Living In A Village - Was It Tolerable For You?

[Lopburi99]

I'm beginning to think the handwriting is on the wall. We've been in a rural village near Sao Kaeo for about two months and I'm not sure I can adapt.

The most difficult is the early morning noise starting at 6am or earlier (like blasting one hour public announcements, music, ceremonial flute music/chanting, food vendors, you name it) which prevents me from getting a decent sleep and puts me right off in a lousy mood each day. This morning some nearby farmer is burning something and I can't sit outside because of the smoke. Man oh Man.

The wife won't be happy to hear this, especially since her family also lives here in the village (an additional difficulty), but I am thinking life in a quiet, clean high-rise in Jomtien or Pattaya may be a necessity for me. I also really miss the western food and English speaking businesses but that is a different matter.

Has anybody successfully adapted to village life like this? I need to hear a success story.

[nidge]

I lived in a rural village for over a year. Everything was such a culture shock at first. Slowly i got used to the goings on and started to think i liked it. Eventually i realised i had mentally blocked out how depressing it is living in a place like that. I moved to a more civilised part of the country and now i live a semi-normal life.

I don't know if you are going to get a genuine "success story" answer. If you would have asked me while i was living there i would have told you it was great. But i would have been lying to both you and myself!

Nidge.

[oevna]

Like Nidge, I lived in a rural village (but only for 6 months). I was teaching at the local secondary school, so my day had some structure, and I had to wake up early anyhow. I also had to deal with the morning noise (all that you described, except for the flutes -- that's a new one for me), and the smoke from some neighbor burning trash in the morning, which flooded the room where I slept and made it necessary to go into another room or outside to get some fresh air.

Overall I enjoyed living there, but I needed to take weekend decompression trips to the city (usually Bangkok) about once a month. I also traveled to Cambodia and Laos during the school mid-term break, and I was fortunate to have relatives come visit me on their way through Thailand on a couple of occasions. I think the key to being able to survive it is to break it up with frequent trips like this, if it is economical.

[InSiSongkram]

I think the secret of it is to split your time between the rural lifestyle and a normal city life if that is what you have been used to and like. I too live in a very rural place and understand where you are coming from. I`ve spent over a year here and only had a few trips away all that time but we had a new born so it was not as easy as it used to be to get up and go. I`m going to look at getting a condo somewhere in the near future though to split the time between the two places.

[Rionoir]

I spent a week in Ubon for Songkran this year and loved it... but I would've went crazy if I had to live there much longer! LoL

[IanForbes]

I go stir crazy after spending a week in a small, Thai village, let alone a whole year. I'm too much of a vagabond and love my freedom. But, to each their own pleasure.

[skipvice]

I have been living in a village for almost a year now, like the op said it is very noisy. The wife and I have decided to return to my home country as we can not stand it any longer. My wife was raised here in this village and even she can't adjust to it. So we are leaving and will return every year for only 3 Months.

Edited September 22, 2009 by skipvice

[Dave the Dude]

Hi

Some sensible posts here and I will try to be as honest as my peers.

I have lived in a rural village for around 3 years now and do remember feeling isolated/not getting required comforts and the 'Bloody Hello Campers' messages at 6am.

Many aspects just cannot be changed but I could. My day starts earlier so the village tanoy system doesn't bother me. It is quiet anyway for me!

I had to respectfully and calmly 'lay down the law' as to what I condidered polite with regard to who walks in our house and also explained that the supplies in said house are NOT bought for the whole extended family/village. I made an effort to integrate with neighbours and try hard to come accross as just another guy AND NOT the big,wealthy farang that they seem to expect. I get involve in our local school sports days and try to attend functions BUT DO NOT buy friendship in any way.

I have sponsored the village football team by buying (very cheap) kits, as I personally get a lot of enjoyment out of watching the youngsters playing football.

All in all, what I am trying to say is I have changed since moving here from the UK, I am a far calmer/ unstressed-out individual who spent a lot of time(NOT MONEY) on starting as I mean to go on. I have many good farang friends and have little to do with the negative piss-heads that can be found lurking around.

Finally, I must admit it is also down to luck in who you share your life with.

Chock dee

Dave

[TexasRanger]

I find if fine, the house is far away from the speakers so we can't hear it unless we go out in the garden, big front gates stope people wandering in although in the year or so we have been here I think the family has been in the house maybe twice, we get on but they don't like air conditioning.

