I think I want to move to Thailand... Any advice?

Hello jasonjfournie.

Welcome to Expat.com!

I hope other members will provide you with some useful informations.

In meantime, you can go through the various threads on the Thailand forum.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Thanks!

You'll want to sign up with http://thaivisa.com. If you don't have reliable friends here and ship your household effects, make sure you have your Non-O or B visa fixed before entering Thailand - the shippers may use it as an excuse to steal your stuff. Be CERTAIN that you file US 1040 tax returns as needed, and if you EVER have more than the equivalent of $10,000 baht in a Thai bank account, you MUST file an FBAR form with the US department of treasury. If you don't know what an FBAR is, TDF 90-22.1, start googling and find out. Also, hopefully you've met Jesus Christ, you'll find some good friends in Christian churchs in Thailand.

Health care, for me, has been hit and miss.  Talking about ENT, dermatology, eyes, gp only.  When I have had poor service, or good service, they have reached the extremes at either end of the scale.  Dr. Nick is an American and 100% dedicated to you and to his profession, at Mission Hospital in BKK.  He is a gp and tropical disease expert.

Location---Chiang Mai works for me, feels the safest.

Teacher----if you mean ESL, I personally chose not to accept the working conditions here.

This is all my subjectivity, so you, as an individual, might see thing a little differently.

Great Information thank you! I was considering teacher but I have  experience in different fields.

Cusanus thanks for your reply. Thank you also Laughing Brook.

If you can teach in a university, or willing to put up with certain hassles on other levels, might work out.  There is a 50,000 word essay on the experience in TH if you want, but it is at a girlie site, and I would not want to distract you---a very dangerous road here in my estimation........Salary is lower here........My buddy is happy teaching in Vietnam.
    My experience teaching in China was the best year of my professional life, yet not everybody who teaches in China feels positive about it.

Do not move here unless you already have a job.  This country is full of expats looking for work and many end up spending all their savings and are forced to return home.  If you do take a job make sure it includes visa and work permit for you, and they allow you a dependent so your wife's visa will not be a problem.


The teaching profession generally pays very little with a few exceptions.  The best paying position will require a degree along with a teaching background.  You can check   http://www.ajarn.com/   for detailed info on the teaching profession in Thailand.

If you do eventually move to Thailand I would forget about shipping your house hold goods.  In my opinion its a waste of time and money for anyone much less someone that doesn't know how long they will stay.  Remember if you take your time you can find fully furnished apartments or houses that are cheap to rent.

The medical care in Thailand is cheap when compared to the US but you need to be careful where you seek treatment.  You will have a selection of government or private hospitals and doctors private office.  Most doctors in Thailand will practice at all three locations.  The biggest problem will be selecting a doctor because unlike the US they do not seem to have any GP's. They all want to be a specialist in some field.

Health insurance is available here but like most insurance companies they will not cover pre-existing conditions.

Where to work and live is not an easy question to answer.

Thanks for the information. I think teaching can be quite rewarding and I am looking forward to taking on new challenges in the near future.
     I agree that having a degree is advantageous in a number of ways. If I make the jump I plan on getting a teaching degree sorted.
     I recognize that Thailand is a hot/warm country.... My wife would want me to ask about air conditioning in homes, is it available or not widely used?

Thanks for the thoughtful replies!

You should have no problem finding a place with air cons but if you plan to run 24/7 your electric bill will be high.  When inquiring about rentals you need to ask about the electric rate per unit because some owners tack on several extra baht above the government rate.

Thanks for the information. I am trying to get my life planned out a little so that I can make this jump the right way. I am thinking of completing my criminal justice degree before embarking on this.     
I am not sure if I can get a teaching certificate or some additional coursework to qualify me as a degreed teacher. The goal of course is to qualify myself with as high a possibility as possible to earn a better than normal wage/salary.

Jason here is a link to website with good info on teaching in Thailand.

http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/teaching.html

my advice: choose another destination thailand is not what it used to be. if you like tourists scams, dirty beaches, drunken tourist and open-air prostitution, yeah, this is the place to be

Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai Province, is a much better place IMHO, but the smoke is bad between Jan and May. Can always hope for better in the future, though.

I would be looking at northern thailand. The website you mentioned is a great resource. Now I am trying to complete my degree in Criminal Justice before I look at making the jump

yes the north is better. i believe your degree will be useless there as this is a business area reserved to thais.

Right about the degree.. But it can help me obtain a better salary or am I not correct in that?

There are a few teaching jobs for farangs at universities in Chiang Mai. There are usually 2-3 Americans teaching English at the high school where my Thai wife works. They aren't paid a lot, but enough, and they usually stay less than a year. In terms of purchasing value, I was paid far less in the states, even with 8 yrs university science/math and a 4.00 gpa in my major. I also had to fend off persistent harassment from porn peddlers (K12 school system) and alcohol/drug users, but no such troubles here, though I do not work. The medical services in Thailand are 10x better than the states. 14 years ago I had a right broken arm set by a doctor, and 50 years ago a left broken arm put in a cast (the doctor is the one who broke it). Oh, yeah, I had a few kidney cysts, too, but the medical profession wasn't much help. Turned out they were caused by amalgams.

I know of a person who is a professional journalist, but on a marriage visa. I hear that you can NOT work on such visas even freelance, but that people do it. On the other hand, I hear that if your employer is not in Thailand and you don't personally perform services in Thailand, it's not considered working in Thailand. From others, I hear it's still not ok. I did write a very professional math theorem and eBook, but nobody has had any interest in buying it. It never occurred to me that if someone did buy it, I'd possibly be in trouble for performing work. I just don't know, but the eBook has been free of charge to the 11 people who have so far downloaded it. I wish that I could tell you that you could write freelance in Thailand w/o a work permit, but I think you can't, unless your clients are not in Thailand, and even then I don't know, sorry. I would think that you could write a book or make paintings on personal time and use a publisher in the states to sell stuff, but I don't know that, either. Sorry to have such an empty brain, but these are questions worth pondering. The rest of you out there?

These rules, at least as best I comprehend them, are often circumvented, but that can result in confusion and trouble. Even if you're perfectly in line with everything, there are a lot of scams and trouble, so you have to be careful, and it's a good idea to have good friends who can help out. Since coming, I've found a very good Christian church (yes, Jesus is the real deal), and a very responsible Thai wife who is invaluable. For me, the thought of sleeping in a rattlesnake den is better than the specter of going back to states. I love it here.