Hello from new member! In the UK but moving to Laos next year :)

[kingwilly]

Your Mom won't have a better quality of life without decent medical insurance. Just because you made £1,000 a month in UK selling cars doesn't mean you will in Laos.

[Davis Knowlton]

I won't comment further, as I have no Lao experience, other than to say with almost 40 years in Asia, I don't think your plan has any hope of success. I've seen dozens of young lads come and go over 4 decades, very few have made a go of it and lived a lifestyle that would be acceptable to me. But, you're only young once, so best of luck! And, the monthly salary you mention wouldn't go far in the Philippines or Thailand - Asia is nowhere as cheap as advertised. Again, life in a hut in Laos might be cheaper.

[supernovadw]

@ Sir Wilson:

Yes you are right there regarding the medical insurance, that is certainly something that not just she would need but also myself and my wife, I will most certainly need to look in to that!

I'm not saying that I make £1000 a month in the UK selling cars, I make more than that at current, the UK is most definetley expensive as we all know so to have a decent standard of living you of course need to make quite alot now!

@ Davis Knowlton:

I know it's not going to be easy, infact I expect it to be very hard but I really honestly do believe that I can make something work! I am not closed to the idea of a garage and will certainly do alot or research in to what ever I do before I put anything in to it. As you say I am only young and you only live once so surely you just have to try! When we got married I knew that it wasn't going to be easy however like I say you just have to make the most of what ever situation you are in don't you.

I don't want to end up stuck in the UK for the rest of my life, I honestly believe that things are going to go much further downhill than they are at the moment.

A good friend of mine (Who is considerably older than me and runs a large chain of motorfactors) has said that he believes I will be able to make something work and has offered as much help as possible, he spends six months a year in Thailand and Lao and has done for quite a few years so he does have experience to back up what he is saying.

I am perfectly aware that Asia is not cheap anymore, I've spent quite alot of time there in the past few years.

£1000 is just a figure that I've picked out of the air as an example but I'm sure if you did make that much it would give you a really nice lifestyle in Lao, I.e. not living in a hut lol.

Anyhow please keep the advice coming.

[jizzybloke]

Has your Mrs got any sisters?

[supernovadw]

Has your Mrs got any sisters?

Yep she has lol

[jizzybloke]

I will get up there one day...

Try to see Navydoubts, have to see who else is there!

BLD and another poster who I can't think of at the moment??

[nigelandjan]

Thanks for the pics Supainclova ,, and I apologise for having that bit of doubt in the back of my mind ,, allthough TBH when you have been here for a while you will know why.

You sure have a beautiful lady there mate and can understand why you miss her.

TBH I think one of the problems you have now and possibly the last rejection is the amount of visitor visas ,, ( hindsight I know but might help others in the future ) you have had in the past .

The ironic thing is IF she had come over on a fiancee visa say 6 months after you had originally met , the chances are she would be here all stamped up and ILTR ,, its a bastard .

Good luck with it all mate for you both I feel for you ,, please keep the pics coming of your ventures in Laos when they get going

[nigelandjan]

I reckon the boys gonna do well ,, just found a pic of his dear old Uncle

[supernovadw]

Thanks for the pics Supainclova ,, and I apologise for having that bit of doubt in the back of my mind ,, allthough TBH when you have been here for a while you will know why.

You sure have a beautiful lady there mate and can understand why you miss her.

TBH I think one of the problems you have now and possibly the last rejection is the amount of visitor visas ,, ( hindsight I know but might help others in the future ) you have had in the past .

The ironic thing is IF she had come over on a fiancee visa say 6 months after you had originally met , the chances are she would be here all stamped up and ILTR ,, its a bastard .

Good luck with it all mate for you both I feel for you ,, please keep the pics coming of your ventures in Laos when they get going

Thanks for the positive comments! Yes I know exactly what you mean! I am a member on a couple of other forums and the amount of jokers on there is amazing!

Yes she is certainly a beautiful lady and I miss her so much! It just seems crazy that we're married and on opposite sides of the world

I know what you mean in regards to the visa situation, you know the thing is that we didn't want to jump straight in and get married too quickly so that was the way we did it, like you say if we had of done the Fiancee visa 6 months after we met it may now be a different story...Anyhow you cant change what has already happened so I just have to make the most of everything now.

My mate who is the same age as me thinks that I should take it as a blessing in disguise and use it as an opportunity to make a move over there. He is living in Bangkok and is doing private English lessons and making quite a few £, he's been living in Asia (Taiwan and Thailand) For four years now and swears he'll never go back! He is the person who initially encouraged me to look in to the idea of moving to Laos.

I have loads and loads of pictures of Laos so I will post some more up for all to see.

