I was 21, so you can guess what was on my mind back then. As I have aged a few other things have taken up residence in my mind but that 21year old still lives in there somewhere.

Yeah, why DID I come to live in Thailand?

Another topic disscussed here houndreds of times !

so you have read these posts hundreds of times ,yet only made 41 posts on these boards ,dont contribute much to the forum do you ?

Well, i do read, learn and listen more then talking, after all, silence is gold isn't it ? ;-)

BTW, living here since 2002, so if you have any kinda disscussion to open i'm all ears d-_-b

Money, climat and people

Right. Bad weather. Expensive. Fat people. Glad I left.

The chips were down and then the chips were up . I don't get to Thailand much at these days , 'mon the snakes !

Wire, not snakes

Taking a longer view , I hope to see in the rabbits .

We'll have less of that antipodean talk on this forum, thank you very much, for this weekend at least

I dont know why I came here, Ive always been indecisive, I think?

I was more or less forced into an earlier than planned retirement and staying in the USA didn't seem viable. I had been traveling to Thailand for several years and of course as a tourist I had lots of fun in the expected and usual ways. Looking deeply into visas all over, Thailand was one of the few countries on the planet that I could swing long stay visa-wise, I knew it and liked it, so the decision was super easy. I would have strongly considered a number of other countries if they had bank account retirement visa methods similar Thailand. I did consider the Philippines but I just don't find that joint fun and the food is a problem. Living here is nothing like being on holiday here in my experience. Different. Not saying bad.

i came thailand to be part of the thaivisa community

i came thailand to be part of the thaivisa community

Brilliant!

the same as every other man here but they wont admit it, more chance of getting a shag

Temples, Land of smile, Culture

Veni, vidi, oh well, I'm here.

So I could ride my motorcycle without wearing a helmet.

My wife and I liked it here so here we are.

My boss made me an offer I couldn't refuse..... (in a good way)

A pay rise, a hardship posting uplift and the ++ of a full expat deal.

I'll give serious consideration to any counter offer to go somewhere else if its an improvement on the deal I have here.

------------------

Curious about two things though.

The OP states that one of his reasons for leaving the UK was "Rules and Regulations" That he was born in a time when he was free to live his life.....

I don't know how old the OP is, nearer 70 than 20 is my guess, my point being that British society has changed in very many ways in the past 70 years, one of the major changes is the breakdown of barriers to social mobility. One's life choices are wider now than they have ever been - Seventy years ago, a young person declaring they want to be a surgeon (for example) would have been told to piss off if his old had been a factory worker.

The observation I have is, having lived and worked in many places around the world I'm very mindful of the liberty and freedom the UK offers its citizens to make choices in their life for which the need not carry the can personally if things go wrong.

The best example of which is health care under the NHS - British Expats know that if the <deleted> hits their health fan, they can (provided they can make it to the aircraft) go home to those hated isles and get looked after by the Nanny State so many rant against. If they have the honesty or the intellect to work it out, they'd understand what a freedom this really is.

Came in 2006 for a 3 month stint to help my then employer set up a joint venture with a Thai company.

I never did go home.

Made some mistakes, difficult when self employed, broken long term marriage, too many rules, too many taxes, never left in peace by the Ex or Tax Office, every week forms to fill in for something or other. The rising cost of everything. The area I was in started to feel more Polish than British. Felt the need to break free and escape, had been here a few times on holiday, liked the different approach and attitude of Thai women, the quiet "live and let live" attitude and relaxed way of life without authorities of some description breathing down your neck looking for an opportunity to extract more cash or watching you on camera everywhere you go.So, when my Mother passed and I had no ties, couldnt see a reason stopping me anymore, so I left.

I rather die than freeze any more

I don't know what part of the country you come from, but I found the weather in England to be generally pleasantly mild, so long as your windows and doors were properly sealed and double-glazed, and you wore a good woolen coat when going out in winter,

You can't all have lived in Stornaway, surely?

SC

The lazy north easterlies in winter in Yorkshire. I hated the winter weather. When I could I came here for a month every Feb.

I couldn't get my wife a visa, I'd taken redundancy at 48. Rather have mozzies than wet snow, and I was sick of seeing Blair and Bush on the news every time I turned the TV on. Last trip home the year after the London bomb, the atmosphere in my home town, Dewsbury was terrible. There's nothing worth going back for.

Temples.

Came here for a company, liked the place, decided to stay after job was done(3years). Quickly found though not as inexpensive as it is portrayed to be unless you want to live like a peasant. Also found you cannot find a job very easily as an expat. All seems so easy on the surface then reality sets in. . The visa junk makes you feel like a prisoner in a way but is manageable

However the weather is great, the food is excellent, the people nice. Doubt I can live here full time.

for political asylum and to get screwed more frequently......so far so good....I have yet to be disappointed

once you realise your already dead you can start living the life youve got!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For the winter sports, I was misinformed....

to eat

Can I ask, honestly please, a couple of chaps from UK gave said they moved to Thai as fed up etc etc with UK.

I'd love to do it, got a Thai wife and child and work in UK. Just 40 and mortgage free, not a mansion but all paid, no other debts.

What work is available as I can never find anything for expats?

Cheers

There is nothing available from within that will provide you a comparable quality of life (car, international holidays, etc.)

I was a software engineer before coming here (still am). I have been able to work successfully remotely on a freelance basis.

I also have a friend who is a video editor. He does very well.

I think the key here is to find something you can do on a freelance basis and earn your money from the U.S./U.K.

I was sent here to kill people. Large numbers of people. The more the better.

My government and the Thai government all shouting kill, kill, kill.

That's the reason I came the first time.

I came for the drugs and booze and warm weather and the fact that I wouldn't have to be slaving away through an English winter , and after the 1st time I came for the women as well !

might as well be honest.

I'm a survivalist.

Easier to make it here than in the west when the end comes.

'Peak Oil' do your worst!