I love it here sitting in the garden with fresh air but I think the reason I like it here so much is the same reason i have lived in Thailand so long, I work abroad for a month and a half then when in Thailand I spend the first week in the Bangkok apartment and do all the Western eating etc. then we come to relax in the country for a month, a few days in Bangkok then back to work.

I guess variety really is the spice of life, I couldn't stay here full time any more than I could in Bangkok or my home country.

[mizzi39]

I think the secret of it is to split your time between the rural lifestyle and a normal city life if that is what you have been used to and like. I too live in a very rural place and understand where you are coming from. I`ve spent over a year here and only had a few trips away all that time but we had a new born so it was not as easy as it used to be to get up and go. I`m going to look at getting a condo somewhere in the near future though to split the time between the two places.

I think this is good advice. We live in the sticks (in Muang) so not in the village, however the village(s) are only a hop, skip, and a jump away. After living in Bangkok, life in the country is an adjustment. It is probably the same adjustment that you would have to make in your home country. We have a new born too, so i much prefer the sticks, to the city. We still go to Bangkok about once every 4-6 weeks on average. After 5 days in Bangkok (or the islands) it is good to get home again, so balance is the key. If your finding the village intolerable, get out for a few days.

Edited September 22, 2009 by mizzi39

[anothertorres]

i spent a night in Kalasin once. never again

[soundman]

To keep yourself sane, you need something to do, be it full time work or a full time hobby. (not watching TV & DVD's or playing on the internet 24/7)

Without this, I have observed many farang's of different ages go nuts from time spans of a few weeks to a few years.

[imaneggspurt]

I lasted a week, boredom was my main problem and talking pidgin to everyone,.then as you say, the noise/roosters/dogs. smoke, back in jomtien now and seems a world apart, no wonder these long term expats that do live there are sucking on beer all day, if i had stayed i would have had to !,

[lioness]

Everyone is different, you can't persuade yourself to like something if it's just not for you.

Peaceful life is one thing but constant noise would drive me nuts. You can control a lot of annoyances but the noise is probably not going to change to appease one person.

Maybe you should start looking at your options. Best of luck.

[Lopburi99]

Thanks for the replies. The idea of frequent travel makes sense as a first step. I am stuck here for awhile anyway until I pay off our land (sigh) next spring. After that building a new home was the plan, but that probably won't happen. I don't mind buying the land, my wife will have that forever after I croak.

In the meanwhile I'll also adjust my schedule to getting up earlier, once the noise starts. Can't sleep after that anyway. Shower up and go somewhere for breakfast. Also, try to find a hobby or something to do so I don't go nuts from the boredom.

There are other problems too. The wife being joined at the hip with her mother, following each other from room to room like little puppies, is cramping my style too. They adore each other. Before coming here we only saw Yai once about every month or two, now it's for hours daily. That's not working.

I have always believed swimming against the current never works for long. Eventually the current wins. Living here in the village will probably will turn out not to be feasible, so I'll start looking into my options. Nothing is going to change in the village, and I probably can't change much either.

The ideal solution: Split my time between living in a nice quiet apartment, probably a hi-rise in Jomtien, and several months a year in my native Canada (hopefully not alone). Canadian summers can't be beat. But unfortunately I think this is beyond my means but I'll still check it out. In the meanwhile, I'd better start preparing my wife for changes. Surely she senses problems now anyway.

Edited September 22, 2009 by Lopburi99

[Valjean]

We have a home in Bangkok and one upcountry in Sukhothai which is a fair size town with an expat community. I've spent a lot of time there - and I would not want to be there full time. If I could relocate my business there that would make a big difference but still I like being in the city. Here in Bangkok we have a house close to everything and yet back up our soi it's quieter than the village. There's just more to do and a wider range of friends for me.

If I was retired perhaps I'd go back and forth more but I don't think full time. A little of the Thai family and village life goes a long way for me.

My advice (worth two cents if you're lucky):

Get a hobby fast and if you find yourself hitting the bottle before lunch that should be a warning sign.

You might also wander down to the local school and help out with some English tutoring. It's always welcome and could help you feel more a part of things so when you walk around people wave and accept you more.

