11 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

 

back in canada now, and I can confirm that thailand is better IN MANY WAYS. Was diagnosed with RSV virus spent 18 hrs in hospital and dr told me to go home. I said 'no way can i go back home... i won't make it past the front door'. dr got angry told me to leave. I got my things called a taxi and nearly passed out getting in the taxi. I barely made it to the entrance and collapsed. the nurses walked pass me as i said 'help me' and ignored me because the dr had told me to go home. I slept all night in the emergency waiting area then the next morning i got a second opinion. turns out I also had influenza type A. Add that to my COPD and it is a recipe for disaster. Thailand takes better care by far of us than we are taken care of back home. Even Mcdonald's is worst here than in thailand. I had cheeseburgers yday and the pattie was half the size i remember them from before. Shame on the west... I used to think we were ahead of the thais. Now, all i do is look forward to my return to thailand.

 

the west has lost it

Well I certainly won't be visiting Canada, what an absolute disgrace, pattie half the size! 🤣🤣

Just now, SAFETY FIRST said:

Not blind.

 

What goes on is the reason I chose Thailand to be my home, I love its many differences to the west, it's rough around the edges, similar to myself. 

 

I'm getting fed up with people wanting Thailand to be like the west. 

I don't want it to be the same s5it hole I left behind. 

 

 

Liking it here is fine. Not wanting change is out of your hands. Most people want changes, and Thailand needs many . People here aren't happy making 300 Baht a day, women here aren't happy being treated as slaves or inferior, children with better schooling would have a better future, parents made responsible for the children they create would have better adjusted children with again, better futures. It isn't just foreigners that would like to see Thailand change. The locals have been making changes for decades, seeing how the west lives in a better environment, with more money and better futures for the children. Nothing wrong with saving a culture but change is inevitable as they already see how the rest lives, and most, especially the younger generation, loves it.

14 hours ago, connda said:

I don't see large encampments of Thais sleeping in the streets of major cities because they can't afford rent.  That is the normal state of the US and most Western countries.  I don't see Thais dying because they can't afford healthcare. I don't know of any Thailand being evicted from their homes and their homes sold to pay "property taxes."  So the bottom line is that quality of life is better in Thailand.

Actually they're everywhere, but usually in the jungle under tarps, or in shanties in the city.

All the bench seats round the moat in CM have people sleeping on them every night.

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Two in the last 3 months .........

 

Yes, they do happen most everywhere, especially in Florida, but that's no fault of the road department. They happen naturally.

4 minutes ago, roo860 said:

Well I certainly won't be visiting Canada, what an absolute disgrace, pattie half the size! 🤣🤣

You stay in Thailand big boy.

1 hour ago, GinBoy2 said:

I 'could rely on Government hospitals, but outside BKK go in to one them, you basically come out in a box, so I'll stick with my US hospital

That's just wrong, I've found them as good as any NHS hospital, my local hospital in San Sai is nearly new, all the latest equipment, costs almost nothing for foreigners to use.

8 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Not blind.

 

What goes on is the reason I chose Thailand to be my home, I love its many differences to the west, it's rough around the edges, similar to myself. 

 

I'm getting fed up with people wanting Thailand to be like the west. 

I don't want it to be the same s5it hole I left behind. 

 

 

It has been changing for years and will continue, as they, meaning Thais, like western things.

3 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Liking it here is fine. Not wanting change is out of your hands. Most people want changes, and Thailand needs many . People here aren't happy making 300 Baht a day, women here aren't happy being treated as slaves or inferior, children with better schooling would have a better future, parents made responsible for the children they create would have better adjusted children with again, better futures. It isn't just foreigners that would like to see Thailand change. The locals have been making changes for decades, seeing how the west lives in a better environment, with more money and better futures for the children. Nothing wrong with saving a culture but change is inevitable as they already see how the rest lives, and most, especially the younger generation, loves it.

Thailand is little different from 25 years ago. The main changes are large malls. You must be a newbie. The buses, roads and trains in the country are the same. Same markets and temples.

