Building a rock solid future in Thailand
Kind of related to my Total Immersion thread https://bryanflowerspattaya.com/2017/02/17/total-immersion/ (well worth a read)
I have lived here over 10 years and I see guys come and go all the time. The guys that leave fastest are the guys that cannot limit their fun, or ration out their vices.
When I first moved here I decided I wanted to be here forever, I was determined and I limited myself to just Friday nights out and I had a short time after I ran a pattay addicts bar crawl, it was more like work, but little did I know at the time, I was meeting 1000’s of guys which helped when I brought a bar later.
I don’t see many guys working towards a future here, partly because many guys are much older than me and partly because guys just assume they cant live here forever, I am going to skip the money issue because everyone has a different situation, needs, resources and outlook to life. But I want to point out that property will be my retirement plan and I have already got started on that. (10-35 year goal) The older and wiser I get the more long term my goals become.
The things I am doing to build my future here. (I consider myself a die hard Pattaya warrior but I would love to live in Chiang Mai later on)
– I have a yellow Tabian baan – this saves residency certificates and helps towards the getting Thai ID card
– I have a Thai ID card which means I have a number (useful for stuff listed below) It also saves carrying a passport.
– I keep away from drugs, alcohol and I avoid bad people and bars after dark because that’s when bad things can happen (rarely)
– I am studying reading, writing and speaking Thai. I watch only Thai TV, my facebook is in Thai and I only follow Thai groups, Thai girls and Thai news groups (I only use fb for messaging these days) I avoid the expat groups because they create too much stress and drama.
– I have no evidence of mongering, owning bars on my facebook, one of my staff went through the last 7 years and removed any pictures of me in bars and with girls (I am applying for Thai citizenship later and they will be checking everything)
– I have a legit work permit and I pay the tax, social every month unlike alot of guys, this is to build up to my Thai citizenship later. (5-7 year goal)
– I am building up real relationships with Thais without money involved, takes time and effort
– My goals next year is to pay off debts and pay my house off
– I train Muay Thai daily and talk with the Thai guys and I even take one of the guys to soi 6 to get laid. The Thais respect this, its healthy and it gives me access to some very good people away from the night life scum.
– Lastly I am applying to be volunteer rescue for sawangboriboon, that is worth another thread alone. I am doing 3 hours a day private Thai lessons (when possible) to get up to scratch for this job. I am doing this to practice Thai, build solid relationships, help people and have interesting things to do and talk about.
– I am trying to do everything myself now and build my own relationships with Thai people, I’ve always sent my wife to do stuff, but I am becoming self sufficient, she doesn’t like it but i am doing it
– I am also starting at a government funded school to do all the primary school lessons and test its so dam tough, i have all the books and I need to do science, maths, history, geography all again in Thai. then I will try and go up to finishing school. The school has a few thousand mixed aged Thais and one farang. They tried to push me away but i was persistent and i have my Thai ID card so i can give them the number to get added onto the course. I am hoping to be confident to start this next year, i am already trying to study it. This will take 4 years and alot of studying, I do not care if I get the certification or not. I just want to learn it all.
– I am going to try and write a book about how to make money and get by in Thailand
– I am no longer going to invest in people or lend out money, its creates too much stress fighting, i am tired of it
– I pretty much only eat Thai food now, this saves money and helps me health wise. It makes my life much more easy also.
– I try to have 2 or more incomes at any time to play it safe, but if I can save then I can relax about that a bit more
– My wife is starting to train to be a lawyer, also she can earn a fair bit with all her business skills/knowledge. This is extra security if I cannot work. I teach her everything I know.
My current weaknesses is an inability to save, but I have a few solutions that I can try. I do not waste money as such but I dont set any aside because its always going out. I have figured I only need to save for a few years of keep here and that gives me plenty of time to recover if i lose my income.