My Plan To Move To Bangkok
I’ve been thinking about it for a while and in a few months I’m finally going to do it. I’m going to move to Bangkok and try living there for at least a year. I like to think that I’m well prepared. I’ve
read a lot about it on the internet and also been there multiple times. But I must admit, as with all big life changes, I’m a little bit nervous.
Right now, I have a pretty good life. I live in central Sydney, sharing an apartment with a good friend. I have a well-paid and cushy job only 15 minutes walk from home. I have a nice car, take plenty of holidays, and pretty much do what
I want when I’m not working. I can even work from home a couple of days a week, if I choose to.
I have no girlfriend and have lost interest in the life-script of marriage, mortgage and children. I’ve got plenty of friends who’ve bought into that, and very few of them seem happy. I can’t think of a single married
friend who I envy. I’ve been married before and lived with a couple of girlfriends, so I pretty much know what to expect if I embark on that path again. In Australia, if you live with a girl for a couple of years the law treats you
as if you’re married, including all the property-splitting implications. No thanks.
It’s pretty rare I meet any women here I’m interested in anyway. There’s something about Australian culture that ruins the local women. Almost everyone who spends time here notices how difficult to get along with
they are. Even American and English girls are nicer, and other foreign girls blow them away. They also seem to grow fatter by the day. My European friend summed it up quite well after a year spent living here: “Almost every Aussie girl
has a fat arse and is a pain in the neck”.
I’m not saying all Aussie girls are awful, but so many of them are that it makes the rare good ones really stand out. And that means lots of competition, because Sydney is jammed full of handsome, wealthy, sporty guys. If you want
quality female company here you’re definitely going to have a hard time of it.
Apart from the women, Sydney is a great city and life here is pretty good. But I’m bored with it. I need a change. So Bangkok it is.
I’m in a pretty good position to have a good start there. I have a few passive income-streams to live off. They go up and down depending on circumstances, but I can probably rely on about a million baht a year without working.
My plan is to take a year off work to begin with and find my feet. I’m going to enrol in a language school and apply for a student visa. I’m coming for a 3 week holiday soon, and will scope out some of the schools. Language
Express looks like a good bet to start with. I’ve already done quite a bit of self-study of Thai using Iphone and iPad apps, but obviously being there and doing classes will be of more benefit.
Initially I’ll move into a serviced apartment that I know, but then I’ll look for my own place. I’d like to live around Sukhumvit somewhere past Asoke. Maybe Thong Lor or Ekamai would be good. From what I understand,
I can get a nice one-bedroom place in a new building with facilities for around 20,000 – 25,000 baht.
Then, I’ll spend my time studying, going to the gym, relaxing at home and socialising. It should be a good life.
I’m only 40, so I think I’m not ready to retire yet. I’d also like to build up a bit more of a nest-egg before signing-off from the workplace for good. So sooner or later I’ll look for a job. I’ve got
a technology career. It’s a fast-moving field, so the longer I spend out of work, the more my opportunities will shrink.
I’ve heard that getting a good job in Thailand isn’t easy, but I’ll give it a try. I have a good resume. I’ve contracted for the past 15 years with lots of big name companies, many of which have offices in
Bangkok. A guy I know who has less experience than me found a good job working for IBM over there. I have experience working with technology in finance, consumer goods, telecoms, media, energy, retailing and government. I’ve worked
in Australia, London, Singapore and the US. Surely with all that I can find something decent. Anyway, we’ll see how it goes.
The thing that worries me the most about this move is that I’ll have to come back to Sydney to work. From what I understand, doing so will be a big psychological hit after time spent living over there. But it also means I have
a back-up plan. Sydney will always be an option, and I’ve never had any problems finding well-paid contracts here. Alternatively, I suppose I could give Hong Kong or Singapore a try if things don’t work out in Thailand.
I’m looking quite forward to building up my social life in Bangkok. I already know some people over there, but want to meet more. I have an ex-girlfriend from Sydney who now lives in Hua Hin. I guess I’ll also meet some
people through the language school.
I’ve been messing around on TLL for the past couple of months and had a fairly enthusiastic response. I’ve met a bunch of cute girls who seem keen to meet me. At the very least, I should have a few fun times with them. We’ll
see.
Having made all these plans, it’s quite difficult carrying on with my day-to-day life in Sydney. There’s only a few months to go, but I feel a bit as if I’m living in limbo. At the same time, I’m excited about
the prospects for my new life.
Hopefully it all works out okay. It will be interesting to see what I’ll write in a submission to Stick’s site a couple of years from now.
Napster
Stickman's thoughts:
It sounds to me like you have thought things through clearly and have a good, clear plan. That you are in a good financial position already with a passive income makes things so much easier. Your expectations also seem totally realistic. I hope it all goes well for you.