What makes life in Thailand still so great?

[newbee2022]

On 7/13/2024 at 2:33 PM, BangkokBernie said:

what would you say is so special about your life in Thailand that makes it worth living here versus living somewhere else?

Far away from home

[nana kid]

I've been here since 2010               In BKK   Pre Covid Much better than post Covid.   before Less noise   less traffic

more of a SE Asian city than a center for Malls and Tall bldgs.      BKK has no character anymore   just another overcrowded

Big City.

  But on my, more than sufficient, income it's the best place to live

 

[kingstonkid]

4 minutes ago, nana kid said:

I've been here since 2010               In BKK   Pre Covid Much better than post Covid.   before Less noise   less traffic

more of a SE Asian city than a center for Malls and Tall bldgs.      BKK has no character anymore   just another overcrowded

Big City.

  But on my, more than sufficient, income it's the best place to live

 

The lifestuyle we are able to live outshines anything most of us could have in the West.  The people are friendlier and there is less stress in daily lives

 

I agree that Bangkok has gotten noisier and more Westernized.  NOt a good thing.

 

That is why I live in the burbs of Pathum Thani 

 

I can go onto BKK, enjoy it ten, leave, and come home where it is quieter.

 

BKK has become like a lot of the major cities. It is the place that everyone comes to to get rich and get good jobs. 

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Some of us can't afford a woman, and they all cost. If there is a land where women will pay for themselves to live with an old fat man with multiple health problems I'm not aware of it.

Wow, who's been sucking on lemons this morning?

[Thingamabob]

Warm weather, warm women, good food.

[ArnieP]

On 7/13/2024 at 2:58 PM, susanlea said:

Bangkok - not changed 1 bit.

Chiang Mai - maybe pollution worse?

Pattaya - was a dump, still a dump

Hua Hin - gotten better

Phuket - same as before

Krabi - gotten worse

Isaan - gotten better

Others - much the same

 

 

These read as though they’re posted as a wind-up :(

[KhunLA]

On 7/13/2024 at 4:59 PM, HappyExpat57 said:

I missed rehashing this topic. It's been at least two weeks since this dead horse got dragged out and beaten again.

From another new member ... go figure ...

 

 

[daveAustin]

What makes life in Thailand still so great?

 

#1: It is not the staid West with its now contrived prissy woke culture.

[Kinnock]

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Having a GF who will look after me. She's been doing it for more than 10 years.

Agree .... and the extent of that care is in a different league.

 

In my case I don't just get great food and a clean house, I get emotional support when stressed at work or sick, help with my business, airport meet and greet whenever I travel, house repairs organised, car and bike taxed and insured, bike washed (a weirdly erotic experience).

 

She also understands my passion for photography, and is my photo model and she's great fun to be with on nights out (and in!).

 

And best of all, she understands I like her to look attractive all the time, so even doing housework she looks hot.

 

If I had to pay for a cook, housekeeper, secretary, meet and greet, photo model, girlfriend experience, therapist and classy hooker, it would cost me a lot more than she does .... so she's good value too.

[mstevens]

On 7/13/2024 at 7:58 PM, susanlea said:

Bangkok - not changed 1 bit.

 

Oh, really? In 25 years, I'd say that Bangkok has changed massively. In some ways it's a vastly superior city to the place I first knew. In other ways, it's changed in ways that I feel are not necessarily improvements. Today, how you feel about the place is going to be very much an individual thing. But to say Bangkok has not changed one bit is just total utter nonsense!

[mstevens]

On 7/13/2024 at 8:44 PM, BangkokBernie said:

Anyway, my questions were more about what draws foreigners to the lifestyle in Thailand rather than how the locals may now feel about foreigners. 
 

Also, the friends of mine who finally left, didn't leave for any of those reasons. They mainly missed the natural and clean environments of where they came from. They missed hiking, the seasons, the outdoors, the better air quality, etc and they seemed to have gotten a bit tired of all the adventure when living in a developing country. 

 

The reasons I left is certainly similar to the reasons friends of yours left. Far superior environment, far more pleasant climate, generally higher standards in pretty much everything (from driving to government services to professional services etc.).

