SURVEY: What is the biggest drawback to living in Thailand?

[observer90210]

12 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Sorry, just six weeks holiday UK & Italy, then back to LOS.

Good choice for Italy, however I do prefer the south of France or Spain for the summer....much cheaper then the UK perhaps. Enjoy your summer in Europe.

[rosst]

5 hours ago, connda said:

Boy, this one is a real toss up.

Visa issued immediately come to mind.  Where else in the world can you be married to a citizen of the country and have absolutely no path to permanent residency, naturalization, or citizenship?  It's tough.  And if your spouse dies, marriage over, and the extended family you have been supporting become a non-family by legal decree.  Marriage gives you no rights to pursue happiness within the family unit, or a job, or a means of support unlike the West and most other countries around the world - developed and otherwise.

But then we have the things that are not good for your health: choking air pollution, especially in the North, for two to three months out of the year; the number 1 most dangerous roads in the entire world; a highly xenophobic society that barely tolerates foreigners;  and a society where violence is only held in check by the thinnest veneer of social customs, and when that veneer cracks, what emerges is ugly, vile, and dangerous; a place where playing contract bridge or throwing darts, or owning the 'wrong' set of playing cards can get you arrested and tossed into jail.  TIT.  Amazing Thailand. 

Don't get me wrong.  The positives outweigh the negatives.  Otherwise I wouldn't be living here.  But every year the negative keep piling up.  Hopefully in my life-time, the scales don't tip the opposite way. 

Very well put and the reason I am in the Philippines, like Thailand it has it's good points and bad points but immigration is simple and welcoming the biggest issue for me is the bloody noise, punitive. 

[French mate]

Other :
Lack of good farang food/products in general, with a few exceptions only the cheap industrial food is imported. For someone like me who used to cook with only quality product from my country its a heart breaker.

In Pattaya i cant get my hand on a good cheese (exception for parmesan cheese)  chocolate and some type of vegetables & fruits. I did find some (cheese mostly) in Bangkok in special market place for restaurant, but drive 110 km is not an option for go shopping everyday fresh food.

[MyFriend You]

all the hookers in Bangkok and Pattaya are too old........who in their right mind will pay for sex with an old woman??

Edited April 29, 2018 by TunnelRat69

[quandow]

For all you Thailand bashers - move out for a few months. My bet is you'll be back, tail between your legs, and a new appreciation for what you have.

[wgdanson]

3 minutes ago, quandow said:

For all you Thailand bashers - move out for a few months. My bet is you'll be back, tail between your legs, and a new appreciation for what you have.

And as the saying goes....'If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen'

[maxx58]

As a person who sweats easily, the high humidity is one of the few things that get to me living here. 

I hate it!

I would never be able to live here without a/c.

 

[4MyEgo]

I would say:

 

1) The cost or health insurance

 

2) The 90 day reporting and annual mountain of paperwork for the spouse extension, not to mention the re-entry visa, makes you kind of feel like you are reporting to a probation officer 

 

3) Power outages in the village

 

4) People burning that irritating eucalyptus to use as charcoal and farmers burning the dead crop on their land so as to fill the air with smoke for you to breath in the freshness of it in the morning as your sipping on your coffee on the porch

 

5) The extreme heat (sometimes)

 

6) The draconian way the government system works with paperwork

 

7) The status thing

 

8) Watching farangs (newbie's) being fleeced with village weddings and buying land and building houses for 5-10 more than they are worth

 

I believe those to be the highest on my list of negatives, but on the list of positives, as someone else said, they out-way the negatives otherwise one wouldn't be living here.

[poanoi]

No.1 the visa has costed me 40k baht per year on an average,

and then the visa uncertainty cost yet again since i cant or at least wont

plan a long stay with ownership of condo.

No.2 the police dishing out fines on a whim.

 

in hindsight i wish i had moved to a caribbean island belonging to EU,

-the tropic climate minus the visa hassle

[ccwhatley]

I am from USA and I love it here... I embrace the language and culture and people (starting my 2nd year Thai language and culture school)  - the only thing I do not like - which is not a "Thailand" thing and the only reason I will share it -  is the seemingly never ending group of farangs who constantly complain about some to every thing in Thailand and put down Thai people and their culture - yet continue to live here.   They will not learn any language or culture and constantly criticize and seem to expect Thai people to change to suit their wishes.  I can not understand the logic in this and is why I very seldom associate with farangs.  I wish all the unhappy ones would all go somewhere else to live. :-)

[4MyEgo]

4 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Don't see why visa and immigration issues are leading the way. Pretty straight forward if you know what you are doing and there is always 'agents' to take the hassle out of it - at a cost. 90 day is a pain, but I always treat it as a day out and its only 5 or 10 minutes for me - straight in and out - ticket i get is usually on the board when as i sit down

You get the right visa to stay -or visit - its no problem.

