If expat retirees in Thailand still lived in their own countries would lifestyles differ?

[BangkokBernie]

I often see posts on here from retired expats in Thailand talking about their daily routine and many seem to do very little that involves leaving the house. In addition, many are routine drinkers and smokers, which they also seem somewhat proud of. Some do have some social activities, and also do a bit of exercise, travel, reading, watching movies, etc, but not so much. Complacency, lethargy and spending time on this website seems to be the name of the game for many. Also, very few seem to have any serious hobbies or passion projects that they work on regularly. So, I do wonder, if they were still living in their home countries, would their lifestyles be any more productive? Especially in a Western country where the social and civil society around them might encourage them to be more active in other ways?

 

 

[KhunLA]

Myself, not much would change.   When I worked, I only worked 2 days a week, and stayed busy, or swapped my work schedule for 1 or 2 weeks straight, and took 1 or 2 weeks off and traveled out of the local area, if not just a quick visit back to birth/hometown (PA), from where I lived (MI, TN, WV, FL).

 

Advantage being worked for an airlines, so difference would be self driving, instead of flying to destinations.

 

I'd also be away from the home, more than in the home, if still in USA, as too large for longer trips.  Here, 2 weeks, and can buzz around 1 whole section of TH (N, S, NE, E or Central).   Return & chill for 2 to 4 weeks at home, that out again.

 

USA, that wouldn't get you far, after the 1st year of exploring, driving.  Following years, you'd be on the road quite a bit to get to anywhere & back home.

 

Would be almost better & easier, just to stay nomadic.  If not for the house & greenhouse/garden here, I'd be nomadic here.  But the country is so small, 2 days and we're back home, if in a hurry.

[fredwiggy]

When I move back, my lifestyle will be much the same as when I lived there, besides working a regular job. I will find some work, probably part time, just for extra income. Getting my daughter ready for school on weekdays, going shopping while she's there would be the weekday thing. Working out at the gym 3x a week also. Fishing on weekends, along with hunting during the season. Stopping at Starbucks, Black Rock or Dutch Bros for an iced coffee in the mornings, Iced tea during the day. Going to HEB for food shopping, and various Asian markets in the Austin and San Antonio areas to stock up on Asian supplies. Taking my daughter to a park occasionally or visiting my grown children in the area. Planting vegetables and fruit trees around the new house and yard. Planning for a hunting or fishing trip around the US or Canada .

[pgrahmm]

As mentioned before, I'd take the RV & SUV out of storage & explore the US....

When I moved here from CA rents in the larger SF area were within reason at about $600/$800 per month.... Now, in the same block area the rents are now $2600 - $4400 a month for what was around $800 before.....

 

I'd explore areas I haven't seen before, including bounces into Canada staying a day, week, or months at someplace I fancied....

Our last trip, Sept-Jan took us to some interesting places I'd not seen/considered before (some plans went sideways in the first week & I had to remap our original plans & options) & we had a great time - just not where we planned....

We had the freedom to do so.....

[Hummin]

instead of travelling back for work being semi retired, I will work more, and make more money. Probaly travel alot less as long we live here now, but fishing and hunting alot more. More fresh fish and meat on the table

 

I have already moved back. 

[HauptmannUK]

I first travelled to Thailand 35+ years ago and have visited very regularly and also worked and lived full time in Thailand for various periods. I retired from my 'real' job in 2018 at age 56 but still own 50% of a car sales and service business in the UK (although I've never been involved that much in the day to day operation, I do go down and poke my nose into what is going on).  My wife is also a partner in a small hotel and Asian restaurant business in the UK and that occupies a lot of her time.

I don't think I could retire in Thailand permanently, even with roadtrips I would get bored. We live in Thailand about six months of the year, coming and going. The rest of the time is spent in the UK and travelling.  In the UK we have a house in a small traditional village. Its clean, green and the people are nice.  Kids live not too far away and I have lots of friends nearby. I have a small collection of cars I keep in a heated unit with a workshop and at the moment I'm (very) slowly restoring a 1973 Ford Consul GT (AKA 'Sweeney car'). 

We just got back to the UK last week and next Monday will take a slow drive down through France to Sanremo in northern Italy. Back to Thailand for the month of September and on to Japan in October to attend the Hot Air Balloon festival in Saga. After that I don't know. Enjoying life before inevitable ill health gets me..

[susanlea]

4 hours ago, BangkokBernie said:

I often see posts on here from retired expats in Thailand talking about their daily routine and many seem to do very little that involves leaving the house. In addition, many are routine drinkers and smokers, which they also seem somewhat proud of. Some do have some social activities, and also do a bit of exercise, travel, reading, watching movies, etc, but not so much. Complacency, lethargy and spending time on this website seems to be the name of the game for many. Also, very few seem to have any serious hobbies or passion projects that they work on regularly. So, I do wonder, if they were still living in their home countries, would their lifestyles be any more productive? Especially in a Western country where the social and civil society around them might encourage them to be more active in other ways?

