Back in the UK after 10 years in Thailand

[Jip99]

1 hour ago, JimmyTheMook said:

English food is such trash...

 

 

No  it isn’t.

[Hans007]

back in pussy prison!!! well UK has so much good to offer....

 

enjoy...

 

take care..

 

Hans. (13 more days..countdown..)

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, mommysboy said:

Paying 400 quid per quarter in Thailand  (family of 4), mainly to keep cool so we can sleep.

My electric is 1,500bht/month = 122 pounds/quarter.

We're also a family of four, their health care is free, and government schooling is cheap.

I'm not sick all that much, get my pills from the government hospital, usually 300bht to see the doctor and 3 months worth of blood pressure pills.

[mommysboy]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

My electric is 1,500bht/month = 122 pounds/quarter.

We're also a family of four, their health care is free, and government schooling is cheap.

I'm not sick all that much, get my pills from the government hospital, usually 300bht to see the doctor and 3 months worth of blood pressure pills.

Each to his own.  I imagine some hardy souls in the UK don't have the heating on so maybe only pay 122 pounds too.  Quite simple we live in a big town and none of us can get a decent night's kip without air con. I guess if I was in England I would want the heating on too.  I guess you wouldn't.  But I think the main point is that there isn't a great difference with energy costs, or not as much as one might imagine.

 

Unfortunately, there are a range of common diseases that can cost hundreds of thousands of baht and most of us are destined to get one sooner or later.  Farangs are not covered by the Thai health service, which does have constraints anyway.

 

I'm sure most people came to Thailand to do more than just survive adversity.  Let's be honest: it's better to be poor in Blighty than it is in Thailand.

[Iforbach]

If thailand was like uk you wouldnt hv left in 1st place ..and mars bars get a life please ...

[sanemax]

37 minutes ago, Iforbach said:

and mars bars get a life please ...

Mars bars cannot get a life

[White Christmas13]

16 hours ago, Colabamumbai said:

Good luck back home. Am Canadian 69, 10 years here, thinking of doing the same. 

I not Canadian but I did the same many years ago and I could not be happier  and I am 72

[Soikhaonoiken]

Agree, the air is cleaner in the U.K and is very pleasant in the summer months, however winter is just around the corner, dark evenings at 3.45pm - daybreak at 8am rain, snow, ice, damp and cold for Months, and the cost of living is expensive, yes Thailand has got it's draw backs but I know where I prefer to live ????????

[mommysboy]

2 minutes ago, Soikhaonoiken said:

Agree, the air is cleaner in the U.K and is very pleasant in the summer months, however winter is just around the corner, dark evenings at 3.45pm - daybreak at 8am rain, snow, ice, damp and cold for Months, and the cost of living is expensive, yes Thailand has got it's draw backs but I know where I prefer to live ????????

Neither are good climates really, though for opposite reasons.

[Slip]

4 hours ago, JimmyTheMook said:

English food is such trash...

You show your own ignorance here, although I will admit that the pictured food would lead one to surmise as you.

[White Christmas13]

6 minutes ago, Soikhaonoiken said:

Agree, the air is cleaner in the U.K and is very pleasant in the summer months, however winter is just around the corner, dark evenings at 3.45pm - daybreak at 8am rain, snow, ice, damp and cold for Months, and the cost of living is expensive, yes Thailand has got it's draw backs but I know where I prefer to live ????????

why would you leave a country side as beautiful as this and no I am not Brit

[Thairealist]

On 8/10/2019 at 5:52 AM, evadgib said:

How are the Fish n Chips and how much are they these days?

 

 

£4.95. For a large fish and a good helping of chips. This is in Lincolnshire.

[White Christmas13]

and live here

[White Christmas13]

Forget about the cold weather just put on another

jumper (jacket) what is so hard about it I live in OZ

for 43 years now apart from the years I lived in Thailand

Yes it gets cold some times I don't live in the eastern

states  but here in the west it gets cold some times

today it was just 4 decrees at night it does not make 

me move back to Thailand

[nontabury]

On 8/10/2019 at 11:13 AM, Bangkok Barry said:

 

My wife knows several Thais who have gone to live in Europe, including the UK. Not one of them wants to go back to Thailand to live. One said she would after her German husband died. He did, five or six years ago, and she's still in Germany. Once Thais see the real world it opens their eyes. I'd be on the next plane out of Thailand if I didn't have family here.

 

Think again, I returned to live in the U.K early last year, and so far I’ve hated every day here, even though the cost of living is far less than in Thailand. And that’s without taking into account the cost of Education and medical treatment in Thailand. The only aspect of life in the U.K. that is superior, is safety on the roads. So think again Barry, your probably far better off in Thailand.

[mommysboy]

13 minutes ago, nontabury said:

 

Think again, I returned to live in the U.K early last year, and so far I’ve hated every day here, even though the cost of living is far less than in Thailand. And that’s without taking into account the cost of Education and medical treatment in Thailand. The only aspect of life in the U.K. that is superior, is safety on the roads. So think again Barry, your probably far better off in Thailand.

That's a bit contradictory!

[BritManToo]

7 hours ago, mommysboy said:

Unfortunately, there are a range of common diseases that can cost hundreds of thousands of baht and most of us are destined to get one sooner or later.  Farangs are not covered by the Thai health service, which does have constraints anyway.

I've got one already.

Cost me about 2,000bht to get sorted out with the initial emergency hospital visits, now 300bht every 3 months for pills and a hospital visit. Thai government hospitals are very reasonable prices, just a bit of waiting around.

