A Guide to Dating in Thailand for Expats

Dating in Thailand for expats can be a rollercoaster adventure. Know what to expect, and you can better own that experience.

You’ve moved to Thailand and you’re a single guy. You’ve heard fascinating things about the women there, and your short experience in the country only confirms that.

While dating in Thailand for expats feels like spring break all over again, countless foreign men have found their lifetime partners there. And if that’s what you’re after—a fulfilling relationship to last a lifetime—then you’ll have to do things the right way.

But remember, it’s not going to be like dating back where you’re from. You need to know how to date in Thailand and what to expect from your future dates.

So, how does an expat go about finding love in Thailand? What should your game plan look like? And what sort of difficulties can you expect to run into when you’re on your journey?

Here’s what you need to know if you want to go on a date in Thailand:

Beware of Those Who’ll Only Take Your Money

While we don’t want to start off on a negative and we certainly don’t want to paint Thai women with a broad brush, it may be prudent to be aware of the possibility of gold-diggers.

While there are plenty of Thai women who legitimately want to find love, there are bound to be a few who see expats at ATMs. If not money, then some of them may see another type of green: the green card.

Sure, you may be an expat in Thailand, but that doesn’t mean that avenues to living in your country are completely closed off to your potential spouse. They might think they can convince you to move back and take you with them or they might think that they can use any children you may have to get on an easier path to living in your country.

Gold diggers are a real possibility, but there are ways to identify and avoid them.

Don’t let that deter you. There are unsavory characters on any stage of dating, and weeding them out is simply doing your due diligence. Ultimately, this pays off, because you know that you’ll end up with a tremendous woman.

Dating in Thailand for Expats - Where To?

The trouble with dating as an expat is you haven’t the first clue where to start. Because expats didn’t grow up in the cities in which they live, so while they’ll know popular spots, hole-in-the-wall places that only locals know about will be completely unknown to them unless they’ve lived in the country for a long time and going online may not yield too many results as some of these hole-in-the-wall places are jealously guarded secrets.

Thai ladies like to be romanced in ways different from Western women.

Not knowing where the best places to take a girl out is going to hamper your chances. The last thing you want to do when you date Thai ladies is to be boring. So what you want to do is to ask the locals where they want to go. Maybe even ask your date where her favorite place is. But for starters, here are a few of our recommended date places:

Best Dating Locations in Bangkok, Thailand

Getting Over the Language Barrier

Your biggest hurdle will be the language barrier. Unless you’re fluent in Central Thai, it’ll be tough for you as most Thais don’t speak English and the ones that do aren’t fluent in it. So what’s the workaround here? Is there even a solution?

Attraction is a universal language. Unfortunately, communication is an important part of a lasting relationship, so you’re going to have to either learn the language, date Thais who are fluent in English, or stick to places in Bangkok for expats where people are more likely to speak a foreign language like English.

Here’s the thing; if you can speak even a little Thai, then you’re going to have a leg up on almost every other expat that approaches a Thai woman. Most other guys in your position aren’t going to speak a lick of Thai, so being able to speak even a little bit of the language is going to set you apart from the rest of the pack.

But that’s not the only advantage that learning the local language will get you. It’ll also make it easier, or even possible, for you to compliment your date. Yeah, you can tell her that she’s beautiful and that she looks like a million bucks and all that, but that’s all going to be for naught if she doesn’t understand the words coming out of your mouth.

Oh, and learning (Central) Thai won’t just make it easier for you to date, it’ll make living in Thailand easier for you in general.

Linguistic differences can present a hurdle, but hurdles are meant to be overcome.

Dating Thai Women

So, now you know about the caveats, what about dating itself? How do you find someone in Bangkok to go out with? Are there any dating sites for expats in Thailand you could use to make the meeting process easier?

Online Dating

If you’re the type of person who’d prefer to make matches online before moving on to real life, you’re in luck. You can easily meet beautiful, single Thai women here on Bangkok Women. Unlike other dating apps, the women on this site have undergone a strict screening process, so you can rest assured that the woman you decided to connect with is in it for love.

One important tip with dating Thai women is to not be too forward when you’re online. That’s going to come across as aggressive and it’s going to be a huge turn-off for a lot of women and a red flag for a lot of others.

On that note, don’t spam her with messages. Just because she doesn’t respond immediately doesn’t mean she’s ghosting you. She could just be busy or bad at texting.

If you do establish a good rapport with her, don’t just ask her out. Thai women can be a little more reserved than Western women, so it’s best to build up to asking her out rather than just coming out with it.

In-Person Dating

However, if you’d rather meet someone in real life and get to know them from there, how do you do that? Sure, there are a lot of bars and clubs, but those aren’t always the best places to find someone who’s going to be around long-term. And keep in mind that there is significant ladyboy culture in the country. If that is not your preference, at least be aware of it so you can politely turn down any unwanted advances. If not, best to pick other avenues to meet women.

One tip is to go to events that take place in the daytime: cultural events, festivals, and the like. The clear light of day will help point you to the woman of your dreams.

Do you need a more comprehensive guide on how to effectively find a girlfriend in Thailand? We’ve got the article just for you:

Read: How to Find a Girlfriend in Bangkok

Dating in Thailand for expats isn’t something that’s easy. You have to contend with language and cultural barriers. You don’t have the street smarts acquired by years of living in the country. But if you follow our guide and know what to avoid, you could very well meet the woman of your dreams and a partner you’ll spend the rest of your life with.