hotandhumid Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 You know the type, I'm sure we all know at least one, you may even be one. I've met plenty of expats here who never seem to leave the town/city they live in, not even for a visa run. I know of a guy who has lived in bkk for 15 years and has never even been to Samet, never leaves bkk. Just got me thinking, what kind of a life is that? Is that not jsut an 'existance'? Where is the quality of life? Wouldn't these people just be better of back in their own countrys? Although I know many can't go back for various reasons. It just seems such a wasted tlife to me. I didn't leave the UK just o spend my whole life stuck in one place. Discuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Lots of people in the UK who have never left their own towns the whole of their lives, so no different from Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jangot Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Because it suits them, it is what they want, it makes them happy. They see no need to live their lives to suit another persons desires or expectations. Each to their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robblok Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I mostly stay around BKK and once a year i go to the south of Thailand. Why would i move around if i got everything i want right here. I love the south (Krabbi) but love it here too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patronus Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Mind your own business. Up to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotandhumid Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 Soutpeel - yes I know that, but at some time the people I'm refering to have somehow managed to get themselves to the other side of the world but only just to stagnate in one place. They come all the way to Asia just to see Bangkok or Pattaya? I know some people who have been here on holiday and have been to more places over here than some that have lived here for 15 years or so, I find that sad. Are these people not curious as to what other countrys in the region or even parts of Thailand are like? These people may end up returning home after many years having just seen Bangkok and/or Pattaya. You can wheel out all the usual cliches like 'it's up to them' 'it's their live' etc.....all of this is true of course but I find it very odd, very unambitious and a waste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patronus Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 'it's up to them' 'it's their live' etc.....all of this is true of course but I find it very odd, very unambitious and a waste. Personally, I wouldn't disagree. However, there are people who probably don't move off the same bar stool or get out of their garden. That can be true of someone living in, say, the UK or Thailand. It wouldn't do for me but if they are content, so be it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjnaus Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Christ.... the general level of posts here on TV reaches new lows on a daily base. How about letting people be without making silly judgements? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XpatJohn Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 People leave their home countries for various reasons. The ones that leave to find something better, have most likely found it where they, in your words, stagnate. To them it isn't about the travel or the exploration. It is about finding a place where they are happy and comfortable. Why should they move? If I found my nirvana, I wouldn't either. Personally, I think that perhaps it is your point of view that has stagnated. If you can only see the world through your eyes, then perhaps it is time to rethink the way you see the world and those in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robblok Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Soutpeel - yes I know that, but at some time the people I'm refering to have somehow managed to get themselves to the other side of the world but only just to stagnate in one place. They come all the way to Asia just to see Bangkok or Pattaya? I know some people who have been here on holiday and have been to more places over here than some that have lived here for 15 years or so, I find that sad. Are these people not curious as to what other countrys in the region or even parts of Thailand are like? These people may end up returning home after many years having just seen Bangkok and/or Pattaya. You can wheel out all the usual cliches like 'it's up to them' 'it's their live' etc.....all of this is true of course but I find it very odd, very unambitious and a waste. How long have you been out of your home country ? People who work or retire or get married usually stay on one place where they make a home. Just like normal people. When i lived in my home country i did not visit each and every city there. I am sure you did not either. Why would it here be different if you made a life here. Besides my holidays i dont travel too much around Thailand. I guess i seen most of the islands in both the gulf as the Andaman. The thing is once you move to here you find the spot that you like best. Then why move away from it all the time. If its somewhere else better then move your house to there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedistillers Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 People who enjoy travelling form a minority of people. The vast majority of people will never travel in their life, either because they can't or because they don't see the point. I think what's unfortunate is people who don't have any purpose or meaning in their life; it has nothing to do with whether or not they travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awohalitsiktoli Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Christ.... the general level of posts here on TV reaches new lows on a daily base. How about letting people be without making silly judgements? Correct and there is, I think, an assumption in the OPs question here that one must challenge: 1) all expats who appear to be "stagnating in one place" are oblivious to the world and are "unhappy." In fact, many have "already been there and done that" and see no pressing need to do it a second or third or fourth time (sort of like marriage ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taff33 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Lived here 10 years,lived in the same house for 9 years(in the sticks)every now and again do a 8-9 hour drive down toPattaya with with the Wife,soon glad to get back home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaimate Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 What,s it to do with you? if someone is happy to sit in front of the tv 24/7 then thats up to them,as long as at the end of their life they can say that they enjoyed it. it wouldnt suit me and obviously wouldnt suit you , but its none of your affair so leave them alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bifftastic Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) This is, in fact, reasonably interesting, to me anyway I once knew a woman, here in London, who had arrived her from Jamaica in the late 1960's. She had made a big move, left all her family and friends behind, travelled across the world, started a new life, married, got a job, house etc. And, for the next twenty years, never ventured further than about a mile from her house! Myself and a friend were visiting her and, at about midnight, we took our leave, explaining to her that we would walk to Mile End (about 2 or 3 miles away), she was shocked at our spirit of adventure and remarked that she would be surprised if we made it by morning! I don't know what this phenomenon is, but if , for instance, you move to Bangkok, and never go anywhere else, I can kind of understand that, it's a big city, it might have everything you need, you might be busy working and have a family etc. Also, if you've retired and have previously been well travelled, you might not 'feel the need' to continue wandering. But there are some who do 'one big move' then plot up and don't go further than the end of the street, that's odd, in my opinion However, as others have said, up to them really Edited July 7, 2011 by bifftastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotandhumid Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 Just to recap I'm NOT talking about people should up sticks hook line and sinker, move house etc all the time, I'm referring to people who sit in thh same bar in bkk or pattay 365 days a year without any trips at all. As I said I find that very sad, these people have seemingly given up on life. Carry on, this is getting quite a bite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpoliaOpima Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Lots of people in the UK who have never left their own towns the whole of their lives, so no different from Thailand. