FunnyFarm

Every government in this world is corrupt to some extent. Most western nations have super corrupt governments, but the corruption is hidden or disguised more efficiently to most people 

3 hours ago, khwaibah said:

Unbelievable Thailand. You can <deleted> UP A WET DREAM.????

I thought it was 'Amazing Thailand' 

3 hours ago, Thaidream said:

Thailand is simply not as appealing as it once was to expats looking to relocate or long term expats and some of the reasons are-

-  Rising Baht and rising prices-  Products from the USA/Europe/Australia are 5 x the cost of the home country while Thai products sold abroad are sold at lower prices.  Not everyone can eat Thai food every day.

 

-While rents are low compared to home country- prices of Condominiums with space and land prices in the major urban areas have risen tremendously.  

 

-The quality of most Thai products are poor and the Chinese imports are worse- to get a good quality product one has to purchase Korean/Japanese or Western at much higher prices.

 

=The Immigration conundrum- After 40 years married to a Thai- I still have to get together all my yearly paperwork and head to Immigration in the hopes they will let me stay one more year.  My wife's US Permanent Residency took less than 60 days to obtain; gave her unlimited access to the US forever and no 90 day reporting.  No such reciprocity in Thailand. I can't even apply for PR in Thailand due to not working in Thailand for at least a decade and no current tax payments.

 

-The weather in Thailand is no longer appealing- it has gotten much hotter over the decades and with the increase in traffic- the pollution has made  many of the Thai cities unlivable and there is no plan to do anything about it.   Most of the beaches are filthy and the water unhealthy to swim in.

 

-The Police- completely untrustworthy and an industry in themselves-  

 

-Wealth disparity-  a situation that is  so serious that IMHO it is a national emergency- it is true the rich are getting vastly richer and the poor are remaining vastly poorer.  Many have lost hope- turning to  alcohol and drugs to relieve the pain. Working as a clerk in 7 or the big box producers for 9-10K a month is going to work much longer.

 

Yet- with all of the above stated- I am still going to remain because of family  and the fact that the majority of Thai people that I interact with are still polite; still resourceful and still basically honest. The majority of them live day by day toiling to stay alive and provide for their families. It is their country and only they can change it...

 

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All great and truly valid points. 
At the moment for me, one of the main reasons to leave would be a combination of littering and health and safety. I've lived here a decade this year, and recently in my area I have seen very scenic and rural areas, totally littered with garbage. Say if you are travelling along a country road, you can happen across a mountain of trash, and as I drove by I noticed a lot of it was broken asbestos and concrete! I have seen 3-4 areas like this around the location I live. 

On top of that, I have recently been forced to upgrade to a 5G router in my house (free of charge) which is something I did not want at all. I have actually requested to remain at 2.4G or even just get ethernet instead, but I cannot with 3BB it seems. So I am going to change companies. My point there is again, health and safety. 

And as it has already been pointed out, global warming is a real thing, and it is only going to get hotter and humid here with the years. I have a GF of 3 years (never going to 'tie the knot' and she knows it) but it is pretty difficult for her to get a visa anywhere in the EU. I personally would love to go and live in Cyprus or maybe Spain, but it is what it is. Most people who say they would like to leave Thailand would if the situation allowed it, but it simply is not in their best interest right now. The folk who do want to stay mainly seem to be boozed up old codgers who enjoy the lady bars. Go figure