga retreat there.

I also made a huge list of pros and cons of living in Chiang Mai already that helped my parents a lot.

“All the best!“

Thank you!

@ Impulse

“Your parents have every reason to be afraid.”

What are those reasons?

“What's your plan for registering the business and getting yourself and your parents permission to live and work in Thailand?”

My parents have lots of savings, they are pensioners with a high pension and I have lots of savings as well. My parents wouldn’t have to work there so they could get a retirement visa and I would have to set up a company.

“Who will your 51% Thai owners be? Who will your Thai employees be? “

The Thai owner will be a good friend I know for many years or I heard that lawyers provide Thai people. Does somebody have experiences with that? My employees will be a Thai housemaid, cook and gardener. I guess people from Myanmar don’t count do they?

@NancyL

“What is scary is spending your retirement years running a business in Thailand where you pour your time, energy and money into a proposition that is doomed to failure.”

555, to summarise: you know pretty much nothing about me, my parents and our plans but you already know that our business would be doomed to failure à smart conclusions. I feel very lucky being able to judge things more differentiated and not having to live with a mindset like that. Thank you god and thank you for showing me how blessed I am!

“And your parents will be stuck in Hang Dong, where they'll be isolated from other people their own age and nationality.”

There are huge expat communities in Chiang Mai, many people who come to the yoga retreat will be their age and nationality. They can always invite friends, family or other interesting people to live at the resort.

“P.S. -- this is your dream, not theirs.”

I already wrote that my parents want to create a yoga retreat with me they also think it’s the thing to do.

@LarryBird

“There's a yoga studio on every corner now. It's the latest fad, (although an old one.)”

We don’t even have to make any money from the resort cause we have enough savings. We open the resort because we want to be around of other holistic and spiritual people if we would only have 10 students per month that’s totally fine. Besides we could also export dried and fresh organic fruits from our permaculture garden to first world countries many people are willing to pay lots of money for organic exotic fruits.

“Why can't you open a studio in Germany where you will have the benefit of a reasonable just system, culture, and competitors will look to actually compete with you, rather than find new and improved ways to report you to law enforcement?”

See above what I wrote about the EU, the judge system changed dramatically in Germany, foreigners who did honor killing or rapists got set free because it’s part of their culture and this is unfortunately not a single case. Many other things like that are happening as well.

“competitors will look to actually compete with you, rather than find new and improved ways to report you to law enforcement?”

Could you explain me this part again please?

@worgeordie

“So good luck with trying to get your parents to move here,especially

if you want them to invest in a business.”

Thanks for wishing me good luck my parents would not even have to invest their money it’s alright if they pay a small part from the rent of the house.

@arunsadka

“Agriculture is a prohibited profession for foreigners so these competitors may grass you to the labor department for example if you are seen working in the garden instead of Thai employee.”

Wow, I didn’t know about that. The work I’m planning to do in the garden would probably be just enough to feed my parents and me so I guess that’s legit but I still can imagine that it might cause troubles.

“Don't forget the crooked policemen who will stop by regularly to fleece every Pfennig they can bleed from you.”

I didn’t think about them as well :/ Do you think they even demand protection money from yoga resorts?

@CNXBKKMAN

“I would say do it but dont invest more than your happy to lose, profits could be slim or non at all? Would you still be happy doing it if that was the outcome?”

Yeah, I do it mainly to live together with my parents in a warm country with other interesting people having the same interests as us and eating lots of organic fresh food and you are right, we are a vegetarian family.

@elgordo38

“A lot of good advice in the above post and baby steps is the best idea start small.”

I agree baby steps are the way to go.

I think Peru would be a better choice for you. Trust me on that.

[nowretired]

I think the parents are very wise in staying as far away from Chiang Mia as possible !

If you want a "yogi" business set it up, fund and manage it yourself.

If the parents really.really want to visit they should do so on a single entry tourist visa!

[Dogmatix]

Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to move to Thailand. For many on TV the paramount reason is to get laid more easily and cheaply than in their home countries and/or to make a fresh start after a divorce at home, rather face an impoverished and celibate old age at home in a more expensive country. Some farang couples decide to retire in Thailand too and I know some like that but they knew very well what their reasons and finances were without needing to be persuaded.

Most couples would not want to leave their home environment though for an uncertain future in a developing country. Being concerned at local wet markets indicates lacks of ability to adapt. That problem is not specific to Thailand. As a child I went to wet markets in countries Southern European countries and there were flies buzzing around the meat and fish there too and there probably still are. Wet markets are like that the world over but these days you don't have to shop in them, as there are supermarkets and hypermarkets. The reality is that the average Thai is probably much cleaner and fastidious about food than the average German or other Northern European. The worst food poisoning I ever had in my life was in Austria and I have lived in Asia for 30 years now.

Anyway I think the desire to move to a foreign country without free and excellent healthcare like they have in Germany at a more advanced age has to come from within themselves.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Dogmatix