Working UK hours in Thailand around January time - thoughts?

[GiantEnemyCrab]

A lot of employer legal / HR teams default to risk averse as they don't actually know or want to be in danger of ever being wrong.

eg for contracts that are already signed, the company isn't 'selling work' in the new country so doesn't have need to have a presence for taxes etc. Lots of nuances though - check reddit digitalnomad and other such forums.

Other facts such as compliance, gdpr etc still apply though.

[Risonax]

redrabbit29 said:

Hi,

My Job

WFH on a small team covering Europe side but with a global team
Technical cybersecurity work
It's easy most of the time but intense when something goes wrong and cliends need help
I have a 40" widescreen, plus a 27" portrait one next to it
Stand up desk
Top end keyboard/mice
I basically have a nice set up for intense/technical and complicated work

Remote Work

I can't stand the UK weather during most of the year with it being dull, wintery, rain, dark, etc. It's more than just annoying to me as it causes a bit of depression and low moods.

I have a job where I can work anywhere - my Director doesn't care.

Locations & Options

Looked at options including:

I thought about Spain initially however, it's quite expensive for what you get. I have a big budget but it's just doesn't seem to stretch far. I also don't know where to go... I've heard mixed things about Malaga/Torremelinos/Balemedina.

Air BnB is also really mixed bag.

Thailand

I then thought about this. I've never been (which may be a silly idea for this reason alone). However the money goes far and I would maybe go for 4-6 weeks, taking 1-2 weeks off within that period.

I'd have to work the afternoon into the evenings due to timezone issues. THere is an element of flexibility but I'd probably still need to be online until 10pm on weekdays, midnight if on-call.

Everyone says Chiang Mai is great for remote workers.

The money, say about £5k gets you a decent place for 4-6 weeks, with pool. Often there's nice big tables to work on, sometimes a desk. Just a really nice setup.

Is this a silly idea?
Are there other considerations I've not thought of? (not worried about tax issues, it's a relatively short period and I've looked into it and it's just not an issue for this period).

Thanks

I'm off to Koh Samui to do the same thing next month. My wife lives there, with two massage shops.

A room is costing me £200 for the month. It has everything I need. Electricity and water will be about £50 on top
Hours; my teams are in Canada and India, so I'm piggy in the middle. I suspect for a couple of days a week I'll be something like 4pm to 9pm to get some overlap with Canada, and India time the rest, but it wouldnt surprise me I might end up 10-10.

Powercuts; they do happen in Thailand, and more likely in less touristy areas
Thailand blocks a lot of websites, so may need VPN.
Anything imported isquite expensive there. Thai food is cheap, and its not always great. Western food tends to be quite expensive, and often not great (eg. watery tasteless Aussie steaks)
Some people like motorbikes to get around. I don't but I have a car out there (Fiesta Powershift, possibly the worst choice ever). In touristy areas, the roads are carnage. Rural areas are ok, except at night because the locals have been swigging whisky/brandy all day.

A non-new car is about £10 a day on a monthly rental

As indicated, while most Thai people will be fine, don't flaunt that you are working
Travel insurance is only going to cover you for 30 days in one country, even if you have annual cover.
I don't think you will get far at the airport if you arrive with your office on your back . Accept if you need it, you will be buying kit out there. And probably not have the same set up you are used to.

Big C is the leading buy anything store, if you want to gauge prices; a cheapie Thai 28" monitor is £70 for instance.

[Giantt]

fourstardan said:

Does demonstrate some irrational thinking.

What about Portuga, south of France or the canaries?

Mmmmmm maybe because when I spent Dec/Jan in the Philippines it was virtually 36 degrees, every day,balmy at night, hardly saw any rain,used to wake up wonder if I'd be warm enough in t shirt,what colour sky would be ,yes and blue every day, excellent internet,working from a top storey veranda when i needed to hth

[gotoPzero]

Risonax said:

Travel insurance is only going to cover you for 30 days in one country, even if you have annual cover.

Plenty of 45 and 60 day standard policies.

For more nomad style insurance safety wing or world nomads will cover you pretty much as long as you want including out of the UK renewal (with minor cooling off period).

The one thing I would not scrimp on is insurance, there is a lot that can go wrong in Thailand from infections, accidents and animal encounters.

The pavements are like an obstacle course in places. Crossing the road... jeez at night its pretty sporty!!

[Saweep]

I've been doing this for over 10 years; running my UK business from Thailand for many months of the year.

It's really no big deal. I love having the mornings and early afternoon to train and get massages, top up the tan etc etc without being bothered at all from back home.

In lots of places Thai wifi speeds and 5G is considerably faster than the uk.

Anywhere is better than the Uk in Jan and Feb!