Why are so many expats leaving Thailand?

[JaiLai]

9 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Define immigration problems.

Did they have trouble filling in the paperwork?

I'm sure there are many bilingual English/Thai people who could have assisted.

More likely to be financial problems.

 

All the long timers know money sorts everything here.............no exceptions.

 

[emptypockets]

On ‎8‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 4:56 PM, marcusarelus said:

5Not at the grocery section at the supermarket.  Or at the Samsung store.  Or at MacDonald's.  A trip to the mall in Thailand is mega fun.

You certainly can at the Maccas near soi 7 Sukhumvit BKK. I often get one with the lot from there. Sometimes go for the double. Admittedly the meat is aged but usually lean with very little fat, but oh my!Certainly satisfies my hunger after a lack of quarter pounding after working overseas for 3 weeks. 

Edited August 10, 2019 by emptypockets

[emptypockets]

On ‎8‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 5:16 PM, marcusarelus said:

Nice guy.  If you hit someone without or with cause in most bars in the West they put you in jail.  I was here in 2005 to and I had a Muay Thai body guard.  She put a number of fellows away.  Only costs 500 baht to get her out of jail.

Why did you need a female Muay Thai trained bodyguard?

[emptypockets]

On ‎8‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 5:59 PM, GarryP said:

Of all the people I knew when I first came to Thailand 37 years ago (and there were quite a few), I only know of one who is still here. A few have died but most drifted back to their home countries.  As a result I now have very few friends here,  and don't really want to invest too much time in making new friends, only to say goodbye a year down the road.  Friendship with fellow foreigners is so transient in Thailand.    

As it is everywhere if you are mobile. I grew up in a mining town in Australia  and worked all over the country. Never really had a 'home town' as such with roots.

Longest time in one spot was 10 years for the kids primary schooling, then moved to a better place for their high school/trad/uni.

As you say transient friends. 

[emptypockets]

On ‎8‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 6:55 PM, Jimbo53 said:

Enjoy it while you can,see if you still feel the same in 5 years!

14 years was more than enough for me,too much BS,and only holidays there for me now,moved 2 years ago,never looked back!! should have done it 5 years before that!

How much did she take you for?

[emptypockets]

29 minutes ago, JaiLai said:

More likely to be financial problems.

 

All the long timers know money sorts everything here.............no exceptions.

 

Totally agree. It's all about money. I find it amusing that we have literally thousands of posts knocking the Asian 'face' thing when in fact it is alive and well all over the world.

 

Instead of thirty odd pages of comments on why expats are leaving it could have been summed up in one page.

THEY ARE BROKE. But cannot admit it and use a myriad of anti thai nonsense to justify their (forced) decision to leave.

 

As an aside the wife and I just spent a very pleasant 3 days at savvankhet, Laos. She got talking to some locals about  general stuff and they mentioned how they don't see many foreigners anymore. The central government seems to think that too many foreigners  affects or (dilutes..my words) their culture and that is not desirable for them.

Possibly this is happening in Thai too? Pattaya may well become the family friendly resort when the , allegedly, culturally unacceptable are driven out. Just a thought.

 

 

[lamyai3]

On 8/9/2019 at 5:44 PM, marcusarelus said:

I have found Buddhist I like in Thailand and if you were not trying to bash Thailand or learn about Buddhism you would search for the truth.  This thread is about expats leaving Thailand are you really saying because Wat's are better in Bhutan?

It's a tough choice... Buddhist U Like or Wats R Us?

[lamyai3]

On 8/9/2019 at 2:08 PM, ThePioneer said:

On 8/9/2019 at 1:37 PM, 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?

Not sure about the Chang, but large bottles of Singha (620ml) can be had in Asda at £6 for four, that's 54 baht a bottle. Quite a bit cheaper than the supermarket prices in Thailand. 

[Jip99]

7 hours ago, emptypockets said:

Totally agree. It's all about money. I find it amusing that we have literally thousands of posts knocking the Asian 'face' thing when in fact it is alive and well all over the world.

 

Instead of thirty odd pages of comments on why expats are leaving it could have been summed up in one page.

