Are Westerners In Hk/sing/kor/jap/etc More Intelligent Than Those In Thailand?

[realmadrid25]

Having spent a great amount of time in these countries, I feel like there is a higher class of Westerners and Expats living in them. Thailand seems to attract the absolute bottom dwellers of Western humanity (a small majority like myself (young, handsome, intelligent) excluded. I suppose that this is because of the following reasons:

1. The other countries are very expensive so the bottom dwellers cannot afford to live there.

2. The other countries employ more professionals than Thailand.

3. Thailand has a reputation for certain vices which attracts the bottom dwellers.

[mrt273nva]

Hk/sing/kor/jap are far more developed than Thailand and therefore have more to offer to foreigners in terms of employment. The places that you mentioned most expats are there to make money. Many expats in Thailand are here for the laid back carefree lifestyle. I wouldn't go so far as to say that someone who has different priorities in life are bottom dwellers.

[samran]

WARNING TO ALL POTENTIAL RESPONDEES:

This thread will be closed of it turns into a shitfight. You've been warned, the one and only time.

On behalf of the mods

Samran.

[Jockstar]

WARNING TO ALL POTENTIAL RESPONDEES:

This thread will be closed of it turns into a shitfight. You've been warned, the one and only time.

On behalf of the mods

Samran.

Beat me to it.

[garro]

I think it is a credit to your intelligence OP that you have realised this.

I think you will find though that delusions of grandeur/megalomania is a common complaint in Thailand - so your not really that special.

You suffer from a common problem.

Good luck with that.

Edited March 9, 2008 by garro

[Gary A]

I don't know. I'm at a loss to figure out what kind of a person would ask such an inane question.

[madjbs]

Yes there is a lot of low lifes in Thailand compared to those place you mentioned, however there is also many good people that you just don't notice or see that much. One reason for this is the expats in Thailand tend to integrate with society better in my opinion, they often have a local wife and live Thai style eating Thai food etc... In my experience, expats in the countries you mentioned often live in their expat world and rarely do anything which involves them in the local society. As a result you get a warped perspective when you try and compare the two places.

Edited March 9, 2008 by madjbs

[FBN]

Troll, if I ever saw one...

[JacknDanny]

WARNING TO ALL POTENTIAL RESPONDEES:

This thread will be closed of it turns into a shitfight. You've been warned, the one and only time.

On behalf of the mods

Samran.

[hullmonkey1]

Hk/sing/kor/jap are far more developed than Thailand and therefore have more to offer to foreigners in terms of employment. The places that you mentioned most expats are there to make money. Many expats in Thailand are here for the laid back carefree lifestyle. I wouldn't go so far as to say that someone who has different priorities in life are bottom dwellers.

I agree with the above points. I have worked in HK on two different project and the majority of expats I met where only in HK because they were earning a good salary. I do indeed live in thailand for the laid back carefree lifestyle.Sooooo not sure if I should be classed as an intelligent professional type or a bottom dweller

I will add that I met a lot of pretentious expat A-holes in HK and on the other hand have met a lot great 'down to earth' expats in Thailand

[toptuan]

My circle of farang friends here is comprised of two Americans with their Ph.D.'s and one American with his Master's degree, and two Frenchman with a Ph.D., and Master's respectively. All of them working in professional positions, and family men. And this is upcountry.

So, what kind of circles are you running around in, to prompt your sort of OP? Where is your observation post? Walking Street in Pattaya? The halls of Chulalongkorn? A bar? A school for farang monks?

No intent to flame, just an honest question.

Edit--added:

I maintain that the illusion of a country full of foreign "bottom dwellers" (as you call them) is created because bad news makes big news (crimes, jumpers, drunks, sex exploitation, etc.), especially in Tabloid/Xenophobic Thailand. I have worked in most of the other locations you mentioned, and yes, the "bottom dwellers" are there, too--in full force, depending on your chosen observation post.

The really good news--the many foreigners here contributing to the economy, education, and general advancement of this country--is really not the stuff of sensational news and gossip. Take a country tour (translation: get out of BKK and Patters) of the many charitable, educational, and religious organizations/institutions here, staffed by thousands of foreigners who are here without ulterior motives, and it could change your dour perspective.

Edited March 9, 2008 by toptuan

[JetsetBkk]

Troll, if I ever saw one...

Blatantly obvious. I never reply to trolls.

Bugger!

[Dakhar]

I have seen everything from PhD's to crack heads to ho-mongers. I think it is really a matter of where you hang out. "Birds of the same feather....." type thing.

Seen the same in China & Singapore.... never really been in Japan to say.

[Nataraja]

Having spent a great amount of time in these countries, I feel like there is a higher class of Westerners and Expats living in them. Thailand seems to attract the absolute bottom dwellers of Western humanity (a small majority like myself (young, handsome, intelligent) excluded. I suppose that this is because of the following reasons:

1. The other countries are very expensive so the bottom dwellers cannot afford to live there.

2. The other countries employ more professionals than Thailand.

3. Thailand has a reputation for certain vices which attracts the bottom dwellers.

Welcome back.

