Used to be lazy and directionless. Came here and worked like heck to make money. Now thinking of becoming lazy again.

On 12/9/2024 at 3:50 AM, CharlieH said:

More relaxed way of life, less rules/permissions etc, less bills, less stress, more Sun, people generally much nicer and friendlier. Get laid whenever you want.😉

If you wear rose coloured glasses and blinkers. Have actually done a visa and 90 day report. Yes Bill's can be cheaper, back to annual visa stress, back to rose coloured glasses, sex "Handsome man" only if you pay which is the same in any country. I found living in Thailand very stressful.  The knowledge that your life can change on the whim of a hi so, and regulations are also up to interpretation and constantly changing.

27 minutes ago, BritScot said:

If you wear rose coloured glasses and blinkers. Have actually done a visa and 90 day report. Yes Bill's can be cheaper, back to annual visa stress, back to rose coloured glasses, sex "Handsome man" only if you pay which is the same in any country. I found living in Thailand very stressful.  The knowledge that your life can change on the whim of a hi so, and regulations are also up to interpretation and constantly changing.

I'm the opposite mindset, as I enjoy living here, as not much, if anything has changed.  Marriage, support of Thai national, and lastly retirement visa & extensions have all gotten easier, in that order.

 

Tax burden hasn't changed at all, VAT @ 7%.  Housing cost haven't risen much, compared to home country (USA).   Actually the crappier it is there, the better here for me, since COLA is based on inflation there.   They're BS and low, but seems to offset inflation here a bit.  Exchange rate has bee consistent, 33+/- to $1, the last 15 ish years.

 

Much more relaxed here, no PC, no special interest groups, no silly new pronouns, don't need to worry about offending anyone.

 

Not really seeing the negatives other experience.  A good partner helps, but didn't have any problems when single and playing single parent.

The wife ..... she's a real version of Joi from Bladerunner 2049.

9 hours ago, BritScot said:

If you wear rose coloured glasses and blinkers. Have actually done a visa and 90 day report. Yes Bill's can be cheaper, back to annual visa stress, back to rose coloured glasses, sex "Handsome man" only if you pay which is the same in any country. I found living in Thailand very stressful.  The knowledge that your life can change on the whim of a hi so, and regulations are also up to interpretation and constantly changing.

Sounds like your experience in Thailand is more about your mindset than the actual system. Plenty of people navigate the visa process and 90-day reports without issue—it's just part of living abroad. The idea that life changes on a whim might feel true if you focus on the negatives, but many find the flexibility of the system works in their favor. If you're constantly expecting stress, you'll probably find it. Maybe it isn’t Thailand that was the issue, but how you approach living here.

The weather and the relaxed nature of the people is the main thing.  If you compare Thailand to the UK, the most obvious thing is that it's cold and grey most of the time, and the people can seem very miserable and negative.

On 12/9/2024 at 4:03 PM, Yagoda said:

Love your avatar.

 

I'm actually surprised he's allowed to keep it.  I had one of Biden sniffing a child's hair and that was removed for being to politically provocative, yet he is allowed to keep one of "baby Trump".

11 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

 

I'm actually surprised he's allowed to keep it.  I had one of Biden sniffing a child's hair and that was removed for being to politically provocative, yet he is allowed to keep one of "baby Trump".

... nuff said

Compared to UK, my housing costs are around 60% less. Can grow veg and fruit for most of the year. Have my own fish ponds. Younger wife. Car running costs about 50% cheaper. Can afford Cheese, which is actually only slightly more than the UK.