Is my Thai girlfriend trying to sell me a pup?

[wombat]

15 hours ago, tifino said:

 

Interesting....

 

 

oh! - I mean the various Urban meanings for 'pup'

im oz, 'pup' to me means a 'lemon', dont touch it with a barge pole implication.

 

[1FinickyOne]

The longer I am here and the more I have adjusted my activities, the hot season is still hot hot but bearable... you cannot change the weather, but you can change your habits. If it is too hot just slow way down. The Thai are still outside working just at a slower pace. They feel the heat too. 

 

And yes, the burning in the north can be awful and can seem near anywhere - you don't sound like you want to be in a city, so the CM inversion should not effect you too much but if someone downwind lights a fire in my village, it can fill the house with smoke in short smelly order... 

 

As to location, my wife too would have agreed to anywhere I wanted to live, in or out of country. However, I realized before buying/building anything that her dream is to live with/near her family and that is where she will be happiest. And most secure. I figured I could live anywhere - and if I need a break from village life, it is no problem for her as she can come or not but being home, she has her entire family nearby... I would not forget to ask your wife where she might prefer to live if given the choice... and CM is escapable during burning season - if you have no commitments it is a good time for a beach vacation - the smog seems to be really bad for only a couple of weeks or so... 

 

good luck.

[ICECOOL]

If you have never been to Isaan go and try. Do not put down roots until YOU are satisfied. Travel and look around. A few Aussies in Hua Hin ?

 

Plenty of good land out of town. The heat in the day is pretty much the same everywhere.

[transam]

15 hours ago, Durio said:

WOW...not very positive so far but thanks for your opinions.  I am wanting people to be honest in their feedback and advice.  

I live near Ubon town in an open area on the banks of a reservoir. The on;y time it gets noticeably cold is this time of year at night, still hot during the day..

 

When I was in the UK l was on a lung puffer for years, put down to air pollution, after moving to my house/area it was thrown away in a few months. I did go to CM once, l felt my problem rearing it's head after a few day's, but l was in the town..

[csabo]

Was in Nong Khai last week and it was chilly every night when driving around but lovely during the day.  Was there In September also and nights were perfect but couldn't walk 50 meters without a shower in the day time.  I think snowbirds have it right.  Travel light, and have multiple domiciles.  Unfortunately not an option for me.  I showed up here alone now there are 4 people and 2 dogs roaming around. WHAT HAPPENED?!

 

Note: Enough with the dumb bait thread titles.  "Where to live and why" would have been better for everyone.

[owl sees all]

18 minutes ago, Durio said:

I will check this out thanks.  Do you live there?

Hi Durio. Not now, but have visited the area many times. I live further North, nearer to Phonphisai and So Phi-sai which are OK too.

[Durio]

9 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

The longer I am here and the more I have adjusted my activities, the hot season is still hot hot but bearable... you cannot change the weather, but you can change your habits. If it is too hot just slow way down. The Thai are still outside working just at a slower pace. They feel the heat too. 

 

And yes, the burning in the north can be awful and can seem near anywhere - you don't sound like you want to be in a city, so the CM inversion should not effect you too much but if someone downwind lights a fire in my village, it can fill the house with smoke in short smelly order... 

 

As to location, my wife too would have agreed to anywhere I wanted to live, in or out of country. However, I realized before buying/building anything that her dream is to live with/near her family and that is where she will be happiest. And most secure. I figured I could live anywhere - and if I need a break from village life, it is no problem for her as she can come or not but being home, she has her entire family nearby... I would not forget to ask your wife where she might prefer to live if given the choice... and CM is escapable during burning season - if you have no commitments it is a good time for a beach vacation - the smog seems to be really bad for only a couple of weeks or so... 

 

good luck.

Thank you Ken.  I have been the one advocating the benefits of living closer to her family.  I love to go and explore a lot and I agree with you that it would be handy for her family to be close by so she did not feel unsafe in my absence in the event that she did not join me on occasions.  I am interested to learn what kind of home you live in.  I love the idea of building a bamboo home as they are cool but it seems that not many Farangs live in those.

[owl sees all]

I think Udon Thani holds the record for high temperatures in Thailand. Can get in the 40s for days on end. Sakon Nakon is dry and hot also.

 

You didn't say anything about interests; fishing, hiking, chess etc.

