How Many Falangs In Thailand Are Broke?

[cheynewalk]

Just wondering how many Falangs you have met over here that are broke? I used to stay at a long-termers guesthouse in Chiang Mai, where some of the residents had no assets as such and relied on pensions from their governments in Australia, Canada, US and UK .............their health insurance was an open plane ticket back home. And one fellow there from the UK had to learn esl to get a job teaching english to support his thai wife and 2 kids (who all stayed with him in the 1 room).

But I've yet to meet some poor bastard on the bones of his arse with virtually no money and no way of getting "back home", though they must be out there from the way some people speak on this and other forums.

[garro]

If you needed to stay at such a guesthouse then it is obvious that you are no Rockefeller yourself.

[Jingthing]

Sounds like a fun place. Address please?

[game4shame]

I met a TEFLer on samui recently. he said he was so strapped for cash he sometimes couldn't top up his phone or put fuel in his motorbike.

I still didn't buy him a beer though - come on, I'm scottish.

[willi2006]

Having no or almost no assets and relying on a pension does not mean you are broken if your pension is high enough to meet your needs.

Edited April 14, 2008 by willi2006

[tahaan]

It's of no real concern to me but I bet there's an awful lot more people still living in the places you've mentioned relying on pensions who are having a far worse time than the guys you've met here.

Why the obsession with what people are worth/got on TV? I've got more than some but less than others - just like back home!

[seagull]

It's of no real concern to me but I bet there's an awful lot more people still living in the places you've mentioned relying on pensions who are having a far worse time than the guys you've met here.

Why the obsession with what people are worth/got on TV? I've got more than some but less than others - just like back home!

Agreed ! So long as a person is able to sustain a comfortable living condition, you don't have to be rich to do that in LOS. Living on pensions is nothing distasteful. And i do believe many blokes here in LOS are doing exactly that. It is called retirement.

[YoungFarang13]

anyone with a western passport can make 20k baht atleast a month teaching english... i would hardly begin to worry about 'broke' farang. most thais dont come anywhere near that salary range.

[PhilHarries]

anyone with a western passport can make 20k baht atleast a month teaching english... i would hardly begin to worry about 'broke' farang. most thais dont come anywhere near that salary range.

Only if they either have a degree and TEFL or they work illegally. I would also add that in addition to a Western passport they should, in order to teach English, be reasonably fluent in the English language. But this depends on the person's ethics and how desperate he is to stay in Thailand.

As for living on a pension in Thailand it depends on how much of a pension a person is drawing. The basic UK old age pension is something around 120 GBP per week. That works out a little over 1000 Baht per day (at today's exchange rate). Although it is possible to live on that it leaves absolutely nothing for the unexpected or even a hint of a social life. It also is fine until you need medical attention, then you are well and truly screwed.

To try and answer the OP's question I have heard and observed some people living in Thailand that are absolutely brassic (and lint - skint - broke - penniless). I have never met them as I prefer to avoid these people whose lives are little more than a rolling disaster. Invariably they will try and turn any conversation round to money as a lead in to asking for a "loan". So by avoiding contact with these types I avoid feeling uncomfortable when I just say no.

[Maigo6]

But I've yet to meet some poor bastard on the bones of his arse with virtually no money and no way of getting "back home", though they must be out there from the way some people speak on this and other forums.

I've met them !

[ruddick]

But I've yet to meet some poor bastard on the bones of his arse with virtually no money and no way of getting "back home", though they must be out there from the way some people speak on this and other forums.

I've met them !

I've also met them. I know of guys who live in "Thai rent a rooms" which cost around 1,500 Baht a month. They don't do visa runs and do there best to stay well under the radar. So no money, no visa, no place to go, no future!!!. And there but for the grace of God go I.......

[garro]

Poverty is all relative. Some of the happiest days in my life occurred when I had the least amount of money in my pockets. He who dies with the most toys doesn't win, and there are no pockets in shrouds.

[Theyreallrubbish]

But I've yet to meet some poor bastard on the bones of his arse with virtually no money and no way of getting "back home", though they must be out there from the way some people speak on this and other forums.

I've met them !

