I agree. Come in as exempt tourist and apply for non O while you are here. That is what my husband and I just did from USA in October. Hardest part was opening a bank account....
We didn’t and did not have to for our bank, but something someone told me yesterday that I hadn’t heard before is you need to document w bank all large transfers of why you brought money into Thailand if you ever want to take it out of Thailand… 🤷♀️