Andrew65

I always got the impression that Thais, especially the middle classes, view falang beggars with utter disdain, they don't expect white people to be doing such a thing.

Underbelly was pretty good, still have it on disk.

I left Thailand in 2018, after 20 years of living there. Up until 2014 I had worked in the oil industry, and spent breaks in Thailand, 6 weeks away working, followed by a 3 week break in Thailand. By the end of 2017 I had been 3 years without work and was getting incredibly bored in Thailand, I also wasn't in a relationship or messing around in the bar-scene there. Partly due to this, by the time I decided to leave Thailand I still had quite a lot in savings left from when I did work, £XX,000. This meant that going back to the UK was quite easy. It was just as well that I had that money, as on 2 occasions I had to pay 7 month's rent (nearly (£4,000 a time) when moving into properties. Also, because I had lived overseas, and hadn't insured a car for more than 5 years, my car insurance cost around double (around £1500) what it would have cost. One company refused to insure me at all! I did manage to open a UK bank/current account, but because I had not maintained a financial presence in the UK, I had no 'credit-rating'. When I moved back I was only 53, so still had another 14 years of working life until state pension age. I started doing some agency delivery driving work, but got a full time position, where I have now been for 3 years. When I left Thailand I probably could've stayed there another 2 or 3 years, but was getting very bored, and I knew that I had to 'grasp the nettle', leave Thailand, and get a job.

Saw a documentary years ago about the Italian Mafia's presence in Australia, the Camorra from the Naples Area, and the Ndrangheta from Calabria. I believe that "Ozzie Bob" a character (based on a true-life character) from the drama series "Underbelly" had links to them.

Prison is only for the poor in Thailand. He'll get a 'slap on the wrist' and be told not to do it again.

An old ex-Navy friend used to call them 'depth-charges', where they put extra bills in your check-bin.

I got the impression that many guys get think that any woman is 'fair game' in Thailand, when that isn't always the case.

"Men Of Harlech"😁

He could be from Wales😁

Below the fleas on the soi dogs!☺️

Looks like a case for Hercule Poirot?!☺️

The longest that I remember seeing a report about was 13 years.

Just waiting for the Brit-bashing to begin.

One of the most expensive parts of Thailand then.

London's the most expensive part of Britain. This subject of this post is about whether Thailand is necessarily cheaper than Britain as a whole, and not just London. I sometimes look at the question and answer site Quora and see questions like "How much do I need for a 2 week stay in Thailand?" They don't provide any more information Like: Do they have a very epensive drug habit? Do they usually stop in 5 star hotels or dormitory accommodation for 5 bucks a night? Will they be stopping in Bangkok, Phuket, or Nakhon Nowhere? Will they be spending 5k to 10k Baht per night on hookers/partying etc? Do they dine in Michelin starred restaurants every night, or pay 50 Baht for street food? Do they realise that they will probably have to pay a lot of money for things that they get for free back home? (Like healthcare and sending their kids to school, if living there). Many people assume that Thailand is super cheap, when it isn't necessarily so. And that's just for starters. Like many other places, Thailand can be as cheap or as expensive as we want it to be. Some people assume that it's still a cheap & cheerful place.

I live in Bromsgrove, which is quite a nice area. London (inside the M25) is almost like a different country to the rest of the UK. I could have also gone and lived in Nakhon Nowhere in Thailand, where there's (maybe) nothing to do, and been bored-rigid. Like the UK, Thailand also has big regional differences in costs. I was just pointing out that living in Thailand isn't necessarily much cheaper than living in the UK, depending on where one lives. Some old firends moved from Thailand to Cambodia, which I found appreciably cheaper when I was there on visa runs, and also visas aren't such a pain in the ***.there.

You're right there. I lived in Bangkok for 20 years, lower-Sukhumvit area. I've now been living back in the UK for almost 6 years, and my living expenses are similar to what they were in Thailand. I now pay £550 per month rent (all inclusive). When I last lived in Bangkok my rent was 24,000 Baht. I don't have to pay for healthcare in the UK

When I lived in lower Sukhumvit, so not a cheap area, my living expenses were similar to what they are now in the UK. I was paying 23,000 Baht per month there, I'm now paying £550 pm (all inclusive) in the UK. (What we save on heating costs in the UK, we could be spending some of it on cooling costs in Thailand).🙂

Some years ago I was talking to a (younger than me) British guy. He was planning on moving to Spain with his Thai wife & kids, he said he was paying around £100 per week for his 2 kids to go to (primary) school in Thailand. I also knew many retirees who left Thailand due to medical expenses, 2 guys I know currently have left Thailand for cancer treatment. One old guy I know had successful cancer treatment at B'grad, it cost around £40k, but he's a millionaire. Another (very wealthy) Swedish guy, a good friend, ended-up parting with around 5 million Baht (B'grad), before eventually going home to die in Sweden. (These are all things that people get for free when they move to the UK, unsurprisingly we have massive queues for healthcare).

I would think that being a citizen of a third world country does change things in this regard.

It's incredibly harsh on your throat, so it can't be much good for your lungs.

Saw something interesting a few years ago about an American guy, a commercial fisherman. He had his Miami Beach area residential property for sale, whilst it still has value, due to rising sea levels.

Could you translate that for us!?🙂

There are many Thais who should never be allowed behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, driving standards can be shocking in Thailand.

Maybe you don't get my drift? Never do I hear anyone differentiate in the way that I mention.