Should I Move To Thailand?
One very common question I get revolves around how one goes about relocating to Thailand. Basically, should I move to Thailand type questions. Naturally there are as many answers to this question as there are people out there dreaming of relocating to a new and exotic locale.
I’m going to try and give some general ideas of things to consider if you’re contemplating a move to Thailand. This should give you a good baseline and allow you to further consider how your own situation applies to a dramatic move like this. The answers are tailored to those thinking of moving permanently or at least semi-permanently (say 5+ years).
All my thoughts are based on the same questions I’ve asked myself before finally deciding to make the move to Thailand.
Cultural Considerations
Some people have asked me about moving to Thailand and after further email discussions with them I’ve found that they’ve never been to Thailand or at best have spent maybe 2-3 weeks there as a tourist. Honestly you need to get a better feel for the country than this. Life in different parts of Thailand can be dramatically different, from the cost considerations to the pace of life to the availability of western goods and western associations.
If you’re planning on making the move I recommend that you spend a minimum of 2-3 months living in Thailand on a normal (not tourist!) type budget. I believe it takes this long for culture shock to start to set in and to get a feel for what your life might be like if you move to Thailand.
I know it can be nearly impossible for some of you to get this amount of time away from work, but consider the consequences if you drop everything, head off to Thailand and after 4-5 months decide that it’s not for you. Yes you’ll likely be able to move back to your homeland, but wouldn’t it be much better to plan a longer trip to get a feel for things before you cut all ties back home?
Some people thrive on the differences in Thailand and some begin to be annoyed by even the smallest things. You need to find out which you are BEFORE the move. There are definitely some good character traits to have if you’re planning a move such as this. I would consider these to be an adventurous spirit, adaptability, patience and a certain amount of ingenuity and creativity just to name a few. I’m sure you can come up with more.
Obviously an adventurous spirit will do better in most cases, but if you don’t have the cash to fund an occasional trip outside your home city or town you could easily become quite frustrated living in Thailand. And this brings us to the next subject…
Financial Considerations – Show Me The Money
It’s often been said that Thailand is cheap. While this is true in some respects, in all actuality if you want to enjoy yourself, especially in Bangkok or any of the tourist locations you need money. Maybe not as much money as you would need in America, the U.K. or Australia, but I guarantee that your life will be much easier and enjoyable if you’re not living on a shoestring budget in Thailand.
Unless you’re not planning on staying long (maybe 1-2 years) or if you’re still quite young with limited needs, you’ll want to have a stash of cash before your move. Quite likely the older you are the larger your stash should be as retirement age looms closer. There are no government safety nets in Thailand, especially for you living there as a guest.
The amount of your stash is based on your own discretion, but I would say at a minimum you’ll want enough for a ticket back home as well as 3 months living expenses (6 is better). Moving to another country is no reason to throw caution to the winds, on the contrary, it requires more planning, budgeting and discipline. Once you have your initial funding you’ll need to think about your monthly expenses once you’re set up and living in Thailand.
So, how much is enough for a monthly budget? Obviously this is up to your own personal preferences, family situation and lifestyle. A minimum figure of 30,000 baht is frequently bandied about in popular forums and websites. As a single person you can probably get by with this amount assuming you’re not a drinker. Many Thai’s live on considerably less and seem to be quite happy. Let’s be clear though…you are not Thai and most likely you’re used to a different standard of living. If you want to be able to go out on the weekend, enjoy trips to the islands or even to other SE Asian destinations (and why wouldn’t you?) and occasionally eat western foods you will need more than 30,000 baht a month. And if you have a wife and kids you can probably double that figure at a minimum.
Personally I don’t think I would consider making the move if I couldn’t be sure of at least 45,000 baht a month as you’ll see in my own personal budget when I post it. So, how will you get the money you need to live?
Supporting Yourself – Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees
Obviously for those of you that are older you will have pensions, savings and the like to live on. Those younger than retirement age will need to find some other way to come up with the money they need each month. Thailand doesn’t make it easy and there aren’t a lot of jobs that foreigners can do while living in Thailand.
If you’re working for a company that has offices in Bangkok your best bet is to find some way to get an expat package. I wish that was my situation.