Only a real issue if you do not want to comply with the regulations or do not plan ahead.

That said - the concern for me would be if they CHANGED the rules.

Most people here can probably cope with the immigration and visa issues - but it would be my number one concern IF they changed the rules, agreed.

I think Financial concerns for most IS the same as visa concerns !

 

I am also in and out in 5 minutes, but have a one hour 20 minute drive each way, has to be a day out, lunch, shopping, etc, etc otherwise I would be getting agro 555

[gaff]

OTHER: global stupidity of everybody born here and most of all the people in charge of the country

[4MyEgo]

4 hours ago, masuk said:

In those countries which have NHS, prescription medicine is subsidised.     e.g. "lipitor" in Thailand costs B1900 for a 30 day supply.   In Australia it is B235.00.

I went onto  generic brand a long time ago when Lipitor was readily available in Aus, some say it also showed signs that it could cause cancer, maybe that is why it was pulled, I don't know but the chemist recommended Atorvastatin 40mg and have been on it for years.

 

You can buy it over the counter at the bigger chemists/warehouses, I was quoted 350 baht for 30 tablets, sure in Oz they are under the PBS and are around $6-$7 but its 6 2 1 half dozen the other.

 

Personally I travel back to Oz every 18 months and stock up for another 18 months, although looking to slow that down now as the cost to go back is up there when you have family to take back with you, and I won't leave them behind while I am away, so its a holiday that can cost me $6-$7 grand for a week.

 

After this next trip, I will buy them here, because if I got pulled up at immigration, I reckon I would be in the sheeet so to speak because your only allowed to bring in a month worth or so.

[Laza 45]

4 hours ago, milwaukeeboy said:

My biggest problem is being profiled as a white male living in Asia for almost 30 years when I return to the USA for one visit of about five weeks every year.

I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but at customs, they single me out and go through everything in my bags and force me to give passwords to all my electronic devices.

They belittle me and accuse me in so many words of being a money launderer, human trafficker and drug dealer for about 40 minutes and then let me go on my way after asking where I'm staying and who I'll be seeing.

They take copious notes.

That is the way in the USA..  I come and go as I please in Australia.. no problems..

 

[Laza 45]

The biggest problem for me is the loss of my Medicare cover in Australia after living here for many years.  I'm too old to get private health cover.  I've been lucky to have pretty good health but if things went seriously wrong I could be in the poo..  I've got a cash stash but it probably wouldn't last long if I had a serious illness.  

[Gecko123]

For all you guys who keep insisting that Thailand's cost of living isn't any lower than back home, take it up with Numbeo.

 

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

 

 

Edited April 29, 2018 by Gecko123

[jenny2017]

2 hours ago, French mate said:

Other :
Lack of good farang food/products in general, with a few exceptions only the cheap industrial food is imported. For someone like me who used to cook with only quality product from my country its a heart breaker.

In Pattaya i cant get my hand on a good cheese (exception for parmesan cheese)  chocolate and some type of vegetables & fruits. I did find some (cheese mostly) in Bangkok in special market place for restaurant, but drive 110 km is not an option for go shopping everyday fresh food.

Have you tried your local Makro yet? 

[sirineou]

Too far from my US home country.

[billd766]

2 hours ago, balo said:

Access to western food if you live outside the tourist cities. Also access to fresh air.

 

I live in rural Khampaeng Phet on the edge of the Mae Wong national park and make my own western food. I know what goes into my food and there are few if any preservatives.

 

For lunch today I roasted 3 kg of pork and got some great crispy crackling, I make my own bread and rolls, sausages, bacon, ham steak pies etc.

 

Loads of fresh air with black snow sometimes but rarely.

[poanoi]

5 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Don't see why visa and immigration issues are leading the way. Pretty straight forward if you know what you are doing and there is always 'agents' to take the hassle out of it - at a cost. 90 day is a pain, but I always treat it as a day out and its only 5 or 10 minutes for me - straight in and out - ticket i get is usually on the board when as i sit down

You get the right visa to stay -or visit - its no problem.

Only a real issue if you do not want to comply with the regulations or do not plan ahead.

That said - the concern for me would be if they CHANGED the rules.

Most people here can probably cope with the immigration and visa issues - but it would be my number one concern IF they changed the rules, agreed.

I think Financial concerns for most IS the same as visa concerns !

 

i can read from this that you have not lived here as younger than 50,

because if you had, your entire outlook on visa hassle would be entirely different,

...and yes, it has changed pretty much every year for the past 16 years,

just to ensure no long term planning is appropriate

[poanoi]

4 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

I live in rural Khampaeng Phet on the edge of the Mae Wong national park and make my own western food. I know what goes into my food and there are few if any preservatives.

 

For lunch today I roasted 3 kg of pork and got some great crispy crackling, I make my own bread and rolls, sausages, bacon, ham steak pies etc.

