lovinglifeinthailand

I think if I told you 4 years ago not to move I would have been talking to a brick wall also.

No, if somebody had already been through the same experience I was planning and was talking to me like my dad then I think I would have deeply considered everything he was saying. I think I was pretty sensible about it from the start and understood the risks, me moving here for a few years was not a mistake and I got what I wanted from it which was a nice, safe comfortable home for my missus and kid (now kids) and for them to be close to my missus's family for a few years. I knew from the beginning that the money I spent here I would never re-coup and worst case scenario we would have a holiday home to come back to which is exactly how it worked out. I also was prepared to sacrifice a few years of my social life for them too by isolating myself here, something I also knew from the beginning.

£65k is not pocket change for me but I was prepared to spend that for threes years of building a house here for what I just explained and in a couple of years I will be walking away from it. Everyone keeps saying how they live here to save money but, like I explained in one of my first posts here, it would've been much much cheaper to rent a luxury condo in BKK for a few years and have much more advantages of living in the city compared to here.

Life is good and exciting, everyday I smile to myself that im not stuck in a 9-5 job starring out the window waiting for my life to start..

if it ends in tears so be it, but at least I would have tried. as long as my little family are looked after and happy I will keep this smile.

Like I said, that will wear off soon enough once you find yourself isolated in a remote village where the only person that speaks your language is your partner. You've only stayed in the village once so you cannot possibly think you know what it is really like. Have you ever tried to live in a place you loved going to on holiday? It is very different living in a place to just visiting it for a couple of weeks. You are a young guy and you need some activities to do with yourself and the chances of finding some like minded people in your village that share your interests will be slim at best. Seeing as you were the sort of person who was attracted to live in Pattaya where you have everything you need on your doorstep, living in Isaan full time is going to be a huge difference.

I do feel like this is falling on deaf ears because, like you said, you have already made up your mind to build in an Isaan village and it doesn't seem like anyone else's experience is being considered by yourself. I am interested to hear the outcome of all this in 3 years to find out your experience.

I do not feel that I will be isolated as I said i have a group of young friends mid 20s same interests living an hours drive away, if and when I feel the need to socialize ill pop in the car. that's when the in-laws come in handy to babysit. its not like we are tied to the village if me want a holiday in Thailand no problem for a few weeks.

as well as being in the uk for a few months each year.

I do not plan to spend £65k no need to spend 1million on a car. and a modest clean house will do.

I to feel I am being sensible the house is for the family now and my child long term even if he/she wants to live or sell the land in the future after we are in the ground.

I have read all the comments and taken on board the many helpful posts, but a few my way or the highway post are not helpful to me as I was always moving to the village just wanted to here readers experiences.

I will start planning early feb.

im not planning on building a palace, so I don't believe will take a year to build.

We will stay with the in-laws

the in-laws will live on site during the build

We will rent in the nearby town.

having the birth in a hospital in the town.

living in pattaya ...

When do you plan to pack our bags and settle down back in the village up in nong song hong 100km south of khon kaen with the support of her parents and family ?

Come on david 48 im not ignoring you, I have liked many of your posts.

I just thought in your last comment you were being sarcastic.

I move in jan, but have now decided to build next November when the baby will be 8 months, don't want any stress during the birth.

will also give me more time living with the family see how we get on.

living in pattaya now im bored silly of the bars, only go now once a week to play pool. bar girl chat is more boring than village gossip

unless its about me.

I do play football twice a week that I will miss, but planning on a few rounds of golf when up north.

Also as not far from khon kaen can have a good p*ss up with friends when I feel like it.

onionluke looks like you and your family are doing well.good for you.

I do still own a house in the uk so if does not go to plan for me, we can always move back to the uk

"The good news is my gf is pregnant so we have decided to pack our bags and settle down back in the village with the support of her parents and family"

I think you will find that it is you who will be supporting the family.

Here we go again if your talking financial help of course I will be helping out the parents a little.

