Where Would You Be If Not Thailand?

[TheDon]

i don't understand why anybody would prefer Thailand over the Greatest Nation on Earth™

Naam, you misunderstood me. There are good reasons to prefer the US depending on your current situation in life, but SHOPPING OPTIONS or missing WALMART I think is a rather weak one. For my purposes, early retirement on a budget, there is no contest, Thailand is fun, the US would be impossible.

I think he is actually talking about Australia. You watch Australia win gold after gold at the olympics

[lifeisrandom]

the funniest thing in the world is going to the ice cream isle at walmart, its gigantic. and there atleast three or four equally long frozen food isles and of course, a very very small area to buy fresh vegetables (a very uncommon practice for Americas).

[cloudhopper]

the funniest thing in the world is going to the ice cream isle at walmart, its gigantic. and there atleast three or four equally long frozen food isles ....

The aisles must be extra wide too.

[lifeisrandom]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/calabazu/538200092/

this is a photo of the ice cream isle.

this guy is standing about in the middle of it as far as i can tell.

[Naam]

i don't understand why anybody would prefer Thailand over the Greatest Nation on Earth™

Naam, you misunderstood me. There are good reasons to prefer the US depending on your current situation in life, but SHOPPING OPTIONS or missing WALMART I think is a rather weak one. For my purposes, early retirement on a budget, there is no contest, Thailand is fun, the US would be impossible.

i fully agree JT! we have spent several happy years in the utmost wilderness of the african bush. in the very beginning my wife sometimes drove (one way!) 300km to buy some cheese and tinned goodies. it is also clear to me that Thailand beats the U.S. as far as living on a budget is concerned although the perspective changes very much whether your income is USD or EUR.

anyway, the priorities and available means of each individual are different. impossible to find a common denominator.

[Naam]

i don't understand why anybody would prefer Thailand over the Greatest Nation on Earth™

Naam, you misunderstood me. There are good reasons to prefer the US depending on your current situation in life, but SHOPPING OPTIONS or missing WALMART I think is a rather weak one. For my purposes, early retirement on a budget, there is no contest, Thailand is fun, the US would be impossible.

I think he is actually talking about Australia. You watch Australia win gold after gold at the olympics

then all of us move to Oz?

[lifeisrandom]

i cant fathom having to live in america. its a souless place and money has nothing to do with it. the food is horrible. the religion. the lack of culture in the face of sheer consumerism. the government. jesus. i get the shakes just thinking about it. thank god i escaped at a young age.

[brackmagic]

"The aisles must be extra wide too"

The beauty of Wal-Mart is we will all get fatter off of the cheap food and contract diabetes but then we will be ale to buy our diabetes medicine at Wal-Mart for 4 dollars for a thirty day supply. God bless Sam Walton and God Bless The USA!

[Shotime]

Aren't WalMart and Target two companies that use child-labor from Asia and treat their employees terribly (No insurance low wages, etc.)to keep prices low? I'm pretty sure that WalMart is constantly in court defending their practices. They are two companies that reflect the worst of the USA.

I miss the USA too. I'm always most comfortable when home.

[TheDon]

I been to the US and the steaks you buy just is not fresh like in Australia, the meat is grey looking and most of the supposely fresh food and meat have been wrapped and looks like preserved.

Come to Australia where you go to a butcher and the meet has just been cut up out the back and the meet is blood read.

Cooking the fresh juicy steaks and eating them is heaven on earth. Aussie beef has to be the best in the world IMO

[toptuan]

I been to the US and the steaks you buy just is not fresh like in Australia, the meat is grey looking and most of the supposely fresh food and meat have been wrapped and looks like preserved.

Come to Australia where you go to a butcher and the meet has just been cut up out the back and the meet is blood read.

Cooking the fresh juicy steaks and eating them is heaven on earth. Aussie beef has to be the best in the world IMO

The best steaks served by the best restaurants have been aged. What's the problem?

[Ulysses G.]

