why people don't come to Thailand instead to struggle in their home country?

[wprime]

It's more expensive to live well in Thailand than the west.

[4evermaat]

what normally happens with people in your situation is they keep it going as long as the cash lasts. When the cash runs out that person gets a cold slap in the face and needs to get a real job and earn a real living. I've seen this happen over 100 times in LOS to the school teachers etc in their 20s and 30s. They never last more than a few years. They do talk a big game though. I remember the ones 8 years ago who lived in their bkk shoe boxes for 2500/mo (see ur 8000 place went way up in price!). some of these teachers took to attempting to scam fellow expats in the bar when the cash ran out. I remember a guy from a bar who texted me that he was in a moto accident and needed 15K for the cop desperately. It was a BS story that woulda made an Issan bargirl proud. This guy was back to the UK in a few months. He also was arrested at a border checkpoint for his bogus NON-B bought visa before the roof caved in. He was in his 30s

 

Life is long and doomsday always comes unless you have a monthly income source that covers expenses over the long haul. One can enjoy until the cash runs dry

I agree that you are in a much better financial position if you have some regular [outside thailand] income, whether it is freelancing, pension, disability, going back home or other country to work 6 month on / 6 months off, etc. There is actually a lot of hacks for this to work ok.

I had the benefit of having a friend with over a decade of experience in the SE Asia region. I didnt have to reinvent the wheel so to speak. I had someone to "shadow" and ask questions to make sure i was getting a fair deal when i first started out. So i pay that forward here. But it's doable as long as you dont get caught up in the jonses. We often wonder when people say they are spending over 30k baht/month (especially single) where the money is going; to each their own

"...the 2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from ThaiVisa app (Galaxy Note 2).

[MrWorldwide]

Gotta love the story about the Aussie who was seen wandering around Patts about 12 months back with a backpack full of cash, periodically throwing notes into the air. Havent heard any more about him of late ....

[wprime]

Gotta love the story about the Aussie who was seen wandering around Patts about 12 months back with a backpack full of cash, periodically throwing notes into the air. Havent heard any more about him of late ....

He's still around, just a little more difficult to recognize without his backpack.

[Berkshire]

I decided after graduating uni in my early 20s I probably wasn't going to get a career, settle down, get married, have kids or do any of those things you're supposed to do.

I didn't know at that time what my plan was other than to travel.

Fast forward 7 years or so and I've been to over 40 countries, spent more than half of that time on the road travelling or living abroad and not done much in the way of work bar a few short stints here and there.

Now I have a plan to sustain this and make it long term and I'm putting it into action. If it goes well I'll never have to settle down or get a 'real' job or do any of those things that sound so rubbish to me.

what normally happens with people in your situation is they keep it going as long as the cash lasts. When the cash runs out that person gets a cold slap in the face and needs to get a real job and earn a real living. I've seen this happen over 100 times in LOS to the school teachers etc in their 20s and 30s. They never last more than a few years. They do talk a big game though. I remember the ones 8 years ago who lived in their bkk shoe boxes for 2500/mo (see ur 8000 place went way up in price!). some of these teachers took to attempting to scam fellow expats in the bar when the cash ran out. I remember a guy from a bar who texted me that he was in a moto accident and needed 15K for the cop desperately. It was a BS story that woulda made an Issan bargirl proud. This guy was back to the UK in a few months. He also was arrested at a border checkpoint for his bogus NON-B bought visa before the roof caved in. He was in his 30s

Life is long and doomsday always comes unless you have a monthly income source that covers expenses over the long haul. One can enjoy until the cash runs dry

I too have seen many young farangs (as you say, in their 20's/30's) crash and burn in Thailand. Even if they have a decent income, say, 60-70,000 bt/month, they're really not saving much and are not paying into any sort of pension scheme. They come to realize that they're pissing away their most productive years and eventually go back home to try and "fix" things.

If one wants to live a comfortable life in Thailand, have one's finances sorted before even considering coming here. Thailand is a great place if you have money; it's not a great place to make money.

[Tchooptip]

I learned more with my thai girlfriend about Thailand than anywhere else in our western culture. I think people are so stubborn and rooted in their country that they can not see anything else. they prefer to struggle and be tax to death. anyway many will be forced to move. like Spanish moving to Africa.

She speaks English fluently ?

[rayongchelsea]

You've learned from your girlfriend exactly what?