 

 

11 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Liking it here is fine. Not wanting change is out of your hands. Most people want changes, and Thailand needs many . People here aren't happy making 300 Baht a day, women here aren't happy being treated as slaves or inferior, children with better schooling would have a better future, parents made responsible for the children they create would have better adjusted children with again, better futures. It isn't just foreigners that would like to see Thailand change. The locals have been making changes for decades, seeing how the west lives in a better environment, with more money and better futures for the children. Nothing wrong with saving a culture but change is inevitable as they already see how the rest lives, and most, especially the younger generation, loves it.

But women here seem to me, much happier than women in the west.

The west is different, life is more stressful, but not any easier.

My Thai children's government schools were as good as my Brit kids school, a lot less bullying.

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

Thailand is little different from 25 years ago. The main changes are large malls. You must be a newbie. The buses, roads and trains in the country are the same. Same markets and temples.

 

 

I've been here 7 years, and knew about Thailand for decades before i visited because I was always interested in Asian cultures. Thailand is, and has been changing all along. That they don't spend money on newer vehicles, and still use old, unsafe ones is on the government, and it's seen in the buses children have to ride in daily going to school, along with those citizens use for everyday travel.The roads, although they use the same equipment used in the west, are, at least off the highways, in need of better maintenance. That's on the workers hired. Temples and history here doesn't need to change, as that's part of their heritage.

6 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

But women here seem to me, much happier than women in the west.

The west is different, life is more stressful, but not any easier.

My Thai children's government schools were as good as my Brit kids school, a lot less bullying.

The more independent a woman is, the less happy it seems, as they get more unrealistic in their thinking. I agree Thailand women, at least the good ones, are better givers than those in the west, so that's in their favor. Bullying happens in all schools, and Thailand's schools have a much higher rate of molestation than the west, up to 75% of girls before they turn 18 compared to 12% in the US. The level of education is among the worst worldwide. Children should not be passed if they are failing or not attending, as it leaves them more un prepared for the work force if they don't have the basic skills needed.

34 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Why the hell are you in Thailand then?

Because I am a sadist.

 

regards,

bob.

Short answer "no".

14 hours ago, Felt 35 said:

 

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/rankings/quality-of-life

 

 

4 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

 

does it matter?

 

it does. why are you in Canada if it's so bad?

Any comparisons would be location dependent.  Not sure what the "West" is, G7/8 or G20 ???

 

As long as many, and there are many Thais, that don't own their land (not Chanoted), or even have water and or electric nearby, then yes, TH is still 3rd World, but, with many modern things.  The infrastructure in many places leaves a lot to be desire.

 

It's ahead in many aspects, for me, having affordable housing (which we can't own, except ccndos), BEV & solar system choices, all affordable.  Healthcare (location dependent), affordable & accessible vs supposedly universal healthcare, some would consider barely accessible (location dependent) till life threatening, and then too late, in the so called 'West.

 

Watched a YT'er couple from Nashville, TN, USA explain their hospital bill for having a 'no complication' baby delivery.  Cost shy of $40k USD, and their paid insurance didn't even cover the first $11k USD of bill, with premium of $1000+ a month.  Thank You Obame for destroying healthcare, in the USA.   So the baby cost them over $21,000, with their universal healthcare, for a <$40k bill, and that had not complications 

 

I could sure find places in the USA, as nice and inexpensive (relative) to live as TH, but certainly wouldn't be a place any young couple would want to live, starting out in the world or trying to have and raise a family.

 

Both countries USA & TH (my only reference) would be easy to retire in, once established financially, and getting established financially is still easy in both countries, for those with desire & drive.

 

In the USA, healthcare will always be an issue, and from reading honest expats in here, seems the same crappy Qs in their universal, almost free healthcare in home country (location dependent), where you me die waiting for treatment.

Khon Kaen and Udon have lots of cool cafes now but mostly empty. One cafe had chicken nuggets and chips for 120 baht as their main dish. No proper desserts or pad thai or fried ice. No customers 2 days in a row we walked past. Another cafe had upmarket seats but no real food to buy. No customers while we drank coffee. The locals go to malls and night markets instead.

 

 

2 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Khon Kaen and Udon have lots of cool cafes now but mostly empty. One cafe had chicken nuggets and chips for 120 baht as their main dish. No proper desserts or pad thai or fried ice. No customers 2 days in a row we walked past. Another cafe had upmarket seats but no real food to buy. No customers while we drank coffee. The locals go to malls and night markets instead.

 

 

I hope the chicken nuggets were bigger than the ones back home, wherever that is.

