I've done some research on this, as we are thinking about retiring (at least part-time) to Thailand. As a foreigner, you cannot own land in Thailand. You can purchase a condo (though only a certain proportion of any condo development can be foreign-owned). You also need to get a visa for a long stay, and there are several types to look at. There is a retirement visa, but as I read it, it's for people who are spending most/all of the year in Thailand.

For long term rentals, you might check out sites like www.vbro.com Also, I know people who negotiate long-term leases with serviced apartments. Often they negotiate for a particular unit, and get prices much better than what you see on the web. I also know a couple of people who negotiate long-term stays with a hotel.

all of the serviced apartments have long term rental senarios...depending on the occupancy i think the cost could vary from any published price...

on your next trip go to a few blocks (make an appointment) and review what they would offer you...

lots of expats live starting at soi 8 all the way out i think...

they also live in the silom/sathorn area as well...

here is our current thinking/fear----bkk is fantastic and we can't get enough of it....would that change when and if we stopped going to nice restaurants all the time, stopped spending hours shopping, etc, etc....our current thinking is yes....when all the of the pluses were removed and you had to cook, shop, etc etc for yourself, wouldn't you tire of it real quickly when you were living with all the flaws that bkk or any huge city presents???? of course it is cheap and you can have help for a very low fee and you can eat out as cheaply as cooking in, but still we worry and do not want to burst the bkk bubble...

of course you can live in other places in thailand much cheaper: chiang mai (ugh!!!), koh samui, pattaya, hua hin, etc, but they do not have the day to day feel of a bkk, imo

so we live in boston area, and continue to return to thailand as often as possible and the bubble is still inflated

shortened version....would living there for a longer time than 4-6 weeks spoil it for you?? would bkk and thailand loose its magic??

Bob has a point there but there are quite a few foreigners who spend a lot of time here whether it's for retirement or just they enjoy living here.

Just want to add that there's a Thai retirement visa: Non-Immigrant Visa “O-A” (Long Stay). More information from the Thai ministry of foreign affairs: http://www.mfa.go.th/web/2482.php?id=2493

For long term rental or property purchases for all of Thailand try companies such as Richard Ellis(Thailand) - http://www.cbre.co.th/en/index.asp

Great information, hanuman. I do know people who spend several months in BKK/Thailand over the cold USA winter months. They are (obviously) from the northern part of the USA where it gets really cold! The move from one apartment complex to another, trying something new each time. Although they talk about buying, they are not yet ready to do that, even though they've been spending their USA winters in BKK for several years now, or more. I think the long term rental is the way to go, until you determine where you would want to be spending your money on a permanent place.

if i had a regular place in bkk, i think i might have to think twice about visits elsewhere, like in africa, s. america, europe, etc...

i am not ready to give up on any of it...!!

Each of you makes a lot of sense ~~ particularly the loss of the aura of BKK. Rentals, I think, are a closer option than buying. Time will tell.

Thanks to all.

Sandra

BKK is a wonderful place to go as a tourist. Being a resident will be a very different experience. What will you do tp fill your days? Shopping and restauranting ( a new word, but the meaning is clear) will probably not sustain you. In other words, what would the 45th day of a 60 day stay be like? If the answer is not exciting, perhaps 2 or 3 months in BKK is not a good plan. Of course, you can give it a try with rentals and just don't repeat if there's not enough existence.

Well.... if you have many friends who live in BKK (you need to meet Maeng and Dr Jack for starters) then it makes it an easier long stay. But I do think that the aura would be lost, as others have said. You can always hop on a plane or in a van and head to a beach or up north to Chiang Mai for a week or so. Breaks up the 60 days nicely.

While I love Bangkok itself, another attraction is the proximity to so many wonderful places. So in my fantasy, stretches of time in Bangkok would be broken up by a trip to Laos or Burma, for instance.

Think about what you do during your days now. Which of those things could you do in Bangkok, which not?

We've looked just a little at condos to buy, but once we're retired, we'll try out Bangkok on a long-term rental basis before we would buy.

We have properties abroad as well and in the reverse scenario, I would get homesick or bored after 1 month outside of Thailand.

IMO a 60 or 90 days visa and spend those time over the new year when the weather is nicest will be perfect. You can have short trips, as Kathie have suggested, to all the neighbouring countries where they will also be enjoying good weather.