I have learnt more from my mistakes and my own realizations and misconceptions than what anyone can tell me.

I was married for 20 years lived here and worked here longer,had to resort to the law on occasions, dealt with the bib, extended thai family,experienced the education system, bereavement, scams,lived in moo bans, condo apartments like shoe boxes, taught English for awhile, lived in Bangkok and up country..and speak the language..now wealthy..wasn't once..

So what has your girlfriend of how many years of age taught you..

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I decided after graduating uni in my early 20s I probably wasn't going to get a career, settle down, get married, have kids or do any of those things you're supposed to do.

I didn't know at that time what my plan was other than to travel.

Fast forward 7 years or so and I've been to over 40 countries, spent more than half of that time on the road travelling or living abroad and not done much in the way of work bar a few short stints here and there.

Now I have a plan to sustain this and make it long term and I'm putting it into action. If it goes well I'll never have to settle down or get a 'real' job or do any of those things that sound so rubbish to me.

what normally happens with people in your situation is they keep it going as long as the cash lasts. When the cash runs out that person gets a cold slap in the face and needs to get a real job and earn a real living. I've seen this happen over 100 times in LOS to the school teachers etc in their 20s and 30s. They never last more than a few years. They do talk a big game though. I remember the ones 8 years ago who lived in their bkk shoe boxes for 2500/mo (see ur 8000 place went way up in price!). some of these teachers took to attempting to scam fellow expats in the bar when the cash ran out. I remember a guy from a bar who texted me that he was in a moto accident and needed 15K for the cop desperately. It was a BS story that woulda made an Issan bargirl proud. This guy was back to the UK in a few months. He also was arrested at a border checkpoint for his bogus NON-B bought visa before the roof caved in. He was in his 30s

Life is long and doomsday always comes unless you have a monthly income source that covers expenses over the long haul. One can enjoy until the cash runs dry

I too have seen many young farangs (as you say, in their 20's/30's) crash and burn in Thailand. Even if they have a decent income, say, 60-70,000 bt/month, they're really not saving much and are not paying into any sort of pension scheme. They come to realize that they're pissing away their most productive years and eventually go back home to try and "fix" things.

If one wants to live a comfortable life in Thailand, have one's finances sorted before even considering coming here. Thailand is a great place if you have money; it's not a great place to make money.

At least they are having fun, and will have some memories worth saving.

All I did with my life was work hard to buy a house and make money for a woman that didn't like me very much.

PS

I know some guys that came to Thailand in the late 60s, smuggled Thai gold to India, smuggled drugs to Thailand, Singapore, etc., had a great time, now aged over 65 and still having fun.

Edited July 9, 2013 by AnotherOneAmerican

[JLCrab]

I was waiting for a flight in USA last month and struck up a conversation with (I'll guess) an age late-70's well-dressed woman who was returning from her grandson's Princeton college graduation.

I had mentioned that I lived outside the USA and she asked In what country. I said Thailand. She then asked:

Isn't that where all the pedophiles go? So maybe one should consider how those back in the home-country will view your extended stay in Thailand should you ever be required to re-establish yourself -- other than as a self-employed web designer or some such -- back on the old sod.

[NeverSure]

I have no idea how a young guy with no money moves to Thailand and has a good life. I suppose he could teach English and scrape by, but he'd be putting nothing away for his future. He also wouldn't be able to afford to hit the bars or bar girls. He could have a girlfriend if she had a job and didn't expect him to be an ATM machine.

There is one plan that would work if he's willing to be married, but he'd still be putting nothing away for his future. He could marry a gal with a master's degree and a good government job if he could scrape up the money to get his marriage visa. Then if they both earned 30k, and if he could then get into the government health care system, they could get by OK. IMHO too many guys marry a needy gal and wind up being expected to support her and her family.

Any house or car purchased on credit would have the loans in her name. There is the new house scheme and the new car scheme for her. They still wouldn't be well off but they'd get by. If the marriage went sour he could walk.

Still, the guy is going to reach retirement age broke.

[NeverSure]

It's more expensive to live well in Thailand than the west.

I had to "like" this because it's certainly true of the US in all but the most expensive areas. I have no idea about the UK or Australia.

