How Many Farangs Do You Know,

[phetaroi]

Most people from western cultures have a choice. They can CHOOSE to be sad or CHOOSE to be happy. It's really that simple. My brother chooses to be sad and blames everyone else for his ailments; most of which he brought on himself. I choose to be happy and I make decisions that are not too risky. And, I'm willing to accept the consequences of my OWN actions. However, I'm fortunate that I have good health. But, for the most part that was also a CHOICE. I eat well, but not too exccess, I exercise and I don't smoke. When I drink it's in moderation. I budget my income and live within my means.

Clearly you and I are in a minority on this forum!

[phetaroi]

So the recipe for happiness is to be young, have a wife or girlfriend and don't, heven forbid, go to go-go bars (etc).

If you are old single and visit go-go bars (etc) you are doomed, apparently. No wonder most TV members aren't happy !!!

In terms of the former, no, it's his recipe for happiness. In terms of the latter,. not sure if you are doomed...but you are shallow.

[johnyb]

I stay in thailand for 9 years and i now i few expats 50/50 happy and not happy.

I newer complain about what happend in LOS i still be a guest.

I only complain when something happend in the vilage where i live when i see that it will have negative effects for the folks here.And they listening to me.Sometimes it works sometimes not.

and yes i am happy

[Maigo6]

Bit of strange post cosidering the OP has openly canvased the idea of smacking his partner in the mouth with a baseball bat.

Wasn't it a Croquet Mallet ?

[caf]

And I am as content as a pig in something.

One question does cross my mind though when I come across overly negative comments on TV concerning Thailand: I wonder if the negative amongst us were/are ever members of a forum discussing their home country's good and bad points? or is their complaining confined to Thailand related issues, which they can never change as they can't vote here. Nothing wrong with seeing things as they are but why stress about something we have no say in changing;)

Good point, JUDAS. I think EVERYONE complains to some degree. I make lots of complaints about our elected government when I see something that is totally wrong. However, I have no power to change it, so it's only a discussion. Posters on tv might SEEM to be unhappy, considering their topics of discussion, but that is all it it... just a discussion. In reality they are really quite happy with life.

You are right Ian

This is a forum for expressing views. I can't see why some posters always think expressing a view is complaining

Although if you disagree with someone you do sometimes get the retort that you are complaining and should go back to youir own country etc etc . Often a sign they are losing the argument.

[Xangsamhua]

I don't know if I'm bouncing happy here, but I'm generally content. There are good days and not-so-good ones, but very few really bad ones. Much the same as in my home country, I think.

It's OK to complain though. Sometimes there are things that warrant complaint. The complaints over the airport scamming were justified and have elicited a response. However, to remain content you probably have to accept the fact that, most of the time, Thai people aren't really interested in Farang complaints or they can't do anything anyway, so don't expect action.

[gmac]

Eight years and counting, very happy here, friends mainly happy. Quiet life, sometimes there are frustrations - where am I going to get a decent internet connection from??? - but would I consider returning to the UK - never!

[Sakeopete]

I can honestly say that I am happy here, I could not ask for a better wife of 8 years and she is a great mother to our children. My only complaint is I haven't been able to make any friends in my area. Every time I see a Farang in our town I say hello, try and make small talk but none seem interested.

[rayong09]

For all the unhappy people....

[garyh]

Bit of strange post cosidering the OP has openly canvased the idea of smacking his partner in the mouth with a baseball bat.

Wasn't it a Croquet Mallet ?

Sorry my mistake but the results would be the same, very postive? I think not.

[LooseCannon]

"How Many Farangs Do You Know,, Who are happy ?"

Not too many, thank <deleted>. Early detection rapidly followed by severing all contact.

.......

The other reason is that I have zero tolerance for negative attitudes and complaining - so if you're not happy I'm not interested in having you as a friend. Which doesn't mean I expect everyone to happy all the time and we all have bad times - but deep down happy people don't let the bad times get them down.

This is my attitude exactly & applies to anyplace I happen to be.

Why are some people so unhappy?....

Poor choices - partner, location, timing, motive - any or all of these.

Inability to take responsibility for decisions that they themselves have made.

Inability to adapt to the environment.

[ozzieovaseas]

Sure you've said this many times before.

Mr T,

We have also had many threads on Sin Sot and double pricing, and just about everything you could ever think of many times before, it still don't stop identical threads coming back thick and fast !

