Moving to Thailand

[transam]

1 hour ago, khunPer said:

Henry,

 

It's a great idea for a young pal like you, to visit Thailand – however, do not expect to be able to work. Many unskilled jobs, like working in a coffee shop, bar, and like, are reserved for Thais (and folks from neighboring countries like Laos and Burma), so at the age of 20 you will probably not have skills for obtaining a Work Permit.

 

On the other hand, your idea of coming a month and explore is great – as EU citizen you'll have 30-days visa-exempt stay on arrival – that will give you a possibility to find out what Thailand is about, and if you like it at all, and possible some contacts to how you could stay for a longer period of time.

 

A good idea is always to travel around and see different parts of Thailand, and as a young travelling alone, and looking for potential friends, you options are great, if you head for areas young people flocks to – like in  Bangkok seek accommodation in Karosan Road-area; heading up North, Chiang Mai-area is the trekking destination; eventually Phi-Phi Island, which became famous from being set in the film "The Beach"; and not to forget Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, neighboring island flocked by youngsters and the legendary Full Moon Party – check for full Moon party-dates, it's really worth experiencing, but try to avoid from October till mid January due to rainy monsoon season – in the true Ang Thong archipelago from the story about "The Beach".

 

Travelling alone, be aware of the traps – i.e. what you read, lots of it is true – so staying away from drugs (completely), never drink too much (always know what you're doing), and don't be too naive; in other words, behave yourself sensibly and respect the local culture, then you'll do fine.

 

Cheap, prices, costs – it's relative, and of course a question of what you can afford to budget with. I live at Koh Samui, so my main focus is based from here – and that's not the cheapest place in Thailand – but the youngsters coming here seem to have- and spend more money today, than the typically back-packer stories. However, you can still find reasonable prices accommodation, and if higher level aircon hotel rooms are not a must, you can find fine rooms from around 300 baht and up to 600 baht most places in Thailand, even at Samui and Phangan. If you use bus and train as transportation – and ferry to islands – it's cheap to get arround, less than 1,000 baht (around £20) for a night train 2nd class sleeper from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, or down south to Samui (including ferry transfer), day trains and busses are (much) cheaper. The bus-system can be little complicated for foreigners, all signs may be in Thai letters,, but normally people are very kind to help. Air Asia and other budget air-carriers can sometime compete with night-train-sleeper or VIP-night-bus prices, so you can get from A to B in short time for around 1,000 baht. Food is depending of where you eat, but delicious street kitchens and local restaurants will serve you a fine Thai-meal from 50 baht (little over £1) and up to around 100 baht; including free drinking water in street kitchens.

 

So you can manage to get around, sleep and eat relatively very cheap, i.e. 1,000 baht (£20-£25) a day in average is possible, but you'll need some extra money for entertainment, and some entrance fees for "must visit" attractions; do count some more than just minimum, so the trip will also be fun.

 

Feel free to ask questions.

I wish you good luck with you travelling plans...

Wish I had 25 quid a day............

[fordguy61mi]

5 hours ago, mike324 said:

If you would like to work 6 days per week and get paid 20,000 or less, you could find restaurant jobs. So no, its not something you can do easily to make income while having fun in thailand.

That's exactly what my girl does and makes, and as a Thai she barely makes ends meet, and I doubt a foreigner could live as lean as a Thai.

[fordguy61mi]

5 hours ago, madusa said:

You will finally find Thailand ladies aren't good in bed, believe me, I am a veteran in this matter. Just that they are young and some quite attractive other than that they are no good in bed.Take my word for it.

That's not been my experience.

Edited March 16, 2017 by fordguy61mi

[grollies]

2 hours ago, khunPer said:

Henry,

 

It's a great idea for a young pal like you, to visit Thailand – however, do not expect to be able to work. Many unskilled jobs, like working in a coffee shop, bar, and like, are reserved for Thais (and folks from neighboring countries like Laos and Burma), so at the age of 20 you will probably not have skills for obtaining a Work Permit.

 

On the other hand, your idea of coming a month and explore is great – as EU citizen you'll have 30-days visa-exempt stay on arrival – that will give you a possibility to find out what Thailand is about, and if you like it at all, and possible some contacts to how you could stay for a longer period of time.

 

A good idea is always to travel around and see different parts of Thailand, and as a young travelling alone, and looking for potential friends, you options are great, if you head for areas young people flocks to – like in  Bangkok seek accommodation in Karosan Road-area; heading up North, Chiang Mai-area is the trekking destination; eventually Phi-Phi Island, which became famous from being set in the film "The Beach"; and not to forget Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, neighboring island flocked by youngsters and the legendary Full Moon Party – check for full Moon party-dates, it's really worth experiencing, but try to avoid from October till mid January due to rainy monsoon season – in the true Ang Thong archipelago from the story about "The Beach".

