bangkokgabe

I was raised in New York, and spent most of my adult life in New Orleans. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, I moved all over the USA during the diaspora, before taking a job in bkk. That said, the USA has ENORMOUS differences in terms of cost of living/quality of life. After weighing the variables touched on in this thread, I would suggest to all of you Americans out there that Bangkok is most similar to St. Louis in terms of cost of living.....bring on the arguments....LOL

"quote" option not working on iPhone app....siamdiver-running the risk of being off topic, Bourbon Street in New Orleans is only a tourist area for about ten blocks. The rest of the street is a Mecca for local artists, musicians, and is also home to a thriving local gay community. Please, please, please don't throw this beleaguered city's false idiosyncrasies into an analogy that hurts both towns.

OP. One answer. The Tropics, heat and humidity.

Batteries and rubber, on the whole, do not last well here.

For a Thai, new cars are a massive investment. Labor is cheap and older cars are maintained in good nick far longer than in the UK.

Everything has a flip side, are used cars too expensive here or is the market depreciation too savage in the UK?

I have no horse in this race, and this is truly a real question; isn't rubber from Thailand?

Okay, numbers again, and based on TAT dreams one cannot help but press the calcualtor into service. 34 tons = 68,000lbs. divided into 221 million baht = 3,250 baht per pound (US$ 105.18)

Have no experience at this but Is it even possible to buy a pound of bad weed for a hundred bucks these days?

Can anybody weigh in on this? Do the numbers make sense?

Yes, you can buy a lb. for 100$-if you know the right folks

Imagine what they didn't find......

What?

Again, it's called a "loss leader." why are you guys discussing this so much?

Thanks everyone for your comments. They shed a light on many things.

It's a shame that the Thais would think that dark means poor and uneducated. The majority of them are dark and must have their heritage tracking back to the fields centuries ago. Surely they should be proud of their hard work? What's the logic for a tropical nation to want to be white? Not amount of product or coverage or working in a nice indoor job is going to dissipate their dark colouring.

I have met some lovely people in Thailand and I don't want to put the entire population in the same basket. But I was having a bad day yesterday and the unfriendly look on the people's faces when I went to get some noodle soup at the street corner was just the cherry on the cake. I usually don't care what people think about me. Like I said it's mostly women so it might be a female thing too, something that I'm doing without realising. I've seen only a handful of black women so far in Bangkok (white caucasian on the other hand are very common). Maybe the thai women can't believe their eyes when they see my curves, skin colour and afro hair ... Surprisingly, a couple of Thais told me I looked indian and were quite puzzled when I explained I wasn't. So maybe that's the problem, I look Indian. Sounds like Indians are not particularly welcome in Thailand either.

Anyway, I'll try not to let it get to me and just carry on with my life as I did before. Will smile even harder if I have to!

You're learning. Do try to stay positive, and know that it, like racism in ones home country, is ignorance. I'm sorry you have to go through this. I think if you stick with it the truly lovely side of most Thai people will eventually shine through. In the meantime, I'm afraid stares are going to happen.

It may harm me in the future. That is true. However, I have no intent on teaching in the UK as a career option.

I know that a few years at an international school can result in moving onto a 'better' international school.

Not really. "Good" intl schools in thailand want to see several years experience in your home country. It's certainly not going to keep u from getting a job, it just won't be at the high end , high paying intl schools.

I wonder how a topic as such get some of you on your toes ,to the extent of judging my general abilities. I myself travel airasia occasionally and enjoy it. frequently on the higher price. I just don't think they should advertise a lower price just "to draw the attention" as the agent said, and then have me book it on a triple price.

It's called a "loss leader." An illegal (USA) advertising in which the advertiser promotes a product that he either doesn't have/offer, or, is in such limited quality that virtually no one can attain it. A pretty crappy practice. All airlines, foreign and domestic, seem to use this ploy. I've been susceptible to it in the USA as much, as more than, in Asia

I am a teacher at an international school in BKK and wear long sleeved shirts and a tie daily. I am so hot and sweaty! I'm from a city in the USA with nearly the same climate as BKK and as a teacher there I wore the same thing with no sweat? Why? Any suggestions on other shirts ( I don't want short sleeves with tie. To English teacher/boiler room guy for me?)

Pattaya sounds more and more like Detroit every day...A major shthole....I'll wait for all the stupid responses from the usual...Send it...!

I totally agree with you. Is it just that the press in Pattaya are more sensationalist, or is it really that much more violent than BKK?

This one of the big reasons I left The USA; I hope the authorities, teachers, parents, and the nation at large realize that this is a slippery slope

You are dreaming if you think anything will improve. You made the right move.