THEY ARE BROKE. But cannot admit it and use a myriad of anti thai nonsense to justify their (forced) decision to leave.

 

As an aside the wife and I just spent a very pleasant 3 days at savvankhet, Laos. She got talking to some locals about  general stuff and they mentioned how they don't see many foreigners anymore. The central government seems to think that too many foreigners  affects or (dilutes..my words) their culture and that is not desirable for them.

Possibly this is happening in Thai too? Pattaya may well become the family friendly resort when the , allegedly, culturally unacceptable are driven out. Just a thought.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, I don't fit your agenda.

 

I am in the financial position where I can make the choices about where I stay and where I go.

 

If I chose to leave Thailand it would be because I decided to spend my money elsewhere.

[marcusarelus]

9 hours ago, emptypockets said:

Why did you need a female Muay Thai trained bodyguard?

Because there are expats in Thailand who try and beat you up if they don't like your clothes.

 

One of these bully types posted on TV 

"Text them?? No! Tell them I will count to three, then If they do not move sharpish, well I'm

sure you can figure out the rest."

 

Never can be to careful.  Hooligans everywhere.

Edited August 11, 2019 by marcusarelus

[JaiLai]

Because there are expats in Thailand who try and beat you up if they don't like your clothes.
 
One of these bully types posted on TV 

"Text them?? No! Tell them I will count to three, then If they do not move sharpish, well I'm

sure you can figure out the rest."

 

Never can be to careful.  Hooligans everywhere.

Behave....

I feel much safer here and have seen less trouble here in 20years than friends have seen in my home country.

You need to have a look at where you’re hanging out.....


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[NanLaew]

4 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Because there are expats in Thailand who try and beat you up if they don't like your clothes.

 

One of these bully types posted on TV 

"Text them?? No! Tell them I will count to three, then If they do not move sharpish, well I'm

sure you can figure out the rest."

 

Never can be to careful.  Hooligans everywhere.

You have moved in strange circles haven't you?

 

In about 40 years I have worn what I like, said what I like and done what I like and neither Thai nor farang have felt the need to get in my face. Apart from the punk that bottled me of course. I was drunk and disorderly and he was way out of line but I was certainly aware that I contributed to my own demise.

 

Certainly never been bullied through the pages of TV.

 

What's your back story then? This thread is running outta puff at 31 pages and needs something new.

[transam]

4 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Because there are expats in Thailand who try and beat you up if they don't like your clothes.

 

One of these bully types posted on TV 

"Text them?? No! Tell them I will count to three, then If they do not move sharpish, well I'm

sure you can figure out the rest."

 

Never can be to careful.  Hooligans everywhere.

Are you in prison...?

[hugocnx]

On 8/9/2019 at 10:09 AM, 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.

What an utter silly conclusion. I thought you'd know better.

[geoffbezoz]

1 minute ago, hugocnx said:

What an utter silly conclusion. I thought you'd know better.

Why is it silly ? or have you got no sense of smell and/or do not go any where near a Makro meat counter ?

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

Why is it silly ? or have you got no sense of smell and/or do not go any where near a Makro meat counter ?

I never go anywhere near the Makro meat counter.

I prefer my meat plastic shrink wrapped from the local Tesco stores.

[hugocnx]

5 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

Why is it silly ? or have you got no sense of smell and/or do not go any where near a Makro meat counter ?

Your idea of Makro having meat stocked for 10 years something. As if keeping stock frozen doesn't cost a satang. Would be stupid management as well as Makro is prone to FDA inspections.

Every open meat counter smells. It's mostly the chicken carcasses and 'delicious' chicken feet that produce a smell.

 

Not saying that Makro every now and then isn't selling pork that has previously been frozen. They do have a backup stock.

[hugocnx]

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I never go anywhere near the Makro meat counter.

I prefer my meat plastic shrink wrapped from the local Tesco stores.

Tesco smells bad as well around pork and chicken. 

[madmen]

5 minutes ago, hugocnx said:

Tesco smells bad as well around pork and chicken. 

