How Many Are “Stuck” Here With No Way Out

[steven100]

56 minutes ago, rosst said:

There is also the scenario of retirement and where is the money coming from ??

I am currently in OZ sorting my pension, but you need 35 years of work to qualify for what is not a great deal of weekly income but you can live a reasonable life with it.  I couldn't see myself surviving without it.

Your future financial needs are your biggest issue and medical care for the long term and latter years.

If you can secure an English pension, you should be OK but that is also not so easy these days.

Good luck 

I found this ….

[Nemises]

I think this is incorrect …. I thought it was 35 yrs of work also, however I believe it's 35 yrs as an Australian resident and anything under that is pro-rata 

Correct. You need not have worked a single day in your life to qualify for the full aged pension, just resided there - as you said.

[Berkshire]

2 hours ago, Khon Kaen Jeff said:

A bit similar to me, been here 20 years and have a boy and girl, if it wasn't for them I probably would have shot myself by now, as haven't achieved anything else living here, unless porking a few hundred girls and getting drunk on cheap beer is an achievment?

55555   But actually, that IS a significant achievement.  I know old guys in the USA who haven't been laid in years.  And even those getting some, it's with grannies (and there's nothing wrong with that....if you're into that sort of thing).  On top of that, just the thought of being with young hotties keeps one motivated to exercise and stay fit.  At least it does for me.       

[parallaxtech]

On ‎8‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 10:49 PM, Berkshire said:

Condolences regarding your friend.  That's a tough way to go.  But I get your point about women in the USA.  If you're north of 50, it seems no women under 40 will talk to you.  I've got middle aged friends in America who are upper middle class, very well-off, and they're relegated to dating what we would consider very old women...if they're dating at all.  It seems like getting old in America is mostly about waiting to die.  Sure you can have hobbies and recreation and all that.  But there is something about being with young females in Thailand that keeps one energized and vibrant.  For an older single man, being "stuck" in the USA is much worse than being stuck in Thailand.     

I remember when I was 35 in Florida and hit on a youngish looking woman.  She screamed, "Back away you dinosaur!"  She said at 31 she would never consider a man older than that.  That was just one of the many things I disliked about the US, which seemed like a prison to me.  I had worked for a short period in Asia in my thirties and knew it was the Garden of Eden for a man and vowed to return one day when I had enough money to retire.  The key was I knew I could only make big $ in the US.  To satisfy my social life, sometimes I would sit in Miami Airport International Arrivals on weekends looking for foreign women who were hoping to snag an American.  I dated only Central and South American women up until 50, when I left the US with plenty of money.  After renting for three years, I built my house on 41B/$ and have lived in it with my Thai partner for twelve years now.  She has a nice career making 25kB/month (in her pocket -- no expenses) and never asks for one baht.  My total nut is 30kB/month and my pension is much more than that even though I don't even need the pension.  Thailand is the best for me right now, but who knows about the future?  My assets are split 50/50 between Thailand and the US so no problem to live in another country.  I see foreigners struggling all the time here but feel that they didn't prepare for financial downturns.  I knew I never would return to the US, so I covered myself twelve ways to Sunday to make sure I could financially survive Thailand.  I am happy here and not leaving untoasted.

[ianf]

I am stuck here because I cannot sell my house in Chiang Mai. Its a great property on a secure moo baan. The Price has dropped by 33% but still no buyers. Thats because the housing market is dead. If I could sell I could move back to the UK and buy a small house. But with the rental prices in the UK I have to stay here until I sell. I am stuck. Glued. Immobile. Depressed. So if you want what is in effect two houses partly furnished for a snippet let me know (lol). We can start talking at 16m. It would include some beautiful high quality furnishings etc.

[Skallywag]

9 minutes ago, parallaxtech said:

She has a nice career making 25kB/month (in her pocket -- no expenses) and never asks for one baht. 

How can anyone who eats, drinks, washes hair, turns on a light, talk on a mobile phone etc...etc... have "no expenses" ?  An unusual declaration in my opinion.   Saving is a good thing when you are young though

[Skallywag]

11 minutes ago, ianf said:

 (lol). We can start talking at 16m. It would include some beautiful high quality furnishings etc.

(lol) you spent 16 million baht /  420,000 pounds sterling on a house in Thailand? 

Did you raise a family of 3 children? 

What happens when the 30 year land lease ends?  Is that lease passed onto the new owner?

Good Luck sir, wish you better luck on selling your house in the future.  

