Thailand Starter Kit

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How to Live, Work, Retire or Start a Business in Thailand

Thailand Starter Kit is a one-stop relocation resource for Thailand. We provide free guides to current and future expats who are looking to live and work in the country. Covering the less glamorous topics every expat and long-term visitor has to figure out, you can read up on step-by-step guides to health insurance, renting an apartment, opening a bank account, hiring a lawyer and other challenges of expat life in Thailand. If you’re looking for something specific, you can use the search box on the right hand side (bottom of the page if you’re viewing it on mobile).

Where to Start

A good place to start is this detailed overview of my cost of living in Bangkok. It shows what I spend money (as well as exactly how much) while living and working here. From there you can then check out what you’ll need for living here, discover how to get the best deals and figure out the most convenient solutions. The article cross-links to a lot of other sections on the website, making it easier to dive deeper into how to figure life out in Thailand and what it’ll end up costing. You can also check out our ‘Start Here!‘ guide which gives you a very good overview of the contents of this website.

And if you enjoy the free content we have to offer, check out Thailand Starter Kit: Save Cash, Land a Job, Avoid Pitfalls, and More. It’s the only guide of its kind. It’s written by expats and researchers who’ve been living in Thailand for over a decade. The book helps you avoid the pitfalls every expat faces in the Land of Smiles and saves you hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars.

Popular Posts

Wondering what issues are important or difficult? These are the posts that consistently receive the most traffic, giving you a good idea what other readers are trying to figure out:

  • A Step-By-Step Guide to All Thailand Visas: From Application to Approval
  • An Expat’s Guide to Finding Work in Thailand
  • An In-Depth Guide to Renting an Apartment in Bangkok
  • Thai Health Insurance: Here’s What You Need to Know as an Expat
  • Cost of Living in Bangkok: How I Spend ฿74,031.83 Every Month

Highlights

I cover the essentials of life in Bangkok, but there are some areas that I feel particular confident in giving advice. These aren’t always the most popular posts, but I think they can really make a different for people moving here. I’m a health-conscious guy (how to stay fit in Bangkok), who likes to optimize life (where to order groceries on the internet) and enjoys running a tech company out of Bangkok (how to hire the right people in Thailand and how to handle cross-cultural management challenges). If you are still trying to figure out what you could be doing when you move to Bangkok, you might also want to check out this guide to finding a job in Thailand.

Latest Articles

We constantly add new content to the website. If you haven’t been back in a while, you can find a list of new articles here:

thai baht how to get the best exchange rate Thai Baht: How to Get the Best Exchange Rate - Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in September of 2017 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Moments after you step off the plane, you’ll notice the first exchange booths in Thailand. Should you go find an ATM? Exchange money at the airport? Or maybe check into your hotel first […]
send money from australia to thailand How to Send Money from Australia to Thailand - If you are living in or planning to move to Thailand, learning how to transfer money from Australia safely, securely, and with minimal cost is high on many expats’ agendas. According to CEO Robbie Sampson of Orbit Remit, “Last year Aussies spent in excess of $5.8 million in unnecessary fees that they may have avoided by […]
Buying Corporate Group Health Insurance for Your Business in Thailand - Have you been thinking about buying health insurance for your employees? This is going to be an important question after you have been running a company in Thailand for a while. Of course, health insurance is a good way to keep your employees in good health, but you might be hesitant to pay for its […]
Teaching English in Thailand featured Teaching English in Thailand: Here’s What You Need to Know - Picture the scene. You’re an office drone. And it’s a rainy Tuesday afternoon in February. You’ve just spent the last four hours reciting a scripted telephone conversation to some indifferent leads. You’re counting down the minutes until you can take a toilet break for the sheer variety it brings to your day, but your supervisor […]
how to write and file your last will and testament in thailand featured How to Write and File Your Last Will and Testament in Thailand - When I was younger, I thought I was invincible. I didn’t need to worry about all those things like Wills or Living Wills. I had plenty of time. But, after a while, seeing family and friends pass away and leave difficulties behind for their loved ones, and as I grew a little bit older and […]

Podcast: Brewed in Bangkok

If you’re wondering what life is like for the people who actually live in Bangkok, you should check out our podcast ‘Brewed in Bangkok‘. It’s a great way to discover the stories that lie hidden throughout Thailand’s capital. Here are the latest episodes of the Brewed in Bangkok podcast:

If you would like to listen to all Brewed in Bangkok podcasts, you can find them here.

