this is a truly interesing topic, something that we have been discussing for some time... Not to say that i want to leave thailand but as im only 31 and recently married the immediate future of thailand say 3-5 years scares me a little, i have in the last few years opened several buisness and are doing quite well..... for the time being. I would love to have a crystal ball to see what the future holds, but as we all know thats not going to happen. we own our own cars and are very near completion of a beautiful new house here in bangkok, were luck to be virtualy debt free with maybe 3-5 years cash surplus potential enough to last us double that if we were to be thrifty. I could farily easily go back to being an employee at a respectable salary pretty much anywhere in the world as my profession is in high demand world wide....With that being said, when does one decide to leave this place... any advice from the older guys?

Depends on why you're there.

If you're there to make money, any time you want.

If you're there because you love LOS and everything about it, dream of it whenever you're not, sacrifice your standard of living to save enough to live there, then only when they drag you kicking and screaming to the plane.

this is a truly interesing topic, something that we have been discussing for some time... Not to say that i want to leave thailand but as im only 31 and recently married the immediate future of thailand say 3-5 years scares me a little, i have in the last few years opened several buisness and are doing quite well..... for the time being. I would love to have a crystal ball to see what the future holds, but as we all know thats not going to happen. we own our own cars and are very near completion of a beautiful new house here in bangkok, were luck to be virtualy debt free with maybe 3-5 years cash surplus potential enough to last us double that if we were to be thrifty. I could farily easily go back to being an employee at a respectable salary pretty much anywhere in the world as my profession is in high demand world wide....With that being said, when does one decide to leave this place... any advice from the older guys?

Depends on why you're there.

If you're there to make money, any time you want.

If you're there because you love LOS and everything about it, dream of it whenever you're not, sacrifice your standard of living to save enough to live there, then only when they drag you kicking and screaming to the plane.

well honestly i do love living here, my adopted family is here, this is my home as far as im concerened... so i guess its best to take a open view on the situation, if it gets bad well then we leave untill things go back to normal, keep working away and hope for the best.... really i guess what else can you do

When you come back though, which I'm sure you will, come back to Phuket. I'm sure that's where your heart still is, right?

If my ex had been more accurate with her knife, it would have been my heart, liver and kidneys...

Simon

The freebies in these western countries are not going to be there forever. Look at Iceland, they have no Mcdonalds now. Greece next, Italy next, Portugal next....

When you come back though, which I'm sure you will, come back to Phuket. I'm sure that's where your heart still is, right?

If my ex had been more accurate with her knife, it would have been my heart, liver and kidneys...

Simon

Look at Iceland, they have no Mcdonalds now.

Not a great loss to humanity then...

Depends on why you're there.

If you're there to make money, any time you want.

If you're there because you love LOS and everything about it, dream of it whenever you're not, sacrifice your standard of living to save enough to live there, then only when they drag you kicking and screaming to the plane.

Good answer. For a lot of people the love of this place will keep us here no matter what. If My families lives were at risk, then obviously it would be time to go, but it will take a lot more than a bit of political unrest or a coup here and there for me to pack up. If you love somewhere, you see it through, good times and bad.

I think that even without a large cash incentive it is better to be in a developed country than a developing one. I would prefer to live in a smaller house with a mortgage than a large one without in Thailand. There is just more certainty to living in a developed country.

The issue of the things that we are not permitted to discuss also concerns me. I only wish I were in a country that didn't restrict free speech so much, then we could talk about it.