"only Failures Run Off To Be Expats"

[SoiGirlHunter]

Well i am one happy failure lol

[teletiger]

I think Jeremy would make a great expat. Expats are "normally" regarded as people who deviate from general consensus.

This man bought himself a decommissioned jet fighter and put it on his front lawn, as a garden ornament. Look forward to seeing his blobby hooter some time soon.

Regards.

[OxfordWill]

ironic for someone who regularly complains about life in England!

[bendejo]

This is another of those those great pearls of wisdom that are absolute nonsense and, if it says anything at all, it is about the knucklehead who came up with it.

My fave in this category: In American lives there are no second acts.

(In this case 'American' refers to a person from the US)

This was said by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Idolized by many for his writing, a commercial success as a writer, but from what I've read sounds like he was a thoroughly miserable bastard.

[F1fanatic]

The great thing about Clarkson is that he reflects the view of the great 'unwashed' British public in a funny way even though he comes from a 'privileged' background himself. Having said that, I too find him funny on Top Gear, but extremely unfunny on other shows.

As for his views on expats – he was obviously referring to Spanish expats, but does anyone seriously think his views on Thai expats would be more flattering!

Does anyone care? Quiksilva was spot on, he's offended everyone in his career, in fact that's why his career has been so successful! Everyone likes to laugh at stereotypes.

To satisfy those who think he's a 'loser', of course he is, just because he's earned a dam_n sight more than you is obviously irrelevant to your argument.

[Jingthing]

ironic for someone who regularly complains about life in England!

The market for that wouldn't be big enough is he left.

[WeeGB]

The only show I'd ever watch with Clarkson in it is a comedy called "Coming Of Age" - he features as a cardboard cut -out.

Funny show though.

[Ulysses G.]

This is another of those those great pearls of wisdom that are absolute nonsense and, if it says anything at all, it is about the knucklehead who came up with it.

My fave in this category: In American lives there are no second acts.

(In this case 'American' refers to a person from the US)

This was said by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Idolized by many for his writing, a commercial success as a writer, but from what I've read sounds like he was a thoroughly miserable bastard.

His wife Zelda ended her life in a mad house fire!

[GuestHouse]

This all brings back memories of one of those free calendars companies give out - a stack where delivered to our office (which comprised a good mixture of nationalities) - the theme of the calendar was cartoon characterisations of different nationalities - guffaws of laughter where heard from each person as they flicked through the months/nationalities - Pompous Germans, Lazy Spaniards, Loud Mouthed Americans ... in each case the laughs stopped when the person laughing came to the month/cartoon depicting their own nationality.

Take a look around Thailand and the Clarkson's characterization of expats is pretty much spot on - hence the offence people take at it.

[PhilHarries]

Take a look around Thailand and the Clarkson's characterization of expats is pretty much spot on - hence the offence people take at it.

I don't think anyone is taking particular offence at it after all we all have met, at some time or another, expats that fit the stereotype. It's the sweeping generalisation that expat = loser that gets people going. After all if he wrote a piece stating Thai women = prostitutes or African men = drug pushers he'd be ripped to shreds.

I consider myself an expat but not a loser. By his definition a winner is someone who struggles to work five days a week on the 6:19 from Basingstoke just to pay off the mortgage and once a year grab a two week holiday in Spain. This amazing example of a winner then sits in a miserable pub crying into his half pint of beer and moaning about the state of the country. This winner moans incessantly about all those bluddy foreigners in the country but is happy if a Romanian plumber fixes his leaking pipes for half the money a true bred Brit would chanrge.

A loser, however, is someone like ourselves who gains employement in various countries around the world experiencing a huge slug of life whilst inputting, hopefully, to the world community. Sure sometimes we have a little moan about something or other but we are where we want to be rather than his winners who are where they are told to be.

[imaneggspurt]

If you have seen Clarksons wife you will understand his jealousy ......and most others that give expats these comments, justifying their existance in their country whilst married to someone that has ended up looking like their mother ,.and actually clarkson is a big offender when it comes to running the uk down, hypacrite ?,. i think so, water off a ducks back to me,.

[imaneggspurt]

From what I read of the piece he seems to have formed this wonderful, all encompassing, opinion of expats based on stereotyical Brit expats in Spain.

Isn't that rather like writing an article on Thai culture based on Pattaya bar girls?

For sure there are expats who fit his mold, I have met a few myself, but I think if he were to travel further afield he'd meet the true expats living and working away from home and may come away with a different viewpoint. But that is not his style, he likes to wind people up because that's all he can do and not very cleverly at that.