[MaeJoMTB]

1 hour ago, Durio said:

That does make sense to me.  I have lived in some Asian cities in the past and as I age the constant noise and exhaust emissions annoy me more than when I was a much younger man.  My gf will buy about 5-10 rai somewhere once we agree on a location and preferably with a dam/s already constructed.  Then we will build a simple cool house which I will fund and we will start with the process of growing food.  

Good luck with that, farmland sells for 500k/rai and up anywhere vaguely reasonable.

My wife's farmland would fetch 100-200k, out in the wilds of Petchabun 15Km from the nearest town with a 7-11 (Lom Sak), no road, no water.

Out in the wilds of Chiang Mai 15Km from town think 1M+/rai.

(If my current prices are wildly wrong, please feel free to correct me)

 

And those cool temperatures, spent a while in Khon Khen and Mukdahan this summer, so hot outside I was sitting in a pool of sweat while doing nothing. The next week I was back in rural CM (MaeJo) and the temperature was quite nice for sitting in the shade and not sweating.

There is a significant difference in temperatures and humidity between CM and Issan.

 

Not to mention your 'cool house' in a rural farm area will likely have little or no resale value (beyond land value), as Thai's don't want or require western fixtures/fittings/build quality/style. Assume any money you spend on your project is a complete loss (to you) if you don't like it there, then work out how many times you can repeat that loss before you go broke.

[ResandePohm]

15 hours ago, Durio said:

I think the origin of the term refers to someone being sold a puppy delivered to them wrapped up in fabric when they thought and had paid for a (much more expensive) piglet.

 

That would be a "Pig in a Poke"

[GreasyFingers]

Durio, we have lived in Khao Kho for the past 2 years (the gf home town) and while the nights are cool/cold now it does get hot (~ 35C) in the middle of the year, but at 750 m asl it is 4-5C cooler than the valleys, Lomsak, Phetchabun & Phitsanulok. A bit like going from Cairns up to Mareeba if I remember correctly.Songkran to October is also the wet season so you do get some relief. The beer also tastes better after a days labour in the sun.

The biggest drawback here is the price of land, around 2m baht per rai no matter how much you buy. Theoretically it is because you can build a resort on any land despite the fact there are probably 1000 resorts already here. We stay in an old resort that has just sold for 110m baht for about 30 acres.

[Durio]

13 minutes ago, aircooledflat4 said:

OP,  if your gf is happy to settle anyplace where you’re happy, why might you suspect she is trying to sell you a pup? (ie, swindle you).

I do not think she is trying to swindle me.  Just unintentionally mislead me about the weather being cold in northern Thailand.  

[owl sees all]

10 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

There is a significant difference in temperatures and humidity between CM and Issan.

I agree with that MaeJoMTB. I've known farang to settle in Issan during the 'cooler' time to be shocked at the change in temperature March brings. Especially in the Khon Kaen, Udon Thani and Nong khai  areas. Some can't handle it and move away. Can easily get into the 40s and not a breath of wind to cool things down.

[melovethai]

I live in Wang Mi In the hills about an hour from Korat. in the warmer months we can get to 38- 28 but in the colder months 14-19. Beautiful country side and plenty of restaurants and places to see. Been here 3 years and loving it. You adapt to your surroundings no matter where you lay your hat. 

[MaeJoMTB]

48 minutes ago, Durio said:

Both her parents have passed away as she is already 43 years of age.  And some of her siblings live abroad.  Those who live in Thailand seem to have enough money to take care of themselves.  I think it would be nice to have her family around and too experience a close knit family.  I wonder what your experience of your partner's family was like?  And my gf already has her own lovely house on 6 rai in Nakhon Ratchasima.  Because she used to live there with her ex she does not want to move there and we both want to live more rural anyway.  I was not aware that it is unusual for a Thai partner to be willing to live anywhere.  Thanks for you advice.

If she is prepared to live anywhere, I'd live in her house in Korat for a year or two first, see how it goes.

When I was there, wherever we went seemed to involve driving through the extensive army base.

Town was a dead loss, one shopping mall, mostly vacant (I think they built another in the past few years).

I didn't enjoy the place. Her not wanting to live in her own house is VERY unusual

(It would be a big red flag for me).

You might want to ask her how come she has the house and he doesn't?

You could also ask her why she hasn't sold it (If she doesn't want to live there).

[Durio]

I hear that Thai people prefer not to live in a house that has already been lived in.  Not sure why but wonder if it is something to do with their belief in ghosts?  But if I build a bamboo house the capital outlay will not be too high.

