Kissing Thailand Good Riddance

[canman]

im not saying people who came are a failure, but if your leaving your second country, questions should be raised.

I left my home country in the early 80's and have lived and worked in 4 other countries since. What questions would you like to ask?

I'd like to ask where you lived and how the places you lived in compare to Thailand. Do you regret leaving any of the countries in which you stayed? Were there any that you really didn't like?

I have lived in Australia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. No real regrets, each country had it's pros and cons. I miss the wide open spaces, the beaches and fishing in Western Australia. I miss the laid back life style I had in Pattaya and our house there. We had good friends, made many trips to the Islands south of Pattaya and generally enjoyed life. Malaysia was some time ago and I can't say that I really miss much from there, maybe the people and the food. Now back in Singapore for the second time and although the high density living gets to you sometimes it suits us as the priority now is education for our son. So to answer your question, no I don't regret leaving any of the countries as it has always been a concidered choice and not a forced one. I travel back to all of these countries on a regular basis so am able to get my 'fix' from each when I need it. Thailand is Thailand, it's not fair to compare it to other countries as it is unique, there is good and bad in every country, its all about how you deal with it.

Edit: It's actually 5 countries as I spent 18 months in Vietnam. Of all the 5 countries VN is the one I miss the least. The people there are wonderful but the corruption, officialdom and poor infrastructure is oppressive (much more so than in Thailand). That being said it improving all the time and I will likely retire there.

Edited December 20, 2012 by canman

[inthepink]

Thanks for your reply. I agree about dealing with life wherever you may be living. There are certain aspects of the UK that I don't like and a few things that bother me here in Thailand but I don't like to generalise and tar everybody with the same brush just because I have experienced issues with a few idiots - in any country.

I've always fancied spending some time in Australia, not got round to it yet.

Edited December 20, 2012 by inthepink

[meatballs]

Umm. And farangland is better??

Sorry, but I left that place and really would rather not go back even considering all the negatives.

[inapeartree]

Good Luck to the OP, it seems as though his children are his priority so I don't blame him for leaving, absolutely no way I'd bring kids up here either. Nowhere is perfect but, aside from the very poor level of education here, there are many reasons why raising a child in Europe would benefit the child in both the short and long term including adulthood. Sure, parents have a lot to do with how their child turns out but so do peers, culture and society in general. Wise decision IMHO.

Edited December 20, 2012 by inapeartree

[fletchsmile]

Adultery. Not to get into ones sex lives,, but lets face it, anyone with a little girl here must be worried about their little princess' future.

I'd feel more comfortable raising a son in Thailand than a daughter. Call me paranoid but I really hate the way you see so many Thai men just leering at young women as young as twelve and then of course the general sense of lawlessness and disregard for human life so commonly displayed.

I think my daughter is going to have to become a nun. No Thai man will be good enough for her and I'm not letting her near any of the Westerners that come here either...If I'm anything to go by, they don't make very good husbands

I'm not sure what you mean by, "No Thai man will be good enough" for your daughter. Maybe you can elaborate?

It sounds rather racist to me. Are you saying that ALL Thai men are beneath the men from your own country or what?

Men in the UK stare at my daughters, men in other countries stare at my daughters. The worst is the Middle Eastern ones.

I'd have no problem at all if either of my daughters want to marry a Thai man.

Not sure what country you are from but I am from the UK and came here and think I'm a bloody good husband.

My wife is Thai, we've been to and lived in a few different countries now. She's adamant she wouldn't want our daughters to marry a Thai man. Obviously she understands much better than me what it's like to be Thai, and obviously much better than me what it's like to be a woman in Thailand

I'm a bit more opened minded but see her points and a few more besides icluding many of those raised by OP

Edited December 20, 2012 by fletchsmile

[Khun Jean]

Talking of Hysterectomies,my mates Thai wife has just had it done on the NHS for free,and couldn't believe the exellent care and service she received.

Last year another Thai friend spent ten days in hospital with neumonia,once again free.

Nothing is free!

How much has to be paid by people by using force and threats to pay for it all. Try not paying your 'part' and see how free it is.

[HeijoshinCool]

Adultery. Not to get into ones sex lives,, but lets face it, anyone with a little girl here must be worried about their little princess' future.

I'd feel more comfortable raising a son in Thailand than a daughter. Call me paranoid but I really hate the way you see so many Thai men just leering at young women as young as twelve and then of course the general sense of lawlessness and disregard for human life so commonly displayed.

