Do you think you would ever fit in back "home" if you returned?

[HardenedSoul]

Ah...... Another expat with women problems.

Isn't that why we all came here?

Nope

[amykat]

Certainly not. Never fit in before neither. I'm a free thinker, I do as I please and I won't pay taxes. The USA is full of sheep. When I do go for a 2 week - 1 month holiday back, I'm usually regretting it before I even leave the airport. I keep a registered, insured vehicle and a UPS Store mailbox that has a physical address for any mail. I no longer have an actual residence but still have many acquaintances and friends. I'll be going back in November for 7 weeks and taking a Thai national with me since I've managed to secured a 10year USA visa. So photo ops in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Georgia, Philadelphia, New Jersey and NYC around Christmas time are on the agenda. Hopefully will see some snow too!

May I ask, how you get by ..."I won't pay taxes " ?? Just curious.

And why are you going again for 7 weeks, if you normally "REGET" it, after only 2 weeks?

And you are taking a Thai with you (with a 10 year visa) ...WHY, if it sucks so much? And visiting at least 6 different places, that all must suck too right?

And you keep a car there ...for your frequent visits I suppose? Do you manage to register that, without paying any taxes?

Sorry, but I always find it a bit weird, when people say they left the US, for various reasons, relating to that they "hate it". I can believe people come here for reasons that are BETTER for THEM, HERE, like mostly it seems to be women for many, but as an American, who really enjoys travel and living in other countries too, I never have felt any hate towards the US, and I do pay my taxes.

I actually really like/love the US and I don't even visit nearly as often as you seem to, and no longer have a car or anything there. I just wish a massage ( a regular, legal one, cost the same as here, or nearly, and medical costs could be the same, then I would be a very happy person)!

[retell]

goiung back to Holland in a few weeks got no house there no car but can borrow an old bicycle

just gonna work there a few months save up and go back home

came to Thailand to take care my mother but now she died have to get busy with work again

not hate Holland but certainly i do not like it so much there

at least nice to visit some places there like my favourite pub , smoke a few J with friends ,have a real beer and junkfood from the cafetaria

wide choice of cheeses sausages delimeats and other foods

if all go well go back after a few months and come back Holland later with my Thai wife and our kid

i'm still a young energyfull guy and my wife is wonderful

really prefer Thailand for the easy living and easy to get things done

but thinking about my and the family's future better go there ,work get points for my state pension built up some extra pension

and offcourse the schools for my son will be great for him

but as far as the O.P. goes i do think i will fit in fine

complain about the cold wheather is something the dutch do anyway

as a matter of fact complain about just about everything is something i not do so much

easy going guy with an easy going attitude

can fit in just about anywhere among any people

[GuestHouse]

Isn't that why we all came here?

(I'm not an expat by the way)

In a word.

No.

[minikev]

My experience living here and not long (6 months but visit every year) is every foreigner here has a purpose: they love young boys, love the prostitutes, alcoholics, gay, drug attics, or running from the law... And That is the truth... Now if they go home to wherever they came from, they are not excepted or they are hiding the truth of what they prefer or not excepted in their own countries...

WHAT A LOAD OF CODSWALLOP!! Where do you go for your six month stints?

Oh yes you found walking street Pattaya with an occasional expedition to soi 6 probably found an amazing place called Phuket.

Which one of the above categories are you in?

[StreetCowboy]

Certainly not. Never fit in before neither. I'm a free thinker, I do as I please and I won't pay taxes. The USA is full of sheep. When I do go for a 2 week - 1 month holiday back, I'm usually regretting it before I even leave the airport. I keep a registered, insured vehicle and a UPS Store mailbox that has a physical address for any mail. I no longer have an actual residence but still have many acquaintances and friends. I'll be going back in November for 7 weeks and taking a Thai national with me since I've managed to secured a 10year USA visa. So photo ops in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Georgia, Philadelphia, New Jersey and NYC around Christmas time are on the agenda. Hopefully will see some snow too!

May I ask, how you get by ..."I won't pay taxes " ?? Just curious.

And why are you going again for 7 weeks, if you normally "REGET" it, after only 2 weeks?

And you are taking a Thai with you (with a 10 year visa) ...WHY, if it sucks so much? And visiting at least 6 different places, that all must suck too right?

And you keep a car there ...for your frequent visits I suppose? Do you manage to register that, without paying any taxes?

Sorry, but I always find it a bit weird, when people say they left the US, for various reasons, relating to that they "hate it". I can believe people come here for reasons that are BETTER for THEM, HERE, like mostly it seems to be women for many, but as an American, who really enjoys travel and living in other countries too, I never have felt any hate towards the US, and I do pay my taxes.

I actually really like/love the US and I don't even visit nearly as often as you seem to, and no longer have a car or anything there. I just wish a massage ( a regular, legal one, cost the same as here, or nearly, and medical costs could be the same, then I would be a very happy person)!

