Back in the UK after 10 years in Thailand

[Jip99]

17 minutes ago, elliss said:

         Thx for your info .

    Wind  directions , would be much appreciated...

 

 

 

 

Ah.

 

You may need to check which way the trees are leaning to establish the prevailing wind direction.

[elliss]

10 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

Ah.

 

You may need to check which way the trees are leaning to establish the prevailing wind direction.

 

 Trees ?, not have anymore ,  not cost effective, in the modern concrete enviroment. 

City planning , destroys all widlife ..

 

 

Edited November 8, 2019 by elliss

[sanemax]

2 hours ago, elliss said:

 

 Trees ?, not have anymore ,  not cost effective, in the modern concrete enviroment. 

City planning , destroys all widlife ..

 

 

Not at all , trees are protected , you cannot cut a tree down without asking someone 

[Lacessit]

12 hours ago, Jip99 said:

Around that time I played St Andrews, Old Course, in 4 Club with snow flurries. Temperature 3 degrees with a significant windchill factor.

 

The 17th, Road Hole, took 3 drivers, a chip and 2 puts for a point.

Played the Old Course twice when I was there. 18th hole, wind at my back, driver and PW to six feet, made the birdie. 3 days later, into the wind, well-struck driver and 3-wood finished in the Valley of Sin. Those Scots that play golf are a masochistic lot.

Can't recall having snow on any Australian golf course. Hail very rarely, makes putting difficult.

[Lacessit]

12 hours ago, sanemax said:

No, I think that its because the UK is on the side of the globe and thus as the rain comes down from the top , it hits the UK at a 90 degree angle 

While meteorology obviously is not your strong point, I have to admit your explanation is entertaining.

[bkk6060]

22 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Played the Old Course twice when I was there. 18th hole, wind at my back, driver and PW to six feet, made the birdie. 3 days later, into the wind, well-struck driver and 3-wood finished in the Valley of Sin. Those Scots that play golf are a masochistic lot.

Can't recall having snow on any Australian golf course. Hail very rarely, makes putting difficult.

Great story SA is a lot of fun.

 

I played 8 years ago.  Pushed my drive way right, but it hit off a couple buildings and the road ended up about 120 yards from the green.  Made a 5 though that green was impossible for me narrow and quick. I heard the green fee now is way up in price obviously everyone wants to play it.

[Lacessit]

29 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Great story SA is a lot of fun.

 

I played 8 years ago.  Pushed my drive way right, but it hit off a couple buildings and the road ended up about 120 yards from the green.  Made a 5 though that green was impossible for me narrow and quick. I heard the green fee now is way up in price obviously everyone wants to play it.

The caddies are expensive as well, but you need them because there are so many blind shots.

The 17th, you have to hit the drive over a machinery shed with a sign "The Old Course Hotel". The perfect line is between the "O" and the "C". I was playing with an American who put three balls into the hotel, and stalked off muttering about crazy golf courses.

[rorybreaker83]

I'm in the process of moving the family back to the UK. I've spent endless nights weighing up the move. The pros and the cons. For me it has boiled down to 2 reasons really, education and healthcare for my kids. I've found that both here are very disappointing. The education here is an absolute joke, even at some of the higher tier international schools. As for the healthcare it's overpriced and oversubscribed daylight robbery. I decided to make a comparison. Interestingly enough the remaining amounts after all expenses are not far off each other. Some of the figures might be a bit modest (i think i've spent a lot more on hospital visits over the past year) or even over estimated, i'm sure a number of posters will be quick to point this out. I'm pretty certain though that my kids will (hopefully) have a brighter future for themselves with a proper education, I'd prefer them to have an English outlook on life too as opposed to many Thais who are unaware of the rest of the world and seem to have no ambition or interest in experiencing it.

[moontang]

600 gbp for rent in the UK, for 4?  Seems kind of low by us standards.. if you are anywhere near the better job markets.  What kind of place? Have you looked at cost of living comparisons on www.numbeo.com?