Thanks

[buriramboy]

Just go for it, don't listen to all the nay sayers. Better to try and see if it works out than not to try at all and have regrets.

[kingwilly]

He is living in Bangkok and is doing private English lessons and making quite a few £,

He's a liar.

But, I'm not saying dont move, in fact you're right, moving is probably a good idea. But dont burn all your bridges, your mum moving with you is probably a bad idea, but then again it might work out.

Just make sure you have enough money for flights home if you need them.

Good luck

[supernovadw]

Just go for it, don't listen to all the nay sayers. Better to try and see if it works out than not to try at all and have regrets.

Thanks for the positive comments!

That is what I am thinking in a way to be honest, after all you only live once hey!

It's not just the visa situation it's the fact that I think we could potentially have a much happier life in Laos than here in the UK.

I also believe that there is certainly potential to make some money! My wife's uncle said to me that the amount Laos has changed since 1990 (Not really that long ago!) Is amazing! So think how much more potential there is for change and development....

Having said all that I do want to make the right move! I certainly don't want to put everything I have in to one and end up with nothing.

For those of you who thinks that a garage is a non starter then what would you suggest? I am really open to anything! But would rather avoid the English teaching to be honest.

[supernovadw]

classic car restoration thailand

This is the business that my friend runs in Thailand, he is doing really well and inundated with work!

[malcy]

And there you go, here's a couple of pics to prove that we do exist and I'm not a sole keyboard warrior making up rubbish.

Are you a real genie ?

[jizzybloke]

Oh no I just realised you do look very slightly like socal but your not a ginger cock sucking freak!

[supernovadw]

He is living in Bangkok and is doing private English lessons and making quite a few £,

He's a liar.

But, I'm not saying dont move, in fact you're right, moving is probably a good idea. But dont burn all your bridges, your mum moving with you is probably a bad idea, but then again it might work out.

Just make sure you have enough money for flights home if you need them.

Good luck

I can hand on heart say that he is most certainly not a liar! He is running his own small school from home and has quite a few students!

Here's a video on Youtube that he uploaded:



Anyhow yes I genuinely believe that moving is a good idea and I completley agree with you about not burning all our bridges. Taking my mother with me is something that I must do, I could not just leave here in the UK on her own it would just feel wrong!

The intention was to sell the house anyway and my mother to buy a smaller house. In selling the house we certainly don't have to put all the money in to something straight away and certainly will not be leaving us with no money.

I/we would never ever consider not keeping some money back for emergency/getting home as it would of course be mighty foolish!

[buriramboy]

Just go for it, don't listen to all the nay sayers. Better to try and see if it works out than not to try at all and have regrets.

Thanks for the positive comments!

That is what I am thinking in a way to be honest, after all you only live once hey!

It's not just the visa situation it's the fact that I think we could potentially have a much happier life in Laos than here in the UK.

I also believe that there is certainly potential to make some money! My wife's uncle said to me that the amount Laos has changed since 1990 (Not really that long ago!) Is amazing! So think how much more potential there is for change and development....

Having said all that I do want to make the right move! I certainly don't want to put everything I have in to one and end up with nothing.

For those of you who thinks that a garage is a non starter then what would you suggest? I am really open to anything! But would rather avoid the English teaching to be honest.

You just have to remember quite a lot of people on these forums are miserable old fucks who didn't move out to Asia till they were middle or old aged and they don't like seeing young people moving out making a go of things as they themselves didn't have the balls to do it when they were younger. Only you can make the decision, but i'd go for it if i was you, nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that, even if it only turns out to be an extended vacation at the end and a business doesn't work out at least you will have given it a shot and got some stories to tell, plus it gets you out the UK, so as you see with the right attitude only positives..

[Agent_Smith]

@supernovadw, being young is an advantage in this case. You have time to make and learn from mistakes. Nice photos, lovely wife btw.

Go for It!

...and good luck, of course.

[supernovadw]

[/quote]
You just have to remember quite a lot of people on these forums are miserable old fucks who didn't move out to Asia till they were middle or old aged and they don't like seeing young people moving out making a go of things as they themselves didn't have the balls to do it when they were younger. Only you can make the decision, but i'd go for it if i was you, nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that, even if it only turns out to be an extended vacation at the end and a business doesn't work out at least you will have given it a shot and got some stories to tell, plus it gets you out the UK, so as you see with the right attitude only positives..[/QUOTE]

Thanks for that, yes I guess that I am probably one of the younger members!

The way I feel at the moment I'd love to just get on a plane tonight and go but you know I've got to be realistic and plan everything out properly.

Like I said I'm not just resigned to the fact of an idea of a garage, I am very open so am going to do as much research as possible first in order to give what ever I do the best chance first time round.

My head is full of ideas and conflicting thoughts at the moment so really don't know what to do or where to start....

