Is Thailand All That if you have to work everyday?

[bwpage3]

Is Thailand really all that if you have to work everyday?

 

I remember during my screw off days in Bangkok seeing many a bloke in their shirts and ties, covered with sweat, darting in and out of the BTS.

 

Having to get up 5 or 6 days a week for a mundane, low paying job like teaching school.

 

If you are working every day with a limited salary, how in the world can you enjoy Thailand?

 

Living in a flat or otherwise less than desired accommodation?

 

How can you enjoy Thailand when you do not have ample time or money to travel more than a weekend here or there?

 

I am sure it must be much worse for those living in Bangkok, right?

 

I can certainly understand the charm of a low cost life and it is an excellent choice for pensioners.

 

I could never understand why a person would move to Thailand, when they have years and years and years left to work, and put up with all that each and every day?

 

Do these people not even worry about their future, not having a pension or any retirement?

 

To look at both sides of the coin, in the western world, we do the same thing.

 

Get up and work everyday until retirement age.

 

So what is the difference?

 

I guess in the west educated people have the chance to make enough income to buy a nice house, couple nice cars, and take an annual holiday to Thailand or anywhere else they chose.

 

Sooner or later the house is paid off before retirement, can sell or use for rental income in old age.

 

If a person is smart, they can have a company pension, 401K savings and social security to hold them over until death.

 

Then moving to a country like Thailand may look like a good idea due to it's low cost of living.

 

In the immense heat, humidity, tropical rains, floods etc., I think getting up everyday and going to work would be a real bummer.

 

It would be interesting to hear what these blokes plan on doing when they get to old age?

 

 

 

[pgrahmm]

Met a few young families that thought it better raise their children here, instead of wherever they came from.....

 

Everybody has a different perspective....

 

Thailand, like everywhere, is many things for many people....

[bwpage3]

4 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

Met a few young families that thought it better raise their children here, instead of wherever they came from.....

 

Everybody has a different perspective....

 

Thailand, like everywhere, is many things for many people....

Part of my point.

 

Why would you want to raise your kids in one of the worst educational systems in the world?

 

Thai is a language and education that is useless outside of Thailand.

 

Young families that are working, getting older every year and have no avenue to a pension or anything else for their future.

 

 

[CharlieH]

You speak almost entirely of materialistic and monetary gain, not everyone places such importance on that aspect of their life, Circumstances and priorities are constantly shifting. To some, people and experiences are more important.

 

Each to their own, who is anyone to judge that its right or wrong. Its just different.????

[bwpage3]

1 minute ago, CharlieH said:

You speak almost entirely of materialistic and monetary gain, not everyone places such importance on that aspect of their life, Circumstances and priorities are constantly shifting. To some, people and experience are more important.

 

Each to their own, who is anyone to judge that its right or wrong. Its just different.????

Isn't it a proven fact you need money to live on?

 

There is nothing materialistic about that now is there?

 

Isn't it a fact that one day everyone gets old and if you have no pension or retirement, you have no way to financially survive?

 

For every year a person works outside of their own countries retirement system, they lower the amount they will have at retirement.

 

For instance if you have worked in Thailand as a school teacher for 20 years, your US social security would be nothing.

 

One day you turn 65, have no job in Thailand and nothing to live on.

[JLCrab]

41 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:

If a person is smart ...

Let me guess -- that includes you?

[CharlieH]

29 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:

Isn't it a proven fact you need money to live on?

 

There is nothing materialistic about that now is there?

 

Isn't it a fact that one day everyone gets old and if you have no pension or retirement, you have no way to financially survive?

 

For every year a person works outside of their own countries retirement system, they lower the amount they will have at retirement.

 

For instance if you have worked in Thailand as a school teacher for 20 years, your US social security would be nothing.

 

One day you turn 65, have no job in Thailand and nothing to live on.

In your OP you make broad generalisation, but in your reply you focus on "retirement" where needs and priorities are totally different. 

