The wife and i were talking about missing England ,she lived there with me for nearly 10 yrs and our son went to junior school until he was 12.

we tend to miss it when we are watching a tv prog and some lovely countryside comes on ,she loved going out into the country for a pub lunch and a walkabout ,

but do i miss it enough to want to go back ,no.

 

36 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

 More socially acceptable to tell people I do 'wet work'.

Well there ya go, never had you down as someone who worked with fish. Amazing members we have.

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

+ Obazda + Ente

Sounds like a drunk version of Lazada & Ebay ?

1 hour ago, AlfHuy said:

You could invite a few of your TV friends for a week in your Thai castle, krub.

Lol, especially one Mr R Muir Esquire from Phuket

4 hours ago, mfd101 said:

having spent most of my adult life in the bourgeois paradise that is Canberra

I pity you. You wasted your life in that boring place. The people down there are a breed of their own. Rather odd generally speaking

 

good that you're here now though

1 hour ago, simon43 said:

I mean in the winter.  As a young kid, I remember loads of snow, fun building a snowman, sliding down snowy hills etc.  Now I think UK winters are mostly cold, drizzly rain....

 

Before I moved to live in Thailand, I lived in Andorra, in the Pyrenee mountains, with cross-country skiing on my doorstep, duty-free booze and food, very clean, highest standard of healthcare in the world.

 

When I'm done with online teaching, I hope to retire back to Andorra or nearby in the mountains, since elderly healthcare in Laos is probably not so good!

Only went to Andorra once, many years ago.  I was supper impressed with the place, but in those days there was only one road in from Spain and the same road out, so to see any large area of the country you had to endure a big boring bit, twice.  I guess it may have changed now, but very nice place, even then. 

There are things in the US I miss in Thailand.  And when I visit the US, there are things in Thailand that I miss. 

4 hours ago, Johnny Mac said:

 

Agreed. There's nothing there. it's like when you go into a shop or to speak to a female at a call centre, attempting a bit of humour or sharing a joke or even a brief chat about the weather for example is a total waste of time. Boring as h*ll.

How fluent is your thai?

Certainly not, I've been married to a Thai woman for 20 years. Sure she throws her toys out of the pram on a regular basis but she does recover her senses next day. I'm from Australia, I keep in contact with my Aussie mates using Skype. The cost of living in Australia has gone out of control in recent years. I'm so much better off living in Thailand, considering I don't pay rent, I do most of my drinking at home and I certainly don't bar fine girls. I don't get the Australian age pension because they determined that I broke my residential status, so <deleted> them I've moved on and I'm enjoying Thailand. I've never been married before so I have no kids which can be a problem for many farangs. We're all in the departure lounge of life guys. So enjoy yourselves while it lasts. Cheers.

3 hours ago, canthai55 said:

Any food you miss can be made here. Quality as good or better than 'home'

 

 

I don't think so , not everything at least ; it's a question of "terroir ": ground, weather, grass ; for cheese or wine, taste is different depending on the region they are produced ; I don't think that a tropical weather is the best for these sorts of things 

So many here seem to hate their home countries!

I've kind of gone the other way. Left the UK in the 90s, and especially the last 10 years or so, my appreciation of what a great country it is has grown and grown. 

I live in the Gulf region currently but would hate to have to spend all my time in Thailand. I cannot see a time in the future where I spend all my time there. Maybe 5 months in Thailand over the UK winter and the rest in the UK. Thailand is a nice country in many ways but it's definitely not the paradise some seem to think it is. 

 

I miss friends and family the most. C19 meant a cancelled trip to the UK last March and what would have been the last chance to see my mother as she died in November. So to those who say they haven't been back in 20 years or whatever, don't you have friends or family in your home country, is there no one you might miss?

Only intelligent conversion with females, do i miss.

But that said,  it's very overrated in comparison to good sex. 

Thailand wins. for now.

