Thinking of Living in Thailand...?
This week, I thought I’d share a little bit about my journey to taking on this project - in case it’s of interest to those thinking about doing the same. I’ve also added some ideas for living and earning in Thailand that I’ve picked up along the way, bearing in mind that you have to apply for an Immigrant B Visa to work here.
The key message of this blog is that moving to Thailand seems pretty doable if it’s your jam. I’ve spoken to many ex-pats here, like me, a little older in years, and also not with their own portfolio of tech companies/French gites. A lot of them just made the decision to upsticks and head off to the far ends of the earth. Most don’t seem to have a solid plan, they’re just enjoying life here for as long as they’re happy.
And where’s the harm in that?
I’ve asked myself this so many times over the last 4 weeks. Yet, the darker undertones of growing up in Scotland make me feel that life should not be this easy or enjoyable; I am fighting a bespectacled Calvinist cricket on my shoulder telling me that a life of frippery is a life of sin. I’m not in any way religious; this cricket is just the pain-in-the-ass ghost of a life past, adding his two-cents every now and again with a jovial ‘Gosh darn it Susie! It’ll never work, you know - you’ll surely get hit by a thuk-thuk or maybe even die alone in a shack with cats eating your carcass’.
He jabs his pointy umbrella into my shoulder with a deadpan expression. ‘Meow’.
Evil Jiminy and I go waay back. He kept me in situations I should have crawled out of long before I did. Paradoxically, he’s also partly why I’m sitting here in a Thai cafe, writing this now.
Everybody got a story...
Queue wobbly flashback scene: CEO of a national charity for many years - it was a full-life occupation, consuming my every waking moment. I loved and believed in what we did, but the mental strain of having a position which I did not naturally fit into, with public speaking, broadsheet articles, Political meetings and the strain of managing a ...unique team of individuals - took its toll on my health.
Following months of ‘loving interventions’ from my children, I eventually left, sold up and moved to a little island off the West Coast of Scotland, taking up a job as a classroom assistant at the local school. Of course, I love working with the kids, but it’s also a buffet of all you-can-eat education - and was a chance to make up for countless afternoons of playing high school hooky with my childhood sweetheart. Did you know that Hitler was homeless when he was an artist? Or that there are four layers in the rainforest? Yes indeed:) Add to this, that by 3.15pm, I can be on the beach, shoes off, paddling. It’s a pretty cool existence.
I got better quickly. Still, I love the busy-ness of business, and kept my hand in business development and social media. I used People Per Hour and Upwork - online platforms for connecting companies/entrepreneurs with freelancers to supplement my income. Deciding to work for yourself can be a big step, but remote working platforms like these can offer a great ‘half-way house’ to getting used to doing it as side hustle.
The Family Coach
After a while, I knew I needed to take it to the next level, and despite my past life - I found it really hard to apply anything I knew, to myself. Queue Juliane Grasekamp, professional business coach...and daughter. Quite apart from having the patience of a saint (and boy do I try it:) she coached me through the roller coaster months of ‘Let’s do this!! Let’s not. Let’s do this...Oh God what was I thinking?..’ stages of startup right up to the “Why didn’t I do this years ago!” stage. If you’re working on your own at setting up, I really do recommend a coach (and naturally, Juliane:); I’ve found that the tangled spaghetti of practical tasks, emotional insecurities and mental blocks can be difficult to tease out at the beginning and can leave you a little overwhelmed without some solid backup. Of course, not everyone struggles, but a fresh pair of eyes is helpful at any stage of your business.
Time to Make Changes
Like many women, I had been a worker and a mother most of my adult life; my original plans at 18 to go to France, pick grapes, and drink a lot of wine didn’t quite pan out. By 21, I was in Germany, (so not the same thing) married, with a baby and - looking back on photos - a really bad 80’s perm. Eventually, we returned to Scotland; very fleetingly, back to my childhood Indian sweetheart; and the rest is a story for the grandchildren and the MI5.
Now, 27 years on, it felt high time I stopped looking to earn a living, and started planning to make a life.
‘Gosh Darn it, Susie, that sounds mighty adventurous! Don’t forget to find an apartment that takes cats...’
Feeling stronger now, I felt that it was not a pipe dream to want more. Why should it be selfish to want to live a little? I flicked the cricket from my shoulder and started reading up on digital nomads and their experiences - good and bad - of travelling the world on a shoestring, financed by online work. Past travel-blogger, Juliane had plenty of advice on the digital nomad lifestyle, and my youngest was encouraging me to make the jump before grandchildren came onto the scene. ‘You’ve got about 5 - 8 years of freedom, mum - use them well:)’.
I considered Europe, but quickly realised I couldn’t afford it; it meant sleeping in a ten-man dorm, and possibly waking up to a randomer lawling half-drunk on my pillow next to me. Not for me. At least not at the moment.