This year I made a final decision to continue to live in the US and travel to Thailand twice a year for about 90 days. I'm pissed about two things. They won't allow me to own land, and there's the constant BS about the retirement visa one year at a time. I'm going to keep my home, my land and my toys in the US, and be happy every time I return. Then I'll be happy every time I arrive back in Thailand.

I can keep my medicare advantage, my wonderful home and land, and need no one's permission to be here.

This past April I rented a car from Avis in Bangkok and traveled all over Isaan because I hadn't really seen it before. I also visited a couple of gals I met online. Actually there were three. Two are teachers and one works for the post office in Udon, All have master's degrees and all are really cute, mid-30's gals. What a great time for much less that US$10,000. If I had stayed a couple of more months it wouldn't have cost that much. The big expenses were the airline tickets and the car rental and I could have ditched the car after a month if I wanted. (It was about $1,000.)

So to each his own but I'm not going "all in" for Thailand.

[JLCrab]

Getting the retirement extension of visa once each year is a minor annoyance as long as one has the necessary finances. Maintaining Medicare Advantage is no problem so long as one maintains a legal residence in USA. Last month in USA, I had a good time for three weeks but couldn't wait to get back to my own home rented-though-it-may-be in the Isaan land of rice and sugar.

[amykat]

when thai people tell me i am lucky to be able to live in Thailand, I say they can do the same, move to India and their 8000 bahts/month will suddenly become like 80'000 bahts. but they say they don't want to move...

and i say you have not the faintest idea about living cost in India

According to this BBC documentary, made in 2010, you can get an apartment that sleeps 4 in Mumbai or Calcutta for $24 a month.

Thanks for this tip on the documentary ...I love India, and although I already knew it was pretty to very expensive to live there, and rough, and stressful, and maybe difficult X 10 for a lone female expat to live there, and well they have no visas for that, etc ...I do just love India and I watched all three episodes of the BBC show, and really enjoyed it! So thanks for that AOA!! Al Jazeera did a series of shows called "Indian Hospital" which you can see on their website which is also very interesting.

P.S. These shows are not about how to rent a shack in a slum for only 2000 rupees a month, or about expat living at all, but it is funny how the OP thinks he can live on 8000 baht as it seems the lowest workers there are living on about $5-10 a day ..but watching it might help your negotiation tactics if you travel there ..I learned a bit more. I just feel so happy when I go somewhere like India, or Indonesia, Malaysia, almost all of Asia actually ... where the people are much more in your face and direct, than I feel here with all the diplomatic, smiley, face-saving whatever! If you are tired and in a bad mood, and can't stand the ridiculous "first price given" in Thailand, I found you just can't make a deal, because the seller just won't sell to you! (This mostly only happened during my tourist days here, now I know ...and just go home if I feel that way, but I am not going to big tourist shopping areas anyway, so that helps.)

Sorry to go a bit off topic here. I would suggest anyone who feels bad about their current lifestyle, to watch these shows, if only to be reminded about how good you have it!

Edited July 9, 2013 by amykat

[Shotime]

I'm struggling with this presently. I miss home, but I'm afraid that once I go home, I'll miss it here. It's happened before.

The good about here is that it's cheaper. I'm in my late 60's, and the girls, though pretty, aren't as important as it was before. However, it's still a plus. I feel safe where I am here, and pay half the rent I would pa at home.

The good things about home are it's home. Better medical coverage. Not as prone to be taken advantage of. For some reason, I think I'd feel more comfortable there. The food.

Anyway, I'm giving some serious thought to going home.

[TheSpade]

what normally happens with people in your situation is they keep it going as long as the cash lasts. When the cash runs out that person gets a cold slap in the face and needs to get a real job and earn a real living. I've seen this happen over 100 times in LOS to the school teachers etc in their 20s and 30s. They never last more than a few years. They do talk a big game though. I remember the ones 8 years ago who lived in their bkk shoe boxes for 2500/mo (see ur 8000 place went way up in price!). some of these teachers took to attempting to scam fellow expats in the bar when the cash ran out. I remember a guy from a bar who texted me that he was in a moto accident and needed 15K for the cop desperately. It was a BS story that woulda made an Issan bargirl proud. This guy was back to the UK in a few months. He also was arrested at a border checkpoint for his bogus NON-B bought visa before the roof caved in. He was in his 30s

Life is long and doomsday always comes unless you have a monthly income source that covers expenses over the long haul. One can enjoy until the cash runs dry

My situation?