 

I also felt the attitudes of some Thais towards us soured a little, particularly those in uniform. Not a huge change in attitude, but it was sufficient for me to feel that little bit less welcome. While I personally never had a problem with my annual visa, many friends did. Not a nice way to live when you worry about whether your next visa extension will be approved. When I drove my car I hated being stopped by cops and shaken down for money when I had done absolutely nothing wrong. It perpetually reinforced the idea that you're a foreigner, you're vulnerable and in a worst case scenario, stuff can happen. As a young guy, that sort of thing was all very exciting but as you get older and have a family to think of, it's the complete opposite. I just wasn't confident I could leave a hassle-free life in Thailand. That was the breaking point for me and when I decided that we'd be better off leaving Thailand.

Edited July 15 by mstevens

[MalcolmB]

On 7/13/2024 at 2:58 PM, susanlea said:

Pattaya - was a dump, still a dump

Pattaya actually was a beautiful place and known as the pearl of Asia. 
 

Then the horny farangs showed up in the 70s and turned it into the pearl necklace of Asia and it went downhill like a snowball to become the s41thole it is today.

 

The horny farangs still like it with thousands setting up home there.

 

 

[BritManToo]

On 7/13/2024 at 3:44 PM, BangkokBernie said:

Also, the friends of mine who finally left, didn't leave for any of those reasons. They mainly missed the natural and clean environments of where they came from. They missed hiking, the seasons, the outdoors, the better air quality, etc and they seemed to have gotten a bit tired of all the adventure when living in a developing country. 

I used to hike or trail run nearly every day (when I was a few years younger). Hiking and cycling around Chiang Mai is exceptional.

There's at least two western orientated free hiking groups if you don't know the trails.

I'm still cycling 25km nearly every day, and the weather most mornings is amazing.

[Expat68]

I genuinely like the people, the food and easy way of life

[Lacessit]

23 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I used to hike or trail run nearly every day (when I was a few years younger). Hiking and cycling around Chiang Mai is exceptional.

There's at least two western orientated free hiking groups if you don't know the trails.

I'm still cycling 25km nearly every day, and the weather most mornings is amazing.

You are lucky to be able to still cycle after the Thai nutter tried to kill you. Stay well.

[Lacessit]

3 hours ago, susanlea said:

MHS is very remote.

When someone fell out of favor in the royal court or government circles, Mae Hong Son is where they were sent. The road to MHS from Chiang Mai has over 1800 bends, which are not negotiable by large buses.

 

It's quite a beautiful place, for a couple of days. Food choices at the restaurants are pretty limited.

[Thingamabob]

2 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

Warm weather, warm women, good food.

..and a wonderful wife 

[Hummin]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Some of us can't afford a woman, and they all cost. If there is a land where women will pay for themselves to live with an old fat man with multiple health problems I'm not aware of it.

Another fat woman would be happy to just have one sleeping in the same house with them. Think about it

[Hummin]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

What put me off Pai was the farang ghetto. I preferred Mae Hong Son, though if I had my druthers I'd live at Cave Lodge.

I enjoyed the athmospere there during covid, and had a few great journeys up there. Got great pizza restaurant to when I was there, but as any other place in Thailand, something that was great yesterday, might not be the next day, or even be a restaurant. Great restaurants is not always sustainable. 

 

Also been there off season, and still enjoyed the few days I stayed there, and would managed a few months there a year. 

[bob smith]

nothing.

 

it's bang average.

 

maybe slightly less than..

 

bob.

[Rhys]

.... at times, choosing being unable to understand 100% what people are talking about...   The lifestyle is sabai..

[khunPer]

On 7/13/2024 at 9:33 AM, BangkokBernie said:

Thirty years ago, I met other foreigners in Thailand who had already been living here for 5-10 years, and at the time, they said they probably would never leave. However, I think sentiments have changed for some people since then, and I haven’t heard anyone say that to me in quite some time.

However, then you can hear it again from me...

 

On 7/13/2024 at 9:33 AM, BangkokBernie said:

So, thinking about Thailand and the lifestyle you’ve created for yourself here as a longtime resident, what would you say is so special about your life in Thailand that makes it worth living here versus living somewhere else?

 

Or do you think the lifestyle in Thailand is not so great and that you would actually be much happier and feel more fulfilled living somewhere else?

But I can of course not speak about "somewhere else", where I've never been or might even not know about.

 

As long time resident – 18 years permanently until now – what I find "so special" is that I can live the life-style I want. I'm for example not eating much of Thai dishes – of course it happens – but can cook my preferred mainly Mediterranean-style dinner, just as I did in my Scandinavian home country before I left for Thailand. The difference is that it "all year summer" and "bare feet Xmas" in the part of Thailand where I stay, and I can enjoy around 300 outdoor – or semi-outdoor if I need cover for light rain – candlelight dinners per year.

