Fourth in a Series on Moving Overseas: Thailand

Last week, I wrote about Stickman’s website about Thailand; this week, I’m covering another popular website about living and working in Thailand, Ajarn.com. This website has been around for a long time, and it targets English teachers in Thailand. Why another site about English teacher’s in Thailand? Well, because there are so many of them, and so many more arrive in Thailand on a regular basis.

For those of you who are new to the expat world, English teaching is one of the favorite ways to have an income while exploring the world. English teaching is particularly popular with the backpacking crowd, and the guys who are looking for relationships with Asian women. Why? That’s the next in this series; right now I want to discuss the Ajarn website.

If you want to move to Thailand, but aren’t an English teacher, this website still has a lot to offer. There are sections on the cost of living – some very detailed writing including the daily expenses for a month’s living by an expat in Thailand. There are sections on getting an apartment or a house and obtaining health insurance. There is a section on immigration and visas – very important topics for an expat. And, if you are an English teacher, or want to be one, there is the famous Ajarn job board. I found a job through there once, although in the end, I accepted a position that I found elsewhere.

For folks that want to live in Thailand, but don’t want to live in Bangkok, there is information about other regions of Thailand. And a big addition to this site is the Ajarn Writers section where you can read about the experiences of teachers in Thailand: sometimes they cover life issues of living in Thailand, other times they cover teaching issues. Some of the writers are quite good, and most of them are humorous.

So if you’re thinking of moving to Thailand, I’d recommend the Ajarn site along with the Stickman site. Once you’ve gone through both, you have a really good idea of what’s waiting for you if you move to Thailand.

Third in a Series on Moving Overseas: Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand has always fascinated me. As a long-time expat in Asia, I’ve visited Thailand many times, although I’ve only explored the Bangkok and Chiang Mai areas of the country. Thailand has a huge expat population, many of which are employed in the English language teaching industry. But, Thailand also has a large number of Western retirees. Web sites and blogs on Thailand are numerous with varying quality.

One of the sites that I visit every week is StickmanBangkok.com. The website’s creator, Stickman, has been living and working in Bangkok since 1997. I’ve been following his website since 1999.

While one of the most popular sections on the website is Stick’s weekly column that is mostly about the “naughty nightlife” industry, there are sections on Living and Working in Bangkok, Thailand Visas, Teaching English in Bangkok, Travel in Thailand and more.

You can find specific and detailed information about food, renting an apartment, hiring household help, paying for utilities, local transportation, the Thai language, local culture, dealing with the police, the cost of living in Bangkok and a lot more. Just about anything that you need to get set up in Thailand is available here.

Stickman has been working as a teacher for many years, although he may have retired from that profession now. The section of the website on teaching English is filled with information for the new or potential teacher. If you are thinking of moving to Bangkok and securing a teaching position, you should definitely read this section.

So, if you’re thinking of moving to Thailand, part of your homework should be taking a look at Stickman’s site.