akspace

The sexpats are unable to compare apples with apples.

Living in an expensive UK city is the same as living on ThongLor and never leaving that area.

They need to lie to others in order to make them forget that they are infact here because they cant have women back home, can't just admit that its not cheaper.

Bangkok is cheaper then San Francisco.

I'm paying 54,000 baht a month for an apartment in San Francisco, a comparable apartment in Bangkok can be had for less then 30,000 baht. As we've been over many times, food is much cheaper in Bangkok. Cell bill is cheaper, internet is cheaper and electric is about the same. So in the end for an identical lifestyle I would save maybe $2000/mo in Bangkok.

I haven't made the move, because taking a job teaching math for 60,000 baht is enough to live on (comfortably) but it's not enough to fly to japan and china 10-15 times each winter to ski. Since skiing is my favorite hobby, well I'm stuck here for now. Actually I just got an offer in China, one year contract, maybe that will open some doors elsewhere in Asia.

Of course you are just trolling, so I don't know why I'm biting

Since I live in the San Francisco bay area the cost of living is hugely higher than most of the US. I currently spend about 7-8k a month. So wouldn't it be safe to say that I would do fairly well on the 3-4k a month budget? One wife and one kid for international school in Chiang Mai. Or am I being completely unrealistic?

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I think you're being unrealistic, if you expect to maintain the same lifestyle. Check out the cost of the cars you are now driving in LOS. It's shocking. Remember, you can't own land in LOS so that's a dilemma. Build a home or buy one and it's on someone else's land. Sure, homes are expensive in SF, but you can't own real estate at all in LOS.

Private schools you'd want to use aren't cheap. The items your family is used to buying at the grocery store are very much more expensive, or aren't available, or can't be trusted for cleanliness and quality.

Yep, Kalifornicate is very expensive, and SF is among the worst, so you have a bit of advantage in comparing, but not enough. Now, if you had the $7 or 8k US in LOS, maybe you could do it. I say maybe becuase a lot of what you're family is used to simply isn't available and you'd have to import it at great cost.

Let be realistic, my friend owns a place in San Francisco (I rent) it ran him $700,000 (so the mortgage payments are around $3700/mo), the rent on a similar sized place (and quality) in Chiang Mai is 15,000 - 30,000 baht ($500 - $1000). So conservatively you are saving 60% on rent alone.

Now the cost of a car, you don't really need one in Chiang Mai, but even if you had one the costs are going to be about the same. You'll pay more in the initial purchase but there is less deprecation and maintenance is cheaper.

Next we have food, it's hard to go out and each for less then $8/pp in the Bay Area, realistically it's a lot more then that. So obviously eating out is cheaper in Chiang Mai. But how about the super market and cooking at home? I'm fairly frugal and it costs me $50/wk in groceries (but I also eat out every day for lunch). Now the costs scale with a family, so lets say $100/wk (most families I know are actually double to triple that). So again you are saving money in Thailand but how much depends entirely on the how much western food you want.

Finally we have the school expenses, this is the one case where Chiang Mai is more expensive then the bay area (assuming you are sending your kids to public school). The top international schools run from 250,000 - 500,000 baht a year, that comes out to ~20,000 - 42,000 a month. In the end this is what determines if it's cheaper in Thailand for a family with children.

Obviously given the budget he is suggesting $3000 - $4000/mo it will be extremely tight with tuition that high, but it will still be possible to have a comfortable lifestyle (just no savings). However with the $8000/mo they are living on at home they would be living very well.

But please, don't let facts ruin a good rant

Well back in my country(USA) nobody travels at all. So that makes me pretty different.

AAA Projects 42.5 Million Americans Will Travel This Thanksgiving, Four Percent More Than Last Year and that's for one day.

I love pedants! What he means, and it should be obvious in this context, is most Americans don't travel outside the country. Of those 42.5 million traveling on one day, about 50% will be driving (probably traveling less then 450km), the vast majority will be staying inside the US.

