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Thailand goes visa-free for Indians: Reasons why it’s the ultimate destination for you

Thailand to Maldives: Countries that offer visa-on-arrival for Indians

Indian tourists do not need a visa for visiting <keyword id="19915592" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="iran" source="keywords">Iran</keyword> with a new policy coming into effect from February 4, according to a statement issued by the Embassy of Iran here on Tuesday. "Individuals holding ordinary passports will be allowed to enter Iran without a visa once every six months, with a maximum stay of 15 days," the Embassy said in a statement. It is important to note that the 15-day period cannot be extended, the statement clarified. The visa-free entry applies only to individuals entering Iran for tourism purposes. Indians who visit Iran for business or educational purposes would have to apply for visa under the respective categories. Those who want to visit Iran more than once within the six-month time span will have to obtain a visa. The statement also made it clear that the visa-free entry would be applicable only to those Indian tourists who arrive in Iran by air. Those coming to Iran via the land route through Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan or any neighbouring nation would not be allowed to enter without a prior visa. Iran now joins the list of countries like <keyword id="19913659" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="thailand" source="keywords">Thailand</keyword>, Malaysia, <keyword id="19931726" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sri-lanka" source="keywords">Sri Lanka</keyword> and Vietnam, which have recently waived visa requirements for Indian visitors.

After Thailand and Sri Lanka, Iran allows Indian tourists entry without visa

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Myles Simms-Aur, 26, moved to Bangkok from Maryland in December 2023.</li><li>He left his job, where he was earning $70,000 annually, to live as a student in Thailand.</li></ul>Myles Simms-Aur had a $70,000 salary, a nice car, and a stable routine living in Maryland.But he wanted <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-from-us-to-portugal-for-cheaper-life-better-career-2024-3">to experience the world</a> and felt financially restrained by the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boomer-retirement-affordable-germany-than-us-lives-off-benefits-pensions-2024-8">cost of living in the US</a>.After trips to Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, and other countries, Simms-Aur was convinced he could <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boomer-retired-panama-affordable-cost-living-quality-life-pension-benefits-2024-9">adapt to life abroad</a>. In December 2023, Simms-Aur moved to Bangkok.Simms-Aur, 26, said the low prices for housing and food in Thailand allow him to save more money and have a better peace of mind <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baby-boomer-retire-germany-better-healthcare-quality-life-homeownership-2024-8">than he did living in the US</a>."The things I was afraid to let go of, such as my nice car, nice job, and nice place, were all holding me back from my personal financial goals," Simms-Aur said. "Now that I have released those things, the ability to save, invest, and travel full time has increased exponentially."Simms-Aur is one of many American <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boomer-retirement-south-korea-germany-affordable-healthcare-travel-military-veteran-2024-8">military veterans who moved abroad</a>. As of 2022, 132 US Navy veterans lived in Thailand, according to a <a target="_blank" href="https://media.defense.gov/2023/Oct/06/2003315292/-1/-1/0/MRS%20STATRPT%202022%20V999.PDF">Department of Defense report</a> published in October 2023. While the report didn't include reasons for why veterans left the US, Simms-Aur said he wanted a better cost of living and the opportunity to travel more.Thailand was the sixth-most popular country for Navy veterans, following the Philippines, Japan, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.<h2 id="4dfada27-c237-433d-bdc4-bd5fadef9a80">Thailand offers low costs and a good lifestyle</h2>Simms-Aur enlisted in the US Navy when he was 21. He said he wanted a better economic opportunity and didn't want to take out loans for college."I researched a lot of stuff about finance because I don't come from wealth," Simms-Aur said. "I definitely wanted to change the trajectory of my family's financial future."Simms-Aur served for three years, and after he was honorably discharged, he said he realized how expensive it was to live in the US. He was receiving veteran benefits — but declined to elaborate on what type — and worked in IT, but felt like he was "scraping by" living in St Mary's County, Maryland.Additionally, he had always been enthralled by the prospect of traveling the world, often watching YouTube and social media videos of young Americans exploring different countries.Simms-Aur said he did extensive research to consider life abroad, including comparing travel vloggers' experiences and inquiring in Reddit forums and Facebook groups about people's experiences moving abroad."I realized that Thailand was a common country that kept popping up in regards to safety, cost of living, and being able to live a nice lifestyle," Simms-Aur said.<div type="image" title="Photo shows Myles Simms-Aur looking into the distance." height="2268" width="3024" msid="113125736" hostid="261" sizebytes="1177384"></div>Simms-Aur has a student visa and is living off his savings and veteran benefits. He studies cybersecurity technology at the University of Maryland Global Campus, which offers a hybrid curriculum that enables him to complete his studies in Bangkok.In his free time, he is also learning Thai at a local school to immerse himself in the culture.He hopes to save and build wealth by living abroad before eventually returning to the US to further his career in cybersecurity.<h2 id="215b5003-ab8a-4db1-8bfe-7efcbbd7d047">Finding a more affordable home abroad opens doors to travel</h2>Simms-Aur said he worked up the courage to move in December 2023."The biggest hurdle was the initial anxiety and mental decision to follow through with it," Simms-Aur said.In Maryland, Simms-Aur said his monthly rent was $2,123. In Bangkok, he pays $540 a month. His apartment building includes a gym, pool, laundry facility, café, and a 7-Eleven store in the lobby.What's more, he said day-to-day life is affordable. For example, he can afford to eat out regularly and schedule mid-day massages. He said he can get a healthy takeout meal for between $3 to $7."I came here to make less money, but it feels like I make even more," Simms-Aur said. "I think that was the craziest part about it."He said the language barrier isn't too much of a concern as the people he's encountered in Bangkok have a general working level of English, but it also gives him a chance to practice his Thai.Simms-Aur also plays the flute and participates in the Bangkok music scene, including performing during Bangkok's Mango Art Festival.<div type="image" title="Photo shows Myles Simms-Aur playing the flute in Bangkok, Thailand." height="370" width="739" msid="113125733" hostid="261" sizebytes="18484"></div>Simms-Aur said the travel opportunities include cheap destinations across Thailand, as well as easy flights to Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and more. Given the low cost of living, he can afford to explore more of the world while still saving."I realized I value time and peace of mind over money, but by moving here, I increased them all," he said.Are you a young American who decided to move abroad? How are you saving for and financing the move? Please reach out at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:jtowfighi@businessinsider.com">jtowfighi@businessinsider.com</a>