Otherwise you’ll need to find employment in Thailand. Three fields come to mind as being popular ways for foreigners to live and earn while in Thailand. The first is teaching English. This is a viable solution, especially if you have a university degree, are willing to get a TEFL cert and can be entertaining and patient with kids. You should also be a native English speaker and if you’re blond or a woman you have a definite advantage. Keep in mind that you will not get rich teaching English. Salaries start around 35,000 baht a month in Bangkok (less outside the capital) though you should be able to supplement that with private teaching once you get established.
A second way to earn a living is to work in the offshore oil industry. This will actually mean that half your time is spent outside Thailand on the rigs, but I believe you’ll make much better money than you would as an English teacher. This is probably a better alternative for single guys since you’ll be away from home so much. If anyone knows more about this kind of employment in Thailand I would love to hear from you either in the comments below or directly.
The third alternative is to create a portable income through online work. This is ideal for those in computer fields such as programming and graphic design. Some of you might even get lucky enough to find a telecommuting job in your home country that allows you to work from Thailand and get paid in dollars, pounds or euro’s. There are also many sites you can use to find freelance work online, if you plan on going this route I recommend starting now since rates typically start pretty low until you build a client base and a name for yourself. The good thing about creating an income through online work and freelancing is that you are pretty much in control of your income. If you need more money simply take on a few more projects, if you need more time take on less. Here’s a list of 18 freelancing websites to get you started if you’re interested.
Final Thoughts
This was not meant to be a comprehensive guide to living in Thailand, but rather something to get you started thinking about what you’ll need to do to get ready to make the move. Thailand isn’t going anywhere so there’s no need to make a hasty move. I’ve been planning the move for over 3 years now, so you know I’ve put a lot of thought into it already.
I’m not saying that you can’t drop everything and just take off, some have done just that and have been very successful. If I was 24 again I might make the same impulsive move myself. Now that I’m older I am a bit more cautious and want to make sure that my new life gets off to the best start possible. Hopefully this post has given you all some things to think about. Maybe you’re more ready than you thought you were to make the move and maybe I’ve pointed out some things you haven’t thought of. And hopefully you’ve thought of some things that I haven’t mentioned and you can help us all by letting us know in the comments below.
Whatever situation you’re in and whatever you decide is best for you I wish you all the best in your dreams and plans to move to Thailand and start a new chapter of your life.
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hello..good day!!we are filipino and we are planning go to thailand as tourist to find a job..me and my boyfriend are affraid to look a job there without any ideas..what are the jobs available for those high school graduate?we have lots of experience here in philippines..do you think we can find a job there easily?and our money can bring is 50,000 pesos..do you think is enough for us? we are also available for waiter and waitress..hope to hear you soon please..
thank’s..
Problem with having to work in an Asian economy is you have to compete with Indians as well as locals. Indians will quickly adapt to living on next to nothing (well India is a slum) and a Westerner wont be able to compete with them on salary. All around the world, in many countries, this same problem is being addressed. No answer yet as every one seems to elicit calls of racism.
I read your article on living in Thailand and found it quite interesting, I have been coming to Thailand for the last 9 years and fell in love with the place straight away, so I have lived here for the last 7 years, im 49 years old and work off shore in the diving/oil industry, I do 6 weeks at work and have 6 weeks here, it is a very good lifestyle and I look at shortly retiring to live on a income generated by buying and renting appartments long term on the cheap, I have found it does not matter how qualified you are for the job off shore you won,t get it unless you know someone who works for them, it is all about who you know and not what you know, but Thailand is FULL of offshore workers so get yourself around and known to get contacts, I frequently get offered jobs based at Thailand or Singapore but im happy with the company I work for, there are many jobs out there but you have to get known, but im still not sure if retirement here is good for me because of the boredom factor, I am married to a Thai and we have a baby, but the beauty of this work is maybe i,ll just semi retire and do say 2 trips a year, the money generated by them will keep financially secure to live here for another 6 to 7 years, but you would still seem retired.
I read your post I thought you maybe able to give some more info.
I’m looking at moving in to Phuket area of Thailand. But I know I’ll need a job.
I’m no teacher but I have been working in the hydraulic industry for about ten years now.
I’m from the states, I moved to Australia about 8 years ago. But it’s just not enough for me anymore.
I work with the worlds biggest hydraulic company and fly all over western Australia to mine site/refineries fixing equipment.
