Hefting coconuts isn't the only thing Englishman Colin can be found doing in Thailand, where he lives with his wife and works as a full-time writer. Having lived in the Land of Smiles for some time - in Chiang Mai and more recently, in Lang Suan - it's the country he now calls home. Read on for more of Colin's expat life in Thailand and his advice for those planning to move abroad.	Colin Cotterill

-Where were you born?

London, England

-In which country and city are you living now?

Thailand, Lang Suan

-Are you living alone or with your family?

I live here with my wife, Jess, and our three (at time of press) dogs

-How long have you been living in Thailand?

We moved down from Chiang Mai at the beginning of the year.

-What is your age?

I turned 56 last week but don't look a day over 55 1/2.

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Thailand?

I'd first passed through Thailand on my way to Australia in 1976 and vowed to come back for a better look. I came again on my way to Burma to do some work on the border. The project hit a few snags and I ended up working at Chiang Mai University while they were ironed out. They didn't ever get ironed out. So I stayed in Thailand.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?

Working in a university means they do all the paperwork to get a visa for you. There are also teaching jobs in schools that offer the same service.

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?

I was invincible back then. Didn't even think about it. Medical care was so cheap that I decided to bite the bullet. Then, working with agencies like UNICEF I had coverage taken care of.

-How do you make your living in Thailand? Do you have any type of income generated?

I started off teaching English like a lot of people. There's plenty of work for qualified teachers and even some for unqualified - and sometimes unsuitable - people. Then I got involved in development work. By then I had reasonable Thai language. You can't usually get valuable positions in local NGOs without the language. But there are some positions for letter writers, fund raisers and website fiddlers. Now I'm writing full time and have a retirement visa. As all of my income is from overseas I don't need a work permit.

-Do you speak Thai and do you think it's important to speak the local language?

I think it's essential to speak the language of the country you adopt as home. If you don't you end up living in a mini England mixing with short-term expats who know they're on their way out or long term residents who can't be bothered to learn the language and customs but don't hesitate to complain about the locals. After a year here I thought I was an expert on the Thais. The longer I stay the less I know. But, as a mystery writer it helps not to have all the answers.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?

I left England in 1975 and, apart from a six-month study period, I haven't lived there. When I go back I feel like a tourist. It's nice to visit family and friends but I know I couldn't live back in that environment. I have a problem with cold and rain and dismal cloudy days. Here I can ride my bicycle, paddle my kayak and walk on the beach with the dogs any day of the year without wrapping up and reaching for the umbrella.

-Do you have other plans for the future?

I think the only plan we have is to make this life stretch out as far as we can. I can do my writing anywhere but I doubt I'd find anywhere more conducive than this. I go on the odd book tour and go visit our projects in Laos, but I'm always so pleased to get back.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?

When we moved down here we bought a nice piece of land. The land was (very ballpark) about fifty thousand pounds for two hectares. We just put a tiny bungalow on it for fifteen thousand. We're planning to build a house with rooms some day in the future. At current costs 2br, 2bath, living room, kitchen, studio, would be the same price as the land. But we do have quite simple tastes. The law here is that the land is in the name of the Thai spouse or you can establish a company, which is far too complicated to even think about.

-What is the cost of living in Thailand?

It's almost doubled in the past five years but it's still way below Europe.

-What do you think about the Thais?

I have to be careful what I say cause I'm married to one. But, of course, that's one of the main reasons I live here and why I stayed. It's always a mistake to summarize an entire nation in a couple of sentences. You get the crazies and the objectionables, but once you leave them to their ways, the average Thai is very friendly and easy going and sensible. If you speak a few words of Thai and travel out to the country, you'll find a lot of people interested in where you come from and what you're doing. Over the years with the influx of tourism, there's a slightly harder edge to some of the Thais working in hotels and that side of industry. There's a lot more of the Seven/Eleven, "I'm smiling and being nice to you because that's what they trained me to do". You sometimes wonder how deep it goes. But I imagine it wasn't that hard for the corporations to tap into the many positives of the Thai nature.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Thailand?

Positives: Thai nature, climate (give or take the odd monsoon such as the one that lashes my room as I write this), food, increasingly better services and facilities, particularly in the cities, funny politics, still lots of beautiful out-of-the-way places to visit

Negatives: pollution in cities, dangerous roads, funny politics, rampant corruption, fast destruction of the environment

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Thailand?

A lot of people tend to shed their common sense when they go to live in another country. They believe that the rules of who to trust and how extreme you can be are different when they're away from home. The general rules still apply.

1. If it looks too good to be true it's too good to be true.
2. If it would embarrass me and others at home it will embarrass me here.
3. My natural instincts of decency and safety that got me through life at home all apply just as well here.

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Thailand?

My website is www.colincotterill.com and that refers to some Lao sites that I like.

My wife, Jess's blog which takes you on a journey of our move south, is at http://jessicotterill.blogspot.com