# What did you bring when you came in Thailand ?



## jute (Jul 24, 2015)

Hi all,

I'm going to move in Bangkok in January (from France) with my wife and my two young childrens. I want to know what did you bring with you when you moved.

For example, did you bring your furnitures ? 

thks


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

We brought everything we owned except winter clothes and my car.

Furniture, kitchen equipment, electrical equipment, tools.... you name it, we brought it, but this was mainly due to the fact that my company would pay for almost unlimited freight, but no storeage.

Our winter clothes is kept at a relative's house in Spain for easy retrieval when we visit at Christmas, and the car is in a friend's private garage which I rent from him.


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## jute (Jul 24, 2015)

I thought that a lot of apartments and houses are rented with furnitures, isn't it ?
You succeeded to find an apartment without furniture ? Is it easy ?
Thx


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Most apartments are rented with furniture. That is true.
There are two main obstacles to renting unfurnished:
1) The rent you see advertised is actually 2 rents, one for the property which is taxed as income for the landlord and one for the furniture and contents that is not taxed. Therefore a property for which the rent is 80,000 THB is probably actually 30,000 for the property and 50,000 for the contents when you actually come to sign the agreements. Obviously this is for tax purposes, but officially no landlord will ever say that they rent unfurnished.
2) Some landlords simply don't have space to store furniture that tenants don't want. They will not pay for storeage and won't throw it out becasue the next person will probably want furnished again!!

We made the error of saying up front that we wanted unfurnished at first, then we realised that this was not the way to do it. The flat we now have we accepted and agreed to rent on the basis that the landlord would remove the main bed. Then, when the workers came to remove it we told them to take a bit more furniture away also. After a few weeks we asked if they would remove the dining table. Then we found the roof space where they were putting it all and started to move the smaller stuf up there ourselves... hey presto!! Unfurnished flat!! Of course, we still pay for the "furniture rental".


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Oh, and one more thing. I don't know your circumstances, but when we put our furniture from our 100 m. sq. flat in Madrid into our 350 m. sq flat in Bangkok, we realised that some of the landlord's furniture was going to have to stay just to fill the space a bit....


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## jute (Jul 24, 2015)

Thank you for all those important informations !!


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## Xynoplas (Aug 2, 2015)

Is there also duty charged for furniture that you bring in from overseas?


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Xynoplas said:


> Is there also duty charged for furniture that you bring in from overseas?


No, not if they are personal effects.


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## oliver06700 (Oct 15, 2015)

jute said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm going to move in Bangkok in January (from France) with my wife and my two young childrens. I want to know what did you bring with you when you moved.
> 
> ...


you should sell everything, less expensive to buy here than bring everything from France


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## paradiso (Oct 30, 2015)

I would think very hard before considering bringing all your furniture or possessions here. I see from your other post that you are coming here to work. How do you know at this stage wether that will work out for you, or that you will actually like living in Thailand?

Most condos and apartments here are already furnished, and as others have said, most landlords will be very reluctant to clear their places so that you can bring in your furniture. Houses are normally let unfurnished but there are some that can be part or fully furnished.

I would consider storing your furniture and possessions at home if it is of sentimental value, or otherwise selling them which will give you some piece of mind. There are substantial costs involved with bringing a large amount of things here, and if things didn't work out for you for whatever reason, you'd either have to leave them, try to sell them (very difficult), or send them back home at large cost.

I can understand people of retirement age considering this form of action if it may be the last place they reside, but as you are younger I think it's a lot of hassle for little, if any benefit. It's so easy to buy furniture here, and if you look around there some very stylish and good quality items. There's also always lots of sales and promotions going on, so you can pick up some good deals.

Everyones situation is different, but I personally came here with just case of clothes and a laptop. Whenever, I did have the need to buy some furniture, I always had the hassle of trying to sell it later when I moved.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Most companies who will pay for moving of all personal effects will also pay for them to be returned to the home country after the term of the employment is over.
So it is unlikely that there will be any difficulty in getting the furniture back or having to sell it off.


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## RickThai (Sep 2, 2015)

I brought my camera (an expensive Canon), my stereo, and my clothes.

The camera and clothes made it, but the stereo had been replaced by a bunch of old Thai newspapers.

(The camera was stolen about 8 months later, when someone broke into my bungalow).

I would recommend bringing some good basic tools (pliers, wrenches, etc) and some good pots and pans, if you really like to cook. I don't like Thai mattresses, so provided you can afford to ship them, I would recommend bringing your favorite mattresses from home.

Keep in mind that Thailand uses 50 Hz, 240V so power kitchen appliances and tools may not work if they are designed for 60 Hz, 120V. Most digital electronics use power regulators that handle both 120/240V and 50/60 Hz without problems.

RickThai


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## Bahn_farang (Jan 28, 2014)

The most useless thing I brought over was my western conceptions of law,order, right and wrong. If you want to have an enjoyable time the cultural pluralism is the best way to go.


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## RickThai (Sep 2, 2015)

^
Keeping an open mind and a "anything goes" attitude is probably the most important thing you can bring. Forget everything you ever learned about sanitation and western etiquette.

I once ordered a steak and a glass of red wine and the girl brought me a glass of white wine. I asked her why she brought me white wine when I ordered red. She replied, "The bottle of white wine was already opened." That is Thailand.

RickThai


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

RickThai said:


> ^
> Keeping an open mind and a "anything goes" attitude is probably the most important thing you can bring. Forget everything you ever learned about sanitation and western etiquette.
> 
> I once ordered a steak and a glass of red wine and the girl brought me a glass of white wine. I asked her why she brought me white wine when I ordered red. She replied, "The bottle of white wine was already opened." That is Thailand.
> ...


That one sounds more lie here in the Philippines but maybe that kind of thought possess is contagious :confused2:..


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## RickThai (Sep 2, 2015)

Your right it might be just "an Asian thing".

RT


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