Ain't it about time for another " Where did you meet your Wife " thread ?

or

How much do you send to the Family ?

Or even, how long will Torquay United stay in the Football League ?

I say Go your hardest mate

I have no problem with duplicate threads and judging by the never-ending squabbles that result from the regulars,they dont either.

I vote for a sin-sod thread...havent seen one for LONG TIME....sheez...gotta be at least a week by now

[samuibeachcomber]

have read through the replies and i think its all been said,but here's my 2 satangs worth.If you've got good health and do not have money worries then you ought to be happy because the rest is up to you to make of your life what you will.

one thing i've learnt here(and you have to learn pretty quickly is to be careful of your money)it can too easily be frittered away.

If you want a happy and uncomplicated life dont spend what you cant afford,for example,dont go spending money on big plush house for your g/f or wife and go about supporting all and sundry,and that includes other expats.

accept thailand as you found it and enjoy its idiosyncracies,enjoy the lovely ladies(if you came here for that)but beware as many will take you for a ride if you let them.

as ozzieoverseas said it can be difficult to meet other expats,especially if your not in business or work,maybe join a pool comp. or a trivia team.

and lastly never lose focus on the reason you originally came here and keep remembering how lucky you are to be here.

also many people mistake a whinge or a "bitch" as being negative but i think thee's nothing wrong with a quiet moan,it can even be constructive,and as far as the TV forum is concerned thats what the forum is for,surely, to let off steam sometimes.

[Lopburi99]

Sure you've said this many times before.

Yeah, unfortunately is a return to the same old Maigo mantra. <yawn>.

But he hasn't been on this kick much lately.

Myself I have only one farang friend here, and I just recently met him when moving to the village of WangNamYen. For the first time in 2 years, I have somebody to hop in the car and go visit now and then. It hopefully will help make village life here feasible for me long term. Without him I would speak very little english every day (only to my wife) and understand virtually nothing anybody, including family, is saying. Not good.

I had previously met a UK chap who lives outside of Khon Kaen years ago, but he keeps mostly to himself. We exchange emails only every few months.

[Heng]

I'd say I know one fairly happy or at least content farang for 5 bitter ones. For other foreigners in general, not much better, but probably 3 for every 5.

[robblok]

Maigo6,

I am happy here and all of my friends are happy here too. I dont know anyone who is misserable and staying here. This however does not mean you cannot comment on things that are wrong in your eyes. I comment a lot on things in Holland that i dont agree on (don't even live there anymore).

[Lopburi99]

..

Myself I have only one farang friend here, and I just recently met him when moving to the village of WangNamYen. For the first time in 2 years, I have somebody to hop in the car and go visit now and then. It hopefully will help make village life here feasible for me long term. Without him I would speak very little english every day (only to my wife) and understand virtually nothing anybody, including family, is saying. Not good.

..

I might add this friend has been here (in the village) about 15 years and is extremely happy. He, a Swiss man, married a Thai woman and now has a boy about 12. He has many planted many trees and fruits and is a farmer type and former teacher. He has learned Thai and speaks it well (a feat I compare to scaling a mile high vertical cliff in a strong -10C wind). Although frustrated by Thai politics, as most of us are, he loves Thailand being his home.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Lopburi99

[jasreeve17]

Bit of strange post cosidering the OP has openly canvased the idea of smacking his partner in the mouth with a baseball bat.

Yeah, the OP is not the full one baht coin IMHO... (I can't spell mai tem baht properly.)

Back on topic - I don't know anyone who is happy! When I look in the mirror all I see is unhappiness!! Actually I was relatively happy (but still unhappy by 'normal' standards) this morning until I started reading Maigo6 - now I'm exceptionally unhappy!!!

I totally disagree with everything Maigo6 says as a matter of principle, but in this thread I also disagree because the vast vast majority of Thais I know are unhappy too - we just seem to be living in a period of 'unhappy time', worldwide. His basic argument, which is outragously limited, is that wealth makes you happy; an argument which has been proven to be wrong time after time after time...

Still, as the (in)famous Mr Maigo6 is fond of saying: if I don't like it I can go back to England and be unhappy there instead.

[pjclark1]

All my foreigner friends seem happy here, but we have all been here under 5 years, we are all young and not the type who goes to gogo bars etc.

