During 2010 I will be donating $5 (~165 baht) for every completed hotel booking made with Agoda.com through Thailand Musings. Together we can make a HUGE difference in a Thai students life.
Find out more here.
Thailand ebooks for sale covering topics like living in Thailand, working and teaching in Thailand, finding a Thai wife (the right way), ladyboys, muay Thai, Thai cooking, moving to Thailand and more.
Learn more here.
I know many of you that have found Thailand Musings are interested in Thai girls and how to find a Thai bride of your own. After being married to a wonderful Thai girl for over 3 years I can understand your interest in Thai girls. Read more about my Thai bride.
In the post titled “What do YOU Want to Know About Thailand?” Cody asks:
What is the best way to connect with the local expat community
before I move over there? (to Thailand)
Answer:
There are several ways to get to know some people and develop contacts and relationships with expats in Thailand prior to arriving there. The best in my opinion is to start frequenting some of the more popular internet forums where Thailand expats hang out. There are several to choose from and each has it’s own different character. Some of the more popular one are:
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php – This is one of the oldest and largest Thailand forums on the web.
http://teakdoor.com/forum.php – Mostly English teachers here and they can be a bit jaded and lean towards drinking and debauchery. Seems the forum is looking up and has a better group of expats now. Based on Charles’ comment I went over and took a look and really liked what I saw. A lot of Asia news and content based on living in Thailand, building a house or swimming pool, recipes and food related information and general travelers tales.
http://www.thailandqa.com/forum/index.php – Good informative forum and I think the mod (owner?) Richard Barrow must be a great guy. I’ve even seen him offer to put people up at his place when they arrive in Bangkok.
http://www.phuket-info.com/forums/ – Large forum focused on Phuket life, but with other areas of the board devoted to Samui, Pattaya, Issan and Bangkok.
http://kohtao-community.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2 – Very small forum focusing on the island of Koh Tao which is a small diving oriented island near Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ExpatFocus/ – Yahoo group the answers questions specific to expats. Not sure if you will make any contacts here, but you can get some questions answered.
Another way to meet expats in Bangkok is to get to some of the sponsored events specifically for networking. Of course you can’t do this until you actually arrive in Thailand, but that is true of most everything related to your move to the Land of Smiles. Here are two groups you can check out:
The European Young Professionals society organizes regular networking evenings, although you don’t necessarily have to be European, young or indeed professional to attend these events! The parties are a great way to meet other ex-pats from a social as well as a business perspective. Usually they are held in a posh restaurant or hotel, are free to enter and have vast quantities of free food and drinks. You must book your place in advance though via the web site.
Networking for Success holds weekly breakfast meetings at the Pan Pacific Hotel, 23rd Floor 7.30am – 9am Every Thursday morning. Their website also has a (fairly quiet) forum which might be helpful.
Overall though the very best way to meet expats in Bangkok and Thailand is to simply go there. Once you arrive visit some of the bars and pubs and see who you meet. Bangkok is full of expats, especially around the Sukhumvit Road area so you won’t have any problems meeting expats in Bangkok if you get yourself out and about. And they will undoubtedly be a great source of current information and help to you, having been through the same things you are going through now when they first arrived.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Check out these similar posts:
Hi Steve, I am a member of http://www.teakdoor.com and have been for nearly a year now, I have not met a teacher yet from that forum, most of the members have their own businesses or are retired here in Thailand.
Thanks Charles! I went to take another look at Teak Door and I can say that I really like what I saw. Went and registered too so I can keep up to date with what’s happening on the forum. I appreciate the comment and the heads up for me. You’ll notice I’ve also amended my post to reflect all this.
hi, As a British guy from London im looking to meet British and American Girls my own age 30, thai girls are cool just seeking some del boy convosation and that cockney charm l miss about the english rose. l never see ex pat girls living and working here alone, only girls with boyfriends on vacation, if economy is so bad in u.s and u.k why are fathers not sending their daughters here to work and live, Bangkok is a thriving and beautiful metripolis with cool people and cool food, just want a sophoticated coversation with a girl that can arouse my mind. a girl from London or New York woudl be perfect with good eye socked bone structure, purpose and a reason to exist.
Hey Morphelius, nice to have you here as a reader.
I suppose your best bet to meet Brits and Americans would be to move to London or New York, Thailand seems to be filled with Thai girls
I understand your desire however, it can be refreshing to have a conversation with someone who has a similar mindset to your own. Not sure where you’ll find that in Bangkok though aside from the tourists that come through. Personally I haven’t met many long term Western girls living in Thailand.
Let us know here if you find any good places to find such creatures in Bangkok and keep in touch, I’d love to come see one of your shows next time I’m in Bangkok.