Living in Thailand vs living in America?

[KIngsofisaan]

25 minutes ago, Iamfalang said:

Opportunity?  America, all day and twice on Saturdays.   Jokers can make $100,000 a year and some over $300,000 without being too smart.   In Thailand, $12,000 a year for falangs.

 

Convenience.  America all day and it's actually real.  The best food, technology, houses, whatever.....it's there.  Thailand, cheap but likely fake and it will break.   

 

Lazy.  Thailand all day.   Cheap massages, cheap rent, cheap "food" and you can be lazy forever.

 

Weather.  America.   Seasons.  If you love the death heat and smoke, well, up to you.  However, the rainy season is cooler.

 

People.   Depends on you.   In America, you can talk to their language.   Deep conversations.  Real relationships.  Here, "Food...ok, ok...good good? short time?"   The kindest people I met have been in America, but I've met many, many kind people in Thailand.   In America, they'll give you money, food, help you move, whatever......here, smiles.  

 

Women:  I'm guessing 150 million women in America.  35 million in Thailand.  Both.  

 

Education.   If you don't know this one, I can't help you.

 

Hospitals.  If rich, America.  If not, probably Thailand unless you have good insurance.  

 

Safety.   Probably Thailand.  Never had a problem in America in 50-years, but there are a few sketchy moments.  But I was young, drinking, that happens..... In America, people will help you.    Here, not sure.   But it's pretty safe here.

 

Scenery:   America, all day.   No question.  Has everything, but you have to travel.  

 

Here's the take:

 

grow up in America, work in America, get rich in America and then see if you are rich enough to enjoy a nice retirement.   Most rich Americans are never going to pick Thailand to retire. Maybe a week trip.    If you aren't rich, and don't mind being lazy with language problems and you worry about money and health bills..............Thailand.

Can't argue with those facts

[KIngsofisaan]

27 minutes ago, 2baht said:

America? Damn it Chip, wherrrre's ma gun?

Nothing wrong with owning guns is there?

[KIngsofisaan]

8 minutes ago, habuspasha said:

I have lived in Manhattan for almost fifty years (at various pay-grades, but always happily and comfortably).  Now as I start my retirement I hope to split my time between Manhattan and Thailand.  For me, the question is: what kind of Thailand?  My GF prefers Hua Hin; I like the Andaman.  I could never afford beachfront or a half million US for a sinking condo in BK.  I'm fortunate in having a nice subsidized apartment in Manhattan and Medicare.  But every place has its compensations.  NY salaries rise to meet rent costs; Thai gov't jobs cover medical needs.  The cost of living in Thailand is a third of U.S.  There are always work-arounds if you want something enough.  Kensington Avenue in Philadelphia is a horrible disgrace--We Americans  should be shamed, perhaps especially those of us who live so much more comfortably.  But Kensington Avenue is not the U.S.--anymore than Fifth Avenue.

The cost of living in Thailand is a third of U.S

 

Comparing apples to apples, maybe not so true.

 

There are some darn expensive places in Bangkok and beachfront in Thailand

 

Appalachia and rural Alabama might be as cheap as Isaan!

 

Both the US and Thailand each have their fair share of horrid slum conditions

[2baht]

13 minutes ago, KIngsofisaan said:

Nothing wrong with owning guns is there?

300 plus mass killings in USA so far this year....yes, there's plenty wrong with owning a gun! Why are Americans so obsessed with killing Americans???

 

 

[KIngsofisaan]

5 minutes ago, 2baht said:

300 plus mass killings in USA so far this year....yes, there's plenty wrong with owning a gun!

Out of 330,000,000 people the odds of getting killed by a gun in the USA are 9.009009009009009e-7

 

You have better odds of winning the lotto and getting struck by lightning at the same time.

 

Do the math, the chances of you getting killed by a gun in the USA is a hell of lot less than getting killed in a car accident in Thailand.

 

How is it you made it so far in life not knowing how to figure this out?

 

PS, In case no one ever told you, guns do not kill people by themselves. In the past 30+ years, my guns have never left their safe and killed anyone.

 

 

[Lacessit]

I have not lived in America. I have visited there many times. It's got a lot of interesting places and history.

IMO one would need to be quite affluent in America to enjoy it. As a non-American, the cost of medical care, dentistry and pharmaceuticals would be ruinous for the average person.

There's a couple of places in the US where I felt quite uncomfortable and unsafe. I have never felt that way in Thailand.

[2baht]

1 minute ago, KIngsofisaan said:

Do the math, the chances of you getting killed by a gun in the USA

.....are absolutely zero, I never intend to go there! ????