Edited November 9, 2019 by moontang

[BritManToo]

13 minutes ago, moontang said:

600 gbp for rent in the UK, for 4?  Seems kind of low by us standards.. if you are anywhere near the better job markets.  What kind of place? Have you looked at cost of living comparisons on www.numbeo.com?

You can rent a two bed semi/terrace near Durham for 300gbp/month.

No employment prospects but the heritage coast and the Lake district are nice. 

 

240gbp/month for this 2 bedroom terrace, near the sea.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-68307877.html

Edited November 9, 2019 by BritManToo

[steven100]

18 minutes ago, rorybreaker83 said:

I'm in the process of moving the family back to the UK. I've spent endless nights weighing up the move. The pros and the cons. For me it has boiled down to 2 reasons really, education and healthcare for my kids. I've found that both here are very disappointing. The education here is an absolute joke, even at some of the higher tier international schools. As for the healthcare it's overpriced and oversubscribed daylight robbery. I decided to make a comparison. Interestingly enough the remaining amounts after all expenses are not far off each other. Some of the figures might be a bit modest (i think i've spent a lot more on hospital visits over the past year) or even over estimated, i'm sure a number of posters will be quick to point this out. I'm pretty certain though that my kids will (hopefully) have a brighter future for themselves with a proper education, I'd prefer them to have an English outlook on life too as opposed to many Thais who are unaware of the rest of the world and seem to have no ambition or interest in experiencing it.

I think another very important issue to consider is the future happiness of your 2 kids and the wife.

Some Thai's just prefer to grow up around thai friends, grandparent's, relatives, both at school and near home. Some thai kids just enjoy mixing with their own rather than foreign kids.  As a kid, I wouldn't have wanted to move to a foreign place that's for sure.   It's just an important issue that I think is priority over health or education because if the kids are not happy they won't care about education or health care. 

Edited November 9, 2019 by steven100

[mlkik]

12 minutes ago, steven100 said:

I think another very important issue to consider is the future happiness of your 2 kids and the wife.

Some Thai's just prefer to grow up around thai friends, grandparent's, relatives, both at school and near home. Some thai kids just enjoy mixing with their own rather than foreign kids.  As a kid, I wouldn't have wanted to move to a foreign place that's for sure.   It's just an important issue that I think is priority over health or education because if the kids are not happy they won't care about education or health care. 

My step daughter moved go the UK at twelve years old and finshed up going to University and getting a degree.

She is very happy here with a good job,her own home and says she would never want to go back and live and work in Thailand.

[moontang]

13 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

You can rent a two bed semi/terrace near Durham for 300gbp/month.

No employment prospects but the heritage coast and the Lake district are nice. 

 

240gbp/month for this 2 bedroom terrace, near the sea.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-68307877.html

Interesting.. that would put you in about the lowest one percent of rents in the US.  Many entire states have zero rentals at 400 usd per month. 

[BritManToo]

14 minutes ago, steven100 said:

It's just an important issue that I think is priority over health or education because if the kids are not happy they won't care about education or health care. 

My Thai/Brit kid has free education and health care in either country.

[moontang]

I just checked cheapest apartment in Springfield, VA... 1510 usd 725 sf, 1 br. puts you 14 miles from the Pentagon. 

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, moontang said:

I just checked cheapest apartment in Springfield, VA... 1510 usd 725 sf, 1 br. puts you 14 miles from the Pentagon. 

I can buy a 'fixer upper' farm in France for 9,000 Euros (plus 2,000 Euro notary fees).

Edited November 9, 2019 by BritManToo

[moontang]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I can buy a 'fixer upper' farm in France for 9,000 Euros (plus 2,000 Euro notary fees).

I was actually looking in Slovenia the other day... an amazing array of neat cottages around 20k euro.  Czech Republic, too.. Lots of pollution issues and cities with declining population. 