They do work on there farm and her dad is some sort of local councillor and gets a wage from that also ,

so they do ok. At the moment the gf sends them 1or 2 thousand a month out of her own wages so not talking big money are we.

I was talking about hands on help and morale support.

Hi llit, I would like to relate some experiences with starting up in a village in Issan with a young family , although I guess most of these have already been mentioned .

I am 42 , my wife is 39 and our son is now nearly 8 . I work in construction and in 2009 I was laid off from work on the casinos in Macau . I was there with my wife and son , both Thai nationals, as the construction ground to a halt . We had a choice of sitting out the lull in Hong Kong or taking a new direction and spending the time and money we had saved on building a house in Issan . So we packed all our junk into boxes and sent it over to Thailand , only to have it commandeered by customs and hit with a 14000 bhat tax .

We flew to Bangkok and after a few days in Pattaya took a pick up truck to Issan ( never ever again ). The village and family were welcoming enough , although I did feel a bad vibe from her eldest brother's wife . We were introduced to a local builder . He had built several farang follies in the village . I priced our house build by finding out how much his other builds' cost and took it from there . The house , fitted out was priced at 750000 , but with land and walls and a gate I would say it came to about 1 300000. I would need to go look for a costs break down .

During the house build we lived in the upstairs of my wife's parents house . It is on a nice leafy street. They are nice quiet old folks and I am grateful to them for the time afforded us , even more so for tolerating my bagpipe music ( canned ) . The house was not built on family land, although we did have a look on the farm and even went so far as pegging out a footprint of a typical house build , my wife bought 2 plots a few streets away and so it went without much bother really .

I only purchased a second hand Nissan pick up last year for 300 000 bhat , it is a runner . I too bought the bricks and mortar before the car and so had to do a hell of a lot of biking around , and novelty soon wears off .

I would say most of the problems brought to our house in the village have concerned myself being a farang but manifested through my sons experiences . He went through a lot there . The village holding pen was just that and I soon learned my boy was not going to learn to read and write there . He was set about a few times and was visited with violence I still cannot credit to 3 and 4 year olds . We moved him to a private preschool in the town 10 kms away . The school was a huge improvement and children of the middle class parents , cops and teachers etc , were friendly . The curriculum as far as I can make out was ok . He did have to put up with name calling and bullying on the school bus / sawngtew and this was from boys whose family new us in the next soi . At this point with my son being nearly 4 years I was not prepared to send him to the town school , he would be in with a tough crowd and on his own .

Speaking English ( with a Scots accent ) and the local lingo my son soon became adapt at fitting in . He went full circle from bowing to peer pressure and calling me a farang to now hating being called a farand himself .

I think despite all of the experiences my son had he still looks to the village as being his home and where his family live and I feel he enjoyed a long Indian summer that lasted for 3 years . We get back when we can afford it and the house is built well enough to still be standing into my retirement and after I'm gone .

I might add I went through this without TV, and if I had listened to my wife we would have bought a house on an estate in Ubon .

I wish you all the best llit .

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so where are you now?

*Cough*

/Puts on moderator hat

Please avoid taking pot shots at other members. Different opinions are exactly that, different opinions. The opinion can be discussed or debated, but please don't go down the road of taking things personally or making targeted comments at other members. As I know how one thing can lead to another, and that just leaves everyone with a sour aftertaste.

This is the Isaan forum section, we're better than that. Any snide remarks etc can stay in general

/takes off moderator hat

good call, I set this post up to get your pro's and con's not a slanging match.

Everyone has made some good points for both ways and I look forward to hearing more experience.

With regards to education kids with talent and dedication will prosper anywhere and likewise kids can fail anywhere.

That is where the parents guidance helps.

I still have not made my mind up, all I know is the next 4 years i would like to bring my child up in the village.

I've had 13 years of them. It's been hell.

Last week I gave the old woman 4mil and said make that work because that's your lot.

I'm finally free.

