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invaderzim
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hello gang I was just curious how you expats support yourselves over in LOS
stocks
large bank accounts
Alimony- pff yeah right
businesses in homeland or in LOS
just so I can get some ideas I want to retire early coz workin's for chumps
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 1:30 pm on July 31, 2003
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AlterEgo
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Well, b4 you start getting flamed, I believe that there are several threads on this and similar subjects. Some folks teach English, but that pays poorly. In fact working for anything except a company from your home country which places you in LOS pays poorly in Thailand. I guess the best thing to do is to have an income from an outside source, and work as you want to.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 1:58 pm on July 31, 2003
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haam sup
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invaderzim ,
Stick your ass out here, while I light my torch...
Seriously, if you haven't noticed, most guys who are doing well in Thailand are not too forthcoming abouit their financial affairs. ÝIn fact, this isn't much different anywhere. ÝPeople just won't tell you, and wisely so.
A wise expat, who I don't really like, because he's a bigger prick than I am, said (paraphrased): "If you are a loser in your own country, you will be a loser in Thailand..."
There really is NO secret solution. ÝMany guys, who would be successful WHEREVER they are, go to Thailand with a few baht, and land a good paying job, or start a lucrative business, and live happily ever after. ÝOthers bring their life savings, and piss it away.
Ya play the hand you were dealt, and hope for the best.
haam sup
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 5:28 pm on July 31, 2003
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Kryptonite
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Hey Hammer, I resemble that "piss it away" comment. 
But I was conned into working for free, and burnt my savings up supporting myself.
Just as you said, I was middle class in the States, and now I am middle class in LoS.
I suggest you save, save, and then save some more. Don't move here without at least 100k US. That will get you going in a business that will support you if you know how to run a good business.
If you are a knuckle head, just stay home. There are enough of that kind here already.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 7:57 pm on July 31, 2003
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Yurune
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Haam Sup is correct
I'm not disclosing my arrangements. I have a good job, which I acquired myself from within Thailand.
I piss away only half my salary and maintain a nice lifestyle with the rest.
Y
Only liked by Haam Sup.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 8:58 pm on July 31, 2003
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Arcadius
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I honestly don't believe this is nearly as difficult as people often make out. Any guy can lead a perfectly acceptable lifestyle in BKK (let alone elsewhere in LOS) by combining a local job with some modest subsidy from resources abroad.
Plum jobs which pay a decent whack by Western standards are rare - if you need that, then yes, in most cases you'll have to own your own business.
If not, then just about any native speaker can get a job teaching English. You can do a TEFL course within Thailand (including the RSA) for just US$1k or a bit more. With a TEFL certificate & a degree (in anything), you ought to land a job paying B30k a month. With luck, experience, reliability and a bit of part-time work, you could get that up to B40-50k in a year or two.
There's a reasonable number of other jobs open to farangs in BKK - especially in the media - which also pay around the B40-50k mark.
Not enough? Maybe not, but how much more do you need?
If you can subsidise yourself by just US$500 a month ($6k a year), you'll have another B20k a month which will make all the difference. How difficult is that? Do you own a house or flat you could rent out? Do you have stocks or other savings you could convert into high-yield bonds? If not, start saving now. Also, think about how much you'll get from liquidating all the crap (car etc) you won't be taking to Thailand.
Remember that you'll be thinking in baht, not hard currency. There may be all kinds of freelance jobs that you could be doing now, but don't do because they're just not worthwhile. $100 may be peanuts, but B4k is real money. See what you can jack up (eg, stuff you can do over the net from anywhere) before leaving.
Altogether, putting together (say) B75k a month should be a readily achievable aim. Don't bother translating this into hard currency or comparing it with the money you piss away as a tourist in LOS. For B75k, you'll be able to afford a nice apartment in the Suk area, eat well, go out drinking/clubbing when you want and have as much P4P as you need.
What won't you be able to do? Live like a king, basically. You won't be able to frequent the GCs of Soi 33 or specialise in so-called models, you won't be able to bonk a BG (let alone 2) every single day, you won't be be able to eat in 5-star hotel restaurants most days. So? How many of these things would you dream of doing back home?
