5 minutes ago, rumak said:

I had a few chances to get really rich but that didn't happen .

I got medium wealthy ........ but then my Brit wife got 2/3s

Thailand on 1/3 is OK.

20 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Maggie tried to update it to a fairer system ie what you use is what you pay for. It was unfortunately called the Poll Tax.

Yes she did although there were significant problems with it a the time. I think there was an issue with it being levied at different rates depending on employment status and in houses divided into separate dwellings the landlord had to know who was working and who wasn't. That's my vague recollection anyway. We ended up with council tax which is in many ways similar to the system of local rates which it tried to replace. Even then it's still down to national government to provide some funding to local councils which brings it's own problems.

 

Off topic for this thread but it would be worth knowing how things are funded in Thailand. Regardless I think I'd happily pay a bit more if there was any confidence that it would be properly used to improve services.

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I don't talk to them they don't talk to me.

A wave as I pass ............

How many fingers?  ????

Just now, BritManToo said:

I got medium wealthy ........ but then my Brit wife got 2/3s

Thailand on 1/3 is OK.

sorry if i laugh.    we all know that you got shafted pretty good.    And i am sure there are others here

that if not embarrassed would tell some of their horror stories.

I was lucky.   Didn't lose very much in my thai divorce .   But your 1/3 pension is still probably more than my pittance of social security.  So,  you're fortunate for that  !

6 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Yes.  As long as I have the means, health and availability of meeting girls 30 to 40 years younger then me I will remain here.

so you visit 7/11 quite often? the girls are nice there indeed but too busy clicking numbers

I’ve answered a survey along these lines before and our views haven’t changed.

 

My wife lived with me in the UK for several years. She came to the conclusion that she didn’t want to get old there and I agreed that Thailand would be somewhat preferable. So we came here to live full time in 2007 and actually have never been back.

 

Yes, I suppose we are a little fortunate that we have a house, a car, even a maid and under normal times can travel around and play golf as and when we wish. At other times we just stay home and do what old people do … we are 75/65.

 

Now is a quite time and we are ‘at home’ full time except for buying food and hope to dodge the virus as I hope all of you will ……..

 

l will  add that if you need ‘a helper’ it is not that expensive here.  I know twenty years ago, in the UK,  ‘a care assistant’ was more than ten pounds and hour and a nursing home an extortionate price. Of course if you have a much younger wife you have old age cracked anyway .... 

6 hours ago, simon43 said:

I was a Thai Tourist Police volunteer in Bamgkok (1 year), Pattaya (1 year) and Phuket (8 years)

 

I always used to joke (sadly, it was probably true), that my role as a TPV was to protect foreign tourists from the Thai police!!

really ??? me too !!! i was tourist police  volunteer for 13 years in krabi, 12 years in bangkok and

17 years in chiang mai.

no....just kiddin 

Thailand initially attracted a lot of people due to the 'value' of living there, your dollar simply went further.  Many do not have an option of 'going back home' with the skint budgets, pensions, or social security nets awaiting them.  I would assume many will stay due to that fact alone, there is simply no better option on the table.

5 hours ago, djayz said:

C19 will pass and life will, slowly albeit, return to almost normal one day down the road. Almost 50 and can't see myself getting a job back in the West - at least not one that pays enough to raise a family and even less of a chance my missus could get anything decent as her English is mediocre and her qualifications aren't worth the paper they're printed on outside of Thailand. 

 

Overall, am happy here. There are a few annoyances, but the good days far outweigh the drawbacks. 

 

The main concerns/complaints I have are: 

1) my son's education here. He'll have to go to a private international school to have any chance of a bright future. We don't need to discuss the educational system here as we all know (us and them) just how abysmal it is. 

2) the environmental problems. Everything from filthy canals to air pollution. There doesn't seem to be a will to solve this issue and to finally clean up their act. 

3) the lack of cultural activities. When I lived in Europe, I went to the library regularly; attended evening classes for adults (further education?) where I studied languages, how to cook, basic computer skills, etc.; went to the theatre, art museums and exhibitions. Most of that is lacking here or I've been looking for it in all the wrong places. 

 

Overall, when the sun shines, it sure is nice here. 

so basically what you say is that lives here are lousy but you can't afford to leave

20 minutes ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

so basically what you say is that lives here are lousy but you can't afford to leave

How did you come to that conclusion? I really don't know how I can formulate it any easier for you. 

2 hours ago, steven100 said:

2 hours ago, olfu said:

Future  plans?