A Gen Z left a $70,000 salary in the US and moved to Thailand without a job. He says he's better off financially and happier in Bangkok. 

<keyword id="6355572" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sri-lanka" source="Orion">Sri Lanka</keyword> will allow visa-free entry to visitors from seven countries, including India, China and Russia, under a pilot project the country's foreign affairs minister said on Tuesday. The decision was approved by the Sri Lanka Cabinet, minister <keyword id="8316702" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ali-Sabry" source="Orion">Ali Sabry</keyword> said. The minister said that the pilot project that has begun with immediate efffect will continue till till March 31, 2024. Taking to X, Minister Sabry said, "Cabinet approves issuing of free visas to India, China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia &amp; Thailand with immediate effect as a pilot project till 31 March." Last week, the Ministry of Tourism announced that a Cabinet Paper had been presented during the previous Cabinet meeting, proposing the issue of free tourist visas to foreigners from five countries who intend to visit Sri Lanka as tourists, The Daily Mirror reported. (ANI)

Sri Lanka announces free visa entry for Indians

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Elizabeth Lavis left New York for Thailand, planning to stay for 6 months, and ended up living there for 3 years.</li><li>While living abroad, she missed some things about the US, but when she returned, it didn't feel like home.</li></ul>As I tucked into a bowl of wisp-thin <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oldest-soup-in-world-wattana-panich-bangkok-food-thailand-2022-8">Thai rice noodles</a> studded with bok choy and sprinkled with fried garlic, all I could do was wax poetic about Buffalo wings.Plastic spoon in one hand, chopsticks in the other, I described my hometown's finest fare, which included hot, buttery chicken wings. My favorite basket always came from a local dive bar in Western New York, 15 miles from Niagara Falls.Throughout the three years I <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-couple-house-rural-thailand-debt-free-slow-life-2023-10">lived in Thailand</a>, a few Chang beers or a familiar Garth Brooks song about friends in low places would often prompt me to crave a seat at that bar, 8,533 miles across the ocean, with wings on one side and Reuben fries on the other.After three years of teaching English, working at summer camps in the far north of Thailand, and spending long weekends <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sleeper-train-overnight-thailand-bangkok-chiang-mai-review-tickets-guide-2022-8">exploring the country by train</a>, I moved back to Buffalo. I was excited to bathe my eager tastebuds in all the Frank's hot sauce and meaty wings and wash it down with an ice-cold Loganberry soda.But for some reason, everything was different. The old classic dishes didn't offer the culinary homecoming I'd been hoping for. Instead, I got horrid stomach cramps and acute nausea. The Buffalo wing mythology no longer held up. More importantly, I didn't feel like I was home.<h2 id="f11ff5ba-994d-403e-a6e0-5b3d637957f9">My "6-month" journey to Thailand</h2>After breaking up with my long-term boyfriend, crashing my car, and quitting my job — in that order — I moved to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/white-lotus-season-3-hotel-location-thailand-resort-four-seasons-2024-1">Koh Samui</a>. I told everyone I'd be back in six months.But six months passed on the tropical island in the Gulf of Thailand, and instead of heading home, I made a visa run to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lao-china-railway-train-ride-countryside-burned-photos-laos-2023-5">Thai-Laos border </a>to stay for longer. It would be my first of many, extending my initial six months to three years.I was hooked on the steamy weather, the beaches with water the color of blue topaz, and the food. The ice-cold pineapples tasted as sweet as sponge candy (a treat from Buffalo similar to toffee). Lunch usually included