 

Travelling alone, be aware of the traps – i.e. what you read, lots of it is true – so staying away from drugs (completely), never drink too much (always know what you're doing), and don't be too naive; in other words, behave yourself sensibly and respect the local culture, then you'll do fine.

 

Cheap, prices, costs – it's relative, and of course a question of what you can afford to budget with. I live at Koh Samui, so my main focus is based from here – and that's not the cheapest place in Thailand – but the youngsters coming here seem to have- and spend more money today, than the typically back-packer stories. However, you can still find reasonable prices accommodation, and if higher level aircon hotel rooms are not a must, you can find fine rooms from around 300 baht and up to 600 baht most places in Thailand, even at Samui and Phangan. If you use bus and train as transportation – and ferry to islands – it's cheap to get arround, less than 1,000 baht (around £20) for a night train 2nd class sleeper from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, or down south to Samui (including ferry transfer), day trains and busses are (much) cheaper. The bus-system can be little complicated for foreigners, all signs may be in Thai letters,, but normally people are very kind to help. Air Asia and other budget air-carriers can sometime compete with night-train-sleeper or VIP-night-bus prices, so you can get from A to B in short time for around 1,000 baht. Food is depending of where you eat, but delicious street kitchens and local restaurants will serve you a fine Thai-meal from 50 baht (little over £1) and up to around 100 baht; including free drinking water in street kitchens.

 

So you can manage to get around, sleep and eat relatively very cheap, i.e. 1,000 baht (£20-£25) a day in average is possible, but you'll need some extra money for entertainment, and some entrance fees for "must visit" attractions; do count some more than just minimum, so the trip will also be fun.

 

Feel free to ask questions.

I wish you good luck with you travelling plans...

Henry, this is very good advice.

[Somchai1]

Well, since you are from UK, you can VERY EASILY find a job teaching English in Thailand, tons of people stay here through this method, but why you should just ensure that you've got enough money to cover yourself for 30 days and then decide whether this country is for you, then if you decided to stay, then you can get your pick of the teaching job everyone will be throwing at you.

[joecoolfrog]

10 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

Right. I has [sic] a feeling that isn't something to plan on, ect [sic].

 

 

We really need to get those new grammar schools up and running quickly.

[DILLIGAD]

Well, since you are from UK, you can VERY EASILY find a job teaching English in Thailand, tons of people stay here through this method, but why you should just ensure that you've got enough money to cover yourself for 30 days and then decide whether this country is for you, then if you decided to stay, then you can get your pick of the teaching job everyone will be throwing at you.

Do you honestly think it's that easy to get a 'reasonable' job that includes providing a work permit?
Or were you joking??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[silverado]

58 minutes ago, ThaiVisaCom said:

Well, since you are from UK, you can VERY EASILY find a job teaching English in Thailand, tons of people stay here through this method, but why you should just ensure that you've got enough money to cover yourself for 30 days and then decide whether this country is for you, then if you decided to stay, then you can get your pick of the teaching job everyone will be throwing at you.

a job teaching English in Thailand  ????

do you know how much he will earn from this "job"  ?  the english teacher (from america) was paid 15.000 thb a month in a primary school near my home ........

for 30 days and then decide whether this country is for you  ????

do you think he (or anyone else) will be able to decide after only a small "30 days hollyday" ? 

[Suradit69]

10 hours ago, 12DrinkMore said:

It is infinitely better than joining a group of whinging old f4rt5 drinking too much beer complaining about prices, exchange rates, personal medical issues and everything else.

And yet you joined Thai Visa

[BlindMagician]

"ect" ?

 

My advice - don't.

 

They will see you coming.

[hawker9000]

22 hours ago, IsaanUSA said:

 

If you've never been to Thailand, you should DEFINITELY visit before committing to a move.  It seems crazy to randomly move to any country in the world without having ever visited.

 

Is it really that cheap?  It can be...as long as you're outside Bangkok.  Thailand can be done as cheap or as expensive as you want or don't want.  You need to have good self control, seriously.

 

Keep in mind that typically when people say SE Asia is cheap, they are referring to living like a local.  No imported beers, no imported foods, living with family, etc.

 

Also, as a 20-something, it's pretty difficult to actually live in Thailand.  You can read up on the Elite card though, http://www.thai-elite.com/

It's the easiest way for a young person to live in Thailand, visa-wise.

