Have any of you felt lost in Thailand at some point in your adventure living here?

[rocketboy2]

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Have any of you felt lost in Thailand at some point in your adventure living here?

 

Well no.

But I was lost in Nana,  twenty 25 years ago, it cost a fortune.

 

[Celsius]

8 hours ago, mogandave said:

I came here to set up manufacturing business and it’s still successful after 24 years.

 

What are you manufacturing?

[nausea]

I'd be lost in the UK. I'm pretty sure reverse culture shock would kick in, me not having been back for 18 years, and with all the changes that have occurred, plus me getting on in years now.

[BE88]

 

In the last 10 years I have not found that the situation has changed much in Thailand unlike in the West where the change for the worse is more noticeable after the Covid years, even if more recently the cost of living has also increased in Thailand and especially on imported products.

 

However, if I had the same family problems I would try to change location in Thailand instead of immigrating to the Philippines which from my experience is a complicated country with too many social problems.

[herfiehandbag]

I got on the wrong bus once at Chiang Rai, dozed off and woke up in Phaya Mengrai.

 

Didn't have a clue where I was for about 15 minutes.

[Ralf001]

Yeah... made redundant from my job of 13yrs... bummed around for a few months with no direction finally  said "feck it"... goin home.

 

Managed to stay home for 18 months and decided "feck this sh!t"... I gotta get back, had a new job within 2 weeks and on the plane I was !

 

[Northstar1]

You came here for one reason, woman!

same as any other man on this site.

it’s undeniable, now the novelty has worn off.

thailand is not a great place to grow old period.

much better life in the west.

[connda]

Have any of you felt lost in Thailand at some point in your adventure living here?

 

No.

[bubblegum]

Not lost at time the heat is a bit much for me, at those time I long for snowy mountains.

[spidermike007]

No. Never. During covid I got pretty wound up for awhile. But, I worked through it. I never felt like I belonged in the US. And I do not feel the need to belong here. Don't need to be "one of them". I do not have a nanogram of tribalism, or nationalism in my body. I just live every day, enjoy each day here, am thankful for each day here, and squeeze each day for what it is worth. Which is alot. 

 

I think perspective is important. Traveling back to the US a few times a year allows alot of that. I could live there, if a sponsor offered me $3 million a year, and only for 3 years. Ha! 

[NowNow]

33 minutes ago, Northstar1 said:

You came here for one reason, woman!

same as any other man on this site.

it’s undeniable, now the novelty has worn off.

thailand is not a great place to grow old period.

much better life in the west.

 

Speak for yourself. You came for the cheap women.

[Celsius]

There is nothing wrong with Thailand, but the OP is perhaps thinking about the future and the mere fact he will always be a tourist in Thailand.

 

11 Years here and there were times when I had to go to immigration with a cold to extend my stay. It did make me think what will happen once I get older and less mobiĺe.

 

 

[Jeff the Chef]

Never lost in Thailand, when your nose is in <deleted> you know where your mouth is.

[Hummin]

All good travelling here for two decades an living permanent for 8, hit the wall this year in April, and moved back home. To hot and to much pollution finely got me.

 

Pollution I could escape staying in an Island for the worst period, but not the feeling of escalated heat the older I get. I love outdoor life, and there is no way I will let myself stuck indoor in air-conditioned rooms for months. 

 

I prefer Nordic climate for 8 months a year, and Thai climate for 4 instead of 8 - 12 months in Thailand. 

 

The uncertainty of the tax enforcement became the drop which finalized my decision 

 

 

[jippytum]

Yes the longer you stay and the older you get problems of health costs and ever increasing visa paperwork does take a toll on your mental health. 

[KhunLA]

You apparently need 'JESUS' in your life ... 🙏

 

 

[kevozman1]

6 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

The only change in the 10 years I can see is your age. 

 

Don't let it worry you, it'll fine. 

 

You sound like a positive person, keep things positive. 

 

Do you have family here in Thailand, spend more time with family members if possible, steer clear of some of the foreigners, they'll bring you down. 

 

 

Yeah it will probably not be a foreigner that will call a hitman on you, stick a screwdriver in your neck over a petty road disagreement or throw you from the 15th floor of a condo. Ask for a 'loan' etc etc..

 

Also to the OP the murder rate is creeping back up in Thailand. It's not as high as when I first started coming here but apart from the US every Western country has a lower murder rate and unlike Western countries there isn't many genuine 'safe zones'. Living in an area of Western Europe, amongst actual Europeans, is about as safe as it gets apart from maybe a few places such as Singapore or Japan.

[Skeptic7]

Nope not like that. However...when I was actually, physically lost and zero Thais were capable of reading a freakin' map, in Thai❗🤣

[novacova]

10 hours ago, andux said:

I'm wondering if anyone here has had a similar phase at some point, especially those of you who have been here for decades.

Not yet but I do keep my empty house and two vehicles in the US and go back for a few weeks every year and am prepared to move on if I so choose and of course the wife is always welcome to tag along. One thing learned early in life is that nothing is 100% definite and foresight is paramount.

[renaissanc]

"Retarius":  If you live in a city, such as Pattaya or Bangkok, for example, you live in a low-energy vibration environment, so it will be very difficult to feel vibrantly alive and happy in your heart centre.

If you go to bars, you will pick up the low-energy vibration of the environment (including the people) there.

If you watch television, ditto.