I think that many of is believe that by living in a culture in which we are outsiders, we are ipso facto free thinking radicals and not bound by conventions, which is seen as a good thing in current anglo-saxon culture. Personally, I find myself just the same, and now that Eurosport carry the Superleague, and I can get the raboBank Pro12 on the internet, then I might as well be living in Stranraer or some other godforsaken remote outpost of Empire.

Personally, I find that I can do without chillis if need be, or massage-parlour hookers, and that I can relax and enjoy myself on a beach whether it is 30 degrees or 13 degrees. Maybe some of us can't afford a coat.

I think a lot of us have been brainwashed into the European ideal of hot weather, parties and skanky women on the beach

SC

[khrab]

Back to topic:

For medical reasons, I have to go to Germany twice a year. My next trip is in October. I am not going to stay 7 weeks, nor 7 days, I will just be there for 7 hours. (-1 hour check-in).

A doctors apointment, pick up meds in a city close by, maybe some of the stuff which is still behind. That's it. Back home some day.

Hope that answers OP's question.

Sent from my Commodore Amiga C 64

[historyprof]

Certainly not. Never fit in before neither. I'm a free thinker, I do as I please and I won't pay taxes. The USA is full of sheep. When I do go for a 2 week - 1 month holiday back, I'm usually regretting it before I even leave the airport. I keep a registered, insured vehicle and a UPS Store mailbox that has a physical address for any mail. I no longer have an actual residence but still have many acquaintances and friends. I'll be going back in November for 7 weeks and taking a Thai national with me since I've managed to secured a 10year USA visa. So photo ops in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Georgia, Philadelphia, New Jersey and NYC around Christmas time are on the agenda. Hopefully will see some snow too!

May I ask, how you get by ..."I won't pay taxes " ?? Just curious.

And why are you going again for 7 weeks, if you normally "REGET" it, after only 2 weeks?

And you are taking a Thai with you (with a 10 year visa) ...WHY, if it sucks so much? And visiting at least 6 different places, that all must suck too right?

And you keep a car there ...for your frequent visits I suppose? Do you manage to register that, without paying any taxes?

Sorry, but I always find it a bit weird, when people say they left the US, for various reasons, relating to that they "hate it". I can believe people come here for reasons that are BETTER for THEM, HERE, like mostly it seems to be women for many, but as an American, who really enjoys travel and living in other countries too, I never have felt any hate towards the US, and I do pay my taxes.

I actually really like/love the US and I don't even visit nearly as often as you seem to, and no longer have a car or anything there. I just wish a massage ( a regular, legal one, cost the same as here, or nearly, and medical costs could be the same, then I would be a very happy person)!

I think that many of is believe that by living in a culture in which we are outsiders, we are ipso facto free thinking radicals and not bound by conventions, which is seen as a good thing in current anglo-saxon culture. Personally, I find myself just the same, and now that Eurosport carry the Superleague, and I can get the raboBank Pro12 on the internet, then I might as well be living in Stranraer or some other godforsaken remote outpost of Empire.

Personally, I find that I can do without chillis if need be, or massage-parlour hookers, and that I can relax and enjoy myself on a beach whether it is 30 degrees or 13 degrees. Maybe some of us can't afford a coat.

I think a lot of us have been brainwashed into the European ideal of hot weather, parties and skanky women on the beach

SC

Codswallop. What skanky women on the beach. The Russian and women of the former Soviet Union look great on the Pattaya beach. Unless you mean near Aberdeen and the deep fried Mars bars at the Haven Chip bar.

[Kananga]

Anyway, whats wrong with purchasing your own home so you have something to leave your kids? Or to sell if you need funds later in life, or rent it out so you can have additional income while you travel the world. Seems a bit silly to not want to improve your finances. Whats the other option? Renting. Paying off someone else's mortgage instead of your own. Genius.

If you live in the west and buy a house, as a man you risk losing it all to your wife.

If you rented the house, and kept your savings in a 'secret' bank account, you would have it to travel the world.

The basic mistake is in thinking as a man you can own anything in the west. Unless you avoid all sex and relationships with women.

You say you have kids, in the UK a divorce will get her 100% ownership of the house, no splitting.

PS

She won't leave it to the kids, after divorce she will sell it and spend the money.

Ah...... Another expat with women problems.

Isn't that why we all came here?

(I'm not an expat by the way)

Nope

[StreetCowboy]

...

...

...

Isn't that why we all came here?

(I'm not an expat by the way)

Nope

Nope

[Kananga]

Anyway, whats wrong with purchasing your own home so you have something to leave your kids? Or to sell if you need funds later in life, or rent it out so you can have additional income while you travel the world. Seems a bit silly to not want to improve your finances. Whats the other option? Renting. Paying off someone else's mortgage instead of your own. Genius.

If you live in the west and buy a house, as a man you risk losing it all to your wife.

If you rented the house, and kept your savings in a 'secret' bank account, you would have it to travel the world.

The basic mistake is in thinking as a man you can own anything in the west. Unless you avoid all sex and relationships with women.

You say you have kids, in the UK a divorce will get her 100% ownership of the house, no splitting.

PS

She won't leave it to the kids, after divorce she will sell it and spend the money.

If you live in Thailand and buy a house you risk losing it all to your wife while you are still married.

