Moving to Thailand

[turuncuoglu]

I am an engineer planning to move to Thailand from US. It is me, my wife and our toddler. The employer offers $4500 plus housing. Is this a good salary? We have a comfortable life here. But would like to move to a warmer place. I would appreciate any help. I have no idea how much $4500 would last in Thailand I know it is an inexpensive place but I can use all the help I can get. We will be moving to Rayong.

Thanks

Turuncu

[nomad4ever]

Depending on where you go in Thailand, USD 4.500 can take you a long way. In Phuket, Koh Samui or Pattaya you can live like a king on that salary, even more so in the provinces or in Chiang Mai.

In Bangkok it still would be an okay salary, but here as well it would depend on the kind of job you have to perform and the area your office is in. I would definitely vote to move somewhere close to your office, as traffic can cost you plenty of hours every day in Bangkok (not so much elsewhere).

Give some more details and I'm sure some more people can help you here with more detailed information.

[turuncuoglu]

Originally Posted by nomad4ever

Depending on where you go in Thailand, USD 4.500 can take you a long way. In Phuket, Koh Samui or Pattaya you can live like a king on that salary, even more so in the provinces or in Chiang Mai.

In Bangkok it still would be an okay salary, but here as well it would depend on the kind of job you have to perform and the area your office is in. I would definitely vote to move somewhere close to your office, as traffic can cost you plenty of hours every day in Bangkok (not so much elsewhere).

Give some more details and I'm sure some more people can help you here with more detailed information.

Thank you for your answer my work is at Rayong. I don't know where is a good place to live around there.

[Farang]

Welcome to Thailand!
With that salary you will live very well and if you don't have a dangerous life style you will be amazed of how much you can send back home to your account.
A two bedroom house with full bath and half bath, fully furnished with cable and net will set you back for about 15,000baht. Chances are you'll also have a nice yard so your children can run and play safely.
To get around you need a car, if your company is not already setting you up with one expect to pay between 10,000 to 15,000 baht worth in rental per month. Normally if you rent from a local the cost will include maintanance and monthly checks. But be careful with driving, if you crash the car you'll owe the owner and the other driver, normally even if it wasn't your fault.
All the best

[KhwaamLap]

The wage is good, so do not worry too much about that. Rayong is a fairly large province and includes a number of islands (including Koh Samet) so where is your place of work - you will most likely want to live somewhere close as travelling is not much fun in Thailand. You may also feel safer in or near a city/town as there is greater availability of gated communities - and other farrangs (that's us westerners by the way - its not meant in a detrimental way - usually - so get used to it!).

International schools ar quite expensive though, so shop around. Out here, you don't get what you pay for, so don't choose based on price alone, some of the cheaper ones are better schools than many of the incredably expensive ones. School officially starts at 7 (mandatory by law), but many people send their kids to pre-schools. If you are looking to stay long term, then this may help the toddler learn Thai at the same time as English which is the best way to go believe me (I have two half Thai girls who barely speak any Thai because we concentrated on English first - mistake!).

Food is cheap (try to adopt Thai food as western food items can be expensive). Western cars are very expensive with 100% import taxes applied. Japanese, Korean and Indonesian cars are cheaper though due to trade agreements. A maid to clean house, baby sit, shop, cook, do the washing, etc are good value and many houses come with maids room for live-ins.

Entertainment is good and cheap. Rayong Province - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia wikipedia lists some places to visit nearby. The golden rule is simple here - don't check your brain in at the airport and you'll be fine.

Good luck. Oh, and as well as this site, ThaiVisa.com forum is useful too.

[turuncuoglu]

I have been told the pay was before tax. Is it still good. How much net pay should I expect?

Thanks for the help

[King Silk]

Too bad you are going to live in Rayong. Its a dump!
Suggest you look for accomodation a few miles away near the beach......
Thailand has its imperfections like everywhere else, but I like it. Enjoy.