I've also met them. I know of guys who live in "Thai rent a rooms" which cost around 1,500 Baht a month. They don't do visa runs and do there best to stay well under the radar. So no money, no visa, no place to go, no future!!!. And there but for the grace of God go I.......

I've met these guys as well.

I always wonder what it is about Thailand that makes them so addicted that they're willing to live like this rather than go back to the West for a few years and accumulate some money.

If I was so broke I had to live illegally in a slum I'd leave! The women aren't great enough to live like that just to be near them!

[garro]

Some people come to Thailand with plenty of money and lose it all. Some people come with nothing and make a life here. Some people base their life around the idea of one day moving to their place in the sun, when conditions of right, but for many this day will never come. Some people live in the now.

[spencerdharmagrafix]

Some people come to Thailand with plenty of money and lose it all. Some people come with nothing and make a life here. Some people base their life around the idea of one day moving to their place in the sun, when conditions of right, but for many this day will never come. Some people live in the now.

I am always broke haha..but to live in Europe in the snow eating farang food and no temple round the corner to go to and speak with the monks, no Pad kaprao

or Gaeng Thai (แกงใต้) no going waddling in the stream catching fish (ทอดแหจับปลานิน) and maybe a million other things then i just couldn't live.

i make only 17000 baht a month dont work at all except on developing my website and taking the odd person to a temple for a tattoo and translating for them.

On this 17000 baht a month i live quite well only i dont have any savings.

I can understand someone who comes here lives in a beer bar, starbucks kfc and the pizza hut would prefer to go home and make money than live here broke, as they live the same western life here as they do at home...

but i cant eat that stuff i eat only thai food and for me a pad kaprao with a fried egg on top costs me 15 baht or 2 curries on rice i get for 20 to 25 baht

I also cant live without this food i dont eat bread and all that farang bull it isnt tasty and also expensive.

A coffee in starbucks costs 60 baht (uff what a waste thats 3 square meals for me which are much more delicious than a coffee)

I always wonder why some farang copme here as some people pack their tins of beans, marmit/vegemite, and all their other "home copmforts" and live on that when they are here...what is the point of being here if you cant adapt to the lifestyle and have to need your stuff from home country.

This is like taking your country with you.....why dont you just stay home if you dont like the real life/food/culture here?

i suppose some people only come for the women..which is as far as i am concerned stupid, as Thai women dont like farang they just like their money.

I couldn't take a wife who only wanted an easy life and a free ride but really all she is waiting for is me to die so she can go home and make a house and marry the thai she has always told me is her little brother or cousin.

I know a guy he employs his wife's little brother...well that guy is her boyfriend really i found out about it...but i ain't telling the farang because he has to learn himself.

Broke in Thailand? yes! But it is still better life than being middle class in Europe.

How many people in europe can afford a prawn and lemon grass soup every day eating out?

Even your average Thai can afford to eat fresh fish, prawns and lots of other lovely stuff on a "Broke" budget.

My 2 room condo apartment costs me 2700 baht a month and have internet for 300 a month 1mb another 100 baht a month gets me 50 cable tv channels...god i would have to work my ass off in Europe to keep all that together.

The broke thing isnt important as if you have a lot of money here then you either just blow it all on uinnecessary luxuries (ie starbucks) or some woman or thai guy syphons it out of you.

If you have nothing for them to take then they cant take it off you.

[britmaveric]

depends on what these impoverished do with the dosh they earn? It can easily be blown if the blow it on birds/drink.

Thailand is no place for people with no dosh - cant think of a worse place to be, pure hel_l.

[Maigo6]

i suppose some people only come for the women..which is as far as i am concerned stupid, as Thai women dont like farang they just like their money.

Maybe they just don't like you.

[Maigo6]

depends on what these impoverished do with the dosh they earn? It can easily be blown if the blow it on birds/drink.

Thailand is no place for people with no dosh - cant think of a worse place to be, pure hel_l.

This is true @ Brit...

Gotta have some dosh in the pocket, or Soi 6 may as well not exist.

[dekka007]

i suppose some people only come for the women..which is as far as i am concerned stupid, as Thai women dont like farang they just like their money.

I couldn't take a wife who only wanted an easy life and a free ride but really all she is waiting for is me to die so she can go home and make a house and marry the thai she has always told me is her little brother or cousin.