Most of us have wives and gf's

So the recipe for happiness is to be young, have a wife or girlfriend and don't, heven forbid, go to go-go bars (etc).

If you are old single and visit go-go bars (etc) you are doomed, apparently. No wonder most TV members aren't happy !!!

I'm happy, I'm old (50+), I live with an ex-bar girl (30+ she refers to herself as girlfriend or 'Mia Noi', but we both know she is 'Mia Chow'), and I still visit bars twice a week, leaving her at home. Her house, I didn't buy it!

All my pals are pretty much the same (but change their Mia Chow far more often then me), we all love it out here.

I think the problem with most of the winging whites is, they have forgotten how hard it is to get a younger girlfriend (and how much more expensive) in the western world. They have also forgotten how easy it is for a western gf to take you for all you have.

I'm happy!

I love it here!

Edited September 28, 2009 by pjclark1

[wilsongbrown]

Not counting Thai Visa Forum, where many seem to be really bitter and twisted about the desicions they have made in their lives, how many normal Farangs do you know that are relatively happy ?

This site has so many threads that seem somewhat strange, there are too many posters here that are so angry, so pissed off, so bitter and twisted about seemingly all things Thai. I can only put this down to bravado and just winding people up on an anonymous internet forum.

Cos surely, if it was that bad, they wouldn't be here. So, I have to come to the conclusion that most of the constant whiners are trolls or idiots that stay in a place they dislike, then blame the place they choose to stay in.

Did they think everything would change overnight cos they decided to move here ?

I hear constantly the whinges of how Farangs cannot own land and house in Thailand, yet this has been the case for as long as I can remember, everyone knows it, yet still Farangs come here, buy land and build a house knowing full well they cannot own it, yet they still do it, then spend the rest of their lives &lt;deleted&gt;' moaning on internet forums about something they knew right from the start !!!!

OK, to the original question, I know quite a few that are happy, I would say that all seem to be financially secure and have choices.

I also know some who are very bitter, I would say the vast majority are struggling financially and should have planned their lives better, and basically, have very little choice.

They blame Thailand and Thai people for their own failings.

Nobody likes to admit to being a failure, and that comes across so well in Thailand where every Farang who fails seems to blame Thailand and Thai people.

It's never their own fault !!

I get really bitter and twisted when an, I assume, poster over the age of 5 uses the diminutive 'cos'.

Are you saying that white people blame Thailand and Thai people for their own failings? Bit racist.

As to the overall comment. Everywhere gets boring after a while. Depends on an individual's boredom threshold. Which, judging by most of the posts on ThaiVisa, I would've thought quite high

[dantilley]

Personally, I'm very happy here. Pretty much every other westerner I know is relatively happy here also - some people I know do like a good whinge now and again, but even those people are still content and don't plan on leaving.

It seems that ThaiVisa, and forums in general, attract a lot of people who just want a place to complain and let of steam, plus perhaps a lot of bitter people in general. It's important to remember that the vast majority of people in Thailand don't have the time or the inclination to write posts on ThaiVisa. Many will have never heard of the site, let alone ever actually written anything on here. So it follows that the people who contribute here aren't your typical expats anyway.

[Geekfreaklover]

All my foreigner friends seem happy here, but we have all been here under 5 years, we are all young and not the type who goes to gogo bars etc.

Most of us have wives and gf's

So the recipe for happiness is to be young, have a wife or girlfriend and don't, heven forbid, go to go-go bars (etc).

If you are old single and visit go-go bars (etc) you are doomed, apparently. No wonder most TV members aren't happy !!!

Do you automatically get unhappy after 5 years here?

Yes.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Geekfreaklover

[Maigo6]

Bit of strange post cosidering the OP has openly canvased the idea of smacking his partner in the mouth with a baseball bat.

Yeah, the OP is not the full one baht coin IMHO... (I can't spell mai tem baht properly.)

Back on topic - I don't know anyone who is happy! When I look in the mirror all I see is unhappiness!! Actually I was relatively happy (but still unhappy by 'normal' standards) this morning until I started reading Maigo6 - now I'm exceptionally unhappy!!!

I totally disagree with everything Maigo6 says as a matter of principle, but in this thread I also disagree because the vast vast majority of Thais I know are unhappy too - we just seem to be living in a period of 'unhappy time', worldwide. His basic argument, which is outragously limited, is that wealth makes you happy; an argument which has been proven to be wrong time after time after time...

