Exactly how are you "escaping" your home country politics by living in Thailand?

[SEAsia Traveler]

Many expats express relief at having “escaped” the politics of their home country by living in Thailand (in particular the divisive political situation in the USA), yet many of these expats are watching CNN or Fox News in their Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Hua Hin condos for hours each day and posting comments on various online forums and media related to political news and events.

 

May I ask, then, exactly how you are “escaping” your home country's politics by living in Thailand, when you remain focused on these politics, discussing it with your mates, and watching the endless political banter and outrage streaming across various media on television and the internet?

 

What are you “escaping” exactly? Are you not still subject to your home country’s laws regarding taxes, pension, property, and citizenship, despite your residency in Thailand?  Yes, I know about the foreign earned income exclusion and the Obamacare penalty exemption. But why the obsession with your home country's politics, when you professed to have “escaped” that by living in Thailand?

[sirineou]

 I have heard escaping the rat race, bad weather, nany state etc but I have never heard of anyone coming to Thailand to escape politics.  How can someone possibly escape politics?

[sirineou]

 ^^^^^

Thinking about it a litle more,I guess one can somewhat escape the politics of one's country by renouncing their citizenship, but I dont know of anyone who has done that.

And even if you do, you do not totally escape the politics of your country because desdicions made there can still have an affect on you , such as decisions on (pollution, economics, war etc)  and as such you still need to have an interest in and opinion on.

[Ks45672]

If you can no longer name the PM/prez/head of state of your home country and have been in Thai for at least a decade or two you have probably "escaped politics"..... ?

[dotpoom]

I escape my home politics by not searching for the website on the Internet.

  Now, on the other hand, I posted on here a few days ago that I had stopped watching Hollywood movies ...but I didn't give the reason ..this is my reason.

I find what's happening on the American political scene far more thrilling than any Hollywood movie.

Mind you...I'm becoming a bit "punch drunk" as time goes on.

[DoctorG]

What else are you going to talk about in TH? The rice crop?

[RichardColeman]

I watch my UK news everyday. But then I plan on returning there one day. I think this debate really depends on if you intend to return to your country - very little point in paying attention to stuff that is never going to worry you again - unless its reducing your pension !

[Denim]

1 hour ago, Ks45672 said:

If you can no longer name the PM/prez/head of state of your home country and have been in Thai for at least a decade or two you have probably "escaped politics"..... ?

 

As a matter of interest , who is the president of England these days? Is he or she a republican or democrat ?

And what about the queen of America ? Still going strong is she ?

[thailand49]

I was as political as the next person didn't escape my home for Thailand for that reason but after living here I know I appreciate my home country more than ever before. What I took for granted even the small things would be very helpful to the Thai people.

I don't think I can ever escape what made you inside as a person plus here what else are you going to watch it is so limited even the sports, soccer, and nothing but soccer so I've even learned how to watch soccer?

[1FinickyOne]

The ones who talk about and post about it probably didn't come here to "escape politics" - - the ones who did, well they probably don't post about politics... not sure I get what you are on about???

[CharlieH]

NO POLITICS IN THE GENERAL FORUM.

 

MOVED.

[GreasyFingers]

You can escape (mostly) if you want to. I have no interest (except the exchange rate) so do not watch western news on tv, do not read the home papers and am unaware of most of what is happening. Cannot name the Premier of my home state (did not even know it was a woman until recently) as I do not vote. But you will always see a headline or someone will want to talk politics at the pub/bar so there is no total escape.

[pgrahmm]

Actually, it caught me by surprise - in reverse.....

We RV 3 months a year in the US....The rig & car are stored in the Napa area of California.....

This year, to a person, it surprised  me how everyone hated & wanted to escape Calif....It made no difference whether they were working or in casual conversation = they wanted out.....This was during 2 weeks spent in the SF/Napa/Santa Cruz/Monterey/greater bay area...A great liberal stronghold...

 

It was always the same = when they got their husband's/wife's pension - when the kids were finished with school - as soon as they could sell/paid off their house - when they could get their SS - when they finished their contract work - if they could only find a buyer for their business they'd be gone.....On and one, always the same story....

I never brought it up, but people were disgusted with how "their" state was being run & taxed into the ground....They were quite open about it.....

That surprised me as I thought it would be the opposite.....

Never heard a political peep in any of the other 5 states we hit...

 

So - in one quite unexpected way, yes it was nice to find out I was no longer immersed in the political whims & tides.....

 

I'm from the bay area, have owned a several homes and some businesses there....I don't ever remember so many people being unhappy with life there as during our last trip....

