Well......who Doesnt Want To Live In Thailand?

[actiondell4]

Seeing all the latest topics on here about everyone wanting to move to Thailand and how long it took you etc,I wonder if theres any posters on here who dont wish to live in Thailand full time.

Reading some of the posts on here can be depressing to read all about the unhappy people who cant wait to get back to the LOS,and others posters working 3 jobs to save to live in LOS full time.

Isnt there anyone happy to live in the Western World and only want to visit Thailand once a year or stay a few months or less.

Isnt there anyone who prefers to live in the west with their Thai wife and doesnt want to live in Thailand?

Surely there must be some of you who are quite content with your life in the UK or Australia or wherever you come from.?

Is there many of you?

[kampengphetklaus]

Seeing all the latest topics on here about everyone wanting to move to Thailand and how long it took you etc,I wonder if theres any posters on here who dont wish to live in Thailand full time.

Reading some of the posts on here can be depressing to read all about the unhappy people who cant wait to get back to the LOS,and others posters working 3 jobs to save to live in LOS full time.

Isnt there anyone happy to live in the Western World and only want to visit Thailand once a year or stay a few months or less.

Isnt there anyone who prefers to live in the west with their Thai wife and doesnt want to live in Thailand?

Surely there must be some of you who are quite content with your life in the UK or Australia or wherever you come from.?

Is there many of you?

[Kerryd]

Seeing all the latest topics on here about everyone wanting to move to Thailand and how long it took you etc,I wonder if theres any posters on here who dont wish to live in Thailand full time.

Reading some of the posts on here can be depressing to read all about the unhappy people who cant wait to get back to the LOS,and others posters working 3 jobs to save to live in LOS full time.

Isnt there anyone happy to live in the Western World and only want to visit Thailand once a year or stay a few months or less.

Isnt there anyone who prefers to live in the west with their Thai wife and doesnt want to live in Thailand?

Surely there must be some of you who are quite content with your life in the UK or Australia or wherever you come from.?

Is there many of you?

A few I'm sure. I have a buddy that likes to come over during the worst part of the winter in Canada. Then in the spring he goes back to the Big Ice Cube to spend a few cool months battling swarms of mosquitos.

I've gone back to Canada a couple of times, once in late November (froze my butt off), and once in late summer/early fall (left just before my butt started freezing again). The people weren't as friendly, the prices (for everything) were much higher, and I really didn't find any enjoyment there. I pretty much dread the fact that I have to make another (short) trip there again (at the height of summer, so issues of butt freezing shouldn't arise).

[Ulysses G.]

If I were really, really rich and could go to Thailand whenever I wanted, for as long as I wanted, I would live there part of the year and go to San Francisco, London, New York or Montreal for the hot season eating at all the best restaurants and seeing the best plays and concerts.

That way, Thailand would never stop being exciting and I could have the best of both worlds.

[Jeffery Stanthorpe]

I was talking to these chicks in Starbucks one day, (think they were Dutch as they said they were from Norway) but I got the impression that they were not keen to live here, said it was weird with all these old guys about with gals that were younger than them ..

[sleir]

Don't want to live there 100% either.. a few months per year is fine, but more ? Only with a great salary

[actiondell4]

Well its very rare to get farang women wanting to move full time to Thailand,especially Pattaya.

If your still young,under 50yo then if you move to Thailand your losing out on potential higher income from the West.

[game4shame]

I spend 2 months from 12 in thailand. I'd like to spend approx 6 from 12 but I've yet to find a way to do it.

I've toyed with the idea of living in thailand full-time. I don't know what I would do for work & to be totally honest I think little things would get on my tits after a while.

Edited May 1, 2008 by game4shame

[Nignoy]

At the moment my wife and I spend on an average 10 to 12 weeks a year in Thailand, all depends on the health and how good we can budget, with the cheap flights from the gold coast it is getting easier every day,must admit though slowly getting to old for the motorbike jomps around asia, maybe import a trike from germany Nignoy

[pampal]

I spend about 6 months a year in Thailand, I wish it was more.

[Tinkelbell]

About 15 years ago I decided to buy a piece of land in BKK (from my longtime friend). With the plan to build a house for our retirement. I was looking for the day when hubby decides to quit working. So we could move to the LOS- the land of my birth.

