What preparations should I make for living in Bangkok, Thailand for a year?

Anyone has experience with Bangkok Bank health insurance?

Change it to Thai baht.

Get a Charles Schwab bank account and atm card. They reimburse all international ATM fees forever, and it does add up.

Get a local health insurance in Thailand or an international plan. No need for US coverage, and the international or local is the price or less. Or just pay cash bc everything is so much cheaper. Get a basic emergency travel insurance in case you're out cold and don't have the option to research hospitals but if you are conscious you can find affordable treatment for virtually anything.

When you arrive go to the US Embassy and write you address on a form and tell them that its correct and they will notarize it. You can use this to go to Bangkok Bank and get a local bank account and debit card without further requirements. The other banks all require work visas (unless you get lucky at some branch that waives that requirement.) With a Thai bank account you can pay with your phone "pay scan" and it makes transactions much easier bc many places don't accept credit cards for small payments or they charge a fee. Also you can shop on Shoppee which doesn't work for US cards, and more importantly you can shop at local vendors you find on instagram or facebook like the Thai, and get great prices on good stuff.

Prepare for visa runs every 3 months or put in the effort to arrange a medical tourism visa or thai language school visa.

Trust anyone who calls you handsome.

How about your forwarding mail address? Do you have a virtual mailbox? Did you make one in a state that has state income taxes? Can that state claim you have residency there and therefore must pay state income taxes? Florida and texas do not have state income tax so setting one up there lessens the chance of any problems in the future. Use skype app for calling the usa 800 numbers. Its free and i can guarantee you will need it to sort out banking or tax messes

I would add to some off the banking advice above... I found that parts of my bank's app and website did not work out of the US even with a VPN. I lost the ability to transfer money between banks with Zelle. Every time I called the bank to try to figure out why it was happened they didn't know why... it took a lot of work to figure it out. If you can know these things in advance its so helpful.

Find out if your American credit cards have 3D protection- its the international standard for security and most Thai apps don't seem to work if the card doesn't have it. So for example, Chase credits cards are a problem on grab but not in person.

And I completely agree with an above comment about US phone numbers. You can find out in advance if your bank requires two factors authentication for certain things. I ported my US phone number to a VOIP service. Some text messages do not come though there. Most banks/companies I have been able to figure out how to make it work but it was a painful process to sort though it. It was really convexity to keep the same US number and just transfer it to the VOIP service.

Culture shock was mentioned somewhere also- if you can learn about culture shock and reverse culture shock in advance, it can be helpful. Knowing what is normal and what to expect in the different layers of this experience is helpful in understanding your responses to things.

Crosswalks are less than suggestions.

Does revelot card work well?

Remember if over $10,000 in a Thai bank account even for one nanosecond you will need to file a Fbar with the IRS.

I was there for a year and used lazada.com like crazy. They usually accepted my American debit card for payments. So that's an option if you need some things delivered like Amazon is in America. They may require you to have a thai phone number though.

Run the garden hose with spray attachment into your toilet, and practice, practice, practice.

Rent. Don't marry. Don't start hair brained businesses. Mind your head and watch your step.

Why not google YouTube Thailand expats where there’s stacks of people who detail who where what cost etc ….One should prepare by doing some research yourself

One of the few *exemplary* responses for those who just want to know the ropes before making such a big move. In my book, your posts are much needed in these forums,

@Paulo ********

👌👌👌

Thank you for the advice ,coming in Nov ,will adhere to it

Also be aware you may experience "culture shock". It creeps up on you as an episode of unexplained anger. It may come after 6 weeks or 6 months but we al get over it.

Currency exchange is very good these days...USD conversion here = good buying power here. But always stay aware of the rates. Make sure you an international bank account that will facilitate transfer of funds -- Chase is good.

Cancel your car insurance at home and maybe council tax ,heating ,

Thank you for this post very helpful to me as well.

Think about visa options and tax residency.

Very good advice!

(Not necessarily in order of importance)

1. Buy health insurance from a Thai company (Only a tiny percentage of western insurance companies have a direct pay to hospital agreement with Thai hospitals, which means you have to pay the bill in full and hope your insurance pays you back). Most hospitals have a list of insurance carriers who they accept direct payment from. Check out the lists from a couple hospitals you might use before signing up for insurance.

2. Keep two US bank accounts. (in case one gets closed - US banks often dislike customers who spend too much time abroad and will cut you off given the slightest excuse). Also, make sure you set up the online banking ap BEFORE leaving the US. See above.

3. Get a Thai bank account with a good ap and a debit card. Can be done with any type of visa but you may have to try a few different branches. I find Bangkok Bank the easiest but there are other good choices too.

4. Use Wise to transfer money from your US bank to Thai bank.

5. ALWAYS have a plan B. And plan C.

6. Make sure you inform your US bank(s) of your travel itinerary so they don’t decline your credit or debit card when you try to use it here. You can usually do that in the bank ap.

7. Get a Thai SIM card and phone number upon arrival. Make sure the ap is set up properly on your phone before leaving the shop.

8. If possible, try to keep a USA phone number for banking business, verifications, etc. Be aware that financial institutions actively seek to block usage of virtual phone #s for any kind of “official” changes or verifications. Even resetting a password or changing a PIN can become a huge problem if you don’t have a working US phone number that is deemed acceptable.

9. Set up a VPN before leaving the USA and use it religiously on all your devices. And setting one up from outside the US can be tricky.

10. Have your mail receiving, scanning and forwarding via email sorted before you leave. Either with a VERY trusted relative or friend, or use a commercial virtual mailbox with an address in a state that has no income tax.

11. If you’re planning on working to cover your expenses while here, make sure you have a firm grasp of Thai immigration policies, Visa and work permits. If you choose to break the rules, first understand the potential risks and consequences of doing so.

12. Thais are a completely different culture from Americans. Understand basic social and cultural protocols here to avoid possible rough situations. They have kings and queens, prime minister and other officials who took power via a coup and can be very touchy about things you wouldn’t expect. From bar security staff to motorcycle taxi drivers to Thai boyfriends to the PoPo, they WILL fuck you up if you show too much ass and get confrontational. But they can also be surprisingly forgiving and helpful if you show a little respect, humility and courtesy.

13. Most westerners find the language to be extremely difficult to learn. But give it a serious shot. You CAN get by with zero Thai language skillls, but most Thais really appreciate it when falangs at least try. Plus it’s good to know what they’re saying about you when they think you don’t understand.

14. Stay far away from toxic expats who whine about every damn trivial thing and ridicule everything Thai constantly. Not every expat suffers from this ugly disease, so cultivate friendships with those who actually like Thailand and its people.