 

[BritManToo]

26 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

I'm from the bay area, have owned a several homes and some businesses there....I don't ever remember so many people being unhappy with life there as during our last trip....

The middle classes are having a hard time in the west these days, I'm not all that surprised.

My former workmates in London are all the same. Not so bad out in the rural villages.

 

I don't care about politics anywhere now, if I don't like what's happening where I currently live, I just switch to another country. Not having to work, and only thinking of myself, makes it all so easy.

Edited September 10, 2018 by BritManToo

[Old Croc]

Home country politics did feature on my list of pros and cons when I decided to emigrate. The specter of a looming, conservative, ultra religious, government, led by a nut case named Abbott, helped in my decision to head for other shores. 

 

However, I still follow politics to a certain level in my home country and can get upset by the way they are trying to take my country back to the dark ages socially, their refusal to accept there are ecological problems that they have to address now, and their selfish, simplistic attempts to run the complex economics of a modern society. 

The difference now is that I no longer have it rammed down my throat every time I turn on a TV or check internet media. I have also avoided having to live with many of their crackpot policies designed to help their sponsors at the expense of the general public.  Also, here, I have the option of tuning out temporarily by watching a tropical sunset over my mountain while imbibing a quiet ale.

 

Escaping to Thailand doesn't mean pretending the old life no longer exists, or turning off world events, it just means you can have breather away from the maddening crowd - as long as you're not silly enough to get caught up in local politics or issues.

[IAMHERE]

I escape the politics at home with oral sex, often ten or more minutes a day. Just do it or as they say "get ER done"; whatever is best for you (and global change).

[Old Croc]

1 minute ago, IAMHERE said:

I escape the politics at home with oral sex, often ten or more minutes a day. Just do it or as they say "get ER done"; whatever is best for you (and global change).

Most people aren't that flexible.

[malibukid]

54 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

Actually, it caught me by surprise - in reverse.....

We RV 3 months a year in the US....The rig & car are stored in the Napa area of California.....

This year, to a person, it surprised  me how everyone hated & wanted to escape Calif....It made no difference whether they were working or in casual conversation = they wanted out.....This was during 2 weeks spent in the SF/Napa/Santa Cruz/Monterey/greater bay area...A great liberal stronghold...

 

It was always the same = when they got their husband's/wife's pension - when the kids were finished with school - as soon as they could sell/paid off their house - when they could get their SS - when they finished their contract work - if they could only find a buyer for their business they'd be gone.....On and one, always the same story....

I never brought it up, but people were disgusted with how "their" state was being run & taxed into the ground....They were quite open about it.....

That surprised me as I thought it would be the opposite.....

Never heard a political peep in any of the other 5 states we hit...

 

So - in one quite unexpected way, yes it was nice to find out I was no longer immersed in the political whims & tides.....

 

I'm from the bay area, have owned a several homes and some businesses there....I don't ever remember so many people being unhappy with life there as during our last trip....

 

California sucks now.  was great in the 50's 60's 70's  just plastic mall and people.  Asia looked so beautiful on my return.

[GOLDBUGGY]

I, like many other I suppose, are not escaping Politics. 

 

I am escaping Cold Weather and High Taxes. 

[chicowoodduck]

I killed my TV long ago and always start with the sports page in the local paper and stay on the page for the duration.....lol.....?

[OneMoreFarang]

6 hours ago, SEAsia Traveler said:

Many expats express relief at having “escaped” the politics of their home country by living in Thailand (in particular the divisive political situation in the USA), yet many of these expats are watching CNN or Fox News in their Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Hua Hin condos for hours each day and posting comments on various online forums and media related to political news and events.

 

May I ask, then, exactly how you are “escaping” your home country's politics by living in Thailand, when you remain focused on these politics, discussing it with your mates, and watching the endless political banter and outrage streaming across various media on television and the internet?

 

What are you “escaping” exactly? Are you not still subject to your home country’s laws regarding taxes, pension, property, and citizenship, despite your residency in Thailand?  Yes, I know about the foreign earned income exclusion and the Obamacare penalty exemption. But why the obsession with your home country's politics, when you professed to have “escaped” that by living in Thailand?

It's like the difference between watching a soap opera and being part of a soap opera.

From outside it's easy to say: Look at those idiots (back home).

[Srikcir]

1 hour ago, pgrahmm said:

I don't ever remember so many people being unhappy with life there as during our last trip....

From U.S. News & World Report's most-recent Best States rankings: California ranked 50th in quality of life by fairing poorly in the natural and social environment categories.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/03/01/california-ranks-last-quality-life-new-report/384853002/

[Ks45672]

10 minutes ago, malibukid said:

California sucks now.  was great in the 50's 60's 70's  just plastic mall and people.  Asia looked so beautiful on my return.

