If You Take Money Out Of The Equation

[Naam]

Not knocking young and attractive women, but an older, more experienced woman from my own culture with my own type of background makes the best companion--in all areas.

Not that I am going to ignore the Thai women here as I am surrounded by many more of them than by women from my own culture. They are great in their own right. But if I was back in the US, I would be just as if not more happy socializing with an older and wiser (and I will admit, more skilled?) American demographic.

(Although now that I think of it, my current Thai companion, while much younger than me, is only one year younger than my ex-wife, a red-headed Western woman. Interpret that as you may. )

my view is that "own culture" is not necessarily important but there should not be a huge discrepancy in educational background nor a language barrier.

having said so, it is worthwhile to mention that i am quite familiar with two Farang/Thai liaisons where these discrepancies don't play the slightest role since more than 25 years. perhaps the reason is that they don't live in Thailand?

Edited June 5, 2011 by Naam

[Naam]

:lol: .....Naam.....as you know the colonial cousins are not always good recognising sarcasm...therefore we may be setting outselves up for detailed comparative shopping lists from both California and Phuket being published on TV and analysed in detail....

I am really glad that all the important decisions I have made in my life have never been based on the price of spagetti sauce...

neither did i Soutpeel. my guidelines were always haircuts, razor blades and the price of a roasted chicken leg from a roadside stall.

[Kwasaki]

Answer to the OP's question (in the title) ... "yes"

Me too.

Talking of only my situation, one of my reasons is I would not have had the same quality of life I have here as I would of done in my own country for sure.

provide me with enough there that living in Thailand isn't hurting my retirement plan. Life is good.

It's a much longer story but maybe I should of mentioned I gladly retired earley, I could not of done that and stayed in UK.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

My advice, if you want everything just like home, stay home. I am here because it is different, it is an adventrue for me.

I lived in Oregon, Colorado, California, and Hawaii. in every location, some things were more and some things were less.

Same here. I love the weather, I love to ride motorcycles without always worring about the police around the next bend, I like the adventure living here brings to me and makes my life more interesting.

[QED]

I gave up comparing prices years ago, if I think something is worth the price I will buy it, if not, erm, not..

All I know is that I am earning a similar salary as I was in the UK, have a MUCH better lifestyle, and for the first time in my life am saving money on a monthly basis, a lot of money.

[StreetCowboy]

My advice, if you want everything just like home, stay home. I am here because it is different, it is an adventrue for me.

I lived in Oregon, Colorado, California, and Hawaii. in every location, some things were more and some things were less.

Same here. I love the weather, I love to ride motorcycles without always worring about the police around the next bend, I like the adventure living here brings to me and makes my life more interesting.

There's worse things than police round the next bend when you ride a motorcycle, wherever you are.

SC

[lazygourmet]

What is the protocol here? - am I obligated to read all 55 replies!! Including the ones with typos?

no you don't. but you have an obligation to entertain us further with price comparisons. what about the price of toothpicks in California compared to the toothpicks one buys in Phuket? most interesting are prices of cauliflower in San Diego, potatoes in Sacramento, a BJ in Santa Monica and a ticket for speeding on I15 from Bakersfield to Vegas.

"What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."

__ Oscar Wilde

[Richb2004v2]

My advice, if you want everything just like home, stay home. I am here because it is different, it is an adventrue for me.

I lived in Oregon, Colorado, California, and Hawaii. in every location, some things were more and some things were less.

Same here. I love the weather, I love to ride motorcycles without always worring about the police around the next bend, I like the adventure living here brings to me and makes my life more interesting.

There's worse things than police round the next bend when you ride a motorcycle, wherever you are.

SC

Some folk love the freedom of being able to drink and drive and endanger the lives of others, and stuff like that. In the west the peskie police would put a stop to that type of fun for sure. Thailand is just so free like that.

[Ulysses G.]

When people mention the women, if you are willing to spend you can get them anywhere, no matter what your age is or what you look like.

Not young, slim, sweet, attractive women (in huge quantities).

Most men do not want to have to depend on friends for a place to stay and it is easy to find a cheap, comfortable place to live in Thailand if one is not overly picky. Yes, one can live on the cheap in the West, but not nearly as comfortably.

Not knocking young and attractive women, but an older, more experienced woman from my own culture with my own type of background makes the best companion--in all areas.

I have no problem with that. To each his own.

[EirikJohannesen]

For me it's not a question of money, I have enough and can live well in any country of my choice.

I like the variety here, from south to north and northeast, everything is different, the people the language, food and culture, it is a diverse country with lots of interesting things. I have lived places here that I certainly do not like and places I love. The choices available in Thailand is great. My wife and I have discussed several times whether we should move to another country, but we both agree that we are getting the most out of our life here.

