I’ve been wondering: if one could pick anywhere else in the world to live, places like Dubai, Zürich, Monte Carlo, the south of France, Hawaii, you name it, anywhere you might dream about, would you actually leave Thailand?

 

My guess is that most people wouldn’t. It’s not just about the lower cost of living that people stay here. Thailand has plenty of flaws, plus visa issues, banking and taxation challenges, but it also has something most Western countries lost long ago: real freedom. Here, you can live your life without anyone constantly telling you what to do, who to be, or how to act. There’s no pressure to fit in, you can get almost anything you need, and as long as you don’t cause trouble, nobody really cares what you do.

 

Yes, it’s far from perfect. The heat and pollution can be a big challenge at times, but for many, Thailand still offers the easiest lifestyle out there. One where you can do your own thing, stay off the radar, and avoid the suffocating rules now creeping deeper into other parts of the world.

 

So if money, visas, and logistics weren’t issues, would you leave Thailand for somewhere else? Or is this your last stop and still the last chance for the kind of freedom you can’t buy in the West anymore?

50 minutes ago, SoCal1990 said:

So if money, visas, and logistics weren’t issues, would you leave Thailand for somewhere else?

Dont forget age and health

Afghanistan or North Korea 

I would move to Dominican Republic in a New York minute if the hurricanes weren't so devastating. There is NOTHING hotter than watching a pissed off Dominican chick tearing some punter a new a$$hole.

9 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

I would move to Dominican Republic in a New York minute if the hurricanes weren't so devastating. There is NOTHING hotter than watching a pissed off Dominican chick tearing some punter a new a$$hole.

 

The DR really isn’t all that different from parts of Africa in some ways. Might as well just skip the middle step and move to an actual African country. Or hey, maybe even Haiti!

 

Genetically, about 70 to 90 percent of the Dominican population has African roots, and around 25 percent are visibly Black.

 

I've also heard Tanzania’s nice. And as a bonus, you can already find plenty of their women all over Sukhumvit.

 

41 minutes ago, short-Timer said:

 

The DR really isn’t all that different from parts of Africa in some ways. Might as well just skip the middle step and move to an actual African country. Or hey, maybe even Haiti!

 

Genetically, about 70 to 90 percent of the Dominican population has African roots, and around 25 percent are visibly Black.

 

I've also heard Tanzania’s nice. And as a bonus, you can already find plenty of their women all over Sukhumvit.

 

Unfortunately I'm at an age where healthcare is my number one priority and I'm mostly satisfied with the healthcare available in Thailand.

 

Per Grok, Haiti's healthcare system faces severe challenges, including limited access, inadequate resources, and the impact of ongoing violence. And Africa? Healthcare in Africa faces significant challenges, including limited access to quality care, inadequate funding, and a high burden of disease.

 

I will burn my bones in one of those open air pyres. I've only gone to one but it was a helluva party!

6 hours ago, SoCal1990 said:

If You Could Live Anywhere in the World, Would You Still Choose Thailand?

 

Yes..... or Texas.

No, and Texas

I'd be living on a super yacht cruising the Caribbean. 

Id move into the White House. Hence forth I would be known as the Commander in Spliff.

I moved to Thailand for work, having lived in India, Korea, US, UK prior to Thailand, so didn't 'choose' Thailand.

 

It was my last posting before retirement, I'd met a wonderful woman, got Permanent Residence and a nice house, so I'm still here.

 

Without those benefits, my choices in order would be;

 

1. Malaysia

2. Vietnam 

3. Thailand 

 

But our choices are rarely based on one factor.

 

Central Park, 739 room castle, moat, rent rooms out at $20,000 night with 23 helicopters, 37 chefs, and a private airport that prints cash and is made out of diamonds.  

 

ridiculous question, ridiculous answer.  

Yes

One place only?

Summer somewhere in northern Italy at one of the big lakes. Is George Clooney's villa still on sale 😁

Northern winter on the southern hemisphere. Brazil?

