I don't know about Bali, they are hindus, not Buddhism. Again i repeat if learn to speak, eat, act little bit thai and not stupid, you will be more than accepted here. I don't mean taking over their country. I have been living on and off here for last 6 years, and my views not changed at all, even got better.
in phuket it is simple to get a 2 bedroom house for under $200 US. I know off of the top of my head a few right now that are vacant and I am not even looking. unless you mean phuket town, and you can still get one of the attched thai style houses but they don't have a yard and are small. Again it varies, in rawaai and nai harn and chalong there are plenty, but in patong or karon everything costs more.
From a local web board posted by someone identifying himself as an Expat IT manager: "The only connection that I know of that is consistently fast and reliable with no transparent proxies is a leased line 1mb. About 28k baht per month from KSC."
Has anybody used the wifi service at a Starbucks in Thailand? If so, does it crash often and is it reliable? Average connection speed? Also, I would like to hear anecdotal responses about corruption and crime in Thailand. Also, are there decent gyms found outside of hotels? thanks.
Starbucks connection will be subject to the same issues as all other connections. Corruption is not really something you deal with living as a tourist unless you get behind the wheel of a car. There are precise instructions for paying off traffic cops somewhere amongst the "weekly" on this site stickmanbangkok.com.This is a good site for those wanting a feel for living in Thailand. He pretty much captures it right There are a numer of large gyms in Silom and on sukhumvit HTH
No, Phuket is 8 mile x 30 mile island, around 1 million more or less population only, most people use motorbike instead of car If you wait to find a "Full proof " strategy, then you won't go anywhere, also it's cheaper and more fun being away from home. Yes, there are plenty of places if you can do long-term stay, can you find somthing around that $ amount and "furnished" for 2 months stay? I guess first priority is room already installed with DSL for short-term visiting traders? How long it takes if you apply for internet, i heard it's like 2-3 weeks or more?
Good resources for expat/offshore: http://www.escapeartist.com http://www.lowtax.net I didn't see these mentioned in this post. However, if someone already added this link, long thread, I appologize for any dupe info.
yes, furnished, most everywhere is already furnished and if you only want to stay 2 months just tell the landlord you'll stay 6 months and offer to pay 2 up front, they don't make you sign anything here and they are used to people bailing out. also if they say 8k baht, you say 6, and than when you offer to pay two months at once they will give it to you for 7 usually or something like that. The reason prices vary so much is because of bartering, and they will often quote you a ridiculous price on the chance you take what will still seem relatively cheap by western standards. you will want to make sure internet is already there if you are only holidaying for a few months because it may take them 2 or 3 weeks, but maybe they'll come the next day, this is thailand so it will vary alot. if you are a good trader and just holidaying here for two months though I would just spend the extra and stay somewhere extravagant. book a week at a resort and check around the different parts of the island and see what's here...