As for the original topic, well I'm not an expat, I do get a lot of people questioning me about how much I travel (4 months outside the US in the last two years). I also have a lot of trouble trying to get the time off, because we have a very work focused culture. In the end it's nothing new, I've always had an adventurous lifestyle, before it was world travel people where questioning my sanity because I was constantly breaking myself. Specifically over the course of the last six years; broken ribs twice (skiing and mountain biking), concussion twice (mountain biking and white water rafting), torn meniscus (skiing), broken collarbone (ice climbing), lost two teeth (white water rafting), dislocated thumb (bouldering), plus the normal lacerations, bumps and bruises.

For the last year I've considered becoming a expat in Thailand, while it seems fun and amazing, I'm not sure I could give up the rest of my life for it. I can live with the paycut I would take to teach, but I would miss real mountains, ice and snow.

Just to correct a point on the time; it is 23:59 followed by 00:01. No such thing as 24:00.

Similar thing to people regarding the time as 20:00 hours (as is often heard on news channels and from reporters). Totally wrong!

In the example, 20:00 hours would be 83.3 days!

Always accept that it is nice to learn something new everyday...................

Actually there is a 24:00 (US military doesn't like 2 identical times so it's 0:00), if time worked the way you described it days would be 23.97 hours long, not 24 hours.

As for your second point it makes no sense, maybe you should revise it.

Thing is, you guys that are saying you dont care what people think you look like etc,which is fair enough.. BUT, on the flip side, i bet you would care if the women walking around you shared the same attitude!

Actually I prefer women who don't dress up or wear makeup

Can they please please import some Belgian & Canadian beer & I'll die a happy man. Chimay would be a gift from above and anyone who's tasted Rickards Red or Upper Canada knows it's dam_n close to the best Europe produces.

Canadian beers?!?! REALLY?

If you are going to suggest importing beer from North America you should be aiming a little farther south. Maybe a nice Imperial IPA like Double Daddy or a good stout like Rogue Chocolate.

As most beer critics have been pointing out for years, the best beers in the world come from the US these days

Edit: I'm changing my Imperial IPA suggestion to Pliney the Younger (or Elder)

A hotel doctor in Cambodia suggested ginger tea with honey, didn't stop the runs, but it was tasty.

Generally I don't suffer weeks of travelers diarrhea, more often then not I do get a case of food poisoning, happened twice in the last four trips. Once it started on the plane ride home, the last time it happened my last night in LOS...

I've been offered charcoal by a pharmacist, didn't help at all, immodium just makes me feel bloated. In the end I've decided it's just best to let it run it's course.

You are odd. Good schools cost more money because they are good. Good teachers, teach at good schools because they are better teachers. Good students go to good schools to get the best education they can. When you graduate from a good school you get a job that pays more money than when you graduate from a school with less of a reputation. I think not to understand the above as fact is rather naive. If it is more fun to attack the messenger than the message (As you posted above, "you are a snob and I stand by my earlier comment that to know people like you work in the field of education is quite frightening.") I believe there is a Latin phrase for that.

I'm a computer engineer and I work with a lot of people who graduated from Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, etc... These are the best schools in the world when it comes to computer science and engineering. I went to a no name state school and make just as much money as they do. In the end what really matters is how good you are, where you got your piece of paper may open a few doors, but it won't help you beyond that.

I wear shorts and a t-shirt to work, I wear shorts and a t-shirt on weekends, I wear shorts and a t-shirt around the house...

Why would I wear something different on vacation?

I really think this must be a Brit thing, but in America (outside maybe NYC), casual dress is the standard. If I put on a jacket and slacks I get weird looks, but a pair of shorts and flip-flops and I blend in. If I'm going to show up to a board meeting I might put on shoes and jeans, but t-shirt is still standard wear.

Here in the USA a burger meal with fries and drink will run you around, $6. A 12pk of Heinecken you can find at $10. Thai Mekong whiskey fifth $18. Cigarettes Marlboro $5.50. Fuel $3.65/gal.

What part of the USA are you in? I don't think you can get a value meal at McDonalds for $6 dollars anymore (once you pay sales tax), if you actually go to a restaurant that burger and fries to start at $10! And a 12 pack for $10!!! I paid $9.56 for a six pack earlier today....

