What's so good about Thailand?

[bob smith]

in your opinion, whats so good about living in Thailand?

 

for me i struggle to find the positives. lets take a deep dive into the facts for a minute, shall we?

 

Thailand doesnt have democracy.

This means there is no right to freedom of expression and human rights are not important.

bureaucracy reigns supreme. it affects almost every aspect of daily life here.

90 day reporting. treated like a common criminal the minute we get off the plane.

healthcare only good if you have money. if you are poor forget it.

its either hot or wet most of the year. 

pollution is a serious issue and will kill you eventually. 

alcohol prices rising fast. soon it will be comparable to the UK/US.

institutional racism.

cant own land. etc etc etc

 

off the top of my head i can only think of two things that are good about Thailand, they are;

 

The food.

The women.

 

if Thailand didnt have those above it would be hell on earth.

 

how about you lot? what do you find so good about living in Thailand?

[Ralf001]

Love the weather.

Love the women.

Love the fact I can drive like an absolute lunatic.

Love the cheap health care which is very prompt.... no waiting lists here.

Love the temples.

etc etc etc.

 

[bob smith]

Just now, Ralf001 said:

Love the fact I can drive like an absolute lunatic.

hope you dont accidently kill someone, like a kid!

 

that would be true lunacy on your part.

[Ralf001]

Just now, bob smith said:

hope you dont accidently kill someone, like a kid!

 

that would be true lunacy on your part.

Fam will get a payout and the kid will reincarnate... win win !

[HappyExpat57]

Good gawd, hasn't this topic been beaten to death yet?

[2baht]

I give them a wide berth, they give me a wide berth, all good! 

[bob smith]

3 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Fam will get a payout and the kid will reincarnate... win win !

lovely attitude! 

 

how about if it happened to YOUR kid?

[LaosLover]

We like the cultural anthropology aspect. The little shrines in stores, the orange and green color combo everywhere, the so many diff cuisine variants.

 

Chiang Mai reminds me of New Orleans (without the crime). It's still very local-feeling while at the same time serving up tons of hedonistic tourists. Lanna hospitality is not just a tourist office slogan. This place is uniquely welcoming and gracious.

[EVENKEEL]

1. Corruption is all aspects of life. Awesome. Speeding tickets costs 500 thb max, in the US in the 7000thb range.

 

Agents can arrange retirement visas without the foreigner having the funds.

 

A little cash can speed up most business dealings.

 

Buzzed (not drunk) driving is tolerated here.  

[bob smith]

1 minute ago, EVENKEEL said:

1. Corruption is all aspects of life. Awesome. Speeding tickets costs 500 thb max, in the US in the 7000thb range.

 

Agents can arrange retirement visas without the foreigner having the funds.

 

A little cash can speed up most business dealings.

 

Buzzed (not drunk) driving is tolerated here.  

and you think those are all good things?

[stoner]

23 minutes ago, bob smith said:

what do you find so good about living in Thailand?

you make thailand worth living in bob. 

[bob smith]

Just now, stoner said:

you make thailand worth living in bob. 

why thank you my good friend, stoner.

 

im glad somebody appreciates my honest approach to posting! 

[EVENKEEL]

4 minutes ago, bob smith said:

and you think those are all good things?

Very good. Also when I take the dog to the beach and it craps I'm not expected to pick up crap.

 

Drinking alcohol at the beach here in Thailand is nice. Pop a beer on a beach in Ca. and you'd be in deep do do.

[Furioso]

One good/not so good thing about living in Thialand is the absolute proof the western countries are in steep decline. 

[Ralf001]

25 minutes ago, bob smith said:

lovely attitude! 

 

how about if it happened to YOUR kid?

Am not Buddhist so obviously the kid wont be recycled.

Any payout received would go towards more mods for my weekend toy.

[bob smith]

8 minutes ago, Furioso said:

One good/not so good thing about living in Thialand is the absolute proof the western countries are in steep decline. 

are they though?

 

Thailand doent even have a functional government lol.

[The Cobra]

Everyones situation is different,depends entirely where you choose to live as to how much of anything effects you.

 

For me:

Peace and tranquility

No laws in your face

No camers in your face

no heavy traffic

Peaceful countryside

Nice village people very friendly and helpful.

Eveythinbg I need within 20 minutes drive.

VERY cheap to live day to day

Easy access to medical care either in the village or at local hospitals

90 day reports online- easy

Annual visit to immigration - no hassle. 1900bt cheap.

 

Dont drink so alchohol/bars doesnt even register

Dont care and cant vote anyway so Politics is of no interest what they gget upto.

 

As for the weather, great, warm all the time, rainy season is nice change.

 

Its not your surroundings or rules etc, its your attitude toward them.

They are only an issue if you allow them to be. 

 

 

 

[bob smith]

Just now, The Cobra said:

Its not your surroundings or rules etc, its your attitude toward them.

They are only an issue if you allow them to be. 

not really.

 

when rules / laws affect you directly in a negative way it has nothing to do with ones attitude. 

[sqwakvfr]

It’s cheap and comfortable.  I can get most of the things I want in LOS.  Routine health care is affordable.  I have serious doubts about Emergency or even Trauma level medical care in LOS.   I have doubts about any kind  of Emergency type of rescue response in LOS.  Just imagine you ore on the 18th floor of a condo in BKK and a fire breaks out or you are having a heart attack, what would the response be?  Otherwise it is a good place to stay for awhile.  