Also if you don't exercise take that up, it will get you out of the house and you'll feel better and better about yourself. Sitting around is very dangerous in so many ways.

Good luck and stay sane!

[offset]

You might also wander down to the local school and help out with some English tutoring. It's always welcome and could help you feel more a part of things so when you walk around people wave and accept you more.

I think that you might need a work permit for doing that

[Lopburi99]

We have a home in Bangkok and one upcountry in Sukhothai which is a fair size town with an expat community. I've spent a lot of time there - and I would not want to be there full time. If I could relocate my business there that would make a big difference but still I like being in the city. Here in Bangkok we have a house close to everything and yet back up our soi it's quieter than the village. There's just more to do and a wider range of friends for me.

If I was retired perhaps I'd go back and forth more but I don't think full time. A little of the Thai family and village life goes a long way for me.

My advice (worth two cents if you're lucky):

Get a hobby fast and if you find yourself hitting the bottle before lunch that should be a warning sign.

You might also wander down to the local school and help out with some English tutoring. It's always welcome and could help you feel more a part of things so when you walk around people wave and accept you more.

Also if you don't exercise take that up, it will get you out of the house and you'll feel better and better about yourself. Sitting around is very dangerous in so many ways.

Good luck and stay sane!

That is great advice (thank you also, offset). The wife's sister is a kindergarten teacher so I have an in. Getting a work permit may be tough but the few baht isn't important anyway.

You are dead right about the dangers of sitting around. One thinks too much. I am also an IT guy and you know how occupied IT keeps you. I was constantly busy for 42 years until I had to abruptly retire two years ago. It is a huge adjustment, and I have a long way to go.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Edited September 22, 2009 by Lopburi99

[offset]

I live in Pattaya at the moment and after a cancer scare I decided to by land and build a house near her family so I know that my lady and baby will be OK if anything should happen to me. We intend to try and live there when the house is finished but return to Pattaya for the weekends (about two and a half hour away) but I have made it quite clear that if I cannot get on with living in the village we will move back to Pattaya but I will go with an open mind

[Lopburi99]

I live in Pattaya at the moment and after a cancer scare I decided to by land and build a house near her family so I know that my lady and baby will be OK if anything should happen to me. We intend to try and live there when the house is finished but return to Pattaya for the weekends (about two and a half hour away) but I have made it quite clear that if I cannot get on with living in the village we will move back to Pattaya but I will go with an open mind

First off, I sincerely hope all will be OK with the scare.

Be very careful. Consider my difficulties and the other posters' experiences. It almost seems you may be entering a situation similar to mine which I may conclude to be intolerable. All families are different, but Thai families are traditionally extremely close, especially between mother and daughter. Upping and moving back to Pattaya sounds easy, but may in actuality be extremely problematic. Even weekend visits to Pattaya (a good idea), may become difficult to arrange. It is quite possible you also may have major problems living in the village.

You already have health concerns. Please be careful not to compound them. Don't lose control of your day to day life.

Best of luck.

Edited September 22, 2009 by Lopburi99

[Mosha]

I live in a village, and 95% of the time I love it. The cockrels crowing at 2 am took some getting used to, now it's a noise I have got used to. The burning season is one annoyance, and the smell of cup rubber when the wind blows the wrong way. It smell like some thing has been dead for a year. To keep my self sane, I create flightplans for flight simulator 2004 and FSX. I read a bit. I go for a beer into town on a Friday and if necessary spend the night at a mates house in Ranong. I wouldn't swap it for town life, but there again I was a country boy in England.

[Valjean]

We have a home in Bangkok and one upcountry in Sukhothai which is a fair size town with an expat community. I've spent a lot of time there - and I would not want to be there full time. If I could relocate my business there that would make a big difference but still I like being in the city. Here in Bangkok we have a house close to everything and yet back up our soi it's quieter than the village. There's just more to do and a wider range of friends for me.

If I was retired perhaps I'd go back and forth more but I don't think full time. A little of the Thai family and village life goes a long way for me.

My advice (worth two cents if you're lucky):

Get a hobby fast and if you find yourself hitting the bottle before lunch that should be a warning sign.

You might also wander down to the local school and help out with some English tutoring. It's always welcome and could help you feel more a part of things so when you walk around people wave and accept you more.