Aussie beef has to be the best in the world IMO

I find it tasteless and tough in comparison to a good U.S. steak.

[Ulysses G.]

i cant fathom having to live in america. its a souless place and money has nothing to do with it. the food is horrible. the religion. the lack of culture in the face of sheer consumerism. the government. jesus. i get the shakes just thinking about it. thank god i escaped at a young age.

Sounds a lot more like you are the one with the problem, rather than America.

[ilyushin]

For me I would be in Japan. That was my first offer anyway. I had a great package there and passed it up for Thailand.

Had to get away from the cold.

Also, I have considered Palau, Guam, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Hainan, but I think I will just slum it here in Thailand.

If I stayed in the US, I would probably be the head of an organized crime outfit flying DC9-30QCs full of herb to the needy.

Edited August 4, 2008 by ilyushin

[TheDon]

Aussie beef has to be the best in the world IMO

I find it tasteless and tough in comparison to a good U.S. steak.

The quality of US steaks are bad, the only reason some of them have taste is because they need to put a bit of cheese or something else on it. In Oz you just throw it on the Barbie and its the best peice of steak there is

[bkkjames]

Many farang living in Thailand could not afford to live in a first world Asian country like Singapore or Japan... so if by any chance all the corruption stops and Thailand evolves into a first world country and the women of Thailand have economic opportunities, where will you go? Cambodia? Myanmar? Back home?

Another one of Mr Speak Easy posts that tries (pathetically) to take a shot at farangs.

But to play along let me ask the OP the following, what would you do when all the farangs and foreign investment stops coming to Thailand? Where will you work, who will pay for your overpriced poor service, who will support the NE?

Take a look at the facts regarding the economy here mate, pull out all foreign investment, tourism, all the direct and indirect billions of baht per year that goes upcountry (read between the lines if you have too) and what you see next door in Cambodia won't be so hard to imagine happening here.

[girlx]

i cant fathom having to live in america. its a souless place and money has nothing to do with it. the food is horrible. the religion. the lack of culture in the face of sheer consumerism.

i agree with you when it comes to middle america, which is a wasteland of ignorant sheeple. but NY is not like that at all, and a few other cities like san francisco, boulder co, seattle, portland, etc. are good too...

[Ulysses G.]

Maui, Miami, Boston, Atlanta, Santa Fe, Santa Barbara, San Diego, New Orleans... I could go on and on with cool places/cities in America, and that does not include all the nice, small college towns that are around with culture, great restauarants and bookstores. Nothing wrong with America, that isn't wrong everywhere else.

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

Aussie beef has to be the best in the world IMO

I find it tasteless and tough in comparison to a good U.S. steak.

The quality of US steaks are bad, the only reason some of them have taste is because they need to put a bit of cheese or something else on it. In Oz you just throw it on the Barbie and its the best peice of steak there is

The Don misses the red dye they use in Oz. If you spin kick it a few times it will tenderise it.

[Dustoff]

Wallmart and American vs Aussie beef? Who ARE you people?

i cant fathom having to live in america. its a souless place and money has nothing to do with it. the food is horrible. the religion. the lack of culture in the face of sheer consumerism. the government. jesus. i get the shakes just thinking about it. thank god i escaped at a young age.

Ridiculous. While I am no hopping up and down, flag-waving American, to condemn an entire country and her people wholesale is nothing more than simple-minded prejudice. Get one life.

If not Thailand, where? My wife and I are seriously discussing spending roughly half of each year in either Moab, Utah or Maui, Hawaii. Fortunately my wife and I have the same tastes in where we would like to live and the soul of the people in any place is very important indeed. I have dear friends throughout the Rocky Mountain region and the people there are as warm and wonderful as 'country-folk' pretty much anywhere in the world.

Outside of the States? I have considered Nepal several times over the years and lived on/loved the island of Crete but I am sure it has changed with time. I have some favorite places (Afghanistan, the Yucatan, Morocco, the Kerala coast of India, etc.) but visa and other issues keep me from considering residence. I/we could easily consider just staying on the road internationally until a place grabbed and held us...