 

You think a 25 yr old single Teacher (as an example) really gives that much thought to his Pension arrangements ? doubtful. To suggest that Teachers dont earn enough to "live on" is not correct. It really depends on the standard of living the individual wants, doesnt it.

[youreavinalaff]

33 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:

Isn't it a proven fact you need money to live on?

 

There is nothing materialistic about that now is there?

 

Isn't it a fact that one day everyone gets old and if you have no pension or retirement, you have no way to financially survive?

 

For every year a person works outside of their own countries retirement system, they lower the amount they will have at retirement.

 

For instance if you have worked in Thailand as a school teacher for 20 years, your US social security would be nothing.

 

One day you turn 65, have no job in Thailand and nothing to live on.

Many of the expats you see earn a good wage. Agreed, some are teachers but there are many other occupations that expats do here. There are many high profile overseas businesses here where expats work.

 

Just because you don't work in your home country does not mean you don't plan for the future. Private pensions as an example, every heard of those?

[OneMoreFarang]

 

1 hour ago, bwpage3 said:

I guess in the west educated people have the chance to make enough income to buy a nice house, couple nice cars, and take an annual holiday to Thailand or anywhere else they chose.

Would these people work as bad paid teachers in Thailand?

If they have the right skills then they should be able to get a well paid job here.

 

A long time ago I asked myself if I want to work 11 months a year in a cold country and then go for 1 month on holiday to Thailand or if I prefer 12 months a year in Thailand. I chose Thailand.

Obviously it's not holiday every day but it's a lot better than the alternative - at least for me.

[CharlieH]

Similarly I worked as a "Teacher" for a few years (long time ago), not to earn fantastic money, but as a way of travelling to different countries and experience different people and cultures and being paid to do so.

I didnt need to pay for anything travelling expenses etc, permits visas and so on, even gave me accomadation and pocket money, whats not to like. ???? great for someone whos free and single and little to no responsibilities.(as an example)

 

On another "tour" I worked at a high-end resort in a tropical destination, "all-in" , had absolutely nothing to spend my salary on, so saved most of it for the whole year ! It all depends on individual circumstances as to how and why they are doing it that way, is the point I am making. 

[Denim]

I used to work in Bangkok in IT as the OP said. At first I thought it was pretty cool. I wasn't a tourist and was earning enough money to support myself and pay for any dissipation I indulged in.

 

But as time went by friends and family came and went and partied hard all over the country. I could not join them on their adventures as I was working. I could not even stay up late as I had to get up to go to work.

 

Gradually the 9-5 grind of work sucked almost all the fun of living here and was as bad as doing it in the UK only that I earnt a lot less money.

 

Eventually , I gave it up and went home and worked and schemed for two years, investing in property and saving my money.

 

Came back with a sufficient grubstake plus a bit of an income from renting out my flat.

 

Haven't worked since and am glad I left otherwise would still be working here........awful.

[Kwasaki]

2 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

To look at both sides of the coin, in the western world, we do the same thing.

You don't if you have arranged to retire early.

[bwpage3]

4 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

Many of the expats you see earn a good wage. Agreed, some are teachers but there are many other occupations that expats do here. There are many high profile overseas businesses here where expats work.

 

Just because you don't work in your home country does not mean you don't plan for the future. Private pensions as an example, every heard of those?

You must not read TV to much to realize how many people have no pension or insurance

[bwpage3]

4 hours ago, Denim said:

I used to work in Bangkok in IT as the OP said. At first I thought it was pretty cool. I wasn't a tourist and was earning enough money to support myself and pay for any dissipation I indulged in.

 

But as time went by friends and family came and went and partied hard all over the country. I could not join them on their adventures as I was working. I could not even stay up late as I had to get up to go to work.

 

Gradually the 9-5 grind of work sucked almost all the fun of living here and was as bad as doing it in the UK only that I earnt a lot less money.

