Very good point.
My first night in Pattaya in 97 by pure chance I went in a bar of long-stay and regular visitor customers, predominantly UK. I became a regular and made many friends.. Slowly, over time people disperse some to marriage, some to other parts of Pattaya, Thailand, the UK or just succumb to old age and the inevitable. I still meet people from those early days a core group still exists, albeit in different premises now.