Also if you don't exercise take that up, it will get you out of the house and you'll feel better and better about yourself. Sitting around is very dangerous in so many ways.

Good luck and stay sane!

That is great advice (thank you also, offset). The wife's sister is a kindergarten teacher so I have an in. Getting a work permit may be tough but the few baht isn't important anyway.

You are dead right about the dangers of sitting around. One thinks too much. I am also an IT guy and you know how occupied IT keeps you. I was constantly busy for 42 years until I had to abruptly retire two years ago. It is a huge adjustment, and I have a long way to go.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I know there's been discussion here about the risks of doing volunteer work without a work permit - you could search. But I find it really, really hard to believe that just stopping in at the local school, checking in with the principal and getting to know some teachers, that someone is going to bother you. Especially if you have family inside. Maybe if you started teaching classes and some teacher felt like you took their job - OK maybe. But sitting around a table after school and helping kids, or helping out a teacher in a class once a week - I find it really hard to believe there's a serious risk in doing that.

I go to the Bangkok school for the blind and hang out some afternoons with the kids - sometimes they have structured homework I help with and other times the older ones just like to chat in English. In a situation like that it's hardly "work", more social, and I'm sure your local school would be happy to have you do the same.

Since you're an IT guy their computer lab might need help to. There's been a big push to put PCs in rural school but experience around the world would tell us that 30%+ of them don't work after awhile. A school lab is one of the most hostile computing environments because kids are curious and no one is there to really manage the IT. Just getting some PCs up and working and teaching some PC skills might also be appreciated.

[villagefarang]

Living with the in-laws in a typical village house is not the best scenario. Earplugs can help with the noise but you really need your own place to make it work.

As Soundman said, you nee something to do. For example somedays I hike to the dam with my dogs, mountain-bike, or take the Phantom out to explore further afield. Photography is a part time distraction and I publish a blog.

With a nice place you can surround yourself with some creature comforts and toys as well as set your own ground-rules. The wife and I fortunately have some overseas and Bangkok friends that can come for an occasional visit. For others it is necessary for us to email or Skype to keep in touch. Western TV and the latest movies downloaded from the internet doesn't hurt.

The kind of relationship you have with your partner is also a mitigating factor. If you are truly best friends with shared interests it is easier. She will also protect your sanity and interests or leave you to fend for yourself.

Age plays a factor I think, as well. Before I turned fifty, I had never considered living as we do, some 60 kilometers outside of Chiang Rai. Thirty years in Bangkok made the move easier but not entirely painless. Condo life was more suited to my vagabond ways before, but major life events led to a re-prioritization. Now I'm sort of a prisoner, in a gilded cage of my own making. Surrounded by all the things I could not have in my condo days but yearning occasionally for a faraway adventure.

So I would also agree that it is good to get away form time to time. For me I love my home and views to the point that just a few days away in Chiang Mai or Bangkok and I am aching to get home.

I would say I'm probably as close to a success story as you will find but I like my own company more than most and can do without the company of fools.

[Travel2003]

This must be one of the most interesting Threads I have come over here.

Again, very informative stuff on TV.

The OP kind of confirmed my worries I have had for such a long time.

The day when the wife and I start moving north-eastwards from Bangkok is approaching as she is getting more and more restless, and home sick.

Having been to her village numerous of times and met the wonderful family and nice neigbours, I still would not live there.

I guess about 2500 people there.

So most likely it will be the nearest bigger place, which is Khon Kaen 45-60 min driving away.

Good enough distance to not have all relatives invading personal space (which is important to me) every day, and short enough to visit almost daily.

One question to the OP and other members, how many people live in the place where you live?

[optimistvik]

Village is always nice.. clean and fresh air.. good people... just love living in a village.

[MJP]

I'm beginning to think the handwriting is on the wall. We've been in a rural village near Sao Kaeo for about two months and I'm not sure I can adapt.

The most difficult is the early morning noise starting at 6am or earlier (like blasting one hour public announcements, music, ceremonial flute music/chanting, food vendors, you name it) which prevents me from getting a decent sleep and puts me right off in a lousy mood each day. This morning some nearby farmer is burning something and I can't sit outside because of the smoke. Man oh Man.

The wife won't be happy to hear this, especially since her family also lives here in the village (an additional difficulty), but I am thinking life in a quiet, clean high-rise in Jomtien or Pattaya may be a necessity for me. I also really miss the western food and English speaking businesses but that is a different matter.