As years pass by, the good feeling about living my retirement in LOS is fading. May be because I'm getting older, so I find out living in developing country quite challenge even a Thai like me. My country had changed so much that I had lost the interests in spending my final years back home, sadly . One clear sample, I would never try to drive in BKK, besides facing congregated all hours traffics, hardly anyone follows traffic rules especially in the sois. If you decide to drive, you also have to keep your eyes for food vendors, motocycles zig zag along your car, if one wants to stop and chat with friend on a two-lane street, causing the cars back up all the way to the main street, they just do it without a conscience.

In the past few years, it becomes obviously the prices keep rising . The same hotel where I've been staying everytime when I'm in BKK the past decade had gone up each year since '05, the restaurants food gone up, I'd love to patronize street foods sometimes, but I enjoy my meal more in a sit-down in clean place manner.

I don't know about you, but in my case, it costs me as much as living in Florida.

My hats off to those who can manage quite well and be happy living here.

What we end up ?

Hubby took early retirement in '04, moved to Tampa and we bought (and paid for)a house in a gated community. We are very happy with our decision . As everything we dreamed of: fresh air, gorgeous weather most of the year, good roads and no nightmare traffics, we feel very safe, through our patio we sometimes watching some big birds ( in winter months these birds migrant from Canada), turtles, fishes jumping in the pond, gators sunbathing ( right now it's spring, it's mating time for gators). Once in a while we would spot a dear, Florida bobcat..etc roaming around in our neighborhood .

Not forgotten, I'm still happy taking my annual trip to see my siblings, relatives and old friends in BKK.

[qwertz]

I wouldn't ever live there again.

I got out precisely because I couldn't conceive of growing old there.

I drop in every year because Thailand is still good for a cheap chill out.

And I see the hordes of superannuated expats and think - I'd be just like that old guy over there if I'd stayed, tolerated but not

respected and an object of ridicule by many of his own compatriots.

You only have to read the many derogatory comments about pensioners in this very forum to gain an insight into what kind of image

you'd have.

[actiondell4]

Qwertz-"wouldn't ever live there again."

"I got out precisely because I couldn't conceive of growing old there."

Thats very sad qwertz.Could you tell more of why you feel that way.

Where are you now?

I have just got back to the West after spending 3 months in Thailand.

I found if i moved there I would have to do something to keep me occupied.

A few other things too,I found I became a distrustful person especially of Thais after a while.

Sometimes I felt like i had to put my guard up 24 hours to stop being ripped off.

I had this feeling of some Thais not liking Farang.

Saying that I met some very nice Thai people too.

However myself being Jewish,and sometimes copping the brunt of "money saving" type jokes,and I have a sense of humour,I found Thais seemed to be more obsessed with money.

Even asking for directions,some Thais wanted a tip off me.

I still love Thailand and i went there with a view to buying a business.

I looked in several locations and looked in Pattaya.

What I found is a lot of struggling business owners,some living off profits of as low as 10,000 baht per month.

A lot of red tape for a farang business owners made it difficult.

I like Thailand and i do plan to move there and I will have to get use to that way of life.

But the times not right just to move there for the sake of it.

Many farangs rush there to buy a business to stay with there Thai GF only when they eventually separate it all goes belly up,just like one business in Jomtien.

Some Thai people I spoke to actually were surprised I wanted to move to Thailand,some have said they wanted to leave and go to the U.K or Australia.

They are wanting to get out and we farangs are wanting to get in.

Why cant we swap countries?

Edited May 2, 2008 by actiondell4

[PhilHarries]

You only have to read the many derogatory comments about pensioners in this very forum to gain an insight into what kind of image

you'd have.

I think you are spot on there. When you read some of the sneering posts from some of the holy joes on this site you wonder what is happening to humanity? There is a whole section of members who like to think that they are above everybody else and just love to look down on others as "also rans", losers or untermenschen (as they would like to term those that don't fit their mold).

I'm not living in Thailand full time as I am making too much money working elsewhere at the moment. I can see a point in a few years when I will go into semi retirement, living in Thailand but working periods outside the country. But for now I am one of the nomadic workers living out of a suitcase in a different hotel every year or so. I would like to put down roots and have a place I can call home but am undecided whether that place is Thailand or not.

