first experince of gf isaan village

[lovinglifeinthailand]

mjp your right im prepared a total outlay of 1.5m but was hoping to get a car with that money to.

the rest of my money is safely tucked away in property in the uk. which it will stay as im not prepared to invest in wacky

money making ideas in Thailand.

If it does go tit's up I don't see it as a waste as my child will have a nice home for life if he/she chooses.

[MJP]

mjp your right im prepared a total outlay of 1.5m but was hoping to get a car with that money to.

the rest of my money is safely tucked away in property in the uk. which it will stay as im not prepared to invest in wacky

money making ideas in Thailand.

If it does go tit's up I don't see it as a waste as my child will have a nice home for life if he/she chooses.

A wise decision. The right attitude.

Cars here are brutal money, you won't like the prices. Ain't like the auctions in Blighty.

That said, you can own the thing on the right visa and they don't depreciate much.

[lovinglifeinthailand]

yes been looking at the prices stupid money, but would feel a lot safer with a child in a truck than on the scooter.

[MJP]

yes been looking at the prices stupid money, but would feel a lot safer with a child in a truck than on the scooter.

You should be able to get a good used Ford Ranger for around 250 - 300k. These are the cheapest, unless you get a Tata dropside thing.

[Nowhereman60]

How does a 31 year old afford to stay here. Seems I miss something when I was young or wasn't born they son to the Red Bull fortune . I had to wait until 56 to have enough to move here.

[SlyAnimal]

Sounds like you're enjoying things so far and have the right attitude for countryside life.

Countryside life can be a bit boring at times, but that's when occasional trips to the city can give you your civilization fix now and then. Having your own house + Internet + speaking some Thai can make it a significantly more comfortable place to live though, as then you've got the essentials covered. There are always festivals of some description going on nearby, and the locals are almost always friendly and just happy to see a foreigner.

[lovinglifeinthailand]

nowhereman60

i was lucky to get on the property ladder at a young age and make some money, then came into a small bit of land to build my own house with a small mortgage

which now allows me to live a modest life out here on the rental income.

im not rich by no means, but i figured work 50 hours a week at home struggling to keep up with the jones or live a pleasant life out here, and let someone else pay off the mortgage.

I will visit uk each year with the wife and child and have work available for 3/4 months at a time. so getting the best of both worlds i hope.

i do like the ford rangers.

[MJP]

nowhereman60

i was lucky to get on the property ladder at a young age and make some money, then came into a small bit of land to build my own house with a small mortgage

which now allows me to live a modest life out here on the rental income.

im not rich by no means, but i figured work 50 hours a week at home struggling to keep up with the jones or live a pleasant life out here, and let someone else pay off the mortgage.

I will visit uk each year with the wife and child and have work available for 3/4 months at a time. so getting the best of both worlds i hope.

i do like the ford rangers.

I mean the old ones.

Like 2004.

But remember, it's very cheap to get vehicles, especially pick-ups, fixed in Issan. Had an ground-up rebuild on my D-Max engine for 30,000 Baht. I mean I blew it good and proper.

[lovinglifeinthailand]

yes i realised you meant an old one been looking at baht sold, think that is the name.

but i see for 550k you can get a 2011 model so as they don't loose much not a bad deal.

Will sort the house first as a car is a luxury.

[MJP]

yes i realised you meant an old one been looking at baht sold, think that is the name.

but i see for 550k you can get a 2011 model so as they don't loose much not a bad deal.

Will sort the house first as a car is a luxury.

If you're way out in the sticks, believe me, the truck is a necessity. A Colonel Walter E. Kurtz degree of madness will ensue without one.

Oh, and get a Makro card.

[lovinglifeinthailand]

lucky we are not in the sticks. the road we are on in concrete with 40 houses with other roads leading of to many concrete roads easy well over 500 hundred houses . then 10 mins drive have Tesco banks car/bike shops.