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJIC Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Why should you be concerned? each to their own! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bifftastic Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I agree, it's quite common to see people who have never been anywhere carry on never going anywhere (the old boys sitting in the same pub they first went in when they were 15), but people who have already travelled halfway across the world, only to then sit in one place, is a bit weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotandhumid Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 ''But there are some who do 'one big move' then plot up and don't go further than the end of the street, that's odd, in my opinion'' That's basically my point. I wonder how these people ever made it out of the UK or their respective countries.. And again to clarify, I'm not referring to older folk who have been there, seen it done it and want to put there feet up, I'm talking about people who lived in their own country all their life come all the way to bkk and to then never leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpoliaOpima Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Philosopher Immanual Kant, it is said, never ventured more than 40km from his house his entire life. His neighbors would set their clocks by his daily walks. I am mystified by such characters myself, but I imagine they would rather be left alone, like Kant, who wrote to someone who wanted to shake him out of his routine: "Any change makes me apprehensive, even if it offers the greatest promise of improving my condition, and I am persuaded by this natural instinct of mine that I must take heed if I wish that the threads which the Fates spin so thin and weak in my case to be spun to any length. My great thanks, to my well-wishers and friends, who think so kindly of me as to undertake my welfare, but at the same time a most humble request to protect me in my current condition from any disturbance." Of course his life of geographic singularity did produce Critique of Pure Reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedistillers Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Since having a routine and not travelling is the norm around the world, why should it be considered weird? Even if they made the decision to move half-way around the globe, why would they change their lifestyle after that? It's just a move to enjoy a different weather or a lower cost of living, it says nothing about how they're going to live their life after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bifftastic Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) Lots of people in the UK who have never left their own towns the whole of their lives, so no different from Thailand. +1 I think it is very different, there's something in a person that makes them satisfied with their lives in the town they were born/brought up in. That's fine, not strange at all. What's different is that a person has, presumably, not been satisfied with that, travelled to a foreign and very different country, settled there, and then done the same thing. I think that whilst, of course, it's their choice, it is also something worth talking about. Hopefully this thread will soon contain more than 'it's up to them, leave them alone' responses Edit, just noticed that it now does contain more responses Edited July 7, 2011 by bifftastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bifftastic Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Since having a routine and not travelling is the norm around the world, why should it be considered weird? Even if they made the decision to move half-way around the globe, why would they change their lifestyle after that? It's just a move to enjoy a different weather or a lower cost of living, it says nothing about how they're going to live their life after that. Good point, but given that the 'one big move' which would indicate some level of curiosity or spirit of adventure, don't you think that might lead to some interest in moving about a bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 What's different is that a person has, presumably, not been satisfied with that, travelled to a foreign and very different country, settled there, and then done the same thing. Because their whiole motivation to travel to thailand has/had nothing to do with seeing new cultures/different countries/new experiences....... it was to aquire a female Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotandhumid Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 Put it another way...if somebody ended up going home after say 15-20 years living in bkk they would naturally be asked by folk back home, who may look up to this individual as someone who is well travelled and adventurous....'so John, where have you been in Asia over the last 18 years, what is it like?' 'Erh, I only wen to Bangkok' I couldn't imagine going home after all those years and meeting people who have visited more parts of Thailand and Asia than you have whilst on their holidays. IMO that would be very embarrassing and make the individual concerned look extremely ignorant. I think that type of individual would feel very ignorant and know that he has largely wasted his 18 years in Asia by just stagnating in Bangkok drinking his liver away. The main reason for this of course is quite simply laziness and being a tight wad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteeleJoe Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) People leave their home countries for various reasons. The ones that leave to find something better, have most likely found it where they, in your words, stagnate. To them it isn't about the travel or the exploration. It is about finding a place where they are happy and comfortable. Why should they move? If I found my nirvana, I wouldn't either. Personally, I think that perhaps it is your point of view that has stagnated. If you can only see the world through your eyes, then perhaps it is time to rethink the way you see the world and those in it. Spot. On. MY personal choices would be more in line with the OP's -- I have chosen to see most of this country and have lived in a few different parts of it. But I can't imagine why the OP would care where other Farangs choose to live or whether they stay there or not; nor can I relate to a person who, as you say, 'can only see the world through (their) own eyes'. Edited July 7, 2011 by SteeleJoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) I travelled all arond the region the first ten years I was here, but have a business to run now and am happy sticking around home most of the time. I usually hit Pattaya once a year for R&R and that is enough for me. Edited July 7, 2011 by Ulysses G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedistillers Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I would bet 98% of people can't even name a Thai city besides Bangkok, and can't name ONE city in Malaysia or Cambodia. Why on earth would people care that a person only went to Bangkok? You also seem to care way too much about what other people think, which is often a characteristic of people who are not happy with their own life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I have lived here for over a decade and still haven't seen the light-long may it continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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