Why was I denied a bank account in Thailand despite holding a 5-year DTV visa?

Chiang rai. Chiang mai. You need to visit a few times. Or stay longer to get the feel. Taken me 20 years of visiting. To decide. Now retired and married ( thai), now live in phuket. Might change destination to the north when older!

Reading everyone comments some positive n negative mmm.

If your husband mentions Pattaya, do a little research 👍

Depends on what you like. North Thailand has beautiful mountains and waterfalls. Bangkok for city life. South Thailand for beautiful beaches. Isaan if you like rural Thailand. Up to you

Whatever you think it's going to cost you yearly, double that

There’s too many variables to the question if you have to save to come here you will need a good bank account also your age can you get a pension from your country or do you work here ? Which ever the answer you need money just like anywhere else in the world yes it’s cheaper here but you need $$$$

Hello (former Howard Co Marylander here). Thailand can be a great place to live but its not for the ill prepared nor faint of heart. I had traveled to Thailand maybe 8-12 times (for work and leisure), had Thai friends in the US, Thai and Western friends here, before making the decision to retire here. I had lived overseas earlier in my life as well. I would be surprised if I could make a decision to move here in one trip, not even considering which the best location would suit me best. By all means come and visit and try at least 3 very different locations to get a feel for the country. Read as many local FB/other group discussions as you can (ignore the downers) to get a sense of prices, living issues, rules, visas, bank/income requirements, so you are best informed on real issues people are faced with. Look at your finances, savings, income (maybe selling a home will put many 100's of thousand dollars/(millions of baht) in your bank too). Look at the lifestyle you want. Country living is very cheap, big city has many price points, while popular beach areas can be high or more reasonably priced (look at rents on FB ads for popular places). Renting means you are mobile, if you picked the wrong location, move to one you like better. Have a back-up plan if all goes wrong (health/money/climate/locals/paperwork madness/visa changes/whatever), another country, back home. For many of us this was a multi-year process, but it can be done more quickly, but planning as best you can across all the dimensions that a move entails (and you will make mistakes) is essential. After all my planning, I picked Bangkok, four months later (and 7 years ago) I decided island life suited me more. First trip, get as many eperiences as possible in Bangkok and a couple other areas (at least one island) and maybe Hua Hin, if you want variety. If its country life for you, that is an entire different discussion. Hope you have a great but give it some time after reading everything you can from actual people that live here (FB, YT, Reddit, other sources), before deciding anything, then maybe eperience new places you researched and come during a different season.

Any provinces you asked a foreigner and he can pronounce or say it confidently, avoid. This will eliminate the usual few tourist spots that isn't Thailand but filled with locals catering to foreigners. Even the vibe feels different.

We'll start from there.

If you need to save just for a visit then I suspect you will need to sell some assets before qualifying for the retirement visa. You will need $50,000 in the bank, that you don’t draw on, to qualify for a non O retirement visa.

Go to Pattaya it's a cheap Holiday

Go place to retire is Jomtien Beach

It's just south a bit. Much cheaper

Depends what you want. Beach. City. Urban. Countryside. Its a big country to explore in 2 weeks!!!

First time iwould suggest Bangkok and Jomtiem Palm Beach.Stay in Bangkok and then Jomtiem palm Beach.The end your holiday back in Bangkok.Because thats your departure airport.Or just go to Phuket.Weve enjoyed going to all these places.James Bond Islsnd is near Patong,Phuket.Plus fantasy show is in Patong.If you need help with hotels let me know.One more thing DO NOT go via the middle east.

Cha am is a nice chilled place,and you got hua hin quite close.

Koh Samui is beautiful

You need to hire a vehicle and tour round the north east or anywhere away from the sea side resorts, You can see all the rice fields markets etc, That's the proper Thailand if you just want to lie on a beach all day and burn your skin as the thai people say you can go anywhere in the world to do that

Don't listen to half the nonsense on here....99% of us started as tourists....come and visit first. The islands are great, I spent most of my time in Thailand in the 1990s on the islands, but I wouldn't live there because although they're nice they don't suit my living. I have visited Hua Hin a few times and if I wanted the sea as an expat thats where I would live for a start. I've lived in Chiang Mai for almost 3 years, I first went there in 1995 then came back in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023 before retiring there, although I love beaches I found Chiang Mai suited me better as its a mecca for motorcycling.

In 2 to 4 weeks you should first decide what suits you, culture, mountains and nature or the beach lifestyle then go to either Chiang Mai or Hua Hin. Because in that time its not long enough to get true feel for one place by moving around. When I retired after covid I came to CM for a month then back again a few weeks later and did another month. I had only planned on starting in CM and going from there but ended up staying. You first need to get a feel for Thailand and decide if its for you. Thats why beaches or mountains should be hat you decide. If you like Thailand and decide to move, you don't have to stay where you first move to, many of us don't. Remember you can rent fully furnished condos or houses because most are. That makes it easier to move.

Visit most countries in SEA before making a decision...

Go straight away to Soi BANGLA phuket

As a couple avoid phuket and Pattaya

Come on holiday and go several locations. Each is very very different, you want peace and quiet, a beach life, country and mountains, retirement centric slow life ????

Do some Google research, visit a couple places and see for yourself .

I hope you can see what happens a year from now.

Bangkok,Hua Hin,great place to consider retirement....one island Koi Lanta maybe,....Chang Mai..thats enough..2 wks perfect..

recommend Path

Issan - real Thailand.

I planned to move to Thailand before I first visited in 2024,,,, I’ve now been living here 18 months.

Go for it.

In all honesty, if you have to save to travel, most likely you are not going to be able to relocate here.

Making an income much harder than you think in thailand. Consider coming when retired with sufficient funds.

Ot depends on when you visit, Thailand has many seasons and some very wet areas Many nice places have big floods. We travel around Thailand on holiday by weather forcast and follow the sun.

B2 weeks is not even close to enough time to decide if you want to live there .

3-5 2 month trips to diffent places ,we're you actualy live not holiday ....

Rent a place by the mo th and live .

For a start

Ban saree

Hua hin

Samui

Koh chang

Bkk ( my least favorite )

Then go back to the one you liked most for a 6 month stay .

Do not!!!! Confuse holidaying and living

Hua hin is a nice place, clean and cheap living,

First of all I would like to suggest you should visit big city in Bangkok every corner of the city and learn for traffic,

1 traffic

2 People

3 culture

4thai food

And you start other city

Language is not the problem I must say,

Visit first, then think about relocating!

Visiting for the first time …You dont even know if you like it here yet. It’s not for everyone. Biggest adjustment will be the weather if you’re from MD think Florida HOT HOTTER AND WET. Ask yourself WHY you want to move to SE Asia and see if in your travels you find those answers. Safety, costs overall wellbeing.

Im listening!! Exactly the same plans my and my wife have!

As he said we need to know more information about what you're looking for but for sure the biggest the problem you're going to are depending on where you're at language.

Many speak.

Thai but different dialects depending on where in the country, you're at, so try to learn a few phrases in thai

You need to provide more information on what you're looking for, or interested in.

Bangkok has all the modern amenities of big city life, but it doesn't have mountains or beaches. You need to at least have an idea of what you're interested in to start searching for that.