If you're worried on the P4P front, rest assured that on this sort of income you'll be able to afford all the tail you actually want. The dynamics change when you become an expat - unlike the tourists, you will feel no need to cram as much sex as you possibly can into a short space of time. They're going home soon. You're not, and the BGs aren't going anywhere either.
If you want a comparison, a senior middle-aged Thai bank manager earns about B50k a month. If you can top that, you will be living a very comfortable middle-class lifestyle in LOS terms. If you want to live like the international jet-set, then OK - stay at home dreaming about it.
Conclusion: there is a a lot of middle ground between being a successful entrepreneur and a loser, and you can make a good life here on relatively modest means. ÝIf you're ambitious to get rich, don't come to LOS. If you're ambitious to stop existing and start living what remains of your life, you might want to think about it. In financial terms, at any rate, it is certainly NOT an impossible dream.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 1:03 am on Aug. 1, 2003
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haam sup
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Great post Arcadius (what else is new?)...
I'm personally curious about those jobs in media that you mention. I know that the Nation hires copy staff and others - are these the type of jobs you refer to?
haam sup
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 1:14 am on Aug. 1, 2003
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goodtrip13
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I'm in advertising on 80K base a month plus profit share. A new company so I don't expect profit till end of next year. I was on 450K a month doing the same job in Singapore, but I prefer to be here and it's my company. Roll the dice.
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Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 1:33 am on Aug. 1, 2003
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Arcadius
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HS
Both the Bangkok Post & the Nation employ a lot of farang subs (copy-editors) - & I presume the provincial EL papers do too. The raw copy supplied by the journalists credited in the by-lines is usually pure Thaispeak, and it's these unsung subs who turn it into the presentable English you actually read.
There are quite a few publishing houses in BKK producing a wide range of EL magazines, books, advertising copy, commercial literature & so on. Obviously, these also need native-speaking editors, subs, writers, proof-readers etc. It is generally recognised that Thais cannot do these jobs to a professional standard, no matter how proficient in English they may seem.
Staff journalist jobs are a bit limited - for employment-law reasons, many houses will prefer to use Thais whose efforts can be subbed into shape. There's a daunting number of farang freelances operating out of LOS, but imho most of them are not genuine writers at all. People who really can write do not lack for local commissions once they've got themselves known - but to make a proper living at this, you'd also need to land a few hard-currency commissions.
There are also quite a lot of farang photographers and graphic designers working out of LOS. These are jobs which Thais can do, of course, so it's a bit tougher. Some houses like to have at least one farang graphic designer on hand for urgent work, and there are freelance opportunities in this field too. Many Thai photographers do superb work (& are very undemanding on fees), so the competition is fierce. The most successful farangs usually specialise in fields like underwater photography, which few locals want to tackle.
Jobs are occasionally advertised, but as in most media set-ups, it's largely a case of who you know. I would say that any native English speaker with a solid media background in the West should land a job before too long, at least in the writing/editing field. Main thing is to mix with appropriate people and get it known that you're around and available. So - as often - it's a case of moving here first and landing the job second. You need to demonstrate that you're not just another fly-by-night hoping to subsidise a 6-month sex sabbatical.
Money? Not great by any means, but usefully better than EL teaching - and adequate if you can get several gigs going. I would say worth doing on 4 grounds:
1) Certainly a reasonable foundation for LOS finances on the basis I suggested earlier.
2) Gives you something useful & interesting to do in the daylight hours, and you should get to meet many interesting characters.
3) Often, when things are a bit slack, you get to piss away half the day on the forum while looking as though you're doing some real work.
4) You get to ogle the TGs employed in BKK media offices, who are usually pretty peachy... particularly that one in the denim mini-skirt leaning over the printer as we speak. In fact, I think I can safely say that her rather magnificent backside has never been displayed to better advantage.
This Friday dress-down malarkey is a wonderful thing.
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 3:09 am on Aug. 1, 2003
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expatchuck
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Arcadious:
Well written and good food for thought for those interested and capable of writing. Ý
Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý 
I may be re-writing my resume to reflect the appointment as Middle East representative for the Lunatic Fringe just so I can get into the media.
Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý
Seriously, I will retire on Social Security with a paid for house and car. ÝWhat else do I need except to watch the denim skirted honey bend over the copy machine?
Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý Ý 
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 4:47 am on Aug. 1, 2003
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