Who is telling the truth ?

[Thaiwrath]

I arrived permanently in Thailand in 2005, had a bar for nearly 10 years, then decided to retire and live off a private pension. I came here mainly because the weather is far superior to the UK, and waking up in a warm climate every day is far better than waking up, having to scrape ice off a car windscreen. I also find the climate a great incentive to get up and do something with the day, rather than lying in the pit.

 

I have quite a few different friends who come over to visit, as they did do before I moved here, and in conversations about Thailand versus UK, every single one of them advise me that I am far better living here, and any attempt to move back would be sheer stupidity. They also tell me that if they had finished working, and had the ability to move here, they would be over as soon as they sorted things back home, and also settle here. 

 

Then I visit Thaivisa, and see numerous topics starting by people who lived here, appeared to enjoy it, and have now returned home, for whatever reason, and criticise the Thailand they once liked, at every opportunity !

 

I do keep wondering who is telling the truth, my friends who have lived in their own country all their life, and don't have many good things to say about the place, or the returners, who now think that back home, the place they chose to leave, is the best place in the world, and cannot fault it, which makes you wonder why they left in the first place !

 

I know Thailand has changed, as has the whole world, and more importantly WE as people have also changed, but if I ever have to leave here, for whatever reason, I can't see myself being bitter about Thailand, but would rather be thankful for having so many years of my life here, and have many memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

 

Oh, and I believe my friends, by far, about the comparisons. ???? 

[ThePioneer]

The grass is, and always has been, greener at the other side of the fence

[NCC1701A]

26 minutes ago, Thaiwrath said:

I do keep wondering who is telling the truth, my friends who have lived in their own country all their life, and don't have many good things to say about the place, or the returners, who now think that back home, the place they chose to leave, is the best place in the world, and cannot fault it, which makes you wonder why they left in the first place !

only people who have actually lived here can truly comment on which is better FOR THEM. 

 

when asked the first thing I say to people back in the USA is "Thailand is definitely not for everyone, but it is fantastic for me."

[Puchaiyank]

What you may be seeing is expats venting frustration by those who have been  disenfranchised by the country they had grown to love...

[sanemax]

13 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

or the returners, who now think that back home, the place they chose to leave, is the best place in the world, and cannot fault it, which makes you wonder why they left in the first place !

Which posters have actually said that though ?

Or it you make that quote up, attribute that made up quote to non existent people and then accuse those non existent people of lying ?

[gk10002000]

1 hour ago, ThePioneer said:

The grass is, and always has been, greener at the other side of the fence

Yeah.  I have waffled many times over the last few years about moving or staying in Thailand.  So much is better.  Somethings are worse than the USA.  I know I would be restless no matter where I go.  Luckily I can afford to travel an stop work if I want.  Boredom, even though easy can be a killer

[sanemax]

13 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

I do keep wondering who is telling the truth

It really is nothing to do with either the truth or lies .

People just have different opinions .

Some people like Marmite, some dont .

No point in trying to find out whether Marmite is nice or not 

[SteveK]

If someone doesn't like Thailand any more, that's just their opinion, which they are very much entitled to. If Thailand ticks most of your boxes, that's all you need to worry about, not an anonymous person's opinion who has different needs and desires to yourself. Thailand, like every single country in the world has got problems, and yes, many things have gotten worse over the last decade or so for ex-pats. But look at the state of the UK now, it has become a spectacle, a shambles and an embarrassment.

 

For me, every day that I wake up and I'm not in the UK, that's another small win for me. I can rent a nice home in Isaan for less than my council tax was in the UK, and can build a small house for less than the price of a Ford Fiesta! Obviously if I was seriously ill and needing surgery, I'd feel different about Thailand but for now not even 1% of me thinks that the UK is in anyway a great place to live. It's a sh!thole.

Edited September 26, 2019 by SteveK

[Odysseus123]

As others have said-it's horses for courses.

 

I have not read any noticeably biased accounts by expats returning to their home countries as most have been fairly evenly balanced in my view.

 

I was always faintly amused by the well wishers tho' as they commenced to shriek "don't let the door hit you on the way out!' and other witty expressions of good will..

 

Then there are the posters who feel the need to react in a "sad" way whenever a poster does point out that there may be some positives attached to living in their home countries-the OP is a notorious example.

 

Last-but not least-most folks visiting a country as a tourist on a short holiday. will,one expects,have the rose coloured glasses firmly in place.I know that I did.

[Ron jeremy]

It's quite sad to hear from people that their home country, the U.K. Is a <deleted>hole. So many refer to it this way. I'm glad I come from a different country, I have no reason to escape, perhaps for the winters, but that's all. And happy to return to a great place to live.

so sad to hear the negativity about the UK all the time.

[473geo]

UK has been good to me, Thailand has been good to me....

 

Just lucky I guess ????

[sanemax]

12 hours ago, 473geo said:

UK has been good to me, Thailand has been good to me....

 

Just lucky I guess ????

Its nothing to do with luck , you are just a very nice person and you get treated nice in return 

[luckyluke]

Since 2000 here in Thailand permanently. 

