12 Years Later. Do I Miss Thailand?

[medicinebox]

Hi all. I used to post here a long while ago. I spent 4 years in Thailand. From 2000 -2004. The best years of my life for sure. I came back to the UK and haven't been back since.

Somebody asked me the other day if I missed Thailand. I said no, but later that night I thought about it some more. When I'd gave it some thought I realised "yes" I do miss Thailand.

My questions are:

1) What made you go to LOS in the first place?

2) What did you most like about it?

3) What made you go back to your home Country?

3b) Do you ever think "why the <deleted> did I go back to my Country anyway?"

Hey I'd love to hear from anyone who aint been back to thier original country, and lived in LOS since they arrived 2 month or 20 years also...respect to all, I'd like to know how you're getting along.

Cheers

medicinebox.

P.S. The UK sucks right now.

[guzzi850m2]

Medicineman, why don't you come back to Thailand then?

Lived here for 10 years, haven't been back in Denmark for 7 years and I am getting along just fine, thank you very much.

I have a relatively well paid job in the oil offshore industrie working worldwide 6 month pr year so I am only here 1/2 time.

[medicinebox]

Medicineman, why don't you come back to Thailand then?

Lived here for 10 years, haven't been back in Denmark for 7 years and I am getting along just fine, thank you very much.

I have a relatively well paid job in the oil offshore industrie working worldwide 6 month pr year so I am only here 1/2 time.

Hi Guzzi. I came home to help an ailing family business. My efforts were futile and I wish I had stayed in LOS. I have a plan my man, it's just going to take me a little while longer. I have a friend similar to you, he does 1 month on (oil rigs) and one month off. Perfect job to be in for locating anywhere. Anyway good for you mate, speak soon

[chris2004]

I've been living the Thailand now full time for 3 years and i have no wish to return to the UK. My parents are dead, my one son is grown up and married, and i wouldn't see much of him anyway. There is nothing in the UK for me now and i am sad to see the way it has declined. One of the biggest draws for me is the weather here. I love to get up to blue skies and hot temps every day. If i want i can swim (outside) 365 days of the year. It's still quite cheap to live here, despite the drop in the Pound, and you aren't taxed to death or hassled by the Government. I suppose the only worry is if i had a serious illness but, touch wood, health is good so far at 59.

Edited June 22, 2012 by chris2004

[PaiMei]

Hope you make it back medicine box. Rooting for ya.

Edited June 22, 2012 by PaiMei

[ExpatJ]

I left UK in 1995 and have only been back for about 4 weeks total since then. I plan to never to live there again, but i do still follow UK TV, newspapers, politics. I am lucky to be in Thailand on an expat package right now and have my dream job in many ways.

[thenervoussurgeon]

We have been here for 7 years now ,previously we lived in the UK and came on holidays(my wife and son are Thai) the schooling in Britain sucked and there was no longer anything to hold me in the town iwe lived ,i go back for holidays but after a short while just want to come back to Thailand ,with skype its so easy to keep in touch so why bother going to a country that has changed out of all recognition ,i would never return.

[Sharp]

I left UK in 1995 and have only been back for about 4 weeks total since then. I plan to never to live there again, but i do still follow UK TV, newspapers, politics. I am lucky to be in Thailand on an expat package right now and have my dream job in many ways.

Pretty much where I stand in 15 yrs been back to the UK once to be the best man at my pals wedding and followed them back to the airport the next day as they were coming to Thailand for their honeymoon so I couldn't wait to get out of the UK and they didn't want to leave Thailand so even with its problems which seem to getting worse over the years I might add ,still enjoy living here and will never go back to the UK to live unless something drastic happens in Thailand but then it may well be Vietnam or Cambodia ..

[skybluestu]

Been here almost 5yrs without returning to the UK and, apart from a few close friends and my Mum, I don't miss anything! We are contemplating moving to Europe (not the UK, can't see me living there again) next year though as we have a 2yr old daughter who is our priority. If we do then I'm sure I'll miss plenty about Thailand but we'll visit often until we move back here permanently in 15-20yrs time and I'll only be early 50's so hopefully still have plenty of years to enjoy Thailand again.

