Expats who want to leave, if they could

[ginjag]

2 hours ago, fellig said:

Sounds good, thanks. Is it relatively easy to cross the Laos border?

2 photo's,  passport  1 page sticker   1,500 baht   change your money at the booth,  buy with baht  30 dollars  ( about 1,250 baht)   pay in dollars--fill in 2 forms.  even 1 day,   you do the same for 30 days.

[ginjag]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Udon, hotter than hell and twice as humid.

Laos border crossing 1,500bht or $35.

OTT reply, one of the coolest Nov-Feb......Where isn't it hot  in this part of the world  ??    shade and air con---easy

[Odysseus123]

17 minutes ago, Gregster said:

 

Riverwood (English spoken majority) and Sans Souci (English majority) are obviously fine if you speak English.

It’s noted that you didn’t visit Hurstville (majority China) and Lakemba (majority Arabic) - which were the areas referred to.

 

Obviously my area covered from Botany Bay to Riverwood.

 

Lovely Chinese meals in Hurstville..lots of Turkish/Arabic restaurants from Arncliffe thru to  Bexley.

 

Great place to live if you weren't into meat and 3 veg..(dull to the point of asinine stupefaction)

Edited July 20, 2018 by Odysseus123

[observer90210]

people came here for the good quality and cheap food, the feeling they were welcome by the people and the authorities.. and of course cheap fresh pussy...

 

...but people will now leave and as the fresh pussy is wanting more,, ....the authorities make foreigners feel unwelcome, visa hassles, extorsio/harassment by the police at road blocks or at immigration, dual pricing towards farangs, the taxi cheats..... etc..

 

 

yes it's worse either in Manchester or Paris or where ever....but who said these expats will go back home ?....they will start to settle in neighbouring Asian countries that make a foreigner feel more welcome.....I know at least 3 foreign expat couple, single and familiy,  who have done so since the last 12 months.

 

all part of the game....

[Felt 35]

After 20 + years here and a few attempt to move back ...….but after 3 months up there.....I just hope the health will hold me trough the final part of life here? 

[BritManToo]

4 minutes ago, Felt 35 said:

After 20 + years here and a few attempt to move back ...….but after 3 months up there.....I just hope the health will hold me trough the final part of life here? 

There's always the balcony!

[Nemises]

Obviously my area covered from Botany Bay to Riverwood.
 
Lovely Chinese meals in Hurstville..lots of Turkish/Arabic restaurants from Arncliffe thru to  Bexley.
 

Yes, great DINING indeed in those Arabic & Chinese dominated areas of Sydney.

Back on topic... Like I say, I could never return to LIVE in Hurstville or Lakemba because I don’t speak Mandarin or Arabic.

[Odysseus123]

5 minutes ago, Gregster said:

Yes, great DINING indeed in those Arabic & Chinese dominated areas of Sydney.

Back on topic... Like I say, I could never return to LIVE in Hurstville or Lakemba because I don’t speak Mandarin or Arabic.

French.Italian or German?

 

 

[Vacuum]

On 7/17/2018 at 9:26 AM, thedemon said:

All hassles in Thailand can be eliminated with money.

That's  hearsay. If you can't acclimate, you're doomed no matter how much money you have.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, ginjag said:

2 photo's,  passport  1 page sticker   1,500 baht   change your money at the booth,  buy with baht  30 dollars  ( about 1,250 baht)   pay in dollars--fill in 2 forms.  even 1 day,   you do the same for 30 days.

As far as I know $35 or 1,500bht.

[jak2002003]

3 hours ago, Weasel100 said:

And I also have to say that it a huge advantage for me to have my Thai wife who is obviously fluent in her own language.
It's interesting that when we met my little wife had a very different attitude to business dealings with Thais. Now, after some six years together, she gets increasingly exasperated and borders on angry with the Thais that she deals with on our behalf and who try to rip me off via her. And trust me, this happens almost all the time.
I am not a stupid person and I do my research and try to get things nailed down before I enter into business transactions with Thais. But, even when I have believed that my wife and I have a proper understanding with a Thai who is to do work for us, lies and deceptions almost always follow and it's always me who ends up being ripped off, despite my efforts to avoid that happening. 
Thanks again for your comments and your element of support for what I was trying to say in my original post.