spicy som tom with sour tamarind, peanuts, and shrimp, along with coconut water straight from the shell — always served with a little spoon to dig out the creamy flesh.Fresh <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jay-fai-michelin-star-bangkok-street-food-stall-review-price-2022-8">Thai food</a> and the tropical climate did come with a few tradeoffs. Spiders, as big as softballs, would plop in front of me and scuttle away to some dark corner of my bathroom as I shrieked and swatted to no avail. Cockroaches were similarly supersized, and some could fly. Packs of stray dogs and lumbering monitor lizards shared urban space, even taking refuge in air-conditioned 7-11s during the most sweltering days.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sleeper-train-thailand-overnight-booking-tickets-guide-bangkok-chiang-mai-2022-8">Thai transportation</a> wasn't always reliable or safe, including rickety trains that often ran late. Sometimes you'd hear horror stories about them derailing. Once, I heard an unsubstantiated and harrowing rumor about a monkey that climbed up a train toilet and terrorized the passengers until someone tranquilized it. While this particular story might be a total myth, anyone who's ever ridden those trains knows that a stowaway is not entirely implausible.<h2 id="33c2ad4b-39eb-4691-95dd-015aec9d3537">A strange homecoming</h2>After three <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retired-abroad-thailand-cheaper-respectful-retiree-resort-2024-1">years in Thailand</a>, I thought I was ready to come home. I missed reliable transportation, manageable bugs, the change of seasons, my friends and family, and the Great Lakes comfort food I'd been pining for.At first, I relished the change. Buffalo is gloriously predictable in the best possible way. There are no surprise toilet monkeys. The trains do not derail. The food delivers on its promises: fatty, spicy, bready, and often served with a big cup of chunky blue cheese. On the other hand, there is not much public transportation, and as I didn't have a car, I was at the mercy of Uber. Also, my tastebuds had veered sharply from the local cuisine during my years away.Beyond catching up with family and old friends, I felt little connection to my hometown. It was jarring, unexpected, and deeply sad. After three years away, my happy homecoming felt more like visiting a distant place full of friendly and familiar faces than settling back into my comfort zone.I even realized that my <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/comfort-food-around-the-world-2018-3">definition of comfort food</a> had changed.<div type="image" title="Blonde woman looking off to the sunset from a boat in Costa Rica" height="469" width="631" msid="110161421" hostid="261" sizebytes="46852"></div><h2 id="99370462-cfdb-4368-a1da-c456c2b219d5">On the road again</h2>A year later, I headed back to the tropics, this time south, to Costa Rica. My plan was to chase epic surfing on the Pacific Coast, explore the rainforest, and brush up on my Spanish.Now, while tucking into a plate of gallo pinto with Linzano sauce, my mind wanders to the wobbly red plastic chairs where I sat curbside to enjoy my favorite noodle soup in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/thailand-bangkok-tourist-mistake-travel-guide-local-tips-2023-4">Bangkok </a>— a reminder of another one of my homes.When I left for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-couple-moved-uk-thailand-slow-life-rural-offgrid-farmstead-2024-2">Thailand</a> almost a decade ago, I imagined that I'd be going back to my "real life" after six months. Now, I understand that traveling is my "real life," and it's as authentic and valid as a stationary one. Sometimes, the chaotic streets of Bangkok or the cozy bar-rooms of Buffalo still whisper my name. But I'm happy to keep moving forward, finding adventure, comfort, and a sense of home on the road.Got a personal essay about culture shock or relocating that you want to share? Get in touch with the editor: <a target="_blank" href="mailto:akarplus@businessinsider.com">akarplus@businessinsider.com</a>.

