I suppose I could post this in the general forum, but as a woman considering a move to Thailand, I am more interested in what brought you ladies to the LOS. I can always assume, and I'm sure partly incorrect, that many men come here for reasons far different than women. With that said, I invite the male response, as long is it isn't a "bargirl fantasy" response.

So...ladies and gentlemen...what was it that made you stay in Thailand, and what do you do here?

Edited March 28, 200917 yr by KMixon

I am afraid my story wont' be of much help to you in deciding to come or not, because mine was all very accidental. I studied Mandarin at university and went to Taiwan to improve my Chinese and teach english as the same time (figured might as well make some money, right?) Came to Thailand for the Christmas holidays with some friends, a fellow english teacher in Taiwan had recommended Koh Phangan as the chilled place to go for a holiday. So, with a few days in Samui we then came to Koh Phangan.

I stayed at a small bungalow operation run by a local man and his Australian wife, local man's second cousin helped out around the place when he had time and we met, fell in love, and got married about 10 months after meeting.

So, no plans to come and stay and no real interest in the place at the time either. I was just lucky enough to meet the right guy at the right time and in the right place

I had no intention of living here. Much less still being here 20 years later

We have a small bungalow operation on the beach on Koh Phangan, catering mainly to backpackers and FMP attendees (not in Hadrin tho thank god).

I came here on a plane

I came to Thailand purely to retire and be able to live a decent life with the beaches,sunshine all year,inexpensive housing etc etc.I had some friends already living here and at first we were going to open a business,then i realised this lifestyle makes one lazy lol.

No doubt some will say i came her for mongering(hate that word realy) but i could have done that in the uk as i was earning 45,000 a year as national sales manager,and divorced.I did have a thai gf in England but we split up as i found out she was married(long story and not as bad as it sounds).I always think why i should go to Thailand after being with that crazy woman lol.So the uk was my first experience of thai ladies,as she had friends and we always met them for thai food.

years down the road and i still enjoy Pattaya but will not stay there for ever,met my soul mate and i have the happiest life anybody can have.Learnt to accept the thai ways,both good and bad and dont even shout when a thai chops me up in my car,now thats scary for me lol lol.

i was .... born here

I too would love to hear from the ladies on thai visa "what brought them to thailand"

I too would love to hear from the ladies on thai visa "what brought them to thailand"

To retire with my husband. Affordable - cheaper than UK, mainland Europe which as a Brit would have been an option. The weather. Good food produce available. Good water supply (plenty of rain) - some other countries have drought problems. Relatively easy retirement visa (though more than 1 year would be nice - like Malaysia, Philippines). That's about it.

I too would love to hear from the ladies on thai visa "what brought them to thailand"

To retire with my husband. Affordable - cheaper than UK, mainland Europe which as a Brit would have been an option. The weather. Good food produce available. Good water supply (plenty of rain) - some other countries have drought problems. Relatively easy retirement visa (though more than 1 year would be nice - like Malaysia, Philippines). That's about it.

am always surprised when i hear or meet western couples that have come to thailand to live.(wrongly or rightly i always think of thailand as a bastion for single men)For example i came here to be with a thai lady and live together.Do you have a social network with other western couples in phuket?Or does that not bother you?I agree for anyone its a great lifestyle and can be much cheaper than western countries if your careful how you spend the money,the weather is great and thai people friendly and always smiling,which is the part i like(no one seems to smile in the west no matter what they have its never enough)good luck with your new life here.

samuibeachcomber - yes, you make some good points there. From what I've seen over the last year or so, there seems to be an increase in western couples coming here, and now, with the recession in full swing, a lot of Europeans looking for somewhere a bit cheaper to retire to. There are other options of course worldwide - Caribbean, South America. I should say, for us, we were living/working in Singapore, so the only choices for us really were Thailand, Malaysia or Philippines (all with retirement visas) - and I suppose I am used to socialising with Asian nationalities as well as Western nationalities. Having said that, yes - it's probably a little more difficult trying to find other western couples here. You just have to try a bit harder I suppose. But there's going to be downsides anywhere.

I too would love to hear from the ladies on thai visa "what brought them to thailand"

I was transferred here with my company. Thai hubby and I will leave when my contract finishes.

I love this type of thread. I'm no longer in Thailand but I spent four mostly happy years there. I'm from a frozen country and I'm the type who needs to live somewhere warm or hot. I was in a sales job, working long hours and I was in a huge rut. I saw an ad in the newspaper for a TESOL course and I figured this would be my best bet to live and work somewhere warm. I looked at Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. By a very fortunate sequence of events, I ended up in Bangkok.

