theguyfromanotherforum Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 An article from Forbes from a few days ago explains why Thailand is the best destination for digital nomads. Not surprisingly, the choice destination seems to be Chiang Mai. I am not sure if I am allowed to link the article, so in summary the author spent 6 months in Thailand (presumably on tourist visa) and made following points. There’s a landscape for everyone Fast Internet and good co-working spaces Extremely affordable Easygoing, friendly locals Strong English Plenty of other nomads They take shopping seriously Amazing Weather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLCrab Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Yes and none of the 8 reasons has anything to do with visas or other arrangements as to what basis the guy spent 6 months in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillageIdiot Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 23 minutes ago, JLCrab said: Yes and none of the 8 reasons has anything to do with visas or other arrangements as to what basis the guy spent 6 months in Thailand. Agreed. No mention of visa hassles. No mention of easy to get pussy either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossy Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Here's the article if anyone is interested http://www.forbes.com/sites/bishopjordan/2017/01/05/thailand-best-digital-nomad-destination/#3650ddca4324 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabricus Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 (edited) The article doesn't say how these guys pull in the green. Are they coders or bloggers? EDIT: Has anyone ever met a digital nomad? Are they mainly Europeans / Americans? Edited January 10, 2017 by Fabricus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeniau96 Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Generally agree but serious reservations re the "good English", no mention of visa hassles. Don't understand what is "taking shopping seriously". Great food is very affordable. Services are low cost but often of unreliable, untrained quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabricus Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 (edited) Just found this: http://beachub.org/ Aimed specifically at digital nomads, it's basically an internet cafe on Ko Phangan that bills itself as "the world's first beachfront co-working space". Here's another one: Edited January 10, 2017 by Fabricus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzmurray Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 What a shame that a publication like Forbes, does not stress that the work is illegal unless the "nomad" is paying a company to do his income tax and work permit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzmurray Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 2 hours ago, Fabricus said: Just found this: http://beachub.org/ Aimed specifically at digital nomads, it's basically an internet cafe on Ko Phangan that bills itself as "the world's first beachfront co-working space". Here's another one: And yet again, no mention of income tax or work permits ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diplomatico Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 And here is a quite different perspective by an actual digital nomad that spent time in Chiang Mai. Excerpt: "I was skeptical about the DN community here, and I was right about it. It's a pyramid scheme. It's a bunch of people selling each other shit to supplement their income." and "Nomad workshops, nomad conferences, nomad gear, nomad retreat, people giving talks to gullible people to build a following they can sell shit to." https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/5lkf2i/chiang_mai_reviewed_by_a_skeptic/ (Kudos to TVF member mamborobert for the original link.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedemon Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 7 minutes ago, muzmurray said: And yet again, no mention of income tax or work permits ! Maybe that is because digital nomads aren't ever prosecuted for that. I would think that most of them don't even know, let alone care about outdated and largely unenforceable regulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeahSiam Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 1 hour ago, muzmurray said: And yet again, no mention of income tax or work permits ! Who gives a shit? Sorry, but the world's moved on without you It's not like before where teachers and telesales people were being nabbed in an office or classroom without their blue book. Today, the chances of being caught working online are virtually zero. Who knows? Maybe one day, the authorities will cotton on to the fact that some of these people earn well enough to pay taxes in Thailand and modernize existing laws to introduce a visa category to accommodate them. Of course, on that day, this forum will be swimming in bile from all the holier-than-thou curmudgeons who can't stand it that people are out there making a living without having to punch a clock like they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLCrab Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 (edited) If the Thai authorities wanted to create incentives for the digital nomad, they could do so today but as their stated objective is to create incentives such that jobs are created for Thai computer graduates and the digital nomad modus operandi does not do so, that may be why in good part that there are no such incentives as of today for the digital nomad community. Edited January 10, 2017 by JLCrab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedemon Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 3 minutes ago, JLCrab said: If the Thai authorities wanted to create incentives for digital nomad, they could do so today but as their stated objective is to create incentives such that jobs are created for Thai computer graduates and the digital nomad modus operandi does not do so so, that may be why in good part that there are no such incentives as of today for the digital nomad community. And as a consequence the Thai Labour Department doesn't need to issue Work Permits and the Digital Nomads don't need to pay tax. Win win? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLCrab Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 (edited) You can look at a long list of BOI IT-related- companies that supply jobs for Thai computer grads such that I don't think they are too concerned about the taxes that might be contributed by the digital nomad sitting alone at his/her computer. And it seems to me that Thai Labour and Immigration have both told Ministry of Foreign Affairs that, as long as you are willing to give out back-to-back-to-back tourist visas, don't expect us to do anything about what these 'tourists' do once they enter Thailand. Edited January 10, 2017 by JLCrab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotheruser Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 The visa really isn't that big of a deal. If you are a digital nomad and earn even somewhat decent money you should be able to afford a 5 year TE assuming you aren't over 50. The 100,000 a year is a small cost of doing business as everything else is so cheap according to the article. If you don't earn enough to lay out for a visa whatever kind it is to live here then you are a digital refugee not a digital