Why The Overrepresentation Of Brits In Thailand?

[whichschool]

Brits have always travelled en masse hence how we created civilised society in US, Canada, Aus, NZ etc.... , plus since the 80s everyone who is anyone has gone on foreign holidays any many stayed in that place it just so happens that Thailand has been the choice of the last 10 years.

What id like to know is why are there so many Nigerians in lower Sukhumvit or is that racist?

[Skyline]

I dont think its just Thailand that has a large amount of Brit expats.

Alot of Brits have had enough of the UK with its ridiculous lust for political correctness,high costs,high crime and far too many immigrants.

Im sure the 'lefties' and 'liberals' will be here to correct me soon!

[Dave the Dude]

Basically Britain sucks ... Never used to... But now it's bu99ered beyond repair.

Agreed and that makes Thailand seem even better

[GuestHouse]

I dont think its just Thailand that has a large amount of Brit expats.

Alot of Brits have had enough of the UK with its ridiculous lust for political correctness,high costs, high crime and far too many immigrants.

Im sure the 'lefties' and 'liberals' will be here to correct me soon!

Another one...... Too many immigrants ..... so he emigrated

[alfieconn]

I dont think its just Thailand that has a large amount of Brit expats.

Alot of Brits have had enough of the UK with its ridiculous lust for political correctness,high costs, high crime and far too many immigrants.

Im sure the 'lefties' and 'liberals' will be here to correct me soon!

Another one...... Too many immigrants ..... so he emigrated

That was one of the reasons that i moved to Thailand, because there are actually less foreigners

[sharecropper]

Brits have always travelled en masse hence how we created civilised society in US, Canada, Aus, NZ etc.... , plus since the 80s everyone who is anyone has gone on foreign holidays any many stayed in that place it just so happens that Thailand has been the choice of the last 10 years.

What id like to know is why are there so many Nigerians in lower Sukhumvit or is that racist?

No. I think you may find they are connected to the selling (or attempts to sell) gemstones, epecially diamonds, rubies and sapphires.

But the canny Thai buyers won't pay what the Africans think they are worth, so they end up in a standoff, hanging around Bangkok, with little money, living in cheap hotels, until their tourist visas run out, at which point they generally accept a lower sum for their stones before going back to Africa.

[Skyline]

Another one...... Too many immigrants ..... so he emigrated

Told you the 'lefties' would be here.

[Nignoy]

From the end of he second world war there have been british troops serving in singapore ,malaysia and thailand, the difference to other armies is the married british soldier who was staying at least 3 years were allowed to have their families with them, in thailand US forces who were permanently based had thai girlfriends even ad children, but when they left many of them left their partners and kids behind, british soldiers like myself in the early 60,s married our thai partners,1000,s of serving soldiers got the travel bug, because we were not used to staying anywhere longer than 3 yearsand going home to UK and talking to other people sharing our experiences over the years, started to broaden british holiday horizons, from blackpool to spain to asia, and brits have always been good trades and craftsmen and we have an aptitude for languages too,there are over half a million brits living and working in germany, but the main rreason so many brits are in thailand is someone has to teach australian tourists to eat with knives and forks

[dumball]

='Skyline' date='2010-01-03 14:36:58' post='3241326']

Another one...... Too many immigrants ..... so he emigrated

Told you the 'lefties' would be here.

They emmigrate for far worse reasons than they immigrate , can some of you not get that particular point ? A point to note , it has been said many times "If an Englishman is not complaining , he must be sick " It is a wont of the British , not neccessarily out of a parlicular need , often , what they have to say is not neccessarily complaining , just a wont to address a problem in their mind .

[dumball]

Hey nignoy , got a real chuckle ouf of your final comment , wish there was more of this on TV , some will take it the wrong way , no sense of humour , which seems to have used the exit door to extreme , a laugh a day helps keep the doctor away , thanks .

[rgs2001uk]

Not so long ago the UK Pound was at a relatively high level against the Thai Bht remaining in the 60~73 Bht/£ range for a handful of years.

This favorable exchange rate combined with a boom in house prices and high bank interest rates back in the UK provided the economic 'power' to allow Brits to move/retire overseas.

You only need to recall posts on TV during this 'favorable' exchange rate period to see the large numbers of Brits moving to Thailand at that time - and of course when the GB Pound fell against the Bht the subsequent raft of Brits reporting they need to go home/find somewhere cheaper.

Under these circumstances I don't think the fact there are so many more Brits is at all surprising.

