To become an expat

[Photoguy21]

He needs to get a life. It appears he didn't have one in Australia so I am not sure why he would think a miracle would happen and he would automatically get one here in Thailand.

[StandardIssue]

On 3/15/2025 at 4:28 PM, habuspasha said:

Do you become an expat by living in Thailand half the year, as I plan, or does it have to be the full year?  A half year here and a half year there should decrease the boredom potential but it means putting down roots in both places.  I just got the Thai house.  The next step is the even more difficult job of getting a Fiance Visa to be with the GF in both places.  We're doing this a bit later than you advise (in our 40s and 80s), but you can never do it earlier than you are.

Yes, it is extremely important to figure out what classifies you as an expat. Not doing so would have certain dire repercussions.

[StandardIssue]

Hell, I became an expat and hadn't even left the country 12 years ago. It is a badge of honor I have self imposed.

[natway09]

Not long after I moved here to live the Aussie $ was under 17 Bht to the AUD

Not a concern then & not a concern now.

Of course cost of living has gone up here, but quality of life in Thailand is far better for 

far less money in particular if you do not own your own home in OZ.

[khunPer]

On 3/15/2025 at 10:50 PM, georgegeorgia said:

As I'm getting to the retirement age , well that's officially no retirement age in Australia I have people at my workplace who are in their 70's and they are not poor they work for social reasons or lonely old ...

 

But anyway can we get back on topic please !

So here I am this morning sitting on my balcony in my Airbnb in Pattaya bored thinking could I contemplate retirement 

Leave my government job in Australia where I get copoius amounts of annual leave,long service leave etc and move here to sit here everyday 

And I thought and I thought what would be the reason someone would consider a retirement to Thailand but more so ....Pattaya 

 

I mean it's not that cheap for Australians with the dollar down.

A beer is nearly $5 AUD 

My bangers n mash yesterday $15 

Your not saving that much money if your Australian 

Most of the prices here are comparable to Australia,T shirts etc

Blood tests are free in Australia,

Even the ladies of the night are comparable pricing 

I'm hearing ladies of the night are charging with bar fines etc around 3,000 that $150 AUD 

How would you afford "company" every week at those prices 

Bar fines are how much?

 

This condo I'm in rents for 18,000 baht a month and a little gym that's around $900 a month AUD 

 

Then there's the day to day activities,do what ?

Go to A bar ? 

 

 

And please can we get back on topic and contemplate why , because of women to move in with

 

People somehow are running away from life in the UK Australia etc to move in with a lady they think the grass will be greener 

 

It's not that much cheaper here 

Move here retire here !!!

Please stop this thinking 

You will be bored after 6 months 

I have been here a week and already I'm looking at my work rosters 

I might even go home earlier 

 

i had a guy I met the other day in a sports bar , he was 58 yo from Australia and was in a Monday to Friday government job , he said he was alone in Australia but didn't own his own home but had retirement funds AnD AND he met a girl in a bar and wants to be with her to live 

 

I looked at him ,you stupid old fool I said 

Your going to lose everything for the sake of a whore !

Lose his job , lose his money and to do what everyday ,sit in a condo 

WTF are you going to do all day 

He looked at me shocked , living in a 21sqm condo with a girl he loves from the bar 

6 months later he would obviously be back in Australia...without a job 

 

It's ok for a 2 week holiday but go  back please !!!

 

Now....if your over  67 I would say move here , life is short ,move here if your over 67 , 

But under ...

 

Wake up !!!!

I retired myself at age 56; today, I don't understand how if I ever found time to work – and, I wasn't a lazy government employee, but a busy self employed working more like double time to reach my goal, and some years just to survive.

 

I've never been bored since I retired. You might find that you change your lifestyle when becoming a retiree and expat, so you might even change your preferred meals with bangers and mash with something, which might be cheaper than "down there", where to comes from. And, you might even find that some cheaper alternative is more tasteful, when you become a real expat.

 

For lady-solution: Some says that the best solution is having a housekeeper to take care of the house, and just pay and play in the nightlife for the fun part. However, it might be at 3k baht level – or more, depending of personal preferences – every time you need some company or entertainment.