I think my daughter is going to have to become a nun. No Thai man will be good enough for her and I'm not letting her near any of the Westerners that come here either...If I'm anything to go by, they don't make very good husbands

I'm not sure what you mean by, "No Thai man will be good enough" for your daughter. Maybe you can elaborate?

It sounds rather racist to me. Are you saying that ALL Thai men are beneath the men from your own country or what?

Men in the UK stare at my daughters, men in other countries stare at my daughters. The worst is the Middle Eastern ones.

I'd have no problem at all if either of my daughters want to marry a Thai man.

Not sure what country you are from but I am from the UK and came here and think I'm a bloody good husband.

So, Thai men NEVER stare at your daughters? But Middle Eastern men and Englishmen do?

Why do you think that is?

Do they look like camels?

Or Yorkshire Puddings?

[NeverSure]

So, Thai men NEVER stare at your daughters? But Middle Eastern men and Englishmen do?

Why do you think that is?

Do they look like camels?

Or Yorkshire Puddings?

Sorry lad, but I could never, EVER make those remarks about another man's daughters, even in jest. (And it didn't sound funny to me.)

[MAJIC]

Adultery. Not to get into ones sex lives,, but lets face it, anyone with a little girl here must be worried about their little princess' future.

I'd feel more comfortable raising a son in Thailand than a daughter. Call me paranoid but I really hate the way you see so many Thai men just leering at young women as young as twelve and then of course the general sense of lawlessness and disregard for human life so commonly displayed.

I think my daughter is going to have to become a nun. No Thai man will be good enough for her and I'm not letting her near any of the Westerners that come here either...If I'm anything to go by, they don't make very good husbands

The problem is: your Daughter will make her own choice,of partner whether you approve or not. Just hope and pray,he's not a lazy layabout,with green streaked hair,with no respect for authority or anyone else,or worse a druggy!

[Rhys]

Best wishes.. you came, you saw..and now you have gone... Carry on...move forward

[inthepink]

Adultery. Not to get into ones sex lives,, but lets face it, anyone with a little girl here must be worried about their little princess' future.

I'd feel more comfortable raising a son in Thailand than a daughter. Call me paranoid but I really hate the way you see so many Thai men just leering at young women as young as twelve and then of course the general sense of lawlessness and disregard for human life so commonly displayed.

I think my daughter is going to have to become a nun. No Thai man will be good enough for her and I'm not letting her near any of the Westerners that come here either...If I'm anything to go by, they don't make very good husbands

The problem is: your Daughter will make her own choice,of partner whether you approve or not. Just hope and pray,he's not a lazy layabout,with green streaked hair,with no respect for authority or anyone else,or worse a druggy!

Yes, I know she will Edited December 20, 2012 by inthepink

[MAJIC]

Talking of Hysterectomies,my mates Thai wife has just had it done on the NHS for free,and couldn't believe the exellent care and service she received.

Last year another Thai friend spent ten days in hospital with neumonia,once again free.

Nothing is free!

How much has to be paid by people by using force and threats to pay for it all. Try not paying your 'part' and see how free it is.

I didn't bother to explain that the NHS is free at source,my mistake for thinking everybody knew that! it's paid for through NI contributions,although in the two examples,their NHS care was free,considering they were not NI payers at the time!

[inthepink]

Talking of Hysterectomies,my mates Thai wife has just had it done on the NHS for free,and couldn't believe the exellent care and service she received.

Last year another Thai friend spent ten days in hospital with neumonia,once again free.

Nothing is free!

How much has to be paid by people by using force and threats to pay for it all. Try not paying your 'part' and see how free it is.

I didn't bother to explain that the NHS is free at source,my mistake for thinking everybody knew that! it's paid for through NI contributions,although in the two examples,their NHS care was free,considering they were not NI payers at the time!

Now somebody will tell you it still wasn't free because the rest of the country had to pay for it.

[wayned]

You came from a culture and society that have a different set of values than those of the Thai society. You tried to fit in and make them work for you but youcan't.

and you've realized that in time to continue your life in a society that you think that you can deal with, be it good or bad. Good luck.

[MAJIC]

Talking of Hysterectomies,my mates Thai wife has just had it done on the NHS for free,and couldn't believe the exellent care and service she received.

Last year another Thai friend spent ten days in hospital with neumonia,once again free.

Nothing is free!

How much has to be paid by people by using force and threats to pay for it all. Try not paying your 'part' and see how free it is.