You don't really know what my situation is and I can assure you I do not teach English and I very much doubt I ever will.

Even if I was broke and it was the choice between going home or staying here / somewhere else I'd probably go home. Teaching English is not for me,

LOL though at your idea what what 'real jobs' and 'real livings' are.

My 8,000B a month apartment is no shoebox, it's double the size of most of the 15,000B p/m places I looked at. Plenty room for me here.

So because one guy you met who happened to teach tried to scam you all English teachers are by default going to end up scammers? Right then.

Let me repeat once again I do NOT teach English and probably never will.

You say life is long....but it isn't always.

Sometimes it's short and people die young.

Better to live your life now than lying to yourself that you'll do it when you're older / more secure / retired / have more money etc.

And just because you are enjoying yourself now and doing what you want with life doesn't mean that you can be planning for the future too.

It's more expensive to live well in Thailand than the west.

Is it? In what sense?

I think it depends how you define 'live well'.

Back home I can live a decent life. No real hardship but in Thailand I can live much better.

I can swim in the apartment pool every day, eat like a king for next to nothing, party like a rockstar, date a different girl every night (and no I'm not referring to bar girls) without breaking the bank.

I too have seen many young farangs (as you say, in their 20's/30's) crash and burn in Thailand. Even if they have a decent income, say, 60-70,000 bt/month, they're really not saving much and are not paying into any sort of pension scheme. They come to realize that they're pissing away their most productive years and eventually go back home to try and "fix" things.

If one wants to live a comfortable life in Thailand, have one's finances sorted before even considering coming here. Thailand is a great place if you have money; it's not a great place to make money.

Sure if you are relying on getting a job in Thailand then you're not going to make much cash but if you have passive income from back home or an online income source then things need not be so difficult.

At least they are having fun, and will have some memories worth saving.

All I did with my life was work hard to buy a house and make money for a woman that didn't like me very much.

PS

I know some guys that came to Thailand in the late 60s, smuggled Thai gold to India, smuggled drugs to Thailand, Singapore, etc., had a great time, now aged over 65 and still having fun.

Indeed.

My dad has worked the same job for almost 30 years since he left school. Hated then hates it now.

Settled down, got married, bought a house, a car, all that other stuff you do....then got divorced.

Wasn't until later life he discovered travelling to far flung places. Before that it was a fortnight in Spain once a year if lucky.

Now he wishes he had done it all earlier and not listened to what other people said or felt pressured into doing things he might not have necessarily wanted to do.

His advice to me is to do whatever I want to do with my life. Don't feel pressured into settling down, getting a 'real' job, getting married etc if I don't want to do it because you're a long time dead and you might never get a chance to do it in the future.

[TheSpade]

I have no idea how a young guy with no money moves to Thailand and has a good life. I suppose he could teach English and scrape by, but he'd be putting nothing away for his future. He also wouldn't be able to afford to hit the bars or bar girls. He could have a girlfriend if she had a job and didn't expect him to be an ATM machine.

There is one plan that would work if he's willing to be married, but he'd still be putting nothing away for his future. He could marry a gal with a master's degree and a good government job if he could scrape up the money to get his marriage visa. Then if they both earned 30k, and if he could then get into the government health care system, they could get by OK. IMHO too many guys marry a needy gal and wind up being expected to support her and her family.

Any house or car purchased on credit would have the loans in her name. There is the new house scheme and the new car scheme for her. They still wouldn't be well off but they'd get by. If the marriage went sour he could walk.

Still, the guy is going to reach retirement age broke.

You're making the mistake of thinking that us young guys are interested in bar girls. Most of us are not. Out of all the young guys I know out in Thailand now living or have lived / spent extended periods of time here in the past none go with bar girls or at least don't make any effort to but it might happen on one drunken night from a late night club or something.

We don't have to because we have access to Thai girls of a similar age who aren't involved in the bar girl scene. Most of these girls IME don't expect you to be their personal ATM so that's not an issue.

You have a skewed view of Thai women from hanging out with the dregs of society perhaps.

I don't think most of the young guys here are looking to shack up long term, get married, buy a house and all that nonsense anyway.

Most people are broke at retirement age anyway. A lot of the older guys I know don't even have a private pension and will have to rely on state pension only. If they make it that far.

No point in putting life on hold now for ifs, buts and maybes in the distant future. Live life for now.