Ever thought that your Thai wife is the problem... and because you can't understand what Thai people (including you wife) are saying in front of you very face you just believe her that EVER Thai is ripping you off?  

 

We are a farang couple.  No Thai wife.  I learnt to speak Thai because I needed too. In 12 years living here full time, building 3 houses, living in various rented places, and all areas of buying things I have NEVER been ripped off or lied to.  In fact, I found the Thai people, and the Burmese builders, very trustworthy.  The only habit they have that is frustrating is if there is some problem they are shy to say anything about it and this causes confusion and misunderstands about motives, as they are afraid to tell us things like mistakes or that will disappoint us because of loss of face stuff. 

 

Concerning your relationship.... stop relying on your Thai wife to baby you!!!

 

Because I can speak Thai I have witnesses on several occasions a Farang husband being lied to by their (usually X bar girl) wife... when they are saying to the husband they need more money for building work, purchases, services etc, then the Thai people are asking for, and the husband blindly believing her.. and falling out with the other Thai people, neighbours and relatives. 

 

I have also seen the husband instruct the wife to tell the Thai workers or shop staff something... then she tells them something totally different... only to tell the husband she did what he asked, and he gets angry at the poor Thai people trying to do their job... (and they will not want to upset the farang wife either due to the face thing).

 

 

 

 

[Vacuum]

58 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

...but people will now leave and as the fresh pussy is wanting more,, ....the authorities make foreigners feel unwelcome, visa hassles, extorsio/harassment by the police at road blocks or at immigration, dual pricing towards farangs, the taxi cheats..... etc..

I'm sorry to hear that you feel like this. I have never encountered any of the issues you mention (maybe the "pussy wanting more", but that's easy solved).

Try move to another part of Thailand.

[fathersicksendmoney]

1 hour ago, observer90210 said:

people came here for the good quality and cheap food, the feeling they were welcome by the people and the authorities.. and of course cheap fresh pussy...

 

...but people will now leave and as the fresh pussy is wanting more,, ....the authorities make foreigners feel unwelcome, visa hassles, extorsio/harassment by the police at road blocks or at immigration, dual pricing towards farangs, the taxi cheats..... etc..

 

 

yes it's worse either in Manchester or Paris or where ever....but who said these expats will go back home ?....they will start to settle in neighbouring Asian countries that make a foreigner feel more welcome.....I know at least 3 foreign expat couple, single and familiy,  who have done so since the last 12 months.

 

all part of the game....

Where? the pick of a bad bunch is Vietnam but bad infrastructure and unbelievable noise pollution in main cities, no gogo gogo !!

Second would be Philippines whit a madman at the helm with crazy violence and most expats terrified of pattaya so forget Philippines..oh and crap food

 

No thanks

 

What expats here need to do is eliminate whats making them unhappy and what keeps popping up are the Thais themselves. Well thats what happens when a westerner jumps in blindly usually forced to follow the wife into some small town dump or village and then wonder why they can no longer deal with it..

Edited July 20, 2018 by fathersicksendmoney

[The manic]

On 7/17/2018 at 4:21 PM, impulse said:

 

That's an appealing thought, right up until there's something that can't be solved in Thailand with the funds available.  Sure, the base needs and impulses can be met quite handily with enough cash.  But not all needs, and cash doesn't always last as long as retirement.

 

What about missing family left behind, or the realization that it is tough to build a functional support network while surrounded mostly by fellow expats feeding their base desires for sex and booze, and locals whose economic reality has them looking at us like cash cows?

 

And there's no safety net for many guys who, through poor planning, bad luck, or scheming wives, lose their money.  At least back home, there's always a way to bring in a few bucks without having to keep your head down so you're not grassed up for WP violations, or for pursuing forbidden occupations.

