Moving to Thailand

 

Thailand is a very attractive place to live, with it's climate, great culture, beautiful beaches, warm people and cheap cost of living.
Thailand also offers very different lifestyles, from busy Bangkok, cultural Chiang mai to the laid back Islands down south. There is something for everyone, but there are a few things you need to know.

 

Just arrived home after your first vacation to Thailand

Many people who come to Thailand really enjoy partying with the locals or exploring parts of Thailand. When there holiday is over and fly back home, they are wanting more of Thailand. This is what we call "Thai fever". Many people get it and make there move to Thailand without really thinking it through, Thailand is not a good place to be broke.

Countless foreigners have come to Thailand to open a bar in a tourist hot spot hoping to be successful and have an easy life here. This is one of the big mistakes that happens over and over again.
You have to be aware that the competition is high and if you don't stay a head of the competition, you will fail.

Although some do succeed, which I have seen. A lot more fail, you will really need to work hard and be on your game to make it work. I am not saying you shouldn't do it, but if you do, you need to think about it very hard before investing a lot of money.

 

Retiring in Thailand

Thailand has been a very attractive place to retire for foreigners, if you qualify for the retirement visa and have a pension coming in, thailand can be a great place to live. The price of food, rent, transport is very cheap that you will have plenty left over to enjoy yourself. There is many expat communities here that you can join too.

If you like the beach, a tropical climate, party atmosphere at an affordable rate, Thailand is a great place to retire.

Employment in Thailand

Getting employed in Thailand can be tricky if you don't have qualifications (you will also need a work permit and you can only get this after you have been employed), Thailand love there degrees and many companies will only hire a foreigner if you have a bachelors degree. If you have one, then there should be no problems in getting a job here. Wages are not as high as the US, UK or even Australia, but the cost of living in Thailand makes up for it.

If you don't have a degree, you only have a few options, you either open your own business or you become an English teacher.
Teaching English is a very easy job for most, it also depends what level you are teaching at. But if you don't have a degree you will most likely be teaching younger kids and it is not very hard at all. Although you will get paid less for it too.

Teaching in Universities can be much harder as you will need to prepare yourself better before classes, wages are not all that high, but English teachers generally get paid a lot more the Thai teachers. If you are a teacher you can generally live comfortably in Thailand.

Cost of living in Thailand

This is a hard one to answer, I have had many people ask me this via our "contact us". This is one of those "how long is a piece of string" type questions.

Everyone is different and spend there money on many different things, so it is impossible to answer, but I will try and make a simple break down that everyone can understand on a cheap budget.

Rent per month
Very nice 1 person studio apartment in Bangkok, close to BTS, Aircon, gym and in good condition - 5000 Baht per month

Food per month
Eating from street vendors with a mix of cheap restaurants and buying food from the supermarket - 5000 Baht per month

Electricity/water per month
Watching TV and using the aircon everyday will set you back about - 2000 Baht per month

Basic living cheaply but in a good standard of living in Bangkok close to a BTS station will cost about 12,000 Baht per month. But like I said before, everyone is different, some people like to go out drinking every week, some may join a gym, buy a car and use public transport. So you need to see what habits and hobbies you like doing and calculate accordingly.

If you live in the country side outside of Bangkok, it will be much cheaper.