I got there in Feb 2004 and started teaching in April. In January of 2005, I started teaching a corporate class two nights per week and my now husband was one of my students. He's from Phuket and I moved there for my last year in Thailand. He got a job here in Dubai and he has been here just over two years, me, just over one year.

As for the questions about Phuket, I think it has a good mix of people and you have alot of choice in services, restaurants, etc. Of course, you can't knock the beaches.

I first came to LOS in 2000...drawn by an invisible thread. Came on my own for a short break and fell in love (country not man). Still remember the first drive through Bangkok from Don Muang. Blew my mind! I returned home and I then slogged on with uni, and then work, forging myself a pretty good career and managing to buy myself a house withthe proceeds, however I always knew I had to come back. So in 2005 I packed in the job and came travelling. I did a good six months and then returned home to work again, but my heart just wasn't in it. I went on holiday again at the start of 2006 and then realised that I needed to live in Thailand not just keep visiting. So I came back from hols. Packed in the job (again), borrowed some money, did a TEFL, and landed myself a couple of dream jobs on Koh Samui and then Phangan. Then last year I met Mr Sabai and in May I start a new job teaching in his home town of Trang.

If we decide to make the big leap and move, it will be for love of the country and doubts and disapointment in our own. I'm just trying to get my head around what it is I will do with my time. It is refreshing to know there are many other Westerners with my same feelings. I've also worried about finding new friends, but this site makes it seem completely possible. Thanks for sharing, and please continue to do so.

the first time i came to thailand (maybe 10-12 years ago) my (now ex) farang boyfriend of 8 years and i spun a globe and our finger landed on thailand. neither of us knew much about it. i did read an article on pattaya at the time, which said it was one of the most dangerous places on earth. which piqued my bf's interest. he must have gone off and done more studying on the subject, because after that he was really gung ho at the thought of going there. i actually did have a really fun time in pattaya then. stayed in a really nice hotel and spent the evenings on walking street goggling at the katoeys and in beer bars talking to the girls about their lives. we both came back to thailand several times after that first trip. at first together, then apart (he kind of went off on the sex tourist life). we did a motorbike trip from chiang mai to mae hong son which was a definite highlight. other than that i have seen most of the country a couple times over. every time i went home i would immediately start planning my next trip back here. finally in 2003 i decided to do a "round the world" trip for a year. i did manage to get round most of asia before i found myself in koh chang, never wanting to leave. i met a thai boyfriend then but i would have stayed even without him, it was the country i fell madly in love with, the lifestyle. i had to go home for a couple of months, after a year on the island, when i started to run out of money. i was miserable in the US, spent the entire time pining for thailand. my same ex boyfriend in NY had taken over our apartment and given most of my stuff away (he was a peach) so i had little reason to stay there anyway. i bought a ticket back intending to stay here for 3 months, it has now been 5 years!!! i managed to find a steady stream of work freelancing for US companies from here. i lived in koh phangan for 4 of those years, and in bangkok for another year. i have only gone back once in that time, to NY for 10 days. i will be going back again at the end of april, for 3 months, both to work on a short contract and to take care of some business (get a driver license, administer bank accounts, eat my fill of good mexican food) but plan to come back and live in chiang mai indefinitely after that! i feel more like thailand is my home now, and i go back to the US on holiday.

Edited March 29, 200917 yr by girlx

If we decide to make the big leap and move, it will be for love of the country and doubts and disapointment in our own. I'm just trying to get my head around what it is I will do with my time. It is refreshing to know there are many other Westerners with my same feelings. I've also worried about finding new friends, but this site makes it seem completely possible. Thanks for sharing, and please continue to do so.

Beware the rose colored glasses coming off then. I find that most people who move to this country because they fall in love with it as a tourist tend to then have great difficulties when they realize (after a time) that it is not paradise, the people are not all wonderful and it is a place to live just like any other. That is the stage where you find all the bitter and unhappy people. They come with a dream that it will somehow be better than their home, easier, whatever. And then, when the dream of paradise is shattered, can only see the negative. Frankly, it is not easy to live here, it requires alot of adjustment to a different way of thinking. Do not expect to leave your problems behind, you will find they follow you here and there will be new ones created here as well.

very interesting replies,it seems that thai fever affects females and males alike,maybe for different reasons sometimes.Is it "the asian mystique"..............could the same be said if one lived in the phillipines,vietnam,hong kong ,singapore for example.Agree with SBK the gloss can wear off,but i reckon most that live here would be horrified at the thought of having to return to country of origin,for some reason thailand just gets into your blood,and am interested to find its the same for females here as well as us guys.

I came on holidays 17 years ago - when I arrived in Phuket I made the statement that "I was home" returned about 3 times a year for the next 3 years. Made the decision to take a years leave without pay (I worked for the government) and never made it back. Lived in Phuket for a year and then moved to Pattaya where I have been ever since.

