Prubangboy

Do you want some hash? You don't have to meet me or anything, I'll have my guy pop right over. I could have it baked into a cookie for hospital discretion.

It's like a jokey throw away joke, not an impassioned plea for understanding. Yuck. I'm glad I didn't riff on Canadian/Yank intra-expat relations in Mexico. If forced at gunpoint, I'd pick the humorless coldie's over yee-hah US retired military/and law enforcement living next door to me, but really, only at gunpoint. Many Americans were refugees from Costa Rica ("too Canadian").

Dullards who try to quash every conversation with a bunch of tedious "it all depends on the individual, you can not generalize"-obtuseness have no real claim to even bare existence.

Due to the Trump Trash factor, fellow Americans are assumed guilty until proven innocent. Canadians too, albeit unfairly. You can't be too careful. Half my acquaintances in CM are Chinese on the elite visa, doing something marijuana-related. If a guy from Blackpool feels liberated here, imagine an accountant form Shenzen who just bought his first bong. Thai GF next, must be a pothead. Many, many local women are willing to fulfill this role.

They're the free ones, not you. They have Juiche and Kim, and you have -what exactly? Capitalism-slavery? They want to break free all right -from the likes of us.

Mel Brooks was getting a prostrate exam. When the Dr was good and deep, he said to Mel, "You know, Mr Brooks, my daughter really wants to break into show biz". For Mel, the anal intrusion/sell job was an opportunity to be more Mel, a joy, even, not an imposition. Being like Mel; that is the purpose of life.

A reasonable alternative to drive and ability is just to be an unusually unemcumbered person. I'm in that category; there is nothing for me to go back to America for. That's not a sad story, that's just how things sorted out very amicably over time. Bob said, When you got nothin' you got nothin; to lose Kris said, Freedom's just another word for nothin' lose A lot of the people on this board and who I meet here have at least one foot in that kind of poetic existence.

I lived in England as an American. Much was made of their worldly travel savvy compared to us yokel-yanks. But where were they mostly going? To the cheap end of nearby beach-dom: Benadorm, Crete, Ibiza, Tenerife. All of these places are renowned for their museums and intellectual stimulation. And that's when they weren't going to Clacton On The Sea for the millionth time. I met very few brits who'd been to both Wales and Scotland (with Wales, the Mississippi of the UK, given a wide miss). So, Yank or Euro, even going to Thailand to a major tourist center is a tiny amount of people. Chiang Mai? The bravest of the bravest. Any other Chiang fill-in-the-blank? Pretty rare.

I read here a million times that it was now 20K a month for a rentagirlfriend. Except for Britmantoo who got in early and only pays 10K. Sort like a rent control deal.

But then you need a car. Another Socialist improvement over the USA: transit. A car = a second rent. I've been to Hattiesburg. Like every other faintly "revitalized" downtown in The South: a few cafes, a museum about the bygone timber industry that might half a dozen visitors in a year. But on the upside, they do have a re-creation of the set of Home Alone 2 (so there's your entertainment sorted): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lucky-rabbit

A couple of young NGO types, a fellow oldie who it turns out shagged the laundry lady. My maid told me. My building is Air BNB on every other floor, so they come and go.

Agreed. This isn't an "I don't know what to do" post. This is an "I don't like my obvious choices, please help me think of a magic choice that I do like"-post.

My wife will do the math: as long as I'm bringing in even a single net dollar, she'll keep me plugged in.

She changed her mind, she was never that into you, but now she is much, much less so. She wants to go home and is playing a passive aggressive waiting game until you agree. That's very draining and depressive to her; hence her bad house keeping. As per your post, she has much more stamina in this cluster puck than you. I was in such a situation (with a western wife). Cut your losses, send them home, see the kids when you can. That's def how it's going to shake out, so cave early and save yourself some grief.

Pension = getting paid just to keep on breathing. So I will be milking that even if I have to be just propped up in a corner somewhere.

Heavy selection bias here; we're the ones who did it and it worked out -or who are gagging to do it. We never hear from the failed and the not-interested, who are many. Back home, how many people were/are travel/diff culture-driven? I have one friend who I mentioned being Brazil-oriented, and one who's married in Kyoto. Out of a lifetime.

