Why Did You Move To Thailand

[Jaybonnaza]

Question I've been thinking about a lot when I meet people .

I moved to Thailand as I was lucky and bored of the corporate life back in the UK, always on the move nationally and internationally, ending my marriage in the process (for the best admittedly).

But I meet so many people out here , some who have done well and fancy the easy life, others making ends meet living of the bones of their <deleted>, others running from things (some family, some commitments, some authorities).

I can't understand why people would move the other side of the world without a pot and chance it as it will only end in tears.

Others have done really well out here admittedly.

What's your view and story as to why Thailand rather than home,

[beano2274]

Moved to Thailand many years ago after a very bad divorce in Germany, although I am English. Went there with a few euros, 6 years later married, two condos a nice car, lovely wife who has a great job of course, and now back in Germany doing a short term contract.

I know of guys who went to Thailand with loads and left with nothing to show for it after 3 or 4 years.

[poanoi]

I come from a place 4 times colder than UK........

[kevvy]

to read Thai Visa

[kevvy]

I really came to be with the wonderful lady I meet . She is kind , loving , caring and everything a man wants from a lady . Still so much in love many years later. Is that good enough reason , yes it is .

[amykat]

I come from a place 4 times colder than UK........

Wow, where would that be?

I moved here mostly to save money, which I have done ...above my living expenses, I mean. To save so I can go back somewhere like my country, or some other country I may like/love. I used to live in France, and love it there as well as my own country.

[Soutpeel]

Came here to work...only expected a few years...12 years or so later...still here...so must be doing something right....

[Thereisnoif]

I came here single, to open a rep office from scratch for my company from France. 15 years down the road we have regional headquarters here, grossing 50 million Euros all over south east Asia .

My work here is done, and I am heading back to France over the summer .

Had a great time here, but staying here any longer would amount to a corporate suicide.

I also have a family with a Thai wife who is a xxxxx and an angel at the same time but super optimistic about leaving Thailand , and 2 lovely daughters who just got admitted to one of the best Lycees in France ( after all their education here at Shrewsbury).

I'm 45 and it is time to move on .

Good luck Thailand, you're going to need it so badly .

.

[gazmat]

Temples, chicks, chicks with dicks, mind-bending changovers, super spicy som tam, phangnga bay, sangsom and red bull, sunshine, jing joks, karaoke, Saturday night Premiere League football, Chao Praya river boats, fake xxxx, not having to do any cleaning, washing, ironing or driving and the fact some people call their kids 'Muntaporn'...

[yourauntbob]

Because Thai women understand how hansom I really am

[yourauntbob]

Seriously; women, food, weather, less stress, cheap massage (not the dirty kind), lots of work (if your willing to teach), great beaches, etc....

[kevvy]

I came here single, to open a rep office from scratch for my company from France. 15 years down the road we have regional headquarters here, grossing 50 million Euros all over south east Asia .

My work here is done, and I am heading back to France over the summer .

Had a great time here, but staying here any longer would amount to a corporate suicide.

I also have a family with a Thai wife who is a xxxxx and an angel at the same time but super optimistic about leaving Thailand , and 2 lovely daughters who just got admitted to one of the best Lycees in France ( after all their education here at Shrewsbury).

I'm 45 and it is time to move on .

Good luck Thailand, you're going to need it so badly .

.

but you needed thailand to make your money

[thhMan]

I came here because Australia is becoming a Police State... Cant do this or that... Cant smoke here or there.... Speed Cameras all over the place (Never been busted), other's children who now have full run of the streets and vandalise anything the moves or doesnt.... Pubs that have 50 guys to one POG.... Overly FAT Women who wear tight leotards and feel comfortable showing their camel toes.... Women who think they can have more than half... and no matter how bad a mother they are, still get custody....

Thailand offers total anarchy, which as much as I hate it... also gives me some comfort.... And of course, my missus of 7 years and our 2 kids (4 and 8) that are just the most wonderful people to be around.

I can do things here that Australia FROWNS upon.... Smoke in pubs, play with guns, wear socks with sandals (never done that yet), enjoy the beach without young punks ruling the beach... and a bunch more !

[thhMan]

I came here single, to open a rep office from scratch for my company from France. 15 years down the road we have regional headquarters here, grossing 50 million Euros all over south east Asia .

My work here is done, and I am heading back to France over the summer .

Had a great time here, but staying here any longer would amount to a corporate suicide.

I also have a family with a Thai wife who is a xxxxx and an angel at the same time but super optimistic about leaving Thailand , and 2 lovely daughters who just got admitted to one of the best Lycees in France ( after all their education here at Shrewsbury).

I'm 45 and it is time to move on .