As for gas I filled up for $4.35/gal today, so that is $1.15/liter which is still cheaper then Thailand

I really need to get back to Thailand...

If you are into outdoor activities I would pick Chaing Mai over BKK. I've had a lot of fun cycling in and around Chaing Mai and I haven't been able to find good rides in BKK. Also good hiking, I don't know about the climbing but that isn't my sport.

I actually prefer the pace in CM, but BKK has grown on me over the years, first time in BKK I couldn't leave fast enough. Now I actually enjoy my visits. My first time in CM I didn't want to leave, but I only had a couple months until I had to be back to work.

its amazing how some people who think they know everything actually know very little in regards to how much these women make and how it is used to help their families . the american big mouth should be shown the door and kept out but thats my opinion for what its worth .

"i make boomboom money na, hab send old iphone 3, when buy new iphone 4, to my kid na. drink whiskey morning, need do more boomboom na"

keith101, you could of simply said "Hello i am a sexpat/tourist. I enjoy finaly getting laid for money and enjoy those girls. Yes they are lazy human beings with no honor but i still enjoy them" instead of trying to push a false view. Just accept who you are and what they are. Most people hating is because of the LIES.

And good memories have been juggled up seeing the mamasan from mandarin

Surprisingly good post from you there Hostile!

Only someone on TV would call an ad hominem attack a good post...

I find it revolting that so many of you feel superior to these girls just because of their jobs. Who are you to judge the worth of another human being? Is your life so exemplary, you've done nothing along the way that others would find wrong?

Every job involves selling yourself one way or another, prostitutes are not even the worst. If you really feel the need to disparage a profession why don't you start with lawyers and politicians.

Seems a bit over dressed for -40C

When I was just finished with highschool I did one job with my dad on the northslope, construction, it was so cold the power tools would stop working (-60F + windchill). Had to wear a warm pile jacket under the down parka.

When I'm in Thailand I keep the aircon at 22, at home right now and it's 14 outside so I just opened the windows...

I don't see Carne Asada or Carnitas on the list, anywhere, therefore the whole list is invalid!

I have never had any trouble with my stomach when in Thailand, but if you get the Thai two step its best to get the local medication, Imodium some times does not work.

Last time I tried to get meds for my stomach in Thailand the pharmacist gave me medicinal charcoal, it didn't help, however the Imodium I got a few days later did

Thanks for the red card ive never bee sent off before.any chance of some better replies?

when i first come here i liked the cheapness of the place i thought all thai peoples smiles were real and i thought thai women were beautiful innocent girls ..Im not going home im going to live in japan.I spent a couple of weeks out there this year and loved it ok is not cheap but i find the people are better there.And the girls well thai women dont have a spot on jap girls.

I agree with you on one thing. I too find Japanese women more attractive than Thais. Same with Korean women. Unless you have a very high income, Japan is just too expensive. Also, I don't know how available Japanese women are to a gajin, not in the same way Thai women are I wouldn't have thought.

In my experience Japanese women are much more available then Thai women (unless you are paying).

However, in general I would pick Thailand over Japan. Without speaking Japanese the only time I was able to have conversations was at work or visiting Roppongi on the weekends. That killed it for me, in Thailand I can't have deep conversations with the average person on the street but at least I can exchange small talk with the cab driver or waitress. If it wasn't for the difficulty communicating I would pick Japan.

Never ever had a prob ordering a beer eating out at any time.

A while ago, on a Buddhist holiday, a group of us was in Sukhumvit and even if we tried, we couldn't get any beers at the farang places.

<deleted>*k I said, do as the Romans do....

And we jumped into the car, drove outside the tourist belt and landed in a big Thai place, very crowded, life music and every table had its Whiskey/soda and loads of beers.

Yeah, I thought, the law was definitely made to protect farangs of Buddhist faith.

Funny, on the last Buddhist holiday I sat on Soi 4 and drank beer all day with no problem

Later on in the evening I heard a few bars where not serving in the day, but I never ran into it. It seems like all these laws and rules are selectively followed.

