Changes To Your Lifestyle Since Living In Thailand

[teacup]

SO…

What are some of your biggest lifestyle or/and behavioral changes since living in Thailand?

Or when you were living in Thailand?

I mean the change from life in one's home country and Thailand!

For me….whenever I’m back in Thailand, from the US

-more fashion conscious

-walk more

-doing laundry in cold water

-my mattress and pillow are always uncomfortable

-buying groceries every day, etc

Edited August 8, 2008 by teacup

[Jingthing]

In Thailand, compared to the US:

no car, walk more

no clothes dryer

no automatic dishwasher

drink only bottled water

wear short pants and sandals everyday

the bum gun (the best of Thailand)

have some maid service

buy smaller amounts of groceries

eat more fruit

eat more Thai food

eat more pizzas

eat less Mexican and Chinese food

get much less mail, less clutter!

repel more prostitutes

Edited August 8, 2008 by Jingthing

[teacup]

"get much less mail, less clutter!"

Now this is one thing I will be JUMPING JOLY on, for sure!!!!

[mizzi39]

SO…

What are some of your biggest lifestyle or/and behavioral changes since living in Thailand?

Or when you were living in Thailand?

I mean the change from life in one's home country and Thailand!

For me….whenever I'm back in Thailand, from the US

-more fashion conscious

-walk more

-doing laundry in cold water

-my mattress and pillow are always uncomfortable

-buying groceries every day, etc

I try to set myself up with some of the comforts from home. I have a car, comfortable mattress (one of the first things i bought), satellite t.v., Internet, etc. I order books from Kinokuniya in BKK instead of Amazon and have them shipped to my door. I guess the biggest change is the food. Except for the occasional pizza, and burger I am on a Thai diet almost exclusively. I am a father for the first time so that has probably been my biggest lifestyle change. More of a homebody now, but its all good!

[Thaddeus]

Totally agree with the junk mail and bum gun.

And pretty much everything else. Would just add.

I don't have to sort out my own garbage anymore.

Better air quality.

No longer constantly bothered by arthritis.

[kmart]

SO…

What are some of your biggest lifestyle or/and behavioral changes since living in Thailand?

Or when you were living in Thailand?

I mean the change from life in one's home country and Thailand!

For me….whenever I’m back in Thailand, from the US

-more fashion conscious

-walk more

-doing laundry in cold water

-my mattress and pillow are always uncomfortable

-buying groceries every day, etc

Almost the reverse of your post, teacup.-

Since living here I've;

-Walked a lot less than in the UK. (Its one of the things I do miss about a temperate climate).

- Probably become less fashion-conscious, as there are nowhere near as many clothes required.

- Probably become more healthy and eat much better food.

- Stopped going to concerts / festivals. This I do miss; big music fan and there aren't too many big names bands come through here anymore... Nowhere near the same as UK anyway.

- Probably become more stressed at work than i used to be. But better paid. etc.

-

[teacup]

Oh well….more stressed with high pay, is still better than........ high stressed with low pay which I am doing at the moment!!

[markwhite]

Stopped smoking weed

Stopped smoking cigarettes

Stopped drinking alcohol

Eat almost no farang food

Eat more fruit

Don't eat evening meal

Wear fisherman's pants all day unless I go out, then I wear cotton shirt and shorts - fashion is not an issue

Can sleep on concrete comfortably, but use a hard mattress

Don't watch TV - just the occasional film

Don't use toilet paper

Smile more :-)

[mmushr00m]

Watch less tv

Less fashion conscious

Dress ALOT better for work

Eat alot less meat

Eating alot more veggies and fruits

Less drinking and going out clubbing (Im now tamed/domesticated)

Was walking alot more but have developed the Thai inability to walk more then a block.

Cold showers something unheard of back in Toronto

Learned to be ALOT more diplomatic at work.

oh and unfortunately I attract more and I mean ALOT of LBs and gay guys here.

[whatsoever]

Shag a lot more brass

Drink more beer and JD

Kissed more LB's

Lot less ar-se itching - thanks to bum guns

Eat less pies and chocolate

smoke more cigarettes - due to keen pricing

[onzestan]

A lot of small things, but generally more happiness and contentment.

onzestan

[teacup]

My wardrobe does not contain anything in “WHITE”

NO socks forever…..yeaa!!