If you bought the house and kept your savings in a secret bank account you would have it to travel the world and on top of that you would have all that rental income.

If you forgive me for saying so the basic mistake you made was marrying the wrong woman. She obviously despised you. You obviously didnt sign a pre-nup. Foolish in love and foolish with money. Cie la vie.

[Kananga]

Largely in agreement with that GH but I think governments are just as complicit.

How else would we become good little taxpayers?

It would have been impossible for the banks in the West to do what they did with subprime without government involvement.

Things like repealing Glass-Steagall which segregated retail and investment banking activities, setting up the likes of Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae to deliberately increase home-ownership in the US are just two examples of that complicity.

Yes, of course, one does have to make the decision to become "part of the game" but for almost everyone, it's made on a purely sub-conscious level.

We're expected to go to school, decide on a career, go to uni, get a job, consume, buy real estate, meet a girl/boy, marry, have kids, consume some more.

By the time we realise we're enslaved, it's usually too late.

You can't bin the mortgage, the credit cards, the wife/husband, the kids - you're trapped financially and emotionally.

Why can't you bin the mortgage and credit cards? I don't have any personal debt. Anyway, whats wrong with purchasing your own home so you have something to leave your kids? Or to sell if you need funds later in life, or rent it out so you can have additional income while you travel the world. Seems a bit silly to not want to improve your finances. Whats the other option? Renting. Paying off someone else's mortgage instead of your own. Genius.

Why would you want to bin your family?

You know its funny, I'm sure the majority of posters who have retired over here who talk about not being part of 'the system' are on pensions they built up in the west or from leasing out property in the west they bought in the west with a mortgage and need the system to keep on rolling for them to have any form of income.

The point I was making is that although one can bin the mortgage, most people who dream about "quitting the game" can't because they're too scared to do so.

As with so much in life, fear is what keeps people trapped rather than any tangible impediment to breaking free.

I'm sure most of us have acquaintances or friends who "admire" our "fortitude" and/or "courage" to up sticks and move halfway around the world to live in a country where we don't know anyone, don't speak the language and have no support structure but our own resourcefulness. "I just couldn't do it, couldn't leave the GF, couldn't leave my friends, couldn't jack in the job/career, couldn't leave this, couldn't leave that" is the typical refrain.

That's a programmed response because more often than not, the reality of the situation is that the GF's a pain in the arse who's making the wrong noises about marriage and kids, their friends just hang out down the same old boozer, the job's soul-destroying and they haven't had a pay rise for 3 years.

A lot of the time - NOT all - what they really mean is, "I'm terrified I wouldn't be able to cut it so I'll just keep numbing myself to the mediocrity of it all by buying as much consumer tat as my salary allows, knocking up the bird, by making my shoebox studio as comfy as possible and keep trying to force a square peg into the round hole of society's expectations because, if nothing else, at least I'll be like everyone else."

These people exist in all countries. I've lost count of the number of westerners I have met who have been sucked into living in some god forsaken Issan dust bowl because the wife wants (needs) to live on her family's doorstep instead of being brave enough to travel the world and live somewhere better, which is an opportunity many, many other Thais would love but don't have the chance (partly due to the woeful education system they have been subjected to).

Edited September 7, 2013 by Kananga

[Kananga]

Anyway, whats wrong with purchasing your own home so you have something to leave your kids? Or to sell if you need funds later in life, or rent it out so you can have additional income while you travel the world. Seems a bit silly to not want to improve your finances. Whats the other option? Renting. Paying off someone else's mortgage instead of your own. Genius.

If you live in the west and buy a house, as a man you risk losing it all to your wife.

If you rented the house, and kept your savings in a 'secret' bank account, you would have it to travel the world.

The basic mistake is in thinking as a man you can own anything in the west. Unless you avoid all sex and relationships with women.

You say you have kids, in the UK a divorce will get her 100% ownership of the house, no splitting.

PS

She won't leave it to the kids, after divorce she will sell it and spend the money.

Ah...... Another expat with women problems.

Isn't that why we all came here?

(I'm not an expat by the way)

You're not an ex-pat. Right, so either you only visit occasionally and have your primary residence in another country, or you're a Thai national. Which one is it?

[Zamor]

No

[razorramone]

You'd be surprised at how easy it is to slip back into your old life and habits once back. It's fine as long as you're not one of those annoying people who start every sentence with "when I was abroad, I......"

[OldChinaHam]

You'd be surprised at how easy it is to slip back into your old life and habits once back. It's fine as long as you're not one of those annoying people who start every sentence with "when I was abroad, I......"

Yes, but what if you really were a broad when you were abroad?

Then what?

[snake24]

How does it feel like to be just another one of them and being lower down on the social scale so to speak rather than being a farang and someone/something of interest even if you are a totally failure of a human being but still attract attention cos of your race in thailand?

[Kananga]

How does it feel like to be just another one of them and being lower down on the social scale so to speak rather than being a farang and someone/something of interest even if you are a totally failure of a human being but still attract attention cos of your race in thailand?

How does it feel worrying about how you are perceived by complete strangers?

