Living allowance (for car and accommodation)

[Mr23]

Thanks for the reassurance, Soutpeel.

Edited August 16, 2015 by Mr23

[scclarke]

I've recently returned to the UK after a stint in Thailand. It was with the company I already worked for in the UK, and continue to work for now I'm back in the UK. Additionals that I negotiated were:

* Condo (serviced)

* All bills

* Daily living allowance (£30)

* Car

* Driver

* Fuel - personal and private mileage

* Flights (monetary £10k per year, so I could choose class - could also be used to holiday in Asia or wherever, not just going to and from UK).

* Healthcare

* because of the age of my children, I didn't want their schooling disrupted so they remained in the UK. Therefore negotiated a 1 month trip per year for them over to Thailand at the companies expense.

* one-off "disruption" payment at commencement

* one-off "disruption" payment at end.

I did a 4 year stint in Madrid from 2003-2007: kids came with me then, as were much younger. Similar deal, but didn't need a driver then.

Hope that helps.

Good luck!

[Soutpeel]

I've recently returned to the UK after a stint in Thailand. It was with the company I already worked for in the UK, and continue to work for now I'm back in the UK. Additionals that I negotiated were:

* Condo (serviced)

* All bills

* Daily living allowance (£30)

* Car

* Driver

* Fuel - personal and private mileage

* Flights (monetary £10k per year, so I could choose class - could also be used to holiday in Asia or wherever, not just going to and from UK).

* Healthcare

* because of the age of my children, I didn't want their schooling disrupted so they remained in the UK. Therefore negotiated a 1 month trip per year for them over to Thailand at the companies expense.

* one-off "disruption" payment at commencement

* one-off "disruption" payment at end.

I did a 4 year stint in Madrid from 2003-2007: kids came with me then, as were much younger. Similar deal, but didn't need a driver then.

Hope that helps.

Good luck!

Oi

Dont be letting all the secrets out you will cause many of the TV faithful to choke on their somtam or mamma noodles as in their expert opinions only losers get posted to Thailand on massive pay cuts and THB 30k/m teaching English is a brillant salary for Thailand

[scclarke]

Oi

Dont be letting all the secrets out you will cause many of the TV faithful to choke on their somtam or mamma noodles as in their expert opinions only losers get posted to Thailand on massive pay cuts  and THB 30k/m teaching English is a brillant salary for Thailand 

hahaha

I'll keep quiet in future. Sssssshhhhhhh!

[Mr23]

looks like a very nice arrangement there, scclarke.

Thank you.

[DirtyDan]

You're going to get a wide variety of answers between the actual professionals hand-picked for their expertise to the people simply trying to extend their endless summer by faking bachelors degrees to teach ESL for minimum wage (people that think your living allowance offer is an outrageous salary expectation). Honestly, a lot of it depends on the lifestyle you're looking for and might I add that wine here is really expensive.

I would recommend taking a look at condo pricing online - things have changed a lot in recent years (so Mrs. Dirty tells me). Also, school fees to ensure a decent education are very expensive (more so than Oz!); this is a case of you get what you pay for.

Some things to negotiate:

Car (Driver?) - including fuel, tolls, insurance

Tax preparation

Health Insurance.

Moving allowance (helps cover the incidental like tossed food, small appliance re-purchasing, etc)

Moving assistance - people to help with condo lease, driver's licenses, bank accounts (all things you can do yourself, but much nicer with a native speaker).

Language lessons

Remember, the more they help you by hiring people to handle the little things, the more time you can focus on your job duties - big negotiation point.

Good luck and welcome back!

Edited August 16, 2015 by DirtyDan

[Mr23]

^^ All great points, DD.

You are absolutely right about condo prices having changed (if you meant cheaper?). Doing my research over the weekend, I noticed that I can get a lot more for 50K/ month rent than you could before in 2010 (when I previously lived there) and seemingly much higher quality too! Obviously a result of surplus of options on the market.

In terms of lifestyle, in all honesty I just want a comfortable lifestyle for my family (don't we all). I'm a fairly simple bloke and I've lived the Bangkok party life previously so giving up the bachelor life won't be a problem as I know exactly what I'll be missing out on.

Good point about vino, although I believe there are now decent wine bars that aren't bad.. we could pop by should the need arise. I'm more of a 'beer connoisseur' myself so wetting one's whistle shouldn't be too bad.

In regards to having a driver... I really don't think I need one. I understand it's a perk and especially in the nightmarish Bkk traffic but I enjoy my personal time in the car and usually gives me time to reflect on the day. If the option does come up, I'll see if I can just pocket the allowance instead.

Cheers mate!

[user82374298374]

No amount of money would be sufficient to induce me to bring a 3-year-old boy into a chaotic, unstable Third World country like Thailand.

Anyone who would do so is naive, short-sighted, and selfish.

[Mr23]

No amount of money would be sufficient to induce me to bring a 3-year-old boy into a chaotic, unstable Third World country like Thailand.

Anyone who would do so is naive, short-sighted, and selfish.

A lot of naive, short-sighted, and selfish people living in Thailand then I guess haha..

[DirtyDan]

A lot of naive, short-sighted, and selfish people living in Thailand then I guess haha..

If I never wandered more than 2 blocks away form Nana, I would also think BKK is a bad place for a family...

Personally, I love this town and the few friend / family that have come to visit, leave loving it too.

Edited August 17, 2015 by DirtyDan

[mikiea]

School fees should be negotiated and included in the allowances . They are the most important element of any allowance in Bkk.

why would a company pay any school fees?

huh .... you have not worked or negotiated in quite a while i feel .............

[Soutpeel]

No amount of money would be sufficient to induce me to bring a 3-year-old boy into a chaotic, unstable Third World country like Thailand.

Anyone who would do so is naive, short-sighted, and selfish.

Wow such hostility your description of Thailand leads me to believe you havent travelled much then and begs the question why are you living here then ?

And why would one be naive short sighted and selfish ?

Nana Plaza is not the whole of BKK or Thailand dear boy you need to get out a bit more

I know mutiple expats who brought young children to Thailand when they were brought here by their companies and have never heard a complaint

[konying]

School fees should be negotiated and included in the allowances . They are the most important element of any allowance in Bkk.

why would a company pay any school fees?

huh .... you have not worked or negotiated in quite a while i feel .............

work 7 days per week, and have done so for many years, just not for anyone else.

[huawei]

School fees should be negotiated and included in the allowances . They are the most important element of any allowance in Bkk.

why would a company pay any school fees?

huh .... you have not worked or negotiated in quite a while i feel .............

work 7 days per week, and have done so for many years, just not for anyone else.

I have a lot of admiration for foreigners who work for themselves as things are stacked against them. Can't see where the dollars can be made though, given the effort.

[konying]

I have a lot of admiration for foreigners who work for themselves as things are stacked against them. Can't see where the dollars can be made though, given the effort.

Its more about the freedom and being your own boss. You are right though, income is NOT stable, so security is NOT the same as working for a company, but then rewards are also not the same. Sometimes plus and sometimes minus

I often think that perhaps working for company would be better and easier and have had a few offers, but none were exciting enough to walk away from being my own boss.