Sent from my MotoA953 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

What are your plans now? why has it been hell for you?

matt can I ask where in the uk you will be moving back to?

well hopefully still here enjoying life, but will keep you posted

the village is just over a hour drive south of khon kaen.

kunmat great post very informative.

with regards to schools I believe khon kaen has some good international schools, but will have to look into that more.

I also have fiends there so will get my farang interaction when I visit. .

mjp

that post made me laugh, had a image of you hunched carrying a big bag of sweets scurrying to your store room making sure no one saw you.

haha I have a ear infection so have had a bad sleeping pattern. just sleep when I can. getting better now so back to normal soon.

With the makro card I thought you had to have a business for that? in England you do.

Thank you mjp i would have properly failed an IQ test when i was back home full time.

By trade im a tool maker for the printing and packaging trade.

most of my close friends are in recruitment and IT trade making big money but still come to me for finance help.

i believe as long as the mind is active ill be fine.

i agree but as you said the baby has fast tracked things. the misses knows we have not got mega money and will have to wait 10/15 years depending on the uk economy, before we can lead a more carefree lifestyle. so fingers crossed i will still be posting on this site in years to come with a success story.

yes true i know i need one just at the right price not going to spend a fortune to impress the neighbours, as you so am old ford ranger will do.

i hear what you say about the pool table will access the situation after ive been there a while.

lucky we are not in the sticks. the road we are on in concrete with 40 houses with other roads leading of to many concrete roads easy well over 500 hundred houses . then 10 mins drive have Tesco banks car/bike shops.

yes i realised you meant an old one been looking at baht sold, think that is the name.

but i see for 550k you can get a 2011 model so as they don't loose much not a bad deal.

Will sort the house first as a car is a luxury.

nowhereman60

i was lucky to get on the property ladder at a young age and make some money, then came into a small bit of land to build my own house with a small mortgage

which now allows me to live a modest life out here on the rental income.

im not rich by no means, but i figured work 50 hours a week at home struggling to keep up with the jones or live a pleasant life out here, and let someone else pay off the mortgage.

I will visit uk each year with the wife and child and have work available for 3/4 months at a time. so getting the best of both worlds i hope.

i do like the ford rangers.

yes been looking at the prices stupid money, but would feel a lot safer with a child in a truck than on the scooter.

mjp your right im prepared a total outlay of 1.5m but was hoping to get a car with that money to.

the rest of my money is safely tucked away in property in the uk. which it will stay as im not prepared to invest in wacky

money making ideas in Thailand.

If it does go tit's up I don't see it as a waste as my child will have a nice home for life if he/she chooses.

I was working on 8000 to 10000 sqm and a house size of just 100/120 sqm. nothing fancy.

No do not want or trying to impress the family with a big house and if I do get a pool table it is for my benefit alone.

They know im young and don't have the cash the older guys have. the mil just seems to be happy to be getting a gran child

and that her daughter has someone to to spend her life with. she worried a lot about that.

The fil was not asking to give him the money and he would sort it, I just asked for a rough idea from him.

The gf sold plastic flowers to big hotels nothing managerial taking orders and delivery's and now she works in a condo cleaning

until xmas when she will finish work.

she wont work after the baby, but im sure she will help out on the farm.

farmerjo I don't understand what your getting at? im a very easy going guy and don't see a problem staying with her mum dad

they are very nice people and well respected in the community.

Hi guys

Great comments, with regards to my visa im on a tourist 90 at present but am thinking of 15 month study visa next.

We plan to get married after the baby is born so can get a spouse visa after the study visa.

I did think about buying own land but it still wont be legally mine so don't see the difference,

my gf is a only child and the parents are in the late 60s so will all go to her anyway.

I would be interested in looking into get the land transferred into are childs name if that is possible for peace of mind.

We wont be building a farang mansion the land is only small anyway in between her aunt's houses.

just looking to built a basic western 3 bed house, the fil thinks 700k single story or 1m for 2 story.

ive looked at some websites and that seems about right. As long as i have a good bed sit down toilet comfy sofa internet, PlayStation

and cable tv with the football that will do me.

If can make room for a pool table even better.