[Nemises]

 
 
£4.95. For a large fish and a good helping of chips. This is in Lincolnshire.

60 baht for scrumptious Seafood Pad Thai with egg wrap in air conditioned restaurant with free WiFi. This is in Thailand.

[sandyf]

8 hours ago, Thairealist said:

 

 

£4.95. For a large fish and a good helping of chips. This is in Lincolnshire.

£7.50 at the food court in Sheffield market a couple of weeks ago, Thai food at the stall next door, sells Pad Thai for £8.95.

[OneMoreFarang]

On 8/10/2019 at 2:19 AM, brokenbone said:

how much for short time ?

English women wouldn't be able to pay enough to be touched.

 

[transam]

9 hours ago, White Christmas13 said:

why would you leave a country side as beautiful as this and no I am not Brit

Yeh, all the UK streets are like that....????

 

Folk in the UK book summer holidays to visit places like that...

[grifbel]

15 hours ago, Tongjaw said:

Seriously, what the flip is that in the top photo, looks like slops, ????.  Second plate doesn’t look very appealing either. 

C'mon, play nice!  Throw a deep fried Mars Bar in that pic of slop, and life is golden!

[cmarshall]

On 8/10/2019 at 12:21 AM, NightSky said:

Most utility bills are more expensive in UK but food is cheaper.

 

Food is about to go up in price.

[mommysboy]

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I've got one already.

Cost me about 2,000bht to get sorted out with the initial emergency hospital visits, now 300bht every 3 months for pills and a hospital visit. Thai government hospitals are very reasonable prices, just a bit of waiting around.

I know they are reasonable as I use my local hospital for an eye condition, but high blood pressure is a minor, controllable condition.  What I'm talking about is serious illness which will afflict us all in the end, starting with say appendicitis at 20000 baht up to aggressive cancer at 1 million baht plus.  In addition older Thai relatives may not get some of the more expensive treatments under the Thai health scheme- packed off home to die with a handful of NSAIDS (not even codeine).

 

What we're really discussing in this and similar threads is the higher cost of living in Thailand these days, and its comparison with Farangland.  It's great that you present money saving ideas, my own is to switch from LIptons tea to the local Oolong tea, and I thank your tips.  But we are really saying: 'Yes, I'm having to live like I did in 60's England.'  At worst those in Blighty are living like millenials. 

 

Mind you there are some benefits living the simple life for me, as I'm eating much more fruit and veg, have had to ditch the booze and tabs, and I exercise figuring that this is really the best insurance policy.

[BritManToo]

4 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

In addition older Thai relatives may not get some of the more expensive treatments under the Thai health scheme- packed off home to die with a handful of NSAIDS (not even codeine).

My Thai relatives have never experienced that, they've all had top class (but not experimental) treatment for the more serious conditions.

[BritManToo]

6 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

It's great that you present money saving ideas, my own is to switch from LIptons tea to the local Oolong tea, and I thank your tips.

Switch to a stronger tea (Heladiv English breakfast tea), and use each tea bag twice.

Buy ginger roots in the local market, slice a lump thinly and boil in a saucepan of water for 5 minutes for ginger tea.

(drink with lemon, honey or sugar)

[mommysboy]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

My Thai relatives have never experienced that, they've all had top class (but not experimental) treatment for the more serious conditions.

Maybe it depends at what stage, as some Thais do leave it very late.

 

Slightly off topic, but not very so: What do you think is a reasonable monthly budget for food for a family of four?  

 

I am also being faced with dentist's bills over the coming months.  Am I right in thinking that dentistry is not free at local hospitals for Thai people?  And that 700 baht or so is the normal rate for a filling, and 10,000 baht for a crown?

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, mommysboy said:

Slightly off topic, but not very so: What do you think is a reasonable monthly budget for food for a family of four?  

I am also being faced with dentist's bills over the coming months.  Am I right in thinking that dentistry is not free at local hospitals for Thai people?  And that 700 baht or so is the normal rate for a filling, and 10,000 baht for a crown?

I have a family of four, food costs around 8-10K (4k for me, 4-6k for them as they mainly eat Thai food without much meat).

Older Thais tend to just have extractions, they wouldn't bother with root canals or crowns.

I've had a one root canal without a crown (5k), bits chip off occasionally but ten years later the tooth's still essentially OK.

[mommysboy]

7 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I have a family of four, food costs around 8-10K (4k for me, 4-6k for them as they mainly eat Thai food without much meat).

Older Thais tend to just have extractions, they wouldn't bother with root canals or crowns.

I've had a one root canal without a crown (5k), bits chip off occasionally but ten years later the tooth's still essentially OK.

Yes. I figured about 10k assuming we go the Thai way.

 

Me too, I wait until the tooth finally breaks, provided I'm not in pain.

[sandyf]

5 hours ago, Mansinthe said:

I live at the border to Switzerland/france in Germany

 

Switzerland pad thai 12~18€ (depends on the location)

 

Germany between 6~9€

 

France up to 16€ and another 3€ for a Lipton ice Tea

 

 

Food in Thailand is still cheap. But the Strong baht makes something like MK “expensive“ if you go with 3~4 people.

 

But looking at prices for cheese , good chocolate, good pastry , pizza The UK/EU are cheaper.

 

 

I was stationed in Germany early 70s, passed through the German/Swiss border a few times, nice area. Had a holiday Austria and Oberammergau early 90s.

Europe has generally been a bit more expensive than the UK. Not really bothered about chocolate or pizza but love cheese but double UK price here in Thailand, try and get it discounted at Tesco.