I didn't bother to explain that the NHS is free at source,my mistake for thinking everybody knew that! it's paid for through NI contributions,although in the two examples,their NHS care was free,considering they were not NI payers at the time!

Now somebody will tell you it still wasn't free because the rest of the country had to pay for it.

Agreed some people will never know when they are well off!

[Banzai99]

Why are you assuming that every foreigner marries a girl from a poor family?

Maybe because the majority do ?

It's only on Anonymous forums like this one that the majority seem to buck the trend, but in reality, the majority married a poor girl with poor education,from a poor family, they just don't want to be reminded that she is only with him for money, so they reinvent the relationship and both parties involved.

A little sad really, but harmless.

[monty]

A very anti-Thai post has been deleted along with the replies to it.

[matt helm]

Is it really a surprise that a third world country does not have the same education standards of a first world country?

[inthepink]

Why are you assuming that every foreigner marries a girl from a poor family?

Maybe because the majority do ?

It's only on Anonymous forums like this one that the majority seem to buck the trend, but in reality, the majority married a poor girl with poor education,from a poor family, they just don't want to be reminded that she is only with him for money, so they reinvent the relationship and both parties involved.

A little sad really, but harmless.

I see. Yes that is rather sad but, as you say, basically harmless.

[TommoPhysicist]

Why are you assuming that every foreigner marries a girl from a poor family?

Maybe because the majority do ?

It's only on Anonymous forums like this one that the majority seem to buck the trend, but in reality, the majority married a poor girl with poor education,from a poor family, they just don't want to be reminded that she is only with him for money, so they reinvent the relationship and both parties involved.

A little sad really, but harmless.

I married a poor girl, from a poor farming family ...... ended in disaster, turned out she was only with me for the money ....... but enough reminiscing about England and English girls.

Edited December 20, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[transam]

Why are you assuming that every foreigner marries a girl from a poor family?

Maybe because the majority do ?

It's only on Anonymous forums like this one that the majority seem to buck the trend, but in reality, the majority married a poor girl with poor education,from a poor family, they just don't want to be reminded that she is only with him for money, so they reinvent the relationship and both parties involved.

A little sad really, but harmless.

I married a poor girl, from a poor farming family ...... ended in disaster, turned out she was only with me for the money ....... but enough reminiscing about England and English girls.

We may be related.

[draftvader]

OP. This is posted with respect to your original post, I know it doesn't follow exactly, but we have ended up debating the NHS at length here and I have, as I always will, supported the NHS greatly. I know that there are many stories that can be dug up on how the NHS has failed patients, however they help far more patients than they fail. Here is a wonderful, Christmas related, heart-warming story for us all. My only political point is to remember that this child was simply born and has received continual, world class, medical services. Why? Because she was lucky enough to be born in England. Without this care she would have had to have been lucky enough to be born into money (you can't insure a newborn baby on any affordable policy).

http://yhoo.it/WtEUqE

[yermanee]

I can understand that OP wants the best for his children and rightly so.

But why the need to discredit the country that he chose to live in and have his children.

Shouldn't he take at least part of the blame, but that's not so easy isn't it ?

Yermanee

[Chicog]

The racism comes from small minded idiots in a small country town near Oxford.

Out of interest, which one?

[TommoPhysicist]

The racism comes from small minded idiots in a small country town near Oxford.

Out of interest, which one?

Wheatley?

[Konini]

im not saying people who came are a failure, but if your leaving your second country, questions should be raised.

I left my home country in the early 80's and have lived and worked in 4 other countries since. What questions would you like to ask?

I'd like to ask where you lived and how the places you lived in compare to Thailand. Do you regret leaving any of the countries in which you stayed? Were there any that you really didn't like?

