Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand • Hacker News Board

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#101

Post by geomark » Thu, Apr 09, 2015, 4:20 PM UTC

plg wrote: post #96

a comment by way of someone (me) who is getting a bit on in age... nice idea, but what about medical care? being in a large north american city, access to high quality and high-end medical care is something that I've taken advantage of several times and it sure makes me sleep better at night

I've been living in Thailand for more than 10 years and have had a few major medical events. Medical care here in Thailand is far better than what I experienced in the U.S. The quality of care at private hospitals (and the country's central public hospital Siriraj) are generally excellent. And the cost is a fraction of the U.S. plus you actually know the cost going in instead of the run-around bait-and-switch hide-the-price until it is submitted to the insurance company game that is the U.S.

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#102

Post by znq » Thu, Apr 09, 2015, 4:24 PM UTC

normloman wrote: post #88

znq wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many of us working at Mobile Jazz actually have family and we care a lot about integrating them in whatever we do: http://blog.mobilejazz.com/work-life-balance-at-mobile-jazz/ It's not always perfectly possible, but at least we try :-)

When you did your Thailand experiment, did any employees take their families with them? Also, I presume from the article that not every employee was in Thailand, and some chose to remain at home, correct? Did the remote team ever feel left out of the conversation as most of the team was speaking in person in Thailand? Thank you, and nice article.

For the Thai experiment it was exclusively those who didn't have family. Some with family considered it, but as most of their kids are still very young they didn't do it in the end.

Regarding the remote work, even when we're at home, that means we're in different cities and even different countries, so our whole company is set up as a remote company, although many chose to work from the main office in Barcelona. To answer your question, no one felt left out, because we simply continued to work as usual (chat, video calls, etc.), it just happened that some of us were at the different location.

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#103

Post by lightbritefight » Thu, Apr 09, 2015, 4:34 PM UTC

beachstartup wrote: post #84

saryant wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are definitely coworking spaces. I just spent two weeks working out of Kohub on Koh Lanta. Had a great time and even ran into the creator of the framework I specialize in, he was on the same island. Hung out with some guys working on a Bitcoin startup, some other freelancers. Had a great time.

i guess it's an individual preference, but if i were off working on a lark the last thing i would want is to be surrounded by people who do the same thing as me. i can get plenty of that anywhere on both ends of california.

Work in tech outside of the tech industry for a while. I go to conferences and just breathe in and out for what feels like the first time in months. Just being able to use jargon without stopping to explain it is a wonderful thing.

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#104

Post by lifeisstillgood » Thu, Apr 09, 2015, 4:35 PM UTC

ben_pr wrote: post #60

jreed91 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just traveled there for a vacation and fell in love. Any places to look for those wanting to find jobs in PR?

Best to find a job in the states that lets you work remotely. I have not had any problems with the internet here either DSL or cable. For the most part of the year it is the same time as ET zone so it works out nicely for east coast jobs.

Can I just clarify - you work remotely for NY finance industry, at presumably near NY rates, paying 4% coproation tax and no tax on dividends from that income?

With tropical weather.

What's the schooling like?

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#105

Post by hingisundhorsa » Thu, Apr 09, 2015, 4:40 PM UTC

geomark wrote: post #99

ashconnor wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>In European countries for example you only become a tax resident if you spend more than 183 days there. Pity Thais cannot easily come to Spain and work illegally. Despite what you've said it's blatant public abuse of the tourist visa system in Thailand. Honestly when I see blog posts like this my opinion of the author and company goes down considerably. Breaking the rules and publishing the fact that you are makes m…

Yes, what they did violates immigration law in Thailand. And the comments of a senior immigration official don't change the law; they just indicate that at least in that region the enforcement is likely to be rather lax. But there's really nothing to get bent about. No locals were out of a job. They lived there as tourists so paid a lot more into the local economy than locals, including a lot more taxes in the form o…

> No locals were out of a job

Could you explain how you formed that conclusion?

> They lived there as tourists so paid a lot more into the local economy than locals

How did you determine that? I've lived as a hippie in India, similar to what Steve Jobs did. I spent 0 money and lived off the temple welfare system. I was exploiting the generosity of people who had a thousandth the resources and welfare that I had. I wasn't alone. There were hundreds, if not thousands of other Westerners doing similar things.

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#106

Post by hingisundhorsa » Thu, Apr 09, 2015, 4:43 PM UTC

znq wrote: post #74

neindanke wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We were there on holidays ;-) No, you stated you were working. From your article's title: "Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand" > what we're doing is technically a gray zone Did you file a tax statement and did you pay any taxes on income earned while you were residing in Thailand?