[NowImEasy]

We have the best of both worlds. We have a house in the town and 11 rai within walking distance. Not that I like the walk, but some afternoons it's a nice walk back to town after working the morning on the farm. My wife is a medical technologist, so when we leave los in March, she can get temp assignments anywhere. I have a home improvement company in the US, and I work from April until October. The best of both worlds? You bet. That's why now I'm easy.

[a2396]

About 15 years ago I decided to buy a piece of land in BKK (from my longtime friend). With the plan to build a house for our retirement. I was looking for the day when hubby decides to quit working. So we could move to the LOS- the land of my birth.

As years pass by, the good feeling about living my retirement in LOS is fading. May be because I'm getting older, so I find out living in developing country quite challenge even a Thai like me. My country had changed so much that I had lost the interests in spending my final years back home, sadly . One clear sample, I would never try to drive in BKK, besides facing congregated all hours traffics, hardly anyone follows traffic rules especially in the sois. If you decide to drive, you also have to keep your eyes for food vendors, motocycles zig zag along your car, if one wants to stop and chat with friend on a two-lane street, causing the cars back up all the way to the main street, they just do it without a conscience.

In the past few years, it becomes obviously the prices keep rising . The same hotel where I've been staying everytime when I'm in BKK the past decade had gone up each year since '05, the restaurants food gone up, I'd love to patronize street foods sometimes, but I enjoy my meal more in a sit-down in clean place manner.

I don't know about you, but in my case, it costs me as much as living in Florida.

My hats off to those who can manage quite well and be happy living here.

What we end up ?

Hubby took early retirement in '04, moved to Tampa and we bought (and paid for)a house in a gated community. We are very happy with our decision . As everything we dreamed of: fresh air, gorgeous weather most of the year, good roads and no nightmare traffics, we feel very safe, through our patio we sometimes watching some big birds ( in winter months these birds migrant from Canada), turtles, fishes jumping in the pond, gators sunbathing ( right now it's spring, it's mating time for gators). Once in a while we would spot a dear, Florida bobcat..etc roaming around in our neighborhood .

Not forgotten, I'm still happy taking my annual trip to see my siblings, relatives and old friends in BKK.

If you and your husband have got enough money to live in a "gated community" in Florida, you don't need to consider living in Thailand for economic reasons. Overall though, there is no way that living in Thailand is as expensive as USA, comparing equal conditions.

[joskydive]

Well its very rare to get farang women wanting to move full time to Thailand,especially Pattaya.

If your still young,under 50yo then if you move to Thailand your losing out on potential higher income from the West.

Guess, I'm one of those rare farang women then.

Moved here more than 10 years ago and lived in Pattaya the whole time and the only time I'm prepared to go back to the UK is when there is a death in the family.

Went back for 1 month, 18months ago for that reason and couldn't get out of there fast enough frankly! Cold weather, unfriendly and ignorant people, (I think some would crack their faces if they actually smiled), ugly clothes, big prices for everything, huge taxes.

Who wants it? Not me, that's for sure.

[Nignoy]

Guess we must have found a hidden patch of heaven, we are still discovering new experiences with our now very old village friends, I lost my rosecoloured thai glasses in 1965, being closely involved in a shooting will do that for you, we have already arranged for our ashes to be interred in our village wat, the puyaibaan arranged this because himself and the village elders believe we have earned the right Nignoy

[RoyalOrchid]

I definitely don't want to live here full time, I'm here only due to (very) temporary contract. Since I haven't given up on myself yet I don't want to live here and actually can't wait to move out of here.

[RoyalOrchid]

I doupt it very highly if I'll ever come here again

[asiaworld]

Well one vote goes here > 'living' here for almost 10 years , i have Only twice in my life spent more than 2 weeks in a row here ( 40-50 days max) ! & honestly feel i'd go bezerk, if i were to spend like a year withou leaving LOS lol !

But the secret is i am travelling almost weekly ( on aveage counting for half of my time spent here ) .

If the only 2 countries in the world would be UK & LOS, than yeah i'd have no choice, where to live agree>UK is to brutally depresive , but still it lets you think.act & even if your thai is perfect, still i'd rather read UK published books & watch UK TV.. Guess i'm not ready yet to retire in a sence of putting my brains into blissful dustbin, than where will one get real friends & aquaintances (not like drinking buddies,something deeper)

[smileah]

Yes! I would rather be living in Canada, my homeland!