We left UK for New Zealand in 1987. 18 months later we both admitted we'd made a huge mistake. NZ is a lovely country, but back then it was more like a country town than a country. It was too hard to get ahead, wages were poor and housing was high. 2 TV channels which both closed down around midnight. If anyone has children and likes the relaxed outdoor life, go there. I have a nephew who went with his wife a few years ago, they now have babies and a boat and hunting equipment and love their lives and lifestyle. For them, it's great. For us, it was wrong. My husband went for an interview and was offered a very well paid job with the UN in Ethiopia - they were very apologetic that we would only have a small villa because we had no children, but there were quarters for a maid, which of course would be provided free as well as the villa. It was an obscene waste of money, all of our personal belongings on the same plane as us, no messing about with removal companies and shipping containers an waiting 4 months. We put it on hold and decided to give Australia a go, knowing the position in Ethiopia was being held open for him. We arrived in Melbourne on 28 February 1989 at 2.30am. It was 32C. Thats 90F. At 2.30am. There was a gecko type thing on the floor in the airport big enough to put a collar and chain on. We knew within a week we'd done the right thing. We worked hard, very hard for 18 years. Minimum 12 hour days, maybe 2 jobs, my husband pulled a 36 hour shift once when there was an emergency breakdown and he was the only one who could fix it. We worked long and hard and saved hard, driving around in old bangers, charity shop clothes, never spending anything unnecessary. People said we were crazy, would work ourselves to death, should spend the money. On 21 July 2007, we officially retired. I'd been doing work from home for a couple of years. Our aim had been to retire at 40. I was 38 and my husband was 39.

The house, the furniture, the cars, the motorbike (his only indulgence) were sold. We packed 2 bags and and on 7th September 2007 hit the road with a one way ticket to Bali, no fixed address, no responsibilities, no idea where we'd go after our 4 weeks tourist visa was up, exactly the life we'd work for. We ownded what we carried and carried what we owned. The same people who called us crazy for working ourselves so hard said how lucky we were. There was no luck. It was planned and we worked for it. We're not rich, but we invested well and as long as we don't go crazy with money we'll have enough money to last us until we're 70 if we live that long. After that we'd probably go back to Australia, the medical services are much, much better than UK (I've lived in both countries, I can make that call) and 100% free if you go public, private can be affordable. We're not cheating any system, we are still officially resident in Australia, still lodge tax returns etc. Crazy tax system there means that doing so suits us perfectly and is financially beneficial. Maybe we'll just expire where we are wherever that may be.

For the first 2 or 3 years we travelled around, mainly SEA but we kept coming back to Chiang Mai, and eventually the novelty of jumping on a bus and changing country every week or two wore off. We've been in CM for a couple of years now and enjoy it mostly. It suits us. It's right for us. I can't say that won't change and in a couple of years we'll pack a couple of bags and hit the road again. Maybe, maybe not. We're not getting younger, I'll be 50 next year, bits have already started to fall off the wagon, and it won't improve as we age. The medical care in CM is fantastic, both elective and emergency as I've found out recently.

To the OP, you have to think long and hard about what suits you. New Zealand is an amazing place, encourage people to go there. It's clean and has a good environment to bring up children and the people are nice. Not sure about the health service, we never used it, but I don't recall anyone complaining and I think it's free. If that suits you, go there. If you want to put your nose to the grindstone and work hard and retire early, Australia is good for that. If you put the effort in it's recognised and employers will do anything to keep you. We both had at least one full time job for the entire time we were there. If you miss your family going home would suit you. You really have to decide what it is that suits you now. What suits you now might not suit you in a few years, you have to keep reassessing.

There's nothing wrong with admitting it's not working - if we hadn't done it we could be sitting in the suburbs of Wellington with a nice garden to keep us busy when we got back from underpaid jobs to keep up with the mortgage. If you have decided you're better off somewhere else, go. But think long and hard; it's not just you who will have their lives upturned. It's not something you want to do too often.

I hope it all works out for you.

[manly100]

OP is/was a teacher in Thailand? How much does a teacher get paid in Thailand? Our International teachers get 30'000b per month if they are good. Supporting a family in Thailand on 30, 60, 90 thousand baht a month just seems like a very hard way to do things unless your happy to live in a box and live on noodles. The OP would be far better off back in the first world. I just can't understand how the OP ever thought this setup would ever work out. How to see the worst of Thailand and tell everyone about it.? Try doing what the OP did and you'll hate it too.

[inthepink]

I've known teachers on anything from 60- 120k a month. They don't all earn a pittance (although many do).

[manly100]

I've known teachers on anything from 60- 120k a month. They don't all earn a pittance (although many do).

How many english teachers in thailand make 100k a month. 1? 2?

[inthepink]

I've known teachers on anything from 60- 120k a month. They don't all earn a pittance (although many do).

How many english teachers in thailand make 100k a month. 1? 2?

How on earth would I know? I have been told that 100k + is the going rate at schools such as Harrow and Shrewsbury and I would imagine that they employ more than 2 teachers between them. The point I was making, was that there are many teachers earning far more than 30k so why assume that's what the OP was earning? 50-70k is certainly not unusual - even small bilingual schools pay that. Edited December 21, 2012 by inthepink