Is living in a Thai village in the middle of nowhere becoming more appealing now?

[ExpatOilWorker]

The islands offer an attractive and isolated alternative to the rual village.

 

 

 

[poohy]

1km to deserted Beach, 1km to beer shop, 6km to 711 and atm  13 km to town nearest neighbor 500 m ...it will do for me!

[EVENKEEL]

11 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

The islands offer an attractive and isolated alternative to the rual village.

 

 

 

Awesomely beautiful, 

 

You don't need cows in the yard to have a quiet lifestyle.

[Sparktrader]

14 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

The islands offer an attractive and isolated alternative to the rual village.

 

 

 

Looks awesome

[Sparktrader]

Yes the southern islands and  Krabi have rural, beaches, city features and airports.

 

 

[Sparktrader]

1 hour ago, Mason45 said:

I have a holiday house in Chaochoengsao, 80 kms from Bangkok, also 100 kms from Pattaya. Actually the Pattaya train goes past my house about 8.20 am? every morning. We're 20 minutes from the city. As it's a bit remote on a former prawn farm there's absolutely no action. I can't even go for a walk because of the dogs and reckless motor bike riders. I'm out of there after 3 days as the boredom really gets to me. To me thats what most farangs go through as most of us come from major cities. I must've watched every movie on youtube over the years.

Why you buy it?

[kynikoi]

Hell no.

[55Jay]

Still a toss up for me.  Sometimes miss certain aspects of living at our first place, 40km outside a large city.  Nice plot of land, big pond out back, lots of mature trees and lush vegetation, elbow room to see the sky and no neighbors on top of us.  Shut the gate, it was like an oasis.   After 4 years there, the drive in for bigger shopping trips, the daily routine taking care of the house and all that wonderful vegetation and ground space, was a lot to keep up with.   It was a welcome change of pace downsizing into a typical 3 bed 2 bath ground level house in a moo baan on the outskirts of the city/suburbs.  Easy to take care of.  Everything close by, either motorbike or about 15 minutes by car for the malls, bigger supermarkets, pubs and restaurants, gyms, hospitals/medical services, etc.   Easier to find skilled tradesmen, mechanics, services for the house by being closer to the city business hub.   

 

As far as feeling depressed about the state of the world, if you're plugged into the internet/television having political gnashing of teeth and general negativity pumped into your head, especially during the COVID roller coaster ride we've been on, gotta unplug for a while and try to let it go.  Hard to do at first, but it helps, IMO.

[Tanomazu]

32 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

The islands offer an attractive and isolated alternative to the rual village.

 

 

 

Very much a better choice. At least you get a Central Festival in Samui. Even if it's not a Siam Paragon, it's a lot better than the 711 20 minutes from the village.

[Whale]

40 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

The islands offer an attractive and isolated alternative to the rual village.

 

 

 

But can I/we afford that?

[Whale]

I tried village life in Thailand. Not for me under any circumstances I am afraid. A day lasted a week.

[kynikoi]

What's immigration like on Samui for processing an O extension? Possible on Koh Tao?

 

Krabi?

 

 

Issarn village lol.

 

 

[Sparktrader]

4 minutes ago, kynikoi said:

What's immigration like on Samui for processing an O extension? Possible on Koh Tao?

 

Krabi?

 

 

Issarn village lol.

 

 

Samui bargirls are from Issan. So you get the best of both worlds.

[ArcticFox]

No no no.  Village life sucks.  Boring as hell.  When farangs come around our village looking for rural life we highly recommend they remain in the cities.  Actually, when outside Thais come around we tell them them same thing. 
No Big C.  No Pizza.  Not MK dining. No Food Panda (nobody would use them if they did deliver here), crappy fresh food shops where you can't even buy Frosted Flakes or Vegemite.  Most of your neighbors probably own guns.  Men walk around with be sharp knives. Some without shirts on!  And Ox roam on the dang raod.  OX! On the ROADs! 
Stay in the city man.  You'll be happier. 

[ExpatOilWorker]

28 minutes ago, Whale said:

But can I/we afford that?

I would say so. This 150 m2, 2 bed, 1 baht villa is listed for 5.9 million baht.

 

[gk10012001]

No, living in the middle of nowhere is not becoming more appealing.  The country life, or getting away for a while and spending time in the country is a wonderful thing, but is likely a little too quiet for many if not most people.  Many like the beaches.  Many like more social interaction, some night life, world food choices, etc. 

