Lifestyle design and location-independent entrepreneurialism

Finally, someone has said it: lifestyle design is a load of rubbish.

The video below comes from Chris over at My Egg Noodles and the phrase used is actually BS. While his language is pretty strong, I completely agree with Chris on calling this out.

There are so many 'digital nomads', 'lifestyle designers', 'global citizens', 'location independent entrepreneurs' and countless other phrases for people who work online and live overseas (typically Asia, especially Thailand) perhaps in more than one location, or travelling.

I do respect and like some bloggers that fall in this category, like Chris for example, however the overwhelming majority are self-righteous, self-important and not all that special at all.

The internet allows anyone to be anything they like, or at least to be perceived to be whatsoever they desire...being an entrepreneur is as easy and publishing the word in a Twitter profile or at the top of a blog. Those who trumpet their victory over a post-collegiate office-cubical lifestyle at home are seriously deluded if they think they have done anything special as it really isn't that difficult.

Pack up your stuff and buy a ticket, as Chris says, and then go from there...most expats in Thailand arrive with nothing and build themselves up from scratch as teachers, programmers, writers and so on...it is just these lifestyle gurus who talk it up like it is comparable to moving to the moon.

Take myself, there's nothing particularly special about me I'm just an example. I arrived with nothing and have, in a fairly ordinary way, build a life and found a routine here in Thailand with enough money to support a small (but growing) family.

Earlier this year I was in a position that, were I without responsibilities, I could have 'gone location independent' whilst working freelance here in Thailand. And yet I had managed to get into the position, including government accreditation and (legal) working visa, with little difficulty proving that it simply about perseverance and a little bit of luck, of course.

The online work life is not the dark art or rocket science that lifestyle experts would have you believe it to be. Once you find your bearings after arriving in a new country, opportunities will be there it is simply a case of taking them.

Then there is the issue of transparency, what do they actually do to make money?

Only a handful give any kind of clarity on what they do, and crucially what they make... because a little money goes a long(er) way in Thailand (a low bar of entry to entrepreneur status) so realistically a sufficient online empire doesn't need to match the Spanish Armada, and can be anything from $800/900 upwards per month.

As for the location independent element - travel is clearly a hugely attractive prospect. However a permanent job, with a decent pay packet and a home to base oneself in a country like Thailand, can mean travelling every weekend, getting a taste of local culture all whilst collecting credible work experience to ensure your career progresses overseas.

I'm  not saying there is anything wrong with working online and enjoying the benefits of living abroad, far from it as I wish it was something I did earlier in my life...however to claim it is a complicated science, which requires those interested to buy an e-book, subscribe to a blog or anything else, is just not true in my mind.

The one thing you need is the desire to be abroad...and that truly comes from within. Reading about it makes it appealing but that is almost certainly not enough to get someone off their seat and onto an aeroplane. As I well know because it took a major event to finally put my wanderlust into action and get me out to Thailand.

Still here close to two years later

I arrived in Thailand in October 2008 having done little preparation on the country or life here. Over the course of time since then, both my missus (as a Thai) and I have learnt so much about living out here whilst raising a family.

My knowledge and comfort in being out here has grown as I’ve picked up an understanding of Thai culture, the language and nuisances of everyday life in this country.

We deliberately chose to come back to Thailand for the first years of my son’s life. We didn’t know how long we’d stay but neither of us was particularly enamoured with the prospect of raising the fella in London, where just renting a house alone takes up a huge chunk of our hard earned wages.

Neither of us wanted our son to grow up through perpetual childcare with two working parents, there had to be an alternative to life in London on my salary – though great for a twenty something guy living the urban life – and that was Thailand.

Nearly two years later, with another kiddie on the way, our thinking is shifting to a different paradigm of thougt.

Location is no longer our primary motivation for remaining in Thailand, or indeed anywhere.