[YeaBiGgiEs]

Certainly not. Never fit in before neither. I'm a free thinker, I do as I please and I won't pay taxes. The USA is full of sheep. When I do go for a 2 week - 1 month holiday back, I'm usually regretting it before I even leave the airport. I keep a registered, insured vehicle and a UPS Store mailbox that has a physical address for any mail. I no longer have an actual residence but still have many acquaintances and friends. I'll be going back in November for 7 weeks and taking a Thai national with me since I've managed to secured a 10year USA visa. So photo ops in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Georgia, Philadelphia, New Jersey and NYC around Christmas time are on the agenda. Hopefully will see some snow too!

May I ask, how you get by ..."I won't pay taxes " ?? Just curious.

And why are you going again for 7 weeks, if you normally "REGET" it, after only 2 weeks?

And you are taking a Thai with you (with a 10 year visa) ...WHY, if it sucks so much? And visiting at least 6 different places, that all must suck too right?

And you keep a car there ...for your frequent visits I suppose? Do you manage to register that, without paying any taxes?

Sorry, but I always find it a bit weird, when people say they left the US, for various reasons, relating to that they "hate it". I can believe people come here for reasons that are BETTER for THEM, HERE, like mostly it seems to be women for many, but as an American, who really enjoys travel and living in other countries too, I never have felt any hate towards the US, and I do pay my taxes.

I actually really like/love the US and I don't even visit nearly as often as you seem to, and no longer have a car or anything there. I just wish a massage ( a regular, legal one, cost the same as here, or nearly, and medical costs could be the same, then I would be a very happy person)!

I simply don't believe in taxes. In the USA we are gouged everywhere you turn. And we just accept it like sheep.

Correction: I usually regret it before leaving the airport.

I am taking a Thai with me whom I helped secure a 10year Visa. I had no choice as thats what the USA gives you unless of course you get denied and you don't get a refund. Isn't that a great business to be in, require a fee up yet no guarantee you will get what you have paid for or refund. Its "services rendered" for the extensive research they conduct to weed out terrorists and process paperwork. My ass! Lets not kid ourselves, 10year visa? I can cover the USA and all the points of interest in about a month. Whos to say that someone who fits the profile and criteria today for a 10year visa doesn't have a total turn-about in life, lose their job, foreclose on all their properties, become a criminal and drug addict, shut off by family then decide on that 9th year and 360th+ day to fly to the USA and never come back? The USA gets what the deserve for being so generous with "a tourist visa".

Yes I am going 6 different places with a Thai. A handicap Thai, the younger brother of my friend whom died last year at the age of 25. I grew up there but for people who have never traveled, would never have the opportunity, I am providing that. He is handicap with a prosthetic leg. Up until December when I came into his life he had been crawling on the ground, without a wheelchair or leg thus causing a rather large hump on his back furthering his medical conditions. Early this year we saw the movie Dolphin Tale, a true story based on a dolphin whos tail was amputated after being severely damaged in a crab trap. It inspired him. Especially after I did my research on the internet all over the world I was prepared t fly with him to get a prosthetic leg. Unbeknownst to his family, him and myself I found an organization here in Chiang Mai, funded by the Royal Family. A couple emails to the Secretary General, some photos and the next day we were on a flight to Chiang Mai for an early morning appointment. 8 hours later he had a custom made prosthetic device and crutches. His other leg though in full tact is polio ridden and useless. He often uses it as a stilt to lean against. Let me add that this leg was FREE! Could this happen in the USA? NEVER! You'd be on a waiting list for years and if you wished to purchase one out of pocket you'd pay $5k-$250k+.

So to someone who has never traveled at all (Chiang Mai was his first flight ever), internationally and all the glorified wonderful places and things in the USA, its a DREAM to most. I'm the type of person who enjoys seeing others happy and enjoying things. I'll watch a movie over and over again with different people if its their first time. Thats just me. I'll suffer for anothers happiness. I'm a generous and selfless person in that regard. I will enjoy going to all those 6 places and more if its with someone I enjoy being with and creating a memory. My time on earth isn't guaranteed and if I can make a difference in the life of someone less fortunate, then I will. I was born in the USA not by choice and its nothing that I can change unless I want to be another Edward Snowden without citizenship.

I do keep a car in the USA for my visits. Unlike here in SE Asia where I'm easily accessible to 40+ different countries for under $1500. RT flight or the mass transit here in Bangkok, I need a car in the USA because every mall, shopping area, convenience store, neighborhood is spread out with limited bus/train or mass transit service unless of course I'm in a major metro area like NYC, Atlanta, LA, Philadelphia, Chicago. I keep it on the east coast as I have more contacts and its where I grew up. But you better believe its a foreign car, paid off and its final assembly point was in Japan so even my car has NO ties to the USA as we can't produce anything worth a s***. Unfortunately I can't avoid the taxes that are built into the registration fees or sales taxes for that matter. I abide by laws that I can't manage to scape, so I keep my car legal. But you better believe anything else I can avoid or don't agree with I do.