As I wasted previous 76 years why start planning?

I doubt you wasted all 76 yrs ....   there must have been one or two years you enjoyed.   

Where did he say he didn't enjoy himself?  I've wasted many years and enjoyed every one.

4 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

With respect, not in my opinion.

Fair enough ... though I'm rather surprised even if I do know someone there who is quite happy with his life ...

6 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

That was 15 -20 years ago .

The authorities have since clamped down, investigated and persecuted the perpetrators .

   There have been numerous Court cases all across the U.K where the perpetrators have been jailed . 

This wasn't justice in any real sense. Many of those youngsters came from social services taking children from loving families, and then moving them to the likes of Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford, Telford ..... it only came to light about 10 years ago.

21 hours ago, Scott said:

what are your long term plans?

 

Vietnam.  

22% of respondents answered "I'll remain, but only because it's not feasible to get my family or assets out of Thailand."

 

2.2 out of 10 are trapped here.  

 

I didn't think that number would be so high.  More than 1 in 5.

10 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

Looking at the way things are going in North America and Canada in particular I do not think I would  be any better off than I am here either health wise or financially.

Last report I saw Canada had 261 new cases that day. My city of 800k had 13 new cases last Friday. I went for a walk last nite and restaurants, inside and patios, were packed with no one wearing masks. There are numerous walk-in places to go to get any of the top rated vaccines. The CFL camps are open and the first home game here will be at 100% capacity for 2x vax fans. Canada is basicly back to normal so I think your comment is out of line. 

4 hours ago, Grecian said:

So you can't imagine?

Trouble with the left, you are in sure. They won't answer the hard questions.

Can you at least understand why the parents of those girls wish the UK government had never let people in from a <deleted> culture (acid attacks anyone) in?

I feel your anger, I feel exactly the same. There are no services in the uk designed to help people. Nothing but trouble there, glad I escaped many years ago.

7 minutes ago, Leaver said:

22% of respondents answered "I'll remain, but only because it's not feasible to get my family or assets out of Thailand."

 

2.2 out of 10 are trapped here.  

 

I didn't think that number would be so high.  More than 1 in 5.

Did you work all that out by yourself or ask a 5 year old to help?

 

Anyway, well done, it's very impressive.

4 hours ago, The Cipher said:

Interesting topic and replies.

 

As a relatively younger member of the board and a newly remote-ish worker (the only good thing to happen from Covid), I intend to use my newfound freedom to establish home bases in Vancouver and probably Bangkok and then use them as hubs to travel around those respective continents. See if I can get the best of both worlds.

 

I anticipate that post-Covid Bangkok will continue to be a nice place for the next decade to fifteen years, after which it may decline (assuming the current trajectory continues). Too far out to project what I might do thereafter.

 

I expect that the mix of expats here will change as well. When the dust settles from this global event, I believe that quite a few other people will reach the same conclusions I have, and that Thailand will see an influx of younger, relatively more skilled professionals than it has in the past.

As a relatively younger member, I think your rose tinted optimism is great.

3 hours ago, BE88 said:

It is well that you realize that politics has already changed we are in the allied country with China like Laos and Myanmar,  Cambodia, it is not today it was yesterday, here we are only tolerate for our monthly money entering the country.

 

And long may that continue, which I fully expect it will.

6 minutes ago, HashBrownHarry said:

Did you work all that out by yourself or ask a 5 year old to help?

 

Anyway, well done, it's very impressive.

 

Well, it is simple maths, but I am not surprised you are impressed.  ???? 

I'm smart and always have a Plan B lined up.

 

TH is a joke, fun place to retire when things are running smoothly.

 

Otherwise say if you need a mRNA vaccine during a raging pandemic, break glass and pull lever for Plan B.

 

 

16 minutes ago, Khabib said:

As a relatively younger member, I think your rose tinted optimism is great.

Khabib?! Is that you? Big fan!

 

I suppose I am optimistic. Everyone trying to push life's boundaries has gotta be a little optimistic, I think. I'd hope it doesn't cross over to rose-tinted though. There's a viable path to dual-city living. It just comes down to execution now.

 

Always interested to hear perspectives from other under-40s tho. How do you see it?

11 hours ago, Denim said:

Spoke to my mother just yesterday. Her monthly community charge for a 4 bedroom detached house is 250 pounds a week with single persons discount. Here , I think we pay about 20 baht a week to have our garbage collected and that's about it.

Wow, does she need 4  bedrooms? Get her to move over here, I'm trying to get my mother over here to live near me. 