 

I'm in the process of repatriating after working for around 7 years in Thailand.  I may be back.  But in the meantime, I'm going to see how it is back home, re-introduce myself to family I haven't seen in many years, work a few more years while I can, and then decide where to retire. 

 

I count my Thailand adventure as a positive in my life.  But I miss a lot of things back home that aren't available in Thailand at any price.  Maybe I won't like it back in Texas.  But I liked it there fine before I moved to Asia for the paycheck.

I kept my property in the UK and rent it out for ten months a year. For 2 months a year I return to the same South London community and the same pub I've been going to for 30 years. I visit my family,  travel to Europe then return here. Whatever problems there are here are offset by the benefits. Fun is cheaper here. Food is cheaper here. Its less violent here. Nightlife is better here. You can lead a budget life or a high life. The weather is better here.  Thailand is more colourful, weird and vibrant compared to the UK. Look at this video I made last month.

 

[Odysseus123]

7 minutes ago, fathersicksendmoney said:

Where? the pick of a bad bunch is Vietnam but bad infrastructure and unbelievable noise pollution in main cities, no gogo gogo !!

Second would be philipines whit a madman at the helm and off and most expats terrified of pattaya so forget phillipes

 

No thanks

 

What expats here need to do is eliminate whats making them unhappy and what keeps popping up are the Thais themselves. Well thats what happens when a westerner jumps in blindly usually forced to follow the wife into some small town dump or village and then wonder why they can no longer deal with it..

I liked the little villages-on the other hand I thought that (take Pattaya for example) the cities were dirty,filthy and horrendous..

 

Give me a Thai village any time...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2018 by Odysseus123

[fathersicksendmoney]

2 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

I liked the little villages-on the other hand I thought that (take Pattaya for example) the cities were dirty,filthy and horrendous..

 

 

 

 

 

 

I guess you just ignored the junk to the right of the pic? that toilet brush says it all really ?

 

And thats just one pic. The rest of the village will be the same...ENJOY

[Weasel100]

22 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

Ever thought that your Thai wife is the problem... and because you can't understand what Thai people (including you wife) are saying in front of you very face you just believe her that EVER Thai is ripping you off?  

 

We are a farang couple.  No Thai wife.  I learnt to speak Thai because I needed too. In 12 years living here full time, building 3 houses, living in various rented places, and all areas of buying things I have NEVER been ripped off or lied to.  In fact, I found the Thai people, and the Burmese builders, very trustworthy.  The only habit they have that is frustrating is if there is some problem they are shy to say anything about it and this causes confusion and misunderstands about motives, as they are afraid to tell us things like mistakes or that will disappoint us because of loss of face stuff. 

 

Concerning your relationship.... stop relying on your Thai wife to baby you!!!

 

Because I can speak Thai I have witnesses on several occasions a Farang husband being lied to by their (usually X bar girl) wife... when they are saying to the husband they need more money for building work, purchases, services etc, then the Thai people are asking for, and the husband blindly believing her.. and falling out with the other Thai people, neighbours and relatives. 

 

I have also seen the husband instruct the wife to tell the Thai workers or shop staff something... then she tells them something totally different... only to tell the husband she did what he asked, and he gets angry at the poor Thai people trying to do their job... (and they will not want to upset the farang wife either due to the face thing).

 

 

 

 

I am not allowing my Thai wife to baby me. She's as honest as the day is long and she simply helps me to deal with things.
I know what you're talking about but it's really not the case in my relationship with my wife.
I would never ever even have considered a relationship with a bar girl. Prostitution is morally wrong and I'll have no part of it

[Odysseus123]

5 minutes ago, fathersicksendmoney said:

 

 

 

 

I guess you just ignored the junk to the right of the pic? that toilet brush says it all really ?

 

And thats just one pic. The rest of the village will be the same...ENJOY

Sorry-I lived in that village for 6 years,

 

Welcome to horrendous Pattaya.

 

Anything else to add?

