Is it an end of an era for the Western Expat?

[MaeJoMTB]

2 minutes ago, smudger1951 said:

As UK ex-pats know, everything changed the day after we voted to leave the EU and the "£" fell 20% overnight. I decided to return home and come out for the winter and when I could. But, even that feels like an expensive. venture. I don't see things will change now.

You should try the Philippines, 70 peso to the pound before brexit, 70 peso to the pound now.

Vietnam similar story, probably cheaper now than Thailand ever was.

 

It's only Thailand where the exchange rate dropped and stayed.

Edited May 12, 2018 by MaeJoMTB

[Lacessit]

Well, from where I sit it's sabai sabai. A teerak who will do anything for me. A cost of living about one third of what I would have in Australia, where I'd probably be living on packaged noodles and paying extortionate rent.

What on earth is the OP on about? Mai Kowchai.

[55Jay]

9 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Well, from where I sit it's sabai sabai. A teerak who will do anything for me. A cost of living about one third of what I would have in Australia, where I'd probably be living on packaged noodles and paying extortionate rent.

What on earth is the OP on about? Mai Kowchai.

He's on about creating content.  This topic is always good for a lot of traffic.

[soistalker]

1 hour ago, pgrahmm said:

The west will always be represented here.....

 

Looking at the tourist numbers the interest seems to come from other places.....

Others + China represent about 60%.....Whoever "others" are it's not like a western landslide....

 

The biggest numbers are already on the board, the rest are individually insignificant....

 

We've/we're not/never have been as important as we imagine ourselves to be.....

Would you please provide the url of where you got this graph?

[GinBoy2]

1 hour ago, pgrahmm said:

The west will always be represented here.....

 

Looking at the tourist numbers the interest seems to come from other places.....

Others + China represent about 60%.....Whoever "others" are it's not like a western landslide....

 

The biggest numbers are already on the board, the rest are individually insignificant....

 

We've/we're not/never have been as important as we imagine ourselves to be.....

Not that I would ever doubt Thai statistics, but.....

 

Number of arrivals form Singapore, 1,028,77.

 

Now the total population of Singapore is (2017) 3.87M, which is residents and permanent residents. 

 

Are we trying to suggest that 28% of the total population comes to Thailand on vacation? Even if you were to assume that a % of those arrivals were business trips, seems a bit off kilter to me.

 

So if one number is glaringly wacko, kind of calls into the question all the rest.

 

Not that I would ever suggest for one moment that the numbers might have been conjured up on the back of a cocktail napkin!!

[SOTIRIOS]

...it's called 'using us to increase traffic on one's page'....

 

 

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, smudger1951 said:

As UK ex-pats know, everything changed the day after we voted to leave the EU and the "£" fell 20% overnight. 

On the day of the Brexit vote 16 June 2016 , it was 50.2 Baht to the Pound

A week later on the 23 rd of June, the Pound was 53.3 Baht

[sawadee1947]

And where is your problem????? 

[LomSak27]

5 hours ago, car720 said:

otally agree except I would have said that it all started in the 70's when GI Joe went home and told all his mates.  

And the US/miltary expats started the western expat expat boom??

Sadly you are living in that euro/aussie fantasy land mate. Germans came here in the 70's and were the first expat wave who came rolling in. The real expat boom though came in the 1990's when cable and modern air conditioners made life possible outside of Bangkok or Pattaya for the  majority of expats. And this flood was mainly Brits on their pensions. This talk of the great exchange rates, and value for money -  only happend post 1997 when the thai economy melted down. An unreal situation caused by a very real problem in non performing loans, basically fraud defaults.

 

[smotherb]

10 hours ago, sanemax said:

Couldnt we have a discussion WITHOUT Thai girls being the main topic ?

Every thread seems to turn into a discussion about Thai girls and people boasting about their Thai Wife

This is an expat forum in Thailand. I have always been under the impression that Thai women are one of the most popular reasons for an expat being here. Talk of the opposite sex has always been a good topic and in Thailand, well . . . I'd say that married expats without Thai wives and single expats without Thai girlfriends are a definitive minority.

[Peterw42]

2 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

Not that I would ever doubt Thai statistics, but.....

 

Number of arrivals form Singapore, 1,028,77.

 

Now the total population of Singapore is (2017) 3.87M, which is residents and permanent residents. 