When you’ve lived in rural Thailand and ‘earned baht’ – as an American guy stuck in the country without the means to return home once counselled me – many things become out of your range, suddenly the lure of a salary in London becomes somewhat stronger.

Though life is perhaps more comfortable out here, it comes with restrictions as you slip into Thailand-only mode.

That is to say, Thai prices which seem cheap and an absolute steal for tourists are normal for you...while you can do anything you please in Thailand, you are restricted on leaving the country where your hard-earned cash gets you far less.

For example, our trip back to England last year was only made possible courtesy of an early birthday present (the cost of flights) from my family, while prices back home genuinely scared me compared to cheep-as-chips Thailand.

This doesn't mean I believe we made the wrong decision coming out in Thailand, far from it, it was the right decision which we do again a hundred times over again.

Coming to Thailand we (particularly I) have learnt so much that I wouldn’t not have found in London. Opportunity knocks here I’ve been fortunate to do and be part of some very interesting things, open interesting doors etc...but now, more than ever, our future will not be about geographical location alone, it will be about career opportunity (for both my wife and I), lifestyle and quality of living.

These things have, of course, always been important to us...but from now on, it may be Thailand or it may be somewhere else...

In the meanwhile, I’m looking at a series of informative posts based on a few experiences I’ve had out here.

They may/may not be relevant to anyone but, for my own thought process and digestion of events, I’m going to be exploring them in more detail.

This post isn’t the precursor to us leaving Thailand but instead reflective of a change in our recent thinking - from my new lease of freedom working freelance - which doesn’t discount living in other countries, specifically the UK, just because they are not Thailand.

My situation is quite unique compared to others I know, and don’t know, many of whom are older, without family responsibilities and out here having invested time in a career at ‘home’ – wherever that may be – and are retiring in Thailand or reinventing themselves out here.

Unlike them, I spent less than four years working in London, so my career and our future prospects are still very much in development and - after finally knocking teacher on the head earlier this year - we are looking at my next career opportunity as a family and in more detail than our initial last-minute move out to Thailand.

While also, looking at other expats, with children and a wife my situation is very different to most I know who have already ruled out the potential of returning home. A friend’s recent happy return to repatriation in the USA from Thailand – ‘the right decision’ as he calls it – is proof that there is life after Thailand, and we needn’t restrict ourselves to being in Thailand, and Saraburi in particular, if there are other opportunities out there.

Thoughts post battle of Bangkok

It's nearly 1pm (close to 1.30 at time of publishing) and things are beginning to come to a close in Bangkok today.

Earlier this morning the army finally breached protester lines and entered the red shirt camp in numbers, Al Jazeera estimated around 200 or so soldiers made up the first wave.

Right now red shirt leaders are beginning to face up to the end of their 7 week occupation of Bangkok. While Veera, a key figure, left some time ago, Arisman has reportedly just fled the camp though the others are waiting to be arrested and receive their fate.

All in all it is a sad ending and I can't help thinking things could (and should) have ended better for the red shirt protesters.

They have held talks with Abhisit and leading government officials a number of times but failed to agree on a compromise. It is sad, but somewhat inevitable, that developments have seen more than 30 people lose their lives (with two more deaths rumoured today already) when the reds could have walked away with what they (allegedly) came for.

By pure chance that the missus, little fella and I road into Bangkok with the protests when they first came to the city back in March. We didn't join them on their quest to overthrow the elite and force an election but, like many, my recollection of meeting them was that they were friendly.

I wonder just how many of those whom I met remain in Bangkok now, where the mood is more defiant and edgier than ever.

Placing the blame

There is no doubt that both sides (subscribing to the two sides theory for simplicity) are culpable for what has happened, albeit to different levels.

In a bid to end the protests the government has killed more than 30 civilians.

Whilst, to any sane person, firing on your own people is madness, let's put ourselves in their shoes for a second. They want to end the protest, they are prepared to fire live ammunition...why then have seemingly innocent civilians lost lives while (Sae Daeng aside - there is enough debate as to who fatally shot him for a post alone) none of the key, strategic red shirt leaders were threatened?

