We're from the US, and have lived in Thailand for almost 9 years now! I would recommend leaving/giving away/selling it all. We only brought 3 backpacks, and have not regretted it for one minute.

Everyone we know who has attempted to bring their stuff ended up with so many headaches! A large percentage of rental homes here are already furnished, and it's way more trouble to ask the landlord to remove it than it's worth. Plus, if you decide to move .... another headache.

Everything is cheap here. You can buy what you need.

As for keepsakes, we left them with my daughter in the states. We also scanned many of the photos and have them in online storage for the whole family to enjoy whenever they want.

Krungsri (yellow bank) was the easiest for us. BUT ... do not open a join account because they really don't understand that. Also, we were told that if we had a joint account, we could NOT get internet/phone app access.

Go to a high tourist area in a mall or similar. It will not happen in small towns in Thailand. Best of luck!

@Bob ********

Google voice doesn't work anymore like it used to.

I don't know what it is, but it's SUPER cool! It doesn't look like Chinese to me at all. More pictograph ish.

@Robert *******

We never had to forward mail from TMB to Thailand because we could always just download the PDF and print out the mail contents.

I do know that you CAN have it forwarded if you like.

However, some institutions, like our US bank will send mail to Thailand, like a new debit card.

The issue with Thailand is getting the postal service to figure out where your house address is in Thailand, so we try to avoid that.

Also, regular post from the US to Thailand and vice versa takes about 4 weeks.

Our paid pension company will not send checks here. Has to be to US address only.

Travelingmailbox.com

@Keihera ******

Best of luck! We have lived in Thailand for 8 years now. The visa stuff can be very complicated.

Also, look at a language school to learn Thai. You can get an ED visa by doing that. The school should handle everything.

I would like to add that you DO need a degree to teach, but the degree does not have to be in education specifically.

Go to Krungsri bank (yellow bank) in a tourist area. They are more foreigner friendly.

@Kool ******

I think our local immigration is the thing that makes it hard here.