> No, you stated you were working Noticed the smiley? Nevertheless, how do you differentiate between holidays and work and where to draw the line? If you're responding to a work emails while being on holidays, does that count towards the taxable income in that country you're visiting? > Did you file a tax statement and did you pay any taxes on income earned while you were residing in Thailand? Absolutely. We're not e…

> at least from a moral point of view I don't see that we did something wrong.

You did. You lied on your Thai tourist visa application form. It explicitly said: "I hereby declare that the purpose of my visit to thailand is for pleasure or transit only and that in no case shall I engage myself in any profession or occupation while in the country"

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#107

Post by stephenr » Thu, Apr 09, 2015, 5:17 PM UTC

dataker wrote: post #39

neindanke wrote: post #27

Is what they're doing legal? I'm pretty sure a tourist visa means you can't use it for work (activities for which payment is received or capital is gained), even remote work. I'm told that the Thai government is pretty harsh in punishing such things.

Technically, if they don't receive money in a Thai bank, it'd be both hard and unfeasible to be punished. Don't wanna state the obvious,but even If you're coding(could claim to be open-souce work), it's not like the police is gonna spy on you.

Any form of "work" (defined as exertion of effort from memory) is deemed illegal without a work permit - international volunteers need one just as much as those of us working for a commercial entity.

Re "spying on you": immigration police have conducted "raids" on coworking spaces, not to mention the potential for upset/disgruntled locals/competitors/whoever to report you.

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#108

Post by stephenr » Thu, Apr 09, 2015, 5:21 PM UTC

znq wrote: post #31

neindanke wrote: post #27

Is what they're doing legal? I'm pretty sure a tourist visa means you can't use it for work (activities for which payment is received or capital is gained), even remote work. I'm told that the Thai government is pretty harsh in punishing such things.

We were there on holidays ;-) But I know what you're talking and while what we're doing is technically a gray zone, what the government is after is mostly freelancers that basically live in Thailand, but are not paying taxes there and are constantly on a visa run to re-enter the country.

No, it isn't a "Gray zone" at all. You're breaking Thai law and contributing to a negative image about foreign workers in a country that already has stringent immigration laws.

So as someone doing it the legal way and jumping through the hoops created to catch people like you, I'd just like to say FUCK YOU VERY MUCH.

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#109

Post by wila » Thu, Apr 09, 2015, 5:29 PM UTC

namuol wrote: post #90

[deleted] wrote: post #66

[deleted]

In general, it is legal to work remotely in Thailand, unless your clientele/employer are Thai. The purpose of the law [1] was to prevent foreign workers from displacing native Thai workers, and "digital nomads" do nothing of the sort. This becomes clear if you pay attention to the punishments imposed by the law; they concern Thai employers , not the alien workers, alone. [1]: http://www.thailandlawonline.com/translat…

It's OK to work while on holidays.

Eg. you can check your email and do a bit of work to keep things going at home, it's not legal, but it is understood to happen and you'll be fine.

Full time work however is NOT allowed without a working permit.

Your link at [1] even confirms that at pretty much the first line. There is no specific exclusion for "remote work".

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#110

Post by jtf2 » Thu, Apr 09, 2015, 5:38 PM UTC

technomancy wrote: post #79

znq wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taking aside the current legal situation and trying to look at it from a purely financial aspect, wouldn't it be beneficial for countries like Thailand to allow those kind of people in for a limited amount of time and have them spend their money there? Assuming Thailand will crack down on those temporary remote workers, they will just go some other place. EDIT: fixed typo.

It's not financially motivated; it has more to do with nationalistic pride. They are very proud of the fact that they're the only SE Asian nation never to have been conquered by a western power. They are rightly wary of western power being exerted now through corporations rather than through a military, because that's how things work these days, so they limit the ability for western companies to make inroads here. (F…

My brother and I have been doing business in SEA for about 15 years now (exporting), and have looked into what is required to set up shop in Thailand or Indonesia.

Limitations such as max 95% foreign ownership (Indo) end up with local lawyers or accountants owning 5% of the companies that are set up and are figureheads there to fulfill government requirements. Or in Thailand where many industries are only open to Thai nationals, which means the only way foreigners may access those industries is through marriage, though when those marriages dissolve so to does the foreign claim on business assets.

I don't blame them for making it difficult for foreign investment dollars to pour in and displace domestic ownership, or for not embracing western capitalism as fast and as hard as they can.