I’d stay here, unless my wife and kids wanted to relocate to the US, in which case I would buy a place in Point Loma and live six months of the year on a long range boat in a deck level stateroom. 

 

If my wife would go for it, I would buy a Zyklon and go back on the road.

If I were suddenly a billionaire, It’d buy a full floor penthouse in Bangkok and five homes in the US.

2 minutes ago, mogandave said:

If I were suddenly a billionaire, It’d buy a full floor penthouse in Bangkok and five homes in the US.

 

If I were a billionaire I woulda bought Little St. James Island!

Argentina or Chile.

Harare, Zimbabwe. Can’t think of a more delightful place to live. Mogadishu, Gaza Strip, Caracas and Eritrea come to mind as well.

32 minutes ago, Quentin Zen said:

Central Park, 739 room castle, moat, rent rooms out at $20,000 night with 23 helicopters, 37 chefs, and a private airport that prints cash and is made out of diamonds.  

 

ridiculous question, ridiculous answer.  

C'mon, Community Pub, just killing time. And so far I haven't seen one post about you-know-who. 😄

Still here but more time in other places. Certainly couldn’t live in the likes of Dubai or Hawaii. Both ok for a visit, but…

Thailand still has that freedom factor. 

Depends where my Thai boyfriend, soon to be husband, wishes to live.  I personally prefer the people, the culture, the landscapes, the temples, the weather here.  Rather more clement than Glasgow.

Live ... NO, as stated above, TH does have that freedom factor.  To live most places, you'd lose that.

 

Play nomadic traveler, Hell Yea.  Although I would need 2M USD for that, 20 yrs @ $300 a day. 

9 hours ago, SoCal1990 said:

Here, you can live your life without anyone constantly telling you what to do, who to be, or how to act. There’s no pressure to fit in, you can get almost anything you need, and as long as you don’t cause trouble, nobody really cares what you do.

 

This applies to us, wealthy farang. For Thais, it is much, much worse that it is for us in Western countries. Pressure to fit in, pressure to conform, other people constantly telling them what to do, who to be, and how to act. 

 

Also, in the Western countries, it is very easy (much easier than it is in Thailand) to "stay off the radar" and "do your own thing." 

 

I agree that the rules continue to creep up, and I hate it as well, but the bottom line is, they have close to zero impact on one's life. Certainly one has to deal with a lot more rules and just general stupidity, just to comply with the immigration authorities in Thailand, than we would ever have to do in our respective home countries. 

I can see no reason to live elsewhere.

Bali and Switzerland are more beautiful, but I wouldn't want to live in either of them.

Thailand works well for us, and has for a long time.

11 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Live ... NO, as stated above, TH does have that freedom factor.  To live most places, you'd lose that.

 

Play nomadic traveler, Hell Yea.  Although I would need 2M USD for that, 20 yrs @ $300 a day. 

 

You can have a base in Thailand and be nomadic 2-3 months a year.

And avoid buying an expensive house.

So this will make it much more affordable than the numbers you crunched. 

 

I would not spend one extra day here if I could live anywhere else. Most of us are here because it's

cost-effective. If I could live in Norway or Denmark for the same money, I would move tomorrow.

18 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

Still here but more time in other places. Certainly couldn’t live in the likes of Dubai or Hawaii. Both ok for a visit, but…

Thailand still has that freedom factor. 

WHAT "freedom factor"???   

10 hours ago, Felton Jarvis said:

WHAT "freedom factor"???   

 

being allowed to drink beer and get drunk on the beach at 7 AM?

 

Just now, save the frogs said:

You can have a base in Thailand and be nomadic 2-3 months a year.

And avoid buying an expensive house.

So this will make it much more affordable than the numbers you crunched. 

Don't want a base, as means flying back & forth, and have no desire deal with airports and be on plane.   I don't want a house at all.  Play non stop, self drive, tourist.