"Farang" seeking to relocate

Seeking thoughts & advice...long time lurker, first time poster...

Situation:

Mid-40's guy with a not terribly transferrable occupation.
Somewhat entrepeneurial - have founded & grown businesses
No language skills or visa entitlements
Willing/able to put 100K US into "trying to make something happen.."
Able to keep income of approx 2000 USD/mo from other resources

Question:
Am I able to make something happen in Thaiand? Gut feel tells me yes, but would be grateful for your thoughts about my ability to pay rent, etc. My tastes are not outlandish, though would doubtless eat out more then in. Probably wouldn't make any barboy rich..

Sorry for the skimpy info but sense that a lot of you good folk have walked in my shoes before and have good insight.

Thanks to all..

You certainly have enough cash to make it happen.

How many times have u been to thailand?

You could put 3 million baht into an investment visa (Thai bonds in a Thai bank) and make about 4.5 percent, so how long will that 2K per month US keep coming? The investment visa will allow you to stay for a year at a time, and renew by proving you still have the money.
Frankly, with your vague plans, I think you are better off not throwing that money (out) into a Thai business.

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My advice is this. Come to Thailand, and plan on living off your $2,000/month passive income for the time being. You can live pretty well in Pattaya for that. Do not consider investing any of your nest egg until you have been here for at least one, preferably two years. At that time, you will 1) be surer that Thailand is a place you want to live long-term, and 2) have talked to lots of people, heard business success stories and horror stories (more of the latter and the former), and hopefully gotten some smarts about what it takes to run a business here. The Thai business world is not for a newbie just off the boat, trust me.

Boygeenyus is right on target. Scope out the situation for a year or so. Maybe join the expat club of Pattaya. You can learn a lot from the members. http://www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com/ is the website. Two thousand a month should provide you with a comfortable lifestyle. The only hassle will be the border runs for you visa, but maybe a good way to see the region. Good luck.

boygeenyus' advice is excellent and I heartily endorse it. As well as the advice from MonkeySee about the Pattaya Ex-pats Club (interesting how some people see only Pattaya as everyone's destination) you could try looking at the business broker site - http://www.sunbeltasia.com/

If you are serious about doing a business, yes I agree, you should scope things out for at least a year. You can get a one year non immigrant O visa (a place like Sunbelt will issue a letter which you absolutely need) if you convince them you are sincerely exploring business opportunities. Not sure if you could get that again after the first year if you haven't started anything by then. I think you then have to cross the border every 3 months. That way, no need to put 3 million baht in a Thai bank. Good luck (you'll need it).

Assuming one did not want to do visa runs....

Does the 3 million investment GUARANTEE that one person will get a one year visa? Does continued investment guarantee further one year renewals indefinitely? What if that person is coming into Thailand with a partner (boyfriend)? Would he also have to invest 3 million for that one year visa i.e 6 million for the two?

Assuming one did not want to do visa runs....

Does the 3 million investment GUARANTEE that one person will get a one year visa? Does continued investment guarantee further one year renewals indefinitely? What if that person is coming into Thailand with a partner (boyfriend)? Would he also have to invest 3 million for that one year visa i.e 6 million for the two?
No guarantees in Thailand, baby.
For now, assuming you follow the guidelines from immigration and import the money properly and invest in an approved bank and vehicle, yes you can get the one year stay. Then, the next year, another year stay. And so on. Of course, they can decide to cancel the program or increase the baht amount any time they want. And I would bet you in less than ten years they do raise the amount, inflation. If you want guarantees, frankly, I don't know any country that offers that, certainly not Thailand.

You can also buy a new condo OFF THE PLAN for 3 million baht and that can also be used to qualify. Or if the condo is 2 million baht, you can combine with a 1 million baht cash investment to make up the difference.
If you were married to a woman, I think just one investment (3 m) would be needed. As unrelated farangs, of course, each would have to get their own visa. There is no recognition of gay relationships for visas in Thailand.

What if that person is coming into Thailand with a partner (boyfriend)? Would he also have to invest 3 million for that one year visa i.e 6 million for the two?Yes. Thai law does not recognise any sort of relationship for immigration purposes besides a relationship that would be recognised as a marriage in Thailand ie. heterosexual and all the paperwork

all for your responses and information, public & private, to date. Much food for thought, and the individual & cumulative feedback is very valuable.

Will let you know how it goes from here! Thanks again,

david