[MJP]

lucky we are not in the sticks. the road we are on in concrete with 40 houses with other roads leading of to many concrete roads easy well over 500 hundred houses . then 10 mins drive have Tesco banks car/bike shops.

You'll still need a truck if you're here permanento.

Don't whatever you do put a pool table in your house. You'll never get them out. It'll turn into the non-working mens club.

Also, cost out buying in bulk all those things like washing powder, soap, shampoo, tinned foods and wotnot. You can make substantial savings over the year. Might be an idea to turn the pool room into the store room.

[lovinglifeinthailand]

yes true i know i need one just at the right price not going to spend a fortune to impress the neighbours, as you so am old ford ranger will do.

i hear what you say about the pool table will access the situation after ive been there a while.

[farmerjo]

I was working on 8000 to 10000 sqm and a house size of just 100/120 sqm. nothing fancy.

No do not want or trying to impress the family with a big house and if I do get a pool table it is for my benefit alone.

They know im young and don't have the cash the older guys have. the mil just seems to be happy to be getting a gran child

and that her daughter has someone to to spend her life with. she worried a lot about that.

The fil was not asking to give him the money and he would sort it, I just asked for a rough idea from him.

The gf sold plastic flowers to big hotels nothing managerial taking orders and delivery's and now she works in a condo cleaning

until xmas when she will finish work.

she wont work after the baby, but im sure she will help out on the farm.

farmerjo I don't understand what your getting at? im a very easy going guy and don't see a problem staying with her mum dad

they are very nice people and well respected in the community.

Not trying to put a damper on things as i was similar to you with ambition.

I guess the fact your wife is pregnant will fast track things a little.

Was just stating take it slowly as you haven;t spent a great deal of time there.

I also work away a couple of months a year and has taken me 8 years to get something substanial in place here,with my first car coming last year,before that motorbikes and local buses which makes sense as you will have plenty of time on your hands to get where you want and back.

If your coming to stay,build a house,have a baby,get married and later buy a car even with 3-4 months work a year you really want to have at least 10-15 million baht behind you to make it work over a long period of time because there will be a few unforseen things pop up along the way.

Had many friends come build a house,buy a car and go home never to be seen again and left girlfriends with babies in difficult situations because they thought with 50 pound to the baht they could stay forever but their spending out did there savings eventually

Be carefull and enjoy.

[lovinglifeinthailand]

i agree but as you said the baby has fast tracked things. the misses knows we have not got mega money and will have to wait 10/15 years depending on the uk economy, before we can lead a more carefree lifestyle. so fingers crossed i will still be posting on this site in years to come with a success story.

[MobileContent]

Welcome to TV.

My advise take your time and build your house and buy a car when the time is right.

Don't rush into anything. You can still build it in one year time.

I lived with my in-laws for one year and then I build a house and bought a car. My bungalow was only 800k and build my my FIL who owns a construction business.

If you are in property go invest it in Bangkok which still shows some good returns. I bought myself a condo 8 years ago and it was fully financed by rental income.

Good luck and welcome to Isaan

[David48]

My advise take your time and build your house and buy a car when the time is right.

Don't rush into anything. You can still build it in one year time.

+1

Time is on your side.

Time shows the true colours that surround you.

Those colours may not be all black and white as you see them now.

Time is on your side ... experiences come from our side ...

[weegee]

Built the first village house when I was 24. Another ten years later round the corner.

It can be very tough living in a village, can get very irritating and boring all at the same time. However, it grows on you, you'll settle in and it all quietens down within a few months. You must have interests and hobbies, mine are photo'ing things, gardening and DIY. Don't get on the drink.

Oh and it's quite normal for a villager to walk in and start watching the television. Don't be alarmed.

How true ....and the biggest mistake is to be involved with the village drinking bouts....It took a while for them to understand when I wouldn't join them....but now it's accepted....took a while though. You'll be right....

[MJP]

Built the first village house when I was 24. Another ten years later round the corner.