 

Furthermore I chose a tourist area where I can buy almost all what I need – Lazada and Shopee counts for the remaining wishes – and I can also enjoy partying whenever I want it...😎

 

Compared to my home country, my buying power is (still) in average about double, so I get more value for my money, which is also an important factor to consider. There might be favourable spots around the huge World, which I don't even considers, because my buying power will be way to limited there for the life-style I prefers.

 

Bear in mind that we are all different, we all have our own special preferences, mine might be different – or special – compared to some other's special preferences...😊

[PJ71]

7 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

What put me off Pai was the farang ghetto. I preferred Mae Hong Son, though if I had my druthers I'd live at Cave Lodge.

MHS town is one of the most boring places i've been in thailand in the last 25 years.

[Hummin]

Just now, PJ71 said:

MHS town is one of the most boring places i've been in thailand in the last 25 years.

You can watch the river go up and down 😉

 

 

[newnative]

     Been here 14 years.  Still love it--everything I have posted about on other threads.  As for farangs leaving Thailand for somewhere else, I don't know a single one who has done so.   At 72, I still find plenty to interest me and keep me engaged here, including finishing the construction of a new house with my Thai spouse, which we have been working on since February.

[BangkokReady]

On 7/13/2024 at 2:33 PM, BangkokBernie said:

What also comes to mind are the poetic opening words from Michael Caine in the film "The Quiet American":

 

Quote

I can't say what made me fall in love with Vietnam. That a woman's voice can drug you? That everything is so intense - the color, the taste, even the rain? Nothing like the filthy rain in London.

 

They say whatever you're looking for you will find here.

 

They say you come to Vietnam and you understand a lot in a few minutes. But the rest has got to be lived. 

 

The smell, that's the first thing that hits you - promising everything in exchange for your soul.

 

And the heat. Your shirt is straight away a rag. You can hardly remember your name, or what you came to escape from.

 

But at night, there's a breeze. The river is beautiful. You could be forgiven for thinking there was no war, that the gunshots were fireworks, that only pleasure matters.

A pipe of opium, or the touch of a girl who might tell you she loves you.

 

And then something happens as you knew it would, and nothing can ever be the same again.

 

I think you can close the thread right here.  Colonialism, drugs and prostitutes...

[BangkokReady]

On 7/13/2024 at 3:23 PM, Dart12 said:

Social media apps on cell phones changed everthing everywhere. 

 

Distinct cultures are being meld into one.  That one being the western culture.

 

Not just that, people are picking the most toxic sides from each culture.  Thai people seem to want the rights of Western culture with the benefits of Thai culture.  "Give me this, give me that, I don't have to listen to you, but still talk nicely to me and don't criticise me or I'll lose my sh*t."

[susanlea]

1 hour ago, PJ71 said:

MHS town is one of the most boring places i've been in thailand in the last 25 years.

You can count the noodles in a dish.

[Expat68]

1 hour ago, khunPer said:

However, then you can hear it again from me...

 

But I can of course not speak about "somewhere else", where I've never been or might even not know about.

 

As long time resident – 18 years permanently until now – what I find "so special" is that I can live the life-style I want. I'm for example not eating much of Thai dishes – of course it happens – but can cook my preferred mainly Mediterranean-style dinner, just as I did in my Scandinavian home country before I left for Thailand. The difference is that it "all year summer" and "bare feet Xmas" in the part of Thailand where I stay, and I can enjoy around 300 outdoor – or semi-outdoor if I need cover for light rain – candlelight dinners per year.

 

Furthermore I chose a tourist area where I can buy almost all what I need – Lazada and Shopee counts for the remaining wishes – and I can also enjoy partying whenever I want it...😎

 

Compared to my home country, my buying power is (still) in average about double, so I get more value for my money, which is also an important factor to consider. There might be favourable spots around the huge World, which I don't even considers, because my buying power will be way to limited there for the life-style I prefers.

 

Bear in mind that we are all different, we all have our own special preferences, mine might be different – or special – compared to some other's special preferences...😊

You can never say never because nobody knows what lies ahead but at the moment I have no intention of going back to blighty 

[PJ71]

5 hours ago, newnative said:

     Been here 14 years.  Still love it--everything I have posted about on other threads.  As for farangs leaving Thailand for somewhere else, I don't know a single one who has done so.   At 72, I still find plenty to interest me and keep me engaged here, including finishing the construction of a new house with my Thai spouse, which we have been working on since February.

Yeah, i agree, i also don't know anyone that's bailed.