Hey there. Like many others, I lived in Thailand for a number of months, boxing. I don't have too much advice regards the housing.

I do however have some advice regarding your time there. Be very aware that no matter where you go, you will be perceived as well off. You will (seriously) be batting women away left right and centre. Very pretty women who see you as their ticket out of there.

If you do gain a girlfriend, don't be surprised that your money will go nowhere as far as you had hoped. Scooters, money for family, eating out more - all will make their way into your life very quickly.

It's easy to say it will never happen to you - you don't have to go looking for a partner out there. They will find you and persue you. For Western men, this can be a huge change from the generally more entitled women of the West. Please excuse my asumptions that you are interested in females - I don't know if the same is true for Thai men.

Having only _visited_ there, I can concur.

If you do decide to date a Thai woman, be very careful, the culture of dating there is extremely different then the West. I would highly recommend research into how the culture works before you get into something you might end up regretting, it's certainly not for everyone. You will find it very difficult to find the difference between sincerity and gold digging. Also, be very careful of working girls.

Oh, and stay in the north for cheaper living, Chang Mai is awesome! Don't pay more then 70Baht for a Big Chang!

I haven't lived in thailand, but lived in China for a year, and I find that anything found on the internet that is in english has the rents raised substantially.

You may want to start by staying at a hostel and becoming friendly with the hostel staff. They usually have friends who know friends who will be able to help you out for sure.

You may also want to bring a bit of money to hire someone from the country (in china you can pay around $500-$600/month for a full time university graduate who majored english) to be your personal assistant while getting things set up for you. In fact I would highly recommend this.

In China, we had to sign a year lease, but actually got out of it early and it wasn't a hassle at all but that may just be that our landlords were great.

Another idea you may want to try is to use something like couchsurfing.com just to meet local expats there. When I lived in the Caribbean I used to let people couch surf and would introduce them to the locals that would show them what they wanted to see/do. You don't even need to stay at their house, you can just ask them questions through the website.

Good luck on your adventure, I haven't gotten to Thailand yet, but as soon as I can make it out there, I will. Iceland is next on my list.

Thanks for this valuable input. I will probably use some of the advices. And couchesurfing.com is exactly what I've been looking for.

I have traveled extensively in Thailand. The one city I love & keep going back is Chiang Mai. It has great coffee shops with free WiFi, an excellent ex pat community, plenty of colleges and friendly folks . I would book your stay at Spicy Thai Backpackers Hostel. The owner Pong is pretty cool, plus it's in a quiet neighborhood. He can also help you find long time rentals. Hope this helps.

Doing much the same but in the Philippines. Don't rent an apartment, you could likely get a hotel room which is not much more expensive than an apartment (some people here live in hotels long term) while you look around. Forget about agents, just ask around, probably other expats. You should be able to find apartments which are month to month.

Here's my advice for Vietnam, probably also applies to Thailand. You don't need to bother finding a place before you arrive.

1. Go to the tourist/backpacker area, find accommodations. 2. Find a reasonable hotel you can stay in for a few weeks. 3. Find a cheaper place you can stay at for a few months.

And.. 0. Look on expat/travel forums instead.

1. No, get it when you're there. Reserve the first two weeks to get settled and organized.

Yeah, thanks. I was thinking exactly that. Any tips on the agencies to go to then?

I would stay in a popular hostel and ask around in that hostel. There will often be notices hanging there as well.

Sharing an apt can be a lot of fun too, and easier to arrange.

I've been in Thailand on and off for around a decade. I founded / used to run a PR agency in Bkk and now write software. I'd be happy to give you some pointers. Email me at mbenjaminsmith at gmail. - Matthew

I planned on Malaysia this winter ($ allowing) rather than Thailand for various reasons, otherwise I'd join you.

Reasons include:

1. Money

2. Stability

3. I know more people in Malaysia