If you are a beach lover its definitely better now than ever before ... hmmm, better than  the last 10 years anyway.

The seas are now crystal clear again in Phuket , and prices for food and accommodation have tumbled. 

A beach front resort is offering poolside cocktails at 99 bt , anothers deal is 2 Changs ( small) for 80bt.

250 bt to use all facilities is  yet another deal at a 4 star  , AND the 250 bt is credited to f and b anyway. 

Rooms  at very nice Hotels , formerly 4k a night at this time of year , now 900 ... etc .. etc.

Theres a large number of unoccupied villas and condos , so a lot of expats moving house currently .

Neighbours have stayed put , and successfully negotiated 30% rental discounts .

But best of all for me is the pristine water quality and empty beaches , even Patong beach is great for swimming again. Actually very beautiful !

Jetskis ? No. Parasail boats ? No. Oilslicks from  cruise boats ? No. hoards following little flags or demonstrating a death wish crossing roads ? No . Hawking and spitting tourists ? No.

Very few idiots on the roads.

The minibuses  ARENT RUSHING and the North African TMax #/holes  are simply not here  this High Season.

 

And before Im chastised for sounding too happy about all this,  555 as if my happiness can change anything  at all  , my Thai wifes business is 'up the creek '  and Im very lucky to have a passive income coming  from home  that supports us fine ... but I would add that its way cheaper now  TO LIVE than it was before - which helps  ME in providing.

Fish normally destined for upscale restaurants is  nowadays laid out on mats down on the beach early ( and we've taken to walking early as we get a quiet nights sleep this High )  , beautiful fish of all colours and good sizes  ...This morning I bought a Snapper , well over 1 kilo... for 80 baht. Coconuts are back down  to 20 bt , pineapples same. Home grown veg all  VERY cheap and sold fresh by  local Muslim ladies  with salengs.

Probably no rain  now thru till Sonkran  , and the air lovely and clear. Breezy this year.

( Actually it gets a bit too hot  for me by Songkran ) 

 

I honestly have no idea why  more expats from  the rest of Thailand arent down here and enjoying this , because it really cant last , and I seriously  thought 2 years back that 'paradise' was gone forever .

Like I say , I can do nothing to change whats happening , but I have changed my lifestyle to get out and exercise and enjoy it all the more . And that goes for  my Mrs , and everyone on my little Soi , bar one individual who appears to have chosen not to.

 

My area on this island has always been a beautiful place. The downer was way too many people ( seasonally) for its resources. That made it crowded and expensive.  Now theres not too many people. Its that simple.

 

( Ready to get attacked for being so positive 555 , but Im not making any of this up.)

1 hour ago, Ron jeremy said:

Chang nobyl was 157

Land of radioactive beer?

Thailand is great! For some, as Afganistan for others. Some chose UAE, while Marocko is a favorite for a few. Even Colombia and Mexico are places many want to live in.

As I say. Thailand is Great!

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Where in the west can I spend my weekends like this?

Edited 1 hour ago by BritManToo

 Feet on the table!

You aint got no behaviour.

,But it is nice.

I'm good, thank you.

1 hour ago, foreverlomsak said:

2 hours ago, elliss said:

 

     Why not ? . 

     Great Britain . land of Benefits .

    All are welcome ..

Not if your a UK national, as far as I can work out you get no support of any kind for at least 6 months, unless you can prove that you've returned to stay permanently, and the only way I know do do that is to die in the airport.

 

It's called Burnt Bridge Syndrome or BBS for short.

 

Deal with it.

2 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

If you can live a quiet life out in the sticks, you probably have it made.

Not exactly but I'm happy thanks.

sounds a little jelly to me..

im fed up with mask nonsense, but until it gets so cold here

that it takes artificial heating and insulation in buildings to survive,

its still better here at equator than is my ancestor land of vikings.

living next to sea i also have no issue with air pollution, sea breeze ensure nice air

5 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Before all the long term expats come on bashing this post because they have no where to move to, is there anything at all beneficial living in Thailand currently?