After 3 years in Thailand, I moved back to New York. It didn't feel like home anymore, so I took off again. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jeffrey Ogden started looking for somewhere to retire two years ago and considered multiple places.</li><li>The 75-year-old Brit landed on Hua Hin, Thailand, a beach town south of Bangkok.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jeffrey Ogden, a 75-year-old former offshore oil and gas consultant from Watford, England. The following has been edited for length and clarity.I've always traveled and been around people from other nations — American, German, Swiss, French, and many UK people. Two years ago, when I was 73 and living in Spain, I started exploring my long-term retirement options.I had a place in Spain for nearly 40 years. My father was in a care home there. It had all the amenities and the support, but I'd never been able to make Spanish friends. That, and the cost, made me decide not to retire to Spain myself.<h2>Choosing where I wanted to retire abroad was difficult</h2>I decided against a care home in the UK for myself. Some can be very good; some can be very bad. I also found it too expensive. When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, folks had respect for their elders. That has changed in the UK and could impact the care you'd receive in a facility.I then spent six months in the Caribbean, but I found that to be very expensive.America, Australia, and New Zealand were very nice but expensive. If I wanted to retire somewhere I could save my pennies, Thailand came out on top.Before I decided on Thailand, I did a bit of a tour of other Asian countries. I traveled to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. I'd also worked all over Asia from around 1975 for 20 years as part of my job in oil and gas and building hotels.<h2>I'll see my family less, but it hasn't influenced my decision</h2>I have three grandchildren: two 19-year-old boys and a 15-year-old girl. But they want to do their own thing, even when you visit. I only saw them once a week when I lived in the UK. My family's reaction when I said I would retire in Thailand was, "We can't come to see you. It's far too far away." You can't say anything to that; they're quite correct. But I will visit back home once or twice a year.The people here are very respectful. They respect their elders, whereas you don't get that in other European countries. In Thailand, when I'm just getting on and off the bus, younger people say, "You sit here, and I'll stand." It can happen in the UK, but people generally will not move. Plus, when it comes to food in Thailand, you have a great selection — with Thai food, the world is your lobster.There are different visas for people wanting to move to Thailand. I have a retirement visa.<h2>I had to consider medical facilities in Thailand when finding a home</h2>Each town's population should be considered when making a choice. The main areas expats live in are Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, and Pattaya. In the main towns, lots of people understand English.You have to consider the hospitals in these areas because we're a bit older. Private medical insurance is very easy to sort. In the UK's smaller towns, you always have to queue. In Thailand, you walk straight in and straight out.As a retirement and care facility, they also help you get set up with medical insurance. I've had a couple of accidents, and within minutes, the on-site staff are with you, looking after you, taking you to a hospital if needed.I chose the city of Hua Hin because it has many weekend visitors from Bangkok and other folk so there are more services and amenities.I moved into the Sunshine International retiree resort in September last year. The resort offers private rooms with medical care packages should you need them. Then there's a free shuttle into the town, a pool and restaurant, room service if you want, and different activities each evening, like barbecues and cocktail nights.<h2>My friends out here are mainly British</h2>I've made a few Thai friends, but generally speaking, in the resort, folk keep to themselves, which goes around the world. You have a German group, a French group, and a UK group — my friends.On an average day, I generally make my own breakfast and swim and sunbathe because the temperature is 27 to 30 degrees Celsius every day. You certainly don't get that in the UK. Even in Spain, it's quite chilly in January. But as a retiree, your daily life is generally the same wherever you are in the world. I don't do much else other than swim, sunbathe, and sleep.The only thing I miss from the UK are historic British buildings. There are temples, but you can't find medieval architecture here.In terms of my friends in the UK, most of them aren't with us any longer. Even when I was back in the UK, I didn't get invited to things as a single person. At the resort, you can meet people and share a drink.

