Living in Thailand as a Digital Nomad

Most nomads rent a furnished condo in a building with a pool, gym, security and fibre already installed. On the islands and in Pai, bungalows and small houses are more common.

• Find it on the ground. Book a week in a hotel or Airbnb, then look in person. Facebook groups for each city, agents in the lobby of condo buildings and local listing sites such as DDproperty and Hipflat have far better monthly rates than holiday sites.
• Short or long. Monthly rentals are easy to find. Leases of six or twelve months are cheaper still, often 20 to 40% less than the monthly price.
• Deposit. Usually one or two months’ rent, plus the first month in advance. Photograph everything when you move in, because disputes over deposits are the most common complaint.
• Bills. Check whether electricity is charged at the government rate (about ฿4 to ฿5 a unit) or a landlord’s mark-up (฿7 to ฿9). Air-conditioning makes this the biggest bill after rent.
• TM30. The owner must report you to immigration within 24 hours of moving in. Ask for the receipt.
• Ownership. Foreigners can own a condo unit outright (within a 49% foreign quota per building) but cannot own land. Most nomads rent.

Each city guide has a where-to-live page or section: see Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Ko Pha-ngan.

Two routine reports apply to almost every long-stay foreigner:

• TM30 address notification, filed by your landlord or hotel each time you move in or come back from abroad. Some immigration offices also accept it from tenants. Without a TM30 receipt, extensions and bank accounts can be refused.
• 90-day report, filed by you after every 90 days in a row in Thailand, online on the Immigration Bureau’s site or in person at your local office. You can report up to 15 days before and 7 days after the due date. The fine for missing it is ฿2,000.

For visa extensions, go to the immigration office covering where you live: Chaeng Watthana in Bangkok, the Promenada office in Chiang Mai, or the Ko Samui office for Ko Pha-ngan and Ko Tao. Go early, bring copies of everything, and dress neatly.

• SIM cards: AIS and True have shops in every mall. A monthly prepaid or postpaid plan gives you 50GB to unlimited data for ฿300 to ฿800. You need your passport to register.
• Home internet: most condos already have fibre. If yours doesn’t, AIS Fibre and True Online install within a few days, usually on a 12-month contract.
• Apps worth having: Grab and Bolt (rides and food), LINE (the messaging app Thais use, including landlords and businesses), Google Translate with the Thai offline pack, IQAir for air quality, and your bank’s app once you have one.

Grab and Bolt cover all the main bases, with set prices up front. Bangkok has the BTS and MRT; Chiang Mai has red songthaew shared trucks; the islands mostly mean a scooter.

Scooters are how most nomads get around outside Bangkok, for about ฿2,500 to ฿4,000 a month. To ride legally you need a motorcycle licence valid in Thailand: an International Driving Permit under the 1949 convention that covers motorcycles, or a Thai licence, which you can get at a land transport office with a medical certificate and proof of address. Police checkpoints fine riders without a helmet or licence, and insurers can refuse claims. Thailand’s roads are among the most dangerous in the world, so ride slowly, wear a proper helmet, and never ride after drinking.

Private hospitals in the cities and on Phuket and Samui are excellent, with English-speaking staff, short waits and prices well below the US. Clinics handle minor problems cheaply, and pharmacists can advise and sell many medicines without a prescription. Dental work is good value and popular with foreigners.

For emergencies, call 1669 for an ambulance. On small islands, serious cases are moved by boat or air to Samui, Phuket or the mainland. Hospitals ask for payment or an insurance guarantee before treating non-emergencies, so carry your insurance details. Get nomad health insurance that covers evacuation before you arrive.

Thailand makes it easy to meet other remote workers. Coworking spaces in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Ko Pha-ngan run events, Facebook groups for each city list meetups and housing, and coliving spaces mix work and social life. Muay Thai gyms, run clubs, climbing walls, yoga studios and language classes are good ways to meet people beyond the nomad bubble. Learning even a little Thai, starting with greetings, numbers and polite particles, changes how people respond to you.

• The monarchy is deeply respected. Don’t criticise it in person or online; it is a serious crime.
• Temples: cover shoulders and knees, take off your shoes, and don’t point your feet at Buddha images or monks. Women must not touch monks.
• Keep calm. Raising your voice or showing anger makes people lose face and rarely gets results. A smile and patience work better with officials, landlords and shops.
• Heads and feet. Don’t touch people’s heads, and don’t put your feet on tables or point them at people.
• Dress is relaxed, but put on a shirt away from the beach, and dress neatly for immigration, banks and government offices.

• Work: the DTV covers remote work for foreign employers and clients only. Working for Thai clients or businesses needs a work permit.
• Vapes and e-cigarettes are illegal to import, sell or use, and fines are common.
• Drugs carry heavy penalties. Cannabis has been restricted to medical use with a prescription since mid-2025; smoking it in public is illegal.
• Alcohol sales are restricted to certain hours and banned on some Buddhist holidays and election days.
• Drones must be registered before you fly them.
• Carry ID. Police can ask for your passport; carry a copy and keep the original somewhere safe.
• Gambling is illegal outside the state lottery.

Thailand is safe for nomads by world standards. Violent crime against foreigners is rare. The real risks are road accidents, drowning at beaches with rip currents in the monsoon season, drink spiking and fights in party areas, and scams around jet skis, gems and taxis in tourist areas. Use Grab rather than street taxis if you want a set price, and keep your passport in your room.

Emergency numbers: 191 for police, 1155 for the English-speaking Tourist Police, 1669 for an ambulance and 199 for fire.