This arbitrary, senseless shooting of innocents saw the red shirt protests engage and return shots, though not with far more basic weapons and not the military issued heavy weapons many journalists have claimed.

This escalation of violence marked the beginning of the end. "Red shirts return fire" simply fanned the flames giving the army legitimate reason to fire live rounds in 'self-defence'.

Assigning culpability for escalating violence, one must also look to the red shirts.

I can't help but wonder what could have been had they been able to remain non-violent, as the banner draped across their main stage proclaimed them to be.

Of course, as an anti-government movement, membership of the reds is loose, that is to say its membership comprises a range of different viewpoints and aims for the protest. For some the agreement of an early election was enough, while others seek more extreme aspirations such as the return of Thaksin Shinawatra's funds, while others seek the former Prime Minister's physical return to Thailand and an overthrowing of the institutions.

For that reason alone their supporters have reacted in different ways, some of which has been violent which, with considerable news coverage, has painted a very different view of the protest which was originally all about peaceful change.

To use game show terms, let's look at what they could've 'won'.

No agreement

Prime Minister Abhisit, having wiggled himself a little more power than many said institutions have until now granted him, went out on a limb with his peace roadmap.

Talks with the reds shirts came epically close to a conclusion, which could have avoided bloodshed (particularly of the last week or so), yet they failed and the rest is as reported. Thais and foreigners have lost their lives, Bangkok has been shut down, millions of lives (mine included) have been affected.

The irony of these failed talks is that the reds could have walked away with the prize - a much sought after (and at one point unlikely) early election date. Yet they insisted on near radical conditions which compromised the reaching of their goal of an election date.

They demanded that Deputy Prime Minister Suthep should hand himself into police - just as red-leaning police chiefs responses for deaths relating to the PAD's occupation of Suvarnabhumi airport were forced to - an act that would show his responsibility for the deaths at the hands of the army.

Suthep did subsequently hand himself into, but such is the fragmented nature of Thailand's police force, the reds deemed this to be the 'wrong' police station and thus the deal and ceasefire was off...game on.

That the reds assumed Suthep would glady hand himself in is strange. After all, they did not hold all the power in this situation and thus misjudged their strength against the government.

A fair better and more productive approach might have been to take the agreement and work on Suthep separately/at a later date. This would allow them to walk away, hands held high...PR rhetoric claiming they had influenced this government, got their way and come home to work on electoral success.

As it is, going back to game show-isms, they (most likely) leave with nothing.

What is next?

The next chapter is yet to unfold but you can be sure this will not the end of the red shirt struggle.

What started off as a reasonable request (and one which I supported, given that the Prime Minister does not hold direct democratic legitimacy - he was voted in by parliament (representing the people) rather than the electorate itself) has ended with everyone losing.

People have lost lives, families have lost loved ones, the reds have lost their battle, the army has lost (further) credibility but, by far and away, the biggest loser has been Thailand. The full estimates of financial cost are yet to come in (though this post gives some insight), but given the country is still recovering (financially and reputation wise) from the PAD protests at Suvarnabhumi, the cost will be significant.

UPDATE

TumblerBlog has a number of quotes from The Economist summarising the close of the protests. The one I've chosen from below sums up my long, rambling thoughts above in a far more succinct statement - this is what I should've written to save time.

Mr Abhisit may deserve credit for offering a plausible compromise to the red shirts. That the leaders of their United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) failed to grasp this olive branch is tragic. They must bear some responsibility for the lives lost, as do the soldiers who marched into downtown Bangkok.

The Pattaya window into Thailand

We enjoyed a brief and impromptu one night stay in Pattaya last week.

The weather was fantastic and we love to be around the beach (and in a nice hotel) so the break is always a welcomed one.

