GinBoy2

So referring back to an earlier post Why would a 50+ Thai woman who sounds exactly the same as anyone in Chicago, be asked very pointed questions about her origin, Pattaya is the usual guess, versus a 50+Japanese woman with a Japanese accent never gets those kinda questions? Well decades of the sexualization of culture and the development of the sex tourist industry, which of course doesn't exist! The stereotype exists, because it actually does exists

Well lets get real about the stereotypes, and not just in Thailand but in the West. We have lived in South Dakota as out primary residence for the past 6 years We have a bunch of friends, white guys, asian women wives. We're all mid 50-60's, (including wives) been married for years, all got kids, long grown up, every one of them a professional woman in some field or other. But even now you'll meet someone and get chatting and whenever it comes out my wife is Thai the inevitable questions start to come. Where did you meet, what did she do? My wife grew up as a teenager in Chicago and sounds a midwest as they come Funnily our friends with Japanese wives, same general profile but have a Japanese accent and never get the same questions we get Thailand has 'marketed' itself as a sleaze pot and many of us regular folk pay the price of the Thai image of a 20 something with a 60 something slopping around the mall with a couple of rugruts, or worse still the bargirl scene, or a ladyboy hotspot. There is an alternative, but it's hard to sometimes overcome the stereotypes, which do have some basis in fact!

To add to my previous post, it's not just good, it scary good. We now don't know whats real or fake there is no way to tell

You gotta admit it's pretty damn good. But it does make me wonder how much of the nonsense we react to on here is generated the same way!

I couldn't agree more about 'The Quiet American' Its the quintessential movie to explain the Western male over sexualization of Asian women, especially for older Western males!

Well this is a terrible situation isn't it. Rock and a hard place jumps to mind. If it was me, I'd be telling Mom to sign the letter letting you travel to Europe with your daughter to visit Grandma, and assuming your have got your daughter a European passport, if not thats step #1. After you get home with your daughter see if Mom can even be bothered to fight it, and my guess would be no. Certain Thai women seem to be able to abandon children faster than dropping a pair of dirty underwear

Well it's a kinda weird way nature works. Why are some women attracted to black men, just cos they are. Taking out the Thai money thing, walk down any street in San Francisco and probably 50% of the couples you see will be young white guys with young some version of asian female It's just how genetically we are attracted to each other, excluding the the older white guy and Thai female young enough to be his daughter money thing!

I had to laugh at this. The demographic of the this forum, we're all 'older people' Time creeps up on you and suddenly you have turned into your Dad

Apart from the radio in my car, I can't remember the last time I owned a stand alone radio. I stream radio stations and podcasts, even in the car for the most part using bluetooth. They could close down the entire AM/FM broadcasts worldwide and I'd be OK with that. Free up the spectrum for something else

Funny, we actually thought of moving to St George, my wife has a Thai friend that lives there. I work with an airline and was offered a job with Skywest which is based in St George as a load planner. Went to visit with Mrs G and it was a definite NO. Fairly boring, nothing much that makes it stand out. Close to some great scenery, but St George itself, no so much Close'ish to Las Vegas, but not for me, or my wife for that matter! Here in Rapid there is at least a decent circle of Thai ladies to associate with, in St George I think it was my wife's friend +1, and the scenery is better

Oh you have no idea how much money I have spent on mosi repellent after this after these episodes. Malaria they can treat, Dengue you just have to tough it out. For all of those that have had it you know what I'm talking about. That headache which is so intense you literally think your head will explode. Couple that with the body aches which feel like your bones are breaking, you literally feel like death. You can't eat, can't sleep, it's truly awful

There are two versions of dengue; dengue and hemorrhagic dengue. I've had dengue twice, and it sucks big time, your bones are on fire, your head feels like it will explode, but you don't die. This poor guy must have had hemorrhagic dengue which is a killer. To this day I have a visceral hatred and fear of mosquitos.