[fathersicksendmoney]

Just now, Odysseus123 said:

Sorry-I lived in that village for 6 years,

 

Welcome to horrendous Pattaya.

 

Anything else to add?

Sure .I dont live in Pattaya but in lower sukhumvit clean compared to your pic

 

So why didnt you pick that junk up ? I bet it will still be there in another 6 years

[Odysseus123]

14 minutes ago, fathersicksendmoney said:

Sure .I dont live in Pattaya but in lower sukhumvit clean compared to your pic

 

So why didnt you pick that junk up ? I bet it will still be there in another 6 years

Jeez..I was just joshing you..

 

However the pic was just taken after a major flood..

 

Here it is..

 

 

Edited July 20, 2018 by Odysseus123

[fathersicksendmoney]

2 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Jeez..I was just joshing you..

 

 

You need to work on your Josh ?

One last question before I go. In the top pic where that group is stalking you is that because they expect you to pay for the party? Ive heard about them but never seen em caught on film ?

[Odysseus123]

1 minute ago, fathersicksendmoney said:

You need to work on your Josh ?

One last question before I go. In the top pic where that group is stalking you is that because they expect you to pay for the party? Ive heard about them but never seen em caught on film ?

Have another Leo on me!

[moontang]

Medicare at 65 might take me home to the US, but in 10 years there may finally be a voucher system.  I have loved America and I have loved Thailand..beck I even loved California for six years.  This is the best place for me now, but it would still be easy for me to return..still drive there vote, and file tax returns.  I could write a book on scams in both, but I could also write books about the great things.  The thought of having g a 165 pound girlfriend almost gives me back spasms.

[pgrahmm]

1 hour ago, fathersicksendmoney said:

Where? the pick of a bad bunch is Vietnam but bad infrastructure and unbelievable noise pollution in main cities, no gogo gogo !!

Second would be Philippines whit a madman at the helm with crazy violence and most expats terrified of pattaya so forget Philippines..oh and crap food

 

No thanks

 

What expats here need to do is eliminate whats making them unhappy and what keeps popping up are the Thais themselves. Well thats what happens when a westerner jumps in blindly usually forced to follow the wife into some small town dump or village and then wonder why they can no longer deal with it..

Or get themselves stuck in some one room tiny condo staring at the walls....

 

Then it time to go out to drink with the boys (& maybe get lucky for a fee and bar fine)....Go back to the mini 4 wall cell - rinse & repeat 365 days and nights a year....

 

Maybe fire up the 125 once in awhile looking/hoping for a different place to eat other then the half dozen or so normally frequented places.....Sit there with nothing else to do except use the free wifi plugging up a table, doing nothing....

 

Bleak

[tassieman]

6 hours ago, Weasel100 said:

Since I moved to Thailand, I have frequently been deceived and misled. Thais have told me bare-faced lies on many occasions and I have been ripped off more times than I care to remember. This lying, deception and misleading is always related to money and it is therefore my conclusion that the very, very great majority of Thais are interested in only three things in life - money, money and money and that they really don't care how they get it, especially from all of us rich falangs. And we are in their eyes all rich and ripe for f*cking over.

 

Great post above imo. Thanks to all as this has been one of the best threads for a long time. Have been muchly reassured by many of the straightfwd assessments of ex-pat life in Thailand. I am not so much a wannabe "leaver", but a won't-even-be-trying-now.... as far as I can tell Thailand is completely out of control....like some sort of mescaline trip: nothing is as it seems, everything is fluid, the only truth is that everything is a lie.... I had a bit of a three month look (March-May 2018) and the LoS very quickly wiped the smile off this guy's gob. Yes, me and my Thai partner ran into some pretty weird stuff as I have detailed elsewhere on TVF (land squatters, corrupt cops and dodgy lawyers et al), but I just don't think it's a one-off situation...it's the way it is in that strange place. Again, tip my hat to those who can manage the madness, survive and even thrive. 

[Pilotman]

7 hours ago, Weasel100 said:

Well, for a start I have to say that I do have a lot of sympathy with many of the comments above about the disappointment that often seems to overtake our dreams of a new life in Thailand. To that extent, I am glad that I'm far from being alone in my own disappointment.