No really problems here. Being Belgian, I have an extention based on income in my homeland, so no need of money on a Thai bankbook, no need of monthly transfers of 65000 monthly.

I transfer from Belgium how much I want, when I want.

I do my 90 days online, TM30 is done by management of the place I stay. 

But now at 71, I start to miss my country, my grandchildren. 

On 31 October I go for 2 months to Belgium. 

Will see the outcome, I may maybe go back for 2 times 3 month a year, or more or less. 

[Emdog]

Each of us have our own "truths" based on experience and heaven knows what. Like someone once said "associate with those who seek truth but shun those who say they've found it"

Remember meaning of Utopia is "nowhere"

[noogaloo]

I have lived in Thailand for over 16 years and have married a Thai national i have been unfortunate to have had two serious illness and have been treated in Thai hospitals as i was uninsured due to pre-existing conditions and over 60 i had to foot both bills approximately 50000 sterling the treatment was excellent absolutely no complaints about that but with the current exchange rate i find my finances dwindling so i am returning to the u.k. i have purchased a small cottage near the coast and during the 5 months i have been there both my wife and myself absolutely love the place i am back in Thailand at the moment sorting out my assets etc. I now intend to spend 2 months a year in Thailand and the rest of the time in the u.k. my wife wants to spend 6 months in u.k. and 6 months in Thailand which means we are apart 4 months but that is o.k. by me i am joining a list of 5 friends who have already left Thailand all long term ex-pats i just feel also that Thailand government does not appreciate long term ex-pats and how we help the economy and etc.

[RedPill]

On 9/27/2019 at 12:04 AM, Thaiwrath said:

I do keep wondering who is telling the truth, my friends who have lived in their own country all their life, and don't have many good things to say about the place, or the returners, who now think that back home, the place they chose to leave, is the best place in the world, and cannot fault it, which makes you wonder why they left in the first place !

It all depends how deep you get engaged while living in Thailand.

 

i.e. if you just live here simply as a single, it's much different to other people who try to raise children and have to face

the facts, school system etc. and see what's going on.

 

There are people who can just say, oh, wonderland Thailand, only Thai culture, and move on.

 

Others are more critical and point out what's not really correct ... and discuss it. Or try to discuss it.

 

Then other Farangs come on top and argue against each other, all the time ????

 

It's a forum, people come here to vent or discuss and share their experiences, which are not always good.

 

Doesn't mean they don't still enjoy life here.

 

One thing, over the years, which became very apparent to me is that you 'think' you can talk to like minded people with similar western background/education, to find some common sense. 

 

But that's not the case, in every thread, they are arguing over the silliest and most apparent things against each other ????

Actually not only on a forum, I've seen Farang neighbors doing the same against each other off-line.

 

When you decide to live in Thailand, there is not only the Thai side of it which you have to learn and get into.

 

There is also the Farang abroad in Thailand, which is also completely different to the Farangs you engaged before you moved here.

 

It's quite an experience all of that, to say the least ???? But all good for me as of yet, not too bad.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 28, 2019 by RedPill

[BritManToo]

On 9/27/2019 at 12:04 AM, Thaiwrath said:

I do keep wondering who is telling the truth, my friends who have lived in their own country all their life, and don't have many good things to say about the place, or the returners, who now think that back home, the place they chose to leave, is the best place in the world, and cannot fault it, which makes you wonder why they left in the first place !

I went back 2016-2018, didn't post once on TV during that time.

Didn't have much fun either, and was alone in bed every night, and alone every day.

Spent almost all my income on a bedsit.

Back here, I have a younger woman in my bed every night, and my kids around me all the time.

I have nothing to do with Thais, Thai food, or Thai culture, just live quietly in my house with my gf and kids.

Not saying Thailand is all that great, also like Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines.

Housing is just too expensive in the UK for any other comparisons to be worth making.

 

But yeah, the UK might be a great place if you have parents or siblings to bludge a place to live off.

Edited September 28, 2019 by BritManToo

[BritManToo]

28 minutes ago, noogaloo said:

so i am returning to the u.k. i have purchased a small cottage near the coast and during the 5 months i have been there both my wife and myself absolutely love the place

Any change from 300,000 pounds on that cottage?

That's a big chunk to tie up, I could live off that for 25 years in SEA.

[4737 Carlin]

On 9/27/2019 at 1:58 AM, SteveK said:

It's a sh!thole.

I hear this a lot from people out here. What specifically is s**t about it ? The free healthcare ? The generous welfare state ? The relatively safe roads and considerate drivers ? 

[Surasak]

On 9/27/2019 at 12:08 AM, ThePioneer said:

The grass is, and always has been, greener at the other side of the fence

Its the fence thats the problem. Sat on it not knowing which way to jump can be very confusing for some.????

[BritManToo]

7 minutes ago, 4737 Carlin said:

I hear this a lot from people out here. What specifically is s**t about it ? The free healthcare ? The generous welfare state ? The relatively safe roads and considerate drivers ? 

The hatred directed at me by white women in general for being single and old, the cold and the cold rain, the expense of having my own transport (bicycle excluded).