It can be very tough living in a village, can get very irritating and boring all at the same time. However, it grows on you, you'll settle in and it all quietens down within a few months. You must have interests and hobbies, mine are photo'ing things, gardening and DIY. Don't get on the drink.

Oh and it's quite normal for a villager to walk in and start watching the television. Don't be alarmed.

How true ....and the biggest mistake is to be involved with the village drinking bouts....It took a while for them to understand when I wouldn't join them....but now it's accepted....took a while though. You'll be right....

Something else. You must keep your mind occupied with higher learning. I spent over two years solid in Issan during the recession and when I went back to the UK I'd have failed an IQ test.

Even though I wasn't a drinker, my brain had turned to mush. I went straight back to work, tendering for large regeneration projects and there was nothing there at all. It was bad.

If you have a profession, keep practicing.

[Bosse137]

Hey! I have lived in isaan more than 20 years.Boredom? NO! Have more to do,than I have time for! You seems to have the right attitud to most things,actually you do not seem to need any advice from anyone! If I still should give one,it would be;just stay you course! Good luck!

[lovinglifeinthailand]

Thank you mjp i would have properly failed an IQ test when i was back home full time.

By trade im a tool maker for the printing and packaging trade.

most of my close friends are in recruitment and IT trade making big money but still come to me for finance help.

i believe as long as the mind is active ill be fine.

[David48]

Thank you mjp i would have properly failed an IQ test when i was back home full time.

By trade im a tool maker for the printing and packaging trade.

most of my close friends are in recruitment and IT trade making big money but still come to me for finance help.

i believe as long as the mind is active ill be fine.

Mate ... 4.30am in Thailand ... you really need to rest more.

Unless you are a Farmer ... that's a crazy time to be awake ...

Get some zzzzz's man!

[zyphodb]

lucky we are not in the sticks. the road we are on in concrete with 40 houses with other roads leading of to many concrete roads easy well over 500 hundred houses . then 10 mins drive have Tesco banks car/bike shops.

You'll still need a truck if you're here permanento.

Don't whatever you do put a pool table in your house. You'll never get them out. It'll turn into the non-working mens club.

Also, cost out buying in bulk all those things like washing powder, soap, shampoo, tinned foods and wotnot. You can make substantial savings over the year. Might be an idea to turn the pool room into the store room.

I live in a Isaan village, a bit more remote than yours & am expecting a child next month, I manage without a truck, have 200cc cruising style m/bike, a 200cc Trials bike & a scooter with Thai style side car on it, have built our house on family land next to MIL & SIL, cousins etc in the middle of our village, the problem with buying in bulk is you'll find that the whole extended family will be 'borrowing'/using it so instead of saving you will find that it'll cost you more than buying small quantities.

The House I'd budget on up to 1.5 mil Bhts but the real headache is Builders, unless you are very lucky you will have to supervise absolutely everything to stop them cutting corners & ripping you off all the time. I ran a Construction company for 20 years in the UK & they came close to giving me a nervous breakdown lol with their absurd way of doing things, don't expect anything even close to UK standards here...

MJP is dead right about the pool room BTW...

Apart from that I enjoy living in the village although my Thai-Lao is virtually nonexistent & my Thai not a lot better, yes you are talked about all the time but just keep smiling, I don't find that everyong is after me for Beer, Money etc. but I've established ground rules, ie I'll help her Mother, her existing kids & her, but no others of the extended family.

I hope you live in a village near enough to civilization to get Wifi, all I can get is a True 3G Dongle which is expensive & limited to 10 Gigs until it slows right down & I'll be dead of old age before they put a ADSL capable line in here.

My nearest town with a 'Falang' Bar in is Nong Bua Daeng where Falangs come from a 50Km radius to speak some English & have a few Beers PM me if you want & we could swap phone no's. & meet up for a Beer sometime... Other than that, good luck & don't let this country's many stupidity's grind you down too much, the good outweighs the bad in my experiance...

[MJP]

lucky we are not in the sticks. the road we are on in concrete with 40 houses with other roads leading of to many concrete roads easy well over 500 hundred houses . then 10 mins drive have Tesco banks car/bike shops.