But it’s like you said you need to now someone. I’m not sure how I do that since I live here. My question is could you tell me if hydraulic technicians a sought after field. And could you possibly point me in the right direction.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
I read your post. I am seeking workL in the oil industry. Offshore Thailand would be my ideal location. I was wondering if you could assist me with a contact. It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
@David Bramble
I read your post. I am seeking workL in the oil industry. Offshore Thailand would be my ideal location. I was wondering if you could assist me with a contact. I also have fell in love with Thailand. I am a younger man and have trouble with people taking me serious about my ambitions and desires. I am a southern boy from the states and know the value of the dollar and work hard for it. All I need is and oppurtunity to prove myself and a favor from a stranger. If there is anyway you can help it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
as i said in my earlier post… first you decide. deciding works for anything. you decide what you want to do. yes or no. i am not saying it is easy. most people want to figure out the ‘how to’ before they decide and that is why they don’t decide on too many things. i have been living here 26 yrs. i struggled at first and after a few years i started out as a buying agent. then i started up a packing and shipping company. both are for sale now after 20 yrs by the way because now i have decided to work in the internet arena. after 2 yrs of that we have 10 thai staff and gross around $300 a day. it is not easy. we worked at it for more than a year before we made money but my staff work hard at it especially if instructed properly.
the guy who thinks he has to leave his wife is choosing to do it. there is always a way to make something work. he is stuck on the problem instead of looking for a solution. finding a solution to this is harder because then you actually have to do something. i am not saying he is lazy but i am saying he is looking at his situation from one angle and he should be looking at it from another. but he is choosing to go back to germany.
You right, I stuck. But without money there is no way to make anything.
I hold a Non ImmO Visa, where you get about 15 month. To get 1 year more, you need money or work. So at the moment there is no other solution as to go back. Or I`m blind? Please enlighten me.
It is sad, to leave my wife, but sometimes it is neccesary to go back, to get clearance for new energy and ideas. I`ll be back….
From what i’ve read (no personal experience in this), it’s hard to find jobs in the offshore oil industry in Thailand when you are inexperienced.
Those jobs are only for senior and experienced.
As for internet income, i’m all for it but i’m afraid this will work for 10 % or less of the people who tries…
I think the “official” number for success in internet marketing is 5%. The other 95% give up and that’s why they don’t make money. Really this isn’t rocket science.
Here’s a good reason to check if you should move or not.
Website calculates how your life might be like in another country. (ifitweremyhome.com)
Welcome to IfItWereMyHome.com
The lottery of birth is responsible for much of who we are. If you were not born in the country you were, what would your life be like? Would you be the same person?
IfItWereMyHome.com is your gateway to understanding life outside your home. Use our country comparison tool to compare living conditions in your own country to those of another. Start by selecting a region to compare on the map to the right, and begin your exploration.
You can also use our visualization tool to help understand the impact of a disaster. The Pakistan Flood and BP Oil Spill are currently featured. Check out the individual pages to gain some perspective on these awful tragedies.
Tell me what you think.
That’s an interesting site and fun to play with. I was surprised by some of the results, especially the ones regarding employment and class divide.
Awesome site.
Just remember that anything less than 5% is not statistically significant. Being an American, I’d say any divide in class is not generally significant either. It’s divides in culture that do more to damage a person’s likelihood of success in America, rather than disparity of income.
I think the answer has to be yes, if this is what you want to do. I am not convinced that coming to Thailand for a few months will necessarily result in one making the correct decision. Living in Thailand as a tourist, even if it is for 3 months, may well prevent one being able to make longer term decisions/commitments (e.g. longer term house rental, motorbike purchase, finding a long-term girlfriend, or whatever is relevant to each individual) and not making these decisions/commitments may result in the wrong kind of experience. Worst case it may put you off making a long term lifestyle change that could have been so much better if it was permanent. It will also likely distract from the serious business of increasing one’s savings to a level that provides at least a very basic level of income (which I believe is all that is required before making a move abroad).
In terms of income, I have worked extremely hard to secure this (though it is modest) and made a great many sacrifices to my lifestyle in the west for a great many years in order to achieve what I hope will be a sustainable long term income. But if I had not done so, and if I did not have a degree and I wanted to move to Thailand, I would get a fake degree from one of the many places they can be obtained and work as a teacher under the radar while working for a degree on-line and then get a legitimate teacher’s job. There is always a way and those who believe in this philosophy should be able to make a go of their ambitions. If you feel you would be a bad teacher, really make a go of it and try to engage with the kids, try to stay positive.