Thailand is simply NOT a foreign-worker friendly country.  If you want to come for a month to check things out for yourself, that's a much better idea than prematurely committing to some plan you're going to be able to find a job and take up residence.  But if you come, make SURE you have the money to live on for a month - essentially as a tourist (i.e., NOT on the cheap) - AND your return ticket, and are planning to finish your month-stay and then return to the states (and don't burn any bridges there). 

 

So how much money to remain for a month? You've probably read or heard somewhere that immigration officers can ask to see THB10K (or the equivalent, a bit less than $300US) before they let you enter.  That's not nearly enough IMO.  It can be much cheaper subsisting out in the sticks, but you won't be getting much job-hunting, or anything else, done out there.

[1BADDAT]

On 3/15/2017 at 1:45 PM, IsaanUSA said:

 

If you've never been to Thailand, you should DEFINITELY visit before committing to a move.  It seems crazy to randomly move to any country in the world without having ever visited.

 

Is it really that cheap?  It can be...as long as you're outside Bangkok.  Thailand can be done as cheap or as expensive as you want or don't want.  You need to have good self control, seriously.

 

Keep in mind that typically when people say SE Asia is cheap, they are referring to living like a local.  No imported beers, no imported foods, living with family, etc.

 

Also, as a 20-something, it's pretty difficult to actually live in Thailand.  You can read up on the Elite card though, http://www.thai-elite.com/

It's the easiest way for a young person to live in Thailand, visa-wise.

Agree with everything you said except for the elite visa info.  It is factually correct but anyone in their 20's asking if Thailand is cheap and is willing to work as a bartender probably is not the type of person who would purchase an elite visa.

[Somchai1]

12 hours ago, DILLIGAD said:

Do you honestly think it's that easy to get a 'reasonable' job that includes providing a work permit?
Or were you joking??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A look through the job listings will tell you that a lot of teaching jobs come with work permit, why are you acting surprised?

[Somchai1]

11 hours ago, silverado said:

a job teaching English in Thailand  ????

do you know how much he will earn from this "job"  ?  the english teacher (from america) was paid 15.000 thb a month in a primary school near my home ........

for 30 days and then decide whether this country is for you  ????

do you think he (or anyone else) will be able to decide after only a small "30 days hollyday" ? 

 

American earning only 15k? There's impossible unless he has made a poor choice, or the hours are much much shorter, or it's in rural Thailand, or for some other strange reasons. 15k for NES is unheard of, and nobody in the right mind should be taking up such low wages (unless you're from Philippines and that's even too low for them).

 

What's wrong with 30 days? I've known people who came here on a tourist visa, fell in love with Thailand, didn't want to leave, found a teaching job, managed to stay for years, found the love of his life, got married and are still living here after more than 10 years.

[Kwasaki]

50 minutes ago, ThaiVisaCom said:

 

American earning only 15k? There's impossible unless he has made a poor choice, or the hours are much much shorter, or it's in rural Thailand, or for some other strange reasons. 15k for NES is unheard of, and nobody in the right mind should be taking up such low wages (unless you're from Philippines and that's even too low for them).

 

What's wrong with 30 days? I've known people who came here on a tourist visa, fell in love with Thailand, didn't want to leave, found a teaching job, managed to stay for years, found the love of his life, got married and are still living here after more than 10 years.

[12DrinkMore]

1 hour ago, ThaiVisaCom said:

There's impossible unless he has made a poor choice

 

Don't make the same choice.

 

The attrition rate is very high for young hopefuls. It would be interesting to know what the statistics are. I would guess way fewer than 1% make it for a decade. And long term almost 0%, because it is utterly impossible to save enough from a 30k teacher's salary to 

 

1. get the 800k together for a retirement visa

 

2. fund a possible 20 to 30 years of retirement

 

As somebody remarked, "Thailand is a career destroyer". 

[DILLIGAD]

Or it's for guys/gals who don't care about their future.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CadeLogan]

I would just say that it is a brilliant place. You can find things to do for whatever interests you have! Amazing isn't it?

[silverado]

14 hours ago, ThaiVisaCom said:

 

American earning only 15k? There's impossible unless he has made a poor choice, or the hours are much much shorter, or it's in rural Thailand, or for some other strange reasons. 15k for NES is unheard of, and nobody in the right mind should be taking up such low wages (unless you're from Philippines and that's even too low for them).

 

What's wrong with 30 days? I've known people who came here on a tourist visa, fell in love with Thailand, didn't want to leave, found a teaching job, managed to stay for years, found the love of his life, got married and are still living here after more than 10 years.