Managed to work at various jobs over the years, from teaching English (am qulaified) to tour manager for an overseas company and now am still in the tour industry. Love it here and when I do go home I am ready to return after 3 days!!

Had a long term relationship with a Thai guy - long over - enjoy my life and my lifestyle.

Came here on holiday every year for many years and loved it.

Never realised that being on holiday (in expensive resorts) is entirely different to living here!

Finally took early retirement a couple of years ago with husband, only to have husband go off with a younger Thai woman!

Despite that, Thailand has better weather, is more laid back and it's so nice to smile and have the smile returned, rather than (as at home) being thought a lunatic for smiling!

Yes, the gloss wears off, but it's still far more pleasant than home.

just curious F1 (nosey maybe)... are you in another relationship now?

I came on holidays 17 years ago - when I arrived in Phuket I made the statement that "I was home" returned about 3 times a year for the next 3 years. Made the decision to take a years leave without pay (I worked for the government) and never made it back. Lived in Phuket for a year and then moved to Pattaya where I have been ever since.

Managed to work at various jobs over the years, from teaching English (am qulaified) to tour manager for an overseas company and now am still in the tour industry. Love it here and when I do go home I am ready to return after 3 days!!

Had a long term relationship with a Thai guy - long over - enjoy my life and my lifestyle.

I'm a bit off topic (apologies) but do you prefer Pattaya to Phuket?

So...ladies and gentlemen...what was it that made you stay in Thailand, and what do you do here?

I'm more comfortable in SE Asia than the West so I started looking around the region and finally chose Thailand after bouncing around the country since '94.

After a crazy back-to-back workaholic life before Thailand, I haven't really decided what to 'officially' do now that I'm here and settled in.

I'm having fun and that's enough. For now.

Came here in 1983, on a 3-year employment contract. Had my flings and stayed on. Met my Thai wife in 1989 and we got engaged in 1992 and married in 1995. Now planning for retirement.

If we decide to make the big leap and move, it will be for love of the country and doubts and disapointment in our own. I'm just trying to get my head around what it is I will do with my time. It is refreshing to know there are many other Westerners with my same feelings. I've also worried about finding new friends, but this site makes it seem completely possible. Thanks for sharing, and please continue to do so.

My Buddha if you decide on that basis of what lacks in your own country you will certainly have plenty of doubts and disapointments here. Home is were the heart is honey

I came for 3 weeks initially to check out a girl who thought she had it made after meeting my son. I managed to get that problem sorted in the first 2 weeks and then spent the last week enjoying myself. After I flew back home I was restless, I felt there was something more here that I needed to do or see. I came back, met a lovely man and a few years down the track married.

This is my home and has been for many years now, I visit the old country once a year and each time I wonder why I bother.

Life anywhere is what you make of it, I am never bored, I live in the province of Kanchanaburi, I drive out to the Waterfalls, the hot springs, have a massage, enjoy a picnic and explore new places, even now, there is always something new to explore. The cost of living is excellent and is the icing on the cake so to speak.

.

I don't dwell on the negative, I let all that go by me and just enjoy the positives.

I came on holidays 17 years ago - when I arrived in Phuket I made the statement that "I was home" returned about 3 times a year for the next 3 years. Made the decision to take a years leave without pay (I worked for the government) and never made it back. Lived in Phuket for a year and then moved to Pattaya where I have been ever since.

Managed to work at various jobs over the years, from teaching English (am qulaified) to tour manager for an overseas company and now am still in the tour industry. Love it here and when I do go home I am ready to return after 3 days!!

Had a long term relationship with a Thai guy - long over - enjoy my life and my lifestyle.

I'm a bit off topic (apologies) but do you prefer Pattaya to Phuket?

chickencurry - more variety in Pattaya: nightlife, work etc. plus being here for this long it is "home". Mind you saying that I would go to live in Phuket if the right job opportunity came up

Frankly, it is not easy to live here, it requires alot of adjustment to a different way of thinking. Do not expect to leave your problems behind, you will find they follow you here and there will be new ones created here as well.

That is so true.

In my case it was who brought me here, not what. My Thai husband, who after 34 years in the U.S. wanted to retire in Thailand. We would have loved to stay in San Diego, but it's just way too expensive. So because he is Thai we came here. Can't say the weather is great. In fact except for winter here I pretty much hate the weather, it makes me feel awful....it's just too humid........ even after being here for six years.

However, since my husband is a retired architect, we built our own house and created our own little paradise away from everything..... just wish we had gone with our first inclinations and built on our land in Chiang Mai.

Beachbunny