[GuestHouse]

I've spent the past 25 years as an expat working for 2 or 3 year spells in different countries and/or back in the UK (5 posts in Thailand).

I've enjoyed everywhere I've been and take yhe view that we should enjoy the moment we have not waste it dreaming about some place or thing we do not have.

That's not to say there aren't things I miss about Thailand when I'm not here, there are things I miss about every place I've ever lived - but we can non of us have everything.

If I had to choose between living in Thailand and never setting foot in the UK again or living in the UK and never setting foot in Thailand again, I would choose the UK.

If the choice was UK v Italy I might struggle to choose, but I've been around, and while I like Thailand I also see its failings - it'ss not a basket I'd be happy putting all my eggs in.

Edited June 22, 2012 by GuestHouse

[kerryk]

I got drafted and sent to Vietnam and extended my tour so I would not have to serve in The Stateside army because I don't like paperwork and pompous bean counters which make up a peace time army. Plus in a combat zone then, the beer, whisky and cigarettes were free.

After my hitch was over I worked in Asia for a while and then went back to the States to marry the local beauty queen and have beautiful children and buy a beautiful house on a beautiful island populated with beautiful people on a beautiful beach.

I got stuck in a sequel to ground hog day and did the same thing two more times before I tired of all the beauty and moved back to Thailand.

I would have moved back to Vietnam but the women there have small butts.

I am happy now.

[notmyself]

Came here first in '99 as I remember because a friend sent me a postcard and it looked wonderful. Over the years I spent more and more time here returning to the UK to do specific short term money making periods. 6 years ago I retired (39) and moved here full time just under 3 years ago. I still have various interests in the UK which means I have to go there for the odd meeting or some such but in a way that's a good thing. It makes me realize how happy I am in Thailand.

[FreedomDude]

I've been here in Thailand 6 1/2 years now, and I really miss the United States a great deal. I'm going back for good next month. It seems that every year I miss home more than the previous year. The only reason I haven't returned to the US relates to family matters and my determination to remain a part of my daughter's daily life. My daughter is returning with me next month as well.

The food has actually become less appetizing, I miss actually UNDERSTANDING what is going on around me. I miss SPORTs tremendously, especially college and local sports (including high schools) which are quite big in my area of the States. I miss my family and friends back home. I miss great libraries, bookstores....great newspapers (yeah i know we live in a digital world, but it aint the same) . I miss weather that encourages outdoor exercise (just too hot and humid here most of the year). I miss 200 channel choices on the tube! That's about it.

[seasia]

I've been living the Thailand now full time for 3 years and i have no wish to return to the UK. My parents are dead, my one son is grown up and married, and i wouldn't see much of him anyway. There is nothing in the UK for me now and i am sad to see the way it has declined. One of the biggest draws for me is the weather here. I love to get up to blue skies and hot temps every day. If i want i can swim (outside) 365 days of the year. It's still quite cheap to live here, despite the drop in the Pound, and you aren't taxed to death or hassled by the Government. I suppose the only worry is if i had a serious illness but, touch wood, health is good so far at 59.

Hi

Virtually the same as that except never had kids and a bit younger.

Happy here, not prefect but no place is going to be.

The weather a big draw for me too, hated the cold in the UK.

[mjj]

I first came to Thailand for a month stopover before moving on to Oz. I didn't make it to Oz and stayed for 14 months and loved the weather and the general sabai attitude. On the way to the airport to go back to the UK, I was thinking this is a wrong move. On the flight home I was trying to work out how to go and live in Thailand permanently. After about 6 years with about 9 months of holidaying in Thailand, I returned. That was 18 months ago.

Do I miss anything?

In this order,

Fish and chips,

Chinese takeaway,

Pork pies,

Cherry Coke,

Funny stuff on the telly.

Do I envisage living in England again? No.

Will I return? I'm sure within the next 10 years I will visit to take my son to see the sights - and take him to see Chelsea play.

But the first thing I will do is eat myself silly on fish n chips and Chinese food.

[jackinbkk]

I'm a bit like you medicinebox.