Seems to me all the guys claiming it's too expensive here, costs more than the West, you can't live a good life etc might consider stopping spending all their cash on bar girls and they might realise it's perfectly possible to live a decent life here on a relatively low budget.

Edited July 9, 2013 by TheSpade

[HardenedSoul]

It's more expensive to live well in Thailand than the west.

No it isn't.

Rent, transport, petrol, food, bars, clubs . . . you name it, everything here is cheaper

At the risk of a slating from the haters out there, I'm not talking about a shoebox in Bangna, baht buses, street noodle bars and a half-bottle of gut-rotting Hong Thong whisky from a lower-Sukhumvit street bar here -

I'm comparing like for like

As in rental on large, modern Asoke apartment, taxis/BTS/MRT, high end gyms, good Thai/Western food and quality vodka at decent bars, clubs in Thonglor or Ekkamai (though I don't drink much).

This would cost a fortune in my corner of West London.

I decided after graduating uni in my early 20s I probably wasn't going to get a career, settle down, get married, have kids or do any of those things you're supposed to do.

I didn't know at that time what my plan was other than to travel.

Fast forward 7 years or so and I've been to over 40 countries, spent more than half of that time on the road travelling or living abroad and not done much in the way of work bar a few short stints here and there.

Now I have a plan to sustain this and make it long term and I'm putting it into action. If it goes well I'll never have to settle down or get a 'real' job or do any of those things that sound so rubbish to me.

what normally happens with people in your situation is they keep it going as long as the cash lasts. When the cash runs out that person gets a cold slap in the face and needs to get a real job and earn a real living. I've seen this happen over 100 times in LOS to the school teachers etc in their 20s and 30s. They never last more than a few years. They do talk a big game though. I remember the ones 8 years ago who lived in their bkk shoe boxes for 2500/mo (see ur 8000 place went way up in price!). some of these teachers took to attempting to scam fellow expats in the bar when the cash ran out. I remember a guy from a bar who texted me that he was in a moto accident and needed 15K for the cop desperately. It was a BS story that woulda made an Issan bargirl proud. This guy was back to the UK in a few months. He also was arrested at a border checkpoint for his bogus NON-B bought visa before the roof caved in. He was in his 30s

Life is long and doomsday always comes unless you have a monthly income source that covers expenses over the long haul. One can enjoy until the cash runs dry

This is very true.

At first, it does seem really easy to get it "right" here.

After all, great weather, cheap women, cheap partying and cheap accommodation sounds just like a holiday for many guys

Trouble is, typically, holidays aren't supposed to last for years

[TheSpade]

Trouble is, typically, holidays aren't supposed to last for years

Who says?

If you can afford it then holiday for the rest of your life if it makes you happy.

quality vodka at decent bars, clubs in Thonglor or Ekkamai (though I don't drink much).

A lot of the clubs in Bangkok. Even some of the ones that definitely aren't fancy and much more sleazy charge more for drinks than I would pay in a club at home in the UK if buying as singles.

If you can buy a bottle though then it should be cheaper here.

[Thereisnoif]

Instead of struggling, not instead to struggle, please

[HardenedSoul]

Trouble is, typically, holidays aren't supposed to last for years

Who says?

If you can afford it then holiday for the rest of your life if it makes you happy.

quality vodka at decent bars, clubs in Thonglor or Ekkamai (though I don't drink much).

A lot of the clubs in Bangkok. Even some of the ones that definitely aren't fancy and much more sleazy charge more for drinks than I would pay in a club at home in the UK if buying as singles.

If you can buy a bottle though then it should be cheaper here.

I did say "typically".

There is a chasm between what you pay for drinks in different parts of the UK. In my part of London, a Heineken in a local bar can run you a fiver whereas in the arse end of somewhere like Sutton Coldfield, the same beer would cost you £1.50.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I retired at age 52. My motto was and remains: "you can always make more money but you can never make more time". Amazing how many people spend their lives chasing more more more money to the exclusion of doing the things that they "dream" about. I have learned to live a very pleasant life by learning to place more value on what I do rather than what I own.

I completely agree. Unfortunately for me, the things I like to do are quite often limited by what I own :-)

Luckily for me almost everything I like doing only requires a good pair of shoes.

[JLCrab]

Sometimes it seems to me there are so many making money online I wonder how there are enough left for them to sell to.