I have chosen to settle me in Isaan, in my opinion the absolute best place to stay in Thailand. We spend 2 months each year on holiday around Thailand, the rest of the time we are enjoying ourselves here at home.

[bonobo]

Not knocking young and attractive women, but an older, more experienced woman from my own culture with my own type of background makes the best companion--in all areas.

Not that I am going to ignore the Thai women here as I am surrounded by many more of them than by women from my own culture. They are great in their own right. But if I was back in the US, I would be just as if not more happy socializing with an older and wiser (and I will admit, more skilled?) American demographic.

(Although now that I think of it, my current Thai companion, while much younger than me, is only one year younger than my ex-wife, a red-headed Western woman. Interpret that as you may. )

my view is that "own culture" is not necessarily important but there should not be a huge discrepancy in educational background nor a language barrier.

having said so, it is worthwhile to mention that i am quite familiar with two Farang/Thai liaisons where these discrepancies don't play the slightest role since more than 25 years. perhaps the reason is that they don't live in Thailand?

Having been in relationships with women from different ages and cultures, it is sometimes refreshing to say "Please don't call me Shirley" or "You ever…seen a grown man naked?" and not get blank looks and have to go get a copy of "Airplane!" for her to watch.

Part of a cultural match means a comparable background and a commonality in what helped develop us. It is not a necessity, but it makes certain things easier in every day life.I rather like watching tv, for example, without having to stop and explain every cultural reference.

[IanForbes]

A man's gotta know the meaning of life. In the words of the great Tom T Hall it's

Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey and more money.

[Huey]

Yeah, I would still be here.

[orpheus454]

Add this to the fact that you will be downgrading the standard of your environment a great deal and it does not really make sense.

Depends on where you come from and where you intend to live, really.

I guess so. If you come from an Indian slum you will have a good chance of being in a better location here. However if you are from western Europe I think that you will certainly be in a less clean, quite, safe, organized and generally more chaotic environment. There are exceptions, but they are in the minority. You can be in a ghetto castle here but there will always be a slum, miles of broken pavements, and five people riding their scooter in the wrong direction without lights on, all within a stones throw. It's hardly paradise.

Cheers, Rich. Glad you're unhappy here, and hope you'll be leaving soon.

Bye!

[manarak]

Add this to the fact that you will be downgrading the standard of your environment a great deal and it does not really make sense.

Depends on where you come from and where you intend to live, really.

I guess so. If you come from an Indian slum you will have a good chance of being in a better location here. However if you are from western Europe I think that you will certainly be in a less clean, quite, safe, organized and generally more chaotic environment. There are exceptions, but they are in the minority. You can be in a ghetto castle here but there will always be a slum, miles of broken pavements, and five people riding their scooter in the wrong direction without lights on, all within a stones throw. It's hardly paradise.

I think Switzerland would be perfect for you.

[manarak]

When people mention the women, if you are willing to spend you can get them anywhere, no matter what your age is or what you look like.

Not young, slim, sweet, attractive women (in huge quantities).

Most men do not want to have to depend on friends for a place to stay and it is easy to find a cheap, comfortable place to live in Thailand if one is not overly picky. Yes, one can live on the cheap in the West, but not nearly as comfortably.

Not knocking young and attractive women, but an older, more experienced woman from my own culture with my own type of background makes the best companion--in all areas.

Not that I am going to ignore the Thai women here as I am surrounded by many more of them than by women from my own culture. They are great in their own right. But if I was back in the US, I would be just as if not more happy socializing with an older and wiser (and I will admit, more skilled?) American demographic.

(Although now that I think of it, my current Thai companion, while much younger than me, is only one year younger than my ex-wife, a red-headed Western woman. Interpret that as you may. )

My opinion is slightly different.

I think the best companions for daytime and nightlife and why not also for working are good friends.

But young and attractive women are unbeatable when it comes to bedtime :-)

That's how I would live if possible.

When people mention the women, if you are willing to spend you can get them anywhere, no matter what your age is or what you look like.

and I think this is simply <deleted>.

I never saw another place in the world where the girls were so attractive, friendly, accomodating, funny and good spirited as in Thailand, regardless of "price".

[Richb2004v2]

Add this to the fact that you will be downgrading the standard of your environment a great deal and it does not really make sense.

Depends on where you come from and where you intend to live, really.