 

Can rent 2 4-bedroomed houses in Hua Hin for that.

After nearly 19 years in Thailand i'm moving back to London in under two weeks. I made the decision a couple of years ago to take my daughter to England for sixth form.

 

Right decision for her educationally but as the time approaches I'm getting increasingly apprehensive. Perhaps I've enjoyed life here more than I realised.

 

The covid situation has made planning difficult, the Mrs won't be coming, nor will the dog. Me and a teenage daughter sharing a flat in southwest London. Didn't they used to make sitcoms about such scenarios?

 

I'll save on the school fees but probably spend twice that on rents, council tax and utilities. I'm trading the beach, the hot weather, the Thai family, the rrelaxed way of life for suburbia, the four seasons, pubs, live music and sport, family and friends. Two years ago this sounded OK. Now I'm not so sure!

 

Very likely it'll be a two year sabatical back home for me, then I'll be back. At eighteen, my daughter can make her own choice.

Edited July 25, 20214 yr by madmitch

53 minutes ago, The Cipher said:

Khabib?! Is that you? Big fan!

 

I suppose I am optimistic. Everyone trying to push life's boundaries has gotta be a little optimistic, I think. I'd hope it doesn't cross over to rose-tinted though. There's a viable path to dual-city living. It just comes down to execution now.

 

Always interested to hear perspectives from other under-40s tho. How do you see it?

One route to dual-city living is to keep working in or near at least one of them.  Retirement may be the mistake.  Especially if you can find a job you enjoy.  I'm not under 40, but my partner is, and she is willing to join me in New York or Bangkok.  I just have to continue working in my 80s.

8 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

I have been married to my wonderful wife for 25 years, sheand our son took wonderful care of me when i was ill ,for years we lived in the Uk,but the nice working class town i had moved to over 40 yrs ago is now a foreign country ,,a stabbing last week and a murder outside our sons old school last month , both commited by immigrants,we left when they had to have the police standing at the gates to his school 16 yrs ago, now they would need the army.

This is my home ,i have never ever worried walking around ,either in Bkk when i had business there or living here in Pattaya ,the food,the weather and everything else is so much cheaper here, if i wanted to go back to the UK we would have a place to live ,but as i dont get 18600 pounds a year my wife could not return with me ,mind you i suppose we could just get a dinghey and row over, free hotel ,free tv ,free wi fi ,free heating ,free food.makes you think

 

It always makes me smile when ex UK residents describe people who go to the UK as "immigrants", and yet refer to themselves as expats when living in Thailand.

48 minutes ago, madmitch said:

After nearly 19 years in Thailand i'm moving back to London in under two weeks. I made the decision a couple of years ago to take my daughter to England for sixth form.

 

Right decision for her educationally but as the time approaches I'm getting increasingly apprehensive. Perhaps I've enjoyed life here more than I realised.

 

The covid situation has made planning difficult, the Mrs won't be coming, nor will the dog. Me and a teenage daughter sharing a flat in southwest London. Didn't they used to make sitcoms about such scenarios?

 

I'll save on the school fees but probably spend twice that on rents, council tax and utilities. I'm trading the beach, the hot weather, the Thai family, the rrelaxed way of life for suburbia, the four seasons, pubs, live music and sport, family and friends. Two years ago this sounded OK. Now I'm not so sure!

 

Very likely it'll be a two year sabatical back home for me, then I'll be back. At eighteen, my daughter can make her own choice.

 

She will be able to function and compete on the world stage, good move.

Thai's here simply cannot do this.

1 hour ago, AwwYesNice1 said:

 

She will be able to function and compete on the world stage, good move.

Thai's here simply cannot do this.

 

What's your primary long-term objection  of 2 yrs in the UK?

 

Perhaps 2 yrs in UK in a flat with dad not all that attractive to your daughter also.

 

Why not explore the so called bi-lingual schools in Thailand, some are <deleted> but some

are pretty good.

 

1 hour ago, AwwYesNice1 said:

 

She will be able to function and compete on the world stage, good move.

Thai's here simply cannot do this.

School so far in Thailand. ED. foundations and daily living firmly in Thai education / Thai life. 

At 16 moves to a school in the UK - A very big and difficult transition, and without mum.

After 2 years now capable to function and compete on the world stage?

I rather doubt 2 yrs in a UK school will create this horizon. 

Then a not easy transition back to Thailand?

 

Plenty of Thai kids educated all of life in Thailand are quite successful in Thailand.