 

There was an old job advertisement back in 1906 – or was it 1907? – seeking a foreign manager for Bangkok's first electricity supply. It said that a modest lifestyle in Thailand was cheap and healthy; luxury expensive. It seems like still be the case.

 

So, if 3k baht – or much more – fom entertainmet is too expensive, the alternative is to find a stationary home-intertainment that is both house keeper and can supplement with company and entertainment. Depending of expectations, it might cost you the same a normal housekeeper. I believe that numerous call that kind of arrangement for "girlfriend". However, be aware, that kind of stationary entertainment can also be found in a variety of expensive luxury-versions.

 

But, we are luckily all different; so. what you might find boring, I might find fun – and you might not like my lifestyle where I never find time to get bored.

 

The only good advice is: Try to stay in Land of Smiles a good bit longer than a normal vacation, and stay here like an expat, to see if you get bore, and also to find out if you can afford it at all...

[habuspasha]

14 hours ago, StandardIssue said:

Hell, I became an expat and hadn't even left the country 12 years ago. It is a badge of honor I have self imposed.

Sorry, I don't get it.  You didn't leave Thailand or earlier patrie?

[still kicking]

On 3/16/2025 at 5:50 AM, georgegeorgia said:

As I'm getting to the retirement age , well that's officially no retirement age in Australia I have people at my workplace who are in their 70's and they are not poor they work for social reasons or lonely old ...

 

But anyway can we get back on topic please !

So here I am this morning sitting on my balcony in my Airbnb in Pattaya bored thinking could I contemplate retirement 

Leave my government job in Australia where I get copoius amounts of annual leave,long service leave etc and move here to sit here everyday 

And I thought and I thought what would be the reason someone would consider a retirement to Thailand but more so ....Pattaya 

 

I mean it's not that cheap for Australians with the dollar down.

A beer is nearly $5 AUD 

My bangers n mash yesterday $15 

Your not saving that much money if your Australian 

Most of the prices here are comparable to Australia,T shirts etc

Blood tests are free in Australia,

Even the ladies of the night are comparable pricing 

I'm hearing ladies of the night are charging with bar fines etc around 3,000 that $150 AUD 

How would you afford "company" every week at those prices 

Bar fines are how much?

 

This condo I'm in rents for 18,000 baht a month and a little gym that's around $900 a month AUD 

 

Then there's the day to day activities,do what ?

Go to A bar ? 

 

 

And please can we get back on topic and contemplate why , because of women to move in with

 

People somehow are running away from life in the UK Australia etc to move in with a lady they think the grass will be greener 

 

It's not that much cheaper here 

Move here retire here !!!

Please stop this thinking 

You will be bored after 6 months 

I have been here a week and already I'm looking at my work rosters 

I might even go home earlier 

 

i had a guy I met the other day in a sports bar , he was 58 yo from Australia and was in a Monday to Friday government job , he said he was alone in Australia but didn't own his own home but had retirement funds AnD AND he met a girl in a bar and wants to be with her to live 

 

I looked at him ,you stupid old fool I said 

Your going to lose everything for the sake of a whore !

Lose his job , lose his money and to do what everyday ,sit in a condo 

WTF are you going to do all day 

He looked at me shocked , living in a 21sqm condo with a girl he loves from the bar 

6 months later he would obviously be back in Australia...without a job 

 

It's ok for a 2 week holiday but go  back please !!!

 

Now....if your over  67 I would say move here , life is short ,move here if your over 67 , 

But under ...

 

Wake up !!!!

 

 

Keep mopping the floor 

[habuspasha]

Since I may be partly responsible for raising the issue of boredom, let me clarify a personal matter.  I wasn't suggesting that living in LOS was inevitably boring.  Maybe some places are but certainly not all.  I remember years ago a TV member describing Hua Hin as littered with the bodies of expats who had died of boredom.  And now I have just moved to the rural outskirts of Hua Hin.  But it's personal and comparative.  I'm used to living in Manhattan where I plan on doing half-years.  Spring and summer, I think.  Any change of pace or scene has to lessen boredom at some level.