First steps to move to Phuket

So, imbued with the mood of the blog “I migrate” you decided to live some time in Thailand. In my opinion, Phuket is great for this. Beautiful, well-groomed, fairly quiet, but at the same time having all the advantages of the civilized world, the island of Phuket is ideal for a person tired of the noise of a big city. I will try to talk about the first steps to move to the island.

General information on the island.

The island is not so big, only about 50 * 20 kilometers. With the mainland connected by a bridge. The terrain is quite hilly. The island has an international airport, which is very convenient for arriving here and for traveling throughout Southeast Asia. Most bathing beaches are located on the western part of the island. So keep this in mind when you pick up a house.
Immediately I will make a remark that the Thai baht rate is approximately equal to the ruble exchange rate, which is very convenient.
')

How to get.

Actually, there are two options by and large. The first is to fly directly to Phuket (HKT). The second is first to Bangkok (BKK), and from there either by bus (night comes, cost <1000 baht), by train or by plane (from the same Suvarnabhumi airport) to Phuket. If you are lucky, then on AirAsia you can find options for $ 40-60. The first option is likely to be somewhat more expensive, but less hassle.
To search for air tickets, I recommend to check the sites: charters.ru , www.any be on.com

Visas

Upon arrival, a 30-day stamp is placed in the passport for Russian citizens, according to which you can stay in the country for a month without any problems. I emphasize that this is not a visa. Further, you have options: either to leave / enter the country and receive the following stamp (this technique is called a visa-run), or to receive a tourist, student or other visa. In order to make a visa-wound in Phuket, you need to come to one of the many offices that earn it and pay 1200-1800 baht (depending on the level of comfort of the trip), then they will do everything themselves. They will take you out of the house, take you to the border (Burma or Malaysia), hold your hand through passport controls, feed and take you back. This trip to Burma (Ranong) takes a whole day, 4 hours by bus one way. Some live on this pattern for years. In the case of a tourist visa, you will have to travel independently to another country (for example, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) and apply for a travel visa at the Thai consulate. Tour visas are issued for 2 months with the possibility of extension for another. Plus they can be double. Plus study visas. You can combine all these methods =)
Those. In principle, there are no special problems with a long legal stay.

Comment samlowry : it is nice that most of the visa restrictions in this country do not concern Russians, but work for residents of developed countries who have flooded Tai. And all this is due to the fact that a bilateral agreement was signed between Russia and Thailand (developed countries do not make bilateral agreements, why do they need some Thai tourists).

Housing prices, where to look, how to search.

After you arrive, it makes sense to move into one of the many guesthouses (such mini hotels with room for rent announcements) with a price tag of ~ 500 baht / day, rent a motorbike or car and leisurely start your search for accommodation.
Although it is believed that Phuket is one of the most expensive places in Thailand, housing prices are quite reasonable. To navigate the prices or rent recommend this site. It can be seen that for 13-15 thousand you can rent a normal house with two bedrooms, two air conditioners and quite close to the beach. Another option for finding a home is to just ride around and gaze around. On most of the rented houses hang the appropriate signs with the phone number of the owner. In addition, as you immediately see what this area.
It is preferable to rent a house for a long time, i.e. from half a year. In this case, the price is lower.
Virtually the entire west coast (Kamala, Patong, Karon, Kata, Rawai, etc.) is excellent for living: good beaches, infrastructure, shopping and entertainment. North and south - calm, center (Patong, Karon) - more noisy, party places.
Usually, you will immediately have to pay one amount for the first month and one or two amounts as a security deposit, which will be returned to you in the absence of breakdowns in the house and not early termination of the lease agreement. Contracts are usually drawn up in English.
Payment for electricity (4-5 baht per kilowatt), water, telephone and Internet is still being negotiated. With two air conditioners often turned on, I do not have an electricity bill for 1500 baht.

Food, Internet, bike, bank, etc.

Nutrition. What makes Thailand so good is an advanced catering system. You can eat on any budget. From 30 baht for a plate of rice with chicken / soup with chicken or meat (admittedly very high quality!), Continuing the "buffet" for 130 baht with full anlimit and ending with many pathos restaurants.

The Internet. We can say that everything is fine with the Internet in Tae and Phuket. I have a 5-megabit ADSL at home from the provider TOT, for which I pay 850 baht. Ping to yandex.ru ~ 500 ms. That is, it will not be possible to play, but to work completely. The mobile Internet is also quite developed, there are mobile unlimited tariffs, 3G. Also in guest houses, cafes and other points you can often catch free Wi-Fi.

Comment samlowry : if you rent a house - it is very important not to be kept on promises to deliver ADSL in 2 days. This is the standard support lie of all providers. Such periods are simply unreal due to the problem of the last mile, sometimes the installation is delayed even by 3 months.

Motobike. Almost half of the population of the country drives them. Good climate and excellent roads allow. A wonderful representative of this type of transport is the Honda Click. Rent a motorbike in Phuket is about 200 baht / day. If you search, you can find for 125-150 baht. For a month you can take over 3000 baht. This new bike costs about 45-50 thousand baht. So if you are going to Tai for a year or more, it makes sense to buy it. Then you can sell and end up spending very little money on it. By the way, for riding a bike you need category “A” rights. If the gayans stop, but no rights are available, a fine of 300-500 baht solves the issue. In general, the rights can be obtained directly in Tae. To rent from the documents you need only a scan of the passport.

Samlowry comment : fortunately, in Tae, they have not yet been obsessed with paperwork, and in most provincial cities you will not be asked for the right at all. And if they ask, you can show any foreign document, like someone was joking: “show them the registration certificate”

ATMs. Most Thai ATMs at each transaction charge a commission of 150 baht when withdrawing funds from cards of non-native banks. Not nice Therefore, I act according to the following scheme: here I transfer WMZ to an account in the Thai Cacikork Bank . In addition, an account with a card and an Internet client opens without any problems in 10 minutes at any branch of Cacicorn. You must show your passport, phone number and address where you live.

Job. As far as I know IT staff, it’s not easy to get a job in Thailand. And indeed a person with any other profession. Problems arise with a very difficult in the study of the Thai language and the availability of its own workforce. Although there are exceptions . In other words, it is very desirable to have an income that does not depend on the place of residence.

Comment samlowry : in fact, 2 niches are always ready to accept new recruits. This is tourism and real estate. There are two problems: not everyone is ready to document the employee, with the issuance of a work permit. Two - work as a guide is illegal, and this is the most popular profession for foreigners from non-English-speaking countries.

A few more pictures (clickable):
Phuket Town