Why are so many expats leaving Thailand?

[transam]

19 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

I personally know of a few that have left...None post on here.

How convenient!

Where I live I have met quite a few farangs over the years but I only know 2 that frequent these pages.

I have put my face on TVF many times and not one bloke I know has said..."Saw you on TVF", tell a lie, one, he reads but not posts..

[marcusarelus]

19 hours ago, possum1931 said:

You are saying that right now there are actually expats coming to Thailand to retire????

Been a number posted on TV about it.  Americans have not been hit badly by Brexit.

[marcusarelus]

2 hours ago, geoffbezoz said:

 

But the fact that pork butt was quoted as being the same price as 10 years ago was more than likely they purchased it 10 years ago and its been frozen ever since which perhaps explains why most Makro "fresh meat" counters stink.

Have you never been to Makro? And watched them cutting fresh meat every morning?  Don't they have Makro in the UK?

[transam]

3 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Have you never been to Makro? And watched them cutting fresh meat every morning?  Don't they have Makro in the UK?

Yes, for many years..

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makro

[marcusarelus]

20 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

"They make nothing themselves..."

Garbage.

How about german junk?

https://www.bmwgroup-werke.com/rayong/en/our-plant/built-in-thailand.html

[rumak]

18 hours ago, CMNightRider said:

 Most westerners are not going to buy into this nonsense and are just moving on.

Oh I wish that were true.    Oops, forgot about our rental business .  We only rent to westerners.  See, in

many countries that would be illegal.  You could only rent to women or "minorities" or people of different sexual orientations.   Older white men forget it.  Off to the internment camps.  

what was the topic again ?

Edited August 9, 2019 by rumak

[totally thaied up]

23 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

Overall then, based on evidence, not hearsay, it seems that after 24 pages not so many are leaving Thailand, after all.

Others are coming to take their place. I met someone in my coffee shop this week that is only 38 and paid just for his Thai Elite Visa. First Elite member I have met.

 

I have had friends leave but others just fill their places. In fact, I have only four of my old social world friends stay but I have met enough newbies to fill those that left spots.

[NoshowJones]

33 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Been a number posted on TV about it.  Americans have not been hit badly by Brexit.

I'll take your word for it, but it is not just Brexit or the exchange rate, no one in his right mind from any western country would retire to Thailand without doing due diligence unless it was something to do with family in the present climate with the immigration issues, ie treating us like criminals.

[singking]

I know of a few that left but it was more under the pretense they did not like it here, some went back home, others to South America and one to Russia. 
 
I live out in a village. Price per plate for food is 25 baht to 35 baht. Plate sizes are the same as 10 years back but maybe less meat. Anything from overseas is expensive. If buying meat or veges, it is still cheap.
 
My costs have gone up 30% in four years due to currency. If it makes it to 50% my wife and I will return home. I am not at my limit yet but I do have one. 
 
I cannot see the baht getting weaker to the AUD even with cuts. 

I just left Australia for here. If you think Thailand is too dear for you then you are in for a huge shock back in Australia. The present government will very soon bring Oz to its knees. Cut your loses and stay


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, transam said:

Mon ami, my UK snooker hall sold beer and to assume a sport is just for drunkards is a little bizaar...

May I point out that darts world champion John Lowe (74) was awarded the MBE for his services to the sport... 

For a start Trans, snooker, darts, or pool are not sports, sure they require a bit of skill, but they are games or pastimes, and the MBE means nothing, look at the Sirs, Elton, Mick, etc, etc, etc, almost anyone gets a title these days, they are handed out like confetti.

[geoffbezoz]

49 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Have you never been to Makro? And watched them cutting fresh meat every morning?  Don't they have Makro in the UK?

40 years ago they did have in the UK but what is a stupid comment like that supposed to prove ? this is about expats in Thailand leaving, not retail stores in the UK or anywhere else. However this post also discusses the cost of foodstuffs (the reason why some expats may be leaving) , but if you think a naive comment such as watching  Makro staff cutting fresh meat contributes anything then carry on ? It is not fresh in the real term. Just meat that has thawed after being removed from the freezer. Go on tell me the fresh milk they sell you think they milk the cows daily too ???????? . Makro  do not have any facilities in Thailand for the hanging of pork of beef carcasses in their individual stores for 10 to 14 days after slaughter.  So please before attempting to post things check you facts, understand that fresh meat is just that fresh.  Big C does ( but not many stores) amongst the major stores in Thailand. 

