frenchFARANGbkk Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 hi, Reading "Stickman's weekly" I lately found quite weird Stick's point of view. I remember he was one time looking for excuses to buy his own car (not so many taxis available in BKK ;-) , most of them old...) and I didn't understand why he couldn't just say that he bought a car because he wanted it and had enough money to buy it ! And he is now saying that you need 100000 baht to have a good life in LOS ( crazy, he also write about 25k a month: "you will forever be counting your pennies, and forget having a girlfriend" (what does it means? how much costs him his girlfriend? I'm sorry but mine has a good job), and also "If you can't look after yourself and provide yourself with a treat or two on 25K, how the ###### are you going to get a lass interested in you?" (really...?!) ). Anyway, does all that advertising on his website only pay the website hosting? Or provides some earning? Because a good teacher's job + some other activities, and he is not far from 100k... But I agree that I could be wrong, this is just the way I think, and I hope he won't leave Thailand soon! Thanks for reading and giving your point of view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medicinebox Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 I read his columns too. I think like everyone he has his good and bad days. Also it must be difficult to write as much as he does every week, without repeating/condradicting himself. Thought his wife was a good girl? He must be getting some financial gain from his site. Nobody works for nothing. Overall though I think he's informative and interesting. Just my tuppneysworths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoophound Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 I wouldnt want to live on less than 100k per mth in BKK. Same as i wouldnt want to live in Sydney on less than 10k aud or LA 10k usd or London 8k ukp. It all about the lifestyle you are used to and also putting something away for a rainy day. Gee these German guys on the benefit at 70% or so of their prev salaries can have a great life here!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chanchao Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 People's estimates of 'what it costs to live a good life in Thailand' are often remarkably close to what they are actually making or budgeting per month themselves. Cheers, Chanchao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamdomChances Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 I wouldnt want to live on less than 100k per mth in BKK.Same as i wouldnt want to live in Sydney on less than 10k aud or LA 10k usd or London 8k ukp. It all about the lifestyle you are used to and also putting something away for a rainy day. Gee these German guys on the benefit at 70% or so of their prev salaries can have a great life here!!! I would'nt live in London for less than 8,000 ukp a month. Not that I was making anything like that or ever lived in London, But for 8,000 a month I'd give it a go, after tax of course. Sydney for 10k aud sounds quite nice as well, dont know about LA never been. 100,000 bht/month would'nt be enough to get me to live in BKK though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igotworms Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Stickman does nothing for me. His site is one of the most poorly designed web spaces I've ever seen. His contributing readers are beyond pathetic. A boring read most of the time, though, a gem occassionally pops up in his weekly column. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ajarn Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Stickman does nothing for me. His site is one of the most poorly designed web spaces I've ever seen. His contributing readers are beyond pathetic. A boring read most of the time, though, a gem occassionally pops up in his weekly column. I think his writing has improved a lot. In the beginning, he relied too much on rumours that weren't true, given to him by some with axes to grind. My company was a victim of that. In his defense, when I contacted him personally (I knew him because I'd once interviewed him for a teaching position- which he didn't get), he removed the stuff that wasn't true... His lifestyle topics are certainly not my cup of tea, but, as was said above, he does have a few interesting pieces at times. He is certainly more interesting than the writer who did the 'Expat Page' in The Nation, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penelope Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 S'man repatriating ? ......the poor baht rate against the NZL dollar ,coupled with a teachers income/saving ability hmmmm...good thing NZL has a rather generous social welfare scheme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khun Larry Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 I have enjoyed reading Stickman's weekly column and reader submissions. He shows his class when including many points of view different from his. Lately, the tone of the site has changed to a be more "Thai correct." Coming from the land of political correctness, USA, this is a real turn off. Now if I were him I would be thinking about how to make career type money. 100k / month spending money is enough to have a good time, not to solidify your financial future. So as for leaving Thailand the Stickman really has no choice. He arrived in Thailand early in his career, his earning potential is limited in BKK and there is no pension system. He seems bright enough not to overlook this, although many do. When will he leave, will he run the column from farangland, will he take the Ms. with him? Who knows. Maybe he is in farangland already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flummoxed Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Stickman once wrote that the New Zealand Dollar is no longer the 'Peso of the Pacific'. He's absolutely right of course... the NZ$ will never be that strong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penelope Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Stickman once wrote that the New Zealand Dollar is no longer the 'Peso of the Pacific'. He's absolutely right of course... the NZ$ will never be that strong as of 1 minute ago : 1 NZD = 28.37 BAHT (up from 18 baht 3 years ago) 1 AUD = 30.11 BAHT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flummoxed Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 It was only a tongue in cheek remark. BTW 1 GBP = 74 Baht.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penelope Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 It was only a tongue in cheek remark.BTW 1 GBP = 74 Baht.... Yeh, but its relative to the economys mate ie: an IT professional might pull 200,000 dollars per year in Oz, could he pull 200,000 pounds per year in UK ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamMaiC Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Who is Stickman?