I guess so. If you come from an Indian slum you will have a good chance of being in a better location here. However if you are from western Europe I think that you will certainly be in a less clean, quite, safe, organized and generally more chaotic environment. There are exceptions, but they are in the minority. You can be in a ghetto castle here but there will always be a slum, miles of broken pavements, and five people riding their scooter in the wrong direction without lights on, all within a stones throw. It's hardly paradise.

I think Switzerland would be perfect for you.

Quite possibly yes, I agree. Probably less chance of getting electrocuted in the shower, run over, food poisoning, or struck by countless other third world hazards. I very much think that if asked the majority of people in the world would favor Switzerland over Thailand on almost all counts.Hmmm, Switzerland or Thailand. That's a difficult one.

[Richard4849]

Not difficult for me. And not difficult for the thousands of Swiss who have decamped to Thailand.

Absolutely no attraction whatsoever.

[Richb2004v2]

Not difficult for me. And not difficult for the thousands of Swiss who have decamped to Thailand.

Absolutely no attraction whatsoever.

Would that be thousands of mainly Swiss men of a certain age?

[Richard4849]

No idea, but you seem to be implying that sex is a big reason men come to Thailand.

If that's the case, and that's all they like about the place, no wonder there are so many miserable old gits here. I mean, how many hours a day can you spend screwing? One? There are 23 other hours a day in which you're going to be miserable.

Not a good trade-off.

So is sex the big secret reason that people who seem to hate Thailand can't seem to just move away? If it is, then they are no better than heroine addicts, slaves to the needle.

[manarak]

Not difficult for me. And not difficult for the thousands of Swiss who have decamped to Thailand.

Absolutely no attraction whatsoever.

I feel the same.

I am struggling here to be finally able to leave.

[kerryk]

No idea, but you seem to be implying that sex is a big reason men come to Thailand.

If that's the case, and that's all they like about the place, no wonder there are so many miserable old gits here. I mean, how many hours a day can you spend screwing? One? There are 23 other hours a day in which you're going to be miserable.

Not a good trade-off.

So is sex the big secret reason that people who seem to hate Thailand can't seem to just move away? If it is, then they are no better than heroine addicts, slaves to the needle.

An hour a day! Maybe when I get old, like 80 or so. About 3 hours is more like it. Then there is the preparation time that's at least an hour and the wind down time that's another hour. 8 hours of sleep, an hour eating and two preparing the food. Say an average of two hours hunting the next nights adventure at the mall or wherever. Doing the wash and cleaning the house and maintaining the vehicles. Tantric exercises, running a couple of miles and read some new wave philosophy texts and practice speaking Thai, Issan and Burmese. That's a pretty full day.

[cardholder]

Not difficult for me. And not difficult for the thousands of Swiss who have decamped to Thailand.

Absolutely no attraction whatsoever.

Would that be thousands of mainly Swiss men of a certain age?

Why on earth would they want to come at an earlier age ?

'Decamping' (most certainly on a full-time basis) suggests a minimum age of 40 and more likely over 50. Nothing wrong in that.

[cardholder]

I never saw another place in the world where the girls were so attractive, friendly, accomodating, funny and good spirited as in Thailand, regardless of "price".

Cambodia certainly gives Thailand a run for it's money.

[Ulysses G.]

No idea, but you seem to be implying that sex is a big reason men come to Thailand.

If that's the case, and that's all they like about the place, no wonder there are so many miserable old gits here. I mean, how many hours a day can you spend screwing? One? There are 23 other hours a day in which you're going to be miserable.

They are going to be a lot less miserable than if they had not gotten laid.

[manarak]

I never saw another place in the world where the girls were so attractive, friendly, accomodating, funny and good spirited as in Thailand, regardless of "price".

Cambodia certainly gives Thailand a run for it's money.

ok... but Cambodia is more than just a neighbor.

culturally it is a "sister country" of Thailand or at least of Isaan.

But Cambodia doesn't have much infrastructure to offer.

[Richard4849]

Oh, so you want third world cheap whores with first world infrastructure conveniences and infrastructure. You've just condemned yourself to a lifetime of bitterness and frustration, my friend.

[manarak]

Not difficult for me. And not difficult for the thousands of Swiss who have decamped to Thailand.

Absolutely no attraction whatsoever.

Would that be thousands of mainly Swiss men of a certain age?

Why on earth would they want to come at an earlier age ?

'Decamping' (most certainly on a full-time basis) suggests a minimum age of 40 and more likely over 50. Nothing wrong in that.

I'm under 40.

And I would have done it much earlier had I known Thailand. :-(

[Richard4849]

I decamped to Thailand in my mid-twenties.

[EirikJohannesen]

I came when I was 23 and I do not regret it one day. 22 wonderful years in a wonderful country.