You'll still need a truck if you're here permanento.

Don't whatever you do put a pool table in your house. You'll never get them out. It'll turn into the non-working mens club.

Also, cost out buying in bulk all those things like washing powder, soap, shampoo, tinned foods and wotnot. You can make substantial savings over the year. Might be an idea to turn the pool room into the store room.

I live in a Isaan village, a bit more remote than yours & am expecting a child next month, I manage without a truck, have 200cc cruising style m/bike, a 200cc Trials bike & a scooter with Thai style side car on it, have built our house on family land next to MIL & SIL, cousins etc in the middle of our village, the problem with buying in bulk is you'll find that the whole extended family will be 'borrowing'/using it so instead of saving you will find that it'll cost you more than buying small quantities.

The House I'd budget on up to 1.5 mil Bhts but the real headache is Builders, unless you are very lucky you will have to supervise absolutely everything to stop them cutting corners & ripping you off all the time. I ran a Construction company for 20 years in the UK & they came close to giving me a nervous breakdown lol with their absurd way of doing things, don't expect anything even close to UK standards here...

MJP is dead right about the pool room BTW...

Apart from that I enjoy living in the village although my Thai-Lao is virtually nonexistent & my Thai not a lot better, yes you are talked about all the time but just keep smiling, I don't find that everyong is after me for Beer, Money etc. but I've established ground rules, ie I'll help her Mother, her existing kids & her, but no others of the extended family.

I hope you live in a village near enough to civilization to get Wifi, all I can get is a True 3G Dongle which is expensive & limited to 10 Gigs until it slows right down & I'll be dead of old age before they put a ADSL capable line in here.

My nearest town with a 'Falang' Bar in is Nong Bua Daeng where Falangs come from a 50Km radius to speak some English & have a few Beers PM me if you want & we could swap phone no's. & meet up for a Beer sometime... Other than that, good luck & don't let this country's many stupidity's grind you down too much, the good outweighs the bad in my experiance...

Ah yes . .. . the Borrowers!

The trick is to hit Makro fairly late in the day and meander back until you get home very late (most of Issan is fast asleep by 9pm).

Now, quietly unloaded the truck into the store room. Lock the store room and say nowt. Never let anyone see the store room.

I did it like this for years. It was major agro but on once every quarter. It did save a lot of money.

You can get by without a truck, but I'd plan on having one.

Edited September 28, 2013 by MJP

[MJP]

Thank you mjp i would have properly failed an IQ test when i was back home full time.

By trade im a tool maker for the printing and packaging trade.

most of my close friends are in recruitment and IT trade making big money but still come to me for finance help.

i believe as long as the mind is active ill be fine.

Mate ... 4.30am in Thailand ... you really need to rest more.

Unless you are a Farmer ... that's a crazy time to be awake ...

Get some zzzzz's man!

Yes, day can easily turn to night here with isolation in the village and access to the internet. I'm the worst for this.

[lovinglifeinthailand]

haha I have a ear infection so have had a bad sleeping pattern. just sleep when I can. getting better now so back to normal soon.

With the makro card I thought you had to have a business for that? in England you do.

[lovinglifeinthailand]

mjp

that post made me laugh, had a image of you hunched carrying a big bag of sweets scurrying to your store room making sure no one saw you.

[KunMatt]

Your story almost mirrors mine from 3 years ago, I can give you a heads up for the next 3 years if you like.

You need to think long and hard about building or moving in Isaan because the novelty you experienced on your first time here will wear off but the financial commitment will be much more than you anticipate. Any money you spend here is spent and you will never get it back, Thais don't buy second hand houses so this house is either yours forever unless you give it away to a family member.