[TheSpade]

Sometimes it seems to me there are so many making money online I wonder how there are enough left for them to sell to.

Well one of the biggest niches to make money online is by selling make money online information for those who want to make money online.

There's a lot of people who make their money solely from telling others how to make money eve though before that they never made a penny.

Ironic I know.

[CrypticBob]

I retired at age 52. My motto was and remains: "you can always make more money but you can never make more time". Amazing how many people spend their lives chasing more more more money to the exclusion of doing the things that they "dream" about. I have learned to live a very pleasant life by learning to place more value on what I do rather than what I own.

I completely agree. Unfortunately for me, the things I like to do are quite often limited by what I own :-)

Luckily for me almost everything I like doing only requires a good pair of shoes.

Are you a shoplifter?

[wprime]

It's more expensive to live well in Thailand than the west.

No it isn't.

Rent, transport, petrol, food, bars, clubs . . . you name it, everything here is cheaper

At the risk of a slating from the haters out there, I'm not talking about a shoebox in Bangna, baht buses, street noodle bars and a half-bottle of gut-rotting Hong Thong whisky from a lower-Sukhumvit street bar here -

I'm comparing like for like

As in rental on large, modern Asoke apartment, taxis/BTS/MRT, high end gyms, good Thai/Western food and quality vodka at decent bars, clubs in Thonglor or Ekkamai (though I don't drink much).

This would cost a fortune in my corner of West London.

Sorry but we have different definitions of what is 'living well'.

[HardenedSoul]

I have no idea how a young guy with no money moves to Thailand and has a good life. I suppose he could teach English and scrape by, but he'd be putting nothing away for his future. He also wouldn't be able to afford to hit the bars or bar girls. He could have a girlfriend if she had a job and didn't expect him to be an ATM machine.

There is one plan that would work if he's willing to be married, but he'd still be putting nothing away for his future. He could marry a gal with a master's degree and a good government job if he could scrape up the money to get his marriage visa. Then if they both earned 30k, and if he could then get into the government health care system, they could get by OK. IMHO too many guys marry a needy gal and wind up being expected to support her and her family.

Any house or car purchased on credit would have the loans in her name. There is the new house scheme and the new car scheme for her. They still wouldn't be well off but they'd get by. If the marriage went sour he could walk.

Still, the guy is going to reach retirement age broke.

Look buddy ,i'm an offshore worker with tons of experience and have worked in more country's than you wil ever visit in youre life.

I make very good money and have a lot of propertys in my home country and because i work more than six months per year out of my country i dont have to pay income taxes .

So in total i work six months per year and have the rest of the year of and pay my one so called social security,and some nice pension plans aside.

But i am getting divorced from my soon to be ex thai wife and luckely i had a good prenup set up before we married .

So al you so called internet warriors making the big bucks from youre shoe box condos will have nothing to show for in the future when you get to my age except the clothes that are in youre lugage and on youre back.

So i am not struggeling in my countrys and will never have to live of 14.000 baht a month and second hand clothes en my 2 kids wil get a decent education Wich is cheaper than in Thailand.

So al you so called internet warriors making the big bucks from youre shoe box condos will have nothing to show for in the future when you get to my age except the clothes that are in youre lugage and on youre back.

What a stupid thing to say. <deleted> do you know about everyone else's spending or saving habits??

You sound just like Harry Enfield's Loadsamoney character.

I know guys making as much as £50-100,000 a month trading online from their "shoeboxes" on the top floors of BKK's finest condo buildings and hey, they ain't risking life and limb on a bloody oil rig in the middle of the <deleted>' ocean so wind your neck back in, ease off the throttle and gently apply the brakes.

It's fine to be skeptical about those making money from the internet but don't make an idiot out of yourself by talking crap when you really don't have a clue

[HardenedSoul]

It's more expensive to live well in Thailand than the west.

No it isn't.

Rent, transport, petrol, food, bars, clubs . . . you name it, everything here is cheaper

At the risk of a slating from the haters out there, I'm not talking about a shoebox in Bangna, baht buses, street noodle bars and a half-bottle of gut-rotting Hong Thong whisky from a lower-Sukhumvit street bar here -

I'm comparing like for like

As in rental on large, modern Asoke apartment, taxis/BTS/MRT, high end gyms, good Thai/Western food and quality vodka at decent bars, clubs in Thonglor or Ekkamai (though I don't drink much).