 

Eventually , I gave it up and went home and worked and schemed for two years, investing in property and saving my money.

 

Came back with a sufficient grubstake plus a bit of an income from renting out my flat.

 

Haven't worked since and am glad I left otherwise would still be working here........awful.

Thanks for the insight.

[swissie]

Some are working for an international company. No problem.

Some young folks are working as English-Teachers for a year or two. No problem.

Some (middle age, 50+) folks are working here because they could not find work in their home country anymore. Big problem, longer term. An act of desperation.

 

Somebody once quoted: "Thailand is no country for old western men". I disagree. As long as a viable health insurance can be afforded and some sort of Pension-Money rolls in every month, Thailand may well be a country for "old western men".

Not so for Farangs having to work in Thailand for a Thai company or trying their luck as a semi-legal independant Businessman. Strictly a "no future" situation.

 

I know damm well why God expelled Adam and Eve from paradise: Eve started to talk to snakes while eating apples and Adam turned into a workaholic.

So God decided to close paradise and opened an alternative paradise on earth: Thailand!

Accommodating strange people, them being allowed to act "strange" without immediate punishement. Locals as well as Foreighners. This is how Pattaya came into being.

Cheers.

[Rhys]

Quote

 

 

 

P tang is cheaper

[richard_smith237]

You have made the assumption that people working in Bangkok are doing so on less income than they would have in the UK or their home countries... and perhaps a larger assumption you make appears to be that people are working here and living hand to mouth. 

 

While this may be so for some for many more working here has its advantages, many will have more expendable income here even on a lower salary, their quality of life may be better. In many cases its younger guys who've started out here and something new. 

 

But there is a large portion of expat society who are here because they are better off here. Working for international companies etc... or Oil industry workers not paying Tax in their. 

 

Op, you mentioned education in your quote below: 

6 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Why would you want to raise your kids in one of the worst educational systems in the world?

 

IF you think Thailand has one of the worst education systems in the world you are showing precisely how limited your exposure to Thailand is which allows us to understand the naivety in your Opening post and subsequent comments: There are some excellent international schools in Thailand... Patana, Shrewsbury, Harrow, St. Andrews, NIST, BKK Prep, ISB to name but a few... The education children receive in these schools exceeds that of a comprehensive school in the UK and can be compared with Grammar and private schools.

 

 

But, to deal with your thread from another angle... Isn't any country not 'all that' if you have to work every day? the grind in London seems appalling... 

 

As far as living Bangkok... I can be on Koh Samet by Sun-Set... hua hin a 'hop-skip-and-a-jump'... Khao Yai a couple of hours....  Phuket is a short flight away... there are so many places within a few hours.... (much the same as anywhere). 

 

So, I suspect you are really targeting those with little income, those who cannot get on a flight to HK or Singapore for a weekend or drive down to Hua Hin or Koh Samet on a whim... 

Well, for the short term at least life must be more enjoyable for them here... But your point is valid - the long term outlook isn't great... but who worries about this when in their 20's and having a good time... 

So... its the older 40's expats on low income you are targeting?.... those who may otherwise be cashing in a social welfare check in the UK perhaps?...

 

 

 

[Ulysses G.]

I worked every single day for 16 years and still loved the place. However, it was my own business, which makes a big difference.

[55Jay]

OP.  Sat in the US of A, banging away on an internet forum, obsessing about people he doesn't know, in a SE Asian country he no longer lives in, and doesn't even like.

 

I hope one day you'll be able to find closure, turn the page, and move on with your life.  

[dotpoom]

"Is Thailand really all that if you have to work everyday?"

All what?

[spermwhale]

Totally agree. So many young expats piss away their prime years when they should be building their careers and then they piss away their top potential money earning years here too as the salaries they will get here can't compare with back home. 

And the whole line about lower cost of living holds ZERO water if you care enough about your kids to send them to a good International school here. And if you want a vehicle then you'll pay twice as much as back home. 