[Dennis Raybould]

I live in Durham North Carolina now and the US is troubling although I still love it there is a lot of chaos here a lot of uncertainty of the government people are dying all the time people shoot and kill schools it just makes no sense but there are four seasons people are really nice in general it's a great place to live but as you get older retirement it is a little tougher it is expensive to stay here I could probably stay but I'm looking to retire in Thailand after my fiance and I get married she'll come here for a few years get a green card then we'll move back to Thailand because quiet happy peaceful that's what I'm looking for no stress at all no financial worries lots of family in Thailand everybody helps each other when it comes to family and friends I am really looking forward to it there's good in both places it just depends what you want

[KIngsofisaan]

Just now, 2baht said:

.....are absolutely zero, I never intend to go there! ????

Did you know people are also killed with guns in Thailand?

 

Thailand 2020:

 

But the mass shooting deaths of 29 people earlier this year prompted new questions about the need for reform. According to surveys, Thailand tops the list for gun ownership in all of Asia with 15 out of every 100 people owning a firearm, 40 percent of which are unregistered. Al Jazeera’s Scott Heidler reports from Korat, Thailand. 

 

In Thailand, annual deaths resulting from firearms total Guns in Thailand — Firearms, gun law and gun control (gunpolicy.org)

2019: 1,292¹⁰
2018: 1,359
2017: 1,403
2016: 1,728
2015: 1,937
2014: 2,291
2013: 2,457
2012: 2,818
2011: 2,810
2010: 2,836
2009: 2,953
2008: 3,292
2007: 3,415
2006: 3,374
2005: 3,394
2004: 2,888
2003: 4,600
2000: 3,123
1994: 2,434¹¹

 

Now if you do the math, using 2019 as the sample year, you have higher odds of getting killed by a gun in Thailand, than in the USA. 1.954545454545455e-5

[2baht]

1 minute ago, KIngsofisaan said:

Did you know people are also killed with guns in Thailand?

Yes, Thai's seem to have no problem killing Thai's. Thai men are rather fragile.

[KIngsofisaan]

4 minutes ago, Dennis Raybould said:

I live in Durham North Carolina now and the US is troubling although I still love it there is a lot of chaos here a lot of uncertainty of the government people are dying all the time people shoot and kill schools it just makes no sense but there are four seasons people are really nice in general it's a great place to live but as you get older retirement it is a little tougher it is expensive to stay here I could probably stay but I'm looking to retire in Thailand after my fiance and I get married she'll come here for a few years get a green card then we'll move back to Thailand because quiet happy peaceful that's what I'm looking for no stress at all no financial worries lots of family in Thailand everybody helps each other when it comes to family and friends I am really looking forward to it there's good in both places it just depends what you want

Dennis, you understand the situation right in front you in Durham North Carolina

 

What you have NO idea about, is what Thailand is going to be like in a few years? No one does.

 

The government is going to either fight to stay in power or a new government takes over.

 

With that comes a ton of uncertainty.

 

3 to 5 years from now, how many baht will you get to a dollar?

 

Will the prices in Thailand go up?

 

How about the stability of the country as a whole? Research Red Shirt/Yellow Shirt protests

 

How about in the new government decides to pass a new rule expats need insurance you cannot afford?

 

How about a million things no one knows the answers to?

 

Best to have a plan B and don't burn your bridges until you know 100% for sure

[KhunLA]

Nothing wrong with the USA, that isn't wrong with most other countries.  A little too PC for my liking, but easy to deal with.  I didn't leave the USA for any of the reason mentioned, or wouldn't return because of any of the reasons mentioned

 

Same as anywhere, you will only experience the negatives, if you allow yourself to be exposed to them, same as here or anywhere.

 

More PC, and taxes are higher in USA, and that's the only 2 negatives for me.  Taxes in USA, are much cheaper than other western countries.  Find both less so than the rest of the western world.  So USA wins over any other place, western first world countries.

 

Hindsight, if only having 2 choices to live, USA or TH .. TH wouldn't even be considered.  Although to live at the same financial comfort as I do here/TH now, I would have simple bought a few more houses, maybe 5 to rent out, and live quite comfy in the USA.  There's so much more to do & see in the USA, it would be impossible to be bored.  Self entertaining in Thailand is a challenge sometimes.  USA scenery & temperate zone weather, just a couple more pluses.  Scenery wise, TH has limestone karsts, and that's about it.  They are lovely though.