This would cost a fortune in my corner of West London.

Sorry but we have different definitions of what is 'living well'.

Oh well, in that case, please Mr. Bon Viveur . . . open our eyes so that we mere mortals may snatch a glimpse at the levels of opulence that you would even begin to qualify as "living well"

[Kudel]

I have no idea how a young guy with no money moves to Thailand and has a good life. I suppose he could teach English and scrape by, but he'd be putting nothing away for his future. He also wouldn't be able to afford to hit the bars or bar girls. He could have a girlfriend if she had a job and didn't expect him to be an ATM machine. There is one plan that would work if he's willing to be married, but he'd still be putting nothing away for his future. He could marry a gal with a master's degree and a good government job if he could scrape up the money to get his marriage visa. Then if they both earned 30k, and if he could then get into the government health care system, they could get by OK. IMHO too many guys marry a needy gal and wind up being expected to support her and her family. Any house or car purchased on credit would have the loans in her name. There is the new house scheme and the new car scheme for her. They still wouldn't be well off but they'd get by. If the marriage went sour he could walk. Still, the guy is going to reach retirement age broke.

Look buddy ,i'm an offshore worker with tons of experience and have worked in more country's than you wil ever visit in youre life.I make very good money and have a lot of propertys in my home country and because i work more than six months per year out of my country i dont have to pay income taxes .So in total i work six months per year and have the rest of the year of and pay my one so called social security,and some nice pension plans aside.But i am getting divorced from my soon to be ex thai wife and luckely i had a good prenup set up before we married .So al you so called internet warriors making the big bucks from youre shoe box condos will have nothing to show for in the future when you get to my age except the clothes that are in youre lugage and on youre back.So i am not struggeling in my countrys and will never have to live of 14.000 baht a month and second hand clothes en my 2 kids wil get a decent education Wich is cheaper than in Thailand.

So al you so called internet warriors making the big bucks from youre shoe box condos will have nothing to show for in the future when you get to my age except the clothes that are in youre lugage and on youre back.

What a stupid thing to say. <deleted> do you know about everyone else's spending or saving habits?? You sound just like Harry Enfield's Loadsamoney character. know guys making as much as £50-100,000 a month trading online from their "shoeboxes" on the top floors of BKK's finest condo buildings and hey, they ain't risking life and limb on a bloody oil rig in the middle of the <deleted>' ocean so wind your neck back in, ease off the throttle and gently apply the brakes. It's fine to be skeptical about those making money from the internet but don't make an idiot out of yourself by talking crap when you really don't have a clue

Hit a nerve did i buddy ,i think you don't have a <deleted> clue and are talkin out of youre arse and concerning the so called hard earners in asoke i think they have more risk of getting long cancer in those high rise overpriced condos then me and i dont work on oil rigs .I think you are talking about people who work for multinationals with high paying expat packages in asoke and not the 20 something internetguys boasting about the cheap noodles they can buy on the street and some cheap chag they found on an internet datingsite for the night. Edited July 9, 2013 by Kudel

[CrypticBob]

...

Hit a nerve did i buddy ,i think you don't have a <deleted> clue and are talkin out of youre arse .

At least he's got a civil tongue, which makes him better off than you

[HardenedSoul]

So al you so called internet warriors making the big bucks from youre shoe box condos will have nothing to show for in the future when you get to my age except the clothes that are in youre lugage and on youre back.

What a stupid thing to say. <deleted> do you know about everyone else's spending or saving habits?? You sound just like Harry Enfield's Loadsamoney character. know guys making as much as £50-100,000 a month trading online from their "shoeboxes" on the top floors of BKK's finest condo buildings and hey, they ain't risking life and limb on a bloody oil rig in the middle of the <deleted>' ocean so wind your neck back in, ease off the throttle and gently apply the brakes. It's fine to be skeptical about those making money from the internet but don't make an idiot out of yourself by talking crap when you really don't have a clue

Hit a nerve did i buddy ,i think you don't have a <deleted> clue and are talkin out of youre arse .

Hit a nerve?

Don't be ridiculous.

I'm sitting here laughing because I just know that when you come to Thailand, you walk around waving your wad in the locals' faces sayin' "Oi, Oi. Look at 'at! Eh? Eh? Git sum. Look at my wad. I got loadsaaaaaaaah"