craigt3365

Many, many of us live here. But then again there is many many who dont. You read and hear things about LOS. Does it make you jealous? Do you wish you could do something about it? Some of you are married but dont live here. That would do my ######ing nut in. What are you doing to remedy the situation? Or are you resigned to living this life? Comments please! Or for those who have a wife who is Thai. Do you think you know it all? I know at least one memeber on here who seems to think he does. He only spends a short time here. Yet he seems to think he is in a position to give advice.

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I know for sure that I could not be away from my wife. I spent 6+ months in LOS waiting for her visa so we could move back to NYC. I knew I would be miserable living without her. So, I waited. Great move on my part. We had a blast living in Bangkok and traveling around Asia. Just wish I had more money so I could do that again!

I also could not imagine living here and being single. The dating scene here is horrible. Women primarily want to date younger men (gee, I just don't understand that ). Life has been great with her here. Thai food every day and a great loving woman to be with. Tough to beat.

But, yes, we do want to move back. I like the poster who said 6 months there and 6 months back home. I love Thailand a lot, but sure love all the stuff you can get here. And all the things you don't have to worry about. But, I do miss the LOS. And we will "hopefully" be there next summer. Already starting to read the property ads...so, getting excited!

Great reading all your posts!!!

I have spent a fair amount of time on Jobsdb.com. Even posted my resume and sent emails to a few of the listings. No responses. And most of what I have seen requires a knowledge of the local language and to be "in country". I have been browsing the Thai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japanese postings. Not encouraging at all....oh well, guess I will just have to live in the LOS, drink beer, and cruise the internet until I find a job. Sure hope that takes a long time!

I had a buddy who tried it for 2 years in Thailand. He had to make money as he had no stream of income to live off. Got a job in IT management working for a Singapore company. He has a masters in IT.

I guess he was working about 50-60 hours a week for about 40k baht a month. Whew! Sure discouraged me. That is one reason I headed back to the US to try what has been recommended here. Get a job at a big, international company and try and get relocated. It would be Singapore, but that is a good start.

If I don't get the relo package, then I will just move myself. Not sure what I will do, but I will figure that out when the time comes.

You guys give excellent advise!

Bakachan: I hear ya on the CDs. USAA is paying 5.36 APY on a super jumbo, 84 month CD. I wouldn't do it as the length is too long...and rates are heading up for sure...but it made me happy to finally see CD rates bust the 5% range. Can't wait to see where they are by January! Laddering is a great way to go. No risk, no worrying, no thinking about your investments as you down a cool one at your favorite pub. I lost my ass in the last stock market crash.

I had a friend who got an apartment near that BTS station. About 10k Baht. That was 2 years ago though. And it was not very nice. But, he lived there for a year. Just watch your electricity! He let the aircon run too much and paid 10k Baht just for elec!!!! How about On Nut? I had a friend get a place there about 1 KM from the station and it was only 6k baht per month...6 baht to catch a ride on a scooter to/from the BTS station.

Ttrebilcock: I was really worried about the weather here in NYC for my wife. When we moved here the only pair of socks she owned was a few pairs she got while bowling (you know, the ones you pay 20 baht or so for at Major Strike Bowl). She had no jacket, no gloves, no scarf, etc. But, she did awesome! Actually likes the snow. I walk around shivering and she is digging it. And she really likes it when it rains. Feels she can stay home and be lazy...watching it all out the windows from the warm comforts of our home.

Good point fellas. I guess the reason I mentioned it was due to the shyness factor. My wife is really very shy. My friends wife is not at all. She is out meeting other girls, taking the subway on her own, found the local temple on her own and adjusting much quicker than my wife.

My wife is outgoing, but only after you have been with her for some time. Otherwise, she is very, very quiet. Not independent. And does not like to go out of the house alone.

That is the only reason I pointed it out...sorry...

We lived together in Thailand for about a year before moving to NYC. I have to say, it was tough at first. Very tough. My wife is not a BG, she is 24 now (much younger than me), and was living and working in Bangkok. So, somewhat use to the big city.

Initial problems? Language was #1. Not only with me (I call them lost in translation moments) but also in dealing with life here. BE PATIENT!!! She was initially too shy to go anywhere on her own. Just holed up in my apartment and watched reruns of old tv shows. Which actually kept her quite happy. I quickly enrolled her in an English class. And she met a ton of Asian girl friends. Strangely, she does not really want to meet other Thais. And I somewhat understand. They are very judgemental. And one turned out to be a bar girl who was a bit crazy. Her Japanese friends are her best friends. They get together a lot. And have a blast!

Food was #2, but we got that solved quickly by finding a local Thai store. I am amazed that you can get almost everything here! Comic books, food, videos, etc. So, she can cook her food, and she became very happy. Don't even think she will get use to farang food. Even after a year here, she still won't eat it. Though she does love Italian and we have sushi at least once a week. That BG won't eat anything but Issan food. Nothing! A real problem for her hubby.

