Help with re-locating

[stephen.coombes]

Hi you lot !!

I am 43 and am thinking of packing in my "wonderful" UK job , and moving to Phuket . I would have about 125 K (UK) .once I have paid off me Ex .
I would then have no monthly income at all !!!
Should I rent a bar ?.... rent a condo? .....buy land ? . I have no idea.
I just want to live as cheap as poss so my cash lasts a bit longer.

Have just come back from Patong and spoke to a few Farang bar owners , and they all seem either make a small profit or none at all.

How do all you lot live if you're under retirement age ???

Also I was told by a bar owner that you may have to stay out of the country for 90 days , every 90 days , with new laws that are coming in .

I would be HUGELY appreciative for any help ..........I F*"KING hate the UK !!!

Cheers you lot (Its been very helpful your chat )

Stayed at KN Guesthouse due to your recommendations (poolside)

Thanks (be gentle , i'm a newbie)

[K2]

Welcome to the board -

You need to do a fair bit of research before making permanent move here - I'd recommend you read Dodger's very informative thread about his move over here.

With the capital you have my recomendation would be to buy property in the UK to rent out and live on the excess income you would have left over. That amount of moeny may not alst long over here and doing business here should only be undertaken after you have spent some time living here.

You cannot as a foreigner own land - initally I'd say rent rather than buy - you'd need time to get to know the market here and choose a place suitable for you to live. It may well be better to move out here after high season when long term rents are cheaper.

As long as you get a real toursit visa at an embassy (not a boarder crossing) then you dont need stay outside Thailand for 90 days - its only the visa on arrival (free VOA) that you can stay 90 days in any 6 month period.

Take your time - dont rush into anything and wish you all the best.

[MrDK]

Originally Posted by stephen.coombes

I am 43. I would have about 125 K (UK)
I would then have no monthly income at all !!!
I just want to live as cheap as poss so my cash lasts a bit longer.

Welcome to the board. I am not the one to advise you on details and practicalities concerning a move to LOS as I have no experience.
I did, however, I did take note of your "fortune".
£125K is a lot of money, but is not much to live on. If you assume that you could invest your money and get a long term return at 4% over inflation it is simple to calculate when you will go broke.
Monthly spending 80,000 bath: 11 Years
Monthly spending 60,000 bath: 16 Years
Monthly spending 50,000 bath: 21 Years
Monthly spending 40,000 bath: 31 Years
Remember as you setup your budget to include all expenses such as utilities, transportation, visa runs, insurance, bars, girls, etc. LivinLOS has made many posts detailing the above concerns.

[stevem]

Buying a bar in PAtong is a lifestyle thing, and not an income to live off thing. Very few bars makes any sort of money to live off. Anyone that thinks otherwise really needs to have a reality check. You do NEED another source of income to live off.

Then you need to consider how your going to do it. Your licenses need to be in Thai name or a company name. There are lots of discussions about this already on here, I suggest you start by browsing thru the expat forum.

[stephen.coombes]

Thanks K2 and Mr DK,

For the border tips , and how long my cash will last .

I can't even buy a small flat from the proceeds of my house , and also I would like to make a clean break.

Sounds like I might have to stay in "old blighty" a bit longer than i'd like.

Do you know how much a cheap 1 bed condo is to rent long time in Phuket (Patong) maybe with a communal pool ?

Oh yeh , how do I access Dodgers thread and LivinLos .....i'm new to this.

I just want to know how anyone lives in LOS under the retirement age.

There must be many like me who are out there now living on a shoestring.

Thanks again you 2 , much appreciated.

Ooooh for a Chang beer, a foot massage, and Tuk Tuk home ...... with a short walk past an annoying Indian Tailor !!!

"Harrow , welcarm"

I miss it all .

[dawsey]

Originally Posted by stephen.coombes

Oh yeh , how do I access Dodgers thread and LivinLos .....i'm new to this.

I just want to know how anyone lives in LOS under the retirement age.

Here is the link for Dodgers post
http://www.phuket-info.com/forums/ex...ng-phuket.html

Have a good read through the "Expat" section Stephen. A few good threads in there to inform you. Good Luck

[Dodger]

Stephen if I can be of any help just send me a PM, happy to answer anything you need to know.

My take on you having 125K is dependent on your entrepreneureal skills, (hopefully they are better than my spelling of entr...whatever). I would advise renting out for a few months as already said best time to look for rented is low season although I arrived end of Jan, so it can still be done, especially with people already here to help. Take your time for a few months (6 -12) chilling, finding out if you like to live here versus holidaying. If so and if you can see business opportunities when presented with them, by 12 months you will have made many contacts had many businesses offered to you or thought up by you and will know what is the best direction for you to go in, remember it is possible to get work here if that was a better income source.

[Crustasian]

Steve - rental places out here are cheap enough so don't feel that you need to buy.

What I did was stick my hard earned dosh in a high interest bank account in the Isle of Man (or Channel Isles.) The interest will cover your monthly rent.

However,you can't sit on your **** and hope to make a fortune doing nothing (unless you are a gigalo like Denver).I am in the bar trade and fully agree with Stevem - it's a lifestyle thing not a profit making machine.

There are some things that you may be able to do to top up your income.Have you ever thought of a job change? There was a post the other day( S1mon)saying that the oil industry are looking for ROV pilots (underwater remote mini subs).Plenty of pay and you can live anywhere.

[dogblower]

Yes, they're desperate for ROV pilots right now. I hear they'll even train you now as long as you have some sort of electronics background. Job I'm on at the moment is expected to have some hold ups because the sub-contractors can't supply ROV facilities 24 hours.

[LivinLOS]

ROV, LST, Engineering.. So many of the long stayers I know have been getting into the oil industry this year..

Really if I had to get back into graft I would look at that contract angle.. Month on month off.. Time to enjoy life and enforced work to sober up and stop the shakes..