I retired and moved to Thailand. It's cheap, and I feel more respected here than in the UK.

Bangkok, <keyword id="11905404" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="thailand" source="Orion">Thailand</keyword> is mulling on new tourism incentives to revive its Covid-19 pandemic-battered economy, betting on higher vaccination rates that allow quarantine-free travels. After more than one year of border control and an initiative to bring back foreign visitors to the resort island Phuket from July, Thailand is set to reopen more of its popular tourist destinations to fully-vaccinated foreign visitors starting next month, reports Xinhua news agency. Regions including the capital city Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan are set to reopen to vaccinated foreign visitors from October 1, while another 21 destinations may reopen from mid-October, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) announced on Friday. The reopening plans came following the Phuket Sandbox pilot, which allowed fully vaccinated foreign visitors to enter the island without quarantine. The Phuket program had attracted more than 26,000 tourists during the past two months to the island, generating 1.63 billion baht ($50 million) in revenue, according to TAT. Local tourism may also get a big push as the government considered measures to encourage domestic travelling starting from mid-October if the number of new Covid-19 cases remains at a manageable level. According to Minister of Tourism and Sports Phiphat Ratchakitprakan, two local tourism campaigns in the pipeline are the "We Travel Together" Phase 3 and "Travel around Thailand", which would be subject for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA)'s approval at the end of this month. "We are closely monitoring the development trend on the number of new daily infections following the lockdown easing that took effect on September 1. If the new case tally remains at a manageable level, we will continue to pursue our plans," Phiphat told the local media on Friday. The Minister said the two campaigns, which had been postponed because of the third wave of the outbreak since early April, will be important for the survival of Thai tourism industry. Under the "We Travel Together" scheme, travellers will be given a 40 per cent discount on accommodation, a 600-baht voucher for food and beverage for every night booked and another 40 percent discount on plane tickets, according to Phiphat. It is expected to cover 2 million applicants. The "Travel around Thailand" project will subsidise 40 per cent of tour packages of up to 5,000 baht for 1 million Thai tourists. TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn expected the campaigns to help unleash pent-up demand. "Most Thais will prefer to travel within the country for the end of this year as going aboard can still be considered quite a challenge, due to the ongoing global pandemic," Yuthasak said. TAT estimated that there would be 90 million domestic trips this year, in line with the number recorded in 2020. The tourism incentives are part of the Southeast Asian country's efforts to strike a balance between pandemic containment and economic growth as long as the Covid-19 infections remain at a level that does not overwhelm the public health system. The revival of tourism sector has been high on the Thai government's agenda as the sector accounted for about one fifth of the country's gross domestic product in years before the pandemic. The government has also been accelerating vaccine roll-out, vowing to inoculating about 70 percent of the whole population by the end of the year. Till date, more than 16 per cent of the population have been fully vaccinated, according to the CCSA.

