"only Failures Run Off To Be Expats"

[samuibeachcomber]

am not sure the problem is with the content,more with his position to be able to throw mud,one liners etc.would n't we all love to be able to do that to stir the pot and get the reaction we want.and for many its just the dislike of the guy.

[spud1]

I can't understand why there's a thread on TV regards another worthless comment this egotistic,immature,self opinionated tw-at has made.Maybe he's right or wrong.Who cares.I would'nt piss on him if he were on fire.Perhaps he has a problem with expats has he only had the balls to get has far has the Isle of Man.

[runner]

I actually find my lifestyle to me more satisfactory than back home, despite making a lower income. If you look at my income, I suppose I'm a loser. But $40k usd is nothing to sneeze at in Thailand, especiallly since I pay no taxes on it.

[TonySoprano]

its not possible for an american citizen to not pay taxes on $40k. you still owe social security and maybe self employment tax even if you fall under the 80k exclusion.

so, you owe taxes, you just have not been paying them!

[spud1]

Maybe thats why he's called doing a "Runner"!

[on-on]

Clarkson's is good for older English expats of a certain variety. The contradiction between the constant bitching about all the foreigners back home and ardently refusing to speak anything but English in their new host country is painfully dead on. I enjoy Matt Taibbi's take on the younger expat set, though he's American and was living in the former USSR:

"I'd moved overseas straight out of college and been a classic expatriate ever since. I had all the symptoms: periodic unsuccessful attempts to repatriate, a tendency to try to make grandiose foreign adventures compensate for a total inability to accumulate money; bad teeth; unhealthy personal relationships, etc. I'd been aware for years that my passion for uprooting and completely changing my lifestyle and even my career was like a drug addiction-- not only did I get off on it, but I needed to do it fairly regularly just to keep from getting the shakes."

Edited April 2, 2009 by on-on

[Huey]

I think the article has to be put in the context of the real expats vs. the losers Mr. Clarkson refers to. I don't think he is referencing the expats that are gainfully employed and have families here. He's referring to the losers and they are losers that run away because they've made a mess of their lives back home. They're the ones that end up doing a flying leap from a Pattaya balcony and they're the ones that end up doing all sorts of shady deals. Reading his article, he certainly isn't ripping into the retired couple that just want to live out their lives somewhere nice.

I think he's upset a few people because his observations are valid for a large number of foreigners living here. Based upon postings in TV, it seems that many people say the same thing everyday. Everyone seems to agree with the same sentiments when expressed in various threads, so why the outrage now? If you are employed and taking care of your family or lead a responsible life, his comments shouldn't upset you since they don't apply to you.

Can you really argue with a statment like this;

I urge you all to think carefully. Even if they've taken your land and your homes, they cannot take your friends. Or your family. And no matter how infrequently your children drop by now, you can trust me on this: if you live abroad, you'll probably never see them again. Ever

I think he's right. A great many foreigners are in Thailand because they don't have a friend back home or because they can't get a date with a girl. How many men have run off to Thailand abandoning their responsibilities as fathers? We all know the situation with land ownership in Thailand, so why is he so wrong? Again, if you don't fit the profile that he gives, why crap yourselves over it?

For the same reason why an American may be offended if someone said "All Americans are (insert negative generalization here)" If the guy wants to talk that kind of shit about people whom he knows F all about, then he should expect people to get up set and to challenge his accusations.

[samuibeachcomber]

Left Britain in 1971 never to return. Australia 50% Thailand 50% paradise all year round.

yep me too,left in 1972,australia was like a breath of fresh air.

[dudemeister]

Doodling away whilst reading the thread, did one of those letter transpose thingy puzzle game type thing,

dont know why i did it, dont even know what its called.....anyway

J E R E M Y C L A R K S O N

C L O N E M Y A R S E J E R K

(well nearly)

[mahtin]

Doodling away whilst reading the thread, did one of those letter transpose thingy puzzle game type thing,

dont know why i did it, dont even know what its called.....anyway

J E R E M Y C L A R K S O N

C L O N E M Y A R S E J E R K

(well nearly)

New rank

"a class-A muppet and absolute plonker."

[surayu]

Well he's a comedian and should just be taken for what it is, not necessarily all he says is funny or right but i guess he try....has anyone seen his Christmas turkey's cannon? that would be a great weapon for the army over here against the cambodians, so they would have a great dinner on the other side and all be friends again

[Bpraim1]

Now that is a good read.

Very funny,

I seem to have seen a few of these people he talks about and can see how they would be up in arms over it.

These people are not all Pom's, I've seen them from every country.

Drunk before noon, with big red noses, hahahaha.

Bashing the hel_l out of there home land, then want to know everything that is happening there.

I wouldn't call them failures, But I would say a large part sure fit the picture he paints.

[nikster]

I would not call a British expat a loser for becoming an expat in Thailand, but merely someone that is very smart in trying to escape from living their life in the drab. lousy climate in GB. Living in Hawaii and California as I do, is as close to paradise as I will probably ever get so I would definitely consider myself a loser if I ever traded it for the hot muggy weather in Thailand. For me, I love Thailand and it is a great place to visit a few months a year, but I will leave the 365 days a year thing to the expats that are smart enough to escape from the more miserable climates.

except that that Hawaii and California are completely devoid of culture and human interaction.

Huh? Plenty of culture in San Francisco, if nowhere else.

