I Love Living in Thailand

[Gecko123]

44 minutes ago, Stefanix said:

So to sum it up, you don’t believe postings about happiness in Thailand and think they have a hidden agenda and just want to antagonize the unhappy people. Hm. That tells a lot and I am very sorry that you think its not possible to be happy in Thailand. I hope that you don’t have to live in this country because of the low cost of living and found a better spot. 

Your post is a perfect example of the psychology behind many of these 'I love Thailand' threads which my earlier post pointed out. Just look at the superior and condescending ("sorry for you"/ "maybe you should leave") tone of your post.

 

The point of my post was that many of these 'I love Thailand' threads seem to have a shallow appreciation of what Thailand has to offer, and seem to mostly serve as a vehicle for self-congratulation and attempting to put oneself on a higher chakra of happiness than others.

 

As evidence to support this view, I pointed out that most of these 'I love Thailand' testimonials rarely go beyond citing the cheap cost of living, and almost never cite Thai people as a reason for loving Thailand. That's what makes me question the motivation behind these threads.

 

I hope this Cliff Notes summary has helped clarify my earlier post.

 

Edited November 18, 2021 by Gecko123

[BritManToo]

10 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

The point of my post was that many of these 'I love Thailand' threads seem to have a shallow appreciation of what Thailand has to offer, and seem to mostly serve to self-congratulate and an attempt to put oneself on a higher chakra of happiness than others.

What Thailand has to offer ..........

Cheap sex (pay as you go, or move in and marry), cheap housing and warm weather.

 

Have I missed out anything?

I really don't know what your obsession with Thai people is, (beyond the women) I see Thai people as a negative, low levels of education (even the guys running the health service and government), high levels of racism, incompetence, corruption and superstition. (I cite Prayut, Anutin and that guy relaxing his neck as prime examples)

Edited November 18, 2021 by BritManToo

[Gecko123]

Somebody better tell BritManToo to stop. He's making my point in spades.

Woo, lord, baby child be digging his grave with a brand new backhoe, you-all. ????

[blackprince]

4 hours ago, robertson468 said:

Have been living here for 17 years now and love the Country and the People,  Sure, I occasionally get the wander list, but when I sit down and think of the positives, I soon get over the desire the roam the World.  I have a brilliant Wife, three pensions, an income from a small Resort I built for her and about to turn 77 years old this month, but have good health apart from a blood clot which a Thai Doctor Friend keeps monitoring for me.  The only thing I would cast a jaundices eye over is your claim that Thailand is doing much better than most other developed Countries viz-a-viz Coroner Virus.  I have difficulty believing their stats because I don't think that they are carrying out testing anywhere near as the UK for instance.  But as they say in Yorkshire, "there's nowt more queer than folk".  

Much of the testing in Thailand has been demand driven (for example in response to covid symptoms), rather than routine as in the UK,  and so yes the UK has conducted more tests. At great expense to the public purse I might add through corrupt contracting processes that bypassed public tendering standards for the first time in living memory. You may be aware that inquiries are impending.

 

On the other hand Thailand has a lower case rate than almost all of the usual farang homelands, and has since the beginning of the pandemic.

And Thailand has had a lower fatality rate than almost all of the usual farang homelands (i say "almost" because NZ did better and possibly Oz too).

The UK had the 3rd highest mortality rate in the world for much of the period before the vaccine rollout.

 

Feel free to confirm the stats at johns hokpins, which provides the most comprehensive international stats on covid. I've linked it many many times, but I'll leave you to google it if you're as interested as you seem.

 

And Thai covid contact tracing has been infintely more efficient and much cheaper than the UK's. The Thai tracing system is performed at almost zero cost via the existing amphur/village administrative infrastructure. The UK's was done extremely inefficiently at the cost of GBP billions, much of which went into the back pockets of the government's friends via untendered contracts. Again, inquiries are impending.

 

On the other point, you seem to be confirming what I said that most westerners who like(d) it here do/did so because it's "cheap as chips" for them ???? But long may your enjoyment continue, whatever the cause ????

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2021 by blackprince

[newnative]

21 hours ago, timendres said:

Eleven years, and still love every day here.

I'm at 11 years also and I still love every day, too!

[blackprince]

57 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

What Thailand has to offer ..........

Cheap sex (pay as you go, or move in and marry), cheap housing and warm weather.

 

Have I missed out anything?

I really don't know what your obsession with Thai people is, (beyond the women) I see Thai people as a negative, low levels of education (even the guys running the health service and government), high levels of racism, incompetence, corruption and superstition. (I cite Prayut, Anutin and that guy relaxing his neck as prime examples)

I admire your honesty in para 1, and it confirms my initial response to the OP that most westerners do indeed like it here because it's "cheap as chips" for them, or was.