The Next Step

Already read up on everything you need to know about moving to Thailand? If you are ready to pack your bags and ‘your bags’ includes more than you can carry yourself, you can enter your details below to get a quote for moving your belongings to Thailand using the form below.

Disclaimer

This is a for-profit website that includes links to partner companies. I receive a financial compensation from people clicking on them. This happens at no cost to you and helps me cover some of the expenses of running this website.

Contact Me

If you have a question that’s not answered on the website, please feel free to contact me and I’ll do my best to help you out. Keep in mind that I have a day time job managing a company, so replies might sometimes be a bit delayed.

What Karsten Uses…

I receive a lot of e-mails asking me to provide helpful recommendations for products, services and companies. I can't answer all of them individually, so I've put together a list of the most important ones below.

Everything You Need to Know: It's really easy to overpay, miss out, and make other mistakes when moving to Thailand. To help you avoid that, I put everything I wish I knew when I first moved here in the Thailand Starter Kit. Unlike the 'public' articles on the site, it's not just facts and how-tos, but also cool hacks that give you an advantage over others trying to do the same thing.

Quotes: In case you're just looking to get a quote for moving your belongings, you can use this form.

Agent: Need someone to help you find a place? I've met a ton of real estate agents in Bangkok over the years, and most haven't really lived up to my expectations. In case you want to avoid that trial-and-error experience yourself, you can use this form to let me help you get in touch with an agent who receives consistently great feedback.

I use the French insurance company ACS. They pay with no deductible for all in-patient and out-patient treatments I receive. With a cover limit of $500,000 USD their 'Silver Plan' is one of the few Asia plans with sufficient coverage in in my opinion. Read about the claims I filed with them in my health insurance article.

Sending Money
I regularly send to Thailand through Xendpay. The fees are among the lowest, saving me about THB 1,500 on a THB 30,000 transfer. My team did a detailed review of their service.

Credit Cards
For local payments I use a Citibank Royal Orchid Plus Credit Card. This Thai credit card makes life a lot easier, saves a lot of fees and earns me 1 mile with Thai Airways for every THB 20 I spend (plus twice a year free lounge access).

Flights
While I use Google Flights for initial research, I usually end up booking flight tickets through Expedia. This ist mostly due to them having lots of special promotions in the Thai market: My last round-trip to Germany was only USD 480 (incl. fees).

Hotels
Obviously I don't need a hotel in Bangkok, but when family or friends are staying in town temporarily, I usually recommend Airbnb.

Accounting: My accountant used to work for the revenue department. She handles all accounting, tax, payroll and social security issues for my companies. You can contact her here.

Legal: Finding an ethical, professional and affordable lawyer is super hard. Here's one I found that meets all three criteria.

A lot of factors helped my companies succeed in Thailand. The two factors I get asked about most often are:

Investment Promotions: I received board of investment (BOI) promotions for a software and an e-commerce company. I didn't find any service providers to handle that, so I just did it myself. Feel free to get in touch with questions.

Digital & Content Marketing: My current and prior companies did exceptionally well thanks to an excellent digital marketing team that I had build up. My former marketing manager now went ahead and started an agency to provide that service to other companies. You can get in touch with her here.

Need help with something else for your business? Feel free to get in touch.

Patreon

Love Our Content?

If our content has helped you, please support us on Patreon so that we can continue our mission of creating content that makes your life in Thailand easier!

Disclaimer

This is a for-profit website that includes links to partner companies. I receive a financial compensation from people clicking on them. This happens at no cost to you and helps me cover some of the expenses of running this website.

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Thailand Starter Kit
  • Start Here!
  • Get the Kit
  • Articles
    • Business
    • Education
    • Health
    • Housing
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    • Money
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    • Brewed in Bangkok
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Thailand Cheat Sheet

Download this starter kit to find out the secret deals on rent, insurance, banking and more. Based on my own experience of living and working in Bangkok for 10 years, it shows you how to save several thousand dollars when moving and living here.

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