Even if 30k, or 20k or less…. a month is not a huge amount of money, with the correct attitude and outlook one should (within reason) be happy irrespective of income (provided their income is not below a level to sustain the basic requirements – healthy food, shelter etc). In the search for an income that meets other’s expectations of what is required to make them content, there is a real danger you will never feel you have enough and keep striving for more – it’s human nature.
If you cannot afford to live in a western area, move out to the sticks and learn Thai and live on 15k a month. Eat Thai food and read books. Jog more instead of drinking beer…whatever allows you to adjust your income to an affordable level. If you think you are unhappy because your income is too low, take up sketching, or voluntary work…there are millions of fulfilling activities that are not dependent on a particular level of income. If you think your children’s education is lacking, then give them extra lessons yourself after their schooling for the day has finished.
Of course if you have a large income, that’s great (although I think it takes more than this to be happy). I am directing this comment at those who use a small income as an excuse to have a less fulfilling life than they might otherwise have.
I get a bit tired of the post on some blogs (this one excepted as it seems to have a very balanced readership and author) that lament a good lifestyle is only possible on xx baht a month. I struggle to accept this. Provided there is a minimum amount of income, there are other far more important considerations in terms of achieving a contented lifestyle.
You make a very good point here Basty. Your level of happiness is oftentimes NOT directly correlated with your level of income. There are so many opportunities to do things that will make you happy that do not require money (or much money) and these are often the most fulfilling in terms of your own happiness and growth. The problem with this type of question is that the answer is so individual, but I have tried to present a balanced perspective and to get the reader thinking about their OWN needs, desires and motivations. I don’t know every persons situation, but I do know that many people have a tendency to hide things from themselves and sometimes all they need is a wake up call to get them to inspect their own lives and make a true assessment.
Great and thought provoking post Steve, many thanks.
Hi Steve,
very helpful information.
I have been in Thailand for more than one year. To find work in Thailand is very difficult, especially for non academics like me.
I`am a 41 year old Master Plumber and Heating Engineer from Germany and the first 6 months I was looking for work at many search engines. Most employer are looking for Thai natives and if not you need a bachelor or higher. So I give up, to enjoy my time with my wife.
Now my money is finished, my visa expire after 2 weeks and I must go home alone, because my wife cannot speak German. The sad thing is, that I dont know when I`am able to come back, to see my wife again.
I dont want to cry out my heart here, rather I think it is an example, how things can run out.
Last weeks I cracked my brain, what I can do, to come back and how I can solve the work/money problem. So my idea is, to make an eight month full-time course to become a Webmaster. And now my question to you.
Do you think I have a chance in this field (provided, I`am good in this), especially as a newbie? I know this question cannot really be answered, but maybe you can tell me, what you think about.
Thanks in advance,
Martin
Hi Martin,
I know you didn’t ask me – but since you posted, and since I’ve done SEO for 12+ years, I thought I’d try to help you come to a realistic conclusion.
No, you can’t make a living on SEO in your present state, or after an 8 month course.
There is a slight chance you could make it work. I’m guessing one person out of 20 that tries to become an SEO specialist can find enough work to keep going and make it their career these days. Really, I’m guessing 1 out of 100, but I don’t want to be too negative.
If you have real passion for it – and you KNOW it’s your life’s work – you might make it.
I think your best bet is to return home… save money like you’ve never saved before. Return to Thailand and start a business. Not a bar, but a food business or something related to tourism and tours. Sure you’ll have to jump through the hoops for opening business – but, it’s possible, AND you have a MUCH better chance at making it this way than you do at SEO.
SEO is a fools’ game anymore. I’m all but out of it – I am (was?) an expert for over a decade. Now? I don’t like the game at all. It is too tough. It isn’t any fun. There is a hell of a lot of competition. Google is changing too much to keep up with it. Etc.
That said, I’ll make a helluva lot of money this week because I know SEO.
Find an easier pursuit man! Good luck!
Hi Mike,
tnx for taking time, to give me a realistic assessment. Of course I`ve done some research and the results where equal to your experience. But it`s allways better to get a direkt feedback.
The problem is , that I´m 8 years out of praxis in my Job, so my chance to get a well paid job is zero. Another option is to make a further education in Facility Management, to work in hospitality business.
