What do we give up to be an expat

[GuestHouse]

Time perhaps to remind members.

The title and subject of this thread is 'What do we give up to be an expat?'

It is not 'What did you run away from?" - That would be a different thread if anyone wants to start it.

It seems I should also add the title and subject of the thread is not 'What do you think is wrong with Thailand?"

We all make sacrifices to be expats - This thread is about those sacrifices.

[EBlair48]

Right, sacrifices such as safety, dignity and health.

[pinfold]

It depends mainly on how long you have been here/how fed up you are (unhappy) to the delirious (happy) house owning married and have children farang who will never be unhappy in Thailand because they "pop" happy pills day in and day out

Edited July 23, 2013 by pinfold

[pattayadingo]

Another sacrifice is not seeing my 2 grandchildren grow and develop.

Getting photos and updates is not the same as being there and watching events as they unforld.

[StreetCowboy]

It's not that it isn't like back home, it's the lies telling us it is like back home. In fact for quite a while a few years back, this forum was very suppressive of uncomplimentary, negative opinions. Nice to see it has come around, I guess there was just no holding it in anymore.

" English widely spoken" ( not at governmental offices that by ASEAN rules, should provide English documents )

"Safe" needs little explanation- from cops who do not enforce traffic rules to "5 star" hospitals that use outdated, un-properly stored drugs. Phuket's infamous rip tides is a great example, tourism would suffer if the truth about how dangerous the ocean is for 6 months of the year .

Even the much touted Land of Smiles is just a con, seems to me most Thais use that smile to manipulate and cajole. F A K E

I have always thought,

It seems quite illogical,

For a man to leave his home country and travel to a foreign country,

A place where he knows before he leaves the culture will be different, and life will not be the same,

And then become angry because much that he sees is not like it is back home.

And even worse,

More illogical when he tries to change the new culture to be more like his home country culture, which is an impossible undertaking.

I suppose some people could find negatives anywhere - perhaps even Scotland; I imagine the long summer evenings must be tough for burglars, while some people might get startled by the weather changes associated with the seasons.

Giving up seasons was a bit of a blow at first.

Long summer evenings on a deserted beach - not that there are no deserted beaches in Thailand, merely that they are remote from my suburb.

Saturday afternoon cycling on country roads - similarly.

My family found the frequent relocations difficult - giving up friends and familiarity with the local environment; knowing where were shops and hospitals and all the other places one needed to go.

SC

[chrisinth]

I think the problem with this thread is that a distinction between expat and immigrant needs to be made.

I would imagine true expats did not give up much and probably gained quite a bit.

However, immigrants on the other hand, I would imagine they give up much.

I think PaullyW has made an excellent point in his post.

Lets face it people, none of us have given anything up by making the move to live here. The exception to the rule would be someone here on an ex-pat package (for work), but even then that is a voluntary move for the duration of the work, normally for financial gain, and if they don't like the work, have an option to quit.

What the majority of posters need to ask themselves is what were the reasons for moving here in the first place, why at that particular time did you want to turn your back on the country where you were born? Why did you not take into account you couldn't take your extended family and friends with you? Did you nor realize that real ale doesn't travel well.......... , etc, etc, etc.

It was a voluntary move on your part, lets not forget that important fact! Perhaps the OP should have read, What do you miss being an Ex-pat rather than what you give up.

I don't believe there are too many political refugees or asylum seekers here from the UK. There is a possibility that there are some criminals on the run and in hiding, but that is another matter. The majority of people have the option to return to their place of birth, if you cannot do that through your burning of bridges or because of the current financial status you are in, then IMO these are the things you have given up.

Not everybody is cut out to be an ex-pat. Those that cannot get their routines from the West out of their systems, cannot, or refuse to, adapt to different environments and cultures generally won't last. And if they do last, they will be unhappy with what they have.

Straightforward observations from the LOS.............

[pinfold]

I think the problem with this thread is that a distinction between expat and immigrant needs to be made.

I would imagine true expats did not give up much and probably gained quite a bit.

However, immigrants on the other hand, I would imagine they give up much.

I think PaullyW has made an excellent point in his post.

Lets face it people, none of us have given anything up by making the move to live here. The exception to the rule would be someone here on an ex-pat package (for work), but even then that is a voluntary move for the duration of the work, normally for financial gain, and if they don't like the work, have an option to quit.