Waaaay more smilers there - and less stares, pointing and cries of 'Farang! Farang!' when I walk by. Maybe it's just the part of Thailand I live in? Gosh, I can't wait to get out of here for good.

I want safer roads, clean streets, and to live in a place where I can trust the police more often than not. And do you think the street dogs left to fend for themselves walking around with sores, broken bones and insect infestation call this place the land of smiles?

I guess I can see how it would be nice for a holiday (for some) but living here feels unsafe and leaves me completely alone culturally. Imagine if I called out, 'Asian, Asian!' or 'Brownie, brownie!' when I saw a Thai in Canada!

Anyhow, I've boght a black wig and I keep my head down now....

Edited May 2, 2008 by smileah

[actiondell4]

doupt it very highly if I'll ever come here again

You sound like your in a Thai Prison.

Why do you dislike it so much?

[scotwumman]

I used to think I would love to live in Thailand full time. Don't know quite how to explain that I would still visit but the cultural differences are too much to accept and comprehend for me to attempt to integrate. To the OP I am a farang woman probably a great deal older than yourself.

The obsession with Thai people's grasping behaviour, in tourist areas anyway, is becoming more concentrated each year I have found. One explanation may be the fact that farang men have, in Thai people's perception, a lot to gain from their countrywomen so therefore why shouldn't they rip off farang women. The culture may also have them believe all farangs are rich and are there for the taking.

The Thai people I have spoken to, not many - have spoken to less over the years because of reasons above, don't believe that the weather, the seeming lightheartedness of the nightlife and the beauty of some parts of Thailand are the attraction for many westerners. Maybe both sides of the spectrum have a lot to learn. The place still intrigues but, for me anyway, the people are way too transparent and in some cases alarming.

[thaimate]

I wouldn't ever live there again.

I got out precisely because I couldn't conceive of growing old there.

I drop in every year because Thailand is still good for a cheap chill out.

And I see the hordes of superannuated expats and think - I'd be just like that old guy over there if I'd stayed, tolerated but not

respected and an object of ridicule by many of his own compatriots.

You only have to read the many derogatory comments about pensioners in this very forum to gain an insight into what kind of image

you'd have.

the trouble is the remarks about pensioners is about the ones who are single ,start wearing a earing ,get a tattoo and cultivate a pony tail ,great if your bald on top.

but there are many more of us that are married ,have homes thai wives and sometimes kids who are just living a normal everyday life here in sun.

i never see anyone ridiculing us ,as we look normal ,our wives arnt 20years old wearing shorts up their fannies and we dont go around with our arms around our them,kissing and touching them in public.

[hanibal7]

joskydive,i agree with you.

going back to live in stoke ontrent sends shivers down myspine lol.last time i went back to finalise the sales of a property,i was amazed how many chavs were in the street.drinking,drugs,swearing,having a go at anybody smaller then them.i am glad i chose to live here else i would have to kill the chavs and spend a lifetime in jail.they are horrible creatures and will spoil the area i used to live in.thailand number one for me.

[LinkPopularity]

think they were Dutch as they said they were from Norway

que?

[PaddyThai]

I lived in Thailand for about 8 years, Bang Saen, Sattahip, Yasothon, Bangkok.

My wife and I have been living in Europe making nice money. We always planned to return to retire to her farm and house.

This suits me as I feel I can afoord to retire to Thailand but not to retire in Europe.

Lately, she has had different feelings. The more she talks to her Thai friends and reads Thai news on internet the less she wants to go back. Good standard of living here, good education for kids etc. Most of her Thai friends here have constant requests for money from relatives in Thailand. When they visit they are expected to give money and buy drinks for loads of people. The longer they stay here the less attractive it is to return.

Bad news for me as I have romantic notions of sitting in hammock in farm with view over hills, snoozing or reading a book. Simple pleasures.

[crowbait]

We have never spent more than 3 weeks in Thailand, but have been visiting once a year for the last 8 years.....not a long time spent in the LOS by any means. We would love to spend longer and with retirement looming we're planning to winter in Thailand and go back up to the UK in spring.

