Is Thailand a good place to settle down for the rest of your life?

MisterTee · July 3

On 6/28/2024 at 1:23 PM, VillageIdiot said:

Good point about age and the inability to learn Thai.

Jim Thompson, Bernie Trink, and many other well-known people tried and failed after coming here "too late" in life.

Living in a country and not speaking or understanding the language is a cognitive impairment akin to being deaf and dumb.

Some say it's not important as long as you stay in the tourist ghettos. I'd say it is more important there than anywhere else.

In those sleazy locations it is always open-season on foreigners in general and farangs in particular.

Away from the rip-offs and scams of holiday destinations it is always a good idea to know what is going on around you as well.

Some people seem to be born with an aptitude for learning languages - at least when they are younger.

I wasn't, but I overcame it to learn Thai because I didn't want my wife and our children to see me as an illiterate who couldn't speak the language.

Spot on.

There seems to be a cutoff point in most people's lives after which they are incapable of learning a foreign language - if they ever could to begin with.

The level of Thai language proficiency among expats who have settled here late in life is quite low.

That can be clearly seen wherever they congregate in groups and clubs. They don't give the impression of being stupid... unlike the tatted-up sexpats who love it here also.

I think the main issue is age-related memory loss, but other factors no doubt play a part. Lack of interest perhaps in their adopted "homeland".

Some do make an attempt at learning the language, but the results are comical more often than not and bring to mind Samuel Johnson's observation comparing women who preach with dogs who can walk on their hind legs, "...it is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all."