1. What made me go? My dad was teaching in Singapore and he'd fly over to Thailand once his teaching was finished. I decided to go on holiday. I had 25 days saved up and it was December. Use it or lose it I went to Phuket for 4 weeks. I wanted somewhere cheap and hot. Back then with 75 baht to the pound it was both. Well after a month in what seemed like paradise I didn't want to come back. The thought of 11 months of the UK for 1 month in paradise a year was depressing. I quickly started looking for jobs. I was young and working in the IT department of a big accounting firm in London. I found a job and went for an interview in May. Pennies saved up again for another 1 month stay. First Bangkok, then Phuket. I was clearly very naive. What I thought was a sales job with the promise of lots of money to be made was a BS role with one of those untrustworthy FAs you hear about. I quit after a few months and seeing the scum that worked in it. I have morals and ethics. 2008 was the year many lost but they took the p*ss. Laughing about their marks losses. I went to another job a few months later and it turned out to be a bigger joke than the first one. Next role I applied for I was also messed about. I learned Thailand was a country filled with cowboys. Enough was enough.

2. what did I like most. The weather, the lifestyle, the food and my now wife. I'm a massive fishing addict and Thailand has the best freshwater fishing in the world. I think it's mostly the weather though. I can't express enough how much I detest English weather. Half the year is cold, wet and dark. Why would a civilization put up with it if it didn't have too? It's depressing and it makes me angry.

3. Well clearly from part 1 it was for work. I needed a good job. I'm intelligent with a good degree. I had to start making good money. I found a good job back in England where people could be trusted. I brought my wife back. I've been back in the UK for 2 years. Clearly I miss the fishing and the weather but I have been going back every 12 or 6 months for a fix.

3b. Well I was forced by circumstances to come back. Like many people are. Long term I just want to live in a nicer climate than England. Probably not the US. I can't ignore there massive economic debts and the burdens they face. Canada is too cold for me. I think Australia would be nice. Similar to the UK in many ways. Safe roads, good schools and hospitals etc. A good legal system where people can be trusted. Great fishing! Massive economic resources. I will always like to visit Thailand when I can but unless I'm financially set or offered work by a reliable company I can't see myself living there.

[mca]

12 Years Later. Do I Miss Thailand?

From 2000 -2004

I guess you miss your calculator medicinebox mate.

Edited June 22, 2012 by mca

[somchai69]

Firstly your questions are not valid for all.

I first visited LOS in 1983 and fell in love with the place,

by 1985 I was back and stayed for 20 years

However as I got older the continual heat was wearing me down.

I now live in a pleasant mediterranean country, with a much more

amenable climate, four real season.

Liife here is no more expensive that LOS. The money I need in the

bank for my yearly residence permit earns me 6.5% at the bank which just about

covers my rent of a 2 bed apartment over looking the sea.

Go back to the UK, not bloody likely, I would be bored to death and have no friends there.

[HardenedSoul]

I had the good fortune to see the GFC coming and knew there was no way I could redouble my efforts to keep my seat at the firm when things inevitably got tight and, with estate agents offering stupid amounts of money for my maisonette in West London back in 2007, I sold up, paid off any remaining debts and hopped on a plane.

Do I miss Blighty? Sure I do but not enough to deal with the nanny state, continual CCTV surveillance and daft prices for an everyday existence. I recently took out a subscription to that ThaiExpatTV service and, after a week of exposure to the moronic reality, cookery, property, game and sensationalist chat shows, it all came flooding back to me just how mollycoddled, vacuous, gormless and worst-of-all, scared - significant swathes of the British public are.

Of course, they're not all like that but enough of them are to make the avoidance of interaction with them nigh on impossible. Still, presented with the situation GuestHouse described in his post, there's no way in hell I'd choose Thailand over the realm.

Oh and yes . . . I will be binning ThaiExpatTV when renewal comes round

[geriatrickid]

Medicineman, why don't you come back to Thailand then?

Lived here for 10 years, haven't been back in Denmark for 7 years and I am getting along just fine, thank you very much.

I have a relatively well paid job in the oil offshore industrie working worldwide 6 month pr year so I am only here 1/2 time.

Sorry, but you are not the typical case. You would have been out of Denmark 1/2 the time as well had you lived there.