Check out all the holidays and activities from November to January - Loy Kratong, King's Birthday, New Year etc.

Pick up the book, "The Bangkok Survivor's Handbook-A Guide to Living in Asia's City of Angels", by Robert Hein. Everything is in it. I have the 2003 edition, as I've been researching this for a long time. There is an updated edition of the same book that I saw out.

Also, if you go to the bookstores, in Bangkok, there are very good magazines dealing with buying property and visa issues. I have a lot of this info which I collected years ago. As for condos, there's freehold and leasehold. And the buildings are 51% Thai ownership and 49% foreign, if going to buy a unit. I've seen a lot of buildings and units.

And if you're going to be serious about spending a substantial amount of time there, then it's important to be serious about studying Thai which is not an easy language. I've studied at least 8 languages, that I can remember, plus very briefly studied Thai, while in Bangkok, and Thai is a bear of a language. It takes a "lot" of seriousness and perserverence.

I'm a firm believer of it being mandatory to study the language of the country that one has chosen to seriously settle down in and not just take short vacations to. I find it respectful to the people of the country, which is why I studied Danish for so many decades while spending my summers in Danmark. And people were so grateful that I did. Plus, it gives one mobility to travel around a country independently, like I did in Danmark, and also deal with emergency situations. There's a lot to consider before moving to another country.

As for language schools, there are tons of them and I researched a lot of them and visited some. I attended Baan Aksorn. www.baanaksorn.com. I can only have max 3 weeks in Bangkok, due to work and elderly parents, but Baan Aksorn and I wrote an intensive program to fit my needs.

I really should say that the school came to me, as I had my instructors come to my serviced apartment. The school is very close to Emporium Suites, on the other side of Sukhumvit Rd. and a side street or two; about a 20-25 minute walk.

Baan Aksorn wasn't cheap, but excellent and I can sniff out a fly-by-night language-learning situation pretty quickly and that wasn't one. They are very serious. I have other schools on my list,too although that's the only one that I attended. I would attend it again. I'd rather pay more money for a really serious program than spend less on a "so-so" one. And I've read a lot about different programs around town. Happy Travels!

I forgot to mention that I've been a member of www.bnow.org for some years now. They have really expanded since I first joined. They are a women's organization that has all types of gatherings and also have, on their website, information about a lot of expat issues.

I actually found my language school through them. And after I had finished my language program, I happened to mention it to an expat friend, who's lived in Bangkok for decades, and she mentioned that she knows the owner of the school and knew that it was very good. So, you have to just be out there meeting people and making connections and then things start to come together. It's not easy though. Once one gets out of the "tourist" hub, it's a whole different world. Happy Travels!

WOW!!!!!!!!

per guenmai...Once one gets out of the "tourist" hub, it's a whole different world. Happy Travels!

Guenmai, in my own case, having Thai and expat friends truly enhances my visits to BKK. I think that's why I do not get bored in that city.

You should post this reply on vinovino's thread.

i think that many of us have perceived the advantage of making friends in thailand....take hanuman for instance, who is friendly to a number of us and enhances our thai experience each trip....same for some of the hotel people you have come to know our your jeweler or other retail contacts or as in carol's case folks like dr jack and maeng....it makes all the difference in the world to "know" locals and to be able to see things through their eyes...

if you lived in bkk for a protracted amount of time these friendships would only grow...

Hello mcbeanie (sandra)! (Vaguely recall you once enquired about that sensational Singaporean airline. This past weekend, as special as ever - and she's always there for all of you at singaporeair.com - thank you.)

Now, slightly hijacking this thread for you Sandra, in order to give another shameless promo, this time for the 'long stay' apartments at that sweet slice of Bangkok business travel heaven, the Shangri-La hotel. The rather well appointed lodgings are located in the Krungthep Wing and are serviced by some rather fine friends and employees. (A recent work trip stay on floor 12, most productive and enjoyable.)

If so inclined, mail/call the property for more info, and perhaps, 'special offers'. I'm currently scheduled to meet with some of the management/staff in a few weeks; may have more info for you. (And, thanks in advance for supporting the Thai economy - greatly appreciated.)

All the best, a productive week to all, keep on researching - and keep on flying those Girls.

macintosh (robert)


... "Sweet dreams" ...