I think you are optimistic too much, realistic  at all  NOT

[mogandave]

There is work around

[mogandave]

Absolutely correct.
To make it very simple: "Whatever work that can be performed by a Thai-National can not be performed by a foreigner".
 
That limits the career opportunities for non-Thais severely.
 
Cheers.

Were that true, only Thais would be working here, and that is just not the case.

[silverado]

3 hours ago, mogandave said:

There is work around

can you develop , please ? be more precise ? what kind of work ? where ? ...

[silverado]

4 hours ago, mogandave said:

 

Were that true, only Thais would be working here, and that is just not the case.

 

I see... among others : 

 

[mogandave]

can you develop , please ? be more precise ? what kind of work ? where ? ...

I work in manufacturing.

I would recommend finding a job here before you move here. Plenty of multi-nationals that employ expats.

It's not likely one will find a job wandering around walking street.

[Gary A]

It's OK to dream but don't let your dreams get you in trouble. Most young men think they are bullet proof and that they will always find ways to get rich. Unfortunately we all get old. Countless young men have made the move to Thailand. They come here with a pocket full of money and eventually their money runs out. Then they struggle and find that what jobs they are able to find pay only subsistence wages. Now they are happy enough by just getting by. One day they are too old to do these jobs and find themselves broke with no savings and no pension.  That means there is no hope for the future.

 

Thailand is for Thai people and those farangs who have carefully planned their retirement. It's a great place to retire and live if you have planned well for your future. It's all about money. You don't need to be wealthy but you should have enough permanent lifetime income to live comfortably.

[mogandave]

Unfortunately we all get old....

Absolutely not true.

While most expats may not, plenty of expats here make good dough. That said, finding a legal low or no skilled job would be difficult.

I well spoken professional looking guy with an engineering or business degree and a few years of experience can do okay.

I make more and spend less here than I did in the US.

[JimCrane]

The situation is not set up in a European sense where you often find young travelers finding themselves whilst working in a cafe or bookshop.

 

its more people just drinking and partying and trying to act like big shots in one way or another.

 

its always possible to make it what you want however if you really try.

 

 

[Craig krup]

It's easy to underestimate just how much calm, solidity, tolerance, forbearance, knowledge, patience, steadiness and ability to cope arrives with age and experience. At 21 I went to Morocco for a month on a bus of losers (mainly antipodean, but with the usual London low-life) and I nearly ended up in a world of trouble on a number of occasions.

 

The absolute cheapest and easiest experience would be to rent a flat as cheaply as possible for a month in Chiang Mai, because you've got a critical mass of farangs and you could probably find something okay for 6,000 baht (more or less), and that allows you to cover your major expense and establish a routine. But if you've never spent time in a really discombobulating culture it's quite something. It's like some kind of special forces selection process designed to fragment the personality. Middle class kids who've been to boarding school often have a kind of resilience other people (like me) don't have at an early age precisely because they were made to sink or swim at an early age. But for everybody else extended periods in weird countries at twenty is quite difficult.  

[thaibeachlovers]

On 3/16/2017 at 8:45 AM, 1BADDAT said:

This would seems like the best option. 

IMO one month isn't enough. Every area is so different from the other that it would be impossible to even get an idea of where one would like to stay. Just staying one month in Pattaya would leave one with no idea of what any other area would be like as it is so different, and equally so for Chiang Mai or the islands.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 3/19/2017 at 5:35 AM, Craig krup said:

It's easy to underestimate just how much calm, solidity, tolerance, forbearance, knowledge, patience, steadiness and ability to cope arrives with age and experience. At 21 I went to Morocco for a month on a bus of losers (mainly antipodean, but with the usual London low-life) and I nearly ended up in a world of trouble on a number of occasions.

 

The absolute cheapest and easiest experience would be to rent a flat as cheaply as possible for a month in Chiang Mai, because you've got a critical mass of farangs and you could probably find something okay for 6,000 baht (more or less), and that allows you to cover your major expense and establish a routine. But if you've never spent time in a really discombobulating culture it's quite something. It's like some kind of special forces selection process designed to fragment the personality. Middle class kids who've been to boarding school often have a kind of resilience other people (like me) don't have at an early age precisely because they were made to sink or swim at an early age. But for everybody else extended periods in weird countries at twenty is quite difficult.  

I don't agree with that. I spent a month in C M and regretted it every day. Has to be the most boring tourist city in Thailand, though I have never been to Issan, so can't comment on any of them. Are there any tourist cities in Issan?