House cleaning was #3. We take so much for granted here in the West. Saran wrap, tin foil, vacuum cleaners, comet, baggies, paper towels, handi wipes...all of these were foreign to her. It took a lot of patience to understand she knew nothing about what to use...and how to use it. I had to explain what each one was and how to use it. Now, everything is cool.

Probably the biggest issue was dealing with the shy Thai girl BS. Not wanting to ask questions, not wanting to say what she wants to do, going quiet when she is mad and not wanting to tell you why, etc. Drives ya crazy! Especially when everything is followed by "up to you". Ugghh!

The fact that you are a man, and older, and she is a woman, and younger. You make the decisions, and she will abide by them. Yes, she may get pissed off, but will just go quiet. When you ask what is wrong, you won't get the true answer.

And like you said about your GF, mine is not really motivated. She does not want to work and is very happy being a housewife. She is an AWESOME cook! I work at home most of the time and get great food for lunch and dinner every day. Man, what a hoot teaching her farang food. Even making a sandwich was funnier than ######. She can't understand why I eat them!

But with her not being motivated, a lot falls on me to be the activity planner. And since she won't take the lead, that puts a lot of pressure on me! I get tired of asking "tilac, what do you want to do today?" Tilac: "up to you". Me: "no, really, I want to do something for you". Tilac: "I loves you honey, up to you". Me: "Tilac. Tell me what you want to do!" Tilac: tears start to form in her eyes and she goes quiet. Ugghh!!!!

But, I have to say, I am an incredibly happy man. Especially after getting over this BS. I can't imagine being married, again, to a western woman. Just no way. And luckily, she does want to move back to Thailand. So, we are here for about a year more and then we move back.

Someone else commented about the phone calls back to Thailand. It is cheap! Do some research and you can find a service that is very inexpensive. She calls home at least once a week, for about an hour at a time. Perfect.

Best of luck!!!!!!

P.S. You are way off base on your comments regarding America. You obviously have not traveled much. Please don't generalize like that. I am not 100% happy with America either, but it is easy to dig up dirt on every country in the world. America is just an easy target right now.

I was in Phuket in May. It was deserted. Deals everywhere on hotels. Deals you don't find until you get there. You have to be willing to arrive with no reservation, but I found an ocean front room for 1,200 baht a night. Normally about 4,000. Yes, some construction was going on...but what a great place. Sorry, can't remember the name, but I was there for 2 weeks and there were deals everywhere...along with girls on scooters chasing you down trying to get you to the place they were representing...now that was cool!

For a million Bath - you'd get the whole house done....

You didn't mention what you were looking for... a million may or may not be close to the mark depending on how much you need.

There's a place in Bangkok called 'Bang Pho' where the factories/shops are that build furniture -  We had our whole house done for about 600,000.

Many of the shops have built (but unfinished) chairs, tables, beds etc - you can buy them & choose what kind of finish you want.

To put price into perspective - on a recent shopping trip there, I got a king-size teak bed for 16,000 Baht. Teak Bedside drawer units for 3,800 Baht, Teak coffee table for 6,000 Baht. These prices are no more than Index & this stuff will last much longer. No MDF, no self assembly, no falling apart after 5 years.

Personally, I'd recommend a shop there called 'Tai Seng' their stuff is top notch.

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Incredible! Half my condo is furnished from IKEA. What a bunch of crap. You have to put it together (yes, I am good at that), which means they don't use sophisticated methods for securing the various parts. Just a few cheap screws.

$400 for a king size teak bed? Unreal. I bought a cheap bedside drawer at IKEA for about $100. And yes, the laminate is already falling off.

Can't wait to move! My NYC condo is for sale. I pay $1,100 per month for both maintenance and real estate taxes. That includes water, sewer, garbage, but not elec or gas. That runs another $50-150 per month. And of course the $50 for cable! And of course this is on top of any mortgage you have.

My building is very well run. But, as usually happens, they impose "assessments" from time to time. Like when something unexpected happens. That can run from a nominal fee to hundreds more a month...and can last for years. Happening in the building next to me right now! I think they are being assessed $200 more a month to repair the balconies. Suppose to last for 2 years.

I have over 400 "bootleg" DVDs. Of those, only a few had problems. After the initial checking that it worked (put it in DVD, change chapters a few times, etc). If it did not work then, return it for a new one or a different movie. I stay away from the new movies. Hate those "HandyCam" jobs!

I found a great spot in Pantip. Out of 20 purchased maybe one would not work. Great compared to other places I tried. And the DVDs are exactly what you would buy in a store here in the USA. Perfect copies. When I bought them in bulk I was only paying 80B or so. Tough to beat! I got so many because I purchased them rather than go to the movies. Great way to build a library.

I also tried downloading them from the internet. Just not worth it. Though I did get a bunch of X rated movies that were masquerading as Hollywood hits. Good for me!

What blows me away is how America screams at foreign countries due to pirated stuff. Yet here in NYC, it is on every street corner. Same DVDs, just a few dollars more than in Bangkok. My brother bought a knock off Rolex 2 weeks ago for $20. Great deal! Except it broke a week later!