I wonder how any man would not want to be in Denmark, a country with the happiest people on earth (that's what the surveys say) and that IMO has the lowest ugly people per capita than any other nation, but that's my bias, and only because I have a fondness for Denmark and people that are so pleasing to the eye.

Yea, yea, I know, taxes & cost of living are tough in Denmark. However, I think you have the ideal situation. The time you spend in Thailand is "off time" so there are other reasons for enjoying Thailand. If you had to work at an oil refinery in Thailand 6 days a week and under unsafe working conditions you might have a different perspective. Your set up works well for you, and that's good, but please understand you are part of a small minority.

Not trying to be rude here, but maybe you need your eyes examined. Naked Dansk vs naked locals? I know who wins in my book.

I'd much rather be anywhere in Denmark in the summer surrounded by people that ooze sexiness and desirability than stuck in hot, sticky Phuket with locals picking their noses and driving like madmen. At least I can drink the tap water in Denmark and when I flush the toilet the water in the toiler bowl is cleaner than what I dumped in it. And btw, no Danish cop or government official ever tried to shake me down or ask for a bribe. When I get in a Danish taxi, no one tries to rip me off. Jeez, I am so worked up I want to hop on a plane, fly to Denmark and get busy with the locals.........

[HardenedSoul]

Medicineman, why don't you come back to Thailand then?

Lived here for 10 years, haven't been back in Denmark for 7 years and I am getting along just fine, thank you very much.

I have a relatively well paid job in the oil offshore industrie working worldwide 6 month pr year so I am only here 1/2 time.

Sorry, but you are not the typical case. You would have been out of Denmark 1/2 the time as well had you lived there.

I wonder how any man would not want to be in Denmark, a country with the happiest people on earth (that's what the surveys say) and that IMO has the lowest ugly people per capita than any other nation, but that's my bias, and only because I have a fondness for Denmark and people that are so pleasing to the eye.

Yea, yea, I know, taxes & cost of living are tough in Denmark. However, I think you have the ideal situation. The time you spend in Thailand is "off time" so there are other reasons for enjoying Thailand. If you had to work at an oil refinery in Thailand 6 days a week and under unsafe working conditions you might have a different perspective. Your set up works well for you, and that's good, but please understand you are part of a small minority.

Not trying to be rude here, but maybe you need your eyes examined. Naked Dansk vs naked locals? I know who wins in my book.

I'd much rather be anywhere in Denmark in the summer surrounded by people that ooze sexiness and desirability than stuck in hot, sticky Phuket with locals picking their noses and driving like madmen. At least I can drink the tap water in Denmark and when I flush the toilet the water in the toiler bowl is cleaner than what I dumped in it. And btw, no Danish cop or government official ever tried to shake me down or ask for a bribe. When I get in a Danish taxi, no one tries to rip me off. Jeez, I am so worked up I want to hop on a plane, fly to Denmark and get busy with the locals.........

Move there, then . . .

[medicinebox]

I've been here in Thailand 6 1/2 years now, and I really miss the United States a great deal. I'm going back for good next month. It seems that every year I miss home more than the previous year. The only reason I haven't returned to the US relates to family matters and my determination to remain a part of my daughter's daily life. My daughter is returning with me next month as well.

The food has actually become less appetizing, I miss actually UNDERSTANDING what is going on around me. I miss SPORTs tremendously, especially college and local sports (including high schools) which are quite big in my area of the States. I miss my family and friends back home. I miss great libraries, bookstores....great newspapers (yeah i know we live in a digital world, but it aint the same) . I miss weather that encourages outdoor exercise (just too hot and humid here most of the year). I miss 200 channel choices on the tube! That's about it.

Hey Freedon Dude, I subscribe to this. I too missed those things and for a while getting back was great. But after a while you get back into your old routine and the Thai episode becomes faded. When I was asked if i miss Thailand it set me thinking. The truth is I have never felt so alive and happy than in Thailand. My friends were sat in the same corner of the pub drinking the same brand of beer when I got back. Maybe you have to go back home to remember why you left in the first place?

[medicinebox]

I'm a bit like you medicinebox.