My idea is not to become a SEO Programmer, rather I want to be able to create websites. As I understand SEO is only a part of it and I know this business is over crowded. But the course is well structured and during I can make some experience.
Because the Berlin job center will finance this course, I have nothing to loose. If I dont get work after, I can switch back to my old job by keep on getting experience in Web working, what can be an advantage for my employer.
Anyway, I will keep your suggestions in my mind and I´ll try to find out what`s the best way.
A second way to earn a living is to work in the offshore oil industry. This will actually mean that half your time is spent outside Thailand on the rigs, but I believe you’ll make much better money than you would as an English teacher.
As an offshore veteran of some 34 years, I had to laugh at that bit.
You’ve more chance of getting into the oil & gas business in Thailand as getting struck by lightning in the channel tunnel. You need years of experience and good contacts. I’ve been there and done it and still live in Thailand and I’ve been in the business 30 years.
i came here in 1984 when i met some people while travelling in china on a bicycle tour and they suggested i go to thailand next. ‘Taiwan, where is that?’ i asked. ‘No, no, Thailand, not Taiwan. You know bangkok etc?’ i didn’t know, but i came here and went to koh samui for 2 months and then Malaysia and to the Philippines and then back to the usa.
a friend at home was talking to me about my 4 month asian trip and she said, ‘sounds like you liked thailand the best. i had to agree. some time during my trip here i went to a museum and saw some real old pictures of thai people all gathered together and i mentioned that i had a strange feeling that i knew those people. she said i did know them. then i realized she was on one of her past lives trips. so i told her you know i don’t believe in that kind of crap and she said well anyway you found a connection there. why don’t you move there?
‘huh? hey, i am just starting a new job, i have a sailboat at the marina, and lots of girlfriends, why would i move to thailand? anyway i can’t just decide to move to thailand!’
my friend said, ‘You have 10 seconds.’
‘i can’t decide this in 10 seconds’ i countered.
she said, ‘you don’t have 10 seconds, you only have 7 seconds left. 6, 5, 4 , 3…’
‘ok, ok, i said i am moving to thailand.’
i had no idea where i would live. i knew i did not like bangkok and if i went to the beach i would be a bum so i looked on a map and found chiangmai. i made lists of things to do and committed to living here for one year. after 6 months i was homesick and frankly sick of the whole thing. BUT i committed for a year so i was determined to see out the first year. i was poor and teaching english on slave wages. but i made it thru the first year and then committed for a second year. then a 3rd and after that i stopped doing the annual commitment. the main thing for me was to DECIDE and then just make it work. the pastures are always greener on the other side. that was 26 yrs ago.
If you keep writing topics that correspond to my books – I’ll keep talking about them! I wrote a book, “Moving to Thailand” you can find on Amazon. It’s selling well. I covered the basics and gave some insight what it’s like to live here in the Land of Smiles… but, there is always more to be said. I enjoyed this article Steve. The comments here are great too – with good information.
Personally I’ve lived on 9,000 THB per month – WITH my girlfriend. So, it’s quite possible. We didn’t have a bad life at all (that I remember!). It’s just a mindset adjustment. No matter what funds you’ll have when you move to Thailand – it will be a major adjustment for all the problems you’ll face. There will be many. They are all surmountable. There is nothing that bad at all about living in Thailand – and, it’s probably in the top 10 of the best places in the world to live overall. I couldn’t come up with more than 9 better than TH.
Great article – keep ‘em coming…
I honestly haven’t been browsing Amazon and basing my ideas off your book titles, I guess its just true that great minds think alike
9000 baht??? man no way I want to give that a try. Maybe I would be content, but I have to think there are lots of things I would miss on 9k a month.
Not sure I could come up with 9 better than Thailand either, but there are some other places out there that are quite nice and still affordable.
LOL – no, I know you aren’t – and you shouldn’t, because I have some crazy book titles at Amazon too!
Are you going to stay all PC on this site or can we get into some dirt Steve?
Steve, it’s really possible to live on 9000 B a month.
I did it myself for more than a year, living alone….
Now it’s my 4th year in Thailand, i earn more.
It’s really ok.
Sure i don’t party much and don’t invest in any business …just trying to organize/build my life here. No one said it’s gonna be easy and fast.
oh, i came to Thailand with 300$ in my wallet.