🐔

28 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

But women here seem to me, much happier than women in the west.

The west is different, life is more stressful, but not any easier.

My Thai children's government schools were as good as my Brit kids school, a lot less bullying.

Can you explain more? The schools in thailand leave the kids dumb. Does that not matter to you?

10 hours ago, Gobbler said:

When Thailand stops poisoning the people with filthy air 4 months out of the air, you might get closer to claiming the quality of life is better here. 

 

This is my sole complaint about Thailand and why I cannot definitively say life in Thailand is better than my life in the USA. The air pollution is a problem for most of Southeast Asia. I've found areas with high concentrations of motorbikes are the most problematic. Car emissions are significantly lower than years past but motorbikes are still largely unregulated and spewing constant filth. Construction, crop burning and factory emissions are the other usual suspects.

6 minutes ago, hotsun said:

Can you explain more? The schools in thailand leave the kids dumb. Does that not matter to you?

They've not left my kids dumb,

Daughter went all the way through university and at age 25 a manager with 8 staff.

Son (13) speaks Thai, English and learning Chinese well.

 

Lack of learning due to home environment and parents, not the school IMHO.

6 minutes ago, wasabi said:

 

This is my sole complaint about Thailand and why I cannot definitively say life in Thailand is better than my life in the USA. The air pollution is a problem for most of Southeast Asia. I've found areas with high concentrations of motorbikes are the most problematic. Car emissions are significantly lower than years past but motorbikes are still largely unregulated and spewing constant filth. Construction, crop burning and factory emissions are the other usual suspects.

PM levels in Chiang Mai are double Khon Kaen/Udon right now.

6 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

They've not left my kids dumb,

Daughter went all the way through university and at age 25 a manager with 8 staff.

Son (13) speaks Thai, English and learning Chinese well.

 

Lack of learning due to home environment and parents, not the school IMHO.

The education system there only works for children who do what theyre told. What worked for you wouldnt work for me

Comparisons on this thread are skewed, even my own,  as a retired expat. We don't really know what living here, born here poor is like.  I've lived in a poor village, and wouldn't wish being born there on anyone.

 

Living here for 25 years, and seeing, experiencing both sides of the coin, poor village life, and uppity income life with choices, and TBH, no different in the USA, as also lived both there, and TBH, I'd rather be born in the USA.

 

Although same as the USA, many poor make it to middle class or rich here, I'm sure it's more of a struggle than someone born into poverty (myself) in the USA.  Simply more opportunities in the USA from that viewpoint.  For those with foresight & drive.  If not  having, then you're screwed no matter where you're born.

I love Thailand.  But if I had absolute F-U money, I'd retire to the USA and maybe have a 2nd home in Thailand.

 

But since I don't, Thailand offers much better value for the same (limited amount of) money.  But not the same quality of life.

 

4 hours ago, hotsun said:

Anywhere other than the US, i would prefer thailand over

 

Canada????

11 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

They've not left my kids dumb,

Daughter went all the way through university and at age 25 a manager with 8 staff.

Son (13) speaks Thai, English and learning Chinese well.

 

Lack of learning due to home environment and parents, not the school IMHO.

Schools and their teachers are responsible for teaching the children enough so they can do the basics to survive in the world, meaning language, math and social studies. Most don't teach life skills, which is the parents job first. Education is the schools responsibility, while learning to speak and how to get along with others are the parents. Parents aren't the best teachers when it comes to school subjects as they're too personally involved. Parents also need to make sure their children go to school and are aware how they're doing there.

6 minutes ago, impulse said:

I love Thailand.  But if I had absolute F-U money, I'd retire to the USA and maybe have a 2nd home in Thailand.

 

But since I don't, Thailand offers much better value for the same (limited amount of) money.  But not the same quality of life.

 

Most rich westerners are miserable. Look at George Soros, Bill Gates, Cuban, Murdoch. I see happier people in night markets eating a 20 baht cake. 

33 minutes ago, roo860 said:

I hope the chicken nuggets were bigger than the ones back home, wherever that is.

🐔

They looked dismal. We drank coffee and left. Nice looking cafe with great seats. Dismal menu. No business sense. 3 staff members and no other customers. 

Really good post. I left the UK 15 years ago and I have not regretted it for one single minute