Hmm-hm, having lived in San Francisco for about 7 years, devoid of culture is not what I would describe it as. CA has plenty of culture. I was in Hawaii only a few times but the lack of culture I witnessed there was more pronounced, as in, there are gorgeous beaches but no beach bars or little nice places to hang out. Culture for me is where I can get food at 3 am. Not in Hawaii. In San Fran and LA you can, most of the rest of CA is asleep

[bungy007]

I would not call a British expat a loser for becoming an expat in Thailand, but merely someone that is very smart in trying to escape from living their life in the drab. lousy climate in GB. Living in Hawaii and California as I do, is as close to paradise as I will probably ever get so I would definitely consider myself a loser if I ever traded it for the hot muggy weather in Thailand. For me, I love Thailand and it is a great place to visit a few months a year, but I will leave the 365 days a year thing to the expats that are smart enough to escape from the more miserable climates.

Very wise, very wise. I saw him doing a top gear programme while taking his kids on the school run. Not pleasant and I wouldn't swop my life in Thailand for living with his drab weather. Still, he makes a living out of being controversial so take it with a pinch of manure.

[trogers]

Yup! We failed at ass-kissing back home and are now independent expats...and having a very good time.

[animatic]

It is probably true that most expats are losers, but losers who stay home and are totaly miserable are a lot lower on the loser scale!

Agreed, they are the genuine "born losers".... no, no's, vegetating shrapnel of evolution...

So don't go anywhere,

don't do anything where you are.

hel_l, that's not even a plan. That's sloth on ye olde homestead.

Go somewhere interesting

and do less that you might have at home

but have a better time doing it

and learn more of how the world REALLY is;

Not how wanke_rs like dear old Jeremy will tell you it is.

May not even NEED a plan, just go out and enjoy.

I did ten years in Europe and 4 years in Asia so far.

And I seem to have a much better handle on things than many i have left back home.

Several are all jealous as hel_l too. Even my friend's wife,who is selling high zoot

custom jewelry in Hollywood to the likes of Celine Dion and Justin Timberlake et al,

she would rather be on Samui doing 1/3rd the work.

Expats can be the truly adventurous ones willing to

'Not stand pat', with their too short lifetimes.

Your lack of mileage may vary...

Edited April 5, 2009 by animatic

[doggie888888]

Some responses are more telling than the very "tongue in cheek" article. A bit close to the truth for some people I think. The Brits I have met since moving to Pattaya two years ago are mainly very nice people, sensitive to local custom and genuinely want to be here (not because they can't afford anywhere else or running away from whatever demons they left at home).

But there are also a significant number in Pattaya who are pure losers who can't possibly hold a job at home but who profess to be "managers and professionals" here. Alas, they give the Brits a bad name as they lord over the locals proclaiming loudly "they must be stupid because BLA BLA BLA". They pretend to have European standards but really in name only as they exploit locals who do the hard work (just think of some Brits in the building industry in Pattaya). Some behave like white rajahs just becasue they have a maid, forgetting that in their home country they themselves would be the hired help.

Yes the Thais are not very good in English, but a lot of them are more educated, intelligent and HONEST than some of the white faces here in Pattaya. And other expats can certainly tell if you are pure white trash that have been "expatriated" from your home countries. So I guess there may be some truth that "only failures run off to be expats" when one looks at Pattaya.

[Geekfreaklover]

Going back to the article. I read it in the times last sunday Morning, and enjoyed it. It obviously hits a nerve for some because of the truisms it contains. But it does contain a warning for those that have lost their jobs, can't keep up on the mortgage whatever. Sell their house for a fraction of what it's worth and move to a country and start again. Sounds great. And many will be emigrating to Thailand. Without a job in thailand and no retirement pension plan many will be ripped off left right and center by girlfriends or boyfriends or old hand Farangs until they have nothing left in the bank and nowhere left to go.

Happens a lot.

[animatic]

Going back to the article. I read it in the times last sunday Morning, and enjoyed it. It obviously hits a nerve for some because of the truisms it contains. But it does contain a warning for those that have lost their jobs, can't keep up on the mortgage whatever. Sell their house for a fraction of what it's worth and move to a country and start again. Sounds great. And many will be emigrating to Thailand. Without a job in thailand and no retirement pension plan many will be ripped off left right and center by girlfriends or boyfriends or old hand Farangs until they have nothing left in the bank and nowhere left to go.

Happens a lot.

Well; "A fool and his money are soon parted."*

Anywhere on the planet!

* Thomas Tusser

*“Methuselah lived to be 969 years old .

You boys and girls will see more in the next fifty years

than Methuselah saw in his whole lifetime.”

[thetravellingcat]

Clarkson should stick to Top Gear only, but as mentioned he needs to be controversial once in a while because he's easily forgotten. He frequently and openly admits to saying one thing, then saying the complete opposite the next week :. everything he says should be taken with a pinch of salt and not taken to heart. He is after all very much stuck in his ways, because the pay is good. The BBC pay him handsomely to be the person he is.

[Bpraim1]

Some responses are more telling than the very "tongue in cheek" article. A bit close to the truth for some people I think. The Brits I have met since moving to Pattaya two years ago are mainly very nice people, sensitive to local custom and genuinely want to be here (not because they can't afford anywhere else or running away from whatever demons they left at home).

But there are also a significant number in Pattaya who are pure losers who can't possibly hold a job at home but who profess to be "managers and professionals" here. Alas, they give the Brits a bad name as they lord over the locals proclaiming loudly "they must be stupid because BLA BLA BLA". They pretend to have European standards but really in name only as they exploit locals who do the hard work (just think of some Brits in the building industry in Pattaya). Some behave like white rajahs just becasue they have a maid, forgetting that in their home country they themselves would be the hired help.

Yes the Thais are not very good in English, but a lot of them are more educated, intelligent and HONEST than some of the white faces here in Pattaya. And other expats can certainly tell if you are pure white trash that have been "expatriated" from your home countries. So I guess there may be some truth that "only failures run off to be expats" when one looks at Pattaya.

Very nice, I will be waiting to see your next replys. My feeling are so true to yours.