How we Moved Our Family to Thailand…
|
Expat Stories…
One of the most useful ways to get helpful information and support about moving abroad is to listen to and learn from other expats about their firsthand experiences of moving to a new country.
So we have compiled interviews with Expats all over the world who have made the bold decision to move abroad.
We hope that by listening to their personal stories you will find inspiration and helpful tips and tricks about how you too can make the move abroad.
So before you know it you will be living your dream life abroad!
1. Brief Description of Self…
I am a 35-year-old male who was in the tech industry in the Seattle. I lived there my entire life and had a nice apartment and quality of life, but worked long hours to stay up with finances. My fiancé is 34 years old and we just had our first baby who is now 6 months old.
2. Where did you move to and from…
We moved from Seattle to Thailand
3. Who moved with you…
Me, my fiancé and our 6 month old baby.
4. Why did you decide to move abroad?…
I was born and raised in Seattle and loved my life there. I was in the tech industry and enjoyed the work and had a great group of friends and colleagues. After several years, however, I started to burn out. I started to experience some physical symptoms of stress and was not leading a balanced life and the winters started to feel very long and cold. My fiancé and I had a surprise pregnancy and suddenly life came into sharp focus. We realized we did not want to raise our baby in the stressful United States environment and work to live. We started to think seriously about moving abroad.
How we Moved Our Family to Thailand…
5. How did you go about deciding what country you wanted to move to?…
I had a close friend from University buy a house in Thailand and it created a spark in me that this might be an incredible opportunity to try something totally new. I honestly did not even consider any other countries. It was nice knowing I had a friend there who had already navigated the scene and could give me advice. My fiancé had traveled to Thailand and loved the country so she was open to it as well.
6. What did you do before you moved that helped you prepare for the move abroad?…
I read anything and everything I could about the country and way of life. I would read history, modern-day stories, and anything having to do with travel or starting a new life abroad in Thailand. I had never visited before I moved. Looking back that sounds crazy but I think I just knew it would be the place for us. I also talked to two other American families with young kids who had moved there and this was a huge help in terms of getting information.
7. What was the most challenging part of leaving and moving?…
It was hard to leave my childhood friends and my parents. Seattle was where I spent my entire life knew every nook and cranny and had an incredible community. For my fiancé the hardest part was also leaving friends and family.
8. What actions or choices made settling into your new country easier?….
We connected with as many expats as we possibly could. I got involved in expat forums, groups, and meetups. I also really extended myself to local people as well who were so welcoming.
The Thai people are some of the friendliest in the world and they were so welcoming and wonderful. We did hiking groups, cooking classes, tried new sports, and went to social gatherings with other families. I also read and participated in all the online forums for expats and digital nomads that I could find.
9. What has been the best part of moving abroad?…
Honestly, I don’t even know where to start. There is hardly an aspect of this journey that has not been amazing. I can’t believe we didn’t do it sooner. We have made some of the best friends of my life, had adventures I could have never dreamed of and completely changed my outlook on life. We also get to travel to all these new parts of the world in southeast Asia which has been remarkable. Life was such a grind in Seattle and I realized after moving to Thailand that sometimes your environment can really make a difference in your overall well-being.
10. What has been the most challenging part of moving abroad?
For me, creating and finding work was the most challenging. I left my job in tech and we lived off my savings for a while. I knew I didn’t have long to find steady employment and so it kept me a little bit unsettled and nervous at the beginning of my stay in our new home. There are numerous jobs available as a digital nomad and in tech but finding it in a foreign market was particularly challenging. I ended up having to piece together some freelance jobs which felt a bit stressful and chaotic, especially with a baby. But now I am a freelancer with a lot of flexibility and I make more than I did in my corporate job back in Seattle.
11. What do you wish you would have known before you left or what would you have done differently ?…
I probably should have found work before I left. Even if it was not a full-time job, just to have some income coming in. It was scary and stressful living off savings and I spent a lot of my first few months sitting at a computer looking for work.
12. What person, website, resource or app was helpful when relocating abroad?…
My friend from University who had moved to Thailand before me was the single biggest help. If you are able to connect with someone who has done the move before you I highly recommend it. I also joined the Facebook forum for Thailand expats which was amazing and set up social gatherings every week with people in your same shoes. They also provide information on English-speaking resources, housing, and anything else pertaining to setting up a new life abroad.
13. Please provide any other information, or thoughts not included in the questions above…
You really don’t know what you are missing until you move to a different country and immerse yourself in a totally new environment. It is challenging, but it really is the most remarkable thing I believe people can do. It has changed me in every way. You don’t realize, even if you try to keep an open mind how limited you are by living in one place and only experiencing that culture. We are also so excited for our baby to grow up with such a different exposure to the world.
Thinking of moving abroad, but don´t know where to start?
Get a copy of the workbook designed to walk you through choosing your perfect country and start your dream life abroad!
Choosing Your Perfect Country to Move Abroad
Whether you want to move abroad for a career, to study, for love, retirement, or to raise your family, this engaging, easy to follow roadmap will help you find the perfect location to start your new life.
Hello and Welcome!
We started our family travel blog in hopes of supporting other families move abroad and travel the world. Through straightforward, sincere and supportive information we hope to provide a reliable guide for those moving overseas with a family and traveling the globe.