[ArcticFox]

3 hours ago, Pravda said:

BTW, I know a pretty girl in her 30's with a pig farm who just quit her 80,000 a month job to help the family. Money is better. She is also very single. All yours if you wanna live that life.

If I was married to a pig farmer, I don't care how beautiful she may be - I've lived around pig farms. That smell just doesn't go away.  I had a friend back in the US call it The Smell Of Money.  I'd rather raise cows which smell bad enough.  However, my religious beliefs alone would keep me from raising animals for slaughter. 
I'd be divorced too. 
Now - A 30 year old Avocado orchard farmer would be more my style.  I've no problems butchering avocados. A little slimy but you get used to it after awhile.

[ArcticFox]

29 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

Samui bargirls are from Issan. So you get the best of both worlds.

Most "working girls" put at least a couple hundred kilometers from there village to where they "work." 
The Ap Ob Nuat "shake-and-bake massage types.  The last thing you want is your dad, brother, or uncle showing up at your establishment.  <laughs>

[3NUMBAS]

too boring          and theres the annoying expats that keep coming by with there trivia

[ArcticFox]

3 hours ago, Excel said:

Ok . Sensible question now. List 5 things that you consider is modern life for you and then list 5 different things you can not do in your village.

Modern Life:
1. Short-time with a working girl when the mood strikes
2. Well equipped gyms for weight training and aerobics.
3. A variety of restaurants and ethnic foods, some even Michelin-class.
4. The latest IMAX movies with Surround Sound Earthquake sound systems.
5. Five bars of reception everywhere you take your iPhone

Village Life:
1. No working girls.  Sure, pretty giks are available but then everyone within the village, tambon, and amphur would know every detail of your sex life, including your wife and mia noi, and your city working girl.
2. Back breaking manual labor that makes you wiry and strong but breaks your body down by the time your 45.
3. A variety of stalls selling som-tum, chicken, fish, and inedible local ethnic curry guaranteed to have liver-fluke ladened raw crab and fish paste, some even Sonchai Preeteljeep class food stalls.
4. Thai soap operas, Lakhon, and old Jason Statham movies dubbed in Thai on your 25 year old 13" TV.
5. 5G Unavailable. GPS Unavailable. Service unavailable. No Internet.

[VocalNeal]

Village No. Small town yes. 

Currently in an average house (bungalow) dead end soi. Like a village but still in town. Tops/Tesco 1.5km, Makro 6kms. Global House 3,5kms but don't go very often.

Many Thai restaurants but only 3-ish with farang food. 5 sets of traffic lights gets tiresome. Immigration 15kms away and empty.

Golf 8.5kms but only 9 holes. 

Can only buy twist drills in 0.5mm increments instead of 0.1 in BKK.

 

So far so good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sparktrader]

58 minutes ago, ArcticFox said:

Modern Life:
1. Short-time with a working girl when the mood strikes
2. Well equipped gyms for weight training and aerobics.
3. A variety of restaurants and ethnic foods, some even Michelin-class.
4. The latest IMAX movies with Surround Sound Earthquake sound systems.
5. Five bars of reception everywhere you take your iPhone

Village Life:
1. No working girls.  Sure, pretty giks are available but then everyone within the village, tambon, and amphur would know every detail of your sex life, including your wife and mia noi, and your city working girl.
2. Back breaking manual labor that makes you wiry and strong but breaks your body down by the time your 45.
3. A variety of stalls selling som-tum, chicken, fish, and inedible local ethnic curry guaranteed to have liver-fluke ladened raw crab and fish paste, some even Sonchai Preeteljeep class food stalls.
4. Thai soap operas, Lakhon, and old Jason Statham movies dubbed in Thai on your 25 year old 13" TV.
5. 5G Unavailable. GPS Unavailable. Service unavailable. No Internet.

Every town over 10,000 has bargirls. Plus gyms. Movies are on internet. Same sport. Small town food is good. 

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

Been there done that.

NO.