1. What made me go? My dad was teaching in Singapore and he'd fly over to Thailand once his teaching was finished. I decided to go on holiday. I had 25 days saved up and it was December. Use it or lose it I went to Phuket for 4 weeks. I wanted somewhere cheap and hot. Back then with 75 baht to the pound it was both. Well after a month in what seemed like paradise I didn't want to come back. The thought of 11 months of the UK for 1 month in paradise a year was depressing. I quickly started looking for jobs. I was young and working in the IT department of a big accounting firm in London. I found a job and went for an interview in May. Pennies saved up again for another 1 month stay. First Bangkok, then Phuket. I was clearly very naive. What I thought was a sales job with the promise of lots of money to be made was a BS role with one of those untrustworthy FAs you hear about. I quit after a few months and seeing the scum that worked in it. I have morals and ethics. 2008 was the year many lost but they took the p*ss. Laughing about their marks losses. I went to another job a few months later and it turned out to be a bigger joke than the first one. Next role I applied for I was also messed about. I learned Thailand was a country filled with cowboys. Enough was enough.

2. what did I like most. The weather, the lifestyle, the food and my now wife. I'm a massive fishing addict and Thailand has the best freshwater fishing in the world. I think it's mostly the weather though. I can't express enough how much I detest English weather. Half the year is cold, wet and dark. Why would a civilization put up with it if it didn't have too? It's depressing and it makes me angry.

3. Well clearly from part 1 it was for work. I needed a good job. I'm intelligent with a good degree. I had to start making good money. I found a good job back in England where people could be trusted. I brought my wife back. I've been back in the UK for 2 years. Clearly I miss the fishing and the weather but I have been going back every 12 or 6 months for a fix.

3b. Well I was forced by circumstances to come back. Like many people are. Long term I just want to live in a nicer climate than England. Probably not the US. I can't ignore there massive economic debts and the burdens they face. Canada is too cold for me. I think Australia would be nice. Similar to the UK in many ways. Safe roads, good schools and hospitals etc. A good legal system where people can be trusted. Great fishing! Massive economic resources. I will always like to visit Thailand when I can but unless I'm financially set or offered work by a reliable company I can't see myself living there.

Brill post Jack I like that Theres been a load of interesting replies, a lot of well thought out takes on it all and quite balanced. Every Country has its pros and cons yup. Lots of collective experience here keep it coming.

[medicinebox]

12 Years Later. Do I Miss Thailand?

From 2000 -2004

I guess you miss your calculator medicinebox mate.

Haha... ok I rounded it up. Ok just for you mate.. "8 - 12 years later. Do I miss Thailand?" that ok fella..

[mca]

12 Years Later. Do I Miss Thailand?

From 2000 -2004

I guess you miss your calculator medicinebox mate.

Haha... ok I rounded it up. Ok just for you mate.. "8 - 12 years later. Do I miss Thailand?" that ok fella..

at first I was doubting my own mental arithmetic mate!

[medicinebox]

Firstly your questions are not valid for all.

I first visited LOS in 1983 and fell in love with the place,

by 1985 I was back and stayed for 20 years

However as I got older the continual heat was wearing me down.

I now live in a pleasant mediterranean country, with a much more

amenable climate, four real season.

Liife here is no more expensive that LOS. The money I need in the

bank for my yearly residence permit earns me 6.5% at the bank which just about

covers my rent of a 2 bed apartment over looking the sea.

Go back to the UK, not bloody likely, I would be bored to death and have no friends there.

Hello Somchai. Fair play fella, you went out there in 1983. Wow you saw the real Thailand. I remember when I first went to Samui in late 2000. I was suprised when i saw an Addidas shop in Chaweng and a Boots. Within a couple of years there was a Pizza Hut, Mcdonalds, KFC etc. Whats it like now I wonder?

What was it like when you first went? Where did you go?

MB

[medicinebox]

Medicineman, why don't you come back to Thailand then?

Lived here for 10 years, haven't been back in Denmark for 7 years and I am getting along just fine, thank you very much.

I have a relatively well paid job in the oil offshore industrie working worldwide 6 month pr year so I am only here 1/2 time.

Sorry, but you are not the typical case. You would have been out of Denmark 1/2 the time as well had you lived there.