What is interesting and deserving of study is the demography of Brits who live in Thailand, not so much Gender, the reasons there are obvious, rather the age and socioeconomic class of Brits who come to living in Thailand.

(Oops, I've mentioned 'class' - never an easy subject for Brits).

Thankfully the class system in Thailand is so much more subtle, so much so in fact that if we didnt know any better, we could almost convince ourselves it doesnt exist.

I have often found Brits have no problems with the class system, they grew up with it and are used to it.

Its been my observation that the so called "Brits" who never find this an easy subject, are those who were never exposed to to the UK class system before arriving in the UK.

[eek]

Learn something new everyday...

Im a Brit

I dont whinge

Im not dissatisfied

I dont really care what food stuff is and isnt available

I didnt come here for the women (although many of the local guys are pretty hot..but that wasnt a prerequisite)

Im not old (well depends what you consider old i guess)

Ive got good teeth.

I dont care about social class, as long as people have real class, for thats something that cant be bought or sold.

And apparently im attractive (but I leave that to others to gauge).

But today ive learned from much of this thread, that being a Brit, i should be the complete opposite of all that.

Well im off out to enjoy life.

[Travel2003]

quote]

Brits have a long long history of leaving their own shores, never to return. A couple or three hundred years or so. Some of the reasons you've listed here were being used then as well. I'll see if I can dig up a copy I had of an article about the British diaspora in The Economist a number of years ago, which had a few quotes from the 19th century that mirror some of your comments.

True, but historically they only travelled in order to survive.

England basically survived as a merchant island, which forced them to build out a huge merchant (and later naval) fleet.

Then the conquests (colonization and military deployments) started in order protect their own overseas interests.

The reason these days are simple.

All people want to experience something else (variety).

And Thailand represents lower prices, warmer weather, etc, as already mentioned here.

It should not be a mystery really.

One other point we must not forget is the fact that Brits travelling (and drinking) together, are more visible (clothing especially) and make a hel_l of more noise than other nationalities.

So it will always look (and sound) like they are the majority as well.

[Eazy-Going]

The reason so many Brits are here is because of their disatisfaction with their own country..

The Weather.

The High taxes.

Gormless Clown and his hopeless government.

Immigration.

Political correctness and the whole over mangement 'nanny state' nonsense.

The high cost of living.

The thought of a miserable retirement.

The lack of attractive women.

Contrast this with expats from other countries in the World.. You will find they are here for the same fun and great value.. But they never seem to be so disaffected and angry about their country of origin.

In over 20 years as an expat I've never though of returning to the UK but many of my Aussie, Kiwi and Euro friends look forward to returning home at some point in their life..

Basically Britain sucks ... Never used to... But now it's bu99ered beyond repair.

I think you've put it all in a nutshell there, those were my reasons just about to a tee, plus maybe a couple of additions.

[473geo]

The best reason surely must be..........

You wish to be where you are going......

[Tonto21]

From the end of he second world war there have been british troops serving in singapore ,malaysia and thailand, the difference to other armies is the married british soldier who was staying at least 3 years were allowed to have their families with them, in thailand US forces who were permanently based had thai girlfriends even ad children, but when they left many of them left their partners and kids behind, british soldiers like myself in the early 60,s married our thai partners,1000,s of serving soldiers got the travel bug, because we were not used to staying anywhere longer than 3 yearsand going home to UK and talking to other people sharing our experiences over the years, started to broaden british holiday horizons, from blackpool to spain to asia, and brits have always been good trades and craftsmen and we have an aptitude for languages too,there are over half a million brits living and working in germany, but the main rreason so many brits are in thailand is someone has to teach australian tourists to eat with knives and forks

I think you hit the nail on the head for me there! Myself, like my father served in the forces. As a child of a service man, I traveled, a lot, and got the bug early, I joined up as soon as I could and was lucky, and the unit I ended up in had me all over the world. I have never lived anywhere (same address) more than 3 years in my life, except this last place in Mae Tang, and I have only stood it this long because I work, still in a job that has me traveling around the world. Some say luck, some say curses to have itchy feet, the feeling of arriving at a new place to live, only a year later, to be looking to move again.

Don’t know why, but a lot of Brits suffer with this. (And no I’m not wanted by Interpol!)

Two thing we Brits do well, travel and bitch! (In equal amounts) Lucky for me I like the 1^st one. That said if you want quality “dripping” talk to an Aussie! Ha ha. I used to think all Aussies were laid back till I came to Thailand.

As for why so many Brits in Thailand, you could ask that of any country. Because we are! Travel and Bitch, Travel and Bitch!