[supernovadw]

@supernovadw, being young is an advantage in this case. You have time to make and learn from mistakes. Nice photos, lovely wife btw.

Go for It!

...and good luck, of course.

Thanks for the positive comments! So many different opinions on here which is great, thanks again!

[sabang]

However as I said I am not going to jump straight in! I certainly shall not be selling everything in the UK and blowing all the money at once! It would of course be a massive gamble and very foolish as like people have said we could soon see ourselves with nothing very fast!

Please don't. I'm not going to discourage you from giving it a go- wife 'n all, and if Mum is jumping in with her eyes open.., but I'd suggest a far lower risk option would be to get an income stream going from English teaching, and take a while to get to know Laos and laotian ways before jumping feet first into a business. Speaking as one who lives in Thai Laos, you will have a lot to learn..

[slackula]

This is the business that my friend runs in Thailand, he is doing really well and inundated with work!

Whoever made his website should be dragged out, whipped and then shot!

Good grief, what a mess.

[supernovadw]

@Sabang thanks for the advice! English teaching would be an easy option in regards to ease of finding a job and having the income would be good however it really wouldn't be any good for me to be honest, I sat in a couple of classes and tried to help out with my friend in Bangkok and it's just not me, I cannot seem to get involved in it. You know of of the reasons of wanting to go to live in Laos is hopefully to have a happier life but if I end up doing a job which quite frankly I would hate it seems like going backwards....

I won't be jumping in to business, like I say start small and see how it goes hey! I would honestly say that I know Laos relatively well, I've spent a decent amount of time there on and off and done alot of travelling around the country, I know quite alot of people (Both Lao and Foreigners) But yeh I'm sure I will still have alot to learn, of course time is the only thing....

@quimbian corholla I do agree the website isn't great lol, not amazingly well set out it is :/ The actual work there is however spot on! Alot of the work he does is rectifying f*uck up's done by other businesses, alot of the Thai bodywork looks lovely at first but in reality is really badly done! One thing they like doing is wet sanding filler which causes it to part company from the body 1 year/18 months down the road.

[beerlaodrinker]

life in a hut in Laos might be cheaper.

Huts are certainly cheap, but in all seriousness you can rent a reasonable 2 or 3 bedroom house for 300 to $400, in vientiane. Your missus is a good looking sort by the way, im not surprised you are thinking about moving here having read your story, Your posts also sound a lot more logical than socal,s and he is 28, Tell me a bit more about your wife, does she have a big family? is she educated ? Can she cook? Can you cook? just another suggestion maybe you could open a restaurant serving quality western and Lao food, Dont open a bar, Thats just going to take years of your life, i dont blame you for not wanting to go down the tefling road, but options here really are limited to locals unless you have a particular skill or have some seed money to start off with a business of some kind.
You will have a happier life in Laos no doubt, but you still need an income,

[supernovadw]

@ Beerlaodrinker thank you for the advice again!

Yes rent is quite cheap isn't it, my wife's friend rents a 4 bedroom house in Sisattanak (Spelling?) which is set right back from the road and has a decent size garden and pays an amazing 4000 Baht a month! I mean It's not amazing inside or anything but much more than OK!

My wife...Yes she has a large family, she is one of 8!!!! She is from a small village call Baan Kun (Spelling?) which is around two hours north of Vientiane. Her mother and father still live there but all here brothers and sisters have moved out and gone there separate ways...

When I met my wife she had her own hair dressers, she went to Ramkhamheng university (Spelling?) And did hair sculpture, she opened her own hair dressers in the year 2000 and employed another girl as well.

She is a very good hair dresser and has always looked after herself!

She would like to start her own hair dressers again and I also think that this is a good idea! As in all seriousness she did used to earn decent money some days!

Yes she can cook, she can cook very well indeed! And it's not just me that thinks that, she regularly get's compliments about her food! Myself yes without being big headed I also consider myself a fairly decent cook so yes it could be an option And yes I do agree with you regarding the bar, I wouldn't fancy opening a bar to be honest, I think that I'd just end up sitting there and drinking too much lol.

I have been speaking to my friend from the UK who spends time in Thailand/Laos and he has offered to help me out setting something up which is really appreciated! He seems to think that the best thing is to do several small businesses instead of focusing on one thing.

Ideas in my mind at the moment are:

-Garage
-Car wash
-Restaurant
-Coffee shop
-Car accessory shop

I'm just thinking that in doing several small things it would of course start to mount up instead of trying to rely on one source of income....Of course I need money to start out and I will in all honesty have quite a decent amount to start off with but I shall be very careful about investing!

Please keep all thoughts coming I'm finding everyone's opinions and thoughts very helpful indeed!

Thanks