That said, for me, Pattaya has a self-life of around 24 hours. Any longer in the city and I will start to go crazy. I love the sea air but a number of things make Pattaya a land where normality is amiss.

In Pattaya, universal logic is reversed...the older and fatter you are, the more appealing men are to the local women.

At least, that is based on my evidence during day time hours.

At night, if you are male, with a regular-ish pulse and walking (walking sticks and other assitance permitted) then any women will come after you, even if you happen to be out with your wife and young son.

Then there is good old Jonny Foreigner (not referring to myself, I hope) who is living the lap of luxury here on a month long holiday.

Jonny (me) overheard Jonny (one of them) talking to the internet cafe/travel agent manager about his business back at home (Australia, if you're interested).

He's got a lot of "boys" doing things for him...apparently...while business is going great, so great that he can afford to spent a little time out here with "my girl" (his, of course).

There's not a lot to say about this, the self-deluded, chest puffing 50 something year old who is clucking around trying to impress the none-too-interested man working the shop desk.

They say a sucker if born every minute but I'm sure the statistics from Pattaya have pushed this up for a minute. I'm not how catchy the 'a sucker is born every two minutes when we ignore the data from Pattaya, Thailand' phrase sounds?

If Pattaya is expats' window into Thailand, no wonder so many expats living out here are so f*cked up.

As for the guys sporting the 'good guy go to hell, bad guy go to Pattaya, Thailand' t-shirt...there's not a great deal I have to add.

I do love the sea air by the way.

Back up your hard drive...NOW

Just do it.

Take it from.

Today I lost all the data from my laptop which caught a virus after I borrowed a USB to help print a document.

Silly move.

Of course the work I have written is replacable with a little effort but, as I only backed up a small number of the near 1,000 pictures taken of the little one since his birth, I'm going to be missing lot of baby photos from my son's first year.

I'm not one to be overly sentiment but I was looking forward to going through them with him when he is older. Digital camera and seemingly endless digital storage enables parents to keep all kind of photos and videos of children - something that I can say, at the grand old age of 27, "didn't happen in my day".

This may in fact be music to his ear's as the by spearing him hours of agony as his dad goes through seemingly endless baby snaps which are a little over indulgent for him.

Either way I've learn the hard way and will be investigating back-up options. Expect to read something about that sometime soon.

Ironically I'm working on a cloud computing article, a concept of storing documents online - a concept which leaves documents unaffected by virus on computers.

Stitched up like a good'un

I'm a right old moaner, at least that's how I appear to anyone brave enough to read this blog over the last month or so.

The problem with being busy is that, with limited time, I only write about things that have really stirred me. Inevitably this has lead to negative posts over positive posts so, before I start the next one (yup, you'd better believe there’s another), I'd like to just reassure myself, if no-one else, that I do enjoy living in Thailand, I'm not ready to go back to blighty yet and that brighter tales and stories are on their way very soon - just one more rant.

Ok, then.

Picture the scene, it’s Friday afternoon, another hard week is finished and I'm whizzing about the internet at work, well going as fast as I can at least, in the knowledge that I'll be off home for the weekend in just half an hour.

My thoughts are broken when two of the Thai staff come over to speak to me.

"So, your work permit," they say, straightening me to attention with their words, "we have a problem."

Ok, I think, its ok, my visa still has some time on it so everything is ok.

"You failed to inform the authorities at the employment office when you left your last job so you owe them a fine. "

“Come again,” I say “are you sure of this?”

"Absolutely, it's 500 baht for every day you've been working, so we're looking at 30,000 baht"

Good bye happy Friday.

I won't continue with the dialogue, it's getting a little tedious now, but, in a nutshell, they applied the final fastenings to a stitch-up.

How so?

All non-Thai nationals must be in possession of a valid visa to remain in the kingdom of Thailand.