[StreetCowboy]

I laugh about all the whinging from ex-pat British people. They get to vote for the government, if they choose. I think most of the grizzling over what they call "Political Correctness" comes from reading too many tabloid newspapers. I can certainly see why so many people are anxious to make Britain their home, and travel from all over the world to do so. Its quite a tolerant country, it allows people a lot of freedom economically, clturally and religously.

Personally, I really enjoy my trips back to the UK, and sometimes I regret that my children don't have the same opportunity to grow up in safe countryside, free to roam, that I had. THe weather in the UK is great - particularly in England, where you get months of sunshine every summer, and occasionally, snow in the winter as well. Or the long summer nights in Scotland... or the pleasure of shaking the snow off your coat and pushing up your steamed-up glasses when you go into the pub...

I think whinging and complaining says more about the speaker than the country.

But on the specific topic raised:

The OP didn't really make clear what he thought would be an appropriate representation for Brits in Thailand. I think probably he sub-consciously was trying to criticise the British stereotypes that he saw in Thailand, and felt Brits were over-represented because he could often identify people that he felt matched his stereotypes for Brits. Maybe he should concentrate on learning about the stereotypes for other nationalities.

One thing we should remember is that Britain (and the US) are great exporters of 'pop' culture, so that British stereotypes are defined by the British, while the stereotypes of Europeans that you see in Thailand are also likely to be defined by the British (and hence, probably less accurate...); as a Brit, I don't have good access to European pop culture, so I don't really know how the various nations define their own stereotypes of their own people, nor other Europeans nor the British.

SC

[sharecropper]

I think whinging and complaining says more about the speaker than the country.

StreetCowboy's quote nailed it.

[citizen33]

Yes, I'm another who has more sympathy for Streetcowboy than those who want to write the old country off. Its early death is much exaggerated. Have just spent New Year in the West Country: it was cold but the pub lunches and views were great!

[MAJIC]

First of all your assumption of the abundance of British in Thailand,is very obviously not backed up with anything like official figures,evidence or research.

Personally after living in Thailand for many years,my own observations do not agree with yours. In my view there are a lot of Scandinavians, an abundance of Americans and Australians and not forgetting Germans and several other European Nationalities.

Which Countries people are the majority in Thailand would need more than personal views to achieve accuracy.

[andyww]

The reason so many Brits are here is because of their disatisfaction with their own country..

The Weather.

The High taxes.

Gormless Clown and his hopeless government.

Immigration.

Political correctness and the whole over mangement 'nanny state' nonsense.

The high cost of living.

The thought of a miserable retirement.

The lack of attractive women.

Contrast this with expats from other countries in the World.. You will find they are here for the same fun and great value.. But they never seem to be so disaffected and angry about their country of origin.

In over 20 years as an expat I've never though of returning to the UK but many of my Aussie, Kiwi and Euro friends look forward to returning home at some point in their life..

Basically Britain sucks ... Never used to... But now it's bu99ered beyond repair.

Spot on.

But there is more:

Poor healthcare, dirty hospitals.

Rip off prices for everything especially basics such as water, power and public transport. (all of these Thaiiland does so well)

Having to watch out for bus lane/speed cams, parking fines every time you drive anywhere.

Green policies being used to justify taxes.

All the above might seem like a case of being a "grumpy old man", but if you delve into the economy and other factors in the UK and do some modelling, you start to realise that things are getting really serious in the UK regarding the future.

The UK became bankrupt in 2004, when in secret, the banks started to lend more than their assets. The government was aware but hid it from the people.

Now after the credit crunch and bank bailout, the UK is in huge debt and has no chance of paying this back. This is because the UK has lost a large proportion of its wealth-creating industry. The public sector has flourished to the extent that public sector pay and pensions can no longer be supported by the creators of wealth.

One of the last sectors which was a wealth creator was the financial services sector. Now that this has had EU regulation imposed as of last December, its expected this will gradually be lost to Switzerland.

There will be very little left. Almost all utility companies and foreign-owned and can, and will, continue to increase the prices of power and essentials. There is no way this would have happened in Thailand.

Another factor is, unlike Thailand, the UK has no proper energy policy, and all political parties bang on about wind power which is a joke. So the power will run out in 5 years time.

The education system in Thailand is often criticized on here. True it does not encourage innovative thinking. But it does teach people to write. In UK schools the teaching of grammar has been discontinued. So few young people take courses which lead to wealth-creating jobs that the country will have a severe skills shortage, yet another reason why the economy will never recover.