Thailand rolls out new tourism incentives to revive Covid-hit economy

These are 20 countries that offer 'golden visas' to wealthy immigrants &mdash; with costs ranging from $19,000 in Thailand to $2.5 million in Australia

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Direct flights between Russia and Thailand's largest island, Phuket, resumed on October 30.</li><li>Russians made up Phuket's biggest group of tourists in early November, per the Phuket Express.</li></ul>Russian tourists have been flocking to Phuket – Thailand's largest island – after direct flights from Russia resumed at the end of October.Numbers dipped in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-tourists-drive-cars-across-border-finland-eu-flight-ban-2022-8">Western sanctions reduced travel capacities</a>, but Russian tourists are returning to Phuket in droves.In the first 10 days of November, Russians made up Phuket's biggest group of tourists accounting for 18,370 out of 75,247 international arrivals, according to the <a href="https://thephuketexpress.com/2022/11/11/russian-tourists-top-phuket-charts-for-most-visitors-so-far-in-november-over-double-the-closest-country/">Phuket Express</a>.President of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, told a <a href="https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/russian-invasion-takes-thailands-tourism-forces-by-surprise">Thai newspaper</a> that tour operators in Phuket were unprepared for the sudden influx of arrivals. The first direct flight from Moscow to Thailand since the war broke out in March was a charter flight by Ikar Airlines. It <a href="https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/russian-airlines-resume-direct-flights-to-phuket">arrived in Phuket on October 30</a> and was met with a reception from airport staff celebrating the return of Russian tourism, according to the local newspaper The Thaiger.On the same day, the Russian state-owned airline Aeroflot <a href="https://tass.com/economy/1485713">restarted direct flights</a> to Thailand, India, and the Maldives. Phuket <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/phuket-missing-russian-tourists-not-that-badly-war-impact-thailand-2022-4">is heavily reliant on tourism</a>. Before the pandemic, the travel industry accounted for about 80% of the island's economy and provided more than 300,000 jobs, Insider previously reported. Many of these tourists come from Russia, but numbers dropped sharply following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In January, 24,000 Russian tourists arrived in Phuket. These numbers dipped to between 3,200 to 4,200 a month between May and September following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, per <a href="https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/aeroflot-adds-14-more-weekly-russian-flights-to-phuket">The Thaiger.</a>International flights out of Russia were <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aeroflot-halts-international-flights-risk-foreign-planes-impounded-2022-3">largely suspended</a> as sanctions left Russian airlines scrambling for supplies.Now that direct flights have returned, Russian airlines are fast expanding their routes to Thailand, according to The Thaiger. Aeroflot is opening up services to Phuket from the far-eastern city of <a href="https://tass.ru/obschestvo/16432207">Vladivostok</a>, while Siberia Airlines will <a href="https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/aeroflot-adds-14-more-weekly-russian-flights-to-phuket">carry passengers from Irkutsk</a>, a mid-sized city in Siberia.Thailand has maintained a neutral stance on Russia's ongoing war on Ukraine. It hasn't participated in any bans or sanctions on Russian nationals and makes it easy for them to obtain visas. The country aims to welcome 1 million Russian tourists in 2022, per <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/thailand-russia-ukraine-tensions-spill-over-to-apec/a-63807806">DW</a>, with numbers forecast to peak in the coming winter as Russians trade cold for tropical beaches.Aeroflot, Ikar Airlines, and Thailand's tourism authority did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.