 

Are we trying to suggest that 28% of the total population comes to Thailand on vacation? Even if you were to assume that a % of those arrivals were business trips, seems a bit off kilter to me.

 

So if one number is glaringly wacko, kind of calls into the question all the rest.

 

Not that I would ever suggest for one moment that the numbers might have been conjured up on the back of a cocktail napkin!!

I have friends that work in Singapore and ride their bikes up to phuket for a long weekend, 2-3 times a year. Or a one hour plane flight. Its not a million unique tourists, its the same tourists visiting 3-4 times a year.

Edited May 12, 2018 by Peterw42

[sanemax]

13 minutes ago, smotherb said:

This is an expat forum in Thailand. I have always been under the impression that Thai women are one of the most popular reasons for an expat being here. Talk of the opposite sex has always been a good topic and in Thailand, well . . . I'd say that married expats without Thai wives and single expats without Thai girlfriends are a definitive minority.

Some people seem like they are prostitute-a-holics and their whole life revolves around prostitutes, just like alcoholics lives revolve around alcohol .

   Some of us are happy and content in relationships and have no need, desire or want to use prostitutes and we dont feel a need to tell everyone about our relationship .

  Its like some people have just discovered Females and cant stop talking about them .

   I do feel that thats a detrimental effect of regular prostitute usage : Instant contentment at the expense of long term fulfillment 

[JAZZDOG]

11 hours ago, Hummin said:

The interesting question is, who do thai girls like most? 

 

Western from Northe Europe 

Western from South Europe

Western from USA

Russia and former USSR

 

The countries that is likely to grow in volume is

India

Pakistan

China

 

I know for sure, thai really disslike India, Pakistanis and Chineese, and do not want to have anything with them to do. Or is my information wrong? 

Glue a thousand baht to your forehead and you are good to go, some young thing will take the bait. If not those three countries would have already stopped coming here if they weren't getting serviced.

It's basic supply and demand, especially if the demand from western countries dries up.

[JAZZDOG]

4 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Some people seem like they are prostitute-a-holics and their whole life revolves around prostitutes, just like alcoholics lives revolve around alcohol .

   Some of us are happy and content in relationships and have no need, desire or want to use prostitutes and we dont feel a need to tell everyone about our relationship .

  Its like some people have just discovered Females and cant stop talking about them .

   I do feel that thats a detrimental effect of regular prostitute usage : Instant contentment at the expense of long term fulfillment 

It is without a doubt an addiction ie: Tiger Woods. And just like drugs the addiction creates the vast demand which creates the social problems. Question then is at what price does society place on the need for a wholesome society. For some it is greed and let it roll and others, like you say, strive for long term fulfillment. I also firmly agree with you that the sex trade is not ground zero in Pattaya, it just grabs headlines. If it disappeared tomorrow there would be several times as many tradition tourist arriving every day that are turned off by the sex deal and/or don't want to come under the stigma of being labeled a sex city traveler. It will end soon just like spring break cities in Florida shut the doors once they became hip to the opportunity cost involved in hosting breakers.

[ericthai]

So is Dan trying to say Thailand is no longer the sex capital of the world?

[JAZZDOG]

7 minutes ago, ericthai said:

So is Dan trying to say Thailand is no longer the sex capital of the world?

Never was, but it does have the distinction of being the Viagra capital of the world

[Destiny1990]

Yes i rarely seen real expats here.

Most are a bunch of Alcoholic problematic drinkers without any job at all..

[JAZZDOG]

8 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Yes i rarely seen real expats here.

Most are a bunch of Alcoholic problematic drinkers without any job at all..

Yet according to most folks on TV if all these want to be expats packed up and left the entire economy of Pattaya would simply implode. Take a moment to consider if this brotherhood of losers left taking the drunk pervert stigma along with them and were replaced by typical vacationers who otherwise would never consider visiting the "Sex capital of the World". I believe the dreaded implosion would actually be a windfall for the local economy.

[MaeJoMTB]

2 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Yes i rarely seen real expats here.

Most are a bunch of Alcoholic problematic drinkers without any job at all..

I'm more a 'romance traveller'.

[MaeJoMTB]

1 hour ago, JAZZDOG said:

Take a moment to consider if this brotherhood of losers left taking the drunk pervert stigma along with them

You think men drinking beer and having sex with women is perverted?

[sirineou]

1 hour ago, MaeJoMTB said:

You think men drinking beer and having sex with women is perverted?