 

Even before COVID, Thailand seems to be sliding down hill with increased air pollution, over crowding, govt regulations, and now COVID issues?

 

The govt is hellbent on corrupt projects that do nothing but line the pockets of the newly elected.

 

Get elected, make as much money through corruption as you can before you get voted out down the road.

 

Who exactly is watching out for the welfare of the Thai people and the foreigners living there?

 

The answer is no one. There is no corruption money in doing the right thing and fixing issues that continue to get worse year after year.

 

Do you honestly feel the government is really happy to have you there? Draconian rules about owning land, VISA's being more difficult, reporting your every move.

 

The baht remains super strong against all currencies. It could get stronger. Is Thailand still a deal? Is living in a one room flat because that is all you can afford in your elder years a good thing?

 

Suk and SOI 4 looks more like New York than Thailand. How many western fast food joints do you need right next to each other? Push out all the street vendors for burgers. Makes no sense.

 

How about the air pollution? How many people want to live in that the rest of their lives as it continues to get worse and the govt does nothing about it?

 

Let's not even mention how much worse the traffic is getting in ALL cities!

 

The thing about the third world, that I am sure many are learning the hard way, is that over the years it is not getting better, it continues to get worse and worse.

 

Each new problem exposes an inept govt unable or unwilling to do anything about the countries problems.

 

As far as I can tell, places like Isaan appear to be the only safe bets as to never changing.

 

If you can live a quiet life out in the sticks, you probably have it made.

 

The unknowns the next 5, 10, 20 years with currency, environmental and the govt itself makes it a tough sell as a destination.

 

 

 

 

Make loads of money here and have a 6 room house in a nice area of Bangkok.

5 hours ago, cyril sneer said:

+ tourist areas are all dead, which is why most came in the first place

And the reason why I'm enjoying it more than ever.

5 hours ago, cyril sneer said:

+ tourist areas are all dead, which is why most came in the first place

all nice and quite that what some people pay A, high price to travel to now clean beaches and less traffic. and the best part no loud bagging so call music at 2am in morning. how relaxing and Quite.

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Warm and sunny here beats wet and cold in the UK, and cold and snowy in Canada.

I'm having a better time here, than my pals living there.

 

I don't much like the governments in either of those 3 countries.

Didn't vote in the UK, can't vote here = same IMHO.

 

I have a very nice m/c, traffic doesn't bother me, plenty of spaces for me to slip through.

 

Air pollution in CM is not so bad this year, the last 2 months were way better than last year.

Currency fluctuations don't bother me that much, pound is on the way up at the moment.

 

My 4 kids in the UK are unhappy and struggling.

My 2 kids here are happy and content.

I'm also way happier here than I ever was in the UK.

 

Where in the west can I spend my weekends like this?

That looks like Bang Saen 2 by the undonratana  dam near khon Kaen.

And you are right

. If that's the same,,  I love taking the kids there and watch them play in the water while drinking a cold beer and munching on food from the food stalls. 

1 hour ago, irishman25 said:

all nice and quite that what some people pay A, high price to travel to now clean beaches and less traffic. and the best part no loud bagging so call music at 2am in morning. how relaxing and Quite.

There’s obviously a plus side to less tourists, but it’s a bit depressing when every other restaurant or bar is closed or has 2/3 customers inside

 

Good if you’re Chinese and like to wine and dine at home though...

Although people moan about the govt, corruption, police, roads, flooding etc if Thailand wasn't like that it wouldn't be Thailand anymore it would be Singapore and we'd all move away

Some off topic posts removed.

9 hours ago, foreverlomsak said:

If I moved back to the UK I couldn't even afford that.

But you could have "bangers and mash" every Thursday for breakfast..

As mentioned by others  and coming from the UK where the weather varies from grey and cold to grey and wet and having spent 30+  years trying to work around  that then the weather is the main draw.