Shh… Steve’s estimate of 30k is so far right of conservative I could just about shake my left and around behind my back.
No, no… If you want to live here you need to bring… 60k/month… And you need to be prepared to live here for… 1 year. If you have a bunch of yellow shirts you should live in the north. If you have a bunch of red shirts you should live in the south. If you love the Nation of Thailand you should live in the southern annexes. If you can’t go a day with out real cheese you should live in the East, aka Issan. If you love skyscrapers and cosmopolitans you should live in the hills.
That sums up my advice for people who are thinking about, or want to move to Thailand.
Anyway, yes, great article. Worthy of a bigger popularity percentage, but I’m satisfied with less than 10% – for my own apparent reasons.
Yes 30k is an extremely low number and as you read the rest of the paragraph you will note that I don’t really recommend it. As a single guy without a girlfriend and not a heavy drinker I would say 45k should suffice and 60k would be much better. My own budget is in the 60k range, but that is for 3 of us (myself, my wife and our 1 year old daughter). Thailand is definitely not as cheap as it once was, partially due to the weak western currencies, but also due to increasing inflationary pressure (mostly due to increasing western monetary supply).
Well, if you’re saying 60k/month now, then I’m saying 120k/month ought to do the trick. My point isn’t good, practical advice, like the original blog on this topic by you, Steve, is full of.
I don’t want more Westerners here, but your reply brings up an interesting trend. The more of us here who try to spend our money here like we are living back home, the more this place will begin to resemble the spending environments of our home countries.
Thus, Thailand becomes even harder to move to, if only because the cost gap closes quicker and quicker. Making this place a more exclusive living space sounds fantastic to me – and Thai legislation already took up that banner some time ago.
LOL, point well taken. And yes the Thai government is doing a very good job in making Thailand more difficult to expatriate to, especially for those with less than 120k a month to spend
Reading the article is not going to change my unequivocal answer to it’s question…
“NO”
There are already too many Western people around here. Even one more than me is one too many.
If you have to move, move to Issan, please. Inflate the economy there with your ridiculous tipping, “correct” the culture with your perfect Western one, and “fix” society with your unmatched Western intellect.
Besides, you should be scared to move here… Uh… Scared of Yellow and Red Shirts! Ya! Uh… They skin Westerners to wear their flesh as pretty clothes… And, uh… They eat aborted babies three times a day!
No thanks to Issan, but I will try to leave my Western culture and motives behind in the West. As for the colored shirt peeps well I guess I’ll just have to take my chances and hope one day they can make a nice homogeneous orange
Please help combat sexual trafficking of children in Thailand.
I’ll second that. Oh wait, you already did. I’ll 3rd that.
I am married to great woman that is and we both currently live in the US. She is not happy here so far from her family. Being that I love her and my family know I am a travler being ex-military. We plan to move back to Thailand to live. My question is I work as truck driver here in the US. Will there be problems with me commuting between US & Thailand a few months of the year? Do they frown on living there and working abrooud?
Hi Steven,
That shouldn’t be a problem at all and there are already many guys who work abroad part of the year and then spend the other part in Thailand with their wives. As long as the two of you don’t mind being separated for part of the year then I would say go for it.
Hi Steve,
I have been living in Thailand for 6 years now while still traveling to USA every 3 months for work. I work in USA about 4 months a years, typically 2-10 weeks at any given time. I have always entered Thailand on a tourist visa which gives me 90 days after an extension. Its best if you can coordinate your work after the 90 days so you do not have to deal with Border runs as those don’t give you much anymore. I have never had a problem traveling in and out of thailand as often as I do. Good Luck!
interesting blog. you should enhance it. How did you make out on your house
i am retiderd i get 3.523 usd a month i am 61 years old can i make it or not i mean i live good in pattaya
I imagine you would live pretty well on US$3500+ a month in Pattaya. I assume you mean when you’re visiting (you’re in the U.S. now right?), but you could get along easily on that amount living full time in Thailand.
You’re right there is a lot of red tape in in setting up an export business. We did some research on the European side (our target market) and it was reasonably straight forward (obviously you had to pay import taxes) on that side.
We maybe didn’t do enough research on the Thai side, although ascertained what we wanted to export wasn’t prohibited or have any export taxes.