Sure glad I have the DVDs though. Movie prices here are crazy.

You can get most imported brands of cosmetics (like L'oreal, Clinique, Lancome, etc) in all Robinsons stores.

I know... my nickname for my Thai missus when we're shopping is "Miss Lancome". 

Costs me a bleedin' fortune... 

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Too funny...that is what her cousin calls her also! What's crazy is the price for the stuff is about the same there as it is here (NYC)! I've tried to get "Miss Lancome's" cousin to shop for cheaper stuff. Hasn't worked. Oh well...the end result is worth the money...

Great posts! Thanks to everybody. I am planning my move to LOS for next summer. Until then, it's dealing with life in NYC. No fun.

I spent about 2 years in Thailand roaming around, got married there, moved back to New York City, and have decided it is just not worth it! So...in the planning stages now. House is on the market, the savings account is being topped off, and plans are underway! I just hope interest rates keep climbing!!!!

I guess I could reply to the reason I am moving. I was in Thailand for almost 2 years. I loved it there. Only moved back here, after marriage, to try and make a few bucks and get my S*** together so I could move back. I was never really into the shagging and drinking thing there. Though I did my share.

The country is great. I love the people. And especially the beaches. Ok, the mountains around CM also...etc. I love the food! And to top it off...it is incredibly cheap. I just had a "normal" sushi dinner. Cost $80. Only one drink each (beer). That would have been $20 at Fuji, or less! Oh well...

And of course, the Asian location. Being able to hop a flight to so many different countries for only a hundred bucks or so is awesome! Sure beats the 90 minute flight to Bermuda!

Have fun and keep the posts coming!

if you are x-military...or a former dependent...try USAA. I auto deposit a few hundred dollars a month into a savings account there. My wife's mother has an ATM card and USAA does not charge anything for the first 10 transactions a month.

I use USAA for my checking also...again, first 10 ATM transactions are free. Works great as you never get charged for ATM fees...anywhere!

In these parts a months laundry for five persons is a thousand Baht.

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I think you could do this in Bangkok. 20B a load is much cheaper than what is paid to have it done for you. I looked at putting one in my wife's village, but the water quality is so bad, it just can't be done. Some days the water looks OK, others it is dark brown. Plus, they all do it by hand there...much cheaper that way! And they sure have the time to do it....

Best crackdown I've heard of in years!!

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Yeah but nothing beats the "Crackdown on Dark Forces"

Lets face it, the boys in tight brown are the dark force.

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Now here is something I would like to see...forget about pushy tailors or Pantip guys...I would love to see a crack down on those "spot checks" by the police that seem to cost me 400B almost no matter what I am doing! Last time I offered a bribe and that did not work...oh well...at least I tried. I went to the local station and lined up with the other farangs to pay my 400B.

Interesting thread. I am in the process of selling my NYC condo as I feel the bubble may bust here in the USA. Rent until I move back to LOS in 1 year or so. I have been researching this a lot and came across an article showing how property has increased even more in other places around the world. Like London. It seems this crazy rate of increases in property is a world-wide thing. Even in LOS!

Wow! The prices on that web site are quite expensive. What do others think?

My last GF as Japanese...great girl. But, can't hold a candle to my Thai GF. Both are interested in the wallet, but what girl isn't. My farang ex-wife took me for all I had!!!!! They are all the same in that regards.

I thought you might find this interesting. I learned a few things on my 1 day VISA run to Aranyaprathet and then to Poipet, Cambodia. I did this before, but as part of a group heading to Siam Reap.

I left on the 7am bus from the Northern Bus Terminal. On the ground floor, window 30. Cost was 164B for aircon bus, nice and easy ride. Got to Aranyaprathet about 11am. Got into a Tuk Tuk for 60B for the 6km run to the border.

At the border, there are many people offering to help you...for a fee. You don't need their help. Same is true of the guys on the Cambo side. Not needed. Watch your stuff. Many shady characters here!

You exit Thailand on the left side. Easy process. Cross the street to get your Cambo visa (it is near the big structure/gate over the road, about 30 meters away). Cost is 1,000B. Bring a pic for your application. Took me 5 minutes to get the visa. Last time, I paid twice that for somebody to do it for me here in Thailand! There is a guy standing there that will offer you his help for 200B. Not needed!

Walk down the street past the casino and walk into the Cambodian immigration office, still on the right side. Took me 10 minutes there. As I was doing a turnaround, I just walked across the street and "exited" Cambodia. They charged me 100B for exiting the same day.

Walked back to the Thai immigration office, on the left side as you head back. Again, easy process. Got motorcycle taxi back to bus station (50B...I was feeling lucky, so decided to try the cycle!). Took 12:30pm bus back and was in Bangkok about 5:15pm or so. Drinking Singha at my apartment by 5:45pm...not bad!

I know you can do this from KSR also. 500B, leaves at 6:30am. May try that next time just for fun.

Hope this helps!!!

Craig