[flying]

My wife and I are seriously discussing spending roughly half of each year in either Moab, Utah or Maui, Hawaii.

Nice !

I am biased though

I think Thai's really enjoy Hawaii & it's similar climate. Also the locals on the outer islands are in many ways similar to Thai's too IMHO

[siamamerican]

i cant fathom having to live in america. its a souless place and money has nothing to do with it. the food is horrible. the religion. the lack of culture in the face of sheer consumerism. the government. jesus. i get the shakes just thinking about it. thank god i escaped at a young age.

And America lost a great mind

[OriginalPoster]

the funniest thing in the world is going to the ice cream isle at walmart, its gigantic. and there atleast three or four equally long frozen food isles ....

The aisles must be extra wide too.

What I don't like about those Walmart Supercenters is that their automatic door openers require at least 150 kg to trigger them. That makes for a real Catch 22, as until you've made a couple of trips to that ice cream isle you're going to have trouble getting through the front door.

[wensiensheng]

By the time Thailand goes "first world', most of South East Asia will have followed. There is little chance that it will be in our lifetimes though.

I agree. Thailand hasn't even begun to do what they need to be seriously competitive, that is, invest in world class education for their masses. No need to worry about Thailand going first world, but we should worry about political and economic instability.

It would be a step in the right direction if the students already in the existing education system took it seriously. A large percentage of the students are in the shopping malls every afternoon. I'm not sure investing more money on education would make much difference.

Here is what I see as two problems that will hold Thailand back, both related to education:

1) It seems that a large percentage of the university students equate "going to university" with "getting an education". By that I mean, they seem to think that just because they are enrolled for classes, and sometimes even go to class, they are learning. And they seem to think that when they get the paper, they have learned something.

2) Regarding "grade school/high school" - As I understand it, and someone please correct/clarify if I am wrong, Thais can be finished with school at around 13 years of age...but they cannot work in a "legit" job until around age 18 or so. This would seem to jive with my observations. So what do they do for those 5 years? Well, the girls seem to help Mom around the house, or if Mom has a business of some sort help there, or help take care of some younger children. Meanwhile, the boys seem to do little except beg money from Mom (or their older sister or aunt who has a farang husband) and learn how to drink whisky.

[wensiensheng]

By the time Thailand goes "first world', most of South East Asia will have followed. There is little chance that it will be in our lifetimes though.

I agree. Thailand hasn't even begun to do what they need to be seriously competitive, that is, invest in world class education for their masses. No need to worry about Thailand going first world, but we should worry about political and economic instability.

It would be a step in the right direction if the students already in the existing education system took it seriously. A large percentage of the students are in the shopping malls every afternoon. I'm not sure investing more money on education would make much difference.

Here is what I see as two problems that will hold Thailand back, both related to education:

1) It seems that a large percentage of the university students equate "going to university" with "getting an education". By that I mean, they seem to think that just because they are enrolled for classes, and sometimes even go to class, they are learning. And they seem to think that when they get the paper, they have learned something.

2) Regarding "grade school/high school" - As I understand it, and someone please correct/clarify if I am wrong, Thais can be finished with school at around 13 years of age...but they cannot work in a "legit" job until around age 18 or so. This would seem to jive with my observations. So what do they do for those 5 years? Well, the girls seem to help Mom around the house, or if Mom has a business of some sort help there, or help take care of some younger children. Meanwhile, the boys seem to do little except beg money from Mom (or their older sister or aunt who has a farang husband) and learn how to drink whisky.

Well, Phillipines is a realistic alternative, the biggest drawback being security. Philippinos seem to live life like a film and in a gun culture.

other than that, I do wonder about Sri Lanka, civil war notwithstanding. Maybe it's like India to an extent, but I imagine it to be much more laid back.

