Don't Move to Thailand in 2026... Watch This First

This is a much needed antidote to those "MOVE TO THAILAND AND LIVE LIKE A KING!" or "TAKE THE LEAP AND MOVE TO THAILAND!!!" videos by those YouTubers who are selling paid consultations on the secrets to immigrating to another country with no money and living a life of leisure. Having been to Thailand several times, I would not attempt to live their without a full time job within the country (I recently accepted a teaching job at a university) or a well-established remote position (with several years already under your belt). Everything else is just a gamble; it's like going to Las Vegas with a thousand dollars and hoping you can win enough to buy a house there.

omg is this video annoying

great video

I would be going in with a passive income of $120k-$140k per year and zero debt. I could care less about the money sucking locals. I just want to live a peaceful and comfortable life. I could easily retire here in my USA but I’m tired of listening to ppl. I want someplace I cannot connect with peoples problems and government. Just let me be.

good even thai people are done with the transplants living there being bums if they want to verify your job and income. people will have to realize u just cant go over and squat

The truth of the matter is Thialand is only for the rich and wealthy now folks. With A.I. technology, Thailand, unfortunately, now wants absolute control of every foreigner who enters the country so it can "exploit" them using A.I. technology and its corrupt blueprint it keeps changing. From registration upon arrival with the police, finger print scans, biometric scans, and the like, all of this is simply to manipulate and control you the tourist and the tourist industry for economic purposes. A new departure tax of over 1,000 baht (that has just been introduced) is of course, another reason why not to come to Thailand in the future or simply come under the radar. Moreover, compare Thailand to Cambodia or Vietnam. Cambodia welcomes its guests and foreigners with open arms, while, on the other hand, Thailand "exploits" its tourists - 35 million of them - simply for economic purposes. The changing of the 60 day Visa to a 30 day Visa is clearly for economic purposes and exploitation (they want you to "buy" a long term Visa my friend). The closing of "border runs" and "loopholes" is, therefore, a systematic form of "policing" by an out-of-control governmental "immigration system" that nobody is talking about. This YouTube channel need to first address the "elephant in the room" . As a foreigner, I am now personally waiting for Thai travel agents to start demonstrating against the Thai government and immigration system in the streets because they are simply losing business by "exploiting" the foreign tourists who simply never return to Thailand and are disgusted with the system. Expats everywhere need to "fight back" by exposing the "corruption" of the "Thai immigration system". Now Thailand wants "mandatory insurance", Control! control! and more control! It time to either "fight back" or simply get out of Thailand folks. I want to see mass Thai demonstrations in the streets of Bangkok and Pattaya due to these corrupt policies by the Thai immigration and the voter to go after the leaders. Why not call for public demonstrations? Would it conflict with YouTube rules? And, the Bangkok Post is dispictable my friends. They, like many other "media outlets" refuse to "criticize" the Thai government by "exposing" what is now happening inside Thailand in terms of administrative corruption. And, newspapaers like the "Bangkok Post" and other news media outlets, are simply "sleeping" in the same "bed" with the Thai politicians. It's dispicable. The tourist industry in Thailand needs to be "called out" by the Thai news media as a greedy capitalist industry that is built on "exploitation" of the foreign tourist and corruption!

I retired 6 years ago at 55 and have done nothing since. I guess it is a natural skill that makes me very happy.

Sensible advice

this hit home and not just for thailand but i was lookin to escape to south east asia and this video has made me question if I am truly coming to build or running to escape and i think it could be a combination but then perhaps I should continue with the building and then couple year after few extended stays see where it leads thanks

A place were they will never get access to.

I just need i safe place and place that is peaceful. Without all if these hsters around me.

I am Thai and I can say that oh yeah cost of living is increasingly climbing. But great things about Thailand is that you have more options. But it also depends on your goal of life whether Thailand can offer the opportunity that you are looking for or not. If you are better off at home then I would stay there if I was you. Or keep searching somewhere else that can provide you with more opportunities.

As far as living in Bkk is concerned If you want to keep up with the western standard then you‘ll need to earn western standard income for sure (at least 100k+ THB per month).

If you just earn less than that then of course you have to adjust the standard of living. Live in a cheper apartment/flat not in a condo with the rooftop swimming pool and party room or cinema room. There is still plenty of good apartments out there. Food is still cheap either cooking your own food at home or eating out. You just have to limit yourself to only go to fancy restaurant once or twice a week. But hey street food costs you only 50-80 THB per meal or go to the local market and get the ready made food to eat at home (30-50 THB per meal). Go to makro and buy bulk grocery items you need.

As for vacation you can buy bus ticket or train tickets cheaply that takes you to huahin or rayong or pattaya to spend a nice weekend. You don’t need to wait for months to save up money to buy flight ticket to have even more expensive trip like you usually have to do back home.

2 big cost drivers in bkk or like anywhere else are rent and transportation. If you are smart enough to find the way to keep these costs as low as possible then i think you will find the sweet spot to enjoy more. Bkk still provides you with more options.

For a long term stay you probably need to seek out more opportunities to earn more so you can save up more to be able to combat your retirement. Upskill yourself, use your creativity and build up connections would be the work that you have to invest on. A

Most important thing is you have your regular income sorted just like when you live anywhere else. Regardless of high or low income. It is your very own art how you design and adjust your life according to your income/budget. With low income you really need to be smart around your spending and I think Thailand provides you with more creative options than many western countries.