[rorybreaker83]

52 minutes ago, steven100 said:

I think another very important issue to consider is the future happiness of your 2 kids and the wife.

Some Thai's just prefer to grow up around thai friends, grandparent's, relatives, both at school and near home. Some thai kids just enjoy mixing with their own rather than foreign kids.  As a kid, I wouldn't have wanted to move to a foreign place that's for sure.   It's just an important issue that I think is priority over health or education because if the kids are not happy they won't care about education or health care. 

I totally agree with that, especially if the kids are a bit older. My kids are both very young though so i hope this won't effect them too much. Me personally, i don't care where i am as long as i'm with my family. As for the wife, we'll see what happens lol. I'm sure she'll be fine, i've had many friends over the years take their wives back and they've been ok with it, i guess we'll just see what happens.

[poohy]

Sadly Thailand was cheaper

 

Now UK food supermarket shopping for food and clothing is cheaper and infinitely better quality than here (people harping about eating like locals Local cheap thai food is cheap and poor quality

customer service much better in UK

UK Health services still free 

Local transport  unless you are in sticks affordable 15 GBP a week in my area ...Pensioners free

UK education no comparison to here

 

Ok property and services are more expensive rent 3/500 gbp my area

weather is what it is... wet n cold there stinking hot here

[Khon Kaen Jeff]

On 10/26/2019 at 7:10 PM, Andrew Dwyer said:

Yup, I was only joking about the weather.
I left the uk in ‘95 but visited occasionally, recently that has been more frequent as my father is getting on a bit.

I lived in Yorkshire , the Dales and Lake District makes it a very pleasant visit in the summer months. Never tire of the beautiful scenery.
Unfortunately I could only visit Feb and Oct this year so although the weather wasn’t at its worst it did rain an awful lot this last couple of weeks.

I much prefer the quick downfall in LOS to those drizzling grey October days and it’s downhill from here onwards.
Probably book my next visit for May next year.

Why would you leave somewhere as beautiful as that to come here?

[rorybreaker83]

1 minute ago, poohy said:

Sadly Thailand was cheaper

 

Now UK food supermarket shopping for food and clothing is cheaper and infinitely better quality than here (people harping about eating like locals Local cheap thai food is cheap and poor quality

customer service much better in UK

UK Health services still free 

Local transport  unless you are in sticks affordable 15 GBP a week in my area ...Pensioners free

UK education no comparison to here

 

Ok property and services are more expensive rent 3/500 gbp my area

weather is what it is... wet n cold there stinking hot here

Bang on there mate. People keep forgetting to mention the difference in quality. Most people are probably unaware as to the amount of MSG that goes into most thai food. On top of that, the food/farming industry here is an absolute disgrace. I remember reading recently about how they sampled school food from a large number of schools and found an array of toxic pesticides and what not. That's insane. But did any of the thais give a <deleted>? nope. Stuff like that goes on and on here and to be honest i've had enough of it. Can you imagine the same news in the UK? There would be a public outcry.

[Khon Kaen Jeff]

58 minutes ago, mlkik said:

My step daughter moved go the UK at twelve years old and finshed up going to University and getting a degree.

She is very happy here with a good job,her own home and says she would never want to go back and live and work in Thailand.

That goes without saying. Why on earth would a young, bright woman in the UK wake up one morning and think I'll go and live in Thailand. She would need sectioning.

[mlkik]

Food and beer prices are now more expensive than in Thailand. When I go back to the UK and go shopping at Aldi you can really do a good weekly shop for less than it would cost here at Macro.

I do miss the cooler weather ,I have all day all week to exercise ,do gym stuff ,however here it is so hot and I just cant be arsed with exercising.

Back in the UK even on dull cold days I am able to go out for a walk and have more enthusiasm. Here I just feel like drinking cold beer 555.

Now my Mother is on her own I do intend going back and spending much more time with her. I do not want to regret not being there for her .