I learn to live with all the buggers, crawling all over the place

My stomach probably contains more garlic, basil, and ginger than my body daily allowance

And

Well…..I go to 7-11 more

[bendix]

Happier

More comfortable

Wealthier

Warmer

Less tolerant of idiots.

[Lite Beer]

I do gardening. Never did before.

[lifeisrandom]

nobody mentions:

no girl will talk to me

i am THE MAN

??

[tw25rw]

Walk more - lose weight easily.

Wear less.

Use that hose next to the toilet, which I miss at home.

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

Use bum gun, greatest thing since sliced bread.

Watch less TV.

Spend lots time on the beach.

Have housekeeper

Eat mostly Thai food

Sleep wierd hours.

Do much less work

Enjoy weather

Dislike traffic

Dislike lack of reliability of workers

Like people

Like our lifestyle

[mizzi39]

Stopped smoking weed

Stopped smoking cigarettes

Stopped drinking alcohol

Eat almost no farang food

Eat more fruit

Don't eat evening meal

Wear fisherman's pants all day unless I go out, then I wear cotton shirt and shorts - fashion is not an issue

Can sleep on concrete comfortably, but use a hard mattress

Don't watch TV - just the occasional film

Don't use toilet paper

Smile more :-)

You poor poor man, but at least you are smiling more!

Edited August 8, 2008 by mizzi39

[pattaya_girl]

I enjoy not having to get up at the crack of dawn to go to work to earn money to pay for the big bills in the UK.

I miss Roast beef/Yorkishire pud - and hollands steak puddings.

Being a Female, dont go out much alone like I did in the UK.

I miss my Parents but think that my life now is better than it was before.

I drink more alcohol than I did before.

Thailand Climate is better for my Asthma - hardly have it here, at home in the UK it was very bad.

I am a happier person in myself - I made a decision to live in Thailand, and I dont regret it.

In the UK i had lots of worries, here I dont have any.

[markwhite]

You poor poor man, but at least you are smiling more!

Thanks for reminding me:

I only meet those who find it necessary to judge others online, and it's easy to ignore them.

[sbk]

No flaming please. Posts have been deleted

[sbk]

Well, teacup, this is a tough one to answer, I've been here so darn long and came so young that my life would have changed no matter where I lived.

But, I have learned to be patient and not mind waiting for things

Live without all the mods cons

Tolerate all the critters (except the snakes and rats--can't abide snakes and rats)

Live without television (but not music!) and sometimes electricity... and sometimes water

[teacup]

Live without television (but not music!) and sometimes electricity... and sometimes water

Ohh…yeah … I also learn to sleep early when it’s raining

[elkangorito]

Some posters made the following comments. My additional comments in blue.

no car, walk more - surely one of the best things that happened to me.

no clothes dryer - never had one of these things in my life. Don't want one.

no automatic dishwasher - these things waste enormous amounts of energy & water. Don't want one.

drink only bottled water - I drink "tap water" here. Have been doing so for over 1 year with no problems (yet).

the bum gun (the best of Thailand) - this truly is a marvelous thing, which is not applicable to Australia due to the lack of water.

have some maid service - never required this & never will (hopefully).

eat more fruit - correction, eat more "natural" fruit.

eat more Thai food - actually, I ate more Thai food in Australia, most of which I made myself.

eat more pizzas - obviously, if one eats more pizza in Thailand, they have no taste for real pizza (or "real" food). I prefer to make my own pizzas.

get much less mail, less clutter - The only mail I will accept is overseas mail but otherwise, this is very true. "Junk mail" sucks.

Better air quality - you must be kidding!? Did you previously live in a steel mill? Thailand has crap air quality...even where I live. There is no "industry" where I live but charcoal production & the "let's burn everything" mentality, can make the air quality almost unbreathable.

Eat almost no farang food - pretty much agree.

Eat more fruit - as above.

Don't watch TV - just the occasional film - TV in Thailand is mind numbingly moronic. Who, with half a brain, would want to watch that shit?