I live in Chiang Mai where you do see a very thin smattering of retired western women (my western wife among them). They're here for the crafty, hill tribe, weaving, charity-based thing. Working with Shan women is a big interest. I spent a couple of months in Luang Prubang and could have had a bit of western dating there with the same demo. But gotta pick one fast; Luang Prubang is a small town indeed. Obv. we're talking about a lot of French and a fair amount of armpit hair in the mix. But if only a micro-% of men expatriate, then for women it's far less. Plus, women are more likely than men to be the ones stuck taking care of relatives and have kids they want to be close too. We lone wolf horn dog beatniks were a minority our whole lives. We're even a minority here.

The best preserved old teak town on The Eastern Seaboard. Worth 2 days, partic if the (not that great) gem dealing market is happening (only monthly, I think). Gem-wise, with bargaining, I got 30% off BKK prices (for junky fake jade crap for gifts). Legendary durians that never leave the area. I recall a place out in the sticks where you can eat fresh water crab in a sort of mangrove setting. Very unique old church worth a peek into. To damn it with feint praise, it is the Tak of the south. Trat is another fine teak oldie to linger in a bit before getting on the ferry, with a slightly more western hippie vibe.

Most def. BUT if you're a poor person and give up your tiny bit of savings to get here and then let your rickety social and support network collapse back home, that fear is pretty rational. Another metric: How many people are genuinely curious? Maybe 5%? And then how many of them are going to be Thailand-specific curious? Maybe .0005%? Due to unpardonable sin of old whities getting laid here, Thai expats get much more media attention than all the other expats combined. I lived in England. They have as many expats in that tiny, rainy fly speck as in the much vaster USA, plus plenty of expat diaspora in places like Spain. In my day to day, I almost never met such people.

Google tells me that only 70,000-ish Yanks live in Thailand. That's including everyone from overseas job postings to English teachers. And a lot of those 70K won't make it to the 2 year mark. I live in Nimman, aswarm with older whitie tourists, and regularly chat with them. Never do any of them dream of living here, in the most dead-easy expat place I have ever seen, even as snowbirds. Retiring overseas will always be well off 99% of people's radar. When you were back home, how often did you hear about people living overseas or even wanting to? In the states, it's less than .01% of the population. And mostly they'd be in Mexico, with maybe as many again spread out over the rest of Latin America and the Carib. Even in New York, I'd have to talk to several hundred people to meet one who's even been to Thailand. You also have to be more than a bit disassociated and Free Bird-istic in your life to even think about it; not worrying about seeing your relatives and friends etc. On average, I find such people to be very mentally healthy in being so self-directed and unencumbered. Of course, being such a person, I would, wouldn't I?

Free Bird Cafe in Chiang Mai has a Jackfruit burger, which well mimics the meat texture. When you pile on all the lettuce etc, it's like a McD hamburger. A jackfruit burger is often on a vegan menu in the states. About half the burger joints in CM offer a fake burger. I eat so little meat that I rarely bother. The fake one at Burger King is close to indistinguishable from the regular one. If they have a v-burger that's mostly mushrooms, I usually pick that over over the fake meat kind. Good Souls Vegan in CM Old City does a superb one at Gwyneth Paltrow levels for 250 baht. But if I'm in a vegan restaurant, there will always be more tempting options, since Thai dishes lend themselves to vegan versions so well.

-Assume that she didn't just arrive here from Mars and possibly has a clue as to why you're contacting her. -Assume that others are enjoying Line chats with her too and move your low ball pitch along already. Jesus, Christ on a cracker.

What am I waiting for? A colonoscopy. Thank god for Xanax.

Have a friend on the São Paulo plan. He likes the women for their intellect there -but crazy, crazy left-wing. He has to vet for them that he's not a CIA age; this is with otherwise normal woman. But the sex is kinky and white hot. Prob: Left wing tax rates. He'll dodge and do half the year in São Paulo and the other in Buenos Aires, which means more expense than a single, long-term lease. Also: high rents, medium-crime, too many black beans on the plate. I did Mex City. It was in the realm of pretty good, but not a patch on Chiang Mai. Air-conditioned apartments are hard to find. Tossed out of here? Malaysia. Hopefully with a pot connection that doesn't involve me getting a cane applied to my bottom. Back to the states? Never.

When reached for comment, Trump, long-time Hitler admirer (true!!) responded: "I did nazi this coming."