I do hate the USA and everything it stands for TODAY. 20-30++ years ago we had a country to be proud of, now its turned into a 3rd world country and I'm embarrassed to be an American and feel threatened or in danger if someone sees my passport. I often tell people I'm from "South Canada". After a moment of confusion they get it.

I don't consider myself to be an "expat" because to be an "EX", I'd have to be a patriot first and that I am not.

I don't come to Thailand for the females/males, sex tourism, happy ending massages etc. I come here because I feel more free and safe walking the sois of Bangkok any time of the day and night, regardless of sword wielding taxi drivers as opposed to walking in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I have the mountains to the north and tropical beaches to the south. All within a $50 1 hour flight. Tickets you can purchase an hour before the flight without being gouged for your arm and leg. I can live here quite nice $1000. a month, eat healthy fresh foods everyday. A meal costs less than $2. A hospital visit that you can actually afford out of pocket. So for my needs and desires in life, Thailand suits me better than what the USA provides

I'm with you on the medical 100%.

So I am not a happy american and this next statement may be jaw dropping to you or most but I wipe my a** with the american flag.

[snake24]

How does it feel like to be just another one of them and being lower down on the social scale so to speak rather than being a farang and someone/something of interest even if you are a totally failure of a human being but still attract attention cos of your race in thailand?

How does it feel worrying about how you are perceived by complete strangers?

It doesn't but isn't it odd when these farang start to boast how strangers/ the locals in that country they resided in saw them as something great simply cos they were farang somehow they being strangers wasn't a problem.

[YeaBiGgiEs]

Certainly not. Never fit in before neither. I'm a free thinker, I do as I please and I won't pay taxes. The USA is full of sheep. When I do go for a 2 week - 1 month holiday back, I'm usually regretting it before I even leave the airport. I keep a registered, insured vehicle and a UPS Store mailbox that has a physical address for any mail. I no longer have an actual residence but still have many acquaintances and friends. I'll be going back in November for 7 weeks and taking a Thai national with me since I've managed to secured a 10year USA visa. So photo ops in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Georgia, Philadelphia, New Jersey and NYC around Christmas time are on the agenda. Hopefully will see some snow too!

May I ask, how you get by ..."I won't pay taxes " ?? Just curious.

And why are you going again for 7 weeks, if you normally "REGET" it, after only 2 weeks?

And you are taking a Thai with you (with a 10 year visa) ...WHY, if it sucks so much? And visiting at least 6 different places, that all must suck too right?

And you keep a car there ...for your frequent visits I suppose? Do you manage to register that, without paying any taxes?

Sorry, but I always find it a bit weird, when people say they left the US, for various reasons, relating to that they "hate it". I can believe people come here for reasons that are BETTER for THEM, HERE, like mostly it seems to be women for many, but as an American, who really enjoys travel and living in other countries too, I never have felt any hate towards the US, and I do pay my taxes.

I actually really like/love the US and I don't even visit nearly as often as you seem to, and no longer have a car or anything there. I just wish a massage ( a regular, legal one, cost the same as here, or nearly, and medical costs could be the same, then I would be a very happy person)!

I think that many of is believe that by living in a culture in which we are outsiders, we are ipso facto free thinking radicals and not bound by conventions, which is seen as a good thing in current anglo-saxon culture. Personally, I find myself just the same, and now that Eurosport carry the Superleague, and I can get the raboBank Pro12 on the internet, then I might as well be living in Stranraer or some other godforsaken remote outpost of Empire.

Personally, I find that I can do without chillis if need be, or massage-parlour hookers, and that I can relax and enjoy myself on a beach whether it is 30 degrees or 13 degrees. Maybe some of us can't afford a coat.

I think a lot of us have been brainwashed into the European ideal of hot weather, parties and skanky women on the beach

SC

Thank you for that. My life is simple. Less is more. I live below my means which allows me the freedoms to do what the others who are busy following the Jones' can't. Fancy cars, SUVs, parties, status, the bling and blang, fakeness I can do without. Believe me, I've had it and its not my thing. I've brushed shirtsleeves with celebrities at private functions. I have personal phone numbers to people you can only dream of ever talking too. Never phased me. I know people by first name from all realms of life from celebrities to mafia families to street-beggars, hustlers and prostitutes..the USA has all that and more. Bring back the old days where there were values, morals and when people treated everyone with respect. Until then I'd rather die here in paradise then to live in a 3rd world country like the USA in the direction its going. AMEN

I am YeaBiGgiEs and I have spoken on this day.

[tingtong]

not relating to does back "at home"?

let me ask back OP...

do you think you will ever fit in here, in Thailand? who to judge anyway? you? the Thai?

but if the answer is yes, then i believe you will fit in just as easy back "at home". if you can adopt to Thailand, you can adopt back too, in time. for sure.

having the right motivation to do so, is another matter.

[NeverSure]

May I ask, how you get by ..."I won't pay taxes " ?? Just curious.

And why are you going again for 7 weeks, if you normally "REGET" it, after only 2 weeks?

And you are taking a Thai with you (with a 10 year visa) ...WHY, if it sucks so much? And visiting at least 6 different places, that all must suck too right?