 

 

[smotherb]

20 hours ago, CharlieH said:

You speak almost entirely of materialistic and monetary gain, not everyone places such importance on that aspect of their life, Circumstances and priorities are constantly shifting. To some, people and experiences are more important.

 

Each to their own, who is anyone to judge that its right or wrong. Its just different.????

I guess I have to agree that not everyone places such importance on materialistic and monetary gains, because there certainly are many expats living here who have very little to live on.

 

 

[GLewis]

20 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Part of my point.

 

Why would you want to raise your kids in one of the worst educational systems in the world?

 

Thai is a language and education that is useless outside of Thailand.

 

 

20 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

You really have a chip on your shoulder. What happened to you while you were here?

 There are ways around each point you make if you take the time to find them.  You also base all your negativity around teachers. Most are younger and looking for some adventure. 

 

The language is not useless at all. It got my daughter a part time job translating Gifs from English to Thai that she has kept for 3 years now while studying at university. No office to go to and she makes 1500 bucks a month for less than 20 hours a week working from her apartment with her laptop.   

 

I hope you feel better after your rant...

20 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

 

 

[mommysboy]

 

'I guess in the west educated people have the chance to make enough income to buy a nice house, couple nice cars, and take an annual holiday to Thailand or anywhere else they chose.'

 

Bit of an assumption these days.

 

I think it's the lure of the ladies as much as anything. I suppose views will differ according to where you come from, etc, but it's no fun getting up at 7am in cold, wet weather, working in a miserable atmosphere, and finding you've less money at the end of the month than you'd started with.

 

The teaching scenario you described is the pits, and you forgot to mention the insipid complex, tightened belt, strained neck, and Bangkok cough.

 

For many millions life is tough, I guess.  Which car are you driving today?????

[allanos]

A lot of people make bad (ill-considered) life choices, but most things, for most people, are a trade-off.  Do they want a modest-income, relaxed life-style, with not much in the way of pensionable prospects, i.e. living for "today", early in your life, or do they want to grind away during the "best" years of their lives,  saving and planning to have comfortable retirement years at the "sunset end" of their lives?  Some of these persons, unfortunately, do not get to the sunset years, because life can be so uncertain.  It's a difficult and tricky one to call.  Of course, there are some who, through an accident of birth, receive an excellent upbringing, good education, and go on into a good well-paid career, which allows them, possibly, to enjoy the best of both worlds; plenty of opportunities for travel, early retirement, etc.  These folk are in the minority, in my opinion.  Perhaps the most important thing is that one does not look back with any regrets; to be content with one's early life-choices and the position that one finds oneself in today.  Do not reflect on the "what-might-have-beens"; do not die wondering.  You have trodden the path you chose; be accepting of it. There is no "right" or "wrong" way.

[freebyrd]

Here's my offering.

 

After 20 years in the army I had a chance for a different life as my wife was Thai, so at 36 I took redundancy and we moved to Thailand, bought a house in Korat where she stayed with her family while I lived and worked in Bangkok. I grabbed the opportunity to take a year off to live a 'less disciplined' life for a while.

 

Not everyone is a struggling English teacher, I met some very successful and well paid teachers in BKK. Having been in fitness in the mob I found work quite easily and managed a fitness centre in a hotel for a reasonable salary. Of course this was 1994 when everything was cheaper. My room, no palace but I was ex army, cost me B4,500 a month. Eventually I became the company GM and spent my days moving between 6 clubs in the city, working 10am to 10pm (officially), I dressed in sports gear, I wasn't at all rushed and I set my own schedule (my boss nicknamed me The Dice Man). I met a lot of interesting club members, hotel guests and even a few celebrities. I was in BKK 5 years before moving on to working in other SE Asian countries.

 

There were other people that I rubbed shoulders with who had much bigger salaries, but for me it has never been about a dash for more cash and being a Brit 401K isn't in my vocab. I have an army pension and at 66 will get a partial OAP which is enough for me.