 

 

[spidermike007]

The women are amazing. The fascinating thing about Thai women, is that they are all of mixed ethnicity. Few know it, and few will admit it. But it is nearly 100%. Going back to the days of ancient Ayutthaya and Sukhothai, Thailand was a major trading nation. And people from all over the region came to trade, many of whom stayed. Producing the most astonishing women as a result. Indians, Sumatrans, Burmese, Cambodians, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Turks, Persians, and more.

 

Combine their innate femininity, and the level of comfort they have in expressing that, it makes them very appealing. I see a  Western woman sometimes, who is beautiful, but cold as ice, and more masculine than I am, and there is no appeal, whatsoever. I think it can be described as the ability to manifest the dignity within femininity.

 

Or, a woman who is not trying to be a man, having lost her sense of womanhood, along the way.

Or a woman who is in touch with her body, and not plagued with feelings of shame and a fake sense of purity. Also, some Thai girlfriends, lovers and wives realize that a man enjoys sex, and allowing them that enjoyment, freedom and pleasure is just not a big deal.

Lastly, there is a comfort level in the playing of roles here. It is an amazing quality many Thai women have. Allowing a man to be a man, and enjoying being a woman and acting like one. What is more appealing than that? And who wants to be with a woman who is more masculine than we are?

 

How about the cost of living? A friend of mine is looking for an apartment to move to in LA, and really small, simple places are 70,000 baht per month. Nice two bedrooms are closer to 100,000 baht. Decent homes start at 125,000 baht per month. The cost of nearly everything has gone up dramatically. Runaway inflation? Thailand is still reasonable. It used to be cheap. Has not been cheap for a long time. But, it is still reasonable. I know people who pay 10,000 baht a month for newer 3 bedroom houses in nice towns. In major cities in the US? $2000-3800 a month. That is 120,000 baht!

I had my motorbike seat recently redone on my scooter. 400 baht. A friend of mine had similar work done in the US. $275.

I recently had a guy come over and insulate my ceiling. I bought the insulation and paid him 2000 baht for labor. In the US? $500 and up.

I recently had an electrician do some work on the house. Nearly a full day of work. Paid him 1000 baht. In the US? $500 and up.

An oil change for my scooter costs me 200 baht, with Castrol oil. In the US? $75.

When I travel here I stay in nice four star hotels in Bangkok. Usually 1800-2000 baht. In the US? $150 for a crappy motel. $200 and up for a nice room.

I eat well here. In a smaller town you can get a three course meal for 150-250 baht. In the US? 2000 baht and up, plus tax and a nearly mandatory 15% tip.

I visit the emergency room here to visit a specialist, and with x-rays I am out the door for 2000 baht, at a private hospital. In the US? $300-2000. An anecdote on this subject. A good friend of mine got in a bad motorcycle accident some time ago. He almost lost his leg. He got his first of 11 operations at Bangkok Hospital Samui. It costs him over a million baht. They wanted to do a second procedure. They quoted him 1,400,000 baht. He decided to transfer to Bangkok. He was quoted 460,000 baht for the same procedure, at a top private hospital there. The surgeon told him that he worked at a public hospital too, and could do the same operation there, for alot less money. He told him he would get him a quote. In the interim, my friend called a good friend of his, in San Diego, who is an orthopedic surgeon. Since my friend is a retired chiropractor, he knew all the terminology, and explained what he needed, and asked for the best price. His friend called him back the next day, and quoted him $960,000, with cash discounts! The local surgeon here got back to him, and told him he could do it for 46,000 baht. He transferred, and they did all the rest of his procedures. So, 1,400,000 at Bangkok Hospital, 460,000 at Vejthani Hospital, and 46,000 at the public hospital, with an excellent surgeon. VS. 31,000,000 baht in the US. Again, no complaints from this peanut gallery.

Friends of mine, who are single, enjoy the company of a young, beautiful woman for a couple of hours, for 2500 baht. In the US? $800 an hour now for a beauty, with alot of attitude. I could go on and on, all day long. I live at a level here, that I would never be able to live at, in the US, in most of Europe, in Oz, or Canada. 

 

[bkk6060]

It is great.  But cheap, poor, negative thinking foreigners seem to have difficulties here.

[shackleton]

As the old saying goes

you make your bed and lie in it 

Always try to look for the positives and smile ???? 

[Dmaxdan]

Perhaps you need to be a good person to truly appreciate what is good about Thailand?

[Furioso]

sqwak is right Thailand is cheap and comfortable and that's a big problem for me. I have no struggle here, it's killing me. 

[KhunLA]

The ignore option on AN ????

[Furioso]

I agree with the poster who commented on the pollution. It's brutal at certain times of the year, extremely bad for the health.

 

I bought an Air Purifier and thankfully it keeps the AQI between 15-20. I can do one year, maybe two but that's probably it for me. 

[bob smith]

10 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

No (offense) taken. 

its only spelt that way in murica. 

 

everywhere else spells it correctly! 

[Tom H]

Vietnam become more and more attractive…

[georgegeorgia]

50 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Very good. Also when I take the dog to the beach and it craps I'm not expected to pick up crap.

 

Drinking alcohol at the beach here in Thailand is nice. Pop a beer on a beach in Ca. and you'd be in deep do do.

So you leave your dog crap  there

?

If I saw that I would hope karma ranes on  you 

 

 

[itsari]

1 hour ago, bob smith said:

hope you dont accidently kill someone, like a kid!

 

that would be true lunacy on your part.

When in Rome do as the Romans do .