 

Besides being too lazy, and older, with no great desire to return, my daughter & wife, along with being quite settled, keeps me here.  That's all.   Without them, I quite possibly wouldn't be here.  45 yrs was enough in USA, though could think of plenty to keep me busy if I returned till I cra pped out.   22 yrs has been enough in Thailand.  Except mentioned, no real reason to stay. 

 

Negatives for TH, HOT .... DAMN HOT, and a really small country.  Both are excellent choices, but like marriage, till death do you part ... hmm.

[KIngsofisaan]

5 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Nothing wrong with the USA, that isn't wrong with most other countries.  A little too PC for my liking, but easy to deal with.  I didn't leave the USA for any of the reason mentioned, or wouldn't return because of any of the reasons mentioned

 

Same as anywhere, you will only experience the negatives, if you allow yourself to be exposed to them, same as here or anywhere.

 

More PC, and taxes are higher in USA, and that's the only 2 negatives for me.  Taxes in USA, are much cheaper than other western countries.  Find both less so than the rest of the western world.  So USA wins over any other place, western first world countries.

 

Hindsight, if only having 2 choices to live, USA or TH .. TH wouldn't even be considered.  Although to live at the same financial comfort as I do here/TH now, I would have simple bought a few more houses, maybe 5 to rent out, and live quite comfy in the USA.  There's so much more to do & see in the USA, it would be impossible to be bored.  Self entertaining in Thailand is a challenge sometimes.  USA scenery & temperate zone weather, just a couple more pluses.  Scenery wise, TH has limestone karsts, and that's about it.  They are lovely though.

 

Besides being too lazy, and older, with no great desire to return, my daughter & wife, along with being quite settled, keeps me here.  That's all.   Without them, I quite possibly wouldn't be here.  45 yrs was enough in USA, though could think of plenty to keep me busy if I returned till I cra pped out.   22 yrs has been enough in Thailand.  Except mentioned, no real reason to stay. 

 

Negatives for TH, HOT .... DAMN HOT, and a really small country.  Both are excellent choices, but like marriage, till death do you part ... hmm.

The price of rentals in the USA, will make a lot of folks rich!

 

We could make 100,000+ baht a month renting our US house out.

 

The problem is it is still full of all our stuff, we may move back part time and I don't want renters destroying the place.

 

Don't really need the income

[KIngsofisaan]

11 minutes ago, 2baht said:

Yes, Thai's seem to have no problem killing Thai's. Thai men are rather fragile.

Please tell us which man is not fragile when getting shot with a gun?

[2baht]

1 minute ago, KIngsofisaan said:

Please tell us which man is not fragile when getting shot with a gun?

When someone gets shot at, there is generally a reason!

[KhunLA]

5 minutes ago, KIngsofisaan said:

The price of rentals in the USA, will make a lot of folks rich!

 

We could make 100,000+ baht a month renting our US house out.

 

The problem is it is still full of all our stuff, we may move back part time and I don't want renters destroying the place.

 

Don't really need the income

I was a slumlord, low to no overhead, low RE Taxes, quick, high ROI, and guaranteed rent payment from the govt.  Socialism rocks ... ????

 

Goes hand in hand with my capitalist beliefs ... ????

[KIngsofisaan]

Just now, 2baht said:

When someone gets shot at, there is generally a reason!

Well fear not if you are ever in the USA, the chances of you getting shot for no reason are a lot lower, than your chances of getting shot in Thailand for no logical reason?

[KIngsofisaan]

Just now, KhunLA said:

I was a slumlord, low to no overhead, low RE Taxes, quick, high ROI, and guaranteed rent payment from the govt.  Socialism rocks ... ????

 

Goes hand in hand with my capitalist beliefs ... ????

Rents in Fl are through the roof, if you can even find a place to rent.

 

 

[LaosLover]

57 minutes ago, KIngsofisaan said:

 

 

Appalachia and rural Alabama might be as cheap as Isaan!

 

I just moved from Appalachia and rents doubled there in a year. Things like produce do cost a bit less at Walmart than in NYC, but the geographic discounts across America are smaller than they used to be. A pint of Ben and Jerry's is close to mono-priced by now.

 

Your property taxes are maybe quarter or the NorthEast, but you get no services from the government other than snow plowing the roads. The schools are terrible.

 

Your work opportunities are to own a legacy business (no market for an additional tax preparer or veterinarian), hope for a government job (in a region obsessed with "small government"), or do something medical on the low end like be an X-ray technician.

 

There's no tall building anywhere where you can shuffle papers in an administrative role and make middle class money -that option seems to be on the decline everywhere.

 

All in, I'd rather live in a closet in a commuter town of New York City, even with my mountain views that are as good as Aspen's for a fifth the price. Near NYC, I'd have a shot at making some money, not to mention, access to culture and enlightened people.