I know a guy he employs his wife's little brother...well that guy is her boyfriend really i found out about it...but i ain't telling the farang because he has to learn himself.

Lets play find the TV user who has been caught before and still angry

A bit of a unfair generalization and quite frankly disrespectful to any Thai women who chooses to fall in love with a westerner.

Edited April 14, 2008 by dekka007

[garro]

Dear spencerdharmagrafix, are you delusional? You seem to be under the impression that you have somehow developed this special relationship with Thailand that others are not privy to. Let me share a secret with you, most new arrivals feel this way, but the sensible ones grow out of it, and they accept that it is mere fantasy.

To say that Thai women only go with western men for money and that they are all cheaters is a great insult to the women of this country and shows a very misogynistic attitude on your part. Some of us are married and have children with Thai women so your comments are quite nasty.

I can only assume that you are here illegally as I can't imagine how you would qualify for extended stay visas on 17,000. I would normally say that is your own business, but your post betrays a personality which deserves to have immigration hot on its tail.

Edited April 14, 2008 by garro

[Theyreallrubbish]

Dear spencerdharmagrafix, are you delusional? You seem to be under the impression that you have somehow developed this special relationship with Thailand that others are not privy to. Let me share a secret with you, most new arrivals feel this way, but the sensible ones grow out of it, and they accept that it is mere fantasy.

To say that Thai women only go with western men for money and that they are all cheaters is a great insult to the women of this country and shows a very misogynistic attitude on your part. Some of us are married and have children with Thai women so your comments are quite nasty.

Well said. I've lost count of the "experts" on Thailand I've met. Having been here 15 years I've obviously not eaten enough Som Tam to have gained the in depth expertise on Thainess that these chaps have. Their expertise seems to reach its peak sometime between 3-6 months after being here. I was working in rural Thailand for my first 6 months providing health care to the indigent yet somehow being with the poor didn't magically transfer to me a superior expertise on the merits of the simple Thai life. Obviously my continuing taste for bread cut me off from these insights and epiphanies

[britmaveric]

depends on what these impoverished do with the dosh they earn? It can easily be blown if the blow it on birds/drink.

Thailand is no place for people with no dosh - cant think of a worse place to be, pure hel_l.

This is true @ Brit...

Gotta have some dosh in the pocket, or Soi 6 may as well not exist.

Cracking Library is Soi 6, so reading would be its main existence.

[Naam]

[My 2 room condo apartment costs me 2700 baht a month and have internet for 300 a month 1mb another 100 baht a month gets me 50 cable tv channels...

you sure are one rich farang. how can you afford all that luxury?

[Tomkagai]

Some people come to Thailand with plenty of money and lose it all. Some people come with nothing and make a life here. Some people base their life around the idea of one day moving to their place in the sun, when conditions of right, but for many this day will never come. Some people live in the now.

I am always broke haha..but to live in Europe in the snow eating farang food and no temple round the corner to go to and speak with the monks, no Pad kaprao

or Gaeng Thai (แกงใต้) no going waddling in the stream catching fish (ทอดแหจับปลานิน) and maybe a million other things then i just couldn't live.

i make only 17000 baht a month dont work at all except on developing my website and taking the odd person to a temple for a tattoo and translating for them.

On this 17000 baht a month i live quite well only i dont have any savings.

I can understand someone who comes here lives in a beer bar, starbucks kfc and the pizza hut would prefer to go home and make money than live here broke, as they live the same western life here as they do at home...

but i cant eat that stuff i eat only thai food and for me a pad kaprao with a fried egg on top costs me 15 baht or 2 curries on rice i get for 20 to 25 baht

I also cant live without this food i dont eat bread and all that farang bull it isnt tasty and also expensive.

A coffee in starbucks costs 60 baht (uff what a waste thats 3 square meals for me which are much more delicious than a coffee)

I always wonder why some farang copme here as some people pack their tins of beans, marmit/vegemite, and all their other "home copmforts" and live on that when they are here...what is the point of being here if you cant adapt to the lifestyle and have to need your stuff from home country.

This is like taking your country with you.....why dont you just stay home if you dont like the real life/food/culture here?

i suppose some people only come for the women..which is as far as i am concerned stupid, as Thai women dont like farang they just like their money.

