seasia

Hi Captain Jack

Thanks for the update, always interesting to me.

Yes, the thread did get a bit tetchy. That sadly seems to happen on any thread where either someone posts that they have left Thailand or are considering it.

In your post you sound more upbeat, good.

Your pizza and wine at $30 for 2 people sounds good to me, just a bottle of cheap plonk here would cost that, before the pizza.

It sounds like you are in a better place.I noticed you commented a few posts back about being at an outdoor cafe and the temperature was a pleasant 24 c.

I live in naklua ( pattaya ) and spent some time sitting outside  yesterday, just people watching really, not at a bar and at times with the extreme humidity on top of the high temperature it felt sort of like being slow baked in an oven.

Pollution has worsened also.

Take Care and Good Luck

Hello

http://www.ustoreitpattaya.com/

http://pattayaselfstorage.co.th/index.php

58 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

Thank you.

 

What about rents?

And what part of the country/cities do you recommend that are worthwhile and closer in cost of living to Thailand?

Hi

You are welcome, I will answer in more detail another time but as to rents, a modest 1 bedroom apartment in the north can be found for around 450 to 500 Euro per month ( That is long term though.). Bills on top.

A little cheaper in the south.

The south would be better if looking for similar costs to Thailand, albeit as said public transport and labour costs are way higher.

54 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Swings and roundabouts eh?  Housing is the great majority of anyone's budget and that does not swing or go round about.  https://www.numbeo.com  Apples to apples easy to compare. 

The website you have linked to is the worst comparison site I have ever come across.

You are totally wrong, housing does indeed swing, in Italy.

It has declined in value for a number of years.

Personal experience. In excess of 50 visits 

How about yourself?

On 3/27/2019 at 6:35 AM, JimmyJ said:

I assume it is a lot more expensive than Thailand?

Hi

Overall yes, depends on how you want to live.

Housing generally more expensive but still some reasonable deals.

e.g. 2 bedroom apartment for sale in Mendrisio north lakes town, separate kitchen, living room, large terrace, 180 degree view of Lake Como for sale at 70 K Euro, e.g. 2.5 million baht.

South of Italy can buy similar at 40 to 50 K Euro.

Bottled water is cheaper than Thailand, even though you can drink the water from the tap.

Fruit juice is about 1 Euro per litre, around 36 baht compared to 50 to 70 baht in Thailand.

Large ( 660 ml ) bottles of beer can be bought for 80 cents, about 29 baht, better than Thai beer at about half the price.

Wine is 1/5 th the price.

Plenty more examples of some things being lower priced.

However, public transport, including taxis way more expensive in Italy.

Cars are cheaper though.

Anything involving labour way higher in Italy,due of course to higher wages.

A " handyman" general jobs guy is going to be asking 100 Euro a day, 3600 baht.( North, less by a little in the south)

Way cheaper in Thailand.

Not surprisingly pasta ( shop bought ) is about half the price of Thailand but yep, rice is about double.

Swings and roundabouts.

1 hour ago, tlandtday said:

This is going off topic but why aren't more people considering Spain, Portugal or Italy? 

Yes all those would appeal to Europeans in particular.

After 10 years of living in Thailand with brief breaks back to UK/Italy  I have actually booked flights to Italy for a 5 month stay, May thru to October. Weather should be mostly OK, perhaps better than Thailand, not so much humidity.

Staying mostly in the northern Lakes area, near Switzerland.

Lovely views and cleaner air.

In the winter would be too cold for me so either Thailand for the winter months or elsewhere.

On 3/24/2019 at 7:16 AM, tabarin said:

Had to conclude the same, can do it to myself but not to the little one.
Considering moving to Naklua or somewhere between Rayong Airport and Jomtien now, as long we still live in Thailand.

Hello

naklua  and jomtien worth a look .

I have lived in naklua 10 years.

It is OK, no place is perfect.

Good choice of restaurants. easy to get about from.

Tesco Lotus nearby on pattaya nua, Big C also nearby, T 21 etc. so shopping is easy.

Fairly good choice of accommodation options.

I should just say that the pollution level has increased somewhat in the last few months,fair few people coughing and sneezing a bit, including myself. Hopefully temporary.

Hi keemaot

Thanks for explanation on costs, I did not know.

So at your average figure of $50 a night  it is going to cost  $ 1500 a month just for parking up, let alone other costs.

Yes expensive.

As an "outsider "  looking in some things in US seem far cheaper.

e.g. petrol is about 76c a litre, yes ?

In the UK it is the equivalent of 1.86 cents a litre.

So I guess you are heading back to the US for a while. Enjoy. Nice steaks, nice wine.

Your humour sometimes hard to follow but very good when " I get it " ( me being a Brit )

Anyway I have also booked flights, to Italy via UK in my case.

5 month break from Thailand.

I am looking forward to it.

Nice food, bread, cheese, Parma ham, Milano salami.Pasta and Pizza.

Wine also but other countries are better for that.

Summer months there nicer than Thailand.

North Lakes area, Como, beautiful scenery.

It is not so convenient though, there will not be a 24 hr. shop on every corner.

They do not exist.

24 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

The traIn has left the station..

"La estacion pasar.."

 

Little Swallow...

 

Lovely song..

 

 

It is indeed a lovely song, one of my favourites.

Have it on a playlist and never tire of it.

19th is indeed the big Pattaya Songkran day, well in to night time unfortunately.

20th would be OK.

18 th the big naklua day.

Interesting

She has spirit, admirable.

Minimalist lifestyle , nothing wrong with that.

