Moving to Thailand

[bombos84]

Hey there fellow addicts, this is my first post on the forum so do bare with me,

Im sure as all of you who have visited LOS, either during ur vaccation or upon arriving back home, have had the thought of moving

to patts cross your mind. Now theres alot of talk on the internet about this and ive seen some older posts on the forum about this kinda thing.

I am currently a postgrad student in London and will be finishing my studies in Oct 09 and looking for an opportunity to move to LOS.

Im only 24 but ive been to patts on 4 occasions and spent about a month there each time, and have learnt my way around patts and have learnt alot about

their culture and the way thais think. I do realise with the whole credit crunch hanging over our heads right now is not the best time to be looking for work anywhere

and understand that the whole crunch has had an affect on thai tourism . From what ive read around the web I understand that the most common/easiest way to get

a job in thailand is as an english teacher but i was looking to draw upon the experience of the population in this forum as to any ideas or choices I would have looking to

find a way to make an income to sustain my living costs there, and yes i do understand to "sustain my living costs" does mean not living like most of us choose to live when we

are on holidays there. I would appreciate any comments, advise and job opportuinties if you know of any and am looking forward to hearing from you

 

Thanks for reading and have a nice day

[guyvh]

I understand your feelings, as I'm sure a lot of people here do. Although this topic has probably been done to death by previous posters, I'll respond to you as you and I share some things in common...

 

I'm an undergraduate finalist in London (age 22) and my parents live in Thailand...I've spent approximately a year and a half in Pattaya through vacation time since my parents moved there when I was 17 (3-4 months every summer, a month at christmas, etc). In the process I've learned Thai to near-fluency, absorbed a shitload of Thai culture, and am pretty sure I know more about Patts than anyone else my age who doesn't live there full-time.

 

The bottom line is, getting a decent job in Pattaya is nigh on impossible. Sure you can teach english, live in a 1 million baht condo sucking on eggs all day long, and eventually turn into a crackpot. You are much better off getting a well-paid job in London or any other metropolis (what was the point in getting that shiny postgraduate diploma??) work your ass off for 5-8 years, and come back with enough money to make investments in land development or real estate or some other venture. As has been pointed out many times on here, many people that decide to move to Patts end up going home after a couple of months...you appreciate the place a lot more when its a holiday destination, I assure you.

 

My parents were able to make a success of it by bringing over money with them, and investing it into profit-turning ventures. Also in this current economic climate even if you had an idea or skills to offer you will be hard pressed to find willing investors or an employer. As they say, its that first million thats a killer to make, the rest is easy....

 

Good luck with your search regardless, but consider yourself warned!

 

[Jumpingman]

I understand your feelings, as I'm sure a lot of people here do. Although this topic has probably been done to death by previous posters, I'll respond to you as you and I share some things in common...

 

I'm an undergraduate finalist in London (age 22) and my parents live in Thailand...I've spent approximately a year and a half in Pattaya through vacation time since my parents moved there when I was 17 (3-4 months every summer, a month at christmas, etc). In the process I've learned Thai to near-fluency, absorbed a shitload of Thai culture, and am pretty sure I know more about Patts than anyone else my age who doesn't live there full-time.

 

The bottom line is, getting a decent job in Pattaya is nigh on impossible. Sure you can teach english, live in a 1 million baht condo sucking on eggs all day long, and eventually turn into a crackpot. You are much better off getting a well-paid job in London or any other metropolis (what was the point in getting that shiny postgraduate diploma??) work your ass off for 5-8 years, and come back with enough money to make investments in land development or real estate or some other venture. As has been pointed out many times on here, many people that decide to move to Patts end up going home after a couple of months...you appreciate the place a lot more when its a holiday destination, I assure you.

 

My parents were able to make a success of it by bringing over money with them, and investing it into profit-turning ventures. Also in this current economic climate even if you had an idea or skills to offer you will be hard pressed to find willing investors or an employer. As they say, its that first million thats a killer to make, the rest is easy....

 

Good luck with your search regardless, but consider yourself warned!

 

 

Great input, make a pile in your home country then invest

[.Q.]

Too young and inexperienced to get even a shit job like a bar manager in Pattaya. Harsh but true.

 

There's not many Farangs in Pattaya that make much money, most will be watching every penny.

Edited December 4, 2008 by .Q.