[wazzupnow]

i do not know off any cold area,s in isaan

i also do not know why any one would want to live there

only if u speak thai fluently you can have a form of social life

if not u will explode by boredom 

[MaeJoMTB]

1 minute ago, Durio said:

I hear that Thai people prefer not to live in a house that has already been lived in.  Not sure why but wonder if it is something to do with their belief in ghosts?  But if I build a bamboo house the capital outlay will not be too high.

That's BS, there are plenty of Thais living in second hand homes.

Build quality ain't that good, 10-20 years and the house is usually scrap anyway, which is probably why the building adds nothing to the land price.

[wazzupnow]

1 minute ago, MaeJoMTB said:

That's BS, there are plenty of Thais living in second hand homes.

Build quality ain't that good, 10-20 years and the house is usually scrap anyway, which is probably why the building adds nothing to the land price.

yes i have a condo in an apartment building 18 years old that looks like 100, build and never take care afterwards that is thai style

[Durio]

13 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Durio, we have lived in Khao Kho for the past 2 years (the gf home town) and while the nights are cool/cold now it does get hot (~ 35C) in the middle of the year, but at 750 m asl it is 4-5C cooler than the valleys, Lomsak, Phetchabun & Phitsanulok. A bit like going from Cairns up to Mareeba if I remember correctly.Songkran to October is also the wet season so you do get some relief. The beer also tastes better after a days labour in the sun.

The biggest drawback here is the price of land, around 2m baht per rai no matter how much you buy. Theoretically it is because you can build a resort on any land despite the fact there are probably 1000 resorts already here. We stay in an old resort that has just sold for 110m baht for about 30 acres.

Khao Kho is a place my gf recommended and I have noticed that the land is not so cheap compared to a lot of other parts of northern Thailand.  I understand your analogy of travelling from Cairns to Mareeba perfectly well.  That altitude takes the edge off of it.  Speaking of beer (which i love) I noticed that there are even micro breweries in Khao Kho which sounds great.  Thanks for your helpful advice.

[Laza 45]

I've been living in Kalasin for going on 11 years now.. I've lived in many other places in the world and believe there is nowhere with a perfect climate..  This time of year the climate is as good as it gets here.. from the end of Sept.. to late Feb or March..  generally cool at night.. and nice days not too hot and little rain..  late March and April are stinkers.. HOT and not much rain... May the rainy season starts which is a relief..  I don't mind the rainy season.. the rain cools things down and washes the dust away.. but it can be humid.. not as bad as other places but this year was particularly humid and wet.. who knows what the coming year will bring with climate change...  The warming ocean is creating bigger and stronger cyclones coming from the Philippines.. they generally land in norther Vietnam and head north to China.. but sometimes head our way.. we don't get the strong winds.. too far from the ocean but we can get heavy rainfall.. like this year.. You mentioned Loie.. I visited a few months ago and really liked it.. I'm sure the winters are colder there  one thing I noticed is that they grow an amazing variety of crops.. I think everywhere is hot in March and April..  I like living in Kalasin we have a good life here... We live on the edge of town but have many friends living in the countryside who like it there.. We sometimes get some smoke haze but nowhere near as bad as CM and the north west generally.. Good luck to you and your lady...

[transam]

17 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

If she is prepared to live anywhere, I'd live in her house in Korat for a year or two first, see how it goes.

When I was there, wherever we went seemed to involve driving through the extensive army base.

Town was a dead loss, one shopping mall, mostly vacant (I think they built another in the past few years).

I didn't enjoy the place. Her not wanting to live in her own house is VERY unusual

(It would be a big red flag for me).

You might want to ask her how come she has the house and he doesn't?

You could also ask her why she hasn't sold it (If she doesn't want to live there).

The second house will be her pension...

[Durio]

10 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

I've been living in Kalasin for going on 11 years now.. I've lived in many other places in the world and believe there is nowhere with a perfect climate..  This time of year the climate is as good as it gets here.. from the end of Sept.. to late Feb or March..  generally cool at night.. and nice days not too hot and little rain..  late March and April are stinkers.. HOT and not much rain... May the rainy season starts which is a relief..  I don't mind the rainy season.. the rain cools things down and washes the dust away.. but it can be humid.. not as bad as other places but this year was particularly humid and wet.. who knows what the coming year will bring with climate change...  The warming ocean is creating bigger and stronger cyclones coming from the Philippines.. they generally land in norther Vietnam and head north to China.. but sometimes head our way.. we don't get the strong winds.. too far from the ocean but we can get heavy rainfall.. like this year.. You mentioned Loie.. I visited a few months ago and really liked it.. I'm sure the winters are colder there  one thing I noticed is that they grow an amazing variety of crops.. I think everywhere is hot in March and April..  I like living in Kalasin we have a good life here... We live on the edge of town but have many friends living in the countryside who like it there.. We sometimes get some smoke haze but nowhere near as bad as CM and the north west generally.. Good luck to you and your lady...

