18 hours ago, moontang said:

In CM, Immigration used to hold special Saturday sessions for them to get their extensions, through the Japan Club or something, while we were queing at 4am in a dark, mosquito infested part of an out of the way mall.

Seriously? I didn't know about that. Why should they get preferences?

 

I was one of the people who would queue up at 4 am in the morning hoping for a chair to sit.

 

12 hours ago, Iron Tongue said:

I knew this article was garbage as soon as it claimed the Japanese live in Thailand because of buddhism & 70% were buddhists.  The official Japanese number claims ~30% while social research points to ~20%.

 

Also failed to mention affordable health care.

Yes, it's not very accurate as soon they said Japanese don't have any problems with the language; unless they go to shops that specialize in dealing with Japanese which isn't many.

 

Japanese language is so different from Thai language that it's a struggle for them to speak.

 

The Chinese can speak much better Thai than Japanese because Chinese language is also tonal and monosyllabic.

 

You are saying there are more Americans than Japanese who have had a presence in Thailand for many many years and have many businesses. Please show me the raw data you saw.

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, elgenon said:

You are saying there are more Americans than Japanese who have had a presence in Thailand for many many years and have many businesses. Please show me the raw data you saw.

It's already been mentioned (several times) that the OP is confusing Thailand being the fourth most popular country for Japanese expats to settle in, with Japanese being the fourth largest group of expats in Thailand.

22 hours ago, EricTh said:

Seriously? I didn't know about that. Why should they get preferences?

 

I was one of the people who would queue up at 4 am in the morning hoping for a chair to sit.

 

several years ago Nancy, set up something similar with the CMEC.  It only lasted a few sessions, though.  Dont recall why.  But the complaints about CM Immigration were really piling up.  I would say it was more of a reason for me leaving CM than the air pollution.  

On 3/27/2021 at 4:47 AM, scorecard said:

From the article:  "The fourth highest number of expats living in Thailand after the Americans, Chinese and Australians ..."

 

What happened to the UK contingent?

 

And there was me thinking the Japanese are the largest expat community in Thailand.

 

But Yes. There are too many Americans here , seemingly all complaining. But then again that might be the French?

Strangely, I've met many Americans and Japanese expats but have never met a single Australian and they are supposed to be number 3....

 

Where do they hangout?

 

 

4 minutes ago, EricTh said:

Strangely, I've met many Americans and Japanese expats but have never met a single Australian and they are supposed to be number 3....

 

Where do they hangout?

 

 

At the restaurants that serve vegemite ????

37 minutes ago, EricTh said:

Strangely, I've met many Americans and Japanese expats but have never met a single Australian and they are supposed to be number 3....

 

Where do they hangout?

 

 

lot more in Patts percentagewise than CM.  Phuket, too.

5 hours ago, moontang said:

lot more in Patts percentagewise than CM.  Phuket, too.

 

No wonder. They live in southern Thailand whereas I live in northern Thailand.

Isnt maddog bar a grumpy aussie hangout?

I am not a mathematician, but the numbers here do not add up. 

 

In 2019, 2.49USD Billion were invested in Thailand by Japanese firms. This is 24.6% of the total foreign investment of 6.13 Billion USD.

 

Huh? 

On 3/27/2021 at 9:10 AM, sandyf said:

Have you ever been to Sri Ratcha?

I have yet to come across anywhere in Thailand that has a "Brittown".

 

 Quite understandable ..

   CC,s .  Nuff said ..

     Never heard a Brit , ring the bell...

On 3/27/2021 at 4:47 AM, scorecard said:

 

What happened to the UK contingent?

 

    Refused  entry to the Kingdom .

      High Covid risk ..

     You , know it makes sense ...

On 3/27/2021 at 4:24 PM, cmarshall said:

Japanese people are not religious.  They may be nominal Buddhists, but other than for funerals, it's not important to them.  

 

Moreover, Japanese Buddhism =/= Thai Buddhism.

On 3/26/2021 at 7:56 PM, skatewash said:

Fourth highest number of expats?  What about expats from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, UK, and India?  Where do your figures come from?

 

I suspect they are counting Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia people as migrant workers as opposed to expats. But, I think the numbers are entirely wrong. 

 

There are hardly any American expats and certainly more from Australia and probably UK, for example. 

 

Very suspicious numbers from whoever wrote this article. 