Thailand still wants Russian tourists – and direct flights are making it easy to get to Phuket

<ul class="summary-list"><li>My family moved in 2018 from the US to Thailand and quickly realized it wasn't our forever home.</li><li>We moved again to Portugal, and with the experience of the first move, we made fewer mistakes. </li></ul>In 2018, our family of four packed our entire lives into eight suitcases and moved to a <a href="https://www.insider.com/travel-tips-for-parents-of-little-kids-from-mom-2022-2">new country</a>. Less than a year later, we did it again.The first move, to Thailand, felt like a dream come true. But the challenges started just two weeks into our new life, when all four of us came down with serious food poisoning and my two kids and I had to be hospitalized. I remember a specific moment in the hospital in Phuket when the overwhelm hit me. As I looked down at the IV in my arm and then over to my 5-year-old daughter in the bed beside me, I wondered if we had made the right decision moving there. The potential that moving abroad was a mistake was terrifying to even consider. We had uprooted our entire lives with the conviction that this was the right thing for our family. I had spent years building a location-independent business <a href="https://stacyennis.com/writeyourbook">helping people write nonfiction books</a>. We had built our lives around this dream.The following months would hold hard-won lessons that even seasoned ex-pats like my husband and I would find challenging. Today, as I reflect on our experiences <a href="https://www.insider.com/american-family-in-portugal-shares-benefits-of-leaving-us-2022-2">from my home in Portugal</a>, I'm grateful we kept at our dream of exploring the world with our children. But I learned a number of lessons any family considering a move like ours should know about ahead of time. <h2>Be realistic and intentionally search for problems</h2>The truth is that as meaningful and life-changing as moving abroad can be, it can be hard, no matter how experienced you feel. When kids are involved, the chances of hardship are even higher. When getting ready to move to Thailand, we thought we were fully prepared. We had visited the country years earlier when we were living in Vietnam. After that visit, moving to Thailand became dream. Plus, we felt up to the challenges because we had lived in two developing nations, but that was before we had kids. We didn't push ourselves to look past our confirmation bias to ask whether the dream we'd held since our 20s fit our young family. Going into our next move, we created a realistic must-have list: safety, great healthcare, excellent schools, a beach nearby, access to nature, good cycling for my husband, within an hour of an international airport for <a href="https://stacyennis.com/">my business</a>, and a favorable tax structure.From there, we assessed locations against our list. If one didn't pass, we moved on — no matter how much we loved the idea.We also went out of our way to intentionally search for problems, asking ourselves: Can we handle that? What would we do if this happened? Is that a deal breaker for us? This led us to eliminate a couple countries we originally wanted to move to. After about a month of research, we chose Portugal.<h2>Get practical about the details and find support</h2>For both moves, we made sure our practical boxes were checked.For Thailand, I hired a local assistant and kept a detailed spreadsheet with neighborhoods and school options. My insurance broker helped us find international health insurance. I joined ex-pat Facebook groups to ask questions and used government sites for visa research. Ultimately, we picked a school that wasn't a right fit, found out that our health insurance didn't cover much, and ran into endless visa issues — including a required $10,000 hold on funds in a Thai account for more than six months.For <a href="https://www.insider.com/madeira-portugal-best-island-destination-2020-11">Portugal</a>, we did things differently. I hired an established relocation company to process our visas, set up bank accounts, and secure excellent private Portuguese health insurance. Rather than choosing our locale ahead of time, we did a monthlong driving tour of the country, visiting multiple cities and schools.Yes, this move cost more. But the stress I saved was worth the expense. Plus, we are still here and happy nearly three years later.Thailand wasn't a fit for us, but it was a meaningful experience in so many ways. Most importantly, we grew closer as a family because of the challenges we overcame together. If you go into your own move with openness and acceptance of the journey ahead, you'll grow too.<a href="https://stacyennis.com/">Stacy Ennis</a> is a No. 1 best-selling author, a speaker, and the founder of <a href="https://www.nonfictionbookschool.com/">Nonfiction Book School</a>, where she coaches authors to use the power of writing to uncover their unique stories so they can scale their influence.

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