(Thanks forever, Shangri-La)

AskOsena ~~ In fact, we are booked on SIN 61 and 62. Paid extra for bulkhead seats (for the leg room). Looking forward to our trip!

Sandra

You have all given great advice ~~ and have caused us to re-think the idea of staying in Thailand long-term. If we weren't planning appts at Bumrungrad this trip, even 6 weeks might be a little long.

I do agree with the idea of knowing people in BKK. We do know a couple of people, and ~~ with Carol's invitation ~~ look forward to meeting Maeng, Dr. Jack, and some of you while we are there. It looks like Carol ~~ and maybe others ~~ will be there at the same time as we will. I know C will also be at the Adelphi.

Happy Travels is what it's all about. Thanks everyone!!!!!!

Sandra

As for language schools, I'm going to post some information for whomever is interested as there are many who read these threads. Some months ago, out of curiosity, I read the whole language school thread on www.thaivisa.com. It took me about 5 hours. I attended my language program Dec 2007/Jan 2008. The following post of a regular thaivisa.com forum member was posted in 2009. I didn't know about the forum when I was looking for a school.

I bookmarked it, on my computer, months ago. Last night, I tried pulling it up by the URL, which I would have just posted here, but it didn't work. The thiavisa.com website is quite strange. There's a very good thread, by a regular poster, that lists many language schools and the poster's opinion on them as he's checked out over 25 schools. It was really interesting to see my school on the list and his opinion of it.

So, to get to the list of schools, for those who might need one in the future, do the following. Having the list will save you a LOT of time. I didn't have a list like this.

1) Go to www.thaivisa.com
2)Go to the top of page and click on "EXPAT FORUM"
3)Scroll to "GENERAL"
4)Click on, "THAI LANGUAGE"
5)Scroll to "BEST THAI LANGUAGE SCHOOL"
6)Go to the top of the page and click on the ARROW that will take you to the "LAST PAGE". Right now there are 20 pages. Then back click to page "14", which you can click on #18/#16/#14 to get there. It's quite fast.
7) When page #14 comes up, look to the far right part of the screen and there will be numbers at the end of each post. Scroll to #340 and there will be a post by Tod Daniels.
The complete information will read....tod-daniels posted 2009-10-24....and that will be the thread with lists of schools and "his" opinion of them. I also read #341/#342/#343.

What's important to remember, when selecting a school, is that different schools can have different phonemic transcription systems, so if one jumps around from school to school, it could be confusing. I'd prefer to get to a good school and one that meets my needs and stick with it.

Now, if anyone can post the URL way, then feel free to do so. Last night when I typed the URL in, a different page popped up which is why I figured out how to do it the above way in order to get to the correct page. I don't know all of the tricks of the computer trade. Happy Travels!

Carol: I haven't read Vinovino's thread as I don't read everything and I'm not always over here. I kind of speed read the thread titles and some things, And as for not getting bored in Bangkok, if one has connections and joins organizations, then one should not get bored. But, it takes the hustle mentality, especially when either staying long term or moving to another country. Been there, done that. Happy Travels!

>>>AskOsena ~~ In fact, we are booked on SIN 61 and 62. Paid extra for bulkhead seats (for the leg room). Looking forward to our trip!<<<


(Good for you, mcbeanie; funds well spent for that extra space, and just between us: certain SQ rows/seats easily trump 'first' on 'other' carriers. Ongoing personal/professional biases, yes.)

Enjoy your planning, stay updated with KrisFlyer membership via singaporeair, check out a recent Houston-Moscow-Singapore trip report on SQTalk.com , don't forget those ongoing Changi sales (as of not too many days back), and have fun investigating various Bangkok short/long-term stays - my current plug is for the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit: as of 1-4 June 2010 (my last SGS visit), 'free nights' for spending enough at the hotel's various bar/restaurant venues; fine BKK business travel deals of late, not always 'advertised'.)

Savour your rides, Sandra!

robert


... Singapore Airlines, You're a Great Way to Fly ...

Sandra, I'm a little confused about your comment about 6 weeks. I thought you were asking about moving to Thailand either full time or for half the year.

For six weeks, you might get a price break on a serviced apartment, but I wouldn't expect it to be a lot. Many serviced apartments require a 6 month lease to get a substantial price break. I could fill six weeks in Bangkok without much planning, so I'm surprised you are thinking it would be too long.

