Best place to live beach life in Thailand?

@ThailandHereICome

Come here and visit all the numerous islands . But of course as you probably robably know there are thousands of various restaurants everywhere here on the islands .

And check visa first . You can't come like a tourist and open a shop like this . It is not so obvious and easy . You need a work permit and you need to hire Thaï or Burmese employees

Sorry but I have just got to say it - not just to you mate - but to anyone else reading this post and replies.

Thailand is NOT an easy place to live - many many issues around Visas and all the other things - but it IS an easy place to visit and have a holiday.  I wont go into all the Visa and Immigration issues - but how about this for a good starter question - where is the nearest GP or Clinic or Hospital on this idyllic island? 

Do your research people - start with Google:  "working in Thailand"  "opening a business in Thailand"  "living long term in Thailand".   Yes - Thailand is a great place to live but you cannot just 'go'. You must plan it all - every little thing. I recall meeting a bloke and his wife in Chiang Mai that had recently moved to Thailand - they had retirement Visas and had rented their house in Sydney. They said they had "heaps of money for living in Thailand" - from the rent they were getting in Sydney.  When I pointed out the taxation penalties for what they had done, they were shocked - they had absolutely no idea.  Questions like "why should we pay tax in Australia - we are not living there" showed how much research they had done (SFA).

Sorry mate - but research for yourself - dont expect to get all the answers on forums - and you wont get half of the right questions either.   Research and get it all sorted out first - then decide where.

PS - Phuket or Samui. They are islands that have what you want - and also medical services and many other things that are very important to be able to get when you are living somewhere.

Following on from AussieBob99.

No tax refund f you're a Brit but.....the rest is correct. Food industry is a protected industry like many others unless you offer an exotic food like Mexican cantina etc...

And even if you don't need to hire a Thai, you probably have to anyway because, a) someone to work with the local police on their 'protection' fees, the building (lease/buy), alcohol licence, business license etc.

Don't be put off but as AussieBob99 wrote. Do your research.

Btw, only US citizens can own a business outright on Thailand thought the US+ Thai Amity agreement.

Good luck

I mean no taxes in the UK if you live in Thailand and you are British.

I mean no taxes in the UK if you live in Thailand and you are British.
-@npfduggan41

If you're British and living in Thailand, you still have to pay UK tax on income derived from the UK - for example on savings and investments held in the UK, income from renting out your UK property.

@Retiree

Yes of course. I mean for Brits with no income in Britain. Such as me.

Hi all. I'm thinking of relocation to Thailand, live a no worries life on an island and open my own food business.
Can you tell me where is the ideal place to do that? I need a good flow of tourists and backpackers throughout the year.
Thanks
-@ThailandHereICome

Admittedly responding as a clueless outsider 😉:

I'll let others deal with most visa & business license & tax & other issues.

In these "somewhat" post-COVID times it seems that ANY prospective business in Southeast Asia will be more likely to succeed during any future epidemics/pandemics if they follow the model of those businesses that have best been able to survive COVID-related lockdowns and other restrictions.

Here in Vietnam, the few businesses that remained open were pharmacies, grocery stores/quick marts and healthcare clinics, and based on what some contacts in Thailand have told me, I'm thinking the same might have been true there...?

Especially successful here were small grocery stores that also included some sort of restaurant/cafe/fast food service.

Location was the other key factor, with major metro areas suffering the worst restrictions for the longest periods of time.

Knowing what I do about what transpired in Thailand during those times, I would personally choose to open a grocery store with both a cafe area & street/takeout food on Phuket, since the sandbox program there provided the earliest return of normalized tourist activity.

I'm sure that's not a foolproof plan and I'm also sure I will probably hear from people telling me anecdotal stories about businesses that fit that model but failed during COVID.

I'm just saying if I were going to bet on any plan, that would be the one.

As for "no worries"... 😂😂😂

@OceanBeach92107 Very true.  Both in Bangkok and across the rural areas of Thailand.  The other viable option I have seen is a hair salon/shop - Thai girls are always getting their hair done.

@OceanBeach92107 Very true. Both in Bangkok and across the rural areas of Thailand. The other viable option I have seen is a hair salon/shop - Thai girls are always getting their hair done.
-@AussieBob99

I'm sure that's a good option during "normal" times, Bob.

In the context of my comment, hair salons etc wouldn't be a good choice for the OP, as they were some of the first businesses to be shuttered during COVID lockdowns, unlike the three types of businesses I mentioned previously: "pharmacies, grocery stores/quick marts and healthcare clinics".