On 3/29/2021 at 2:47 PM, moontang said:

Isnt maddog bar a grumpy aussie hangout?

Defo quite a few grumpies in there, not sure they're all Ozzies tho.....!n my experience, it's quite a mix of expats there, North Americans, Aussies, Brits etc  mostly regulars with high season tourists......the Western food is very good, plentiful and offers excellent value for money IMO. I thoroughly recommend the all inclsuive breakfasts.........................

1 hour ago, bojo said:

Defo quite a few grumpies in there, not sure they're all Ozzies tho.....!n my experience, it's quite a mix of expats there, North Americans, Aussies, Brits etc  mostly regulars with high season tourists......the Western food is very good, plentiful and offers excellent value for money IMO. I thoroughly recommend the all inclsuive breakfasts.........................

That may be the longest running bar on Moonmueang..they did seem to dig their heels in and improve, while others were busy translating signs into Mandarin, etc..  There have been some hilarious posts about the place over the years.  Is the closure of Johns Place permanent?  Actually met some Japanese expats in there, during its self destruction.

On 3/26/2021 at 10:55 PM, Tom89 said:

I live in Phayao. The woman at immigration told me Japanese are the largest foreign community here. Most of them seem to live in Chun.

Hmmm,  my wife is from Chun, my daughter and grandkids live there and we stay there for weeks at a time a couple of times each year. I can't say that I've ever seen any Japanese expats there in the last 15 years.

6 minutes ago, DrDave said:

Hmmm,  my wife is from Chun, my daughter and grandkids live there and we stay there for weeks at a time a couple of times each year. I can't say that I've ever seen any Japanese expats there in the last 15 years.

Interesting. I do see them in Tops Plaza  and immigration fairly often. I know they don't live near me in town. 

1 minute ago, Tom89 said:

Interesting. I do see them in Tops Plaza  and immigration fairly often. I know they don't live near me in town. 

Maybe they live in Dok Kham Tai or Pong?

3 minutes ago, DrDave said:

Maybe they live in Dok Kham Tai or Pong?

My gf lives in Dokkamtai. She said a Japanese guy used to live next to her, but he passed away a few years ago.

The mothers don't show much curves but have pretty faces for sure for the most part.
They seem quite concerned about the PM levels.

 

I'd drink Belgian beers any day over Ashai.

On 3/31/2021 at 2:11 AM, Fex Bluse said:

 

I suspect they are counting Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia people as migrant workers as opposed to expats. But, I think the numbers are entirely wrong. 

 

There are hardly any American expats and certainly more from Australia and probably UK, for example. 

 

Very suspicious numbers from whoever wrote this article. 

 

 

What's the difference between migrant workers and expats? Does that mean an English teacher from western countries are not considered 'worker'?

 

 

1 hour ago, EricTh said:

 

 

What's the difference between migrant workers and expats? Does that mean an English teacher from western countries are not considered 'worker'?

 

 

Western English teachers are working but they are not "migrant workers". You can call them working expats.

1 hour ago, EricTh said:

 

 

What's the difference between migrant workers and expats? Does that mean an English teacher from western countries are not considered 'worker'?

 

 

// An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person residing in a country other than their native country.^[1] In common usage, the term often refers to professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either independently or sent abroad by their employers, which can be companies, universities, governments, or non-governmental organisations.^[2] However, the term 'expatriate' is also used for retirees and others who have chosen to live outside their native country. Historically, it has also referred to exiles.^{[3] -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate}

The most general definition is given in the first sentence of the interesting article referenced above.

Although in common usage it may have a more restrictive meaning for some people.

I tend to use the word in its general meaning to refer to people who live in Thailand but are originally from some country other than Thailand.  I prefer that usage to others such as immigrant because the vast majority of people in Thailand long-term are here under the auspices of non-Immigrant visas and extensions of stay derived therefrom.  Clearly, Thai officialdom does not regard such people as immigrants.

The article discusses other interesting meanings of expat in the etymology section.

 

3 hours ago, EricTh said:

 

 

What's the difference between migrant workers and expats? Does that mean an English teacher from western countries are not considered 'worker'?

 

 

 

Mate, you are 'barking up the wrong tree as the expression goes in America. 

 

I am fully aware of the usage of the term expat, and I ma happy to call Asians, even those from impoverished countries, expats. 

 

Now, go back and read again and let me have your unadulterated thoughts.