nomad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeahSiam Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 3 minutes ago, anotheruser said: The visa really isn't that big of a deal. If you are a digital nomad and earn even somewhat decent money you should be able to afford a 5 year TE assuming you aren't over 50. The 100,000 a year is a small cost of doing business as everything else is so cheap according to the article. If you don't earn enough to lay out for a visa whatever kind it is to live here then you are a digital refugee not a digital nomad. Might come as a shock to some, but not everyone wants to stay in Thailand for 5 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotheruser Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 (edited) 8 minutes ago, YeahSiam said: Might come as a shock to some, but not everyone wants to stay in Thailand for 5 years I don't want to either. I had to do something to get a visa to stay here for the past year and a half or so. So I got a TE I have no intention of being here another 3.5 years. They don't give many other options for people under 50. That news may come as a shock to you. So as you can see the article ignores one of the most important things for a digital nomad which would be easy visas. Edited January 10, 2017 by anotheruser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeahSiam Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 1 minute ago, anotheruser said: I don't want to either. I had to do something to get a visa to stay here for the past year and a half or so. So I got a TE I have no intention of being here another 3.5 years. They don't give many other options for people under 50. That news may come as a shock to you. No it doesn't since I'm under 50 myself but no way would I hand over 100K a year for a visa that still wouldn't allow me to work anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotheruser Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Just now, YeahSiam said: No it doesn't since I'm under 50 myself but no way would I hand over 100K a year for a visa that still wouldn't allow me to work anyway. As long as you are happy with what you are doing for visas to stay here is all that matters. For me the TE still came out to be a good value considering the alternatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rc2702 Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Judging by a lot of posts and topics I don't see a lot of bloggers or coders on here. Im sure there are a few.but I read about Eretailers selling stuff from a pc and the daily issues, postage etc. I think digital nomads come in many forms but the ones I expect to become more apparent are online retailers who place stock into a 3rd party fulfillment centre and focus on the core - selling. Phone communication is just obsolete for that industry now and even when it's required it too can be farmed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrenn Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 16 hours ago, JLCrab said: Yes and none of the 8 reasons has anything to do with visas or other arrangements as to what basis the guy spent 6 months in Thailand. There are no visa hassles if you are cashed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLCrab Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 I guess you're right as the article was targeted at the digital nomads who read Forbes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabricus Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 16 hours ago, Rc2702 said: Judging by a lot of posts and topics I don't see a lot of bloggers or coders on here. You can often recognize bloggers by their piss-poor writing. They're usually wannabe authors with little or no discernible talent. Many of them go the self-publishing route and peddle junk on Amazon. As for coders, I'm not quite sure how you'd spot one. Ditto programmers and graphic designers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLCrab Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Sure -- but then you have the guys on here who say that they know countless persons in Thailand who are bloggers, programmers, data base managers, SEO consultants, affiliate-types, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rc2702 Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 19 hours ago, JLCrab said: If the Thai authorities wanted to create incentives for the digital nomad, they could do so today but as their stated objective is to create incentives such that jobs are created for Thai computer graduates and the digital nomad modus operandi does not do so, that may be why in good part that there are no such incentives as of today for the digital nomad community. Or maybe it's such a minority it's not currently worth the time and effort. If roads cannot be policed correctly how do you tackle a nomadic tourist. Ban all electronics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balo Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 On 1/10/2017 at 0:14 PM, Fabricus said: EDIT: Has anyone ever met a digital nomad? Are they mainly Europeans / Americans? They are both , and you can also include Asians like the Japanese . I work as a "digital nomad" myself , I'm over 50 so I do not hang out with the younger people. And I do not pay tax in Thailand , why should I ? I pay tax in my home country, my income is not in Thailand. I receive my salary in Europe into a bank account there. I use my laptop and connect remotely to my home country , it doesnt matter if I stay in Thailand or anywhere else.. Then I spend my money here , to support the Thai economy . This is legal as long as you have a visa to stay here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLCrab Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Well that's the whole thing it seems to me -- Labour and Immigration don't care what anyone does after someone enters Thailand as long as Ministry of Foreign Affairs keeps handing out Tourist Visas to people who aren't tourists but are living full time in Thailand and doing whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabricus Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 7 minutes ago, JLCrab said: Well that's the whole thing it seems to me -- Labour and Immigration don't care what anyone does after someone enters Thailand as long as Ministry of Foreign Affairs keeps handing out Tourist Visas to people who aren't tourists but are living full time in Thailand and doing whatever. I disagree. Immigration does care if a foreigner takes jobs / revenue away from Thais. You could test this yourself: 1. Tomorrow go and buy one of those fruit carts 2. Place a layer of ice at the bottom and stock it up with pineapples, melons and guavas. 3. Start selling! 4. Park you cart outside the local police station and offer discounts of freshly sliced pineapple. 5. The police will be puzzled, but will leave you alone. 6. Do the same at the local immigration office. 7. When the office girls ask what you're doing, tell them you've run out of cash and need to earn more to buy a flight home. They'll leave you alone. 8. Finally, park your cart next to a little old lady in the main shopping street. 9. Within 30 minutes you'll be busted. Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchadeBoy Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 How many people do you know in real life that have been deported for working online? How many people do you know that work online? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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