# advice/ suggestions please!!



## azsha6617

I recently returned from an amazing trip to SE Asia. I cannot get Thailand out of my head. I loved the authenticity and simplicity. I find myself seriously considering moving to Koh Tao, as i spent a great deal of time and fell in with locals I adored. 

Is this realistic???

I am 24 yrs old. A female Barber. . . 
Would it be possible for me to continue cutting mens hair in Thailand?


----------



## cnx_bruce

azsha6617 said:


> I recently returned from an amazing trip to SE Asia. I cannot get Thailand out of my head. I loved the authenticity and simplicity. I find myself seriously considering moving to Koh Tao, as i spent a great deal of time and fell in with locals I adored.
> 
> Is this realistic???
> 
> I am 24 yrs old. A female Barber. . .
> Would it be possible for me to continue cutting mens hair in Thailand?


Hi. The answers to your questions are:

1. Probably not unless you have considerable savings or an income stream from outside thailand. Even then the place may wear thin quite quickly (different to live here than to visit)
2. Not legally. These forums are full of people asking if and how they can make money here. For the average Joe, finding a legal income stream at anything other than bare subsistence levels is harder to find than cactus at the South Pole


----------



## azsha6617

*Bummer!*

Thats what I figured. . . . 
I'll keep dreaming  
Thanks for the speedy reply.


----------



## ZTraveler

*One never knows what can happen. Don't give up!*

I was thinking that, rather than an all or nothing attitude, why not make a plan for 3 months, see who you meet, what opportunities arise, and how you feel. If that pans out, then extend it as you can.

Sometimes we build a reserve of regret because we allow ourselves to be discouraged away from something before we try it.

If you can't get Thailand out of your mind, then make a plan to go. Make sure you count the cost ahead of time so that you have the funds to make it the three months, and then see what happens. Also make sure you know what happens after the three months if you can't stay or you don't want to stay.

But, above all else, don't scrap your plans! If you do it, then you can always say, "I did the things I wanted to without regret."

I say, "Go for it!" What's the worst that can happen? You have to start over? You're already contemplating that! Do your research, be safe, and go!

My $.02 lane:


----------



## Song_Si

Hi

Koh Tao is better known for its diving (and sightings of whale sharks) than for its haircuts; have not been there (hint - maybe you could add to our Travel in Thailand thread?)

The job situation in Thailand is, very simply, that if a Thai can do the job then that job is reserved for Thais; in terms of barber/hairdressing my guess would be 'no' unless you were employed by eg a training school teaching people the latest techniques from overseas. There are women hairdressers in Phuket who cut men's hair, but have only seen Thais in this role. 

Did you visit any barber shops on your holiday here? _cnx_bruce_ can we have a report from CM? It's quite a ritual in many less-commercial areas, and not something that can be hurried, my most recent (60 baht) visit took 35 min for haircut, razor shave and brief shoulder/neck massage. Apart from the haircut/shave/massage I've also seen Thai barbers perform the arts of nostril-hair trimming and ear-cleaning/hair-trimming (not a pretty spectator sport!). 

Just my exp - but appears women barbers are limited to the more tourist areas - where we lived in Sa Kaeo we have a friend who owns a 3-chair women's hairdressing business, and she will not accept male customers - and equally, many Thai men will not allow a woman to touch their head - so it's men-only. Same rule applies here at the hairdresser my partner uses. Then there is the superstition of it being bad luck to have a haircut on a Wednesday . . . some close and have that day off due to no customers. Saturday is not a good day either, but Sunday is.


----------



## azsha6617

Thanks for the positive reinforcement! I absolutely agree with you. we'll see what happens  Starting over doesn't scare me, it's a part of the adventure. 
The hard part is making a living there if I did decide to stay. Other than teaching English, I cant think of any other source of income. 




ZTraveler said:


> I was thinking that, rather than an all or nothing attitude, why not make a plan for 3 months, see who you meet, what opportunities arise, and how you feel. If that pans out, then extend it as you can.
> 
> Sometimes we build a reserve of regret because we allow ourselves to be discouraged away from something before we try it.
> 
> If you can't get Thailand out of your mind, then make a plan to go. Make sure you count the cost ahead of time so that you have the funds to make it the three months, and then see what happens. Also make sure you know what happens after the three months if you can't stay or you don't want to stay.
> 
> But, above all else, don't scrap your plans! If you do it, then you can always say, "I did the things I wanted to without regret."
> 
> I say, "Go for it!" What's the worst that can happen? You have to start over? You're already contemplating that! Do your research, be safe, and go!
> 
> My $.02 lane:


----------



## Mweiga

azsha6617 said:


> Thanks for the positive reinforcement! I absolutely agree with you. we'll see what happens  Starting over doesn't scare me, it's a part of the adventure.
> The hard part is making a living there if I did decide to stay. Other than teaching English, I cant think of any other source of income.


If your heart is set on Koh Tao really the only feasible source of income there for a farang is scuba diving which is what just about everybody goes there for and where the best diving in the Gulf is to be found.

Don't know if you are already a diver but there are several dive shops on Koh Tao offering all courses and certification (mainly PADI) from basic open water up to dive master. I've known several people who've done this working their way up the various diving levels , some living on Koh Tao for three or four years.

I've visited several times over the past decade for diving and also love this unique island although development continues at a relentless pace with much of the really slow , simple and peaceful atmosphere that existed in the '90s now gone. On the plus side however all this tourist upgrading has brought some of the best farang cuisine you can get in Thailand with divers wanting to avoid those gastric events caused by spicey nosh at pressurised depth !


----------



## KNJ

Koh Tao, hairdresser not likely.
However I do know Japanese hairdressers who work in Bangkok quite legally.
They are high end shops where Japanese and anyone else willing to pay the higher money for a foreign cutter using the best of products go.
If you compromised, and worked Bangkok, travelling when you have time off it is therefore possible. Dont give up if you are competent, then start researching and making some calls


----------



## Song_Si

just coincidence, a feature story on a men's barber in yesterday's Bangkok Post

*Giving top cops the chop*

*For 13 years, one man's scissors and skills have shaped the crowns of our crimefighting bigwigs*

In Thai culture, the head is the most respected part of the body - so much so that for anyone bar the closest relatives to touch someone's is often highly taboo.










But Chamras Khamsaengdee has not only touched hundreds of heads over the years, he has had carte blanche to fondle, ruffle and handle the "crowns" of some of Bangkok's most influential people.

This is because Mr Chamras is a barber with a shop inside the compound of the Crime Suppression Division.

For the past 13 years, he's kept the heads of the city's top lawmen in perfect trim. On most days, he is kept busy as lines of officers wait their turn for a haircut.

**

Mr Chamras, a 46-year-old native of Phichit, taught himself the skill of barbering by cutting the hair of relatives and friends in his neighbourhood.

He later moved to Bangkok to work in a hair salon on Navamin Road in Bang Kapi. He then set up his own barber shop at the CSD in 1998.

Mr Chamras said he is not unnerved when he works on the heads of the senior officers or other high-profile crimefighters who are feared even by gangsters and crooks.

And he says everyone gets the same level of service, whether rank-and-file officers or top brass.

This means pampering with expert cutting, styling, shaving and fragrant cold towels to finish.

The police generals themselves are not too fussy and do not demand any special treatment or privileges from Mr Chamras. "They don't even jump the queue," he said.

full article here


----------



## somchit-srimoon

I do believe that hair cutting is actually a restricted industry, for Thai nationals only.

Yet some high end resorts do somehow, get western hairdressers work permits or at least they seem to work there on western heads. As I have know a few.

I think if you are smart you will find a way to use your skills and make a living.


----------