[silk cut]

Dear friend Bombos84 i say follow ur gut feeling..... if u r gonna fuck up ur life,... u can do it in any country... at least in LOS you can try working , investing and failing while you enjoy it and doing it in style.

[Piece Corp]

I moved to Thailand in 2004. Spent a year in Pattaya drinking beer and banging bar girls, then found a job on thaivisa.com as a software developer. I don't live in pattaya, but it's less than a 3 hour ride on my motorcycle.

[BigBangkokTheory]

It sounds like building a career/wealth is not a priority right now...assuming that is the case, I would say now is a great time to make a move like this. Companies are not hiring, so ride out the recession overseas! 24 is quite young...you could spend a year or five teaching English, working other jobs, gaining transferable skills, and come home if you decide make a go of a western career.

 

Just don't let it consume you...enough said.

 

BKK has the best paying teaching jobs I hear. Stickman's guide has a good article on the different types of teaching jobs available and will help set your expectations.

[silk cut]

yea... i think doing it now before you start a career is better. ...after all, probably its better to enjoy it while you are still young, ...and while pattaya is still there.... who knows what it will be like after 10-20 years....

and since it is in your head...you might as well do it now and get it out of your system before you end up working a whole year just to go to pats and spend all your savings in a month.

 

good luck with your graduation bombo

[dude 947]

i think that is a dream of a lot guys here (including me), but let be honest, whithout our jobs in our western part of the world, i don't think that we could enjoy LOS in the same way. like it was already said, if you have money to invest etc... it's different.

[takaianaa]

great post @ guyvh! all you said sounds reaonable and actually quite true...

 

I am also somebody who would love to live in Thailand, still I think you get used to everything faster than you wish... meaning the things you love right now will start getting common by the time and some day you will even ask yourself why you moved here...

 

Maybe I am wrong, actually I hope that I am wrong... but this is what keeps me away from living in Thailand...

[d1rtj4m]

i agree with the other fellows. Its gonna be hard to find a decent job that pays enough to be able to live with comfort. As you do not see teaching english as an option, which is not really that well paid anyway, its gonna be really difficult.

[farang1]

At your age you are much better off getting a real job in farangland and hitting Patts when you have the time and money.

[mito]

I am 10 years in Bangkok now.

 

I think it's a much more better place for business than Pattaya.

 

Pattaya is the best city in Thailand to have a great time away from your work and just 2 hours away.

[jason1971]

Hi

I AM PLANNIN ON MOVING TO PATTAYA IN 3 YEARS , I AM PLANNING ON BUYING A BAR , I HAVE BEEN GOING TO PATTAYA FOR PAST 10 YEARS ON HOLIDAY , AND MISS THE PLACE SO MUCH NOW WHEN I GET HOME I AM NOW GETTING MONEY TOGETHER TO MOVE , I AM STILL GOIN IN DECEMBER FOR 1 MONTH HOLIDAY , I HAVE A LOT OF GOOD THAI FRIENDS , AND CANT WAIT TO LIVE OUT THERE I UNDERSTAND YOU WONT MAKE YOUR SELF RICH OUT THERE , BUT I THINK IT WILL BE A BETTER WAY OF LIFE ,

 

JASON

[Khun Banana]

I would say there's some good advice to be found in those already written, but one item missing is real info on type of work.

 

What is your degree in? I suggest targeting multinational corporations that have a presence in SE Asia/Thailand. There are constant requirements in this region for Oil/Gas Engineers, Construction/Architect for major civil infrastructure projects (bridges and highways). I would also suggest looking in the Hotel/Resort Management, HR, and Finance/Banking.

 

If you really want to graduate and find a career you can profit on, and not just go make THB20,000 per month teaching and eating noodles every day, then know your target.

 

Accor is big in the hotel industry and located worldwide. British Petroleum works in SE Asia. Cisco Systems is based in Singapore but has regional personnel who spend a great deal of time in Thailand (but not Pattaya). The auto-manufacturers are laying off right now, but all the big ones are there and close to Pattaya. I believe there are some big pharmaceutical companies there also.

 

Do the research and you can find what you are looking for. Try JobsDB.com also. They are probably the best for expat qualified jobs in Thailand.

 

Cheers!

K. Banana

[MrDreamT]

I think everyone's experience that has made the move over here has differed. Some turn out great, some not so great, so its up to you really. If your willing to give it a shot, then more power to you. If things don't work out, then you can always say that you tried. Best of luck to you.