For me, a working non-Thai living here, that is a working visa which requires a valid work-permit as accompaniment. As I left my previous job in March, I was required to inform the employment office which issued my work-permit of this fact, following which I would then have 7 days to complete the paperwork for a new job or leave the country until the paperwork was ready.

At the interview for my current job, and at regular intervals since, I reminded them that I had yet to inform the authorities of my job change, yet I’ve been assured everything is fine, on track and that there is plenty of time and I really shouldn’t worry – until Friday, that is.

So when, on Friday, they told me that they had advised me to visit the employment office on more than once occasion, it simply wasn’t true. It was incredibly unfair to blame me for not telling the authorities as they had continually advised me that this was not necessary.

Although I understand this is not England, in my country the situation would be handled far differently, in a much more professional manner. The conversation might have take place in a separate room where I’d be told that there was an issue with my visa, but it is being working on and they made a mistake but will back me up. Instead I had to endure blatant lies to my face and am left to sort things out myself.

As it happens, I’m fortune to be blessed with a partner who is incredibly bright and quick, not to mention a Thai national fluent in English. After speaking with the Missus we headed back where she devised a solution to the issue – if she can sort it out in less than an hour, I’m amazed that none of the staff – who deal with foreign work permits year on year – can.

Seasoned and bitter expats will tell you never to trust a Thai. I never go along with such comments but this situation gives the cynical view some foundation as they took the easy solution and blamed the problem on me, rather than taking a degree of the responsibility themselves.

So now I’m going through a painfully inconvenient work permit process, which includes leaving my nine month old son for half a week while I leave/re-enter the country, precisely the situation I've been looking to avoid since the off.

I think you’ll agree I have a fair point for a rant this time.

Raising children in Thailand

It's amazing how many emails I get asking for advice about moving to Thailand.

I don't do individual case studies and, even if I did, moving to a foreign country is not a decision to be made lightly, it can ony be made by the individual themself.

Assuming you want to be sociable and non-reclusive, the one thing a foreign arrival to Thailand needs is thick skin. If you plan of living away from towns with an established foreign population, such as of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket or even Udon Thani, then make that skin extra thick because you are gonna need it!

In towns with low numbers of foreigner you will be a novelty value. You'll quickly come to learn, and regularly hear, 'farang' - the Thai word for foreigner - and you can expect to be photoed, gossiped about and starred at every day.

Now factor in a child and multiply the levels of patience until they are almost off the scale.

I've blogged about being talk of the town before, it doesn't overly bother me plus my life, Missus and Little One, is here in Thailand so I have to accept some things I don't like, so long as they are harmless.

However, lately I've seen a few things that have tested my patience and self-declared thick skin. They've also made me realise that, although I enjoy my life here in Thailand, it won't be a permanent stay as we have plans to head back to London 'at some point'.

I won't overly bore you with the details but one scene was played out during a visit to the hospital for the latest of Little One's scheduled vaccinations.

As a shy man at heart, I begrudgingly accept the stares when the three of us go to the local hospital - after all, there aren't many foreigners here in Saraburi, and fewer still with Anglo-Thai kids, particularly as cute as mine.

However, what is beyond my tolerance is a standing in the doorway to the private vaccination room to shamelessly gawp at my child receiving his injection. A combination of floods of baby tears (ask any parent about how it feels to watch your child cry), the lack of privacy and sheer outrage at this woman's actions saw my 'jai yen' (cool heart) combust and a volley of Thinglish expletives and hand gestures rain on this woman. I was so pumped that I was, literally, shaking with anger.

Even for Thai standards the behaviour was absolutely disgraceful and I spent a few days wondering whether this country is for me, 'how quickly can we fly home?'. I've since calmed down, just about.

The Missus and I have never been 100% sure on our future. We've always been interested in returning to London, it's all about the Little One and we're playing it by near now as we look at what we could do.

I've always felt a town where the attention, gossip and starring from locals is too much for many adult foreigners, is not an ideal place to raise a half English child to be normal. When even just a trip to the market produces such attention, it's hardly the environment to keep a young child balanced.

