davidclifford

I've been offered a secondment to Bangkok for 2 years (on my UK salary) and I wondered if there are any expats living there that can help me decide if it would be a good thing to do or not. I will be taking my wife and kids which are 2 1/2 and 6 months old.

David.

johnnie7au

David..

I worked there for three months...part city part remote...

I love the place and I love the people.. land of smiles ... BKK is safer than london in my opinion..

What job do you do?

davidclifford

I do software support (ie fix bugs). The company I work for (www.dstinternational.com) has an office in Bangkok (and Surbiton where I work at the moment) and they are moving a lot of software support and development over there as it is a lot cheaper, and they want me over there to take my experience with me. I've worked for them since 2001.

The trouble is, my wife and I had our hearts set on moving to Melbourne in Oz and are a long way down that path. I have my PR Oz visa already and need to get it validated before March. My wife also wants to enroll at Monash Uni to do a PhD.

The company also has an office in Melbourne and have said that I can do the same job as I do now but in Oz but the disadvantage of that is that I will be the only one doing this and all my colleages will be in Surbiton and Bangkok, and I will be paid Oz wages which are a lot less, where I will be getting UK wages (with less tax) in Bangkok.

What do I do?

David.

johnnie7au

I can't advise.

But if you decide BKK is where you want to be maybe consider doing the PhD externally through Monash or other Aussie uni. If you let your visa to Oz lapse you may regret it.

davidclifford

I'll validate my visa for Australia even if I decide to go to BKK first, no worries mate! We are going to Oz sometime in the future, but I don't know if going to BKK for 2 years first is a good idea or not.

Dave.

Jockstar

David. I currently live in Bangkok. Its a great city. I take it the company that you work for will be based around the main business area. So you will be better staying arond Sukhamvit. Many expats there. Your kids are not ready for school yet as they so young. But there is many international kindergardens for your oldest if you wish. i also have residence in Oz. I take it its a 5 year visa. But you must start it before March? Is this correct? I say go for it. Live in BKK for 2 years and then go to OZ. Your visa will still be valid for another 3 years anyway. If you are on a farang salary from the Uk. You can live a great life here. Food is cheap. if you like Thai food. Beer is also cheap. Geting around BKK is easy. They have an over head skytrain(BTS) or an underground. Taxis are cheap and buses even cheaper. Mate there is a bit expat community out here. You will be fine. Thai can be a complex language. But you will soon pick up the basics. Your missus will love the shopping. If you want anymore info. Then let me know.

davidclifford

We are almost certain to go as soon as we get some details of the medical cover for my wife and son sorted out. At the moment we are looking at Ekamai as an area to live, as most of the other people from my company will be staying there. We're looking forward to it.

My wife is a qualified EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher and she'd like to find work in BKK, maybe part-time at first. Any ideas about good places to look?

Jockstar

Ekamai is near Sukhamvit. Nice enough area. Many farang type restaurants. Does your wife have a degree? If no degree it its near impossible to get a work permit. But she can still find work. There is many schools around the area that you will be stayin. Check out the Bangkok Post every day. Or better still. Check out this website for teaching jobs. ajarn.com Many, many jobs on there. Full and part time. Mate you will enjoy this city. How old are you? Do you play football? Theres an expat casual league here. Nothing to serious. But a good social thing. Anymore questions mate. just ask.

davidclifford

The wife does have a degree but I think my company is going to sort out a work permit for her as we are going to be in BKK for 2 years, not just a few months. She's done a lot of English teaching around the world, like Turkey and Italy, so she's looking forward to working again. Hopefully we can afford childcare in BKK, it's not worth doing it in the UK.

I'll be 40 in Feb and I'm not a footy fan (sorry), one reason I'm leaving UK . I love my F1, one of the reasons I'm looking forward to moving to Melbourne later, the building the company uses overlooks the Albert park circuit

Do you know of any Thai or BKK specific forums I can join as there arn't a lot of posts on BritExp?

Ta, Dave.

Jockstar

Mate the best forum in Thailand is thaivisa.com . Its free and has many people on it. Far more than this place. Many subjects covered. Check it out.