I live in a part of the world subject to cyclones and I do track those that affect Japan and the ph.  It does seem that things are changing as the climate warms.  

[Durio]

10 minutes ago, transam said:

The second house will be her pension...

One of her sisters lives in the house and she built it with her Farang ex who left her for another much younger girl with whom he has a child.  Nothing strange going one at all.

[transam]

3 minutes ago, Durio said:

One of her sisters lives in the house and she built it with her Farang ex who left her for another much younger girl with whom he has a child.  Nothing strange going one at all.

That's great, but on paper she will own both properties, money in the bank as you have no claim to anything..

[chilli42]

I live in Bangkok, it’s not for everyone.  I have had a couple of long term friends leave Chaing Mai as they or their partner have sensitivities to the smoke.  They have move to the Cha Am area and seem happy - relatively easy access to Bangkok when needed, climate moderating ocean, not a trash heap like Pattaya.  Isarn may not be a bad choice particularly if it’s near where your lady friend is from.  Local knowledge/language goes a very long way to making things easier.  Another friend has been living in KHAO KHO for the past year (nearest “big” city is Pitsanulok.  It’s in the mountains so cool and very rural.  He is a Kiwi with Thai wife (from a different province).  They have taken up farming of flowers and high profit veggies.  They love it.  Great weather and well accepted by the locals.  If I were you I would try living in a couple of different places for a few months each before making a decision to settle anywhere. 

[NanLaew]

Where in Australia does the OP currently live? Having an idea of what he's used to may help with optimizing the new Thai abode. Anyone can google up the annual temperatures for any provincial capital which would give a rough guide to the area with the smaller temperature extremes.

 

Khumpuwapi was mentioned, nice place, about 40 km SSE of Udon Thani town. There's also some higher land about the same distance to the SSW of Udon town around Nong Wua So and over the 'mountain' on Nong Bua Lamphu. Both provincial towns easily afford the quite life with any specialist 'foreign' shopping needs, be it home building, farming or just getting a decent pie and a pint easily fulfilled in Udon itself. 

 

What's Chiang Rai like? Does it suffer as much from the burning season as Chiang Mai. I know it's going to suffer from the regional burning but is it anywhere near as bad as the bigger neighbor 150 km to the SW? On the fire mapper link, it looks a lot worse than Chiang Mai right now. Also Udon Thani looks clear (I know, I'm here!) but Kalasin and Roi Et look real smokey.

[NanLaew]

48 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

Her not wanting to live in her own house is VERY unusual

(It would be a big red flag for me).

You might want to ask her how come she has the house and he doesn't?

You could also ask her why she hasn't sold it (If she doesn't want to live there).

He could also say you think too much about other people's bizniz.

[Durio]

22 minutes ago, chilli42 said:

I live in Bangkok, it’s not for everyone.  I have had a couple of long term friends leave Chaing Mai as they or their partner have sensitivities to the smoke.  They have move to the Cha Am area and seem happy - relatively easy access to Bangkok when needed, climate moderating ocean, not a trash heap like Pattaya.  Isarn may not be a bad choice particularly if it’s near where your lady friend is from.  Local knowledge/language goes a very long way to making things easier.  Another friend has been living in KHAO KHO for the past year (nearest “big” city is Pitsanulok.  It’s in the mountains so cool and very rural.  He is a Kiwi with Thai wife (from a different province).  They have taken up farming of flowers and high profit veggies.  They love it.  Great weather and well accepted by the locals.  If I were you I would try living in a couple of different places for a few months each before making a decision to settle anywhere. 

Maybe that is a good approach.  Live in a few different places and see how they fit.  Thanks.

[IAMHERE]

16 hours ago, Durio said:

I think the origin of the term refers to someone being sold a puppy delivered to them wrapped up in fabric when they thought and had paid for a (much more expensive) piglet.

 

I have eaten at Denny's many times. Never had a co ncern with 'Pigs in a Blanklet' , some things those Americans can do very well indeed.