Your First 30 Days in Thailand: What We'd Prepare

Before you fly

• Book the first two weeks of accommodation somewhere central. Do not book a month — you will want to move once you have seen the area.
• Buy or activate a data eSIM so you have connectivity the moment you land.
• Photograph or scan every important document and store it somewhere you can reach without your luggage.
• Tell your bank and card providers you are travelling, and check your cards work abroad.
• Bring a supply of any prescription medication, plus a letter from your GP listing generic names and doses.

Week one — land and settle

Do not try to solve everything in the first three days. You will be jet-lagged and the heat is a bigger adjustment than people expect. The aim of week one is to be comfortable, connected and oriented.

1. Get a local SIM or number — you will need one for almost every other step.
2. Find your nearest supermarket, pharmacy, hospital and immigration office. Actually walk or drive to each.
3. Sort out day-to-day cash access and note which ATMs charge what.
4. Sleep. Adjust. Walk the neighbourhood at 7am and at 9pm; they are different places.

Week two — admin

1. Start the bank account process. Bring your passport, visa documentation, proof of address and passport photographs. Expect to be sent away at least once.
2. Register your address if your visa type requires it, and understand your reporting obligations.
3. Get a residence certificate if you will need one for a licence, a vehicle or a bank.
4. Book an introductory appointment at a private hospital and register as a patient before you are ill.

Week three — housing

Now that you have spent a fortnight in the area, you know more than you did. Start viewing. See at least six places and view at different times of day — a quiet building at 11am can be a different proposition at 11pm.

Week four — build the routine

This is the week that determines whether the move sticks. Join something. A gym, a golf society, a language class, a volunteer group, a weekly quiz. The specific activity matters much less than the fact that it recurs and involves the same faces.

• Set up your utilities and internet, and understand how bills are paid locally.
• Find a doctor, a dentist and a pharmacist you like.
• Learn ten more Thai words a week. It compounds.
• Diarise your visa dates and your 90-day reporting now, not later.