I couldn't take a wife who only wanted an easy life and a free ride but really all she is waiting for is me to die so she can go home and make a house and marry the thai she has always told me is her little brother or cousin.

I know a guy he employs his wife's little brother...well that guy is her boyfriend really i found out about it...but i ain't telling the farang because he has to learn himself.

Broke in Thailand? yes! But it is still better life than being middle class in Europe.

How many people in europe can afford a prawn and lemon grass soup every day eating out?

Even your average Thai can afford to eat fresh fish, prawns and lots of other lovely stuff on a "Broke" budget.

My 2 room condo apartment costs me 2700 baht a month and have internet for 300 a month 1mb another 100 baht a month gets me 50 cable tv channels...god i would have to work my ass off in Europe to keep all that together.

The broke thing isnt important as if you have a lot of money here then you either just blow it all on uinnecessary luxuries (ie starbucks) or some woman or thai guy syphons it out of you.

If you have nothing for them to take then they cant take it off you.

What a crock of sh*t.......generalisations......may be the women dont like you because you are such a cheap charlie...

Nice to see you think you are living like a local thai...but if you are really that much of a local....give up your internet and 50 tV

channels......the average Thai doesnt have a pc in the house with 1mb internet and 50 tv channels

Seems to me the pot calling the kettle black.....

[Theyreallrubbish]

Some people come to Thailand with plenty of money and lose it all. Some people come with nothing and make a life here. Some people base their life around the idea of one day moving to their place in the sun, when conditions of right, but for many this day will never come. Some people live in the now.

I am always broke haha..but to live in Europe in the snow eating farang food and no temple round the corner to go to and speak with the monks, no Pad kaprao

or Gaeng Thai (แกงใต้) no going waddling in the stream catching fish (ทอดแหจับปลานิน) and maybe a million other things then i just couldn't live.

i make only 17000 baht a month dont work at all except on developing my website and taking the odd person to a temple for a tattoo and translating for them.

On this 17000 baht a month i live quite well only i dont have any savings.

I can understand someone who comes here lives in a beer bar, starbucks kfc and the pizza hut would prefer to go home and make money than live here broke, as they live the same western life here as they do at home...

but i cant eat that stuff i eat only thai food and for me a pad kaprao with a fried egg on top costs me 15 baht or 2 curries on rice i get for 20 to 25 baht

I also cant live without this food i dont eat bread and all that farang bull it isnt tasty and also expensive.

A coffee in starbucks costs 60 baht (uff what a waste thats 3 square meals for me which are much more delicious than a coffee)

I always wonder why some farang copme here as some people pack their tins of beans, marmit/vegemite, and all their other "home copmforts" and live on that when they are here...what is the point of being here if you cant adapt to the lifestyle and have to need your stuff from home country.

This is like taking your country with you.....why dont you just stay home if you dont like the real life/food/culture here?

i suppose some people only come for the women..which is as far as i am concerned stupid, as Thai women dont like farang they just like their money.

I couldn't take a wife who only wanted an easy life and a free ride but really all she is waiting for is me to die so she can go home and make a house and marry the thai she has always told me is her little brother or cousin.

I know a guy he employs his wife's little brother...well that guy is her boyfriend really i found out about it...but i ain't telling the farang because he has to learn himself.

Broke in Thailand? yes! But it is still better life than being middle class in Europe.

How many people in europe can afford a prawn and lemon grass soup every day eating out?

Even your average Thai can afford to eat fresh fish, prawns and lots of other lovely stuff on a "Broke" budget.

My 2 room condo apartment costs me 2700 baht a month and have internet for 300 a month 1mb another 100 baht a month gets me 50 cable tv channels...god i would have to work my ass off in Europe to keep all that together.

The broke thing isnt important as if you have a lot of money here then you either just blow it all on uinnecessary luxuries (ie starbucks) or some woman or thai guy syphons it out of you.

If you have nothing for them to take then they cant take it off you.