[parallaxtech]

16 minutes ago, Skallywag said:

How can anyone who eats, drinks, washes hair, turns on a light, talk on a mobile phone etc...etc... have "no expenses" ?  An unusual declaration in my opinion.   Saving is a good thing when you are young though

She has no major expenses like rent, utilities, and food (works in a restaurant) -- that makes up about 99% of a Thai salary.  The small bits are inconsequential.  She invests at least 6kB/month and now has a 200kB nest egg, which at 43 is what I consider very successful for a Thai. 

[55Jay]

The primary reason I am "stuck" here is my own apathy.   I know I should get off my a** as the gap in my CV only gets bigger, obviously.  Whatever network I had before is dead, folks move on, haven't kept in touch.  Coasting along in Thailand has been far too easy.

[Pravda]

14 minutes ago, parallaxtech said:

She has no major expenses like rent, utilities, and food (works in a restaurant) -- that makes up about 99% of a Thai salary.  The small bits are inconsequential.  She invests at least 6kB/month and now has a 200kB nest egg, which at 43 is what I consider very successful for a Thai. 

My ex wife is 39, works for Siemens and has 10m in savings, land galore and she still screams poverty. 

 

The 24 year old I dated for 2 weeks bofore she dumped me was making more than expats on their overseas packages. 

 

The average varies greatly where you live and how smart you are. 

[justin case]

42 minutes ago, Pravda said:

My ex wife is 39, works for Siemens and has 10m in savings, land galore and she still screams poverty. 

 

The 24 year old I dated for 2 weeks bofore she dumped me was making more than expats on their overseas packages. 

 

The average varies greatly where you live and how smart you are. 

she had different boyfriends that all send her 50.000 baht a month "for expenses" ?

[Pravda]

3 minutes ago, justin case said:

she had different boyfriends that all send her 50.000 baht a month "for expenses" ?

Which one? 24,yo one? 

 

I don't know. She is very intelligent. She does make money online without showing her skin. She actually gave me an idea. Sometimes it pays to meet these women regardless if you're getting some or not. 

[gearbox]

4 hours ago, rosst said:

There is also the scenario of retirement and where is the money coming from ??

I am currently in OZ sorting my pension, but you need 35 years of work to qualify for what is not a great deal of weekly income but you can live a reasonable life with it.  I couldn't see myself surviving without it.

Your future financial needs are your biggest issue and medical care for the long term and latter years.

If you can secure an English pension, you should be OK but that is also not so easy these days.

Good luck 

As far as I know you can get an OAP after just living in Oz for 35 years, without working a single day.

[Berkshire]

33 minutes ago, Pravda said:

38 minutes ago, justin case said:

she had different boyfriends that all send her 50.000 baht a month "for expenses" ?

Which one? 24,yo one? 

 

I don't know. She is very intelligent. She does make money online without showing her skin. She actually gave me an idea. Sometimes it pays to meet these women regardless if you're getting some or not. 

How can you possibly know for certain how she's making her money....or if she's even making "more than expats on their overseas packages."  Some of these girls (or BGs) purport to make obscene amounts, but even if they do, it may not be consistent income.  I would take with a grain of salt what young females tell me they make.     

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, Skallywag said:

(lol) you spent 16 million baht /  420,000 pounds sterling on a house in Thailand? 

Did you raise a family of 3 children? 

What happens when the 30 year land lease ends?  Is that lease passed onto the new owner?

Good Luck sir, wish you better luck on selling your house in the future.  

230K pounds assuming he purchased at 70bht/pound.

(he may have only paid 120k as the land was probably a lot cheaper then)

But agree it's laughable to spend that much on a Mooban house.

Edited September 17, 2019 by BritManToo

[BritManToo]

5 hours ago, Khon Kaen Jeff said:

A bit similar to me, been here 20 years and have a boy and girl, if it wasn't for them I probably would have shot myself by now, as haven't achieved anything else living here, unless porking a few hundred girls and getting drunk on cheap beer is an achievment?

 

I've achieved less than you, but in only 10 years.

One child, now aged 8, and 50 or so girl porkings.

Edited September 17, 2019 by BritManToo

[fhickson]

3 hours ago, ianf said:

I am stuck here because I cannot sell my house in Chiang Mai. Its a great property on a secure moo baan. The Price has dropped by 33% but still no buyers. Thats because the housing market is dead. If I could sell I could move back to the UK and buy a small house. But with the rental prices in the UK I have to stay here until I sell. I am stuck. Glued. Immobile. Depressed. So if you want what is in effect two houses partly furnished for a snippet let me know (lol). We can start talking at 16m. It would include some beautiful high quality furnishings etc.

i dont think sales are too common in chiang mai province at that price. your going to be waiting awhile.

[BritManToo]

On 9/8/2019 at 7:31 PM, jayboy said:

Surprise surprise they prefer bright well educated young Thais of the opposite sex of roughly the same age (usually).