All in all I think living in a country that you are surrounded by kind and helpful people most of time and that great food and nice vacation is still affordable is already the sweetest spot. (cheap and good massage and spa, plenty of great fruit and veggies all year round, weather nice and hot, lots of smile, creativity everywhere, flexibility, people with open-mindset )

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Best advice ever honestly if your shit aint together dont expect a foreign country to make it right!

Mate, you hit the nail on the head with the phrase, "coping mechanisms". The ones you learned where you came from, may not have been good for you, so your life was shitty! If you take them to a place where completely different machanisms apply, and you turn up with your shitty ones, and no idea how to cope, you are in fantasy mode! One thing we all are aware of, when the movie ends, and the harsh lights of reality come back on, you MUST, be able to cope! 'Cause when the lights intrude, you stand up and cope, or you scuttle under the trash of your bullshit, and hide like a cockroach, living off the dregs of your dreamworld in the shit!

work save few thousands of dollar and visit there for yeAR enjoy

Thank you for your honesty 🙂

Well, I couldn't disagree more. Thailand does "change you" and if you don't have stuff sorted out and not sure what to do with your life then Thailand is the place to go. Thailand is the true land of opportunity and this is the place to come to if you are stuck in life but have some hidden resources. 10 years ago, 80-90% of people that moved here to start a new life failed and that is basically true today as well. Give it a go and see if it works for you. Everybody has their chance and ""you do have a chance". If you make it, you make it, if you don't you don't. At least here you have a real chance for it. So give it a go!

Such a great honest video thank you

So True for so many. Great summary. It's the same for Bali, Vietnam, Malaysia...anything is possible but to land without a financial/income plan and long term visa sorted it will probably crumble in 1 to 2 yrs!

Love this vid. Thanks for uploading <3

Like your wife
Love your freelancer
Cherish your KTV
Glorify the massage parlor
Adore the disco
Praise the dating app
Venerate the hostess bar
Worship the a go-go
Bless the bar beer
The Kingdom of Thailand is yours

Pattaya will fix all your problems...Just show up on Soi 6.

just be as western farang a tourist . no one want you there, only for spend money then go

Yes it is nice. Great weather, nice shopping markets, cheap street food, beautiful scenery, fairly safe on the whole. However, you will do 1000 trips to immigration. Most of documents are in Thai and you wouldn't even know if there is a mistake on there. You as a foreigner will really be clueless on what is on the papers when and why. You will be just kind of praying there's no mistakes on your documents. That kind of life can also wear you down. There's no real sense of stability. You feel like the carpet can be pulled under your feet at any time. Over time you just tire of that. And aside from having to physically travel to the immigration offices ( sometimes they are in other cities or middle of nowhere )...You will also, just feel the government is always monitoring you and does not trust or like you.

You sound bitter, tbh

I was adopted from Bangkok by Swedish parents, was adopted when I was a 6 weeks old baby, and at nearly 50, I'm pondering about it.
Europe, is a ticking clock at the moment, with people complaining about foreigners legal and illegal ones, or none whites.

I lost my adoption papers, but the embassy said I could try and find my biological parents names in the log book in Bangkok. I would cook my own food.

That’s the best video ever , that’s a great video if you’re a smart guy

Dude , you lack confidence. Your massage gf was real. She was with u because she liked u. Yet she has to protect herself. Her experience is men talk, they are full of shit. So please understand, it wasn't a scam. You worried too much , but of course she was giving extras. But geez you need to assume that. If she was? So what? Love is an illusion. It is trust and respect.

Same for anywhere 😶

I think Thailand and other lower cost to live type countries are exactly what I need! I get just under 2500 a month for VA disability, currently trying to increase that, and Thailand is where I’m looking to go so that I can afford to live off just that income and then have the time to build my online income streams when I’m not taking advantage of what Thailand has to offer.

Red Pill PSA FTW 😂😂😂

lol the couple in the UK moving i fear for them i am 100% they wont watch your video they are running from the UK because they have had enough of the uk so i don't blame them for that, they have only done some research online not months and months of research and planning like testing the waters before committing and they have no back up plan sold everything and just moving out there ... oh dear oh dear! i think they will be crawling back in 1-2 years time its just common sense i never put all my eggs in one basket i have to be 100 % sure before anything and i research for a very long time.... i dont want to be the one to say to them told you so!

the only person saying dont go there lol

Had a friend visit Thailand for 2 months, had Christmas, New Year an his birthday returned back to New Zealand end of February 2026, sadly died 5 weeks later, he ate toxic fish, drank contaminated water without realizing the danger he was in. I miss my friend of 20yrs still in shock. No I won't be going to Thailand, New Zealand looks an feels great all of a sudden. Beware of parasites that live in the little fishes😢

DO YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT DATING IS................ aka TALKING STAGE.. don't move her in.. ... THIS GUY IS 100% CORRECT.. SLOW DOWN.. DON'T BE A CLOWN....... people are ASSOCIATES NOT FRIENDS

I'm retiring in Thailand so I dont care about the tourist 60 day visa, and I get a disability check every month.. so im good on finance... I just need a beautiful Condo..
I think the main issue is thinking you have enough money for you and a WOMAN.. especially when that woman needs 100% support

💯 % agree with u mate 👍 !

Great information really to the point and no fluff ❤😊

Good video if you have 0 common sense.

Isn’t it the same all over the world…, if things won’t change, also something wrong… preparing is the key wherever you want to go

This feels like a ChatGPT answer 🤣

Love this honesty.

I’d like to move to Vietnam. Retired at 44 army veteran.
Double pension.
Just want to play pickleball, hit the gym and fuck.