Kathie: Don't be confused. Usually we are in BKK 4-6 weeks, and thoroughly enjoy it. Skip to the future ~~ near or far ~~ we are thinking about splitting our time between the US and SEA. Hence, the question about long-term rentals. We already get a serviced apt on a monthly rate for our trips. Thanks. Hope this helped.

Sandra

Thanks for clearing that up for me, Sandra.

Kathie: I am sorry for the confusion. I don't think I made myself clear.

I have received so MUCH help from Fodorites, including you, gpanda, rhkrmk, hanuman, Carol, MichaelBKK ~~ and the list goes on ~~ that I feel as if I already know you all. Hopefully, I will get to meet some of you in BKK if we are there at the same time ~~ December and January.

Take care, and thanks again for everyone's help.

Sandra

sandra... get on the denton flt to boston on oct 8 and you can meet almost all of us at the boston GTG.....

take a look at the new marriott svc apts on soi 24... they are fantastic.... marriott sukhumvit park executive apts... the other new marriott on sathorn is not as nice... we have visited both

Yes, Sandra, it'd be great if you could come up to Boston for the GTG.

Bob, your Marriott apts look lovely, but they are not very handy to the skytrain. The Adelphi is just waaaaaaaay too handy for someone who stays there with any regularity to ever think about relocating.

When I'm ready for shopping, I appreciate walking about 1-2 minutes and then taking the escalator UP to the skytrain. When I come back 'home' after a day of shopping, I don't have to lug my bags very far at all. And no, I don't want to wait for a shuttle to come pick me up when it's hot and all I want to do is collapse on my sofa and put my tired feet up!

But... those Marriott apartments DO look nice. I'm sure you will enjoy them very much.

Carol

Topped for LynnieB. Happy Travels!

Got it. Thanks.

This makes me think I may want to stay in BKK for a few months then CM for a few months instead of th 6 months in CM. Hmmm...

lynn...one very favorable thing about bkk is that there are tons of serviced apartments available and many are quite reasonable and most are really nice...

some companies to investigate are:

marriott
ascott
centre point
conrad
emporium suites
chatrium

i think there are some in CM as well

i will be staying in bkk at the marriott mayfair and the marriott sukhumvit park in november....both are about $100 per day for short term, but for longer term they are cheaper

Lynnie... you said "This makes me think I may want to stay in BKK for a few months then CM for a few months instead of th 6 months in CM. Hmmm..."

This would certainly be a more enjoyable arrangement for me! I love Bangkok. I typically spend about 2 weeks in the city each trip to Thailand (and I've now made 21 trips there).

Yes, Lynnie, why not split your stay up? First in CM and then save the best for last, Bangkok. The serviced apartment buildings are very good there. I first stayed at Chateau de Bangkok at Ploenchit sky train station and on Ruam Rudee. It was very reasonable. That was back around 2004, I think.

Then in 2005, I moved into Emporium Suites, which is attached to the Emporium Mall, and at Prom Phong skytrain station. I've been there ever since 2005. It's super convenient as there's a Bangkok Bank in the office building attached to it, and the supermarket is in the Emporium Mall on the top floor along with the huge food court, movie theater, etc...And the Prom Phong skytrain station is attached to the Emporium Mall.

I've been to so many serviced apartment buildings, over so many years, in order to check them out, that I feel like I could write an article on them. LOL. Happy Travels!

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/59287-best-thai-language-school/page__st__325

Just saw this old thread in my bookmarks and thought I'd pull it up. I'm cleaning out tons of bookmarks right now.

Above is the language school link to my comments, above, on June 28,2010. I couldn't get it to post back then.

For those interested in language schools, read Todd Daniel's comments #340/#341/#342/#343. They are quite helpful. I wish I had had his list before I went out searching for schools. It took a lot of schools and searching before I selected one. But, I ended up picking a really good one, Baan Aksorn, which Todd just happens to mention in his comments. Happy Travels!

Guenmai, which serviced apartment did you like best? Which was the best value for the money? The worst?

Emporium Suites is my #1 choice. As far as value for the money, with the everything right at one's finger tips, that's value for the money in my book.

As far as the worst ones, I dare not post them.

And since I've checked out so many buildings, over the years, I would have to refer back to my trip reports here on fodors to remember them all. I did write about various ones in the fodors trip reports. It might be easy to pull them up by clicking on my screen name.

Happy Travels!