Minor celebrities like him need to keep their name in the lights or they quickly get forgotten and the best way to stay in the public eye is be contraversial.

"Isn't that rather like writing an article on Thai culture based on Pattaya bar girls?" ...EXACTLY...i find him funny at times ,a bit like watching a woman in a wheelchair fall down a manhole sort of funny,.

[imaneggspurt]

Take a look around Thailand and the Clarkson's characterization of expats is pretty much spot on - hence the offence people take at it.

I don't think anyone is taking particular offence at it after all we all have met, at some time or another, expats that fit the stereotype. It's the sweeping generalisation that expat = loser that gets people going. After all if he wrote a piece stating Thai women = prostitutes or African men = drug pushers he'd be ripped to shreds.

I consider myself an expat but not a loser. By his definition a winner is someone who struggles to work five days a week on the 6:19 from Basingstoke just to pay off the mortgage and once a year grab a two week holiday in Spain. This amazing example of a winner then sits in a miserable pub crying into his half pint of beer and moaning about the state of the country. This winner moans incessantly about all those bluddy foreigners in the country but is happy if a Romanian plumber fixes his leaking pipes for half the money a true bred Brit would chanrge.

A loser, however, is someone like ourselves who gains employement in various countries around the world experiencing a huge slug of life whilst inputting, hopefully, to the world community. Sure sometimes we have a little moan about something or other but we are where we want to be rather than his winners who are where they are told to be.

Sorry phil ,this is my second reply to your posts and i have to say, this really is spot on, this is how people in the uk view it,i have friends that think anyone that dosent have blisters on their hands are lazy bastards, ,quote phil " .I consider myself an expat but not a loser. By his definition a winner is someone who struggles to work five days a week on the 6:19 from Basingstoke just to pay off the mortgage and once a year grab a two week holiday in Spain. This amazing example of a winner then sits in a miserable pub crying into his half pint of beer and moaning about the state of the country. This winner moans incessantly about all those bluddy foreigners in the country but is happy if a Romanian plumber fixes his leaking pipes for half the money a true bred Brit would chanrge."unquote,.

[polecat]

Take a look around Thailand and the Clarkson's characterization of expats is pretty much spot on - hence the offence people take at it.

Nothing of the sort - all you've demonstrated is that you yourself share an opinion with a bigotted gobshite. (Or "the Clarkson" as you call him.)

Edited March 31, 2009 by polecat

[GuestHouse]

Take a look around Thailand and the Clarkson's characterization of expats is pretty much spot on - hence the offence people take at it.

Nothing of the sort - all you've demonstrated is that you yourself share an opinion with a bigotted gobshite. (Or "the Clarkson" as you call him.)

I've demonstrated nothing at all.

I have invited you to look around you, which will confirm or deny, in whole or in part what Clarkson has said - That he's a 'biggotted gobshite' is your assertion and, not I would add, one that has been pointed out in the past when his comments on other matters where directed elswhere.

Hence my observation that a sense of humour failure sets in when the subject matter starts to point in what is perceived as the 'wrong' direction.

[polecat]

Apologies Guesthouse. When you described Clarkson's characterizations of expats as "pretty much spot on", I took it that you were agreeing with him. Silly me. I now understand that you were being sarcastic, and actually poking fun at the man.

And "bigotted gobshite"... it's true I'm not sure whether bigotted should have one or two 't's, but I am sure that Clarkson has made a living out of being an opinionated loudmouth and propogating at best xenophobic and at worst racist theories.

But hey, we all get misunderstood sometimes. Right?

Edited March 31, 2009 by polecat

[samuibeachcomber]

Take a look around Thailand and the Clarkson's characterization of expats is pretty much spot on - hence the offence people take at it.

I don't think anyone is taking particular offence at it after all we all have met, at some time or another, expats that fit the stereotype. It's the sweeping generalisation that expat = loser that gets people going. After all if he wrote a piece stating Thai women = prostitutes or African men = drug pushers he'd be ripped to shreds.

I consider myself an expat but not a loser. By his definition a winner is someone who struggles to work five days a week on the 6:19 from Basingstoke just to pay off the mortgage and once a year grab a two week holiday in Spain. This amazing example of a winner then sits in a miserable pub crying into his half pint of beer and moaning about the state of the country. This winner moans incessantly about all those bluddy foreigners in the country but is happy if a Romanian plumber fixes his leaking pipes for half the money a true bred Brit would chanrge.