 

But hey I am not really knocking you because without you and others how would Makro survive ?

Edited August 9, 2019 by geoffbezoz

[sanemax]

On 8/8/2019 at 2:11 AM, transam said:

Booze and smokes still cost peanuts here, have a look in farangland at the cost of a pack of smokes, UK is around 10 quid whereas here 60bht...

Can of Chang , 50 Baht in Thailand , like for liker in the UK, 37 Baht

[transam]

2 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Can of Chang , 50 Baht in Thailand , like for liker in the UK, 37 Baht

I can buy a pint bottle for 50bht....

[sanemax]

13 minutes ago, transam said:

I can buy a pint bottle for 50bht....

There are numerous things alot cheaper in the UK , deodorant , 79 p in the UK , 150 Baht in Thailand7

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Thai Rung.

Thairung is nothing more than a bastardized Isuzu. It's defo a local design though as can be told from its innate albiet fucntional fugliness.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, marcusarelus said:

Have you never been to Makro? And watched them cutting fresh meat every morning?  ...

No, but thanks for the tip. It's now on my bucket list, right after I play a round of golf on Mars.

[ThePioneer]

28 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Can of Chang , 50 Baht in Thailand , like for liker in the UK, 37 Baht

Like for like, so you mean 490CC Chang cans are available in the UK for the equivalent of 37 Baht?

[transam]

14 minutes ago, sanemax said:

There are numerous things alot cheaper in the UK , deodorant , 79 p in the UK , 150 Baht in Thailand7

What about houses, local taxes (rates), water/sewerage, even hospital parking fees, petrol, diesel, train travel.......

[Ctkong]

22 hours ago, villagefarang said:

Thailand has always been a transient place for foreigners, a mere pitstop in life.  People like me are as rare as dinosaurs and almost everyone I knew in the early years are long gone.  Over the decades the kind of people coming to Thailand have changed and so have their reasons for leaving.  But for all the complaining there are always more people arriving, everyday.  I see no reason to get all upset over people leaving.

Sure. People changed. Their priorities also changed. Given the changes thailand had gone thru these 10/20 years due to economic progress, I still say it is a good place to stay long term given other options. 

 

Many people left due to their inability to fulfill immigration requirements as Thai immigration is getting their act together to close existing loopholes. One of the thing that benefit from the current immigration action is the notion that Thailand is a haven for foreign criminals fleeing justice from their home countries. 

  

[mommysboy]

On 8/8/2019 at 7:58 AM, BritManToo said:

I've not noticed much in the way of inflation.

What items do you think have gone up?

 

The room I rented 10 years back at 5k/month is still the same price.

Petrol is now 26bht, it was 32bht.

A kilo of bread flour is 32bht, same as it was back then.

I've lived here quite a while now. My impression is that the cost of living has increased markedly, for a family anyway, particularly in recent years.  As a matter of fact I was working it out with a friend who lived in Bangkok 10 years ago.  He was making around 50k for a while, and was able to support his family, and even save substantial money for a rainy day.  We worked out that today he would need the 50k just to survive.   I am in a similar position at the moment.

 

But the biggest problem is 'money in'.  If an expat is reliant on his dollars, pounds, etc, then he has likely suffered as much as a 50% decrease, due currency changes.  I first worked as teacher in Thailand.  Back then the salaries varied from 30-40k per month, and that is much the same now. 

 

You give a few examples, but these pale in to insignifance when one considers that health insurance almost doubled for my 4 year old this year.  Maybe I'm buying the wrong things, but even pot noodles seemed to have gone up recently.  

 

Anyway. farang expats are certainly thin on the ground; why else would they be leaving?

 

 

[watcharacters]

23 hours ago, owenm said:

Probably the Australians have the most expensive ciggies on the planet, but they still have smokers prepared to pay for their addiction.. 

 

Price definitely didn't  make me give up ciggies  15 years ago.   

 

Noise did it.

 

[mommysboy]

2 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

There are a lot of risks confronting those considering repatriation which weren't present 20 years ago. Interest rates are a lot lower, real estate is grossly overpriced in many countries in the West, sovereign debt is sky high (casting a cloud over the future viability of entitlement programs), currencies have become less stable, income inequality has increased, and political and social tensions are on the rise.

 

If interest rates were higher (rewarding savers), if housing price increases in the past 10 years had adhered more to historic averages, if there was greater confidence that the next economic downturn could be managed through fiscal and monetary policy and entitlement programs could be fully relied upon, if the US dollar and other currencies weren't at risk of being sharply devalued, and if America hadn't been driven into such polarized and racially divided camps by the incumbent president, I suspect that many more people would have returned home than have done so already.