No way I buy it for years and a lot of it still half frozen on the trays. you want bad smell then go to villa where the meat is starting go grey

[hugocnx]

1 minute ago, madmen said:

No way I buy it for years and a lot of it still half frozen on the trays. you want bad smell then go to villa where the meat is starting go grey

Aha, so it's Tesco selling frozen meat Geoffbezos

[bearpolar]

On 8/10/2019 at 5:36 AM, DDBKK said:

Although I still own a condo with my wife in Bangkok and intend to return to visit for a month every year there were numerous reasons that motivated us to reach the decision to relocate to the UK.

 

1. Education for my daughter. I felt the Thai system just wasn't going to cut it for her going to university and wanted to broaden her mind with experiencing the UK. She will be free to return to Thailand once she finishes university if she so desires (which myself and my wife may also end up doing)

 

2. Visas/Passports. Although my mrs is thai and I held a spouse visa previously, it actually worked out easier to simply not hold a spouse visa due to flying in and out of thailand every 28 days. But that brings it's own set of complications when you change jobs or are ill. My mrs, after 5 years will obtain a UK passport and we are free to roam the world together without hindrance. 

 

3. I wanted to buy a UK property so that we have the option of spending Winter/Spring in thailand and Summer/Autumn in the UK further down the line if we so choose. The alternative is to rent the UK property and use that to live off in Thailand. Thus, providing us with solid options for the future. 

 

4. The good old 5 year itch. I find 5 years is enough in any one location and need to change things up a little and experience something new. Although to be fair this could easily have been within Thailand itself.

 

5. Rainy season sucks. The first couple of years I found it quite good fun. Then I slowly realised that almost all the things I enjoyed doing in Thailand were based outside and when rainy season came it was no different to winter back home, simply inverted weather. You are forced to stay inside a lot with the air con on because it's too humid. 

 

I have a colleague who also chose to relocate from Indonesia back home with wife and kids for much the same reasons, so it isn't just Thailand.

 

I came to the conclusion that as a (young/old) single man with a bit of disposable cash, Thailand or more specifically, Bangkok is great. However, when you throw a wife and growing kids into the mix the dynamic changes somewhat and you have many other considerations to think about. 

 

im doing the oposite for the kids.

 

Canadian school, upper middle class neighborhood but kids are mixed with low income.  theres about 30 Moroccan kids in the school that are hyper racists and violent and hate canadians. Teachers are burned out, first year one of my kids had 4 teachers, one that hit herself in front of them and screamed insults at kids and was later hired back.  last year my other kid had 5 teachers, one of them a nice Moroccan man that didnt allow 6 years old to have a single minute of play time(i had him fired). Then you have the kids from appartement complexes with chav smoking indoor parents, they are violent and impolite and already send each others pictures of genitals at 10yo. Their parents are narcissists so the kids stand no chance and your kids are influenced by them. Family means nothing to westerners. Half the forums where people ask about family relationship will tell you to let you parents die if they ask for 10$ to eat because they havnt had food in a month.

 

Not really a good choice for kids, private and some international thai schools are very good and your kids can grow up with other kids raised by thai families with family values.

My kids go to a french school and its basically heaven if you forget the crazy high prices.

 

Id say i would be abusing my kids if i had decided to stay in canada for them to grow up.  Most of our income goes towards the school.. it sucks but my kids will benefit so much.

Edited August 11, 2019 by bearpolar

[moontang]

The Basis School is opening in BKK this month.  Could be a game changer for expat education options.  

 

Many of the grocery stores smell awful here, and they wouldn't get away with that in the US...It is about time people wake up to the destructive nature of ridiculous import taxes.  

[HampiK]

If I would have kids, then I would go back my Home-Country, as I think the education in a public school at home is much better than here in Thai. But as we not have kids and we not plan to have kids we are happy with Thailand.

Of course there could be a lot of things better (let's say mainly things with Immigration and police) but it's still better to stay in Thai than back home! 