 Yes I do, not only is it perverted, it is inconsiderate and kind of messy! For those who have not worked out the logistics yet it is:

brink beer, have sex then smoke a cigarette while inquiring " whas it as good for you as it was for me?" 

Edited May 12, 2018 by sirineou

[Damrongsak]

10 hours ago, lovelomsak said:

It is not over for anyone. 

  Old guys will still come.  Some will have little to live on and will live in fan rooms and eat thai food. Some will buy luxury homes and condo's  and dine on imported foods. Some will sit on a bar stool all day others will live in a village and raise fish,pigs,or grow things. Nothing will change we will just not be an oddity like before....

Good to know nothing has changed much in 40 years.  :).  I'm sure I'll find Loei nearly as boring as it was back then when I get back.   As for fan rooms, our house is at the end of the electric line.  Even fans are crapping out, never mind the air conditioners.  My wife did manage to get some gravel dumped on the dirt road out front for free.  But we are on an imaginary border of two different districts about 1 km outside of town. TIT.  But 40 years in the US (and 40 years of my BS)  has given her a sense of "take no crap".  Next think you know, she'll be tackling the Governor of Loei off the bicycle he rides to work and giving him an earful.

[Hummin]

2 hours ago, MaeJoMTB said:

You think men drinking beer and having sex with women is perverted?

Getting older and the combination, is what I heard impossible and it all ends up in the good old stories what you used to do ;-) 

 

My best guess everything is blown out of order, because the biggest group of sex buyers is what I think, those with new energy coming in to town for first time or second time. Expats who live here is a bit more relaxed to the whole thing, Im here to have a good life, but it doesnt involve drinking beer or bying sex, but since I live here, it is natural to have a local gf. 

 

I like women, whats wrong about that? Im just tired of every time there is talk about women, they are degraded to being hookers, all of them what ever they are or who ever they are, unless they coming from a "acceptet" family or have university degree and a good job. Climax is if they never had a bf before, Early morning, ranting away enjoying coffe. 

 

Have a good one everyone. 

[Damrongsak]

9 minutes ago, Hummin said:

...I like women, whats wrong about that? ...

Try driving your wife and three of her 40--something  friends (Thai & Chinese/Malaysian) in a car for 3+ hours.  Two out of three fall asleep and the other one chews off your ear, in a rotation. It's a conspiracy.

[Hummin]

27 minutes ago, Damrongsak said:

Try driving your wife and three of her 40--something  friends (Thai & Chinese/Malaysian) in a car for 3+ hours.  Two out of three fall asleep and the other one chews off your ear, in a rotation. It's a conspiracy.

I have been on a road trip with an laud american and crazy australian for 3 weeks with a south african camera team on our back. Cant beat that. 

Edited May 12, 2018 by Hummin

[1FinickyOne]

12 hours ago, Justfine said:

1977 to 2007

 

30 years... oh my, what hasn't changed? 

[Justfine]

7 hours ago, sanemax said:

Some people seem like they are prostitute-a-holics and their whole life revolves around prostitutes, just like alcoholics lives revolve around alcohol .

   Some of us are happy and content in relationships and have no need, desire or want to use prostitutes and we dont feel a need to tell everyone about our relationship .

  Its like some people have just discovered Females and cant stop talking about them .

   I do feel that thats a detrimental effect of regular prostitute usage : Instant contentment at the expense of long term fulfillment 

Maybe they got very little before. 60yo virgins almost.

[Justfine]

4 hours ago, MaeJoMTB said:

You think men drinking beer and having sex with women is perverted?

Disgusting

[Destiny1990]

6 hours ago, JAZZDOG said:

Yet according to most folks on TV if all these want to be expats packed up and left the entire economy of Pattaya would simply implode. Take a moment to consider if this brotherhood of losers left taking the drunk pervert stigma along with them and were replaced by typical vacationers who otherwise would never consider visiting the "Sex capital of the World". I believe the dreaded implosion would actually be a windfall for the local economy.

The Chinese have taken over already.

They seem to come from a more work related background then the drunk farang  rif raf what we have to endure with in Pattaya. There are positive exceptions Ofcourse like myself for example ?

[Justfine]

15 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

The Chinese have taken over already.

They seem to come from a more work related background then the drunk farang  rif raf what we have to endure with in Pattaya. There are positive exceptions Ofcourse like myself for example ?

Pattaya is a dump anyway. Dirty city and beaches. Changing the people won't help much.