Unfortunately, I think you're correct. In my homestate of louisiana id venture to say 50-60% of drivers are carrying guns. Theres A lot of handguns in cars here too....anybody want to postulate on what percentage of vehicles on Thai roads and highways are carrying guns? Maybe ABAC could runs poll!

Thais + alcohol = disaster

Actually, Thais + alcohol < (Farangs + alcohol = disaster)

No way would an event like Songkran end up without major death and injury rates in most western countries, through alcohol, muggings, sexual assaults and fights, although my own country, the UK, would come out worst. I remeber a couple of years ago, soon after Songkran in Thailand, that a friendly water fight was organised on Facebook in London. The whole thing soon deteriorated into a riot.

In the USA we have nearly the same festival- Marsi Gras. And it is a fact, we are way drinker than the Thais at their equivalent celebration, and WAY more violent. I actually think the Thais do a pretty good job when juxtaposed with the violence during Mardi Gras?

I used to be co-owner of a bar on Decatur St. In the New Orleans French Quarter. This street is adjacent to, and parallel with Mississippi River. Directly across the river from my bar are the Fischer Housing Projects; now largely demolished to terrible crime. The A/C broke in the restaurant and I went with the repair guy to the roof to check out the compressor. There were hundreds and hundreds of spent bullets all over the roof, bullets, not shells. The repair guy said that every building in the area had the same thing, and the bullets were fired into the air from the projects across the river. What about all the bullets that hit the streets rather than the roofs? DANGEROUS stuff

This one of the big reasons I left The USA; I hope the authorities, teachers, parents, and the nation at large realize that this is a slippery slope

few of the greatest minds in the world are spawned from ghettos in America

Doesnt mean that the ghetto education isnt terrible.

yes im afraid it does. Teachers are payed by their districts, and their district's funds are collected by their constituentsy's tax dollars. Er go, poor districts have less tax dollars to pay their teachers, resulting in lower quality teachers; the higher qualified, more senior teachers teach in the districts that pay more. I'm a public school teacher from New Orleans; unfortunately I know this from experience. Actually now that I'm re-reading your post, you have the words "doesn't" and "isn't" in one sentence-maybe I misunderstood you. Apologies in advance if I did.

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I'd probably call them "whore", sometimes I prefer the subtler "hooker", just depends on my vernacular mood I guess.....I just kinda' think it's low brow to say it in this arena. Perhaps the ubiquitously understood "working girl" is more appropriate. I feel the same way about the word bitch-stronger in fact. Whenever I hear someone say that, especially directed at someone they know, I picture the apology later followed by bad looking sex in their mobile home's kitchen.....just my thoughts....

Yeah, quickly! I've been watching it happen to others for years but never to myself.... New context for me....jai yen folks

Oh, I think you were in a different part of the USA than I'm from. There's no chatting in the stores and the cashiers are quite clear about their contempt for you. I dunno, fake smiles beat outright nastiness for me. What cool city were you in that people were so chatty?

Farang, I hear ya. Surreptitious advertising here is kinda weird. On the other it gives others who have had similar ideas an avenue to chat. That said, a lot of us westerners would like to share the food we make so well but, without the family and core friend group, it's kinda tough. I dunno, I make really good pizza and my wife is a killer baker-we'd sell either or both. Or perhaps, meet some people to enjoy it with!

That was a joke- I'm new here. I forgot sarcasm is difficult to convey via this medium. my defense is ignorance, I've been reading this site for 4 years and just figured out TV stood for Thai Visa.....This is like my 11th post or so....no hard feelings .....go Arsenal.....oh yeah, sarcasm and TV......I'll figure this out

Trainman-that was kind of a snide little ending there, why? And even if I WAS trying to advertise a cake business why does that offend you? Are you ok buddy?

Not really trying to advertise for cash-we'd probably give them away for free; in fact, until now, they've all been free. She is an accomplished baker and she has a real gift. What she doesn't have is an audience to discuss or relate to people who share her passion. The selling cakes thing wa my idea. We don't need the money but aside fromyself and her limited friends in BKK, she doesn't have an arena in which to shine.....married no kids and a housewife with serious talent.....can be a bit lonely no? It's cakes, pies, pastries and assorted goodies. I had a designer in the USA make the menu which probably cost more money than she'll ever generate; so yes, a menu is available. I don't really know how to pm here but she has lots of pics. In fact, to you neasayers out there, if somebody replies, and picks the cake up here-it's FREE!

I never get those guys.....I've been here 5+ years and I really struggle with the America vs all of Europe thing. The difference is they seem to always be comparing themselves with us i.e. dollar vs pound etc...we're too busy not giving a shit about their tiny little countries to even think of comparing them. Oh yeah, we also don't even know where they are. It's not that we are naive (although geographically we are), it's just that we ARE the bar against which all 1st world countries are compared......sorry we're awesome.....555