Bkk is also becoming a giant plastic mall..... The same boring franchises selling the same stuff in all of them.... 

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

5 minutes ago, Ks45672 said:

Bkk is also becoming a giant plastic mall..... The same boring franchises selling the same stuff in all of them.... 

BKK is BIG and it's up to you in which area you live. Some areas are full of foreign franchises and others are not. It's your choice.

[Brunolem]

I only watch Aljazeera, about 30 minutes every day, to get a general idea of the news in pictures.

 

Full disclosure: I am not a Qatari citizen!

 

I didn't leave my home country so much because of the politics, but because of the politically correct, which is destroying it much more efficiently than any other policy.

 

Otherwise I get the world news through different websites and blogs, with much more in depth analysis than on TV.

 

It is fascinating to see the Western world following the steps of the late Roman empire, albeit at a much faster pace.

 

I just hope that this declining and decadent relic will go down with a whimper and not with a bang...yet, I regularly check where the wind is blowing from, to make sure that the nuclear fallout will remain far up North from us...

[Petchou]

4 hours ago, sirineou said:

 I have heard escaping the rat race, bad weather, nany state etc but I have never heard of anyone coming to Thailand to escape politics.  How can someone possibly escape politics?

escaping political environment that is becoming poisoning people's life, antagonism, tensions within families, with friends and colleagues about US politics is reality.  the present presidency is polarizing society, spreading hate against any one who is critical of his childish and dangerous rethoric.   yes I know many who are running from this morning and infectious environmental.

[khunPer]

7 hours ago, SEAsia Traveler said:

What are you “escaping” exactly?

I presume almost impossible to escape 100% without giving up citizenship – however the cultural heritage could still be present – but for some countries it might be more easy to partly escape than others.

 

From a Scandinavian country like mine, Denmark, we can escape most of tax laws when living outside Europe, which however require that we cannot own permanent property, i.e. keep one's flat or house and rent it out. On the other hand, apart from retirement pensions that has either been deducted in taxable income, or is paid by the government (we are all eligible for some after a number of years in the country), income, interest and financial gains, except dividends from stocks, are not taxed, and when not taking them into Thailand same year as earned, they are becoming legally tax free...?

 

Caring too much about political situation at home is fairly easy to give up, as we completely loose our voting rights when moving to a "third country", i.e. outside Europe, so friends at home don't care that much about our opinion, as we're no longer a part of the political voter's society. Of course we follow a bit, just in case we for one or other reason need to return, which however for various reasons slowly become much more difficult, than it was to sign out and leave. Seem like our changing governments don't want us vikings back, but prefers migrants from Africa and Middle East...?

But I still follow my homeland's news, I love to read the weather forecast and stories about postal service, which makes me so very happy in my choice of where to live...?

[ReMarKable]

I think it really depends on which country you are from as to how much politics you can escape in Thailand.  My ex wife is Swiss.  Switzerland seems like an aggressively bureaucratic nightmare place to live where you have to vote on everything!  Of course this makes it a true democracy, but a true democracy is very bureaucratic, apparently. Then take my country, where most people don't vote, the USA.  I escape nothing by moving here, because I wasn't involved in politics when I lived there.  It is not compulsory to vote in the USA, so many do not.  Americans take a lazy view of politics.  I would bet most here have not registered to vote in November.  I know I have not.  

[micmichd]

6 hours ago, sirineou said:

 I have heard escaping the rat race, bad weather, nany state etc but I have never heard of anyone coming to Thailand to escape politics.  How can someone possibly escape politics?

You can. 

Western politics are quite schizophrenic: The nanny state for the impoverished self-declared "people", and the economy for successful participants including retired workers. 

I'm German, and I escaped politics by focusing only on economic laws. As a defender of your very personal interest you can set the theme in a legal conflict. And I use Article 3 GG (Germany's constitutional equal opportunity act) for everything. 

[micmichd]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

It's like the difference between watching a soap opera and being part of a soap opera.

From outside it's easy to say: Look at those idiots (back home).

I escaped from racism. From Western womens' attitudes towards foreigners generally and Thai women particularly. In the case of Thai women I smelled mare acrimony in Germany, and I told them they stink.

They will probably call me an "inverse racist" now (or even a "Nazi"), but I don't care anymore. I know what they (even the lefties) were really after when I had trouble in Germany: my money, i.e. the money I worked for. They will not get one penny from me, with all consequences.