 

When people would tell me they hate New York, I'd ask them what they did all day. They'd say something like, peaked in a couple of bookstores, had sushi, went to a park. I'd remind them that they'd been floating like a butterfly through it's glorious ambience all day and enjoying it without giving it any credit.

 

To split the diff,  maybe I'd live in a place like much dissed-Baltimore, which has it's bad area's but also has parts like Highlandtown that are like the West Village in Manhattan for half the price.

 

I am very grateful that I got to be young in New York City and I now get to be old in Chiang Mai. America is the engine of the world. By definition, engines are uncomfortable places to live. I've since moved from the engine in my life to reclining in the back seat of the car.  

 

So why'd I leave? Medical costs. My wife's were $100 day with her insurance and medications. (about $500 a month here). Toss in state income tax, various fees, maintaining a car, and NOT even considering the relative costs of a mango, and you can easily add another $100 a day.

 

I have been effectively paid $200 a day, tax-free, just to get the hell out of Dodge. .

 

Toss in Trump BS (we lived in Confederate flag-land, one was viewable from my porch) and I would be crazy to return. I am grateful every day that 95% of my fellow citizens are too low-information, hide bound, and fearful to follow my example -even to nearby Mexico. Their stupid racism and improbable superiority allows us all here to live big, and free of them.

 

But if I were a young Thai and could get to the States, I would do it in a heartbeat. The economic opportunity, the ability to re-invent themselves are things they can barely imagine.

 

Like I said, youth is when you want to be sitting under the hood, on top of that stinky, noisy engine. In later years, you want the back seat with a/c blowing on you.

[2baht]

1 hour ago, KIngsofisaan said:

Nothing wrong with owning guns is there?

Whyever would a civilian need an AR15???

[KhunLA]

3 minutes ago, KIngsofisaan said:

Rents in Fl are through the roof, if you can even find a place to rent.

Was the same in PA 40 yrs ago.  Huge Q for Section 8 rentals.  First day listed I'd have 20 people calling to see a property, within the first hour on the following day.

 

Hindsight, yes, I should have bought about 10 more houses, when younger and bit more ambitious.  Ambitious, that's relative, as I usually only worked 2 days a week ... 

 

... what a LPOS ????

[KhunLA]

4 minutes ago, 2baht said:

Whyever would a civilian need an AR15???

Because some criminal elements out there are well armed.  Levels the playing field if you ever need one.  

[2baht]

Just now, KhunLA said:

Because some criminal elements out there are well armed.  Levels the playing field if you ever need one.  

So, Americans need guns to protect themselves from Americans with guns? Sad, will they ever overcome the cowboy mentality?

[KIngsofisaan]

Just now, 2baht said:

Whyever would a civilian need an AR15???

You can buy a 50 round drum for a Glock Pistol.

 

There are auto shotguns made to hold (25) 12 gage shells

 

A 30-06 or a 308 hunting rifle will do more damage than an AR-15

 

Has nothing to do with what kind or brand of gun it is.

 

It has everything to do with the psycho pulling the trigger

 

 

[KIngsofisaan]

Just now, 2baht said:

So, Americans need guns to protect themselves from Americans with guns? Sad, will they ever overcome the cowboy mentality?

What about the 40% of unregistered guns in Thailand?

 

Who are they protecting themselves from? 

 

More deaths per capita in Thailand, talk about Cowboy Mentality!

[KhunLA]

3 minutes ago, 2baht said:

So, Americans need guns to protect themselves from Americans with guns? Sad, will they ever overcome the cowboy mentality?

NO, they don't.  I had plenty of guns, carry permit ... AND NEVER NEEDED ONE.

 

Stop reading the anti Yank headlines.  Moving on, as way off topic.

[2baht]

1 minute ago, KIngsofisaan said:

What about the 40% of unregistered guns in Thailand?

 

Who are they protecting themselves from? 

 

More deaths per capita in Thailand, talk about Cowboy Mentality!

Most are protecting themselves from loss of face, they are victims of an antiquated culture.

[KIngsofisaan]

Just now, 2baht said:

Most are protecting themselves from loss of face, they are victims of an antiquated culture.

Gun death is still death.

 

There is never any logical reason

[Lacessit]

15 minutes ago, 2baht said:

Whyever would a civilian need an AR15???

To kill people quickly and effectively. i can't picture an AR-15 as a hunting weapon. As for target shooting, LOL.

[KhunLA]

Another interesting thread, turns into a gun debate ... oh well.