News Forum - British family leaves UK for Thailand for cheaper living costs

[Thaiger]

A young British family has swapped the grey skies of Cheshire for the sunny shores of Thailand, seeking refuge from the UK’s crippling cost of living crisis. Jess, her partner Harry (surnames withheld), and their two year old daughter Cece uprooted their lives in Congleton to start afresh in Southeast Asia. Their decision was driven … …

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[Khunmark]

…and Jess wants to live closer to her Mum.

[23RD]

Good call however this couple has just drawn unwanted attention to themselves with the story. 

Young couple under the age of 50 moving to Thailand because they can't afford to live in the UK?

What sort of visa and how are they funding it springs to mind. 

Does either of them have a specialist skill to obtain employment in Thailand?

[Pinetree]

1 minute ago, 23RD said:

Does either of them have a specialist skill

Yes, naivety by the sound of it. I wish them luck in their new life, but it's far from easy here unless you either land an expat package type job, or you are retired/ married to a Thai.  There's not much information in the report,  but I do wish them well, as outside of the basket case UK is a good move. 

[Manu]

1 hour ago, 23RD said:

Good call however this couple has just drawn unwanted attention to themselves with the story. 

Young couple under the age of 50 moving to Thailand because they can't afford to live in the UK?

What sort of visa and how are they funding it springs to mind. 

Does either of them have a specialist skill to obtain employment in Thailand?

At the end of the article: “I’ve applied for a visa and hope to work here as we can now afford childcare.”

Doesn't say what type of visa nor what type of work she does. Nothing is mentioned about him.

Good luck to them.

[Pinetree]

4 minutes ago, Manu said:

At the end of the article: “I’ve applied for a visa and hope to work here as we can now afford childcare.”

Doesn't say what type of visa nor what type of work she does. Nothing is mentioned about him.

Good luck to them.

I presume it's for teaching/Uni work, as it's not so easy to move into anything else here.  Even Doctors and Nurses can very rarely get work visas. 

[Ramanathan.P]

Hope Thaiger can interview them after 5 years.....if they continue their stay in Thailand. 

[Pinetree]

It raises another, broader  question, about the ability of Thailand to match the best across Asia utilizing foreign workers and specialists.  The top of the tree Asian countries, for example, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, have always attracted and welcomed foreign expertise and imported it to improve their own economies.  I myself worked in Hong Kong and Taiwan and was welcomed in both places for the expertise that  I hopeful brought to the country.  Thailand has a wealth of experience in their retired Expat community, and others who would gladly relocate ,  that they seem more than happy to ignore.  This is stupidly short sighted, as acting as teachers and mentors to younger Thais,  they can help to lift the Country to the level of the best.  Is this plain  short sightedness,  or just plain ignorance? They have plenty of local examples in this part of the World to see the art of the possible. 

[Manu]

2 hours ago, Pinetree said:

I presume it's for teaching/Uni work, as it's not so easy to move into anything else here.  Even Doctors and Nurses can very rarely get work visas. 

Agreed. And surely they must have done their homework ( I hope) and it is indeed in this field or whichever they know that we don’t, the article being as usual vague on details to say the least hence here we are speculating. The thing is when you plan a move of that kind, shortly after being on holiday there (4 months), it sounds very unprepared. And that’s what seem to transpire from this article.I hope I am wrong and they will successfully enjoy their new life in Thailand.

[Thaidup]

WTF this is a common issue with our younger generation, it appears that they believe that what ever they want to happen will happen without even getting the visas approved first.

“I’ve applied for a visa and hope to work here as we can now afford childcare.”

[Thaidup]

To be honest, I dont want younger westerners coming to live in Thailand and bringing their wqke ideas with them, the same ideas that are screwing up other western countries enough to make people want to flee.

[ChrisS]

"“I’ve applied for a visa and hope to work here as we can now afford childcare.”

And what are they going to live on if no visa is forthcoming. The other thing they seem to forget is that whilst prices are much higher in the UK so are wages. I wonder if they have considered the costs such as healthcare which they do not have in the UK.

[Thaidup]

I wonder if they know that if you say to someone in Thailand " hello fatty" or "are you a kathoey" that they can´t call the police on them for hate speech

[LeReynard]

Healthcare in Thailand isn't expensive unless you need or choose surgery or medication. In the UK it's NHS waiting lists, or very expensive private healthcare. So expensive it's cheaper to fly to Thailand and back, after buying surgery abroad.

Edited May 19, 2024 by LeReynard

[ChrisS]

6 hours ago, LeReynard said:

Healthcare in Thailand isn't expensive unless you need or choose surgery or medication. In the UK it's NHS waiting lists

Pretty sure if I had a serious accident it would be much better for my financial health in the UK.

[rattlesnake]

On 5/18/2024 at 3:38 PM, Thaidup said:

WTF this is a common issue with our younger generation, it appears that they believe that what ever they want to happen will happen without even getting the visas approved first.

“I’ve applied for a visa and hope to work here as we can now afford childcare.”

Yeah, I actually know people who did exactly that, spent all their cash for a few months and then went back home to look for a job, but not before showing everybody on social media how awesome they were. I am not saying, of course, that this is what these people are doing, but some parts of the text do raise questions:

"Now in Thailand, Jess and Harry are renting a fabulous villa and have found a nursery for their daughter Cece."
Why not rent a normal house instead of a "fabulous villa"?

“I’ve applied for a visa and hope to work here as we can now afford childcare.”
So no plan then?