I am a little curious, noticed some camper vans in the background,including the one with the car parked up to it s nose.

Looked OK.

Is that a camp site/travelers site ?

Would they be paying a site fee ?

Nice blue sky.

20 hours ago, keemapoot said:

My argument is that if you examine the total package of virtually any country in LA (and arguably globally) compared to Thailand you will find Thailand wins for most expats. The food, the laid-back lifestyle, the cost of living, the ease of transport, the ease of hooking-up for those who don't have a steady thing, all those things are better in Thailand. The only thing that is recently bad is the schizophrenic visa situation, which seems to be a crackdown to eliminate a certain segment of the expat population, and for those who can weather this, I think it will return to normal.

 

I stand by my position. Thailand still wins in most categories.

Hi

Everyone is different, with different needs/wants.

Although I am going to be the odd one out here, I do not really like Thai food, many others do. Not me.

Eat it rarely. Fairly unhealthy IMO, much cooked in cheap palm oil, many vegetables sprayed with pesticides banned in other countries.

So for me personally Thai food is not a pull.

Cost of living ?

I am not actually looking for cheaper, rather looking for better for me.

Depends on how you want to live.

Infrastructure poor here, roads arguably the most dangerous in the world.

I value safety and as a minor point being able to cross a road safely.

I live in naklua, have done for 10 years.

The main naklua road has become more dangerous to cross, crossed it hundreds of times,traffic has increased, a bit more tricky now than it used to be.

Public transport is easy, agree.I like the bahtbus system.

Minibus and coach transport I do not like here.

Hi

Captain Jack

Sorry to hear you are discarding Colombia. Understandable if there is a risk of being robbed at gunpoint,

Yes, many people rely heavily on their smartphones. I rely heavily on my laptop.

A possible thought on this, have 2 smartphones, 1 an economical one.

2 SIM cards. Have the same apps./info on both.

Leave 1 in a secure place .Do the rooms out there have either safes or lock boxes as do many in Thailand ?

On a more general note I guess the way to possibly get contacts in a region or country would be to look for forums that are based around life there.

Perhaps a facebook group, not that I am keen on facebook myself.

I cam across an 18 month old thread on the coffee region ( and some other Colombian towns ) on a Colombia forum. Fairly interesting.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=607799

On 3/15/2019 at 10:12 AM, Jingthing said:

This item is more about tourism than expatriation but I'm posting it to give an idea of how spectacular some of the scenery and villages are surrounding the coffee region cities. Most people would prefer to live in a city just for modern amenities, services, and convenience but this gives an idea of the type of places close by outside the cities. This particular village called Salento has become a major international tourism draw happens to be closest to Armenia than the other coffee region cities. There are expats living there as well, probably some retired people and also tourism related business owners. 

 

 

Hi

That video started me off on a quest for more info re. Colombia.

I had never given it much thought before this topic started.

Whilst I generally prefer large towns/small cities I can and do like small places.

Salento looks lovely. I really enjoy good scenery, as well as outdoor cafes etc.

The hotel the travelers stayed at is listed at about 2250 baht per night. Beautiful views.

Plenty cheaper available though.

So looked first at tourist visa options, surprised very good, As a UK passport holder, 90 days on arrival, can be extended another 90 days.

N.B. I now have an interest in a holiday visit to Colombia, never been there.

Flights are cheap from UK ( start at apx. 18000 baht.

From Italy even cheaper, from apx. 14000 baht.

Above prices were the cheapest I could find, paying more is fine.

Looked at guesthouse/small hotel listings in Peirara, cheap  though, acceptable looking places from about 500 baht a night.

Transport seems cheap ( very )

Then read up on food, a lot of meat dishes, that is another tick up for me. Again prices seem low.

OK, I like a beer or 2 now and again.

Local Colombian beer seems cheaper than Thai. Probably better as well.

I was a bit surprised to read somewhere that Colombian wine is not all that good.

Imports from nearby countries available, with some import duty.

Considerably cheaper than Thailand.

Good climate, arguably better than Thailand.

I can certainly understand the appeal.

So to follow a blog link to food in Colombia.

I could probably quite happily eat about 80% + of what they describe.

https://www.desktodirtbag.com/guide-colombian-food/

It looks and sounds lovely.

Thanks for the photos.

On 3/11/2019 at 5:05 PM, A1Str8 said:

None of these countries compare to Thailand. I have been to all of them. 
If it must be european then i would say, pick any from the ones mentioned above. They are ok. But dont even come close.

In what way do any of the many countries mentioned/suggested "dont even come close " to Thailand?

There is a very long list on the thread, have you really been to all of them ?

Let us see now, Thailand usually No. 1 for road deaths in the world.

Chiang Mai  Thailand seems to have been claimed most polluted city in the world.

Some of the other countries have far lower corruption levels than Thailand.

Some of the others have better health systems.

How is Thailand way ahead of  these ?

Thailand has both positives and negatives.

31 minutes ago, maxcorrigan said:

Everyone seems to have missed the point in the article, the flying motorbike was being transported in the pickup which swerved to miss another motorbike and crashed!

I didn t

Your post  went up just before I was going to make same comment as you.

2 hours ago, Pharoticus said:

Cyprus and Madeira stay pretty warm year round.

 

Morocco and Tunisia would be also be a good bets climate wise, but they're not everyone's cup of tea.

Hi

Thanks

Yes, Cyrus has been mentioned as an option.

You are the first with Madeira, had not given it a thought.

So for year round, appears Canary Islands, Cyprus and Madeira all good options for good climate.