Still, as the (in)famous Mr Maigo6 is fond of saying: if I don't like it I can go back to England and be unhappy there instead.

LOL....

Nice one JR.

[Maigo6]

I get really bitter and twisted when an, I assume, poster over the age of 5 uses the diminutive 'cos'.

I am certainly over the age of 5 years, but my mental age is 4 years.

By the way, if you get bitter and twisted over a few words on an internet forum that don't happen to agree with you cos it's spelt cos, instead of because, then you have some serious issues, I only say that cos you seem so pedantic.

I'm quite happy cos I'm not .

[billd766]

I may start a new thread...........

Did you buy or build a house in Thailand knowing full well you cannot own it ?

I wonder how many will say, Yes ?

Yes.

I knew before we started that I couldn't own the house or land but I still went ahead and did it.

Most of the farangs I know personally and that is less than 10 are happy except one who lives and works in Denmark and the less said about his wife and her family the better.

[mrtoad]

Or even, how long will Torquay United stay in the Football League ?

Now you know that one's below the belt Maigo

[wilsongbrown]

I get really bitter and twisted when an, I assume, poster over the age of 5 uses the diminutive 'cos'.

I am certainly over the age of 5 years, but my mental age is 4 years.

By the way, if you get bitter and twisted over a few words on an internet forum that don't happen to agree with you cos it's spelt cos, instead of because, then you have some serious issues, I only say that cos you seem so pedantic.

I'm quite happy cos I'm not .

No, just the one. Misspellings don't irritate me nearly so much as infantile vocabulary from, I assume, someone who is at least old enough to sit in a Big Chair to reach the keyboard.

And Cos' (sic) well, if you're so very happy here, why do you constantly feel the need to have a bash at, reprimand, in post after post, others that aren't, happy here that is. Why don't you just mind your own business and get on with it?

I'd use the words 'too much' and 'protesteth', but I'm as adverse to cliche as I am to pedantry.

[Maigo6]

And Cos' (sic) well, if you're so very happy here, why do you constantly feel the need to have a bash at, reprimand, in post after post, others that aren't, happy here that is. Why don't you just mind your own business and get on with it?

And you being a member here for a whole 2 months will have taken stock of my posting history ?

Anyway, I will PM you, in perfect understandable English.

[Lopburi99]

Most people from western cultures have a choice. They can CHOOSE to be sad or CHOOSE to be happy. It's really that simple. My brother chooses to be sad and blames everyone else for his ailments; most of which he brought on himself. I choose to be happy and I make decisions that are not too risky. And, I'm willing to accept the consequences of my OWN actions. However, I'm fortunate that I have good health. But, for the most part that was also a CHOICE. I eat well, but not too exccess, I exercise and I don't smoke. When I drink it's in moderation. I budget my income and live within my means.

Oh Mr. Ian if it were only that simple -- 'just make the choice'. If you had struggled with (clinical) depression you would know people who don't have the good fortune of having stable serotonin levels, etc, are usually UNABLE to CHOOSE to be happy! As a person who has fought depression all my life, many times I've had people nearly scold me "knock it off; stop being a Sad Sack; go in the corner and cry; stop feeling sorry for yourself; just get your ass out of bed; grow up;..." you name it. That's like telling the guy with the broken leg "just get up and walk". I have never chosen to be sad when my chemistry was ok, I quickly would choose to be happy as you do every day. And my state of health definitely wasn't/isn't a choice. I do what I can about eating high Omega-3 foods, etc but since this has been a lifelong battle, I know there is only so much I can do. Thank God depression comes and goes. Don't have any at present, and don't have a clue why, but I know living in the Land of Sun helps. Something about chemicals being increased via stimulation through the optic nerve.

Only a person who has experienced the terrible illness of depression can truly understand my words. Others just don't, and perhaps can't, understand the debilitating nature of the illness and how depression itself often fuels on itself making matters even worse.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Lopburi99

[mca]

Through my observations I've found the happiest westerners seem to be the ones who've usually married a Thai from the same social group as themselves which, for want of a better phrase, would be middle class. Usually fairly near in age as well.

When I see some of the village horror stories that westerners shack up with I just thank the lord that isn't me. Their faces look like they're in a living hel_l. It's almost as if they set out to find the lowest piece of immoral dross they could and then marry her.

Sorry. Got to call it as I see it.