7 Harsh Truths About Being a Digital Nomad in Thailand

Thailand is often shown as one of the best places for digital nomads. A tropical paradise where you can work remotely with your feet in the sand, sipping on coconut water and looking out over the ocean during breaks. You can already envision what it’s supposed to look like. But this is, of course, a fantasy. Reality is far more complicated. Life as a remote worker is more challenging (and has a darker side) than anyone dares to talk about. In this article, I’ll share seven harsh truths I’ve learned about being a digital nomad in Thailand.

1. Obtaining Long-Term Visas is Difficult

Anyone who has been living in Thailand long-term as a digital nomad knows that receiving permission to stay is not easy. Unfortunately (or fortunately, in some cases) many choices of visas are introduced or phased out on short notice.

Expensive Visas: Thailand Elite Visa and Destination Thailand Visa

To be fair, there have been many new long-term visas in the last couple of years with the introduction of the Thailand Elite Visa and the Destination Thailand Visa. However, for many digital nomads, these visas may still be too expensive, and as we mentioned, we don’t know how long they will continue.

At the moment, the Thailand Elite Visa starts at 900,000 baht and can go up to 2.5 million baht, depending on which type of membership you get. Similarly, the Destination Thailand Visa requires you to have 500,000 baht in a checking or savings account, which is simply not feasible for a large percentage of remote workers (stocks, 401(k)s, etc. do not count, either; the funds must be liquid).

Sketchy Education Visas

As a result, many digital nomads have a choice to either be priced out of long-term stay in Thailand or sign up for an ED visa (education), which is often a bit sketchy, to be honest.

Many schools do not require you to show up for class and do not require you to be there in person, and the visa holder is not necessarily aware that the school is breaking the rules, since they all advertise themselves as legitimate.

There are also many reports that digital nomads who lived in Thailand on ED visas were eventually rejected from applying for Thailand Elite Visas. Allegedly, they were rejected because of their suspicious long-term visas with unreputable schools. (I must admit this is hearsay, but there have been many posts on Reddit about it.)

Visa Anxiety

Regardless of the particular situation one finds oneself in, there’s always lingering doubts about the ability to stay long term, which creates anxiety every time a visa is about to expire. (This is especially troublesome if you would like to settle down in Thailand.) 

There are many digital nomads who want to come here and spend their money without breaking the rules, but they often find themselves in situations where they might be punished for something they didn’t realize was wrong.

2. Same-Sex Friendships are Difficult to Find

I have been living in Thailand for five years and I have yet to make a same-sex friend with a local. Take that with a grain of salt, I am introverted (and a male), but I’ve asked some of my other expat friends here and they have given me similar answers.

Whether it’s the language barrier, the cultural barrier, or some other factor, this is simply the way it is for most digital nomads who live in Thailand.

Even if you do make friends with other foreigners, they often leave or change locations. Thailand, even among expats, has a high turnover rate.

The “Special Foreigner” Syndrome

Another aspect to consider is that many expats may not want to befriend you at all. 

When I first came here and I saw other foreigners walking on the street, I would give them a nod or a smile to acknowledge them, but I quickly found that this annoyed them, and then no longer bothered to do it.

This might sound unbelievable, but many digital nomads and expats want to be the “special” foreigner, so they look at others who come here as their competition, whether for sexual partners or attention or something else.

This is a ridiculous way to think, but it is often the truth.

3. Dating in Thailand for the Long-Term is Difficult

Let’s be a little bit honest here. Dating in Thailand for the short term is easy. It’s finding a relationship that lasts that’s the issue.

Differences in Culture and Communication Styles

Sure, there are a lot of great people in Thailand, guys and girls. But after the honeymoon period ends, you are left with some serious problems.

For one, communication styles are very different here, especially if you’re from the West. You may be used to talking about your problems to resolve them, but here, problems are left to linger (and eventually to be let go), which can be hard for foreigners from the West to deal with.

There are many unseen cultural differences that end up causing conflicts down the road, whether that relates to family, money, or responsibilities in general.