 

Re para2. It depends very much on who you hang out with as to the level of education and intelligence you encounter. Highly educated Thais in senior professional positions are not very likely to wish to hang out with uneducated unkempt foreigners hanging on here by the skin of their teeth, most of whom have extremely low levels of spoken Thai and zero written Thai even after decades of immersion in the language.

 

As for politicians, well what we can we say. The current UK bunch are not much to write home about.

 

Superstition? Budhhism is not superstitious enough to posit the invisible, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent being that Christians and other Abrahamists believe in ( I mention this because you were eulogizing Christians a couple of days ago).

 

As for racism, isn't this the kettle and copper syndrome!!!

 

But thanks for your honesty anyway!

Edited November 18, 2021 by blackprince

[473geo]

I had a great working life in the UK 

Now here in Thailand for part two 

People in Thailand have been welcoming friendly and helpful 

How?

Marriage extension for a year done, with assistance and patience from the immigration guys, friends and family

Driving licence, again walked through it by friends and family 

Really been made to feel welcome, even my quarantine was painless 

Local doctor arranged my second Pfizer shot this week without even a prompt

I will not tire of waking up and starting my day with my family in glorious sunshine, or the occasional day when the weather is a bit cooler 

I cycle on empty concrete back roads, yes I speak to people in passing, currently drying rice, and they smile usually respond 

Already well known in the village, just kind of everyday life with my family, still adjusting slightly, next step to pick up a bit more of the language

I am finding just being me is working quite well ???? and being me means I don't stress about the future, never have, never will.

Should this chapter close and another begin I can only hope the level of excitement and satisfaction can be maintained ????

 

[arithai12]

On 11/17/2021 at 9:15 AM, Mike Teavee said:

Can’t help but notice there’s a lot of negativity around living in Thailand

Don't judge by what goes on on this forum. TVF/AN is well known for Thai bashing, and if you look closer you will see it's mostly the same posters. True, Thailand is not perfect, no country is, but overall it beats most countries I know.

Enjoy.

[Pravda]

4 minutes ago, arithai12 said:

Don't judge by what goes on on this forum. TVF/AN is well known for Thai bashing, and if you look closer you will see it's mostly the same posters. True, Thailand is not perfect, no country is, but overall it beats most countries I know.

Enjoy.

 

What countries do you know?

 

 

[Presnock]

23 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Really?

If you legally work here, no problem.

If you are retired and have a little money in the bank, no problem.

 

And if anybody complains about 90 days reporting or things like that. Just do it! It takes a couple of hours for the whole year to do what is necessary to stay in Thailand. It's easy. The only thing which makes it bad is permanently thinking about it and complaining about it.

actually, it is now cheaper and easier than before to stay long time.  I retired here after several assignments in Bangkok in 2005.  I had spent a total of 10 years in Thailand first time 48 years ago.  After numerous overseas assignments, Thailand came out as the best for retirement.  Like I said, now it is easier than before.  We used to have to get in line at Immigration sometime just after midnight, in order to be close enough to get one of he queue numbers as they only processed so many each day.  Besides that I had to pay 50 USD to get an income letter that immigration would accept so that I didn't have to keep big bucks in the bank here.  Now since several embassies no longer provide letters, I just show them that I send from overseas, xxx number of Dollars equating to more than 65K baht EVERY month plus I show them a retirement income letter from my pension management company.  Now when I go to immigration, first I stop at the bank, spend a half hour there then on to immigration where I usually spend 45 minutes to an hour and all is finished for another year.  Previously after getting a queue ticket, waiting hours to get in for the interview and then waiting again for the signature of the boss.  I feel that it is a lot easier now than it used to be.  I do realize that insurance for longtime stayers is in the works in the near future and since I am now 75 years of age, while I already have a US insurer that pays everything even here, I am not so sure that they will sign that insurance declaration needed by immigration.  Maybe it is time to consider leaving.

 

[AgMech Cowboy]

I still like being here (at lest a lot more than any other place I could be).

[atpeace]

3 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

Somebody better tell BritManToo to stop. He's making my point in spades.

Woo, lord, baby child be digging his grave with a brand new backhoe, you-all. ????

He is just having a rant and is usually quite hilarious.  Not really an issue at all and most of what he said was in jest.

[sirineou]

27 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Lol, I don’t eat street food, use an agent for all my immigration needs (though am legit as I have the money in the bank) & won’t get a house that’s less than 3-400m away from the neighbours dogs ????