 

 

You saying they are losers?

[connda]

Bangkok-Bernie:  Joined June 28, 2024.  9 AN posts

Curriculum Vitae: PhD In Expatology and self-professed expert on the subject of (s)expats in Thailand. 

 

Where do you people come from and why are you such freaking busy-bodies?  If you don't like the other expats living however they wish to live life in Thailand,  find a different country to move to and complain about their expats. 
Dude - really: Clean up your own backyard before coming to take a sh*t in ours.  🙄

Another newbie chumming the waters to see what will rise to the surface. 
 

[richard_smith237]

Yawn - another posting from a 'fictional' account..  

 

... whats next..  posts from Sukhumvit-Sid, Pattaya Pat, NakhonNowhereNobhead.....

 

 

[transam]

5 hours ago, BangkokBernie said:

I often see posts on here from retired expats in Thailand talking about their daily routine and many seem to do very little that involves leaving the house. In addition, many are routine drinkers and smokers, which they also seem somewhat proud of. Some do have some social activities, and also do a bit of exercise, travel, reading, watching movies, etc, but not so much. Complacency, lethargy and spending time on this website seems to be the name of the game for many. Also, very few seem to have any serious hobbies or passion projects that they work on regularly. So, I do wonder, if they were still living in their home countries, would their lifestyles be any more productive? Especially in a Western country where the social and civil society around them might encourage them to be more active in other ways?

 

 

How do you know what hobbies or activities members have from reading here a couple of weeks.......?  🤔

[transam]

Just now, richard_smith237 said:

Yawn - another posting from a 'fictional' account..  

 

... whats next..  posts from Sukhumvit-Sid, Pattaya Pat, NakhonNowhereNobhead.....

 

 

Yep, I thought the same, though a few of those have been missing for a while...😉

[Expat68]

Mine hasn't differed greatly, the weather is the one thing which makes my choices easier to plan

[spidermike007]

Yes. Many of us would be counting our pennies. We would be eating out less often, traveling less often, attempting to deal with the skyrocketing cost of living, having to suffer unfriendly women, not being able to flirt as much, and having to deal with the surly locals. 

 

Our quality of life would be far lower, unless one owned real estate back home, and had significant resources. 

[Thingamabob]

The only difference for me would be occasionally enjoying the Bangkok nightlife which is way more entertaining than in my home country, the UK. Otherwise retirement is much the same for me in Thailand as it would be in England.

[newbee2022]

18 hours ago, BangkokBernie said:

I often see posts on here from retired expats in Thailand talking about their daily routine and many seem to do very little that involves leaving the house. In addition, many are routine drinkers and smokers, which they also seem somewhat proud of. Some do have some social activities, and also do a bit of exercise, travel, reading, watching movies, etc, but not so much. Complacency, lethargy and spending time on this website seems to be the name of the game for many. Also, very few seem to have any serious hobbies or passion projects that they work on regularly. So, I do wonder, if they were still living in their home countries, would their lifestyles be any more productive? Especially in a Western country where the social and civil society around them might encourage them to be more active in other ways?

 

 

As an alcoholic or drug addict, overweight or low IQ, there wouldn't be any change of lifestyle. Even booze would be cheaper. 😂

[blazes]

Most of AN stuff seems to be generated by AI, so it seems quite possible that the OP is a fictional character created by some algorithm in wherever the computer is located.

 

 On reading 80-90% of first articles in AN these days, I immediately suspect that it is indeed "artificial", which is perhaps why so many of us get impatient with the "de-humanized" opinions generated.

[Prubangboy]

I live in Nimman, Chiang Mai. There are endless meetups, free classes, and social opportunities -and I don't need a car.

 

I'm mushroom hunting with a group tomorrow. Tonight, I am off to a buffet at the French Society.

 

I can be in pretty deep countryside in 20 minutes. I'm thinking about renting a place with a farm plot because I miss growing things. Will cost me less than $300 a month, with someone to water and weed it. And a Grab cab would take me back and forth. 

 

At age 71, I am grateful. 'Can't think of anywhere on earth so welcoming and convenient to an oldie.

 

'Don't see a burning need to have "passion projects". I just look at Facebook and fall into entertaining stuff.

 

 

[bkk6060]

Home country has cleaner air and everyone speaks Englsih.

Golf, food, dating/sex, transportation, housing much more expensive there.

I find my home country much more boring then here I hope to only go back if I am about to die.

 

 

[cardinalblue]

Those expats would be getting much less sex but would be doing more bowling alone…

 

going to movies alone would not change….lots of expats go to movies alone here….simple explanation…partners here usually don’t understand/appreciate  western movies

[john donson]

13 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Yawn - another posting from a 'fictional' account..  

