Prubangboy

On the other hand, the discussion today on whether Thai people prefer Asian partners is a good as any Thai social customs book I might pay $20 to read. Nowhere else gives such a wealth of lived experience. I may not care about solar panels in Issan specifically, but reading about that kind of life is valuable to me. If I were doing a PhD in Asian Studies (I keep thinking about Chunglakorn Uni), I could do a very decent thesis on Eastern/Western relationships without going too far off of this page. Evil Apple arbitrarily locked me out of my laptop. Getting back in meant a lot of lost passwords. Hence my rebirth here of as PrubangBoy -which I envision as a kinder, gentler iteration in the 2.0 version. No more making fun of Trump Trash. I vow it. Chavs? Still fair game.

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'm more about, "where does that thinking come from?" rather than, "yuck, get that thinking away from me". So many people's basic beliefs are informed by their life trauma. Have those people done the personal work so that their beliefs proceed from a healed heart? If not, empathy will be lacking and I will be ghosting. I am very, very anti-Trump. I come from the super-Trumpy BlueRidge Mountains. I have had great experiences with super trad/right people in a way that most soft-liberals have not. Trump and Fox News drove those sweet bible thumpers nuts. As my wife (5th generation on that particular patch of land) put it: "Trump even ruined The Confederate Flag. It used to be about, 'play Free Bird', now it's about nazi's.".

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.

There's also the prob of worn to death topics, entertaining as they be. Some day we will reach peak AseanNow with "How does your bar girl use her bum gun"? Forum Golden Era longing is alway about a time when sites like this had quadruple the traffic. For what it is and for who's left here, I can't complain I read a least a few useful info or interesting personal stories a day here. And I enjoy a diplomatic off-screen laugh at some of the hilarious egos here. Partic the self-proclaimed high IQ people here, all of whom I enjoy. I am very grateful to whoever it is that pays the server fee to provide this place. And if I'm not, I'll demand my money back.

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.

Or be part of the solution. Toss up a topic. If I do an OP on old jazz records or something, some nice on the spectrum-type will typically wander in and dribble all over it. But then in is this esoteric group, someone else will engage and teach me something. The on the spectrum people here need a telethon, not more shame.

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.

The noble Internet forum is going the way of the videocassette. I post a bit on Slate and it's the same faces as 5 years ago, facing the same grim attrition as here. I have no problem with idiot posts since it's better than no new posts when I log in. There's no idiot here who I find particularly offensive. As idiots go, our idiots are a genial and fairly moral lot. Without the idiots, there wouldn't be a board left to comment on. The only threads I dislike are the ones where drunks wallow in their chavvy racism, like the Sukhamvit Road thread. If someone makes racist statements here, I'm prone to just ghosting them. But I have no personal problem with them or other Oiks big upping them. Idiots gonna idiot. And Oiks gonna oik.

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.

Lived in Japan for 6 months and had four affairs with married women. The husbands won't touch them after they have a child. I'll do that dirty work, let me know when Toshiro is out of town. Helpful hint: They love Impressionism. You can't talk about it enough. To them, Starry, Starry Night is as seductive as Love To Love You Baby.

-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."

"I don't care if I sound racist". "I said it in front of others". 'Hello, Human Resources? This is Jesus Tagalog from building services.' 'A crazy, self-admitted racist, boomer won't leave me alone - he just hounds me all night long about the inferiority of my nationality. He won't let it drop.' 'What should I do? Tell him to dial 1-800-UNEMPLOYED? You say you'll do it for me? Thanks!'

Nah, we're just diff. If I see a group of brownies, I think: group of brownies. You think: GANG. I'm American, we save all our racism for 2 groups. Euro's, Brits and Commonwealth just cut to the chase and look down on everyone. Even each other. I love that. Sukhamvit is one of the most successful tourist zones in the world. It reminds me of the old joke: That place is so popular that no one goes there any more. Can you name another place with more 5* restaurants in such a small space? And great Sunday roasts for your chavvy ilk.