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoophound Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 It was only a tongue in cheek remark.BTW 1 GBP = 74 Baht.... Yeh, but its relative to the economys mate ie: an IT professional might pull 200,000 dollars per year in Oz, could he pull 200,000 pounds per year in UK ? If hes really good,senior and doing something in demand,like Seibel,Oracle,etc maybe 200k in au on a contract. In the uk I have aus friends cleaning up in the cisco space at around 120k ukp on contract Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griser Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 I dunno. If you want to live life like a Farang in Thailand with some of the comforts of home you DO need to pull in over 30k a month. If you want to party however you need to double that... It has become much more expensive to live in thailand over the last few years. Devalued foriegn currencies, higher cost of goods and services here contribute to it. I personally don't see how Thai's keep up with the costs of living here, They sure as heck aren't getting any more pay! Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoophound Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Truly interesting point Prob easy credit like the rest of the world. What is the average thai salary now?? They do all live together as families in many cases,but the Joe average Thai family must be really feeling it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axl Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Who is Stickman?? Don't know him either - any link to his site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Who is Stickman?? Don't know him either - any link to his site? http://www.stickmanbangkok.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ajarn Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 and there is no pension system Sure there is, but it's only nit noy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaiSonJai Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Stickman has been in Thailand not that long. Married to a Thai lady. And a teacher besides the webmaster position. Overall living on "limited" resources. And when the Thai "dream" wears off, you need more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuestHouse Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Do not confuse 'Making a Living' with treading water. In order to have the retirement I want I save £420 per month - contributions from tax rebates and my employers raise that to just over £750 per month. Added to which we all (and our dependents) need health insurance. OK an expat in Thailand might live on Bht30K a month, perhaps Bht100K a month, but if, like Stick, you are still working and not yet retired you have a future to think of. To think otherwise and plan otherwise is shear folly and I might add irresonsible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaiSonJai Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 but if, like Stick, you are still working and not yet retired you have a future to think of. Right, is there a future in Thailand for a farang employed as a teacher? Maybe. But sure not for the majority of them. Not a critic at all, just a fact that the Thai "dream" blinded more than one. And quite a few of them still young... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkk_mike Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Devalued foriegn currencies ? Sorry but what currency is worth less baht than in the past. Pre-crash it was 25 baht to the dollar, and 40 baht to the pound (approx). A couple of years ago it was 60 baht to the pound (and 40 baht to the dollar) OK since then, the dollar has stayed at around 40 baht, but the pound's over 70 now. Where have the foreign currencies devalued? Euro / Aussie Dollar / New Zealand Dollar are all up against the baht? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaiSonJai Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Devalued foriegn currencies ? Sorry but what currency is worth less baht than in the past. Pre-crash it was 25 baht to the dollar, and 40 baht to the pound (approx). A couple of years ago it was 60 baht to the pound (and 40 baht to the dollar) OK since then, the dollar has stayed at around 40 baht, but the pound's over 70 now. Where have the foreign currencies devalued? Euro / Aussie Dollar / New Zealand Dollar are all up against the baht? Stickman wants to leave because of the exchange rate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siamruby Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Who is Stickman?? Don't know him either - any link to his site? http://www.stickmanbangkok.com He is here on TV too but think he hasn't been here that long, go search member's name 'Stickman' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancePowers Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Getting back to the topic... I think Stick's site is pretty good, google is proof of that as he's got tons of pages listed. I also know the draw for Stick is his sheer volume of content. I mean this guy has collected more sick buffalo/my girlfriend is a psycho b*tch stories than anyone else on the internet. Anyone who comes to Thailand to party and bonk with bar girls has either read his website or needs to. One thing I've always wondered is how uncomfortable it would be for him in a classroom if one of his students questioned the type of content he publishes. "Uhhh, teacher, What is short time hotel?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meemiathai Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 He wrote this week But as look koey Korat (an adopted son of Korat) as my mother in law jokes............. Is that a correct translation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narachon Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 Getting back to the topic...I think Stick's site is pretty good, google is proof of that as he's got tons of pages listed. I also know the draw for Stick is his sheer volume of content. I mean this guy has collected more sick buffalo/my girlfriend is a psycho b*tch stories than anyone else on the internet. Anyone who comes to Thailand to party and bonk with bar girls has either read his website or needs to. Before I first came to Thailand, Two things I read to prepare myself for the trip : Lonely Planet Guide to Thailand, and Stickmans' Site! I have to admit, they both helped me alot ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warriors Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 I think that Stick has realized that the house pricers in New Zealand have really jumped up close to 70 % in the last 3 years and that the teachers over here are about to get a good pay rise at last. Our $ is in a strong position close to a 5 year high against most other currencies including the uk (this is from were it was 5 years ago). In New Zealand you can get close to 6.8 % per annum for a 3 months term deposit in any of the good Banks here. Given the life style that suits young families = education freedom clean air very much safety 24 hours aday, not to bad welfare. free health, and lots more. Maybe his young wife wants to start a family and he is looking to return before the family home and all the other listed above get well outside of his reach. He has got his nice wife after years of searching so whats to keep him in LOS? If he is going to be a family man on a limited income NZ is the place for him as a teacher. Just my thoughs so I will wait to be shot down in flames. I can not wait to get back to LOS in 11 days time from New Zeland 5 th trip in 14 months. But then again I am much older and have the $$$ behind me to be able to retire in Thailand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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