# Getting ready to move to Thailand



## runnerguy (May 5, 2011)

Hello all,

first post here, I am a 31 year old american moving to Thailand to teach english, I am currently a teacher here in the US. After my job training in Cambodia, ill have some choices of where in Thailand to move, PAttaya, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, etc, etc.

In general, I want to surf, run, maybe party a bit and probably try to talk to lots of girls, although im not really interested in hookers, Im baasically making a major life change and at 31 years youmg, THailand seems like it has a lot to offer. Im not going to be sitting around an apartment playing video games, I plan to learn as much about the culture and learn as much of the language as I can and I also plan on doing some other travel in SE Asia.

Can anybody give mea heads up about any of these cities, night life, how to be safe and not get robbed or knifed by a guy dressed like a girl? also, I want to generally stay out of trouble, Im not looking for drugs and hookers, but I am looking for night life and ladies.

Also, where can I buy a surfboard in Thailand?

How can I expect to live on 1200USD/month (with an additional 500ish USD per month)

thanks everybody.


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## steiner (Feb 7, 2011)

You should be able to live fairly comfortably on the amount mentioned,unless you want to live the high life renting an expensive condo and partying every night.Not much surf action in Bkk or CM.....so that leaves Pttya or Puket or maybe somewhere down south.Good luck.


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## cnx_bruce (Feb 2, 2010)

Welcome to the forum, runner. Chiang Mai has everything except surf and big farang-oriented redlight areas, so maybe you'll have to make a trade-off there. 

You've probably noticed but there would be at least one new forum thread started exactly like yours every week, not just in this Thai expat forum but in every other one on the web (and there are many now). Search and locate then read these. There is a wealth of info provided there and many of the same questions are asked and answered over and over - including "which is the best city to live in?", "how much money do i need to spend", and so on. Be sure to check out ajarnforum which has an emphasis on providing info for teachers, although some of the others also have teaching sections within them. 

It's not hard to stay safe, don't get very drunk, don't flash money around, and don't offend the locals (especially if they have a few whiskies under their belts) ... so be sure to read a bit about Thai culture before you arrive ... preferably something more in depth than just a travel guide. Again there is so much stuff available on the net .. just key in the search words and away you go.


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