 

... whats next..  posts from Sukhumvit-Sid, Pattaya Pat, NakhonNowhereNobhead.....

 

 

 

watch out with commenting... long toes... ban for nothing or warnings for pleasure

 

yes those new members seem to have arrived ... topic starters, ads shown... 

[blazes]

23 minutes ago, Prubangboy said:

'Don't see a burning need to have "passion projects". I just look at Facebook and fall into entertaining stuff.

 

You are living in Chiang Mai, but you have no "burning" needs?

How do you manage in the burning season from Jan to April?  Serious question.

[BritManToo]

31 minutes ago, Prubangboy said:

I live in Nimman, Chiang Mai. There are endless meetups, free classes, and social opportunities -and I don't need a car.

 

I'm mushroom hunting with a group tomorrow. Tonight, I am off to a buffet at the French Society.

 

I can be in pretty deep countryside in 20 minutes. I'm thinking about renting a place with a farm plot because I miss growing things. Will cost me less than $300 a month, with someone to water and weed it. And a Grab cab would take me back and forth. 

 

At age 71, I am grateful. 'Can't think of anywhere on earth so welcoming and convenient to an oldie.

 

'Don't see a burning need to have "passion projects". I just look at Facebook and fall into entertaining stuff.

 

 

Loads of mushrooms around at the moment, I cycled past locals coming out of the forest with baskets full of the big white ones yesterday.

[BritManToo]

6 minutes ago, blazes said:

 

You are living in Chiang Mai, but you have no "burning" needs?

How do you manage in the burning season from Jan to April?  Serious question.

Don't really care about the burning season, as long as the weathers dry enough to go cycling, I'm happy.

[BritManToo]

19 hours ago, BangkokBernie said:

So, I do wonder, if they were still living in their home countries, would their lifestyles be any more productive? Especially in a Western country where the social and civil society around them might encourage them to be more active in other ways?

Used to mix with old folk back in my UK town as part of my voluntary work. Isolated, lonely and desperate is how I would class most of them. The high points of their week would be Friday drop-in at the town hall for warmth plus coffee and biscuits, or me coming round their big empty house to change a light bulb, more coffee and biscuits.

[NJHOUSE]

go back home and no more 1 hour meetings with young ladies

[blazes]

30 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Don't really care about the burning season, as long as the weathers dry enough to go cycling, I'm happy.

 

but but but cycling in all that foul air??????

Must be like smoking a pack of fags a day....

[GinBoy2]

I'm a little boring.

 

Met my wife at work in Singapore where we lived for several years.

 

When we moved to Thailand we created a Singapore/US bubble.

 

Moved back to the US same thing. In all three countries we basically lived the same life.

 

We can toggle between the US and Thailand and our lifestyle, within the house at least, doesn't change

 

We were never going to do the 'go native' thing. A tin roof shack and a squat toilet might work for some, but not for me

[Lacessit]

I am definitely more active in Thailand than Melbourne, which is too cold, too windy, or both. I'd be bored out of my skull there.

 

Believe it or not, I regard Melbourne roads as far more dangerous for scooters, which is probably why there are so few there.

 

Try riding a scooter with a 80 km/hr gusty crosswind, you'll see what I mean.

 

Chiang Rai, Thailand vs. Melbourne, Australia: Wind Speed

Chiang Rai:

• Average: Generally mild winds. Data shows an average around 3-5 km/h (2-3 mph) throughout the year, with some variations by month [Time and Date]. September might have the lowest at around 1 km/h (0.6 mph) [Sunheron].
• Maximum: Information on maximum wind speeds is less readily available.

Melbourne:

• Average: Melbourne experiences stronger winds compared to Chiang Rai. Averages range between 15-25 km/h (9-15 mph) depending on the season [weatherandclimate.com].
• Maximum: Melbourne can experience strong gusts, particularly during spring (September-November) when southerly changes can bring strong winds exceeding 80 km/h (50 mph) [weatherzone.com.au]

[Prubangboy]

1 hour ago, blazes said:

 

You are living in Chiang Mai, but you have no "burning" needs?

How do you manage in the burning season from Jan to April?  Serious question.

I travel during March and April. Chiang Mai is so uniquely suitable to me, that I am willing to do that to stay here. 'Can't think of any other place in Thailand that has the mix of culture and countryside. I don't love the beach, so it's either here or Bangkok -and Bangkok is not renowned for its countryside.

 

[susanlea]

1 minute ago, Prubangboy said:

I travel during March and April. Chiang Mai is so uniquely suitable to me, that I am willing to do that to stay here. 'Can't think of any other place in Thailand that has the mix of culture and countryside. I don't love the beach, so it's either here or Bangkok -and Bangkok is not renowned for its countryside.

 

Smoke was still bad in May this year. I never get bored in Chiang Mai. Has everything except beach.