# 23 Year Old from NYC with No Idea Where to Start



## tjp1990 (Mar 23, 2014)

Hey everyone!

I am a 23 year old (male) living in New York City, and I want to move to Thailand but have no idea where to start. I have $12,000 (USD) saved and I plan to have around $15,000 by the time I move. I would like to stay for about a year before going to law school (which I understand is fine regarding a visa if I briefly leave every 90 days). 

Should I find an apartment before I arrive, or stay in hostels and look around when I arrive?

What areas (neighborhoods [as we'd say in NYC] of cities) are most culturally prominent with the arts? (I am a writer)

What areas (neighborhoods) are known to have a large number of young English-speaking expats? And is there a recourse to find an expat roommate?

Here's a little more information about myself to give context: I absolutely love big bustling cities (so I was thinking Bangkok or Phuket, but am very open to suggestions). I have extensive backpacking experience and currently live in a tiny apartment so I am not worried about "slumming it", living in a small/gritty apartment, etc. Many of the forums are people moving for work, have kids, or are generally a bit older than I am, so I would really appreciate some guidance!

Thank you so much for helping out!


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## tjp1990 (Mar 23, 2014)

Also, just to add. I have an English major from NYU and have experience teaching ESL in NYC so if $12,000-15,000 is not enough to last me a year, I believe it would be relatively easy to find a job teaching.


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## Mweiga (Sep 24, 2010)

tjp1990 said:


> Hey everyone!
> 
> I am a 23 year old (male) living in New York City, and I want to move to Thailand but have no idea where to start. I have $12,000 (USD) saved and I plan to have around $15,000 by the time I move. I would like to stay for about a year before going to law school (which I understand is fine regarding a visa if I briefly leave every 90 days).
> 
> ...


You sound perfect material for Bangkok's Khao San Road which is the back packer / traveller hang out. Plenty of opportunities for cheap accommodation and ideal neighbourhood to meet people from all over the world in the younger age bracket. Centrally located in the old part of Bangkok , a stone's throw from the Chao Phraya river, travel to the rest of this burgeoning city is easily organised.

Don't worry about booking anything in advance , just pitch up as there are always plenty of options - wander round for a an hour or two and you'll soon get the hang of the place. Lonely Planet is the bible for essential pre-trip reading on Bangkok and Thailand generally.

There are a couple of visa options for someone in your situation which would involve visa runs at varying intervals depending on which one you go for. It's a while since I did all this but there should be a double entry (or even treble , I hear) 3 month tourist visa you can get back in your home country at the Thai embassy requiring you to leave Thailand after 3 months and then re-enter to activate the 2nd (or 3rd , if available) entry. Otherwise , as a US citizen you will get an automatic 30 day "permission to stay" stamp on arrival which you just continue to utilise by exiting and re-entering every 30 days. No limit to how many times you do this. This entry stamp can also be extended by 7 days at any immigration office for a fee. 

You can turn these visa runs into explorations of neighbouring countries where short stay visas are as routine as Thailand and cheap accommodation readily available.


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## tjp1990 (Mar 23, 2014)

Thank you very much. That was really helpful!


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