A story about moving to Thailand: the reason why and the decision to leave, all the visa stuff, tickets, the new traveler lifestyle and discoveries. Check what we have discovered in Thailand, Chiang Mai, so far!
I forgot that summer could end, a small lizard lives in my balcony and each day I wear a helmet and ride a motorbike and… eat rice. That’s just a small piece of all the changes after leaving Lithuania and moving to Thailand, Chiang Mai.
As you could guess, I had some dreams about never-ending summer, but I didn’t have a plan to live like that – it just happened. Big thanks for my beloved man and his joke, which had an exotic ending.
What kind of joke has changed our location?
Imagine this: scrolling facebook feed, seeing a job advertisement in Thailand and replying that you want this job. Just like that. Too cool for a cover letter and CV. Actually, at that time he even didn’t have a CV, but he had to build one because of the employer requirements. There were two calls and these guys invited us to join the developers’ team.
We were both shocked. It was so hard to believe that all of this was real. My man is going to work for a company in Thailand. This means that we have to shift our old lifestyle to completely new directions. And it seemed that we had an enormous to-do-list.
To-do-list before moving to Thailand
What to choose: a comfortable zone or a new adventurous chapter? It was only two months after getting a new job. I had to decide – the opportunities that the new position provided or a new chapter in an exotic country. Now you know what my decision was. I needed two months to make a decision to live abroad after Andrius left.
New home awaits. We had to move out from our rental property. There was a lot of packing and tons of boxes which all went to our parent’s home.
New Passport. In order to get Multiple Entry Tourist Visa, your passport must be valid for the next six months and has at least one full blank page for the new visa.
Getting the Visa. Before leaving I had spent a lot of time learning about Thai Visas and all the different types of it. I decided to choose a multiple entry tourist visa, which allows staying in the country for about 6 months + 2 months extensions that could be allowed.
Prevented health checks were on my list as well. I am not a fan of visits to the doctors, but I knew that I would be abroad for quite a long time and visits in Thailand could be expensive. That’s why I decided to check my health before leaving to feel calm about my general health.
Consult with your doctor about vaccinations. It’s a good idea to visit a health professional at least 4 to 6 weeks before the trip to check whether you any vaccinations or other preventive measures are needed.
Tickets. I was lucky to find quite a cheap flight from Vilnius to Bangkok. The bonus I got – it was a night flight. That means that I got rid of the huge jet lag and was able to start exploring the Chiang Mai on the very first day.
Apartment. We were pretty lucky that Andrius’ employer took care of the accommodation for the first months. After this period we had to choose – to stay longer in the same place or to find another one. We decided to move and found another fully furnished apartment in a week.
Was it worth all the efforts?
No doubts. Preparation period was quite stressful, but it passed. Now it doesn’t look as if it was such a big deal.