Don't use toilet paper - toilet paper is disgustingly dirty.

Smile more :-) - absofuc_kinglutely!!!!

In addition;

I don't get bored with the same old routine everyday since nobody here understands "planning". As a consequence, most things are a pleasant surprise.

I hardly look at my wristwatch anymore.

My work does not seem to involve me in politics anymore. Most people make an effort to "get along" with each other. I have zero tolerance for diplomats & politicians.

"Shareholders" no longer affect me in my work. (thank fuc_k!!!)

If I have a couple of days off work due to illness, I am not faced with the Spanish Inquisition when I return to work. Mind you, I do not get paid for sick time but neither do I expect payment. There appears to be a better understanding of normal human behaviour here as opposed to the expected "robotic" working culture of the western world.

I no longer have to treat everything in my working life as "deadly serious". As a matter of fact, this attitude is frowned upon (thank god).

Overall, I think that by moving to Thailand, I have drastically increased the quality of my life. I believe that this increase in "quality of life" is currently impossible in the western world (unless you are a "king of the heap").

[Brigante7]

Slightly of topic,

Can't get the hang of the bum gun when I'm in Thailand and the wifes moans because we don't have one at home in Scotland, tried it once and got water everyplace except where I wanted it, LOL.

[Jingthing]

no automatic dishwasher - these things waste enormous amounts of energy & water. Don't want one.

Nope, you are totally wrong about this. Using an auto dish washer is greener than washing manually, as long as the machine is full.

[teacup]

For me….

NO bum gun !!!- I hate it, don’t like it since growing up and never will - couldn’t bring myself to touch the handle….I always have the naggy feeling of how unsanitized (esp. the handle) they are.

Dishwasher - if I ever live in Thailand permanently again, one of the first thing I will get is a small dishwasher - just mainly for glasses, forks and spoons.

[Richb2004v2]

• Don’t wear trousers, shoes or a jacket any more.

• Don’t watch any TV.

• Listen to the Radio a lot.

• Eat better food but much worse bread.

• Don’t get to play badminton or squash like I used to.

• Don’t walk as much.

• Use a much poorer gym now.

• Have a much poorer selection of books.

• Have a good selection of DVDs available and cheaper.

• Spend all day outside instead of in the house.

• Can go out on my mountain bike every day.

• Nowhere interesting to go on my mountain bike.

• Can play Paintball very cheaply and close to home.

• No good paintball sites.

• Beer is cheaper.

• Very poor selection of beer.

• Can’t enjoy driving anymore.

• A healthy glow about my skin now.

• Have a lot more holidays since being here.

[rgs2001uk]

have fine tuned selective hearing.

have mastered the art of looking right through people as if they dont exist.

tend to give vague answers to personal questions.

learned to smile and say or do nothing.

kudos to guesthouse for referencing this one, there is no chance i will ever become a redneck, my iodine intake has gone through the roof since i started reading some of the posts on here.

[elkangorito]

no automatic dishwasher - these things waste enormous amounts of energy & water. Don't want one.

Nope, you are totally wrong about this. Using an auto dish washer is greener than washing manually, as long as the machine is full.

I guess that depends how you wash your dishes. Here in Thailand, I wash my dishes in cold water...not desirable but so far, ok. In Australia, I washed dishes using only hot water (min 55 degrees C but no greater than 65 degrees C)...no cold water was added to the sink. I wore gloves as to avoid burns. The total amount of water I used in the sink was somewhere between 5 & 10 Litres (dependant upon the amount of items to be washed). The dishes were rinsed in the same amount of cold water. Therefore, the total amount of water used was between 10 to 20 Litres. This was for a family of 5.

You are correct in saying that the most efficient way of using the dishwasher, is when it is full.

Of course, the other thing is that to effectively clean dishes with a dishwasher, normal detergent can't be used. Generally, dishwasher detergent is very strong & is not "kind" to the environment or dishes. Dishwasher detergent will burn your skin.

I prefer to use a "horse & plough" as opposed to using a tractor. It may be slower but it is definitely "greener" & you get exercise to boot.