Then there are the schools. I could write a thesis on the subject but you'll have to make do with a new post at a later date - particularly given that, as I current work as a teacher, my comments will need to be carefully positioned.

So while I do love life here in Thailand - the food, language, weather and lifestyle - we aren't putting roots down here just yet. It's all about the Little Man.

I'd love to hear the views on some of these issues from other expats raising children in Thailand.

Much ado about crossing

There's been a fair amount of hoo-ing and ha-ing about Thailand's latest measure to regulate foreign nationals entering the country.

Foreign nationals who enter the country by foot at border crossings are granted a 15 day visa. Previously there was no limit on the number of consecutive entries possible, however under new legislation, enforced from today, four consecutive re-entries (a total stay of 60 days) is the maximum number possible.

After 60 days of short-term visas, the traveller is only permitted to re-enter the country on a plane - which will grant an automatic 30 day visa.

As usual, the biggest moaners on Thai Visa have kicked off with arguments that Thailand is mistreating residing farangs and tourists. 

Anyone with any experience of living in Thailand can tell you this isn't the case.

The 15 day visa is pretty obsolete to anyone, be they traveller or expat [unless changing from a 3 month to a permanent stay - see below for more]. There are many other options with less hassle, reduced costs and, ultimately, a longer stay.

It seems likely that the 15 day visa will die its death very soon. It is little more than a reduced remnant of days gone when expats could stay in the country making unlimited 30 day border runs.

- - - - - -

Off the top of my head here is a list of different visas available to long and short term visitors to Thailand. Please feel free to highlight any others I may have missed out.

Permanent Residents

Anyone residing in Thailand on 15 days visas is a few coconuts short of a tree. Apart from the hassle, and expense, of commuting to the border every two weeks there are a number of relatively hassle-free options including:

- Work permit: one year stay through employment, must report to immigration office every 90 days

- Retirement visa: one year stay based on applicants age (50 years +) and a regular income (I forget the exactly figure which changes year on year)

- One year visa: not entirely sure how this one works but a friend recently shopped his in for a work permit, he'd had it for 2 years with no problems renewing annually.

- Marriage visa: for those married to a Thai national who can show regular income (I believe)

- Child visa: over 50 with a Thai child, there is a clause which allows you to stay for a year, if you can show proof of a regular income (not 100% on the details of this one)

Travellers

- Holiday makers: those arriving on holiday (no more than a month) by plane need not worry as a passport will receive a 3o day visa when stamped at airport immigration.

- Long stayers: anyone planning on staying longer than a month can (easily) arrange a 3 month visa from a Thai embassy. Different types are available to allow for a variety of stays, including multiple entry/exit.

Avoid TT&T MaxNet in Thailand

If you're looking for an internet service provider in Thailand I have some anecdotal advice for you. Do not sign up to TT&T's MaxNet service.

The internet is generally inconsistent in Thailand at the best of times but for the last week or so I've had a mixture of intermitten usage and no access at all to sites hosted by blogger or wordpress - so most of the web's blogs. I've also had patchy and limited access to Wikipedia, YouTube, Twitter and a host of other mainstream websites.

Incredibly frustrating and it has meant my postings to JF have been limited too.

From talking with Thai expats on Twitter (if you’re not on already, you really should be!) it's clear that MaxNet is to blame as other customers are experiencing these access problems.

One guy suggested that it might be linked to the current government crackdown on controversial websites, particularly in relation to the UDD (Red Shirt) protests - see here for details. I don’t believe this to be the case as, to the best of my knowledge, other ISPs are operating a regular service in spite of restrictions.

Bottom line, avoid MaxNet, which definitely doesn’t live up to its name, and spend your hard earned baht elsewhere.

[UPDATE: If you're interested in the internet, technology and social media check out my new blog over here.]