If you are talking about uneducated and poor Isaan girls, it's a different story of course.They have very few options.

My daughter is at University, her class of 40 has 2 guys, and one of them is a ladyboy.

Same for my gf when she was at university.

 

What they want, and what's available to young Thai ladies are two entirely different things.

I'm sure my gf would have preferred a nice educated Thai man, her own age with a good job.

She did find one, but his mom and dad turned up and said she was too 'low class' for their son.

 

I'm a lot older, and was the best she could get. 

[fordguy61mi]

On 8/10/2019 at 12:35 PM, timendres said:

From the OP:

Madmen does not sound bitter, he sounds dubious, which, when reading your own words, seems reasonable. Who is judging?

 

Being "stuck" here is little different than being "stuck" back home, except that it is cheaper and more palatable. Know plenty of people in the US who are unemployed, unemployable, losing their homes, in the middle of a horrible divorce, or otherwise had their lives completely disrupted and looking bleak. Many would be happy to be "stuck" here instead. 

When is the last time you were in the US? Economy is booming, lowest unemployment numbers ever in history, if you can’t find a job, you don’t want one. I live here now so I know. Just wanted to clear that up.

[Jingthing]

When is the last time you were in the US? Economy is booming, lowest unemployment numbers ever in history, if you can’t find a job, you don’t want one. I live here now so I know. Just wanted to clear that up.

Finding any job isn't remotely the same thing as finding a job that pays enough to live in dignity or even pay the rent for a total dump.

Just saying.

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[natway09]

I think this guy is just trying to stir us all up. Best ignore

[Jingthing]

If you have job skills .and/or qualifications. no problem. Some jobs offer relocation and/or sign on bonuses. No skill means low pay.

Oh please dude. It's a given that people with high demand high skills will be fine in most any kind of economy.

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[Jingthing]

If you have job skills .and/or qualifications. no problem. Some jobs offer relocation and/or sign on bonuses. No skill means low pay.

Oh please dude. It's a given that people with high demand high skills will be fine in most any kind of economy.

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[timendres]

1 hour ago, fordguy61mi said:

When is the last time you were in the US? Economy is booming, lowest unemployment numbers ever in history, if you can’t find a job, you don’t want one. I live here now so I know. Just wanted to clear that up.

Ah, the statistics. You know that, alongside that great unemployment number is the "employment participation" number, which has been plummeting as the baby boomers are flowing into retirement in the largest numbers seen in US history, right? Removing people from the labor pool is the surest way to lower unemployment. But then again, who would question government numbers?

Edited September 17, 2019 by timendres

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, FredGallaher said:

My daughter graduated as a Mechanical Engineer in US and was the only girl in her graduate ceremony. I also met a number of female Thai engineers her in Thailand. 

So is she with a Thai guy her own age?

I'm thinking not.

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Oh please dude. It's a given that people with high demand high skills will be fine in most any kind of economy.

I'm not convinced many men in their late 60's or over could still get a job in the west.

Maybe I could get a night shift stacking shelves in Tesco/ASDA.

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by BritManToo

[Jingthing]

I'm not convinced many men in their late 60's or over could still get a job in the west.
Maybe I could get a night shift stacking shelves in Tesco/ASDA.
 

Indeed. Especially if you have a 10 or 20 year gap in your resume.

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[DaRoadrunner]

How Many Are “Stuck” Here With No Way Out?

 

There are worse places to be stuck

[CaptainNemo]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I'm not convinced many men in their late 60's or over could still get a job in the west.

Maybe I could get a night shift stacking shelves in Tesco/ASDA.

 

Teaching or programming are options... the former because the profession is decimated and people assume the older you are the more you know to teach etc...; and programming because it's the great equaliser... massive demand and you can either do it or you can't, you can't fake it really; and you can do it facelessly online at any age. Starting salaries for juniors/fresh graduates are £40k+ in England for things like C/C++.

[bwpage3]

On 9/11/2019 at 6:55 AM, kwonitoy said:

I'm becoming more unstuck every day

 

-Got sole parental power (sole custody) with my son ( 5 years ago)

-Got a divorce from my Issan peasant wife ( July 4 this year, independance day)

-Sold everything with my name one it (ongoing)

-All money transfered back to an offshore bank (also ongoing)

 

End of the school year for my son and its AMF (AdiosMutherf##ker)

So Long and thanks for all the Fish

My son will be raised as a Canadian, and he wants to go.

 

This whole experiment in Thailand (over 23 years) has cost me massive amounts of money, 

But, at the end of it I got a beautiful son, that I love more than anything, and it is returned daily

 

*PRICELESS*

 

 

 

This will be the best decision you will ever make.

 

Your son will grow up an educated man and have a real chance in this world.

 

Good luck!