 

Loads of fresh air with black snow sometimes but rarely.

not everyone get aroused by making his own food,

on the contrary bending over a rice boiler can and do cause lower back pain

[billd766]

1 hour ago, poanoi said:

No.1 the visa has costed me 40k baht per year on an average,

and then the visa uncertainty cost yet again since i cant or at least wont

plan a long stay with ownership of condo.

No.2 the police dishing out fines on a whim.

 

in hindsight i wish i had moved to a caribbean island belonging to EU,

-the tropic climate minus the visa hassle

 

My visa costs me 1,900 baht at the immigration office and a further 2,400 baht to get a letter from the UK embassy confirming my pensions.

 

I do it all myself at Khampaeng Phet 65 km away in the month before the renewal is due.

 

I can't remember the last time I got fined by the police but it was at least 10 years ago, it was a legal traffic stop, I was guilty and yes I did get a receipt.

[yuiop]

5 hours ago, masuk said:

1)  The constant pollution in Chiang Mai province.  Every flat surface in my condo has a layer of dust/ash on it each morning. This is what we're breathing, 24 / 7.

 

2)  The high costs of prescription medicine.  Something to be taken into account for those planning to retire in Thailand is that there is no NHS for non-Thais.  This includes visits to the GP, Pathology tests, prescribed medicine.  

 

Not sure what you're talking about...

When I can I go to private hospitals like Bangkok Hospital, but where am living now, there's just one small public hospital and two GP practices.

Few days ago I visited first the GP and then the hospital, and I was charges exactly the same as thai people.

The doctor fee was 200 b at the practice and 250 b at the hospital.

Do you mean this is expensive? Even if you have to go there every week, it's 1000b in one month.

Medications are not expensive out of the most famous private hospitals, same for blood test, ECG, xray, dentist, etc.

Do you want everything for free?

The only problem is if you need more expensive tests or surgery, but for this you are supposed to have an insurance or maybe go back home.

[poanoi]

2 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

My visa costs me 1,900 baht at the immigration office and a further 2,400 baht to get a letter from the UK embassy confirming my pensions.

 

I do it all myself at Khampaeng Phet 65 km away in the month before the renewal is due.

 

I can't remember the last time I got fined by the police but it was at least 10 years ago, it was a legal traffic stop, I was guilty and yes I did get a receipt.

because you are 50+ and because your local immigration officer

isnt corrupt, but neither can be assumed for everyone else

[billd766]

3 minutes ago, poanoi said:

because you are 50+ and because your local immigration officer

isnt corrupt, but neither can be assumed for everyone else

 

That is exactly my point.

 

If I can do it at 73 why is it so hard for some others?

[poanoi]

2 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

That is exactly my point.

 

If I can do it at 73 why is it so hard for some others?

because you cant get a retirement visa if you are below 50, duh

[billd766]

10 minutes ago, poanoi said:

not everyone get aroused by making his own food,

on the contrary bending over a rice boiler can and do cause lower back pain

 

Most rice boilers are automatic at least out here in the sticks they are.

 

put the rice in, put the water in, switch it on and in a while you have hot freshly cooked rice. No back bending or pain.

 

You miss the point about making my own food. I make it the way I like it, not the way it comes from the supermarket or the bread that taste vaguely like damp blotting paper.

[Aj Mick]

Rising costs, affordability, financial concerns

• After 15 years employed as a teacher in a tertiary institution my base pay has gone up by about 40%. However allowances have not increased in many years, and they are now taxed. My net pay has increased by about 18%..... the old give 2 and take one back. 
•  
• Add to that a 50% in teaching hours..... and with increased class sizes, 60 - 80% increase in rolls. An increased documentation required.
•  
• Meanwhile the cost of living has about doubled.
•  

Another issue is the documentation and hassle required for visa and work permits......  Thus living in the country on the basis of annual contract and permitted to stay on the basis of a highly satisfying job albeit with limited prospects, rights and freedoms.

Edited April 29, 2018 by Aj Mick

[billd766]

1 minute ago, poanoi said:

because you cant get a retirement visa if you are below 50, duh

 

Retirement visas are not the only visas available in Thailand.-

 

But you can get a marriage extension if you are married, you can get the Elite visa if you wish valid for 4 or 5 years I think. If you are a teacher you can get a visa, if you work in Thailand you can get a visa.

 

Duh

[poanoi]

2 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

Most rice boilers are automatic at least out here in the sticks they are.

 

put the rice in, put the water in, switch it on and in a while you have hot freshly cooked rice. No back bending or pain.

 

You miss the point about making my own food. I make it the way I like it, not the way it comes from the supermarket or the bread that taste vaguely like damp blotting paper.

yes, if i'm up to the task i too can and do more tasty food,

but its not something i would want to do more than once a week,

and can you even buy a gorgonzola or creme fresh in the jungle ?

even pattaya dont have a nice bearnaise