 

But Joking aside, I’m thankful as I could be spending my retirement in my home town of Warrington… When you google the phrase “It’s grim up north” I’m sure there’s a picture of Warrington ????

So it's not so much that you love Thailand as it is that you hate Warrington ????,

I cant say that I  blame you. I did google it and this is the only thing I found. I think it is a poster from the Warrington bard of tourism. ????

 

 

[Mike Teavee]

7 minutes ago, sirineou said:

So it's not so much that you love Thailand as it is that you hate Warrington ????,

I cant say that I  blame you. I did google it and this is the only thing I found. I think it is a poster from the Warrington bard of tourism. ????

 

 

Lol… No I do genuinely love living here, I did a decade working in Singapore before moving here & it’s an awesome place (especially when you move there from 18  months in Mumbai & 6 months in Karachi) but there is no way I wanted to live there when I retired.

 

Thank you for the sunny pic of Warrington, weather is normally much worse than that ????

 

Come on you Wire (now Wolves) ????????

[paul1804]

I am not fond of cold weather so that's one of the reasons why  I like Thailand. 2 years ago we moved to KOH SAMUI and I have to say its the best place I have ever lived. I am not crazy about the drivers but apart from that the people are nice, crime is minimal, we won't mention corruption which sadly  seems to be endemic but apart from that what a great place to live. 

[xeniv23]

Retired in 2013.  First visited Thailand in late 2019.  Moved here in December 2020.  I'm a guest here, it's their country.  They have granted me privilages and there are rules.  I try to do what I'm supposed to and be invisible otherwise.  I can't think of one thing to complain about.  I love it here.  With just a little bit of money it's a great place to live and be.  

[atpeace]

On 11/18/2021 at 2:41 PM, Gecko123 said:

Your post is a perfect example of the psychology behind many of these 'I love Thailand' threads which my earlier post pointed out. Just look at the superior and condescending ("sorry for you"/ "maybe you should leave") tone of your post.

 

The point of my post was that many of these 'I love Thailand' threads seem to have a shallow appreciation of what Thailand has to offer, and seem to mostly serve as a vehicle for self-congratulation and attempting to put oneself on a higher chakra of happiness than others.

 

As evidence to support this view, I pointed out that most of these 'I love Thailand' testimonials rarely go beyond citing the cheap cost of living, and almost never cite Thai people as a reason for loving Thailand. That's what makes me question the motivation behind these threads.

 

I hope this Cliff Notes summary has helped clarify my earlier post.

 

Nice post but disagree with most of it.  Refreshing to read a post that isn't attacking others.

 

Your memory is selective and you are missing all the posts that rave about Thailand's beauty, food, and people.  Putting that aside - why do you think it is shallow to appreciate a cheap lifestyle?  A little less shallow than living in luxury and probably not any happier.  I have known many wealthy and can honestly say that the people with enough money to relax and eat at cheap restaurants here as a whole are happier.  I might be wrong but a simple life does have its advantages?

[Gecko123]

14 hours ago, atpeace said:

Nice post but disagree with most of it.  Refreshing to read a post that isn't attacking others.

 

Your memory is selective and you are missing all the posts that rave about Thailand's beauty, food, and people.  Putting that aside - why do you think it is shallow to appreciate a cheap lifestyle?  A little less shallow than living in luxury and probably not any happier.  I have known many wealthy and can honestly say that the people with enough money to relax and eat at cheap restaurants here as a whole are happier.  I might be wrong but a simple life does have its advantages?

I have carefully gone through all the posts on this thread, which in retrospect I found to be remarkably lightweight in substance. I'm sticking to my guns that self-congratulation or attempts to feel superior at the expense of anyone who has ever voiced frustration or dissatisfaction about Thailand, irregardless of the legitimacy of the complaint, is a big driver behind these threads. It's like a me-too happiness steeple-chase which everyone scrambles to join in on, and there's never any shortage of contemptuous remarks directed at this supposed silent majority of "negative thinkers." Not backing off that assessment one bit.

 

Contrary to what you claim there were only two posters: @FarmersLife (culture, people) and @Robertson468 (people, country) who mentioned anything besides cost of living or the weather as things they liked about Thailand. 473geo did recount how people had helped him adjust to village life and navigate the visa process, but this was later on in the thread.

 

You're conflating appreciation for Thailand's low cost of living with an appreciation of minimalist living when there is little to no correlation between the two. Obviously, someone can appreciate a lower cost of living at the same time as leading the more lavish lifestyle which the lower cost of living allows.