Honestly I believe the answer is simply lack of vacation time.

and a lack of a passport in 80% + of the population

I personally don't know a single person without a passport. But anecdotes are not data, in any case the real data shows about 33% of Americans hold a passport, or 110 million of us.

Edit:

Added a link because I know you won't take my word for it.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppi/stats/stats_890.html

I am impressed 57 posts and everyone is still playing nicely on this thread....

Playing nicely? I'm glad to see treating Americans as the whipping boy is playing nicely

Honestly I believe the answer is simply lack of vacation time. I've heard two weeks mentioned a few times, but if you are any sort of professional you can't actually be gone for two weeks. If you are a blue collar worker you don't get paid if you are gone. So for either group being gone more then 3 or 4 days is generally not possible.

Try to get the police to attend a domestic back home. Good luck with that! Screws up the statistics when these incidents aren't reported because they know they won't be responded to.

Just sayin'

I've been involved with hundreds of them, grew up in a very bad household, the police always show up once you call. More often these incidents are not reported because the victim doesn't want to report it. It's a vicious cycle that takes a strong person to break.

I'm tired of subjective arguments so lets look at the numbers:

Thailand 17.59 38.44 27.35

Canada 38.35 76.56 83.16

USA 37.42 66.64 68.74

UK 37.85 77.72 94.07

These are country wide averages (rent, consumer goods, restaurant prices) compared to NYC as a baseline. If you try to live a more westernized life style prices will climb, but I don't know why someone would move half way around the world to have the same life they do at home.

There is also the issue of value, if you place a lot of value on something from home that you can't get in Thailand then obviously you won't think saving money is worth it.

I guess Montreal is behind other canadian cities(except vancouver which is suposed to be amazing to live in) and a few other cities because of who makes the list(snobs and fat bloggers who've never left their small town). But pretty much any canadian city will be cheaper than bangkok/pattaya/phuket and offer everything in better quality. Also you're never more than 35mins by car from an amazing scenery/trekking spot/top notch mountain anywhere in canada.

Everyone i see defending thailand in most threads are either germans or from the UK.. Aren't these the 2 western countries with the worst/least culture? I have never heard anyone wanting to visit those countries for more than a week each, after that they've seen everything and are quite bored with it.

Sure; that's why huge numbers of people from the North American Continent want to spend millions of dollars every year visiting the UK and Germany. They also stay a great deal longer than a week and most moan that they don't have enough time to see even a third of what they wanted to see, so they return year on year to see more. Seems you are living a very blinkered life and/or know absolutely nothing about Europe.

Actually those with half a brain usualy end up visiting france/italy and smaller countries. Very few visit the uk or germany more than once, usualy left to the backpackers.

UK/Germany isnt europe, its the 2 worst countries in europe and everyone moaning about the west is almost always from those countries, just as most of the fat men on a stool every night are also from those two countries.

These threads would be a lot more objective if people from the uk/germany had ever visited more western countries than their own.

Anyways my point is

USA and Canada is cheaper than thailand and you get better standards. That's it. Personally i dont care about 'nanny states' because idiots need someone to baby sit them or they end up killing themselves and others at a very high rate like in thailand.

Wait, earlier someone told me Canada was more expensive then where I live in the US, yet it's much cheaper to live in Bangkok then San Francisco.

I'm paying 36,000 baht for an apartment (1bd, bad area) I can get for less then 15,000 baht in Bangkok. Food it's not even comparable, if I go out for a cheap meal at home I'm paying at least 240 baht. Going out for a beer is about the same. Utilities are cheaper in Thailand. I suppose a car would be more expensive in Bangkok, but I wouldn't need one, when I still payed 60,000 baht a month for an apartment (1bd, good area) I didn't have a car because my place was actually located near mass transit.

Don't even get me started on purchasing a condo or a house. A decent condo starts at 9,000,000 baht and would require another 9000 - 15000 baht a month in HOA fees. A house starts at 15,000,000 baht and at that price range you are looking at maybe 1,000,000 - 3,000,000 baht in repairs.

I'm really not seeing how you can say the US is cheaper unless you are talking about a fly over state. Nothing wrong with a living in one, I like quite a few, but then you should compare them to the cheaper parts of Thailand.