I have little enthusiasm for Thai people,  culture, mentality etc in fact I don't  really  like it at all.  

The other easy aspect is the general ability on some things to do what you want without complaint and although the road deaths are  atrocious roads is  one where you can literally do anything.

A  minor  infringement in the UK ie 35mph in a 30  zone is now a serious  offence with ridiculous costs attached and though I don't  drive like a lunatic in the UK definition of a lunatic seems to be ridiculous now.

No rates to speak of on property. Almost 24 hour easy  access to  food. I do  live in the country and have little  interaction with the locals, thankfully, I couldn't  live in Bangkok. I don't go for this  "you  must blend in with the locals and local ways"  that's just BS as many of the local ways are outright dangerous.

10 hours ago, foreverlomsak said:

I'd say that it's probably the same all over the world with regards to those 2 issues

wrong answer.

 

There is zero air pollution where I live and traffic is non existent compared to Bangkok

10 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

is there anything at all beneficial living in Thailand currently?

It's a good time to ship all your accumulated spare Baht out of Thailand while the Baht remains high! I cleaned up last year on the favorable rates! Thanks Dee Money!  

10 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

The baht remains super strong against all currencies. It could get stronger. Is Thailand still a deal?

Take advantage if you have Thai Baht!!! Ship it out!

Im fine this beats Manchester even on a good day, for those of you who want to leave dont forget to close the door on your way out, Oh and turn the lights out,

Thailand is just like before just a lot fewer tourist - and the consequences of that.

 

11 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Suk and SOI 4 looks more like New York than Thailand. How many western fast food joints do you need right next to each other? Push out all the street vendors for burgers. Makes no sense.

 

That is a tourist area and you pretend you don't like it the way it is/was.

If you would be in a non-tourist area then your life wouldn't be much different without tourist and tourist attractions.

 

I like Thailand now just the way I liked it before. A few places closed, some of them permanently. Ok, I miss some of them. But there are still more than enough other places. And there will be new places after Covid. Life changes.

 

And the Thai government and the Thai people handled Covid a lot better than many so called first world countries. That's great.

 

Have a nice day!

 

I love it here. If I didn't, the borders are completely open for me to leave.

Nothing.

<removed>

 

I have a great life here living on the outskirts of Bangkok, loving family, good job paid in THB so no issues with exchange rates. Actually those that say Thailand is getting expensive are plain wrong, prices have barely increased in my time here, exchange rates have caused the decline in quality of living for some.

 

Sure the political situation sucks but it does not affect my way of life and how many so called first world countries have Governments their citizens can be proud of ?

 

I could go back to UK tomorrow, still have my house there, but why would I ? It's almost as bad as broken America.

18 minutes ago, J Town said:

<removed>

 

I love it here. If I didn't, the borders are completely open for me to leave.

Have you missed the news lately?

I left Thailand and went back to England a long time ago, I got bored waiting for my luggage at the airport, seeing all the fat <removed> getting off the plane from Benidorm 

Just now, rabang said:

Have you missed the news lately?

No, I haven't missed it. In fact the less news I see the more I realize my simple life is full of pleasure that I COULDN'T enjoy back in my home country.

Maybe I live in an alternate Thailand, for me, nothing has drastically changed..

All the things I found "beneficial" are the same as they have always been, "right now" is pretty much the same as 5-10 years ago.

 

I read the OPs list of grievances, and most of it appears to be things that were always part of living in Thailand (Asia in general).

 

Threads like this always appear to me as "buy a house next to the airport" then spend the rest of your life complaining about the planes.

 

For me, I loved living here when I arrived 8 years ago and love living here now. My home country exchange rate is up 15-20% from were is was, all the big ticket items are still way cheaper than home country. 

"Right now", without a constant stream of 2 week millionaires, lots of prices are back to reasonable levels, less crowds, less traffic, less pollution. Its a better place to live than its ever been.