American expat Phillip and his wife have been living in Thailand for only a short time, but have experienced much. This freelance writer shares with us some aspects of small-town life in Phayao and what he sees as the best and frustrating parts of being a foreigner living and working in Thailand.	Phillip Orchard

-Where were you born? 

Denver, Colorado, USA

-In which country and city are you living now?

Phayao, in Northern Thailand (near the borders of Laos and Burma), about nine hours north of Bangkok and two hours east of Chiang Mai.

-Are you living alone or with your family?

With my wife.

-How long have you been living in Thailand?

Not long.. just more than a month now.

-What is your age?

25

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

My wife took a job with an anti-trafficking foundation here, and there was never any doubt that I'd come along. We've both traveled extensively, and think that you just learn so much about yourself and the world when spending time in unfamiliar (and sometimes challenging) places. The only question was whether or not I could make a living. So I started an online writing business (www.philliporchard.com) that could serve western clients while allowing me the flexibility to go anywhere my wife takes these kind of jobs. It's working out, and we're thrilled to be here.

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

No, since most of my income comes from the U.S. My wife might need to change her visa in the next year or so.

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

No. We just kept our U.S. policies with some additional travel insurance.

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

I run www.philliporchard.com — a writing and editing services company based here in Thailand. The business both provides solid writing and editing to clients, while indirectly supporting the anti-trafficking and educational work we're doing here. Technology truly is marvelous, and I'm not sure I could have done it this way five or ten years ago.

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

No we don't, and yes I think it's critical in certain areas. We're two of I think six westerners living in our specific town. You could probably thrive without knowing a word of Thai in more expat-heavy places like Bangkok or Chiang Mai, but Phayao (while beautiful and interesting) is off the tourist trek and there's very, very little English spoken here. We're getting by okay with a lot of hand-waving and arm-flapping, but it's frustrating not being able to develop deeper relationships within the community. The common humanity is truly what makes a place and culture memorable and worth joining, so there's an odd and unavoidable us vs. them feeling which I hate.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?

I do, but we haven't been gone long enough to have it hurt yet. We'll probably get to go back to the States annually, and with technology the way it is we're able to keep in touch with people back home pretty easily. Recreation looks radically different for us here, but that's just part of it. I'd rather be doing culture stuff here than waterskiing anyway.

 

-Do you have other plans for the future?

We want to go everywhere, so I don't think we'll ever stop traveling for good. Asia is so interesting, so while here we want to see all of it... both the less developed places like Cambodia and Burma to the booming megacities like Hong Kong and Singapore.

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

The foundation provided us with a nice house. I have no idea how much they pay for it.. but I think its a couple hundred dollars a month. It's three bedrooms with a large yard. A one-room apartment in town couldn't cost very much, although prices tend to shoot up for foreigners.

-What is the cost of living in Thailand?

Food is delightfully cheap. The best bowl of green curry in town is about a dollar. The best Pad Thai is 75 cents. There are some more touristy spots along the lake that charge more, but it's not expensive anywhere. Other stuff like electronics tend to be pretty expensive.

-What do you think about the Thais?

Most people are very polite and respectful. But it's hard to achieve any sort of depth in conversation, so there's never any doubt that you're an outsider. Foreigners tend to be more integrated into society in expat-heavy places, for good and bad.

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

It's beautiful, inexpensive, exotic, politically unstable (most people consider this a negative; I find it interesting) and the food is incredible. The language is difficult, the weather never gets cold (most people consider this a positive), and it's not cheap to get back and forth to the States.

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

Don't overpack, because you can get most things here. Be willing to work hard to learn the language. Be willing to look silly and stupid in order to connect with people.

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

I'm keeping a blog at philliporchard.blogspot.com.

ThaiVisa.com is a good community packed with user-generated information about living or traveling here.

Bangkokpost.com is a solid English-speaking newspaper.