 

At 37 I dreamed of a big house with a pool, lazing around and jumping on a big motorcycle when the mood took me. I've seen and done a great deal in the nearly 25 years since. Now I live in a rented house and I'm content to go to the office 4 days a week, 10am to 4pm until my number is called. My salary isn't astronomical but as I told my brother when he asked why I work for this money, it's all relative and I earn as much in one month as my driver does in a year.

 

My brother is in the UK and has pots more money than me but still lives in the same house he bought 28 years ago and he lives much the same life at 69. I'm not criticisng, that's his life and he's happy. I've had the 'grass is greener' snipe from his wife but as I once told my assistant when I worked in PI, I just wanted my life to be different. After spells in Thaland, Vietnam, The Philippines and Cambodia (12 years and counting) I would say that I've achieved that much, while my brother and his wife have had to rely on holidays abroad for a change in their 8 to 5 lives.

 

All that said in the end it just boils down to "one man's meat is another man's poison", we each of us choose our own way. As long as those younger people in Thailand are happy teaching and living a different life, good luck to them I say.

Edited October 3, 2018 by freebyrd

[Suradit69]

I'm quite happy living in Thailand, but for about ten years before I retired here I worked in the UAE and I visited Thailand several times a year spending 3 or 4 months a year on holiday here in total, using the condo I bought early on, which meant my holidays here were far cheaper than if I had had to pay for hotels each time. When I retired in 2007 I had the condo ready to shift into on a "permanent" basis. I enjoyed living and working in Abu Dhabi and I enjoyed the time I spent here on holiday and I still enjoy being here in retirement.

 

I'm not obsessed with materialistic things, but the income while in Abu Dhabi was far better than anything available to me here as far as I could tell and the perks included a villa in AD as well as cash for furniture and interest free loan for a car and most of my travel expenses between there and Thailand.  I really don't think living and working in Thailand would have been as enjoyable.

 

As others have said, it's a personal thing. Whatever works for you, but I do think many people who decide to come here to work have naive expectations of how that will work out for them and they end up disappointed all around.

 

 

 

 

[blackhorse]

Part of my point.

 

Why would you want to raise your kids in one of the worst educational systems in the world?

 

Thai is a language and education that is useless outside of Thailand.

 

Young families that are working, getting older every year and have no avenue to a pension or anything else for their future.

 

 

It's called poor parenting. Greedy fathers putting themselves first instead of doing everything they can to relocate to 1st world and give their kids a real shot at life!

 

 

 

[zzidenn]

21 hours ago, CharlieH said:

You speak almost entirely of materialistic and monetary gain, not everyone places such importance on that aspect of their life, Circumstances and priorities are constantly shifting. To some, people and experiences are more important.

 

Each to their own, who is anyone to judge that its right or wrong. Its just different.????

exactly! there are plenty of reasons to move or not move to thailand. i work fulltime in a job that i love, the hours are great and i dont have to worry about cold and wet wintertimes. As a designer and artist i find Bangkok very inspiring and i love to sunbathe and swim as much as possible. i have a good salary, not crazy but on a level that allows me the luxuries i like but with modesty.

[murraynz]

20 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Isn't it a proven fact you need money to live on?

 

There is nothing materialistic about that now is there?

 

Isn't it a fact that one day everyone gets old and if you have no pension or retirement, you have no way to financially survive?

 

For every year a person works outside of their own countries retirement system, they lower the amount they will have at retirement.

 

For instance if you have worked in Thailand as a school teacher for 20 years, your US social security would be nothing.

 

One day you turn 65, have no job in Thailand and nothing to live on.

this writer is just stating the realistic facts----its the reality of life.. we do reach 65 at some time...

i cant think of much worse---than having very little money-for the next 30yrs.....it would be almost impossible to get work---anywhere...

i think lots of people DONT  properly cater for their retirement yrs---thats why we read stories like this 70yr old, others who hang themselves, or the almost daily-balcony jumpers...