Best places for expats to live

[QuotaMan]

http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/11-03/best-places-for-expats-to-live.html

Thailand

 

 

Thailand has been popular on the backpacker circuit for decades now, and while some of the more hard-core travelers dismiss Thailand because it isn’t as authentic as it used to be, it’s still an amazing place to visit and an equally amazing place to live. You would be hard-pressed to find many people living in Thailand who don’t love it.

 

It’s paradise for many, with the big, bustling cities, the picturesque beaches and water, and the mountains and highlands in the north. The diversity is amazing, the people friendly, the food delicious, and everything’s cheap. Some may downplay Thailand as ruined by tourism, but tell that to the hundreds of smiling faces you will encounter on a daily basis. Because of its international popularity, expats won’t have too much trouble finding other expats and resources, especially in cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

 

Costs

 

Cost of living is extremely low, as Nicole Boyer points out. “I lived in a beautiful 5 bedroom home with a nice front yard, 2 kitchens (1 Western, 1 Thai), hardwood floors and a bar inside the house, all for $60/month.” Nicole lived and taught English in Chiang Mai, so if planning on living in Bangkok or an island, costs will be a bit more, but not astronomical. Eating in Thailand, no matter where you are, is very inexpensive and costs as little as $1US for a meal (at a street cart-Thai restaurants are not much more).

 

Working there

 

For those people who don’t have a location independent job and need work in Thailand, teaching English is the best opportunity. Even if you decide to wait until you arrive in Thailand to get a job, you can be working literally within days. There are also plenty of expats who work in hostels, guesthouses, and bars, but teaching English is the easiest and best way to start making some money.

 

Visas

 

If you don’t get a job before leaving your home country, you can still work legally if you are willing to sign a year-long contract with a school that will take care of your visa. If you don’t want to commit, though, you can still work, albeit illegally by Thai law. While it’s never a good idea to break the law, it’s a little different in these circumstances. Countless English teachers use their tourist visas while working. The downside of this is that you will have to do visa runs to a capital city and apply for an extended tourist visa every 90 days. You can go to the Thai embassy in Yangon, Burma Vientiane, Laos, Phenom Phen, Cambodia, or Hanoi, Vietnam and spend at least 24 hours there (sometimes more) while they process the extended visa, and then you have another 90 days in Thailand.

[Balla055]

If I were to ever be an expat I'd move right into the action and right in the middle of Pattaya. Pattaya Tai and Pattaya Klang would be my ideal destination. Maybe Jomtien, just because its cheaper.

[robthai]

yeah living in the middle is the what i'd do because everything is so convenient, although the nicest property would be in jomtien.

[Sexyfarangman]

http://www.bootsnall...ts-to-live.html

 

“I lived in a beautiful 5 bedroom home with a nice front yard, 2 kitchens (1 Western, 1 Thai), hardwood floors and a bar inside the house, all for $60/month.”

 

If you believe this, then I would like to sell you shares in Madoff's Ponzi scheme/