[Robroy]

I can vouch for Phnom Penh in terms of friendliness and a kind of unspolied quality. The sexual culture is more conservative than Thailand's. (Bargirls & virgins: not a lot in between. Men all on the make, married or not.) But the people are very sweet, and going to a village is like visiting the 14th century.

But I have decided against settling here forever simply because the place is so damned dangerous. The driving in Phnom Penh is easily the worst I have seen - and Thailand takes some beating.

Recently there was a gunfight just outside the restaurant I am writing this in. (A rich guy shot a moto driver; the police arived & found nothing amiss.)

I have never seen so many moto & car accidents as here: the most recent - a few hours ago - entailed a moto driver going right through the rear windshield of an SUV, head-first minus helmet. There have been several near-misses from motorcycles hurtling out of nowhere. (More than once I was compelled to hire a taxi to cross the road.) I swear Phnom Penh's drivers think they are in a video game. There have been incidents of food poisoning too numerous to mention. There is the steady daily diet of air pollution, often from a pile of plastic being burned under my window (garbage disposal in some suburbs consists of throwing everything into a pile in the street, and periodically setting fire to it); and the high pesticide loads in the foods, many of them imported from barely-regulated China. There are the guns: aimed at people near me in the street; falling from people’s holsters on passing motorbikes and clattering along the road; and (see above) being fired at real or imaginary enemies near where I dined.

There was the petrol bomb I ducked recently (thrown by a street gang); and the slipped disc from the potholes en route to the school I teach at; and...did I mention the dog attack? The dengue-laden mosquitoes? The 1-in-4 HIV rate among the bargirls?

I love Phnom Penh, actually - it's like the Wild West. But my inner statistician tells me my probability of living a long life here are very low.

I don't like the way Thailand is going (I was hoping democracy would develop - apparently not), so am not sure what to do when I check out of here. That's the next project.

[phuketrichard]

Driving in Cambodia is indeed weird but hazardess no way. Agree with ya its like a video game but once u know the riules ( bigger goesd first) its easy I lived in Phuket and saw more accident there in a day then i see in a month in Phnom Penh

Sexual culture? I love the freedom that the girls experience in PP without beeing looked down on as bar girls.

I will take the bars in PP any day to Bangkok or Patong.

I even drive my thai honda car there and its no problem.

You must be hanging out in the wrong places if ur seeing accidents and such, where are u eating that ur seeing gun fights?

BUt ur a teacher, (i assume one of those your one of the underquailfied ones) so that explains it all :-)

14th centruY??? thats a bit of an exageration... early 1980's maybe.

[think_too_mut]

Many farang living in Thailand could not afford to live in a first world Asian country like Singapore or Japan... so if by any chance all the corruption stops and Thailand evolves into a first world country and the women of Thailand have economic opportunities, where will you go? Cambodia? Myanmar? Back home?

I live and prosper in Japan (an Australian, employed as a local hire, nobody sent me to Japan, a manager in a MNC on my own merit, not an expat on a fat package).

My Thai family (wife and daughter) are coming to join me in 2 months.

Why am I doing this?

For obvious reasons. I want them to see, enjoy and learn Japanese perfection in everything and anything. Not to see stray dogs or uneven pavement, or lack of care about anything, ever.

Once (too late for my wife) my daughter sees and gets accustomed, Thai may become a distant undesirable 3rd world place.

Still, I bought a place for them to go back to Thai 2 months a year and for my daughter to mainatin her "thainess".

[Naam]

i agree with you when it comes to middle america, which is a wasteland of ignorant sheeple...

seen from the perspective of an arrogant citizen of the Greatest Nation on Earth™ who's spanish is limited most probably to "how many paysados is this? no, no! esto mucho expensivo. make barato!

[OriginalPoster]

i agree with you when it comes to middle america, which is a wasteland of ignorant sheeple...

seen from the perspective of an arrogant citizen of the Greatest Nation on Earth™ who's spanish is limited most probably to "how many paysados is this? no, no! esto mucho expensivo. make barato!

By "middle america", she was referring to the middle of the US not to Central America.