A loser, however, is someone like ourselves who gains employement in various countries around the world experiencing a huge slug of life whilst inputting, hopefully, to the world community. Sure sometimes we have a little moan about something or other but we are where we want to be rather than his winners who are where they are told to be.

Sorry phil ,this is my second reply to your posts and i have to say, this really is spot on, this is how people in the uk view it,i have friends that think anyone that dosent have blisters on their hands are lazy bastards, ,quote phil " .I consider myself an expat but not a loser. By his definition a winner is someone who struggles to work five days a week on the 6:19 from Basingstoke just to pay off the mortgage and once a year grab a two week holiday in Spain. This amazing example of a winner then sits in a miserable pub crying into his half pint of beer and moaning about the state of the country. This winner moans incessantly about all those bluddy foreigners in the country but is happy if a Romanian plumber fixes his leaking pipes for half the money a true bred Brit would chanrge."unquote,.

at last someone talking some sense

[OriginalPoster]

I thought that the article made live as an expat sound quite glamerous. Is Thailand a place where I can do all the things that Clarkson mentions should I choose to be an expat there?

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

I find JC to be a thoroughly entertaining journalist who loves getting up people's noses and is a master at it. Take his writing with a good squeeze of "Nam Pla".

Anyone who didn't enjoy watching this year's Top Gear Vietnam's special is, well, er entitled to their own opinion - but it is bloody hilarious all the same!

[zen4dummies]

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.

I took an early retirement and moved here from San Diego 6 years ago. I have never regretted it. I lived in LA before that and liked it, however, when I found myself planning my life around the freeway traffic I started planning on leaving. The company I worked for asked if I would consider a transfer to San Diego and I thought that over for a microsecond. A few decades later I found myself in the same position in SD and started looking for a new place to move. After just a few days I decided to move here.

You might ask why I moved from one crowded place to another and the answer is that I can get around easier with the BTS, MRT, buses and motorcycle taxis than I could in SoCal where there is no rapid transit to speak of. Angry California women were a part of the problem and I have always been fascinated by Asian women. I do not know what would cause me to return to the states. My health insurance works here and it is a bit cheaper to live than in SD.

zen

[anonymouse]

Clarkson makes a living by 'running off at the mouth' and upsetting people.... sometimes he can be very funny.

I'd say he pretty much hit the nail on the head regarding about fifty per cent of the Expats that grace these shores. But there's a lot of productive people out here running business's, training Muay Thai, enjoying a healthy retirement or working for charity organisations.

I certainly wouldn't get offended by Mr Clarkson's rant.

[excaliber]

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.

Well said !!

I grew up in 'sunny California' and have a much better life here...I got used to the weather a long time ago; and by the way...it isn't always hot and muggy, in fact, right now, in Esarn, it's quite pleasant...in addition, my electric bill here is about $12 a month (no a/c), city water: free, rent: to cheap to mention, etc., etc......good life if you're retired....can't say the same about good ole California...

Edited April 2, 2009 by excaliber

[HumChang]

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

[Huey]

All this bloated, berating, peice of garbage is missing is a big "L" tattoo on his for head.

I'm a Expat, lived in Kuwait, Iraq, Thailand and Cambodia. I was a Telephone Man in the States when I left 8 years ago. I went from something to nothing and up to so much more than ever before. I grew in every imaginable way. The different cultures and places taught me so much about life and about myself that I literally run circles around the folks I left behind back in America.

This guy is a weak sheep, screw him Expat life isn't for everyone, but it's definitely were it is at for the bold, open minded, and adventurous few that have what it takes to make the best of it.

[IMA_FARANG]

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.

Why am I an EXPAT?

I just picked up a CD of old Simon and Garfunkel songs from the 1960's and early 70"s

One is their song called, "My Little Town"

One of the lines in it I like is, "Nothing but the dead and dieing there in my little town"

Now if that doesn't explain why I am an "EXPAT" to you, then nothing ever will.

Edited April 2, 2009 by IMA_FARANG

[polecat]

Now if that doesn't explain why I am an "EXPAT" to you, then nothing ever will.

Yup. If my hometown was riddled with Simon and Garfunkel albums, I'd get out pretty sharpish too.

[geriatrickid]

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?

[Insight]

Was in the middle of writing a long-ish post, then read the one above (properly!) -

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.

That's pretty spot-on, geriatrickid. Nothing further to add

[polecat]

But some of my best friends live in Pattaya!

[robbiecia]

I don't care what anybody says

I love being an expat!!!!!!!

and i love it here too!!!!!!!

If that makes me a "failure"..........then so be it