Good luck Thailand, you're going to need it so badly .

.

but you needed thailand to make your money

Agreed... rape the place and then piss off.... What a man.... -sic-

[kevvy]

I came here because Australia is becoming a Police State... Cant do this or that... Cant smoke here or there.... Speed Cameras all over the place (Never been busted), other's children who now have full run of the streets and vandalise anything the moves or doesnt.... Pubs that have 50 guys to one POG.... Overly FAT Women who wear tight leotards and feel comfortable showing their camel toes.... Women who think they can have more than half... and no matter how bad a mother they are, still get custody....

Thailand offers total anarchy, which as much as I hate it... also gives me some comfort.... And of course, my missus of 7 years and our 2 kids (4 and 8) that are just the most wonderful people to be around.

I can do things here that Australia FROWNS upon.... Smoke in pubs, play with guns, wear socks with sandals (never done that yet), enjoy the beach without young punks ruling the beach... and a bunch more !

heh you are talking about my home country ................you are so right ...... right on

[swissie]

Nothing new, Farangs come her for:

- White sandy and unpolluted beaches.

- Friendly people. They smile all the time, but more so, if they want to sell you something.

- Perfect climate: Nice between November until end of March, after that, hot as h*ll until the start of the "rainy-sason". After that, hot as h*ll, but with torrential rains on top of it. In short: A perfect all year round climate.

The landscape of Thailand is breathtaking: Djungle, with very liile to see but jungle, or endless plains (100 meters abve sea-level), with nothing to see, exept rice pattys.

Also:

- Food is cheap.

- Housing is cheap.

-Transportation is cheap.

- Road safety is assured.

- Health insurance or any other insurance needs are readily available.

- Thanks to institutions like the "Tourist-Police", a newcomer-farang can count on fair and unbiased treatment in front of the "law of the Land". All in all: A great place to live.

The rumor, that there is any sort of prostituton going on in certain "tourist-hubs" is strictly rumor/hearsay. It can not be, because any such thing is illegal in Thailand !!!

So, clearly, the majority of the 24 million tourists that visit Thailand per year, come here mainly to see the many Buddhist-Temples. What else?

Cheers.

[jbrain]

I came here single, to open a rep office from scratch for my company from France. 15 years down the road we have regional headquarters here, grossing 50 million Euros all over south east Asia .

My work here is done, and I am heading back to France over the summer .

Had a great time here, but staying here any longer would amount to a corporate suicide.

I also have a family with a Thai wife who is a xxxxx and an angel at the same time but super optimistic about leaving Thailand , and 2 lovely daughters who just got admitted to one of the best Lycees in France ( after all their education here at Shrewsbury).

I'm 45 and it is time to move on .

Good luck Thailand, you're going to need it so badly .

.

but you needed thailand to make your money

Agreed... rape the place and then piss off.... What a man.... -sic-

Maybe he stayed here too long and adopted the mindsight of the local population ?

[nietzche]

Moved to Thailand many years ago after a very bad divorce in Germany, although I am English. Went there with a few euros, 6 years later married, two condos a nice car, lovely wife who has a great job of course, and now back in Germany doing a short term contract.

I know of guys who went to Thailand with loads and left with nothing to show for it after 3 or 4 years.

I would say that most come here with money and and burn through it mighty fast.

I came here 1.5 years ago for a break from the grind. Going back home at the end of the year.

Would like to stay as I've finally got over the period of culture shock and am really starting to enjoy living here.

However, have a great opportunity back home that I can't pass up on. Hoping to come back in 20 or 30 years around retirement time permanently.

At my current age I still have the desire to do many more things before I hang up my hat.

I was very lucky in that I was able to continue working on a contract basis from the U.S (programmer). Having stayed away from the booze and the girly bars I've been able to save up more money in this time than I could back home over 5 years and am returning home in very high spirits.

If you keep your head on your shoulders and live a healthy lifestyle, this is a fantastic place to live. The reason we hear too many Thailand horror stories is that the majority of people come here for the wrong reasons.

The expression "The devil makes work for idle hands" is more true here than anywhere else I've been. I've seen many people here who seem hell bent on drinking themselves to death and involving themselves with really bad characters. The really happy looking falangs I've seen here are the ones who occupy themselves with some hobby are routine. There's an older gent I see power walking past my condo every morning just as the suns coming up (bright yellow head band ). Literally every morning with out fail. Met an older fellow from London who bought a small rubber farm and has become obsessed with agricultural science (said he lived in the city back home). Regardless, different strokes for different folks.

[jbrain]

So, clearly, the majority of the 24 million tourists that visit Thailand per year, come here mainly to see the many Buddhist-Temples. What else?

Cheers.

