For better or worse? Expats think Thailand is going down the pan, poll

[HuskerDo]

8 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

So this is news.  The result of a poll amongst the most negative miserable bunch of people in the country shows that most of them expect things in Thailand will get worse.  No shock there.

 

A sample size of 360 old duffers.

 

Seriously any poll on Thaivisa is hardly going to say Thailand is going to be amazing when the majority of posters absolutely hate living here, look down on Thais, and basically hate their lives.

 

Why is this even a news article?  It's quite ridiculous.

Very good points.

[HuskerDo]

2 hours ago, HalfLight said:

Jesus. Really?

 

Bloody hell...

 

Swedish? Bloody Hell...

 

 

Careful.... they might have the same opinion of you. :-)

[HalfLight]

12 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

So this is news.  The result of a poll amongst the most negative miserable bunch of people in the country shows that most of them expect things in Thailand will get worse.  No shock there.

 

A sample size of 360 old duffers.

 

Seriously any poll on Thaivisa is hardly going to say Thailand is going to be amazing when the majority of posters absolutely hate living here, look down on Thais, and basically hate their lives.

 

Why is this even a news article?  It's quite ridiculous.

Well I suppose you could gather those of the opposing opinions together and post an alternative viewpoint.

 

You might get 4 or 5 posters. But don't exclude the barstool brigade, if you do, then you might be in trouble.

 

Is there really any problem with just posting "I don't agree"?? Do you have to wax lyrical in your condemnation? And why do you think it's 360 'old duffers' and not 360 young layabouts and sex addicts?

 

Just being Devil's Advocate you understand...

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2019 by HalfLight

[HalfLight]

1 minute ago, HuskerDo said:

Careful.... they might have the same opinion of you. ????

If they're Swedish then I don't care and it doesn't matter. I've met a few of them.

 

 

 

[HalfLight]

4 minutes ago, HuskerDo said:

Very good points.

If you set the bar low enough.

 

 

 

[HuskerDo]

2 minutes ago, HalfLight said:

If they're Swedish then I don't care and it doesn't matter. I've met a few of them.

 

 

 

That's an odd statement. I'm sure it's all their fault you have the opinion of all Swedes you do. Unfortunate but you are entitled to your opinion sir. 

[HalfLight]

1 minute ago, HuskerDo said:

That's an odd statement. I'm sure it's all their fault you have the opinion of all Swedes you do. Unfortunate but you are entitled to your opinion sir. 

Indeed I am.

 

 

 

[Booboo101]

Thailand has always had problems and always will, but aren't people forgetting the reason they came here in the first place, most of Europe is on the verge of bankruptcy, over run with migrants and crime, as for the U.K., my old Country, were just a laughing stock, you have to work yourself to death just to pay your mortgage off and spend most of the year in damp cold wet weather.

As for prices, I have a nice pool villa, no mortgage, my electric is 1,500 a month, water 80 baht,  1,000 a month on diesel and my lunch every day is 60 baht, I don’t know anywhere in the world I could live like this !

[GinBoy2]

36 minutes ago, HuskerDo said:

Except for the incredibly cold winters and massively high taxes. Other than that I agree, it's not a bad place.

It's funny. After living so many years in Singapore and Thailand, I now really appreciate seasons.

 

In my younger days, that Singaporean all year climate was so appealing. 

 

Now looking out on crispy snow, but with the prospect of a gorgeous summer, seems idyllic 

[HuskerDo]

16 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

It's funny. After living so many years in Singapore and Thailand, I now really appreciate seasons.

 

In my younger days, that Singaporean all year climate was so appealing. 

 

Now looking out on crispy snow, but with the prospect of a gorgeous summer, seems idyllic 

Well I agree until it seems like summer will never come and there are blizzards in April. Doesn't happen all that often tho thank goodness. Winter is nice at the start but after 2 months people are ready to move on to another season but Mother Nature often has her own plans. It's just being human to say "it's too hot" or "it's too cold" or "it's too rainy" or "we need more rain".  :-) 

  

[Voltaren]

I already did my Cambodia research visa 300usd a year with multiple reentry.

Also no income proof required. Cheep!!!  Rent is high food prices not sure. A mug of beer 50 cents

 

[madmen]

So this is news.  The result of a poll amongst the most negative miserable bunch of people in the country shows that most of them expect things in Thailand will get worse.  No shock there.
 