Language Barriers

We can’t forget the language barriers either. Many Thais can speak English well, though in my experience, if they aren’t fluent when they’re young, they’re unlikely to be fluent into later adulthood. I’m not sure why exactly this is, but if you would like to have deep talks with your romantic partner, this is often out of the question because in many cases they may not have the language abilities to do so. (Also, in Thai culture it seems like such talks are not as important as they are, say, in the West.)

When choosing a long-term partner, it’s hard not to see the future problems without being naive. You could also try dating other expats, but as we mentioned already, Thailand can be a transitory place, and there aren’t many people who stay here for long. There is simply a smaller pool from which to choose from.

4. Freedom is Often Loneliness, and Vice Versa

“When nobody wakes you up in the morning and when nobody waits for you at night and when you can do whatever you want. What do you call it, freedom or loneliness?” – Charles Bukowski

There could not be a more relevant quote for digital nomads. All our life we have been tricked into thinking that vacation and traveling is the ultimate purpose of work. After all, that’s what people choose to do when they take off their two weeks from work, right? Wouldn’t it be better to permanently live in paradise?

Well, yes and no. Paradise loses its aura quickly, and as great as freedom is, it’s not for everyone. The dream is more seductive than the reality. It’s harder to make friends than you think. It’s harder sometimes even to leave your room. Every time you go to a new place, you have to start from square one. Friendships and relationships, like investments, compound over time.

Think back to any experience that you had. Ones that you thoroughly enjoyed. You will find that over 90% of the time that what made it a great memory was the people.

This is not to say that you won’t meet great people as a digital nomad, but you have to accept that for the most part friends will be temporary.

5. You May Go a Long Time Without Deep Conversations

No one talks about this one, but it’s important. By living for extended periods of time in a foreign country, and especially in Thailand, you will begin to crave meaningful conversations, a sense of familiarity that you didn’t know you would miss.

As I said already, it’s not that easy to make and hold onto friends, but if you barely know them, or if they can’t speak English, you’re probably not going to be able to talk with them in a deep way.

Whatever you’re interested in, it will be hard to find people (who speak English) interested in the same things.

Many digital nomads complain that Thais are not as open to having deep conversations, and this is more or less true. It’s not that they can’t have them, but rather that it feels invasive, or perhaps too personal. 

If you’re craving intellectual stimulation, you have to be prepared for long stretches without such conversations. Thank god for the internet, but still, sometimes it can get to your head and make you feel a bit crazy.

6. You May Stay Home Too Much

As a remote worker, your office is your home. Sometimes it’s your bed. 

With the power to work from home comes a responsibility not to totally let yourself go. For people who were already homebodies, this can be a disaster. It can cause low vitamin D levels, a lack of sunlight, and little exercise on top of that.

In short, the ability to work remotely can bring out your worst vices, which not many people want to spend time thinking about. You tell yourself that you’ll go to a coworking space or cafe or grab lunch at the local market, but given that it’s easier than ever to order food at home, some people may choose convenience over living life. The path of least resistance for many digital nomads is a day on the couch or bed.

Of course, this doesn’t happen to everyone, but since you are not bound by your physical location, disciplining yourself becomes even more important.

7. You May Drink or Party Too Much

Thailand is an easy place to “get lost in the sauce,” as the kids say. This simply means that it’s easy to become lost in partying or drinking. Cities like Bangkok and Pattaya are known for their bars and clubs, and to be fair, any location in Thailand is not going to be too far from a bar.

Again, being a digital nomad in Thailand requires discipline, restraint. Many of my friends get FOMO while they are here, thinking they have to go out drinking in order to have fun. Not only is this bad for your body, but eventually it takes a toll on your work.

As an expat or digital nomad, temptation is something you have to keep in control. If you worked at a physical location, it would not be as easy to drink frequently. In working remotely, there are many rules that are no longer forced upon you, so that freedom is something you have to become responsible with or it can consume you.

The Bottom Line

For many people, Thailand appears as the ultimate paradise. There is cheap food, friendly people, and warm weather year-round. But if you choose to stay here as a digital nomad, it’s not always so rosy. From apprehensions about how you will stay in the future to the inevitable loneliness you will feel, life as a digital nomad in Thailand is, frankly, not all it’s cracked up to be. That being said, after a few years in, I still think it’s worth it, but people should be aware of the many harsh realities of being a digital nomad here.