[Maigo6]

It's all down to Money.

Pattaya isn't a destination for the rich and famous, and a Private resort Island in the Indian Ocean isn't flooded with Factory workers from Grimethorpe.

Pattaya is what it is and attracts those that can afford it, and that's a lot of people from the developed world.

Tokyo, HK, Singapore etc don't offer the same bang for the buck, though everything that is available in Pattaya is certainly available, it's just that Mr Average can't afford it.

Where would I rather be right now, Tokyo or Pattaya ?

Pattaya.

Edited March 10, 2008 by Maigo6

[freitag1]

Thailand has one big attraction and that are women. Many people who found their partner here would have never found a similar young or good looking one back in their country. This possibility attracts a certain kind of crowd...

[garro]

Hi freitag, the big attraction in Thailand for you might be women, but it's wrong to generalise this to everyone else. We are all different with different motivations. Don't you agree? I have always found that those who can only deal in stereotypes of people tend to be fairly shallow human specimens. What do you think?

I have met many different westerners here in Thailand from different backgrounds and with different reasons for being here. I think it helps that I don't base my knowledge just on people I meet in bars. I suggest that you get there and meet the variety of humanity that winds up in Thailand. There are good and bad people just like everywhere else. Don't depend on old cliched sterotypes. Life is too short for such nonsense. Have a nice day.

Edited March 10, 2008 by garro

[ilyushin]

At least we stick together and rarely insult the expats in Hk/sing/kor/jap/etc

[koheesti]

Having spent a great amount of time in these countries, I feel like there is a higher class of Westerners and Expats living in them. Thailand seems to attract the absolute bottom dwellers of Western humanity (a small majority like myself (young, handsome, intelligent) excluded. I suppose that this is because of the following reasons:

1. The other countries are very expensive so the bottom dwellers cannot afford to live there.

2. The other countries employ more professionals than Thailand.

3. Thailand has a reputation for certain vices which attracts the bottom dwellers.

I can see where you're coming from. Worded differently you might have received different replies. HOWEVER, being a high paid professional does't mean you can't be a "bottom dweller". Remember this guy? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Leeson He caused a lot more problems than the low rung BD's relaxing on the beaches down here.

[ade100]

I can consider this from an objective point of view as I live in both Singapore and Thailand at the moment.

Getting into Singapore is relatively easy for Westerners with high qualifications. I have had to produce all my degree certificates and professional awards when applying for Work Permits and for Permanent Residency. There are possibilities for low qualified workers in Singapore but they would be competing against low qualified workers from the neighbouring countries where they are plentiful.

In Thailand, most Ex-pats will probably be on Non Imm O or retirement visas. I never had to give any details of my educational background to get such a visa.

So on average I would say Western Ex-pats in Singapore are likely to be more highly qualified than those in Thailand. However I am not sure of the connection between academic qualifications and intelligence. I am even less sure of the connection between intelligence and being a good, honest and valuable human being.

[Pierrot]

IMO the problem is the sabai sabai attitude of the underworld in Thailand. In China, local triads don't tolerate foreign competition, that's maybe why we don't have much bad guys here

[0Mix1up]

Dullard

[t.s]

My circle of farang friends here is comprised of two Americans with their Ph.D.'s and one American with his Master's degree, and two Frenchman with a Ph.D., and Master's respectively. All of them working in professional positions, and family men. And this is upcountry.

So, what kind of circles are you running around in, to prompt your sort of OP? Where is your observation post? Walking Street in Pattaya? The halls of Chulalongkorn? A bar? A school for farang monks?

No intent to flame, just an honest question.

Edit--added:

I maintain that the illusion of a country full of foreign "bottom dwellers" (as you call them) is created because bad news makes big news (crimes, jumpers, drunks, sex exploitation, etc.), especially in Tabloid/Xenophobic Thailand. I have worked in most of the other locations you mentioned, and yes, the "bottom dwellers" are there, too--in full force, depending on your chosen observation post.

The really good news--the many foreigners here contributing to the economy, education, and general advancement of this country--is really not the stuff of sensational news and gossip. Take a country tour (translation: get out of BKK and Patters) of the many charitable, educational, and religious organizations/institutions here, staffed by thousands of foreigners who are here without ulterior motives, and it could change your dour perspective.

americans and french, you are making his point for him!

[twschw]

An attempt at humor there, t.s?

[t.s]

An attempt at humor there, t.s?

yes, it amused me at least. i figured such a sweeping generalisation would be recognised as humour.

[Naam]

I don't know. I'm at a loss to figure out what kind of a person would ask such an inane question.

= lobotomy

[TheDon]

Are you the same bloke who made the thread saying Farangs age better then Thais HAHAHA