The fact that the recession continues in the UK despite the enormous printing of money is an indicator of just how serious things are. Maybe next month the government will announce the recession has ended if growth turns positive. They will be lying as this would only be valid if the fiscal stimulus had not happened.

While the UK is going down the pan, the corrupt Thai govenment which so many people bang on about on here, has managed to ensure none of the above factors are suffered by Thailand. Although Thailand is not an innovator it has very cleverly managed to make itself a world leader in several industries, especially food production and export, which it trounces everyone else at.

Thailand is such a succesful exporter that it is owed 30 billion dollars worth of US foreign debt and has an increasingly healthy economy with a bright future. Not bad for a country which, according to many TV observers, is run by a bunch of corrupt dullards.

Personally I am thankful that I am able to live here, and also thankful that my son has the opportunity, if he so wishes, to base himself here in the future.

[sharecropper]

I'm starting to see this board as some form of essenial therapy for people to let go of stuff that is fetsering in their heads. And that's fine.

I have lived here for 8 years. When I go back to the UK twice a year, I see family and friends, go to pubs, travel around the wonderful countryside and feel sad that I am leaving when it's time to return to Thailand. But once back here I love it!

[mahtin]

"La Frite" is Belgian

Fortunately "La Moule" is international!

[bangon04]

English is the unofficial second language here. That could be a factor.

I thought it was Chinese....

[bangon04]

is this urban myth?? I heard ( in general) the first sex pats arriving in great numbers ( in Pattaya ) were Germans, followed by the Brits, and now the Russians

signed: word spreads quickly

Cant agree about the Ruskies as most come here with their family

As in "the Family" will always take care of you as long as you don't sqeal...?

[StreetCowboy]

English is the unofficial second language here. That could be a factor.

I thought it was Chinese....

I don't think you'll get very far with Chinese here, except maybe in some of the ethnic chinese shops and restaurants. Even there, a lot of the staff are monoglot thai. Though to be sure, I always gets a smile when the Chinese does come in useful...

Same as everywhere else, English is the Lingua Franca (that must rile the French - especially in Vietnam!).

SC

[Jeddah Jo]

Maybe outside of London, England is still England (in parts).

But on a recent business trip over there I had a Polish guy open his car door on to mine in the car park and then proceed to give me a hard time when he had parked there after I had.

I had a Turkish guy in a restaurant take offence to me for some reason and start ranting at me in Turkish, I had an Indian guy give me a hard time as I was trying to get out of a very congested car park and finally had another Polish guy in the hotel try to speak Polish to me because he thought I might understand it.

I think I was there for 2 days before I spoke to a native Brit.

JJ

[bangon04]

From the end of he second world war there have been british troops serving in singapore ,malaysia and thailand, the difference to other armies is the married british soldier who was staying at least 3 years were allowed to have their families with them, in thailand US forces who were permanently based had thai girlfriends even ad children, but when they left many of them left their partners and kids behind, british soldiers like myself in the early 60,s married our thai partners,1000,s of serving soldiers got the travel bug, because we were not used to staying anywhere longer than 3 yearsand going home to UK and talking to other people sharing our experiences over the years, started to broaden british holiday horizons, from blackpool to spain to asia, and brits have always been good trades and craftsmen and we have an aptitude for languages too,there are over half a million brits living and working in germany, but the main rreason so many brits are in thailand is someone has to teach australian tourists to eat with knives and forks

..aptitude for languages????????????????????

[LaoPo]

LaoPo : Actually, I'm not a native speaker, I am Belgian and my native language is French .

Well, there you go; the 2 major language groups in Belgium are not really know for their consensus ability, are they....?

One doesn't see too many families joining each other in Knokke on the beach, one of them Flamish the other Wallonian.

LaoPo

[Pdaz]

From the end of he second world war there have been british troops serving in singapore ,malaysia and thailand, the difference to other armies is the married british soldier who was staying at least 3 years were allowed to have their families with them, in thailand US forces who were permanently based had thai girlfriends even ad children, but when they left many of them left their partners and kids behind, british soldiers like myself in the early 60,s married our thai partners,1000,s of serving soldiers got the travel bug, because we were not used to staying anywhere longer than 3 yearsand going home to UK and talking to other people sharing our experiences over the years, started to broaden british holiday horizons, from blackpool to spain to asia, and brits have always been good trades and craftsmen and we have an aptitude for languages too,there are over half a million brits living and working in germany, but the main rreason so many brits are in thailand is someone has to teach australian tourists to eat with knives and forks

..aptitude for languages????????????????????

Well I'm Englsih and can speak four languages.. Remember those stereotypes don't apply to everyone