I was 32, my gf a couple of years younger than me, and just like you I visited my gf's parents in a large village in the rural part of Ubon. Everyone here are farmers and at the time I felt like I was in an episode of the Flintstones it was so basic. I loved that everything was so simple and communal here and within a couple of weeks I was talking about building a small house in this village so we could have a home and a base here after a year of just bouncing all over Thailand living out of suitcases. My gf's parents were (still are) fantastic and I dreamed up a wonderful life I could have here if I built my own den with aircons, a PS3 room, hot showers, a pool room, a swimming pool, a gym and so on. Well I now have most of that and more but I can tell you already to forget the pool table, it's just a beautiful pipedream: a table is about 200k and that doesn't include shipping it to Isaan. You also need a 30m2 room for a full size table so that is 300k from the house budget to build so you are looking at a minimum of 0.5m baht for a pool room that you in all practicality won't use cuz nobody in the village will know the game apart from you and your missus, and you'd be much better off using that space as a kid's playroom.

I was also expecting to pay a maximum of 1m for a decent house here, it ended up costing me 2m for the house then you have to buy a Thai kitchen (outside), a Western kitchen (inside), a carport, a gate and the surrounding walls and fence, all the furniture, generator, water tanks and pumps, aircons and so on. I think I've probably dumped about 3m into this place so far and I still have to build the carport and the surrounding fence. It would've been MUCH cheaper to rent a decent condo in BKK and just visit the family once a month or have them stay in BKK with us. A car will set you back at least 1m too. You think your family is going to let the farang buy a old bucket and show them up in the village when other locals have a new car? Think again.

So how did it work out? Well for one I have no friends here. Zero. People are really nice to me and I've had no real dramas that I can think of apart from some petty gossip from people who I don't even know. I regularly drink with my gf's family and have parties all the time but there are no other expats in this village and no locals my age who share any of my interests in the slightest so I am totally isolated here. Also, I speak Thai/Isaan to everyone but whenever and wherever I go in this village there are always people still pointing and shouting "farang" at me after 3 years, and I'm talking about my neighbours and their kids who have seen me daily for the last 18 months, they have been to my son's birthday party, drank my booze and eaten my food in my house and they know my name, but I am still just looked at as the stranger here who needs to be shouted at every time I walk down my road so being treated as a 2nd class citizen after everything I've done here does irk me a little.

As for the local culture, well I dislike Isaan food to say the least; I love Thai food but hate eating raw meat in cold blood soup or offcuts and bones or anything with Pla Raa after seeing how it's made here, so apart from the occasional Som Tam I don't share any food likes with anyone and at any get-togethers I eat Thai food while everyone else eats their Isaan food. I soon got bored of that one Isaan song which differs slightly that is played all the time here too.

The highlight of my week used to be playing PS3 games online with my mates in the UK but now we have 2 kids I rarely get the time any more so now my favourite day is Sunday when I get up early and spend all morning cooking a huge Sunday Roast lunch for me and my gf's family, drinking beers by myself while I listen to my local home radio station over the internet, basically simulating my Sundays I had when I was back in the UK. I stream UK TV over a UK VPN because local TV is the worst of the worst. I'm sure as a young guy you will feel the same, with nothing to do and nobody to do it with you will soon get bored like I was/am. It's not like this is my first time away from home, I've constantly lived outside of the UK since 1999 in various places all over Asia, some much more remote and isolated than here, and I have not been as homesick or bored as I am now.

You also have to think about what is best for your kid. You want them to be healthy, safe and well educated. For me, none of those things are here in Isaan. Even the best private hospital here is 1 hour a way from where we live. We are surrounded by tropical diseases and even though we are fastidiously clean and careful, our son got hand foot and mouth disease twice by the time he was 18 months old including the Enterovirus71 which can be deadly and was very scary. Lastly any expat who makes his kids go to an Isaan school should be done for child neglect.

My gf's parent's adore my children and spend every day with them but I am starting to have issues with their discipline and lack of with my son, and the sorts of things and habits they are teaching him.

