Expat wannabe

I came across a psychologist last year in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is a city with about 30,000 expats and maybe a dozen private international schools. He frequently worked with the schools and children. Officially American psychologists would not be allowed to practice in Thailand. He found a sponsor who was able to provide him with a work permit. Immigration is making an ongoing effort to "protect" it's own labor market and generally do not want too many work permits available, or however that can be put. Sorry for the wet blanket but Immigration can be very difficult to deal with. On the other hand many expat's in Chiang Mai turn to writing. There are even two writing clubs in Chiang Mai that could help you with some of the in's and out's.

Thank you Bill, all of this information is useful to me.  I was in Chang Mai in  2001 and liked it.

Len

I found your introduction more interesting than most.  It was not the typical how can I live cheaper than cheap or how can I find work as a foreigner.

Berkeley was the first thing to grab my attention because my wife has some experience there and we met some interesting people during a brief stay. 

Your comment about honesty being embedded in Thai culture was something which really stuck out as being an unusual perspective and one many foreigners would be at odds with.

My guess is, you would find the expat community far different from the type of people you are used to dealing with and with very different problems.  That said, there are representatives of pretty much every type of individual here, it is just harder to find those who don't fit the mainstream expat models.

Interestingly, I had to lookup John Burdett because I didn't know who he was.  Though I haven't read any of his work I am guessing you will find real life in Thailand much different from what is portrayed in novels.  Other than a bit of Thai history at university I have never felt the need to read about Thailand, perhaps because most novels have been written long after my arrival.

With adequate resources I am sure you can create an environment conducive to writing with few distractions but you may need some time to find what works for you.  Good luck and enjoy your adventure.