And you keep a car there ...for your frequent visits I suppose? Do you manage to register that, without paying any taxes?

Sorry, but I always find it a bit weird, when people say they left the US, for various reasons, relating to that they "hate it". I can believe people come here for reasons that are BETTER for THEM, HERE, like mostly it seems to be women for many, but as an American, who really enjoys travel and living in other countries too, I never have felt any hate towards the US, and I do pay my taxes.

I actually really like/love the US and I don't even visit nearly as often as you seem to, and no longer have a car or anything there. I just wish a massage ( a regular, legal one, cost the same as here, or nearly, and medical costs could be the same, then I would be a very happy person)!

I simply don't believe in taxes. In the USA we are gouged everywhere you turn. And we just accept it like sheep.

Correction: I usually regret it before leaving the airport.

I am taking a Thai with me whom I helped secure a 10year Visa. I had no choice as thats what the USA gives you unless of course you get denied and you don't get a refund. Isn't that a great business to be in, require a fee up yet no guarantee you will get what you have paid for or refund. Its "services rendered" for the extensive research they conduct to weed out terrorists and process paperwork. My ass! Lets not kid ourselves, 10year visa? I can cover the USA and all the points of interest in about a month. Whos to say that someone who fits the profile and criteria today for a 10year visa doesn't have a total turn-about in life, lose their job, foreclose on all their properties, become a criminal and drug addict, shut off by family then decide on that 9th year and 360th+ day to fly to the USA and never come back? The USA gets what the deserve for being so generous with "a tourist visa".

Yes I am going 6 different places with a Thai. A handicap Thai, the younger brother of my friend whom died last year at the age of 25. I grew up there but for people who have never traveled, would never have the opportunity, I am providing that. He is handicap with a prosthetic leg. Up until December when I came into his life he had been crawling on the ground, without a wheelchair or leg thus causing a rather large hump on his back furthering his medical conditions. Early this year we saw the movie Dolphin Tale, a true story based on a dolphin whos tail was amputated after being severely damaged in a crab trap. It inspired him. Especially after I did my research on the internet all over the world I was prepared t fly with him to get a prosthetic leg. Unbeknownst to his family, him and myself I found an organization here in Chiang Mai, funded by the Royal Family. A couple emails to the Secretary General, some photos and the next day we were on a flight to Chiang Mai for an early morning appointment. 8 hours later he had a custom made prosthetic device and crutches. His other leg though in full tact is polio ridden and useless. He often uses it as a stilt to lean against. Let me add that this leg was FREE! Could this happen in the USA? NEVER! You'd be on a waiting list for years and if you wished to purchase one out of pocket you'd pay $5k-$250k+.

So to someone who has never traveled at all (Chiang Mai was his first flight ever), internationally and all the glorified wonderful places and things in the USA, its a DREAM to most. I'm the type of person who enjoys seeing others happy and enjoying things. I'll watch a movie over and over again with different people if its their first time. Thats just me. I'll suffer for anothers happiness. I'm a generous and selfless person in that regard. I will enjoy going to all those 6 places and more if its with someone I enjoy being with and creating a memory. My time on earth isn't guaranteed and if I can make a difference in the life of someone less fortunate, then I will. I was born in the USA not by choice and its nothing that I can change unless I want to be another Edward Snowden without citizenship.

I do keep a car in the USA for my visits. Unlike here in SE Asia where I'm easily accessible to 40+ different countries for under $1500. RT flight or the mass transit here in Bangkok, I need a car in the USA because every mall, shopping area, convenience store, neighborhood is spread out with limited bus/train or mass transit service unless of course I'm in a major metro area like NYC, Atlanta, LA, Philadelphia, Chicago. I keep it on the east coast as I have more contacts and its where I grew up. But you better believe its a foreign car, paid off and its final assembly point was in Japan so even my car has NO ties to the USA as we can't produce anything worth a s***. Unfortunately I can't avoid the taxes that are built into the registration fees or sales taxes for that matter. I abide by laws that I can't manage to scape, so I keep my car legal. But you better believe anything else I can avoid or don't agree with I do.

I do hate the USA and everything it stands for TODAY. 20-30++ years ago we had a country to be proud of, now its turned into a 3rd world country and I'm embarrassed to be an American and feel threatened or in danger if someone sees my passport. I often tell people I'm from "South Canada". After a moment of confusion they get it.

I don't consider myself to be an "expat" because to be an "EX", I'd have to be a patriot first and that I am not.

I don't come to Thailand for the females/males, sex tourism, happy ending massages etc. I come here because I feel more free and safe walking the sois of Bangkok any time of the day and night, regardless of sword wielding taxi drivers as opposed to walking in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I have the mountains to the north and tropical beaches to the south. All within a $50 1 hour flight. Tickets you can purchase an hour before the flight without being gouged for your arm and leg. I can live here quite nice $1000. a month, eat healthy fresh foods everyday. A meal costs less than $2. A hospital visit that you can actually afford out of pocket. So for my needs and desires in life, Thailand suits me better than what the USA provides

I'm with you on the medical 100%.

