Chinese Wives In Thailand

[Pacificperson]

I have been living on the Asian side of the Pacific for more than 20 years now. I have been married to a Taiwanese woman for the past 18 years. We have been stable in our location and she has made many Chinese friends here especially with the other Chinese mothers with similarly aged children. Many of their children will be off to college soon, as will ours.

I am fast approaching retirement and one of the places that I am considering relocating to is Thailand. The others are the Philippines and Florida. My questions are two. First, has any one had experience relocating a Chinese wife to Thailand? Second, is there a much of a Mandarin speaking expat community in Thailand?

Thanks in advance for any comment/advice offered.

[Heng]

Not sure what the numbers are, but I've been to at least a dozen 800-1,000 guest weddings where everything was conducted in Mandarin except for the chai-yo toast. Might have been the same thousand Hua-ren, who knows?

[WarpSpeed]

Quite a few in Florida and no comparison when it comes to activities and clean beautiful beaches and surrounding cleanliness looking to head back there shortly myself..

[Pacificperson]

Heng - 80-100 table weddings are a bit out of our normal social strata, but its good to known that the language is there. Were the guests old family Thai-Chinese or newcomers?

[anothertorres]

clean beautiful beaches

the US is working really hard to change that. i love the US, but man, Florida is the dullest place you could possibly live. true story.

[WarpSpeed]

clean beautiful beaches

the US is working really hard to change that. i love the US, but man, Florida is the dullest place you could possibly live. true story.

Yeah BP is surely trying to muck it up as much possible but as for the rest of your post dude it is pure BS as I'm a native of 42 years from there and obviously you have no clue where to look, it ain't that hard to find given that it is not only a retirement but a major international tourist destination if you can't find something fun to do there every weekend you're just not trying very hard...

Ironically enough that is a serious consideration my wife and I are giving to going back and starting up a tour agency for Chinese tourists, her translation and my guidance..

[Heng]

Heng - 80-100 table weddings are a bit out of our normal social strata, but its good to known that the language is there. Were the guests old family Thai-Chinese or newcomers?

I'd say more newcomers (Mainlanders and Taiwanese) than local Thai Chinese. A lot of Taiwanese weddings here in Thailand that I've been to are conducted in Mandarin (for universal appeal I assume) despite the hosts probably more comfortably doing so in Fukien/Hokkien.

[mark45y]

clean beautiful beaches

the US is working really hard to change that. i love the US, but man, Florida is the dullest place you could possibly live. true story.

Don't know what you are into but Tampa and Miami make Pattaya look like a Sunday School Classroom. I have lived in Thailand for 6 years and Florida for 20. If I wanted wild Florida would be my first choice every time.

[astral]

Many Thais are 3rd or 4th generation Chinese,

but not much Mandarin spoken, some dialects in upper class circles.

Many of the Thai's that I worked with 20 years ago, could speak a dialect

but only needed to with grandparents.

There was a rumour in the Thaksin days, that cabinet meetings could have been held in Teochew........

[WarpSpeed]

clean beautiful beaches

the US is working really hard to change that. i love the US, but man, Florida is the dullest place you could possibly live. true story.

Don't know what you are into but Tampa and Miami make Pattaya look like a Sunday School Classroom. I have lived in Thailand for 6 years and Florida for 20. If I wanted wild Florida would be my first choice every time.

Hands down....No competition...You even forgot to mention Daytona and Destin during spring break though, not to mention Daytona Bike week....I'm not a biker nor a party-er but the fact still remains for those who are.. There is also the 24 hours of Daytona sports car race and 12 hours of Sebring which are nothing but one ongoing infield party in the "swamp" even for those who just want one big party and don't watch the race and they just start off the year on the right foot... Lets not forget both NASCAR races and there's more wholesome family activities then one can shake a stick at both on and offshore from diving to fishing, boating to amusement parks etc. in central Florida the list is endless and I'm getting more home sick by the minute....

*addendum* There is also no comparison in weather either with the cooler spring and fall months which dominate most of the year even the occasional hurricane breaks up any possible boredom one could have but you have plenty of advance notice to deal with it..

[Pacificperson]

Florida has the advantage of having seasons, which I haven't seen for a long time. It also has better sanitation. But, I actually feel safer walking after dark in Bangkok than I would in most large Florida cities. The Philippines has the advantage of English, but the poverty is grinding, and the guys with guns opening doors everywhere freaks me out. It also has a reputation as being a dangerous place for Chinese visitors/business people. My wife didn't feel safe in Manila on our last visit, not because she is Chinese but because of the hunger on the streets.

[sooksam]

clean beautiful beaches

the US is working really hard to change that. i love the US, but man, Florida is the dullest place you could possibly live. true story.

yeah, obama really needs the oil to wash up on floridas beaches to get his cap and trade junk going!

be4 obama is all said and done he will make the americans wish they were thai people.

[mark45y]

There are really only two seasons in Florida. Tourist season and off season. Or hot and hotter. Some years it gets a bit cold and in 20 years there I saw it snow once in Orlando. Speaking of Chinese tourists and being a tour guide, most of the Chinese tourists want to go to Disney world and the other theme parks which are not on the coast but closer to the center of Florida in Orlando. Orlando is not a bad town, strip clubs are not as good as Tampa and Miami and there are no clothing optional beaches but there are lots of restaurants and entertainment.

Miami is dangerous because of the Cuban criminals turned loose there along with all the native criminals that have flocked there but there is also a hip community in South Beach. It is mush like being in Cuba with some parts of the city only speaking Spanish with great Cuban coffee and Spanish food. Tampa has a few bad areas but not many really. On the west coast of Florida the old people live in Sarasota and their parents live in Venice so not much crime there. Nice beaches on the West coast with a curious mix of fat Europeans in Speedos with black socks and teenybopper American girls in Tbacks.