oK, simi retired, twice divorced corporate drop out, self employed and slowly going broke looking for a better way. Three trips to southeast asia in the last year and a half, a couple months in VietNam, a bit in Lao and four month and two thai girlfriends later.  I think I am ready for something better then endless hours flying across the Pacific let alone  the cost and confusion of an apartment in California and hotels in Asia.  Thailand seems like a good choice over the others and those Issan lady, while expensive sure can be a kick.   So here is where I could use input, I could use an investment or yuk I hate this  word "job" to take up some time, generate a bit of cash and just make me feel woth while but  please not teaching English.  Then how about banks, I have an account with the Bangkok bank but my girlfriend is the only person who understands it, those Issan girls, so an English speaking bankers, how do I handle my mail, where is the best geographic place to live ( I like the ocean but Bangkok sure is fun) and how do I find a physical place to live and is it an apartment, house or converted rice barge

Ehhh if you cannot understand your bank account then Thailand is gonna be a very dangerous place for you.

The bottom line usually tells you how much is left in the bank but you must be quick because your Isaan Gf will be after it.

Pattaya/Jomtien has the ocean and the city delights that seem to be attracting you.

Plenty of rooms,bungalows, condos for rent with English signs.

Dplast - I'm considering the same move.  I've found some nice furnished apartments in Bangkok to start out with.  Some are pricy, and some are relatively cheap.  After I get the feel of the place, then I'll branch out to Pattaya or someplace near the water.   After I open up a Bangkok Bank account, I will figure out how to transfer funds monthly from my stateside bank account.  ATMs seem plentiful.  As for mail, I found a "Mailboxes are Us" place that will send mail to Bangkok weekly, or whatever for a nominal fee.  This forum has thoroughly educated me on the Visa situation.  Good luck.

Regarding mail, maybe we should do a new thread on this. Mail is terrible in Thailand, particularly if you are receiving things of value or things that look valuble. Sometimes the folks at the post office think your mail is not important and either steal it or just don't bother delivering. Not to mention it can be really slow, particularly up country.

My advice would be to minimise the amount of mail that is redirected to Thailand. For me, all my mail goes to my sister in the UK. She then faxes it to a phone number in the UK, which converts the faxes into an email attachment, which then comes to me via email. I can then print out anything that I require in hardcopy, otherwise it gets filed away on my harddrive. If you decide to do this, make sure you backup (and can restore) data on your harddrive; I use Winzip for backups (will never become obsolite), and copy stuff to an external hard drive and cdr.

come on guys, sure you can give better than this. My G/F is the only one who understands the account, he will die for sure. Just give the guy sound advise, keep your money at home. Transfer just as much as you need on a day by day basis. Never give it all :cool:

What about fed ex for mail? Is that safer?

Fed-Ex sounds like an option, but would be very expensive.  Are there Post Office Boxes available anywhere in Thailand?

Hi dplast

Don't waste your Money on Hotels

You can EASILY rent a flat, house or Condo

There are very expensive ones - but there are

PLENTY of VERY cheap ones.

There is a posting elsewhere detailing Rents in Various areas.

Do NOT send all your money here

keep as much as you can in your Home Currency

- (that is - US$ ??) - bring a debit card to use in the Cash Machines (ATMs)

There are Forieign banks in Thailand with English speaking

staff - CitiBank, HSBC, Standard Chartered ...

The General Post Office (in Charoen Krung) has Post Office Boxes and "Poste Restante" facilities.

Many "Private" / Sub Postal Agents in the Local Shopping Malls operate Post Office Boxes.

Roger

keep as much as you can in your Home Currency

Probably better off in anything except "your Home Currency" after seeing the way the greenback has been plummeting over the last 6 months

When it comes to money again all relative and as the so called financial experts say spread it about.Like most of us I keep  enough in the old Bangkok Bank/Thai Farmers.Govtm.Savings/HSBC/CAMPU (in Phnom Penh)and even a couple of pesos in the bank of the Coconut Islands in Manila for emergencies but my other pittances are well and truly in $-£-and Euro.

(I have the sign on this thing but how ???? to use it?)

The $ is hitting a bit of a low at 41 and a bit but then the Euro @50ish and the good old £ smacking 70.

Whether we will ever see the days again when we got 96Bt = £ I dont know but again I recon that sort of instability does not do any of us any good especially the Thais.

Get the cheapest ATM and drip feed... :cool:

dplast, you sound revolting. You don't like the sound of work? go bury yourself in the sand, then, andf <deleted> off.

Hey bit strong wasnt it Mrentoul ???

I dont think the guy was that out of order, was he you forum guys

Yeah, way strong - the guys only asking some Q's. Does anybody really like to work?

I keep soem dosh in the main Thai banks, but not much. Depending how you are going to stay in LOS, you may need some cash in a Thai account for the visa. Personally, I keep some at home in the UK, but not much - only enough to cover the standing orders etc I have there. Rest of my hard earned sits legally in offshore accounts in Panama and Costa Rica. These are tax free, safe (south American Switzerland) and pay good interest (you can still get 10% if you shop around - 7% easy) and full online access to it - some give Visa debits too.

Place to live. As everyone else says - rent (later you could buy if you like it and want to stay longterm).

Lots of people have offered you good advice already.

Just want to suggest that you may want to take things a bit slow.  Don't put all your eggs in one basket sort of thing.  Try living her for 6 months - 1 year first before buying a place.  Meanwhile, it's probably the best to rent.  I know a few people who have the same sort of idea as you after being in Thailand for a few months holiday.  They did lots of research and thought it'll be ok.  But in the end couldn't really stand 'living' there so had to leave after a few years.  Once you make the decision to jump like they did, it is really difficult to turn back.  

I'm not disrespecting your idea or anything, just hope you'll make sure you'll take caution in deciding this, that's all.

Good luck with the move!

Sorry..yes, way too strong. Please forgive.

Otherwise we will send wolfi after you with his HOT wax  

Some time before I die I'l like to try a HOT WAX.

Sounds...g-o-o-d.

Don't transfer all your money to Thailand, as you can't transfer it out again. OK, I don't all the rules on this, but there is a big sign at Don Meung immigration that says something like "Sums greater than 50,000 need approval before they can be transfered out of Thailand." Implying once you transfer it in, it can be difficult to transfer it out again. And don't forget the Asian crash of 97, which was a result of the stubborn people in power at the Bank of Thailand refusing to remove their peg against the US dollar, with the resultant devaluation of the Thai baht. Best keep most of your money in a stable currency like USDs, GBP, Euros, etc, and drip feed it in like other posters have suggested.

Great advise Wolf5370, but I already put most of mine in Thailand. Now I hear I cant get it out again? I would love to hear some views, although albeit off topic  quote from you.

Panama and Costa Rica. These are tax free, safe (south American Switzerland) and pay good interest (you can still get 10% if you shop around - 7% easy) and full online access to it - some give Visa debits too.

Anyway fair play to you Mrentoul, you are obviously a Gent.