So I am not a happy american and this next statement may be jaw dropping to you or most but I wipe my a** with the american flag.

Wow, what an angry piece. Things must not have gone well for you in the US. Taxes? Ask anyone from Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia or frankly any W. European country about taxes. They are really low in the US.

South Canada? Have you been to the slums of Vancouver lately, or seen their prices and taxes? I love Canada and Canadians, but they don't have it better or worse than the US. Certainly taxes and prices are higher there.

I can readily agree that there are places in the US that I wouldn't even want to visit. But as a percentage of the vast land area, they are tiny. They have heavy populations, but they are easily avoided.

The unemployment rate in the US is just over 7%, and the underemployed is said to be about 14%. That's not good, but it does mean that 86% of the population is doing just fine. I am. My friends are. I also have to wonder, with this welfare state, how many of those 14% have put out their best effort, including life planning?

I can go back and forth and I have to tell you I like LOS better for a lot of things, but I "fit in" better in the US than I do in LOS. I will never be a Thai, I will never really understand Thais, and the best I can do in LOS is to try to stay out of accidents and disagreements, and survive peacefully. I have none of those issues "back home."

Peace.

[JLCrab]

As to whether one believes or not in paying US taxes, Leona Helmsley (aka The-Queen-of-Mean) was quoted at her trial by a former housekeeper as saying "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes" before being sentenced to US Federal Prison for 18 months after being convicted on tax evasion charges in 1993. Her net worth at her death in 2007 was estimated at $US 5 billion.

Edited September 7, 2013 by JLCrab

[StreetCowboy]

You'd be surprised at how easy it is to slip back into your old life and habits once back. It's fine as long as you're not one of those annoying people who start every sentence with "when I was abroad, I......"

Yes, but what if you really were a broad when you were abroad?

Then what?

More often the change is the other way - "Before I was a broad..."

or

"When I was much younger I went abroad, and now I am one"

[Kananga]

May I ask, how you get by ..."I won't pay taxes " ?? Just curious.

And why are you going again for 7 weeks, if you normally "REGET" it, after only 2 weeks?

And you are taking a Thai with you (with a 10 year visa) ...WHY, if it sucks so much? And visiting at least 6 different places, that all must suck too right?

And you keep a car there ...for your frequent visits I suppose? Do you manage to register that, without paying any taxes?

Sorry, but I always find it a bit weird, when people say they left the US, for various reasons, relating to that they "hate it". I can believe people come here for reasons that are BETTER for THEM, HERE, like mostly it seems to be women for many, but as an American, who really enjoys travel and living in other countries too, I never have felt any hate towards the US, and I do pay my taxes.

I actually really like/love the US and I don't even visit nearly as often as you seem to, and no longer have a car or anything there. I just wish a massage ( a regular, legal one, cost the same as here, or nearly, and medical costs could be the same, then I would be a very happy person)!

I simply don't believe in taxes. In the USA we are gouged everywhere you turn. And we just accept it like sheep.

Correction: I usually regret it before leaving the airport.

I am taking a Thai with me whom I helped secure a 10year Visa. I had no choice as thats what the USA gives you unless of course you get denied and you don't get a refund. Isn't that a great business to be in, require a fee up yet no guarantee you will get what you have paid for or refund. Its "services rendered" for the extensive research they conduct to weed out terrorists and process paperwork. My ass! Lets not kid ourselves, 10year visa? I can cover the USA and all the points of interest in about a month. Whos to say that someone who fits the profile and criteria today for a 10year visa doesn't have a total turn-about in life, lose their job, foreclose on all their properties, become a criminal and drug addict, shut off by family then decide on that 9th year and 360th+ day to fly to the USA and never come back? The USA gets what the deserve for being so generous with "a tourist visa".

Yes I am going 6 different places with a Thai. A handicap Thai, the younger brother of my friend whom died last year at the age of 25. I grew up there but for people who have never traveled, would never have the opportunity, I am providing that. He is handicap with a prosthetic leg. Up until December when I came into his life he had been crawling on the ground, without a wheelchair or leg thus causing a rather large hump on his back furthering his medical conditions. Early this year we saw the movie Dolphin Tale, a true story based on a dolphin whos tail was amputated after being severely damaged in a crab trap. It inspired him. Especially after I did my research on the internet all over the world I was prepared t fly with him to get a prosthetic leg. Unbeknownst to his family, him and myself I found an organization here in Chiang Mai, funded by the Royal Family. A couple emails to the Secretary General, some photos and the next day we were on a flight to Chiang Mai for an early morning appointment. 8 hours later he had a custom made prosthetic device and crutches. His other leg though in full tact is polio ridden and useless. He often uses it as a stilt to lean against. Let me add that this leg was FREE! Could this happen in the USA? NEVER! You'd be on a waiting list for years and if you wished to purchase one out of pocket you'd pay $5k-$250k+.