What the majority of posters need to ask themselves is what were the reasons for moving here in the first place, why at that particular time did you want to turn your back on the country where you were born? Why did you not take into account you couldn't take your extended family and friends with you? Did you nor realize that real ale doesn't travel well.......... , etc, etc, etc.

It was a voluntary move on your part, lets not forget that important fact! Perhaps the OP should have read, What do you miss being an Ex-pat rather than what you give up.

I don't believe there are too many political refugees or asylum seekers here from the UK. There is a possibility that there are some criminals on the run and in hiding, but that is another matter. The majority of people have the option to return to their place of birth, if you cannot do that through your burning of bridges or because of the current financial status you are in, then IMO these are the things you have given up.

Not everybody is cut out to be an ex-pat. Those that cannot get their routines from the West out of their systems, cannot, or refuse to, adapt to different environments and cultures generally won't last. And if they do last, they will be unhappy with what they have.

Straightforward observations from the LOS.............

The difference between an ex-pat and an immigrant? your all on a 12 month visa,so generally no difference. There are other reasons that people get washed up on these shores that you state Probably money would be the factor in returning to wherever,cannot see anybody with a few bob lasting here,situations/experiences changes an individuals perceptions and Thailand has changed,the attitude to farangs has changed ,the political uncertainty that overhangs Thailand is a concern too

Its the planning on leaving Thailand,that date in the future that overrides everything,the factor that you can cast it all aside,its that that makes me look forward to the future, Christ if I had to stay here indefinitely Id top myself

[GuestHouse]

Lets face it people, none of us have given anything up by making the move to live here.

Feel free to ignore posts that disagree with your thesis - given that many posting here are describing exactly what it is they gave up when they became an expat.

[GuestHouse]

The difference between an ex-pat and an immigrant?

I raised the question of expat or immigrant before.... but no consensus was agreed.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/523521-time-to-call-a-spade-a-spade/

Nevertheless, this thread is not discussing that distinction.

[isawasnake]

Thai girls have no idea how to prance in bikinis. What I used to find quite annoying, I now miss

[BradinAsia]

A few things I gave up 21 years ago (and very much "miss" -- with glee and happiness):

- The agony of freezing my arse off while scraping ice off my car windows every winter morning.

- The stress of constantly being preyed upon by aggressive highway patrolmen (every day other than winter).

- The frustration of trying to find some common ground for conversation with hill-billies who had never been

abroad and were convinced that the U.S. is the epicenter of the known universe.

[BradinAsia]

Thai girls have no idea how to prance in bikinis. What I used to find quite annoying, I now miss

Well, as they say "Gorgeousness is in the eye of the voyeur", but...

For me, ANYTHING Asian girls do in a bikini is infinitely more attractive than

anything a farang-land girl could do in a bikini.

But of course, it's all a matter of individual taste. If I still found Western girls

attractive I probably wouldn't be here in Asia.

[iancnx]

Thai girls have no idea how to prance in bikinis. What I used to find quite annoying, I now miss

Well, as they say "Gorgeousness is in the eye of the voyeur", but...

For me, ANYTHING Asian girls do in a bikini is infinitely more attractive than

anything a farang-land girl could do in a bikini.

But of course, it's all a matter of individual taste. If I still found Western girls

attractive I probably wouldn't be here in Asia.

Brad try Facebook search ...... 'Asian Girls' ..... Loads of bikini's there...... Mighty fine

[kannot]

SANITY!!

[Ringmybells]

I don't qualify as an expat since I am here with my family on a long extended vacation. I plan to be here 8 more months and then head to some European countries and then return home from there.

I have been here 6 months and I have given up driving. (Don't have a car here)

Central AC, clean and well kept parks that take 5 minutes to walk from my home.

Clean streets that don't stink, knowing the ingredients in my food, short walk to downtown, efficient and polite customer services, polite people who stand in line and wait for their turn, polite guests who always answer when you request rsvp, my friends and communities, clean drinking water out of the tap.

Thailand is nice for a holiday...but I still prefer to live in the west.

[RAZZELL]

GH - What do they say...home is where the heart is?

RAZZ

Edited August 13, 2013 by RAZZELL

[maccaroni man]

Safe roads to drive

[Indrid Cold]

I give up being sick in my poor airways all the winter in Sweden. This and many other things like beautiful women taking very good care of me makes me appreciate this country to an extend that it is hard for me to express in writing.