 

I consider myself to be very fortunate to be in the financial condition I am in, but nevertheless, due to the above economic uncertainties, distortions in housing prices, and the toxic social environment in the US, I feel it would be prudent to remain in Thailand for several more years in the hopes that greater socio-economic visibility emerges. This isn't mumble mouthed excuse making, but based on a very careful and well-thought-out assessment.

 

The people who scoff that those who claim they are leaving are "all talk and no action" need to understand that the socio-economic times we are living in are truly exceptional.

 

 

It's not a picnic back home- that's true.  But I tell you I would rather be poor in the UK than in Thailand, and I reckon the same goes for the USA.

[BritManToo]

11 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

You give a few examples, but these pale in to insignifance when one considers that health insurance almost doubled for my 4 year old this year.  Maybe I'm buying the wrong things, but even pot noodles seemed to have gone up recently.  

Thai children have free health care, and it's good quality too.

If you're paying for healthcare (and private schools), you're throwing money away.

 

You should also be cooking all your food at home from basic ingredients, I even make my own bread and jam.

Pot noodles is unhealthy and a waste of money, and sadly an indication of your lifestyle..

Edited August 9, 2019 by BritManToo

[mommysboy]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Thai children have free health care, and it's good quality too.

If you're paying for healthcare (and private schools), you're throwing money away.

 

You should also be cooking all your food at home from basic ingredients, I even make my own bread and jam.

Pot noodles is unhealthy and a waste of money, and sadly an indication of your lifestyle..

I don't think 'bread flour' predicts a particularly wonderful lifestyle, does it?  And of course I am now reliant on the Thai health service.  Whatever the merits of bread and jam or otherwise, it does not indicate affluence.

 

No booze, no fags, no holidays, and I have cancelled my gym membership.  We are eating much more fruit and veg than before, and looking to eliminate bad food like wheat.

 

But the point is this: the cost of living has definitely increased and it's ever harder to earn even half decent money.  In the end, you can only spend so little. 

 

Why else have so many left?

 

 

[Ctkong]

13 hours ago, observer90210 said:

why are they leaving ?

TM30 - Taxi cheats - overpriced barstool hookers entertainers - overpriced booze in clubs - dual pricing - 90 day reporting - red tape on visa renewals - re-entry permits - non-ownership of land for foreign house buyers - overrated Thai Bhat exchange rate and much more maybe ? ...

All can be avoided by your behavior. No hardship there. It all depends upon your tolerance level and other options. To each his own haven. Live and let live. 

[mommysboy]

23 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Thai children have free health care, and it's good quality too.

If you're paying for healthcare (and private schools), you're throwing money away.

 

You should also be cooking all your food at home from basic ingredients, I even make my own bread and jam.

Pot noodles is unhealthy and a waste of money, and sadly an indication of your lifestyle..

'Thai children have free health care, and it's good quality too.'

 

Can you (or anyone) confirm this is true?  It would certainly help me to breathe one sigh of relief.

[mommysboy]

10 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

All can be avoided by your behavior. No hardship there. It all depends upon your tolerance level and other options. To each his own haven. Live and let live. 

There is wisdom in this.  I must admit a relative decline in wealth has made me much fitter and healthier.  There are limits, of course.

[BritManToo]

6 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

'Thai children have free health care, and it's good quality too.'

Can you (or anyone) confirm this is true?  It would certainly help me to breathe one sigh of relief.

Yeah, my kid was born in government hospital, he had a serious illness when he was 2 fixed in a government hospital.

And a few other trips for this and that.

Apart from a bit of waiting around, everything was good.

 

I've also had 2 fairly serious illness also managed well by government hospital, at very reasonable prices (as a foreigner).

And a few accident repairs.

[mommysboy]

Just now, BritManToo said:

Yeah, my kid was born in government hospital, he had a serious illness when he was 2 fixed in a government hospital.

And a few other trips for this and that.

Apart from a bit of waiting around, everything was good.

 

I've also had 2 fairly serious illness also managed well by government hospital, at very reasonable prices (as a foreigner).

And a few accident repairs.

 

Thanks.  I believe you and feel more relieved.

[BritManToo]

21 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

Why else have so many left?

Immigration problems, that's why all my pals left.

And if it wasn't for my family, I would have gone too.