 

 

The England i grew up in has gone ,the countryside is still there the same ,its just that the people in it have changed ,,back in the early days immigrants arrived and worked and to some extent actually became part of Britain ,but now it seems that so many of them just want to scrounge and bring their country that they left with them. you just have to read the papers and see the pictures of the vast majority that cause all the trouble.

anyway its better here ,

I wouldn't mind some real bacon.

11 hours ago, bermondburi said:

So to those who say they haven't been back in 20 years or whatever, don't you have friends or family in your home country, is there no one you might miss?

Nope, my parents died over 40 years ago.

Nope not in the slightest, I hated the snow and gun violence.

No, most definitely not. From what I read in the papers and see on the news, there are more idiots there than here.

24 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Nope not in the slightest, I hated the snow and gun violence.

yes i totally agree, i don't miss Scotland , !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL.

I do feel sorry for those of you who hate your home country,presumably you come from a very dismal part of it.  I am equally happy here or in Scotland and if I had to go back permanently it would not bother me in the slightest.

Lots to look forward to.

Miss being able to walk along a footpath without triping or banging my head.

I miss the occasional frosty morning, especially during this current heatwave.

13 hours ago, Aforek said:

I don't think so , not everything at least ; it's a question of "terroir ": ground, weather, grass ; for cheese or wine, taste is different depending on the region they are produced ; I don't think that a tropical weather is the best for these sorts of things 

I did not say replicate - I said you can make it.

Wine - I get my fill right here - spelling different tho' !

Good meat available. Of course you have to pay for it. Like anywhere.

As for some obscure product from a particular region - it is only available there anyway. Want it - get in gear

 

 

In normal times, I would return at least once, sometimes twice a year for a few weeks, which was enough for me to keep in touch with people there, as well as not lose touch with the place, which can happen if you stay away too long. At the end of each trip, I would look forward to going back to Thailand. This seemed to work for me as a balance between the two places. Now, because of the pandemic, my next trip will be at least another year away. I am looking forward to it, but being forced to stay here in Thailand has made me adjust in different ways to the simpler life here. The longer this goes on, the less longing I have for my home country - good or bad, not sure. 

I miss shopping at Trader Joe's, Laguna Beach, New Port Beach and all sweet college girls who did not care how much I got in my wallet. 

22 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

Yeah - we usually RV the US 3-6 months a year... It's a brilliant, comfortable, private, fun way to explore....

Covid stopped us last year & probably this year.....

My wife loves being in the snow, so m a y b e - towards the end of the year....

Touring like this = yes / sitting static in one place = no....

Sold my American Tradition 38ft motorhome when I sold all to retire here in Chiang Mai in 2011. I had motorhomes for 30 years and traveled the country and across Canada with the family. Have plans to visit the US in 2023 with my Thai wife and Stepdaughter, wish I could afford to have them experience motorhome travel as we drive from Disneyworld to Washington, DC for one month. Far too much cost for the budget and hassle. Even car rental seems far more expensive than I recall from earlier trips in 2013, and 2015.

No. Nothing to miss. 

1 hour ago, Orinoco said:

yes i totally agree, i don't miss Scotland , !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL.

Beat me to it. I was going to say GUNchester (Manchester).

40 minutes ago, wwest5829 said:

... I had motorhomes for 30 years and traveled the country and across Canada with the family.

I don't know America ( North and South ) , every country is different, but I think that travelling across USA and Canada must be something !

Not since I learnt how to make my own cider, no.

One of the most wonderful feelings was a lovely warm sunny day  - yes, usually only about one a year in my native England. I worked on the railways for 15 years, in the days of steam, not to mention smoke, from age 15. This was my cue to travel. In five years I went all over England, Scotland and Wales and Ireland and even on the Continent, mostly for free! I have lived in Birmingham, London, Manchester, Northampton, Kendal, Liverpool and for 25 years in the West Country.

 

My wife wants to visit England and it will be the greatest pleasure for me to share and re-visit, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall where I operated my greetings card business. The Glens of Scotland, The Lake District, The Cotswolds, all that I so love and in great contrast with Thailand - that I also love for different reasons.

 

I am not missing the culture, the politics, the cold and the continuous dilution of the real British society.