Now Gentlemen, maybe I'm playing with semantics. But in my mind there is a huge difference between Boredom and Unhappiness. I was bored for sure, but I wasn't 'unhappy' verge of cutting my wrists! Boredom creeps up on you and you at some point go, 'I just need more than this' But again, one size does not fit all, we're human, and different strokes for different folks

Well I don't think it's just Pattaya that gets boring. I retired early at 55, but after the initial honeymoon period I realized I was bored stupid in Khon Kaen. I'm not a bar fly, don't golf, the beach has limited appeal, and I wanted to go back to work, which as we all know is pretty much impossible in Thailand My boredom and my wife's stagnant career possibilities is what prompted our move to the US. Curiously now our annual trip back to our Thai home, seems a lot more exotic and exciting

You made some bad insurance choices. We have a 2023 and a 2006 Subaru Foresters. Full coverage max limits, $500 deductible we pay $117 a month with Progressive

That is actually true. Go up North, Yreka, or South, Salton Sea are cheap as examples. But none of the 'cheap' CA options ever appealed to me, and they are to be honest a little sketchy. What I went for was affordable, but where I could live, and I know it's a cliche, the American Dream middle class lifestyle. Now I get my ocean on our annual vacation to Thailand, and trips to the Grandbaby in San Diego

So assuming the OP is real, which nowadays in AN I question. Work cost me my first marriage, I stupidly put it before everything. Missed God knows how many kids soccer games, recitals. Still love my ex, probably count her as my best friend, we talk every week. With my Thai wife, and retirement gig I finally got it, better later than never I guess. The job is never is never worth wreaking the home life

I think it's mainly because of the Brit heavy makeup of this forum thats distorts the data

Too many variables for any of us to make a real opinion. But FL, really? That will drain you real fast! I'm a Californian, but I'm not dumb and recognized, albeit I love the State, culture, scenery, that was never going to be an option for retirement. Back after college I'd come to South Dakota as a contractor for Rockwell on B1 bombers, and when I wanted a tax free State I bought a house in Rapid City while I was living full time in Asia. I miss the ocean for sure, but I love the outdoors of the Black Hills, close enough to Denver, and I can live very comfortably on $5k

There are a ton of them. But I used Americas Mailbox for years. I got scans of the mail and could decide what got shredded and was was forwarded to me. https://americasmailbox.com/

Curiously in the US we do it slightly differently. We don't have benefit the culture you have in the UK, so young men and women find the idea of enlisting in the military rather appealing, not bad income, good benefits and free housing. Beats living in some dead beat job flipping burgers. I'm a bleeding heart liberal, but from what I read about welfare in in the UK it's insane. "My mental health is so fragile I can't work, I need a handout". Give me a break, guys came back from WW2 after experiencing total horrors and went back to work

Curiously it's actually cheaper than you think, or I thought. I always thought it would be ridiculous. Now I can't can't comment on an international repatriation, never done one But last year I accepted an HR (Human Remains in airline jargon) being sent domestically, to Atlanta I think I recall, but the air freight charge was $450!. No idea how much the casket and undertaker costs, but definitely cheaper than I thought. Maybe the airlines take pity on the dead

Tourist visa's for Thai females are a total crap shoot. My then girlfriend, hi tech job, US college graduate, we owned a home I was working in Taiwan at the time but commuting back. And, we're not talking some young gal. my now wife is, and was at the time, a middle aged women Just wanted to go visit my daughter who had just had a baby. Of course it was denied. Several years later nothing materially changed, except we had actually got legally married for the green card, and it sailed though Looking back on it, I think since my wife had grown up as a teenager with her Uncle in Chicago after her parents died she was more likely to disappear, which of course was nonsense, but I get the CO's paranoia

The sad part of this, no 18 yo female is sexually 'interested' in a 40+ yo male, thats just not how nature works. She see's him as an ATM and he is getting his ego stroked

Working in the airline industry we go through a bunch of training, and dealing with transporting corpses is one of them. They can only be loaded in the aft cargo bin, and cargo straps criss crossed to keep the box in place. Due to the stress on takeoff is why we load them head up to stop the embalming fluid pooling in their head