We were going to register the company in the UK, as this is a tax and business regime we understand. The way we had the structure planned there would have been no income / tax in Thailand. (Where we have less experience.)
I suppose it depends how big you think you are going to get. You can do a certain amount of stuff *ahem* under the radar.
Hey Richard,
You’re absolutely right that there is no way you can squeeze retirement savings in on 40k a month in Bangkok. I’m still playing around with our budget for Thailand and I’m coming in somewhere between 48-68k for the three of us, retirement saving excluded. That total does include medical insurance, car insurance and child care though.
Teaching for the British Council would be a great gig if you can get it, I think they pay upwards of 6 figures. Definitely out for me though as I’m an American. Teaching is always in the back of my mind as an alternative if necessary though. Good thing is I’m already qualified as one of my Bachelors degrees is in Education, specifically to teach English for grades 7-12. My second degree is in IT which would also help on the teaching front as I believe there is always a need for computer instruction in English. I could be wrong about this though.
I read a bit on your blog about the idea of exporting and it is a decent income alternative…I just don’t think I would want to deal with the export laws in Thailand, import laws in the U.S., sourcing products, finding buyers, etc. I’m sure you could make some decent money once everything is set up though. I think it kind of fits in with starting your own business though. Wouldn’t you need to register an export business in Thailand to do something like this?
Great article. Many people like the idea of moving to Thailand, your first point about spending a decent amount of time in the country before taking the plunge is a good point.
A few thoughts on finances:
- I agree that you can live reasonably well in Thailand on the 40,000 – 50,000 baht a month. But when I think about my personal financial situation there are a lot of (necessary?) extras like medical insurance, pension savings etc.. It’s difficult to squeeze these in on 40k a month.
- I’ve got a few friends who work teaching English for the British Council. They are better qualified teachers than simply having TEFL and I think the pay is a decent amount higher too. (I don’t know exactly what they earn.)
- Another income alternative that I’ve explored with a few friends is exporting Thai goods. This is not easy money. But if you can find some gift shops in your home country before you leave that would be interesting in selling Thai gifts or can sell things online that is another possibility. The numbers we’ve done don’t give amazing returns, but everything can help.
Hi Mike,
I guess what makes people think it cheap is the three big expenses…housing, food and medical. Housing and medical are definitely cheaper in Thailand, although you could certainly spend every bit as much on housing as here in the west. Food is the really tricky one. If you can/want to eat a Thai diet then yes food is cheap. If you need some western food and variety you’re likely to spend just as much on food as in the west.
And there is no way I would be living a comfortable lifestyle here in the U.S. on 45,000 baht (~$1500) a month and I don’t even live in an expensive city. So yes Thailand is cheaper than the West, but it is deceiving because there are enough temptations out there (even discounting the girls) to make it quite expensive.
Teaching has always been a fall back idea for me. I am a degree’d (but not licensed) English teacher in the U.S., but from what I’ve heard I don’t think I would make it as a teacher in Thailand. Like you, the style of learning does not seem to suit me. Hence the portable income option. It’s taken 2 years to get where I am in that respect and with 2 more years until our move I think we will have a comfortable income. Plus Golf (my wife) wants to continue working when we return to the Kingdom, so that’s about 20k a month right there.
If nothing else I hope the article makes some people stop and think…it’s all great to consider moving somewhere when your only experience is as a tourist, but things can be quite different in the day to day. Plus it pays to be prepared with a move like this. Nothing seems to go as planned in Thailand and let’s face it, even if it did this is different than a move across town. You mentioned the visa and work permit hassles which can be quite complex…all the more reason to have everything else in order. Less to worry about less stress
Steve a thought provoking piece, which is I guess what you intended.
Thailand is not cheap, yes certain aspects are much cheaper than the UK, but overall its very much a case of swings and roundabouts. Personally a budget of around 45,000 Baht sees us live a comfortable but not extravagant lifestyle.
Simple yet somehow amazing complex(now theres a contradiction) visa and work permit regulations add to the mix if a person wants to be legal. Although I am a qualified TEFL teacher I would personally not work here in teaching-the rewards don’t justify the effort you need to put in to do a decent job and my teaching ethos does not sit well with the Thai style of learning.
Thailand is a great place to live, I have a nice home that cost me a fraction of the UK cost, I eat great food and visit some fantastic places. Guess its about horses for courses which of course is what your article is all about.