I have absolutely no desire to spend any longer than I have to in cold, gloomy, misgoverned, tax-strangled, expensive, overful Britain but wife, children, parents and other family mean that I am unlikely to escape from the place for more than 2 months at a time. This is not to say that the UK is ugly.....there are plenty of stunning bits of the country and loads of history etc. Nor am I forgetting important things like quick(ish) internet, passable TV and free public libraries, but, and it's a big but, I would swap most of those things for light and heat (sun) and fewer people.

Our ideal solution will be to spend winter in Thailand, summer in Greece and only have to suffer spring and autumn in the UK..............and I suppose if things got really bad, we could always shove off to France for a bit.

[Tinkelbell]

About 15 years ago I decided to buy a piece of land in BKK (from my longtime friend). With the plan to build a house for our retirement. I was looking for the day when hubby decides to quit working. So we could move to the LOS- the land of my birth.

As years pass by, the good feeling about living my retirement in LOS is fading. May be because I'm getting older, so I find out living in developing country quite challenge even a Thai like me. My country had changed so much that I had lost the interests in spending my final years back home, sadly . One clear sample, I would never try to drive in BKK, besides facing congregated all hours traffics, hardly anyone follows traffic rules especially in the sois. If you decide to drive, you also have to keep your eyes for food vendors, motocycles zig zag along your car, if one wants to stop and chat with friend on a two-lane street, causing the cars back up all the way to the main street, they just do it without a conscience.

In the past few years, it becomes obviously the prices keep rising . The same hotel where I've been staying everytime when I'm in BKK the past decade had gone up each year since '05, the restaurants food gone up, I'd love to patronize street foods sometimes, but I enjoy my meal more in a sit-down in clean place manner.

I don't know about you, but in my case, it costs me as much as living in Florida.

My hats off to those who can manage quite well and be happy living here.

What we end up ?

Hubby took early retirement in '04, moved to Tampa and we bought (and paid for)a house in a gated community. We are very happy with our decision . As everything we dreamed of: fresh air, gorgeous weather most of the year, good roads and no nightmare traffics, we feel very safe, through our patio we sometimes watching some big birds ( in winter months these birds migrant from Canada), turtles, fishes jumping in the pond, gators sunbathing ( right now it's spring, it's mating time for gators). Once in a while we would spot a dear, Florida bobcat..etc roaming around in our neighborhood .

Not forgotten, I'm still happy taking my annual trip to see my siblings, relatives and old friends in BKK.

If you and your husband have got enough money to live in a "gated community" in Florida, you don't need to consider living in Thailand for economic reasons. Overall though, there is no way that living in Thailand is as expensive as USA, comparing equal conditions.

No way that I mention Thailand is as expensive as the U.S.

On my own word, it costs 'ME' as much as living in Florida.

I totally agree with 'Paddy Thai' s thread.........."Lately, she has had different feelings. The more she talks to her Thai friends and reads Thai news on internet the less she wants to go back. Good standard of living here, good education for kids etc. Most of her Thai friends here have constant requests for money from relatives in Thailand. When they visit they are expected to give money and buy drinks for loads of people. The longer they stay here the less attractive it is to return........."

Besides taking care these Thai folks exactly as mentioned above, my other expenses are

hotel, restaurant bill, taxi and traveling within provinces.

I could try to save big chunk of money if I stay with one of my siblings; this guestroom is on the 4th floor deck with a/c and private bath, no way that I can climb up to the top floor several times a day, days in days out , thank but no thank. Compound with the hot-muggy tropical weather in BKK, it's not a living for an outdoor lover like me. So staying in a place with a pool does agree with me. Besides, I enjoy all the amenities that comes with staying in a hotel.

The food bill also added up. Usually, it goes like this, group of our Thai friends or relatives would invite me for a big meal twice on each trip; welcome and good bye party. In between, we would split the bills on eating out, few days trip outside BKK. Long before, they asked me to pay 2 shares while the rest paid each share since I earn in $$, from that day on it became a routine.

Living here in the State, I don't have any problem with my friends ( Thais, Chinese, Japanese, Westerners) . We always have separated check when we dining out.

All of these plus many many more of unpleasantly encountere with the Thai people in LOS had convinced me that I would be more happy living in abroad.