You maybe right about that since the majority of those 24 million tourists are Chinese, koreans, Indians and Russians on a guided tour.

[wayned]

This topic has come and gone over the past years so I'll post my previous answer:

In early 1998 I sold everything that I owned and came to Thailand for one reason – to “DIE”! I had been experiencing severe angina for a long time and was told that I had to have heart surgery.

I decided that if it was my time, so be it, and took early retirement and moved here. I had no intention of going through the surgery. When I arrived, within days, the angina stopped and I’m still here,15 years later.For me it has definitely been a better life. The daily BS that I have to put up with is well worth it!

I'm still alive, haven't had any angina and believe that it's still well worth it!

[Scully]

Came backpacking for 3 months but stayed for 5 years full time, now 10 years on and off. Wanted to go to Bangladesh but got on the wrong plane.

[thhMan]

This topic has come and gone over the past years so I'll post my previous answer:

In early 1998 I sold everything that I owned and came to Thailand for one reason – to “DIE”! I had been experiencing severe angina for a long time and was told that I had to have heart surgery.

I decided that if it was my time, so be it, and took early retirement and moved here. I had no intention of going through the surgery. When I arrived, within days, the angina stopped and I’m still here,15 years later.For me it has definitely been a better life. The daily BS that I have to put up with is well worth it!

I'm still alive, haven't had any angina and believe that it's still well worth it!

Good on yah mate...!

[Om85]

Following my wife, that's the reason why I came here. I must to confess that at the beginning I didnt like the place at all, it look to undevelop and derty for me, but slowly I started to like it, mostly bcuz of my family and friends and now I really enjoy staying here, I have almost forgot how Jamon Serrano taste like , cuz I've been 7 years without going back home and have no plan to go back in the next 6 years neither, in my country we are professional migrants and explorers

[TexasRanger]

When my Mrs finished university in the UK we planned to settle there but her parents wanted her to work in Thailand, I thought it would be interesting so I followed. The family was very disfunctional, brother was a trouble magnet, Dad was a rich control freak who wanted us to build a house on their land so we could all live together, etc.

Finaly after about a year in Thailand we grew apart and agreed to seperate. I was in the middle of a language course so I stayed.

[kriswillems]

I came to Thailand because I promised my wife to come here after 6 years of marriage. I had a good job, a house and a stable life. I gave up everything.

The first years in Thailand we had to adapt to a lower standard of living (but we were happy). Today we're doing pretty well and we're about back to the same standard of life we had before.

I can live anywhere, but of all places I have lived in, I felt most happy in Thailand.

[jmccarty]

Peer pressure mostly!

[phuturatica]

To add a little bit of spice in my life!

Was a little bored and uninspired of the UK...

[IrishIvan]

I came here because Australia is becoming a Police State... Cant do this or that... Cant smoke here or there.... Speed Cameras all over the place (Never been busted), other's children who now have full run of the streets and vandalise anything the moves or doesnt.... Pubs that have 50 guys to one POG.... Overly FAT Women who wear tight leotards and feel comfortable showing their camel toes.... Women who think they can have more than half... and no matter how bad a mother they are, still get custody....

Thailand offers total anarchy, which as much as I hate it... also gives me some comfort.... And of course, my missus of 7 years and our 2 kids (4 and 8) that are just the most wonderful people to be around.

I can do things here that Australia FROWNS upon.... Smoke in pubs, play with guns, wear socks with sandals (never done that yet), enjoy the beach without young punks ruling the beach... and a bunch more !

That hits the nail on the head. Sensational post

[nietzche]

I know this topic and many like it regularly appear on TV, but I like to see it.

It usually beings out posters who are enjoying a good life over here, and its good to hear their stories.

Generally a very positive thread

[doontp]

In my case, I’m half Thai/American. Was born in Isaan and then moved to the US when I was 3 months old. Mom returned to Thailand, alone, one year later. I was raised in the US by various people….dad in and out of picture.

5 yrs ago I came to Thailand to meet my mom’s side of the family. One morning I went to work with one of my cousins. I then learned that this particular cousin of mine was a school teacher. I came across the school’s English teacher. I tried talking to her and she couldn’t understand me. Her English was almost nill. More shocking, she has a Master’s Degree in English!!! She knew a lot of English terms, but could not put together a sentence.

I then asked the Director about teaching English and he offered me a job on the spot. He said the country has a shortage of English teachers.

I returned to the US and began preparing to move to Thailand to teach English. I returned to Thailand six months later.

I walked away from a good job in the US. There is no other country in the world I’d consider teaching English. I live and teach English here only because I’m half Thai. I’ve been at the same school for almost 6 yrs. I enjoy this country.

This is why I moved to Thailand