Before I moved to Thailand just shy of seven years ago, I had been to this country on holiday some 13 times I think. I thought at the time I moved that I knew the Thai people quite well. I had found them friendly and mostly helpful when I was on holiday here but soon after I moved here and bought a house, I came to see the Thais for what I believe they generally are. It is possible I believe to point to a national character, some characteristic or characteristics which, generally speaking, the people of a particular country most often exhibit to some extent or other. The Germans I believe have a well deserved reputation for brusqueness if not outright rudeness, the French for being haughty and stand-offish, Australians for being a bit crude. You get the picture.

Since I moved to Thailand, I have frequently been deceived and misled. Thais have told me bare-faced lies on many occasions and I have been ripped off more times than I care to remember. This lying, deception and misleading is always related to money and it is therefore my conclusion that the very, very great majority of Thais are interested in only three things in life - money, money and money and that they really don't care how they get it, especially from all of us rich falangs. And we are in their eyes all rich and ripe for f*cking over.

Of course there are people in our home countries (I'm from Australia) who rip people off but I would suggest that where the number of liars and shysters in Australia may be say 5 per cent, the percentage would probably be closer to 80 per cent of Thais who are happy to lie to and deceive falangs to get money out of them.

Thankfully, my Thai wife is one of what I believe are the remaining 20 per cent of honest and decent Thais. We genuinely love each other very much but, even in our relationship, there is no question that what I can do to help my wife and her family financially is a part of the success of our relationship.

From time to time, when Thais try to rip me off or when they lie to me and try to deceive me to get money out of me, I get incredibly angry and start ranting about how I wish I could go back to Australia for what was, at least in some ways, the better life that I had there. But, I am emotionally committed to my lovely wife and heavily committed financially in Thailand so it is not a realistic option for me to return to Australia to live on a pension which would go nowhere near as far there as it does in Thailand.

My disappointment with Thailand is manifold. Things that are taken for granted in Australia and much of the rest of the Western world simply don’t happen in Thailand or are simply given lip service here. These things that are taken so much for granted in the Western world include:

1  consumer protection laws – they exist in Thailand I believe but few retailers know about them so that when we wish to return or exchange an item bought even from some well known retailers, we often have to have an unnecessary argument and are often told that it’s not possible
2  driver safety – Thailand is generally agreed to be the most dangerous country in the world in which to drive. Driver training and enforcement of speeding laws are practically non-existent and enforcement of drink driving and traffic laws is generally subject to bribery and corruption. The effect of this is millions of lethally dangerous drivers on Thai roads. They are often drunk, under the influence of other drugs, they drive way too fast and way too close to other vehicles and they have neither the knowledge or the desire to drive safely or responsibly
3  occupational health and safety laws exist in Thailand but, again, they rarely appear to be enforced. Hard hats are generally worn on building sites but other forms of safety protection such as ear muffs, welders’ masks and proper safety footwear rarely appear to be used. Again, it’s all a matter of lip service with no real desire to protect workers.

Let me ask you a question. How many others out there have travelled in other countries in Asia and SE Asia in the past few years? I have been to Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Burma, South Korea, Mongolia, Hong Kong and Macao (China of course) and Cambodia. Thailand is way behind many (or possibly all) of those countries in its acceptance of Western values and practices and will, in my opinion, remain much closer to the Third world than to the West unless it begins to take actions very soon such as have been taken in South Korea and Malaysia in particular. Thailand has a lot of potential but it needs to accept that Western ways, while not always the best ways, are most often better if it is to progress with the rest of SE Asia and not get left behind as has been happening here for a long time.

The greatest thing that Thailand could do to improve its chances of a prosperous future is to start taking English language training seriously. I would suggest that fewer than 10 per cent of Thais have anything more than a couple of words or phrases of English. My wife tells me that Thais are taught English in school but you’d really never know it. She also tells me that Thais generally don’t like to speak English because they’re “shy”. The whole world knows (except possibly Thailand) that English truly is the international language these days and that a knowledge of English and an ability to speak it reasonably well is the single most important thing that any country can do to assist its economic growth and its place in the world.