So to someone who has never traveled at all (Chiang Mai was his first flight ever), internationally and all the glorified wonderful places and things in the USA, its a DREAM to most. I'm the type of person who enjoys seeing others happy and enjoying things. I'll watch a movie over and over again with different people if its their first time. Thats just me. I'll suffer for anothers happiness. I'm a generous and selfless person in that regard. I will enjoy going to all those 6 places and more if its with someone I enjoy being with and creating a memory. My time on earth isn't guaranteed and if I can make a difference in the life of someone less fortunate, then I will. I was born in the USA not by choice and its nothing that I can change unless I want to be another Edward Snowden without citizenship.

I do keep a car in the USA for my visits. Unlike here in SE Asia where I'm easily accessible to 40+ different countries for under $1500. RT flight or the mass transit here in Bangkok, I need a car in the USA because every mall, shopping area, convenience store, neighborhood is spread out with limited bus/train or mass transit service unless of course I'm in a major metro area like NYC, Atlanta, LA, Philadelphia, Chicago. I keep it on the east coast as I have more contacts and its where I grew up. But you better believe its a foreign car, paid off and its final assembly point was in Japan so even my car has NO ties to the USA as we can't produce anything worth a s***. Unfortunately I can't avoid the taxes that are built into the registration fees or sales taxes for that matter. I abide by laws that I can't manage to scape, so I keep my car legal. But you better believe anything else I can avoid or don't agree with I do.

I do hate the USA and everything it stands for TODAY. 20-30++ years ago we had a country to be proud of, now its turned into a 3rd world country and I'm embarrassed to be an American and feel threatened or in danger if someone sees my passport. I often tell people I'm from "South Canada". After a moment of confusion they get it.

I don't consider myself to be an "expat" because to be an "EX", I'd have to be a patriot first and that I am not.

I don't come to Thailand for the females/males, sex tourism, happy ending massages etc. I come here because I feel more free and safe walking the sois of Bangkok any time of the day and night, regardless of sword wielding taxi drivers as opposed to walking in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I have the mountains to the north and tropical beaches to the south. All within a $50 1 hour flight. Tickets you can purchase an hour before the flight without being gouged for your arm and leg. I can live here quite nice $1000. a month, eat healthy fresh foods everyday. A meal costs less than $2. A hospital visit that you can actually afford out of pocket. So for my needs and desires in life, Thailand suits me better than what the USA provides

I'm with you on the medical 100%.

So I am not a happy american and this next statement may be jaw dropping to you or most but I wipe my a** with the american flag.

Wow, what an angry piece. Things must not have gone well for you in the US. Taxes? Ask anyone from Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia or frankly any W. European country about taxes. They are really low in the US.

South Canada? Have you been to the slums of Vancouver lately, or seen their prices and taxes? I love Canada and Canadians, but they don't have it better or worse than the US. Certainly taxes and prices are higher there.

I can readily agree that there are places in the US that I wouldn't even want to visit. But as a percentage of the vast land area, they are tiny. They have heavy populations, but they are easily avoided.

The unemployment rate in the US is just over 7%, and the underemployed is said to be about 14%. That's not good, but it does mean that 86% of the population is doing just fine. I am. My friends are. I also have to wonder, with this welfare state, how many of those 14% have put out their best effort, including life planning?

I can go back and forth and I have to tell you I like LOS better for a lot of things, but I "fit in" better in the US than I do in LOS. I will never be a Thai, I will never really understand Thais, and the best I can do in LOS is to try to stay out of accidents and disagreements, and survive peacefully. I have none of those issues "back home."

Peace.

A rational well thought out response which is based on reality.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Reality:

The west is no place for middle class men, especially after they reach middle-age.

[elektrified]

YeaBiGgiEs why are you filled with HATE?

[NeverSure]

Reality:

The west is no place for middle class men, especially after they reach middle-age.

Why do you say that? I can understand that the prime big cities with high living costs aren't good unless you're upper middle class, and I can understand saying that about some of the countries where the cost of living and taxes are really high.

But you can find a place in rural USA where it's just as cheap to live as LOS. And all the while you have first world amenities like clean, safe tap water, people who actually obey traffic laws, wide, clean sidewalks, no litter, no odor of whatever that smell is in LOS, regulated and inspected food and restaurants, and if you are a citizen you don't need anyone's permission to be there. You can own land. I could go on.

Yes, rent or a house and utilites will be more, but you make up for it every time you go to the store for almost anything from a car to clothes to a computer or TV to laundry detergent and basic groceries.

Why?

[rayongchelsea]

Why has Thailand in its more recent history attracted people who so dislike their home countries such as the USA and Uk.? I find it astonishing, and there seem so many.

It seems to me it's not a matter of not fitting in but more a frustration that seems to build on itself over the years. I have no time for these people they are so passive, so hard done by..always someone's else's fault.

Why didn't they do it when they were younger ? These are the admirable ones, they got out of the system early..met a few in the 80's here...really liked them.

In my opinion they have also ruined Thailand as they bring so much baggage with them.

If you were not successful at home you certainly will not be successful here, success being defined as in finding some contentment in life, having good relationships..they might find immediate relief at not being at home , but as with anywhere else Thailand can be a difficult place to live and will soon find fault..