Why do some expats just complain but then never leave?

[sadhukar]

I used to post quite often here 5 years ago. Back then, something like 70% of posts would be from miserable middle aged men complaining about Thailand and Thai people. This is bad, this is wrong, this sucks, Thais are ignorant, stupid, greedy, two-faced, yada yada yada. Some of the complaints were just borderline racist rants rather than anything legitimate.

 

I lurk around ThaiVisa because I don't live in Thailand and it's a good place to get news about the place in English. So I check in on the forum every now and then. And wow, 5 years later, not only are there just as many people complaining about the same things and going on borderline racist rants, alot of the times they happen to be the same people who were doing the complaining 5 years ago. 

So why the hell won't they just leave?

[Olmate]

Great to hear from you! Are you seriously concerned or just shit stirring I wonder

[LomSak27]

Just now, Olmate said:

Great to hear from you! Are you seriously concerned or just shit stirring I wonder

 

Our long lost TV members check in and Well they have to post something don't they. At least they have a big spoon.

[Mel52]

That’s a mystery to me as well. I’ve been asking the same question for years mostly after reading some extremely whiny posts on this forum. I get it this isn’t the United States, Europe, or Australia. This forum is a good place to get information SOMETIMES but for the most part it’s infested with people who are very left leaning I guess I don’t know. I don’t really care about politics I can’t stand politics one way or the other.

 

 

[LomSak27]

Congrats Mel52! Looks like you are approaching your 2nd month here on Thaivisa. Let me be the first to wish you well.  

[NCC1701A]

27 minutes ago, sadhukar said:

I lurk around ThaiVisa because I don't live in Thailand

me too. I'm actually 12 years old and live in Searchlight Nevada in my mother's basement.

[Mel52]

Congrats Mel52! Looks like you are approaching your 2nd month here on Thaivisa. Let me be the first to wish you well.  

lol [emoji23] yeah right my second month. Under which name? I’m sorry if I undermined your vast experience here on the Thai Visas forum

[simon43]

1 minute ago, NCC1701A said:

me too. I'm actually 12 years old and live in Searchlight Nevada in my mother's basement.

Do you get sick of that?  I'd be moaning every day about living in a basement, perhaps moaning even more about living in Nevada...

[NCC1701A]

1 minute ago, simon43 said:

Do you get sick of that?  I'd be moaning every day about living in a basement, perhaps moaning even more about living in Nevada...

i used to live in Hua Hin, but I read so many bad things on TV about immigration, banks, police, women, the environment I was afraid to go out. 

After a year I realized I was going to be 13 soon so I came back to Searchlight. 

[Mel52]

Do you get sick of that?  I'd be moaning every day about living in a basement, perhaps moaning even more about living in Nevada...

Nevada lol [emoji23]. I know this total idiot who lives in Nevada that comes here like once every 5 years or so who sends money to his “wife” “girlfriend” or whatever he’s calling her these days with no official marriage certificate. And she has multiple other dudes sending her money as well from all over the world and Thai boyfriends and she has tried to come on to me multiple times. She is pretty fun though and speaks good English.

[Mel52]

She’s my wife’s niece on the other side of my wife’s family

 

 

 

 

[Stocky]

Quote

Why do some expats just complain but then never leave?

Some old folks are only happy when they've something to complain about, so Thailand is an ideal country for them to live in. A clinical condition referred to as Meldrewitis.

 

.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Stocky

[emptypockets]

Its in some people's DNA to moan and complain.

[dode57k]

It's a valuable site with good information, but like many others it's crawling with comedians. Use the ignore facility. It suddenly becomes a much better place.

[KiChakayan]

Maybe Thailand hasn't improved one iota during the 5 terribly long cold and dry years TVers had to endure, desperately in need of your enlightenment.

 

[from the home of CC]

I suspect if they are actually living here they feel out of control, bitching gives them back some perceived power..

[geoffbezoz]

1 minute ago, dode57k said:

It's a valuable site with good information, but like many others it's crawling with comedians. Use the ignore facility. It suddenly becomes a much better place.

thanks for the tip, just added you to it ????

[tabarin]

Because anyone has the right to complain, regardless to hypocrites that say they can't because they are not Thai.

Aside of this, when employed, not having the financial freedom to prepare / fake Thai GF, Wife for a yearly visa elsewhere. 
Or simply trying to figure out, where to go otherwise then. Not to mention those who lived here for ages and are simply rooted / too old to start elsewhere again.

That you are stuck does not mean you can't complain about where you are, neither does the home country being more sour mean you should be happy here.

P.S. I still have to meet the first lower or middle class Thai that is not complaining too but I guess it is politically incorrect to say that as they are Thai, in 2019.

Edited July 6, 2019 by tabarin

[NCC1701A]

4 minutes ago, dode57k said:

but like many others it's crawling with comedians.

yes execute the comedians.

[marcusarelus]

I think the longest complaining inmate should get a reward.  Can we take a survey?  Who has been the longest complaining member?

[Mel52]

Because anyone has the right to complain, regardless to hypocrites that say they can't because they are not Thai.

Aside of this, when employed, not having the financial freedom to prepare / fake Thai GF, Wife for a yearly visa elsewhere. 
Or simply trying to figure out, where to go otherwise then. Not too mention those who lived here for ages and are simply rooted / too old to start elsewhere again.

That you are stuck does not mean you can't complain about where you are, neither does the home country being more sour, means you should be happy here.