I realise that expats don't usually believe in the science of energy, but nevertheless, it's real, and we pick up the vibration of our environment and of the people we meet ...  and they bring us down or, if we're lucky, they raise us up.

Ideally, you should move out into the countryside where the vibration is much higher. But I'll assume you feel you can't do that. So, I recommend heart energy meditations (www.heartmath.org) and live with one of the highest vibrational animals around, cats. Get 2 or more from a cat rescue centre. You'll receive unconditional love every day and that's a high vibration!

Finally, change your friends and avoid people with a low vibration. 

[Thingamabob]

1997/8 crash was bad. Lost a lot of money, and left holding the liabilities of a failed project by cheating Thai partners. Got over it though, helped by the unfailing support of my Thai wife. Still happy to be here, still happily married.

[paahlman]

Lost all the time, but the thing is one has to bounce back now and then.. Does not matter where you live.. Home country or new country. Will be the same anyway.

[Peterphuket]

13 hours ago, andux said:

I've been here for around 10 years. The first 8 were great, these last 2 I've been a bit lost.

 

I have become increasingly worried about the lack of stability, the visa situation, and other restrictions like the inability to start a business. I'm starting to get annoyed by 90-day reports, extensions, re-entry permits, etc. and the overall inability to make proper long-term plans. Yes, I know, I'm getting old 😆.

 

On the other hand, my life here is probably much better than it could be anywhere else, especially in terms of quality/cost ratio. Very safe overall too; I don't know too many places in the West where one can go for a stroll at 3am, leave phones on coffee shop tables unattended, etc. Plus a thousand other things that I love about this country.

 

If I moved to my home country I could enjoy more stability, freedom, and rights (and could even continue speaking Thai often since many Thai people own shops there), but at the same time I'd spend much more money on living costs and wouldn't enjoy the same level of safety --generally speaking.

 

So, I'm having a hard time figuring out what would be better for me in the long run.

 

I'm wondering if anyone here has had a similar phase at some point, especially those of you who have been here for decades. I'd love to hear about others' experiences in this regard.

 

Thanks 😊

I share those experiences you have, I myself have been here since 1998, everything went fine did not have to work anymore.
But then you get to an age where you've seen it all, even physically it gets harder, I'm nearly 80.
Given that age you also don't do much any more, my main hobby was electronics but the lust has disappeared and I try to sell everything related to that, but that is difficult in LOS.
But going back to the west...no way, next week I will go to europe for a month for family visits and necessary medicine.
So it's a matter of sitting it out and trying to make what can be made of it.

 

[khunPer]

15 hours ago, andux said:

I've been here for around 10 years. The first 8 were great, these last 2 I've been a bit lost.

 

I have become increasingly worried about the lack of stability, the visa situation, and other restrictions like the inability to start a business. I'm starting to get annoyed by 90-day reports, extensions, re-entry permits, etc. and the overall inability to make proper long-term plans. Yes, I know, I'm getting old 😆.

 

On the other hand, my life here is probably much better than it could be anywhere else, especially in terms of quality/cost ratio. Very safe overall too; I don't know too many places in the West where one can go for a stroll at 3am, leave phones on coffee shop tables unattended, etc. Plus a thousand other things that I love about this country.

 

If I moved to my home country I could enjoy more stability, freedom, and rights (and could even continue speaking Thai often since many Thai people own shops there), but at the same time I'd spend much more money on living costs and wouldn't enjoy the same level of safety --generally speaking.

 

So, I'm having a hard time figuring out what would be better for me in the long run.

 

I'm wondering if anyone here has had a similar phase at some point, especially those of you who have been here for decades. I'd love to hear about others' experiences in this regard.

 

Thanks 😊

I've been here permanently since 2006. And yes, of course I think about the annual extensions of stay, required documents, remembering 90-days address reports etc.; but keeping a good routine – like having the retirement deposit in a stable 12-months fixed account, and marking 90-days reports in my tabletop calendar with a pencil – makes it to overcome.

 

Always look at bright side on life: If I check what is needed to stay in many other countries, including my Scandinavian home country, Thailand is fairly easy and still got too many benefits, compared to consider returning home...

[mogandave]

6 hours ago, Celsius said:

 

What are you manufacturing?

I’m retired now. 

 

The plant  produces UL listed made to order fabricated steel fire safety products for the commercial & industrial HVAC business. 

 

 

[Celsius]

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

I’m retired now. 

 

The plant  produces UL listed made to order fabricated steel fire safety products for the commercial & industrial HVAC business. 

 

 

 

Thank you.

[mogandave]

2 minutes ago, Celsius said:

 

Thank you.

You’re welcome. We have product all over Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Dubai, a few really big projects in Australia and Singapore, and a lot of small orders to ten or twenty other countries.

 

What kind of work did/do you do? 

[Celsius]

4 minutes ago, mogandave said:

You’re welcome. We have product all over Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Dubai, a few really big projects in Australia and Singapore, and a lot of small orders to ten or twenty other countries.

 

What kind of work did/do you do? 

 

Me nothin.....but wife is in industrial manufacturing supplying bearings to all big names here.

[rumak]

23 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Nope not like that. However...when I was actually, physically lost and zero Thais were capable of reading a freakin' map, in Thai❗🤣

 

That's what i remember ....... as the GOOD  ole days !

[rumak]

17 hours ago, Celsius said:

 

Me nothin.....but wife is in industrial manufacturing supplying bearings to all big names here.

 

well,   surely SHE  must have felt lost at some time ....... when she lost her bearings 🙄