 

Not bothered about healthcare, I wasn't sick.

Not bothered about welfare, I didn't need it.

The roads weren't all that safe for cyclists, too dark and wet a lot of the time.

Edited September 28, 2019 by BritManToo

[worgeordie]

I have never been back to the UK,for 30 odd years,just what i read

and see on the news and reports from family,it has not gotten any

better.

I miss the countryside,some beautiful country around Newcastle,

and I suspect people that have never been there ,dont realise that,

every chance I got as a youth i was up on the fells,in the woods,

fishing in the rivers and sea,hiking and camping.

But it's the weather,and easy living that keeps me here,if you keep

your nose clean and head down no one bothers you ,I never came

here to sit in bars,that would bore me to death.

 

I am happy here,and ain't going anywhere,I was happy in the UK,

and I am just as happy here,and the weather's better.that's it.

 

I think when the winter comes in the UK,those that left,largely due to

financial woes i suspect,the way sterling is,would wish they could return.

if even just for a holiday !

regards worgeordie

 

 

 

[lanng khao]

11 minutes ago, 4737 Carlin said:

I hear this a lot from people out here. What specifically is s**t about it ? The free healthcare ? The generous welfare state ? The relatively safe roads and considerate drivers ? 

I've just picked up£1450 for a weeks work as a bricklayer, what a country, Rule britania...... 

[Suradit69]

On September 27, 2019 at 12:53 AM, Puchaiyank said:

What you may be seeing is expats venting frustration by those who have been  disenfranchised by the country they had grown to love...

 

"Disenfranchised". So they owned a 7/Eleven and it was taken from them?. 

[sirineou]

24 minutes ago, noogaloo said:

I have lived in Thailand for over 16 years and have married a Thai national i have been unfortunate to have had two serious illness and have been treated in Thai hospitals as i was uninsured due to pre-existing conditions and over 60 i had to foot both bills approximately 50000 sterling the treatment was excellent absolutely no complaints about that but with the current exchange rate i find my finances dwindling so i am returning to the u.k. i have purchased a small cottage near the coast and during the 5 months i have been there both my wife and myself absolutely love the place i am back in Thailand at the moment sorting out my assets etc. I now intend to spend 2 months a year in Thailand and the rest of the time in the u.k. my wife wants to spend 6 months in u.k. and 6 months in Thailand which means we are apart 4 months but that is o.k. by me i am joining a list of 5 friends who have already left Thailand all long term ex-pats i just feel also that Thailand government does not appreciate long term ex-pats and how we help the economy and etc.

Same situation here, We love Thailand but also love the US , and many other parts of the world.

as some have said "courses for horses"  Not one truth, many different truths for different people ar even for the same people at different times.

Love Thailand, love the people and our Thai family , when away I miss them very much.I like exploring Thailand, the smells the energy the adventure. I also love my Florida home, and love the people there. I like strangers holding the door for me at the store and then saying thank you, or having a pleasant conversation with a complete stranger while waiting at the deli.I like taking my litle boat fishing with friends in the intercoastal or out in the ocean. 

Especially as I get older, I like the familiarity of my own country. 

So why not enjoy both? why one or the other? Trust me , I am no genius, but with proper planning and a litle hard word and maybe some luck it can be done. 

 

On 9/26/2019 at 4:19 PM, sanemax said:

Its nothing to do with luck , you are just a very nice person and you get treated nice in return 

the above could not be more true, people like people that like them.

 it is that simple.

You hear people in this forum constantly complain and disrespect Thai people all the time , then they complain that they have problems with Thai people.

I wonder which came first " the chicken or the egg"? Do they Have problems with Thai people because they don't like them? Or do they don't like them because they have problems. 

I have being coming to Thailand for over 13 years , 10 of them married to a lovely Thai lady, never had a problem, at least not more so than in my home country in the normal course of events. Perhaps I was lucky and got started on the right foot and it went from there.

But IMO what you said above , regardless of the reasons, could not be more true. 

 

[Puchaiyank]

21 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

 

"Disenfranchised". So they owned a 7/Eleven and it was taken from them?. 

I forget sometimes who the players are here...

 

"the diminished social or political status of a marginalized group."

[Jonnapat]

Thailand indeed has its problems but why on earth anyone would want to return to the current mayhem in the UK, which is likely to be around for some considerable time, I wouldn't have a clue.

[joecoolfrog]

The OP is a huge hypocrite who is indulging in a nice bit of bias confirmation.

If he honestly believes that short term tourists are a good barometer of the livability of a foreign country , especially ones that apparently all hate their own , well enough said.

[malibukid]

On 9/27/2019 at 1:53 AM, Puchaiyank said:

What you may be seeing is expats venting frustration by those who have been  disenfranchised by the country they had grown to love...

yes, it's called the Trump anxiety syndrome.  you can google it.

Edited September 28, 2019 by malibukid

[theonetrueaussie]

You are comparing people that have lived here for years and then left to your friends that come over for a few weeks and then leave....It is not remotely similar.  Everyone loves a place when they just spend a few weeks it is only when you live in a place that you truly see how it really is.