I wish I could be more positive about this country where I came to settle some seven years ago but there is so much that just drives me mad here that it has unfortunately detracted greatly from my enjoyment of life in Thailand.

And before anyone tells to me that I should just ***k off back to Australia if I’m unhappy here, please be honest and say that you have not had similar experiences with Thais and with Thailand which probably also at least annoy you and occasionally make you think of your former lives at “home”.

There is no Rule of Law here as we in the west would understand it  Until they educate their people and those people insist that the Rule of Law is known and upheld, Thailand will forever be in the Third or Forth rank of countries.  While rampant corruption and backhanders exist and flourish,  where the Police are next to useless and  the  rich, urban elite have the power and influence, they will keep  the rural poor in their place,  which is down, and their education will suffer.  The PM talks the talk in his weekly broadcast, for which I commend him,  (imagine a western politician being on the box each week to brief the people), he needs to walk the walk. I suspect that he knows this all too well. 

 

Yes It's all about money, money, money. in the Thai culture and mind set,  because there is no other way to make your way in Thailand and any examples they see , the elite,  do the  same and get rich doing it.  No social security net, a poor heath provision, no pension provision, little  and basic education.  Its a symptom of those things and is not a National trait that can't be changed if the other things change.  I dare say that we westerners would be the same if we were in the position of most poor Thais and their families.  Of course, we all know that this is the main source of the Thailand sex trade, bar girls and the like.  We all know it, the Thais know it and the elite know it. 

I am like you, if it wasn't for my Thai wife and  her hard working and upright family, I would not live in such a culture with such a  disregard of basic human values in regard to its own people,  its position in this global  world and in its future. 

[The manic]

1 hour ago, Weasel100 said:

I am not allowing my Thai wife to baby me. She's as honest as the day is long and she simply helps me to deal with things.
I know what you're talking about but it's really not the case in my relationship with my wife.
I would never ever even have considered a relationship with a bar girl. Prostitution is morally wrong and I'll have no part of it

I find all farang men married to Thai women infantalised and dependant on their wives. Its awful. They seem to control their husbands. Why fo so many nutters build houses for their wife's family. 5555 There's the ripp off!

[Weasel100]

I am by no means "infantalised" although I do understand what you mean. I am my own man and the sole boss of my finances which is I admit something that my Thai wife has had trouble understanding over the years that we've been together. I often have to remind her that she has absolutely no place in my financial affairs and that her thoughts and opinions about how I should spend my money are neither wanted nor welcome.
Nonetheless, as I've said, she is the most honest person I know (including yours truly) and has never once in nearly six years tried to take any money from me that was not freely given. I am very fortunate to have someone like Noo to help me cope with all that life in Thailand throws at me (not to baby me).

Edited July 20, 2018 by Weasel100

[altcarrbob]

Nothing is everything,and everything is nothing,sums up Thailand,I just want stability in life again,something I admire and keep whatever standards I was born to believe in...here its <deleted> Mickey Mouse at play,just a pair of women's tits and arse on show keeps the pecker up...I'm <deleted> well sick of it,just want out even for a short spell

[AYJAYDEE]

9 hours ago, Weasel100 said:

Sad isn't it that, for many of us, life here is only made tolerable by, variously it appears, alcohol or something stronger or masturbation.
Look, I'm not truly unhappy here or I WOULD pack up and go home. It's just that there is so much about Thai society and Thai people and the Thais' couldn't give a shit attitude that just drives me crazy. This could be a much better country if the majority of Thai people were honest in their business dealings, stopped lying all the time (and let's not have any of that crap about lying being acceptable in this culture as a face saving device - lying is lying is lying), if Government actually gave a shit about road safety, if the Police were not corrupt to the core and if Thailand had a forward looking attitude to the world and its place in it.
 

and if whinging farang went home