Thailand appealed to me for a number of reasons and Chiang Mai, particularly. For one, it was cheap. So cheap. A basic hotel here is about £10 per night, a good meal, £2 and cup of tea, £1. (What more do you need?) There are about 3000 DMs (or ‘location independent entrepreneurs’) there, so I wouldn’t be completely alone. Also, as over 95% of the population of Thailand is Buddhist, crime is incredibly low, the medical care great, apparently And the temples....so many temples...
So, I sorted my flat for Airbnb, packed a suitcase with some beautiful dresses from friends, and a pharmacy for every eventuality from my nurse bestie, (‘- and the floss-sticks double up as a stabbing tool if you get mugged’) neatly packed.
Now 4 weeks in, I have had a wealth of experiences, spiritual, social and viral, a little more income coming in, new friends from all over the world who have jumped in with both feet and are loving it. Nothing but a bout of illness and a Michael Douglas ‘Falling Down’ style cockroach-rampage has marred my stay here. Ok so I might have been bitten by a dog last night, (not Buster) and spent the evening being cleaned up and getting the first of four rabies injections...but let’s glide over that one...
Homesickness I feel I should mention, for those with family who wonder about homesickness, I find its not a problem. As a single parent family, we are very close and chat most evenings by facetime for a catch up. We have always done this. With one in Vancouver, and my youngest and her partner about to move to Paris, it makes no real difference where I am, as long as I have my phone and can grasp world time. Somehow the distance keeps us just as close, if not closer than if we were on each others’ doorsteps.
So, with that, I am seriously looking into staying here, I’ve checked what avenues are open to ex-pats and what people are actually doing, which is a better indication of their validity. I don’t mean ex-pats with a current skill in Ruby on Rails or E-commerce I mean those who are brainstorming all of their abilities from baking to typing, and looking for something that fits...
Earning your Bread and Butter (or Pad Thai) in Thailand
If you do not have an income before getting here, ensure you have some savings to keep you for a few months. There are good options which you can set up when (or before) you get here to keep you going on mango sticky rice, a Thai favourite...
Online English Tutor
Working as an online tutor for English-teaching companies, you are given (if accepted at online interview) an hourly rate, and a contract for four hours per day, teaching to Chinese students of around age 7/8. Importantly, you don’t have to be a qualified teacher to do this - just good working with young children and able to demonstrate a structured approach to learning. Many here exist solely on this work very well, as the rate is in line with UK teaching rates and a four hour work week equates to around 40 000 baht (£1000). Applying is very easy and fairly quick.
Working in a Bubble ...or IGLU
IGLU is a company, based here in Thailand, which offers the opportunity to work legally in the country, within a protective visa-bubble provided by them for a commission percentage on your earnings. There are many different types of jobs at IGLU which is a broker for a wide range of jobs, with a great setup and a pretty simple process.
I can’t recommend these highly enough. Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but the work comes flowing in from these sites - enough to be choosy, which is a real bonus. Set up your profile on both Upwork and PPH, take on a few little jobs in areas you feel comfortable in to build your profile, whether it’s admin related, data-entry (book-keepers are always in demand) or even something more creative like sketching or voiceover services. Well worth a look and no loss to you to keep this going in the background, regardless of what your main bread-and-butter is.
Retired with Free Time
The Chiang Mai Expats Club is great if you're looking to connect with others or simply get information about living here. If you’re retired, you can come out and stay here on a retirement visa, provided you have a lump sum to show upon application. There are many, many retirees here as a pension goes a very long way and Thai life makes for very interesting Autumn years. What’s more, there are plenty of opportunities in Thailand to give back to the community by volunteering with the many charities which run here and need support. It’s a great way to make good for the privilege of living in such a beautiful country and to integrate yourself better with the community proper, not to mention learn the language twice as quickly. There is a huge ex-pat retiree community here from every country in the world, which meets up regularly and has it’s own country-based groups too, for those who might be missing the rain in the UK, or the food in the US.
Sounds too good to be true, perhaps, and there are, to be fair, things that miss the mark, like the noise and air pollution from cars, the bugginess of immigration, the occasional rabid dog, and the many cultural norms that will evade you until someone kindly points them out. None of those things, however - and not even the bum gun in lieu of toilet paper - a surprise you never really get used to - rates as an inconvenience in comparison to the quality and sheer vibrancy of your existence here.
My message - I’m neither special nor rich (Thai medical bills ensured that), and aside from my own skills, I’m just the same as the next person, curious about what life has to offer. This is a real option for the everyday person who is willing to go and find out - and I would invite anyone to explore it; even if only to confirm it’s not for them.
I’m on the fence for now but moving slowly through the process as I consider my options of staying or returning to a peaceful island life.
...I just have one last insect to crunch...
