I was recently in the US for 2 months. Most people are fairly sour, and bitter these days. No humor, serious, downcast, and they just do not look like their lives are particularly fulfilling. And hyper inflation is out of control. They are admitting to over 3%. It is likely closer to 20%. Prices are stupid. And between me too and Covid women have basically shut down. Good looking, successful friends of mine there cannot even get dates. Here, some people seem to be struggling. But, they are still somewhat even minded, and many are quite pleasant. Many have maintained their light heartedness, and their sense of humor. And I can walk into a restaurant and (harmlessly) flirt with a gorgeous 23 year old waitress, and she is all smiles. And the restaurant does not cost me an arm and a leg. Life here is just so much more pleasant. As long as I keep my head in the sand over politics, the extreme over reaction to Covid, and the major issues here caused by the goons shutting down the economy over Covid. Thankfully that's ancient history and let's hope it won't repeat itself. As an American who was recently in the US working, I would be only be willing to live there if I was getting paid truly stupid money. It is a rather joyless place. It is all about the money. It is a great spot if you want everyone 10 years younger than you, referring to you as sir. All my single friends here are struggling to find a date. It is a great place if you like women who are more masculine than you are, and find it very difficult to manifest the dignity within femininity. Lastly, it is very expensive now. A friend who has a place in both Monaco and London said on his recent visit to LA, that it was more expensive than either of those spots now. Don't consider moving to America unless money and value are not an object. And don't even get me started about labor costs there. Unless you have a very good health care policy the US is simply not affordable. I have a good friend whose mother is in a facility right now paying $11,000 a month, and the nurses are nasty. I know of a good facility in Chiang Mai that costs about $2,500 a month for the same care. I have another Dutch friend whose mother is in a five-star accommodation for people who need nursing care, and she pays $800 a month under the Dutch government system. Her room has a Terrace overlooking the river and she said it's nicer than any five star hotel suites she's ever been in. Also the public hospitals here can be quite good if you know how to pick them, there is one in Bangkok that's absolutely amazing. As good as any private hospital I've been to in the US, at about 1% of the price. And in addition the nurses have a great attitude, which is the polar opposite of what you get in America at a hospital. The doctors are good and the care is on par if not better than American hospital care. I do agree about the heat and I certainly agree about the air quality, which is a horrendous problem that Thailand is going to have to fix sooner or later. People are dying from it. As far as the heat you have to be hearty and if you're delicate or not used to it than it's likely not for you. From about mid-March until early June when the rain start I stay indoors most of the day, enjoying the AC, and go out in the evening or at night. My bike rides and workouts are also done very early in the morning when the temperatures are tolerable. Also I try to do as much traveling during the months of April and May as possible, so oftentimes I'm outside of the country and I come back just in time for the rains to start which is delightful. Overall Thailand is very much a state of mind and if you are able to attune yourself to the joys of this place the quality of life can be very high. I don't get that in America, I might if I was a centimillionaire, but I'm not. Everything there is so fabulously overpriced these days, it's really quite disgusting. And the division, The dissent, the bitterness, the lack of humor, the lack of levity, and the way that everything revolves around money back there is just not a life that I want to live. Though I would live back there for 3 years if somebody offered me a stipend of $3 million dollars a year, that's literally what it would take. I like to say everyday in Thailand is a good day, at least for me.
