American Expats In Thailand

[Jingthing]

Imagine 50 bucks for croissants! Our fellow countrymen in Paris are really hurting, the poor dears.

Seriously, this article about US expats in Paris applies to US expats everywhere:

For retirees or students on fixed dollar incomes, the terrible exchange rate often means drastic life changes -- moving to a cheaper quarter or a smaller apartment, or even going back to the States, which for people ensconced in their lives here is the last resort, and sometimes not even an option.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...id=opinionsbox1

Edited April 27, 2008 by Jingthing

[britmaveric]

Stop whinging - if you can't afford to live abroad then move home.

[Jingthing]

Stop whinging - if you can't afford to live abroad then move home.

Who's whinging? Americans don't whinge. Did you even read the article? Its about alot more than money issues, and like I said, we have it much better in Thailand!

[Prakanong]

Good article but 50 USD for 6 croissants?

Maybe 10 USD for 6 at 1 Euro - even double that price it is a bit of hyperbole

[Jingthing]

Good article but 50 USD for 6 croissants?

Maybe 10 USD for 6 at 1 Euro - even double that price it is a bit of hyperbole

I don't know. I stopped going to Europe when the dollar started dropping.

I agree with the article that living abroad makes Americans more patriotic than when they lived at home, when ironically, the patriotism of expats is questioned by the stay at homers.

Edited April 27, 2008 by Jingthing

[lannarebirth]

Good article but 50 USD for 6 croissants?

Maybe 10 USD for 6 at 1 Euro - even double that price it is a bit of hyperbole

I think when we started paying for drinking water they took us for a bunch of rubes.

[Prakanong]

When I left Brussels in 2006 my 2 morning croissants were 1.2 Euro each

As for paying for drinking water - most of my Belgian colleagues just had the iced tap water that was always available - it was only idiots like us foreigners had the bottled water.

[sriracha john]

This would be a really good thread if this was Francevisa.com..... but it's not.

[PeaceBlondie]

She says she is not exaggerating, but she makes Texans humble. One meal for four people, $200? We had a full dinner (without much alcohol) for about 11 people in Ireland last June, and the bill came to 120 Euro with tip. And if Paris is much more expensive than Ireland, it's outrageous. I fed at least 14 hungry Tai-Yai in MaeHongSon one night in June, 2003 for 1,300 baht, including beer.

In fact, the value of the dollar has decreased from 41 to 31 baht since 2003, but that is only a decrease of 24%. I am still riding the same bike I bought in July 2003. And inflation is double the rate is was two years ago. So I am watching the baht, but not the satang.

We already have several current threads running on inflation, the dollar value, expat living.

The author, who now has French grandchildren, does have a point about this (just substitute Europe with Thailand): "What's revealing is how far people will go to stay in Europe, how much reduction in lifestyle they'll accept and still resist relocating."

[Naam]

Tourists, meanwhile, reel in shock to find that a half-dozen of their eagerly anticipated croissants may cost them $50.

my uneducated guess is that the author has big problems with simple arithmetic.

[adjan jb]

Good article but 50 USD for 6 croissants?

Maybe 10 USD for 6 at 1 Euro - even double that price it is a bit of hyperbole

6 Euros for 6 butter croissants (10 USD). "ordinary" croissants (croissants ordinaires) are cheaper.

An expresso costs 2 Euros.

Quote: "Then we calculated that cutting out one restaurant meal would save around $200 ... And we're not talking about fancy restaurants, just the bistro at the corner when there's nothing in the house or the quick lunch a couple of times a week."

200 USD (130 Euros) for one meal at the bistro ?

Where I come from it costs between 10 and 20 Euros. I agree that Paris is more expensive but 130 Euros for a "plat du jour" (or even two) in a bistro is hard to believe.

Maybe she should cut down on wine... or but a converter.

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

Last time I was in New York City, I paid $12 USD for a bagel with cream cheese. Good thing I was on the company's dime. It's such a relief living in Thailand. Even though there is inflation, especially with food prices, its still amazing how inexpensive it is to live here.

[a2396]

Before you start packing your bags and hopping the next pane out back to the good life in America, read the attached articles. It would seem the "gravy train" days of life on Easy Street are not so readily available. If you can obtain good paying employment OK. To me, that means an income of at least $50,000 PA, for ONE, not for supporting a wife who does not work and how many kids.

Dollars_fall_forces_new_standard_of_frugality.rtf

Raised_in_boom_times.rtf

[MustaphaMond]

Stop whinging - if you can't afford to live abroad then move home.

Who's whinging? Americans don't whinge. Did you even read the article? Its about alot more than money issues, and like I said, we have it much better in Thailand!

What is this word??

isn't it spelled this way

W H I N I N G

As in to whine...

As in to whine about the USA gone mad, mass vote rigging , torture, BushCo $ Zillions to KRB and Halliburton, Blackwater/ CIA Torture Corp ..

There was no other protest left so no way I'm paying taxes anymore. I left while the going was still good.

I could see this crash coming for the last 4 years.

Now I'm here trying to impart my radical left wingism to Thailand!!

Pull to the left, pull to the left.

[LivinLOS]

No its whinging.. As in to have a whinge !!

[Jingthing]

It is true. Times they have a changed in the USA. The gravy train is off the tracks. I am happy to stay in Thailand (as long as they will let me).

To the poster who thinks this topic is off Thailand topic: you are incorrect. Alot of the points of the article can be generalized to US expats in Thailand, and some of them to expats in general. Your currency might be next.

Edited April 28, 2008 by Jingthing

[fbran]

When I first traveled to Thailand in the early ‘90’s, the exchange rate was locked at 25:1 (Baht to Dollar), so I have no complaints. Really, based on economics, the exchange rate now should be something like 20:1 or 15:1. Thailand is a great value for the money for Americans.

Frank

[AFKAFSinLOS]

This would be a really good thread if this was Francevisa.com..... but it's not.

I had pretty similar thoughts. Only read the first few paras then got bored. Couldn't really see the relevance to Thailand of cost of goods for Americans in Euro zone. The conclusions also seemed very different:

- Saving 4 Euros (THB200) by not ordering water??? That's usually the cheapest thing on Thai menus. Many places don't provide free drinks.

- Cut out one meal a week at a restaurant and save $200. Get real. $200 here on a single meal is usually a nice treat somewhere. Actually Thailand can be cheaper to eat out than stay in and cooks yourself...

- Croissants $50. You'd have to be brain dead to be paying that in Thailand for croissants....

- Drinking wine is cheaper than coke...??? Would love to find the shop over here with a bottle of good wine for 20 baht!

[Jingthing]

I love people who make conclusions about articles they haven't read.

[wilko]

"We may be reduced to choucroute and cassoulet, but c'est la vie. We're still in Paris. It could be worse."......yes they might have to go home.....go home......go home...........

Yankee go home......now where have I heard that before??

[altman]

whinge

whine

both correct.

whinge is, according to my dictionary, informal british usage

whine is proper english in england and america.

good to hear there is at least one other ex-pat who is here because of a personal political choice. it is a shame and a poor reflection on american values that there aren't more.