 

Edited November 20, 2021 by Gecko123

[Pravda]

Sorry, but anyone who says the food is great in Thailand has me completely puzzled.

[Mike Teavee]

54 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

have carefully gone through all the posts on this thread, which in retrospect I found to be remarkably lightweight in substance. I'm sticking to my guns that self-congratulation or attempts to feel superior at the expense of anyone who has ever voiced frustration or dissatisfaction about Thailand,

Obviously you’re entitled to your opinion but I can tell you that I started this thread with a genuine positive motive/mindset & in no way meant it as a dig at anybody who thinks  differently.

 

I could “turn the mirror” & say that your posts here are 

a dig at anybody who’s dares to state they are happy in Thailand & see the glass 1/2 full here.

 

Why does anybody need a reason to be happy here? Happiness is a state of mind not a checklist though I will admit that a large part of my happiness is probably due to the fact that I’ve retired so I might be as happy elsewhere, the only thing I know is I’m happy living here.

 

And it has nothing to do with it being cheap here as places like Portugal/Spain & even the UK are cheaper for the lifestyle I lead.

 

Plus the Philippines has hotter women ????

Edited November 20, 2021 by Mike Teavee

[Mike Teavee]

An often used model for judging “Satisfaction/Happiness” is Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs…

https://www.thoughtco.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4582571
 

From what I can tell, I got most of the layers (I count retirement as employment) up to Esteem/self-actualisation covered in Thailand so guess that makes me happy or at least “Satisfied” 

Edited November 20, 2021 by Mike Teavee

[BritManToo]

13 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

An often used model for judging “Satisfaction/Happiness” is Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs…

https://www.thoughtco.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4582571
 

From what I can tell, I got most of the layers (I count retirement as employment) up to Esteem/self-actualisation covered in Thailand so guess that makes me happy or at least “Satisfied” 

I can understand the base items (1 & 3) ......... but really, who cares about what others think of you, or self improvement. Never been big on safety either.

I actually feel those who need the approval of others (esteem) are weak.

Edited November 20, 2021 by BritManToo

[ColeBOzbourne]

15 hours ago, atpeace said:

I might be wrong but a simple life does have its advantages?

I think there is something to that. I often wonder if living the simple life doesn't correlate to increased happiness in Thailand. Many people attempt to make life more convenient for themselves by buying a house, condo, car, motorcycle, mountains of material things, etc.. Only to have to then deal with Thai bureaucracy, red tape, documentation, storage, moving, traffic, parking, license, maintenance, insurance, utility companies, traffic cops, etc.. Seems to me it makes life more complicated.

[Gecko123]

1 hour ago, Mike Teavee said:

Obviously you’re entitled to your opinion but I can tell you that I started this thread with a genuine positive motive/mindset & in no way meant it as a dig at anybody who thinks  differently.

 

I could “turn the mirror” & say that your posts here are 

a dig at anybody who’s dares to state they are happy in Thailand & see the glass 1/2 full here.

 

Why does anybody need a reason to be happy here? Happiness is a state of mind not a checklist though I will admit that a large part of my happiness is probably due to the fact that I’ve retired so I might be as happy elsewhere, the only thing I know is I’m happy living here.

 

And it has nothing to do with it being cheap here as places like Portugal/Spain & even the UK are cheaper for the lifestyle I lead.

 

Plus the Philippines has hotter women ????

While, historically, I agree with you that there has been a lot of Thai bashing on this forum which I certainly don't think I have ever been guilty of, during the pandemic I have seen very little "Thai bashing" or "negativity" about Thailand on the forum.

 

What there has been is an enormous amount of well-justified frustration about changing immigration laws, uncertainty about future medical insurance requirements, lack of access to vaccines, inability to travel, restrictions and reporting requirements for inter-province travel or international travel, the attitude of the government towards the expat community, and the government's growing cozy relationship with the CCP, etc., etc. If people want to dismiss that as "negativity" I guess they can, but from where I come from that's called "reality" not "negativity."

 

Here's a compilation of  what I consider to be self-congratulatory and self-aggrandizing comments made on this thread. There only purpose is to make the person making the comment feel better about themselves. These comments are actually quite negative and express a lot of hostility. They have little to do with being a more positive person, or loving Thailand more than the next guy. It's all about ego.

 

@Mike Teavee "I couldn't help noticing there's a lot of negativity around living in Thailand.

@OneMoreFarang"Surround yourself with other positive people."

@1FinickyOne"Did you ever notice that people with happy in their name never really are?"