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, ArcticFox said:

Modern Life:
1. Short-time with a working girl when the mood strikes
2. Well equipped gyms for weight training and aerobics.
3. A variety of restaurants and ethnic foods, some even Michelin-class.
4. The latest IMAX movies with Surround Sound Earthquake sound systems.
5. Five bars of reception everywhere you take your iPhone

Village Life:
1. No working girls.  Sure, pretty giks are available but then everyone within the village, tambon, and amphur would know every detail of your sex life, including your wife and mia noi, and your city working girl.
2. Back breaking manual labor that makes you wiry and strong but breaks your body down by the time your 45.
3. A variety of stalls selling som-tum, chicken, fish, and inedible local ethnic curry guaranteed to have liver-fluke ladened raw crab and fish paste, some even Sonchai Preeteljeep class food stalls.
4. Thai soap operas, Lakhon, and old Jason Statham movies dubbed in Thai on your 25 year old 13" TV.
5. 5G Unavailable. GPS Unavailable. Service unavailable. No Internet.

Who lives in a village without a woman, either wife or partner?

 

How many farangs actually work the land when living in a village?

 

No one is forcing anyone to eat food with raw crab. In my village I could buy as much processed junk food as in any city and I had access to fresh vegetables/ fruit and recent kill meat.

 

Most of us watch too much tv anyway. Books are great.

 

Never used 5G, 3G etc, and have no desire to do so. Never used GPS either and don't need it.

I had internet via landline in the village that was as good as what I'm using now.

 

Only reason I wouldn't live in a village now is that it's too far from good dentist or hospital. When younger I would have in a heart beat.

[Saltire]

Been the only farang here in a Kanchanaburi village for 4 years now.

 

First 2 years was ok as we were here to take care of her parents, but both gone now.

 

Our plan was to take monthly breaks from the village and have some fun and this we did until covid came and put the kibosh on that. Just before covid and after her parents had gone, we had decided to rent a place long term somewhere near a beach and had started to look around Hua Hin and Pattaya.

 

Now that there is no family commitment the lifestyle here, while very safe re covid, even the wife is bored stupid every day. I've done my time in the village life, I didn't move here to be in the waiting room of death.

 

The biggest inconvenience is, it's just too far from everything, in particullar for me hospitals, bars and restaurants.

 

I would like to ask if I hold the record for being farthest away from a 7/11 (40km) or from the Immigration Office (170km) ????

 

As soon as covid is gone, it's bye bye village.

 

 

 

[tonray]

My preference would be to live inside IKEA if I could. Every day you can have a different living arrangement, girl watching as shoppers walk by and the restaurant is cheap enough.

[SimpleMan555]

It really depends on your personal prefrences, lifestyle and expectations...

 

For some, it is a sentence of life in prison, for others it is the preferred choice over a slow noisy death in the city.

Growing up on a large Northern California cattle ranch, we lived 7 miles from the next house.

Now i live 1km on 3.5 rai outside an Isaan village with a PTT, 3 7-11s, hospital, lake with exercise path,nd a small Tesco.

 

Pre-Covid the 4 pubs and numerous resturants gave us plenty of opportunity for nightlife. 

Understandably it is quieter now.

 

Our village is unique with many university educated 30 somethings, that like my wife, lived and worked outside for 5-7 years, and then returned to raise a family, open a business or work at the hospital as a quality of lifestyle choice.

 

Her many friends are friendly, most can speak some English, and are forward thinking...

 

For me, i am happily co-developing a permaculture center with my wife and when my art studio is completed, return to creating sculpture and other art.

 

For me, this is my lifestyle of choice. I would recommend a few lomg visits to your village of choice to get a feel for things. Though with Covid, things are not 'normal'.

 

 

Do you have a particular area you are interested in?

 

 

[colinneil]

15 hours ago, RafPinto said:

After a few weeks, you will know each cow by her name and the soi dogs say hello too.

Not much hope for me then.... 2 cows male Tom and Jerry, 2 buffaloes Fred and Wilma..... Dogs, Rusty, Shorty, Loppy, Sally, and Blacky.????????????????

[tonray]

26 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

was sleeping in my car

Should have gone to IKEA....better bed options...ha ha ha ha

[jwest10]

18 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Not if the workers in the village return from Bangkok with the virus.

its everywhere 

regards worgeordie

Top post but of course they were allowed to travel anywhere at Songkran and yes you get those who flout the law but this happens all over the world.
Very sad times for just about everyone, apart from the so-called Elite but even they are not immune to this Covid 19