Have seriously thought after getting next years 12 month extention sending my money back and in future coming for shorter periods on tourist visas.

 

[bannork]

11 minutes ago, Khon Kaen Jeff said:

Why would you leave somewhere as beautiful as that to come here?

I went to school near Malton, North Yorkshire, for 5 years. Desperate weather from November to April apart from the occasional snowdrifts. They were fun. But most of the time the fingers would be numb when playing football for example.

Give me the ever green mango orchards on our Udon farm anytime.

[mlkik]

6 minutes ago, Khon Kaen Jeff said:

That goes without saying. Why on earth would a young, bright woman in the UK wake up one morning and think I'll go and live in Thailand. She would need sectioning.

Most of the Thai people that knew my wife when we were married for 22 years much prefered the climate in the UK to that of Thailand.

Us farang seem to think the weather is great but we dont have to work in it.

[Khon Kaen Jeff]

2 minutes ago, bannork said:

I went to school near Malton, North Yorkshire, for 5 years. Desperate weather from November to April apart from the occasional snowdrifts. They were fun. But most of the time the fingers would be numb when playing football for example.

Give me the ever green mango orchards on our Udon farm anytime.

Hear what you're saying. It's always the weather reason isn't it. Must admit I'm not sure if I could get through a UK winter now. I was up in North Yorkshire last year, just stunning. Could see myself seeing my days out strolling around the dales, lovely pubs etc, but yes the weather, it's always the weather!

[bannork]

20 minutes ago, rorybreaker83 said:

Bang on there mate. People keep forgetting to mention the difference in quality. Most people are probably unaware as to the amount of MSG that goes into most thai food. On top of that, the food/farming industry here is an absolute disgrace. I remember reading recently about how they sampled school food from a large number of schools and found an array of toxic pesticides and what not. That's insane. But did any of the thais give a <deleted>? nope. Stuff like that goes on and on here and to be honest i've had enough of it. Can you imagine the same news in the UK? There would be a public outcry.

Plenty of chemicals in UK food.

https://www.pan-uk.org/food-for-thought/

[BritManToo]

19 minutes ago, mlkik said:

Food and beer prices are now more expensive than in Thailand. When I go back to the UK and go shopping at Aldi you can really do a good weekly shop for less than it would cost here at Macro.

That would probably be because

supermarkets in the west are generally aimed at the poor.

supermarkets in Asia are generally aimed at the wealthy.

 

I always wonder at the foreigners shopping in Thai supermarkets that don't understand they are paying premium prices for almost everything. I guess you can't fix stupid!

 

I pay 150bht for a 70cl bottle of Vodka in Thailand, Tesco UK it's 11 quid (2.5x).

10bht for 4 large bell peppers at my local Thai market, in Tesco UK at least a pound (4x).

How are these UK prices cheaper?

 

Edited November 9, 2019 by BritManToo

[bannork]

2 minutes ago, Khon Kaen Jeff said:

Hear what you're saying. It's always the weather reason isn't it. Must admit I'm not sure if I could get through a UK winter now. I was up in North Yorkshire last year, just stunning. Could see myself seeing my days out strolling around the dales, lovely pubs etc, but yes the weather, it's always the weather!

 

The UK weather forces people indoors, behind closed windows and doors, leading the old especially to live a lonely and isolated life. You don't get that in Thailand, so many people outside.

And families going out together, I see that a lot more in Thailand.

 

[Khon Kaen Jeff]

Just now, bannork said:

 

The UK weather forces people indoors, behind closed windows and doors, leading the old especially to live a lonely and isolated life. You don't get that in Thailand, so many people outside.

And families going out together, I see that a lot more in Thailand.

 

Speak for yourself, I spend most of my time at home as there is absolutely nothing here that interests me, I find this country extremely boring, plus it's way too hot. I have no doubt you will firmly disagree with that.