Clear signs of rationalisation here. You can't afford western luxuries so in order to protect your psyche from the damage of admitting the failure you've become you rationalise, probably subconsciously, that you don't like those things anyway. The evidence that this is a psychological defence mechanism and that you're merely protecting yourself psychologically from the trauma of your failure is that you boast in detail about the luxuries that you CAN afford such as the internet 1MB no less and 50 - FIFTY cable TV channels.

You may be fooling others, but you're not fooling yourself and the cognitive dissonance will eventually harm you mentally.

Many people who fail indulge in this kind of thinking. "Well I COULD be successful and have those things if I wanted them, but I don't want them anyway as they're really bad and the people who have them are fools and inferior to me for wanting them in the first place."

You'll either get bored of being poor and living with the stress that poverty brings and get decide to do something productive or you'll sink further and further into poverty and fall to a level that recovery is impossible. In Thailand its dangerous as its so easy to fall into the spiral of permanent unemployability as there'll be Thais ready to keep you company all the way down.

There is NO nobility in poverty. Not having luxuries when you can afford them is a moral choice. Not having luxuries because you can't afford them is just poverty and conveys no moral superiority in any way and trying to claim a moral high ground when you're actually standing in the gutter convinces no one.

[gunnyd]

My 2 room condo apartment costs me 2700 baht a month and have internet for 300 a month 1mb another 100 baht a month gets me 50 cable tv channels

Clear signs of rationalisation here. You can't afford western luxuries so in order to protect your psyche from the damage of admitting the failure you've become you rationalise, probably subconsciously, that you don't like those things anyway. The evidence that this is a psychological defence mechanism and that you're merely protecting yourself psychologically from the trauma of your failure is that you boast in detail about the luxuries that you CAN afford such as the internet 1MB no less and 50 - FIFTY cable TV channels.

I'd love to see some proof of this... UBC Platinum (50 channels) around 2000 a month, 256/128k true ADSL around 1000 a month, and what kind of sh*thole must you be living in for 2700 a month? Is this condo made of corrugated siding and bailing wire?

I spend about $1100 USD (34000 THB) a month for all of my housing expenses inc UBC satellite Plat Package, 1MB ADSL, and a decent 1 BR apartment in Suk 22 area. I am sure I could do it cheaper, but I have standards.

Please POST PICTURES I am sure I am not the only one in want of proof....

Pure unadulterated <deleted>!

Edited April 14, 2008 by gunnyd

[garro]

^^ I'd love to see some proof of this... UBC Platinum (50 channels) around 2000 a month, 256/128k true ADSL around 1000 a month, and what kind of sh*thole must you be living in for 2700 a month? Is this condo made of corrugated siding and bailing wire?

I spend about $1100 USD a month for all of my housing expenses inc UBC satellite Plat Package, 1MB ADSL, and a decent 1 BR apartment in Suk 22 area. I am sure I could do it cheaper, but I have standards.

Please POST PICTURES I am sure I am not the only one in want of proof....

Pure unadulterated <deleted>!

Steady on there gunnyd. I live in a nice townhouse for 2,000 THB a month. It's no shithole. Our cable television is 400THB a month and we do have 50+ channels. It depends on what part of the country you live in. Mind you I do pay 2,600 for my ipstar.

Edited April 14, 2008 by garro

[Naam]

There is NO nobility in poverty. Not having luxuries when you can afford them is a moral choice. Not having luxuries because you can't afford them is just poverty and conveys no moral superiority in any way and trying to claim a moral high ground when you're actually standing in the gutter convinces no one.

words of wisdom. no pun intended, i mean it!

[Tomkagai]

Theyreallrubbish....well said mate....are you psychologist or something. ??..cognitive dissonance ??

People can live their lives which ever way they choose or are forced to choose....but what gets up my nose is getting on forums like this and starting to preach some self-rightous b*llshit and trying to make out they are some kind of martyr for living the way they do....not interested if you earn THB 17000/month, pay THB 2700/m for a hole to live in and eat pad kaprao for THB 15/day,but, please dont try and preach to me about drinking a THB 60 cup of starbucks coffee or not adapting to the country I live in just because I can afford most things I want or need and live a pretty comfortable life and yes I have adapted to the country I live in very well thank you....

[OxfordWill]

Yea, this is a pretty funny thread.

And FYI 17000 pm - ask your monk friends at the temple if they think that means you are poor.