@Davemax49  "Just ignore all the negative comments about living here. People are upset about there own personal lives and their bad choices."

@Iforbach"sad trollies"

@4MyEgo "Negativity is for those who can't get over it."

@Stefanix"There will be many deniers making jokes (which are not really funny) and telling us how bad Thailand is."

 

I never said anyone needs a reason to be happy or to justify that they're happy. I do understand better that there's a need for people to self-affirm that their choice to live in Thailand was the right one for them, and I promise the next time one of these threads pop up, I'll do my best to steer clear of it. I absolutely do not see myself as a negative person, and I appreciate more than most what Thailand has to offer.

 

My pointing out that most of the reasons cited on this thread for "loving" Thailand were rather mundane, and that people rarely cited Thai people as a reason for loving Thailand was done in the hopes of triggering some reflection about the true depth of appreciation and the underlying motives behind posting on this and similar threads.

 

 

 

[Mike Teavee]

15 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

What there has been is an enormous amount of well-justified frustration about changing immigration laws, uncertainty about future medical insurance requirements, lack of access to vaccines,

I strongly agree with you on this point & feel nothing but sympathy for guys who have been impacted by the withdrawal of Embassy income certs (1 year a guy is happily showing his legit 65K+ gross income, next he’s having to find that Nett to transfer to Thailand after paying taxes/expenses in his home country) & especially the Insurance requirements for Non-OA holders, would have been good if they’d grandfathered the guys with existing visas/extensions or at least allowed an option to put money in the bank like MM2H does for those genuinely unable to get the insurance. 

 

The “negative” threads I initially mentioned were along the lines of “Is Thailand still a destination for Retirees” as well as comments from guys saying “if they knew how things would be now they never would have moved here” which as a pretty recent retiree obviously makes me question my own decision (bright side is it also makes me do things like cover the Health Insurance requirements whilst I still can).

 

Edited November 20, 2021 by Mike Teavee

[blackprince]

49 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

What there has been is an enormous amount of well-justified frustration about changing immigration laws, uncertainty about future medical insurance requirements, lack of access to vaccines, inability to travel, restrictions and reporting requirements for inter-province travel or international travel, the attitude of the government towards the expat community, and the government's growing cozy relationship with the CCP, etc., etc. If people want to dismiss that as "negativity" I guess they can, but from where I come from that's called "reality" not "negativity."

 

I'm not aware there have been any changes to the extension of stay laws. There have been a few changes to the form of supporting documentation, but no changes to the laws themselves that I am aware of.

Over the last few years there has been a stricter enforcement of existing laws for extensions of stays - for example closing down the never-ending visa runs that some foreigners did for decades.

 

As for inter-province travel, this is something I do a lot of. At times it has been inconvenient, but nowhere near as inconvenient as the travel restrictions that have been enforced in the UK over the last 18 months. And it's done for a good reason - the world is experiencing a pandemic, and Thailand is not exempt from that.

 

As I posted earlier, Thailand's culture and ethnicity have more in common with China than with the west. That is reality. Coming here without an understanding of that shows a certain amount of inexperience I'd say.

 

As for medical insurance, the simple truth is that if a foreigner can't afford medical insurance then they won't be able to afford a hospital bill either.

 

One of the key issues is that many westerners try to live very close to the breadline here (after all, it's "cheaps as chips") and when the economics change they get squeezed. But given that many of them admit that they can't afford to retire in their home country, I'm not sure it's fair to blame Thais or the Thai government for that.

Edited November 20, 2021 by blackprince

[4MyEgo]

4 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

Here's a compilation of  what I consider to be self-congratulatory and self-aggrandizing comments made on this thread. There only purpose is to make the person making the comment feel better about themselves. These comments are actually quite negative and express a lot of hostility. They have little to do with being a more positive person, or loving Thailand more than the next guy. It's all about ego.

Your entitled to your opinion, and that is it. That said I totally differ with your analogy.

 

As I said earlier, "Negativity is for those who can't get over it."

[BritManToo]

7 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

Plus the Philippines has hotter women ????

I've never found The Philippines/Cambodia/Thailand/Vietnam short of hot (and available) women.

[1FinickyOne]

5 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

I guess they can, but from where I come from that's called "reality" not "negativity."

Mudville? 

 

First - is that your reality you are talking about? We all have our different versions. [just like eye witnesses] 

 

When told he had to come back to reality - - 

 

"I'll go but only as a tourist." Murray Burns - 1000 Clowns. 

[1FinickyOne]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I've never found The Philippines/Cambodia/Thailand/Vietnam short of hot (and available) women.

what part of London is that?