Has anybody successfully adapted to village life like this? I need to hear a success story.

YES!

I'm not overly bothered about Thailand, but my favorite place on earth is the village I live in here way outside Roi-Et. This to me is civilisation. Pattaya and Jometien? Civilisation? YIKES!!!

It takes effort and you need to build your own place to be honest, which, managed right (by you!) will not be expensive (<1m Baht). Think about design, innovate and improvise. Make sure you have sufficient land to have a good sized garden. Garden centres are brutally cheap here and the variety of plants available is vast.

Make friends with the neighbours. Don't buy booze. Make tea. They'll smoke all your cigarettes, but so what. Most of my friends are in their 60's and 70's. They come round most days, we do the garden together, I help them with painting their houses and making the place look smart. Village clean up day once a month, everyone get out with strimmers etc and by the end of the day it looks like Nong Nooch.

Once you've built the house, go down to Chok Chai, get all the ceramics, terracotta pots, vases and wall hangings you need. Very cheap. Also locally made teak root furniture. Very good stuff. Very cheap.

If you've still got it in you, get a trials bike for the mud roads. A pick-up is essential.

Sort out what you buy and where. Makro in the big towns once a month for bulk buying to keep costs down and the local market for fruit and veg.

I went to Pattaya the other weekend to buy a new PC. No thanks. That place will eat you alive.

[offset]

First off, I sincerely hope all will be OK with the scare.

Be very careful. Consider my difficulties and the other posters' experiences. It almost seems you may be entering a situation similar to mine which I may conclude to be intolerable. All families are different, but Thai families are traditionally extremely close, especially between mother and daughter. Upping and moving back to Pattaya sounds easy, but may in actuality be extremely problematic. Even weekend visits to Pattaya (a good idea), may become difficult to arrange. It is quite possible you also may have major problems living in the village.

You already have health concerns. Please be careful not to compound them. Don't lose control of your day to day life.

Best of luck.

Thanks for the advice by the time we move I will know move about my situation with my health problems and the baby will be 1 year old so I guess I will have plenty to keep me occupied we also have planted up a small bit of land so I can help keep my eye on that and delegate (no work permit needed lol) what needs to be done

If it does not work out I intend to try 50-50 between Pattaya and the village life before going back to Pattaya full time

[MJP]

I think the secret of it is to split your time between the rural lifestyle and a normal city life if that is what you have been used to and like. I too live in a very rural place and understand where you are coming from. I`ve spent over a year here and only had a few trips away all that time but we had a new born so it was not as easy as it used to be to get up and go. I`m going to look at getting a condo somewhere in the near future though to split the time between the two places.

That's true.

I only use this as a base and travel a lot (work).

But it makes the perfect balance between the hectic western commercial life and a nice rural simple one.

[Lopburi99]

It's funny, looking back on my concerns about village living before we came here.

I was worried mostly about the snakes . I had read so many posts about snakes getting into houses and the thought petrified me. You guessed it - haven't seen a snake in 2 months of living here! Lots of frogs in the house and things that look like leaches and other creepy crawlies, but at least no snakes.....yet!

But centipedes - huge mothers . Half a meter long and as thick as a snake. Outside, not in the house fortunately. Even the wife gets freaked at them. I've had to send about a dozen back to meet their Maker since being here. I think they like the potatoes plants growing near the house. I don't know.

And ants. Tiny ants by the millions. Finally after spraying all around the house and in the rooms I can make it though the night without awakening with another few itchy bites.

Even saw my first scorpion, up close and personal But it could run faster than I could, happily in a different direction.

Never thought the noise would be a problem. And I think I am so smart...

Speaking of bites, I happened to notice another farang's legs while waiting in line at 7-Eleven yesterday. Covered with red spots and scratch marks. Seems he has an ants problem too .

Edited September 22, 2009 by Lopburi99

[krading]

Staying for 3 months at a time I have walked all the streets in our small village and I reckon there would be no more than 200 people living there.

I'm not bothered by the village P.A. system because our Poo Yai Barn is a lazy bugger who never turns it on until around election time every year, about the same time the concrete mixer comes around filling in the 'bomb craters' in the main street.

It's a small village, I like it that way and I hope it stays that way.