We all chose to live here in a foreign country doesn’t matter how long you’ve been here you still chose Thailand. We are all responsible for our own life decisions no one else is responsible except for us who made the decision. We have to sleep in the beds that we made. Blaming others for your own problems and complaining about it is hypocritical by definition. Life isn’t always fair most people know that but it’s amazing how many people don’t know that.

[tabarin]

1 minute ago, Mel52 said:

We all chose to live here in a foreign country doesn’t matter how long you’ve been here you still chose Thailand. We are all responsible for our own life decisions no one else is responsible except for us who made the decision. We have to sleep in the beds that we made. Blaming others for your own problems and complaining about it is hypocritical by definition. Life isn’t always fair most people know that but it’s amazing how many people don’t know that.

I think your perspective is limited to a foreign individual, that is really narrow minded, many people are married and have kids,
that changes everything including your power and ability to do something about it. For most people at least.

[bkk6060]

42 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

me too. I'm actually 12 years old and live in Searchlight Nevada in my mother's basement.

 

Is this your house in Searchlight?  The Ad says it has a basement..

If you look older get a fake ID save your pennies and make your way to the Chicken Ranch in Pahrump it will make a quick man of you. ???? 

 

Edited July 6, 2019 by bkk6060

[NCC1701A]

7 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

 

Is this your house in Searchlight?  The Ad says it has a basement..

If you look older get a fake ID save your pennies and make your way to the Chicken Ranch in Pahrump it will make a man of you. ???? 

 

my mom works at the chicken ranch. not sure who my dad is.

anyway i think it is frustrating not being able to speak Thai and people can't vent here like they can a home. so they

come online and rip everything to shreds. And most of the members here have huge inferiority complexes and so it makes them feel good about themselves.   

there is some guy on here who always talks about having five girlfriends and has slept with everyone's wife in Hua Hun.

 

I mean how sad is that?

 

Edited July 6, 2019 by NCC1701A

[emptypockets]

12 minutes ago, tabarin said:

I think your perspective is limited to a foreign individual, that is really narrow minded, many people are married and have kids,
that changes everything including your power and ability to do something about it. For most people at least.

Being married and having kids is ok, perfectly normal, when you are in the prime of your life, working and earning. The kids grow up and then lead their own lives. Then you can enjoy the fruits of your labour, relax, travel whatever.

But to go to a foreign country at retirement age with nothing but a pension to sustain you and having kids is plain crazy in my opinion. Almost certainly the kid(s) will be fatherless before they finish primary or high school, and if they aren't what quality of father will they have at that age - an old bloke snoozing on the sofa or in a wheelchair. Bordering on child abuse.

When I met my now wife I made the conscious decision to have a vasectomy.

If it works for you that's fine.

Not for me thanks - the wife and I have 7 grandchildren (3 here, 4 in Oz) between us to keep us occupied when we choose to.

 

Yer makes yer choices - don't complain about it

 

[Puchaiyank]

Can't we complain incognito if we want to?  Why are you trying to make us more miserable than we appear to be already...

 

My newest complaint is TVF allowing the likes of you to post here every five years...

[Gecko123]

Top Complaints About Thailand (in order of frequency):

 

1. Changing and inconsistently administered Immigration regulations

2. Road safety

3. Rising cost of living and weakening home currencies

4. Wife/girlfriend issues

5. Frustration about forming meaningful relationships with Thais

6. Corruption

7. Air pollution

8. Dual pricing

9. Crime

 

If there's one thing I've learned from this forum is that there's often a life cycle to the expat experience. There are of course many people on this forum who were here five years ago, but there's also a tremendous amount of turnover. If you go back five years on the forum and browse around, you'll see very few names who are currently active today. Also, five years ago there was a lot more blatant racism on this forum than there is today.

 

There's often an evolution to how people perceive Thailand. People typically come in with a rose-coloured, eternally optimistic true believer mindset. While for a few this never changes, for most it's an evolutionary process. Many people believe that TVF just encourages cynicism and is overly negative, and there's some truth to that. But dismissing the views of anyone who has grown disenchanted with Thailand as just a bunch of maladjusted kooks is a mistake and you do so at your own peril, as I personally think there's often a great deal of truth and merit behind the complaints.

 

 

To answer your question about why some people who appear to be unhappy remain, there are a whole host of reasons, including financial difficulty to transition back to the West. In particular, it's important to realize that in the past 10 years, monetary policy in the West has grossly inflated housing prices to the point where many people who otherwise would be able to repatriate can't because housing has become such a big expense. In response to this highly abnormal situation, some who are actively planning to return to the West are preparing by delaying enrollment in entitlement programs, saving money by extending their stay in Thailand, exercising frugality, and watching the global economy for signs that the housing bubble may be deflating.

 

[FritsSikkink]

Maybe because they can't afford to live in the west.

[Mel52]

I think your perspective is limited to a foreign individual, that is really narrow minded, many people are married and have kids,
that changes everything including your power and ability to do something about it. For most people at least.

You know what you’re right man there’s a lot of problems in Thailand for us foreigners living here. I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do I’ll make a few phone calls and get it all straightened out for you and maybe I’ll call and fix the Middle East as well. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

[Gecko123]

33 minutes ago, Mel52 said:

We all chose to live here in a foreign country doesn’t matter how long you’ve been here you still chose Thailand. We are all responsible for our own life decisions no one else is responsible except for us who made the decision. We have to sleep in the beds that we made. Blaming others for your own problems and complaining about it is hypocritical by definition. Life isn’t always fair most people know that but it’s amazing how many people don’t know that.

Stop! I'm allergic to platitudes!