On the other side, if everything would work smooth as back home, then it would not be Thailand anymore. I just think many people complain about the rules are not strict enforced, now they enforce some rules from Immigration (not new rules) and it's also not OK. 
So what this people want? You always have to think many enjoy Thailand, because the law are so flawless!

[BritManToo]

7 minutes ago, HampiK said:

f I would have kids, then I would go back my Home-Country, as I think the education in a public school at home is much better than here in Thai.

You'd be wrong if your home country was the UK.

The high schools were pretty awful between 2001 and 2009, when I was teaching in them.

 

(I assume you mean government school, as public school means private school in the UK)

Edited August 11, 2019 by BritManToo

[richard_smith237]

20 minutes ago, HampiK said:

If I would have kids, then I would go back my Home-Country, as I think the education in a public school at home is much better than here in Thai. But as we not have kids and we not plan to have kids we are happy with Thailand.

Of course there could be a lot of things better (let's say mainly things with Immigration and police) but it's still better to stay in Thai than back home! 

On the other side, if everything would work smooth as back home, then it would not be Thailand anymore. I just think many people complain about the rules are not strict enforced, now they enforce some rules from Immigration (not new rules) and it's also not OK. 
So what this people want? You always have to think many enjoy Thailand, because the law are so flawless!

 

The education in a standard comprehensive school in the UK is way better than that of a standard Government School in Thailand.

 

But, for some, in not moving back to the UK there are huge Tax savings to be made. The additional cost of living in Thailand, Medical Insurance, more expensive cars etc can be offset by this Tax which we don’t have to pay. 

Thailands best international Schools cost less than the Tax I’d have pay in the UK. 

 

Thus, the Standard of Education here in Thailand at Schools such as Bangkok Patana are much better than the Standard of Education my Tax would pay for at a Comprehensive School in the UK.

 

 

[GarryP]

15 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

The education in a standard comprehensive school in the UK is way better than that of a standard Government School in Thailand.

 

But, for some, in not moving back to the UK there are huge Tax savings to be made. The additional cost of living in Thailand, Medical Insurance, more expensive cars etc can be offset by this Tax which we don’t have to pay. 

Thailands best international Schools cost less than the Tax I’d have pay in the UK. 

 

Thus, the Standard of Education here in Thailand at Schools such as Bangkok Patana are much better than the Standard of Education my Tax would pay for at a Comprehensive School in the UK.

 

 

Lucky for you. You must be earning a very decent amount of dosh. Not your average salary. You are talking about tuition fees of Baht 628,000 to 841,00 per year depending on the Class Year and the one time fee of another Baht 250,000 when first entering. Roughly USD 20k to 27k a year. And then you have incidentals on top of that. 

 

Also, don't you have to pay tax in Thailand. Last time I looked they are taking a decent grab of my salary every month. Although the highest rate here is only 35% and it is on a sliding scale, unlike the UK which is a flat rate. 

[marcusarelus]

7 hours ago, JaiLai said:

 

Behave....

I feel much safer here and have seen less trouble here in 20years than friends have seen in my home country.

You need to have a look at where you’re hanging out.....


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

I'd agree with you the only trouble I've had has been from expats. For some reason drunk hooligans can tell you what to wear and what music to play in your bar.  My bodyguard was also the bouncer at the bar.  Her and 3 Burmese chicks.  She knocked them out and the Burmese ladies cleaned up the blood.   

[JaiLai]

I'd agree with you the only trouble I've had has been from expats. For some reason drunk hooligans can tell you what to wear and what music to play in your bar.  My bodyguard was also the bouncer at the bar.  Her and 3 Burmese chicks.  She knocked them out and the Burmese ladies cleaned up the blood.   

You owned a bar - school boy error.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[marcusarelus]

5 hours ago, transam said:

Are you in prison...?

I was in the Army in Saigon does that count?

[marcusarelus]

22 minutes ago, JaiLai said:

 

You owned a bar - school boy error.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

Just managed if for a friend.  Why would you think it was an error.  Managed a strip club in Oklahoma and a dance club in the roughest city in America.  I've been blessed.  I'm a shi* kicking cowboy from Oklahoma.  You name it I've done it.