Working

Jackroche -- I was able to work in Thailand for 6+ years by way of establishing a Thai Limited Company. It's a pretty involved process and it can't be a business that is restricted from foreigners. Not sure if setting up your own bar would be restricted or not. I worked with a very good Thai lawyer to set up my biz and also had a real good accountant to take care of Thai tax returns and general accounting. If you set up a Thai Co., you'll need several Thai national shareholders and as a foreigner, you cannot own more than 49% of the company. You'll need to have at least 4 Thai national employees that are paid at least the minimum wage, which I think now it is THB 10,000/mo.

As mentioned by another poster, a lot of people teach English in order to get a work permit. But be advised that the pay for English teachers is not that great; I think about THB 30,000/mo. If you are highly skilled in certain hard science professions, the pay would be better and a company would be more willing to sponsor you for a work permit.

One suggestion is to subscribe to the Bangkok Post or The Nation newspapers online and check out the jobs classified ads as there are positions advertised that are open to foreigners.

Best of luck !