A sample size of 360 old duffers.
 
Seriously any poll on Thaivisa is hardly going to say Thailand is going to be amazing when the majority of posters absolutely hate living here, look down on Thais, and basically hate their lives.
 
Why is this even a news article?  It's quite ridiculous.

It goes deeper. So many expats struggling here are chronic alcohilcs and obviously very depressed so the suicide rates speak for them selves.

I see a pattern where posters sound so desperate and then they stop posting followed by a announcement in the news section

Why is it so hard to walk away from LOS ? Why does it so often end in suicide..

[shy coconut]

16 hours ago, fruitman said:

We're also going to move out....enough is enough.

 

Many Thai products cost more in BKK than in the West....in the supermarkets...if you like high quality products (like most westerners do) thailand is 2-5 times as expensive as the West....so it's a no brainer for me...leave!

What is the price of high quality products in Cambodian supermarkets?

[Fex Bluse]

5 hours ago, Pattaya46 said:

Crazy how some people are ready to say whatever big lie

to try to legitimate their false opinion... 

FYI the number of movies of Netflix Thailand is about 3/4 of the USA one,

certainly not 1/10, and certainly not one of the SMALLEST in the World!

 

USA: https://www.finder.com/netflix-movies

26 Jan 2019. There are 4049 movies in Netflix library.

 

TH: https://www.finder.com/th/netflix-movies

26 Jan 2019. There are 2942 movies in Netflix library.

You need better sources. 

 

 

netflix-catalogs.pdf

[Fex Bluse]

6 hours ago, HuskerDo said:

Seems like many want Thailand to have everything they had "back home" just 50% cheaper. People who chose to move there also have the choice to return home or move elsewhere. If people are unhappy then fix it or quit complaining. Thailand is it's own country and they do things their way. You have to accept that fact. You don't have to agree with how they do things but you have to accept it. Who cares about Netflix when there is so much to experience outside of your home. The wealth gap is huge everywhere. Thailand doesn't have any worse issues than other countries.

How can anyone believe that all countries have exactly the same seriousness of issues? How is that possible? Think about it. 

 

Isn't that sort of ridiculous to suggest? 

[HuskerDo]

15 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

How can anyone believe that all countries have exactly the same seriousness of issues? How is that possible? Think about it. 

 

Isn't that sort of ridiculous to suggest? 

In what way did I suggest such a thing? I was just saying that Thailand is what it is and no one HAS to move there BUT if they do they need to fully understand that it's not like your home country. If anyone chooses to move there they have to know what they are getting into just like moving anywhere else in the world. You can't complain about things as it was your choice to move there. That is my point. You can't move to another country and then when things aren't exactly the way you want them you call the situation and the people "stupid". 

[Lacessit]

7 hours ago, madmen said:

People choosing thailand because pineapples are cheaper and sweeter. How sad is that!
So many desperates here broke and busted and justify it for the most ridiculous reasons.

You admit you don't have health insurance but as long as those mangoes are cheaper than oz.. It's all good

I have top level private health cover in Australia, the cost of a plane ticket away. I self-insure here due to pre-existing conditions which disqualify me from getting cover here.

There are a lot of things in Thailand that are far cheaper than Oz. If you want to focus on mangoes and pineapples, be my guest.

Actually, it's your monomania on how cheap it is to live in Oz that is sad and delusional.

[Lacessit]

7 hours ago, Rod the Sod said:

8. As a retirement Visa holder with no income coming into Thailand, zero tax world-wide (UK citizen). I bought my "appreciating" condo on the back of that alone. Good luck those that chose rental...

 

 

 

Good luck when you are trying to sell said condo. There's a four-letter word called glut.

I'd rather keep my money in Oz, where it earns income and doesn't have political uncertainty dogging it.

[Lacessit]

13 hours ago, DrTuner said:

And you get a lot of pesticides for free as well, a bargain!

So many worrywarts. Exposure to pesticides is important when you are a child or in your teens. When you are in your seventies or eighties, it doesn't matter a damn.

[HuskerDo]

4 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Good luck when you are trying to sell said condo. There's a four-letter word called glut.

I'd rather keep my money in Oz, where it earns income and doesn't have political uncertainty dogging it.