I wonder how any man would not want to be in Denmark, a country with the happiest people on earth (that's what the surveys say) and that IMO has the lowest ugly people per capita than any other nation, but that's my bias, and only because I have a fondness for Denmark and people that are so pleasing to the eye.

Yea, yea, I know, taxes & cost of living are tough in Denmark. However, I think you have the ideal situation. The time you spend in Thailand is "off time" so there are other reasons for enjoying Thailand. If you had to work at an oil refinery in Thailand 6 days a week and under unsafe working conditions you might have a different perspective. Your set up works well for you, and that's good, but please understand you are part of a small minority.

Not trying to be rude here, but maybe you need your eyes examined. Naked Dansk vs naked locals? I know who wins in my book.

I'd much rather be anywhere in Denmark in the summer surrounded by people that ooze sexiness and desirability than stuck in hot, sticky Phuket with locals picking their noses and driving like madmen. At least I can drink the tap water in Denmark and when I flush the toilet the water in the toiler bowl is cleaner than what I dumped in it. And btw, no Danish cop or government official ever tried to shake me down or ask for a bribe. When I get in a Danish taxi, no one tries to rip me off. Jeez, I am so worked up I want to hop on a plane, fly to Denmark and get busy with the locals.........

Ok here's a little euro tip. dont tell anyone but..... Latvia!... shhhhh

[geriatrickid]

Move there, then . . .

I would if I could. We don't have an office in the land of sexy people so no transfer for me.

[guzzi850m2]

Sorry, but you are not the typical case. You would have been out of Denmark 1/2 the time as well had you lived there.

I wonder how any man would not want to be in Denmark, a country with the happiest people on earth (that's what the surveys say) and that IMO has the lowest ugly people per capita than any other nation, but that's my bias, and only because I have a fondness for Denmark and people that are so pleasing to the eye.

Yea, yea, I know, taxes & cost of living are tough in Denmark. However, I think you have the ideal situation. The time you spend in Thailand is "off time" so there are other reasons for enjoying Thailand. If you had to work at an oil refinery in Thailand 6 days a week and under unsafe working conditions you might have a different perspective. Your set up works well for you, and that's good, but please understand you are part of a small minority.

Not trying to be rude here, but maybe you need your eyes examined. Naked Dansk vs naked locals? I know who wins in my book.

I'd much rather be anywhere in Denmark in the summer surrounded by people that ooze sexiness and desirability than stuck in hot, sticky Phuket with locals picking their noses and driving like madmen. At least I can drink the tap water in Denmark and when I flush the toilet the water in the toiler bowl is cleaner than what I dumped in it. And btw, no Danish cop or government official ever tried to shake me down or ask for a bribe. When I get in a Danish taxi, no one tries to rip me off. Jeez, I am so worked up I want to hop on a plane, fly to Denmark and get busy with the locals.........

Well Denmark can be nice during the summer month, maybe, sometimes we have a shitty summer. Some well off Danish guys here goes to DK for 2 month every year and rent or own a holiday house. Danish woman are not easy to live with to say the least, I got fed up with them and many nowadays are overweight, no thanks, you can keep them.

I think a taxi in DK starts at about 250 bath on the meter when you get in, or maybe 300 bath now, not sure and some of them in Copenhagen do a long way to your destination if you are not known in the area and you ending up paying 25-50% more for the trip than you should. You can go a long way in Thailand in a taxi (expect Phuket) for 250 bath.

All big cities are crowed with so called "refugees" from especially Middle East and they don't want to leave again when they find out that everything will be provided for them for free, apartment (2 if you got 2 wife's), money for this and money for that, hell some of them even go back to their original country for holidays. Their kids quickly learns that they can get away with almost everything easily, so they gang up and do all sorts of crimes.

If I had my current work and I lived in DK, I would have to pay app. 40% income tax, in Thailand nil%, instead I put app. 30% into pensions fonds in DK and Singapore.

Thailand is crowed by Skandinaviens expats that running away from the shitty weather and high taxes and I am one of them. Sure it's not perfect here in Pattaya but I still love the place and call it home.

[hotandhumid]

You said no then you thought about it and said yes...

Jeez..