Something to consider when talking about the income you earn by keeping your money in OZ. With the exchange rate for baht as it is I suspect a person would have made a good amount just on the baht appreciation over the years had the money been in a Thai bank. 

[Lacessit]

8 minutes ago, HuskerDo said:

Something to consider when talking about the income you earn by keeping your money in OZ. With the exchange rate for baht as it is I suspect a person would have made a good amount just on the baht appreciation over the years had the money been in a Thai bank. 

You may be right. The AUD seems to be fluctuating now between 22 - 24 baht. A friend of mine is predicting 19.

Having said that, the only "safe" way to earn income in Thailand is through condo ownership and rental. Bars and shops don't seem to do all that well for most farangs. Or some Thais, for that matter. So I'll stick with what I know.

 

Edited January 25, 2019 by Lacessit

[lamyai3]

1 hour ago, shy coconut said:

What is the price of high quality products in Cambodian supermarkets?

Not available really. Better prices on imported beers and wine though.

[HuskerDo]

5 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

You may be right. The AUD seems to be fluctuating now between 22 - 24 baht. A friend of mine is predicting 19.

Having said that, the only "safe" way to earn income in Thailand is through condo ownership and rental. Bars and shops don't seem to do all that well for most farangs. Or some Thais, for that matter. So I'll stick with what I know.

 

I don't know how anyone can predict exchange rates going forward. That's a tricky game. Too many variables. I'll be interested in your friends prediction tho.   

[Fex Bluse]

1 hour ago, HuskerDo said:

In what way did I suggest such a thing? I was just saying that Thailand is what it is and no one HAS to move there BUT if they do they need to fully understand that it's not like your home country. If anyone chooses to move there they have to know what they are getting into just like moving anywhere else in the world. You can't complain about things as it was your choice to move there. That is my point. You can't move to another country and then when things aren't exactly the way you want them you call the situation and the people "stupid". 

Sure, I can agree that we should not expect things to be like our home countries. 

 

However, we CAN expect equal protections under law and we CAN expect to be treated with respect when we are so deserving.

 

We also should never surrender all our own beautiful culture and what makes us who we are. The Chinese, for example, import their culture wherever they emmigrate. Why shouldn't we expect similar flexibility for some of ours to be adopted? This is how the world has worked for more than a thousand years. 

 

Oh, and sometimes the people (many, not all) are, undeniably, stupid. 

Edited January 25, 2019 by Fex Bluse

[rubyjuan]

Life in Vietnam is terrific!  I left Thailand in 2014 and been in VN since. High quality and low cost.

[Fex Bluse]

10 minutes ago, rubyjuan said:

Life in Vietnam is terrific!  I left Thailand in 2014 and been in VN since. High quality and low cost.

Better women, too. 

[Spidey]

2 hours ago, shy coconut said:

What is the price of high quality products in Cambodian supermarkets?

What supermarkets?

[Skallywag]

1 hour ago, rubyjuan said:

Life in Vietnam is terrific!  I left Thailand in 2014 and been in VN since. High quality and low cost.

So you dont find the communist government to be a hinderance in your lifestyle at all?  Just wondering as my google of world nomads suggest trouble with the law there if you engage or discuss in politics , religion, prostitution, "sensitive" photography, blogging, gambling, etc...   Never been - curious

 

[marcusarelus]

7 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

So just musing here. 

 

But it strikes me that Thai's, well the ruling elite at least, want a tourist population, but not necessarily a retired old man population.

 

And at least it seems to be a philosophy that is gaining momentum

 

In that elite Thai society that seems forever destined to rule Thailand, there is without doubt endemic xenophobia.

 

In all honesty I'm now fine with being a 3 month tourist, no visa extension, 90 reporting, money in the bank etc etc. It's their country, they do what they want

 

But contrast that to my wife, now a US permanent resident. Essentially the same rights, freedom, employment privileges as me, indeed she now works for the Feds!

 

That scenario is probably true for any Thai who ends up in the West. 

 

Can't quite visualize that ever happening in Thailand, at least in my lifetime! 

If they didn't want the retired population why would they make the visa so easy, A pittance in the bank and 10 minutes a year at the immigration office?

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, Fex Bluse said:

Better women, too. 

And you know this how?