I knew when I started this experience that it was only going to be short term until my son was old enough to go to school and then we would move away and come back to this house during holidays to visit the family. Well since then I have now decided to move back to the UK when he is ready for school and raise him in the UK instead. I made up a list of pros and cons and the UK won vs Thailand 20:4. Maybe you should also have a good think about what you are going to do.

If I was you I would weigh up the following scenarios from a realistic perspective, considering cost, practicality, pros and cons;

- building a house in the Thai countryside and being isolated.

- extending your gf's parent's house to give you both a living space, which you either live in full or part time.

- renting long term in Pattaya/Jomtien and visting Isaan when you feel the urge then returning back to civilisation when you've had enough.

- Moving back the UK.

Believe it or not, I am quite happy here with our lives at the moment, but probably because I know that it is only temporary and in about 18 months we will be moving to the UK. My point is, everything that I expected from my first visit here worked out very differently and not for the best I think. If I could re-write history and my gf's family came from Chiang Mai or Koh Phi Phi or just about anywhere else in Thailand that wasn't Isaan, then I would.

[David48]

Your story almost mirrors mine from 3 years ago, I can give you a heads up for the next 3 years if you like.

You need to think long and hard about building or moving in Isaan because the novelty you experienced on your first time here will wear off <snip>

Matt ... that is close to the post of the year ...

I warmly congratulate you.

For some reason the OP doesn't respond to my posts ... maybe he's more interested in building bridges ... culturally to Issan that is.

With members like you, the Forum is in good shape.

Thanks for sharing ...

I've ran out of likes ... be back tomorrow.

Cheers

David48

[transam]

Your story almost mirrors mine from 3 years ago, I can give you a heads up for the next 3 years if you like.

You need to think long and hard about building or moving in Isaan because the novelty you experienced on your first time here will wear off but the financial commitment will be much more than you anticipate. Any money you spend here is spent and you will never get it back, Thais don't buy second hand houses so this house is either yours forever unless you give it away to a family member.

I was 32, my gf a couple of years younger than me, and just like you I visited my gf's parents in a large village in the rural part of Ubon. Everyone here are farmers and at the time I felt like I was in an episode of the Flintstones it was so basic. I loved that everything was so simple and communal here and within a couple of weeks I was talking about building a small house in this village so we could have a home and a base here after a year of just bouncing all over Thailand living out of suitcases. My gf's parents were (still are) fantastic and I dreamed up a wonderful life I could have here if I built my own den with aircons, a PS3 room, hot showers, a pool room, a swimming pool, a gym and so on. Well I now have most of that and more but I can tell you already to forget the pool table, it's just a beautiful pipedream: a table is about 200k and that doesn't include shipping it to Isaan. You also need a 30m2 room for a full size table so that is 300k from the house budget to build so you are looking at a minimum of 0.5m baht for a pool room that you in all practicality won't use cuz nobody in the village will know the game apart from you and your missus, and you'd be much better off using that space as a kid's playroom.

I was also expecting to pay a maximum of 1m for a decent house here, it ended up costing me 2m for the house then you have to buy a Thai kitchen (outside), a Western kitchen (inside), a carport, a gate and the surrounding walls and fence, all the furniture, generator, water tanks and pumps, aircons and so on. I think I've probably dumped about 3m into this place so far and I still have to build the carport and the surrounding fence. It would've been MUCH cheaper to rent a decent condo in BKK and just visit the family once a month or have them stay in BKK with us. A car will set you back at least 1m too. You think your family is going to let the farang buy a old bucket and show them up in the village when other locals have a new car? Think again.

So how did it work out? Well for one I have no friends here. Zero. People are really nice to me and I've had no real dramas that I can think of apart from some petty gossip from people who I don't even know. I regularly drink with my gf's family and have parties all the time but there are no other expats in this village and no locals my age who share any of my interests in the slightest so I am totally isolated here. Also, I speak Thai/Isaan to everyone but whenever and wherever I go in this village there are always people still pointing and shouting "farang" at me after 3 years, and I'm talking about my neighbours and their kids who have seen me daily for the last 18 months, they have been to my son's birthday party, drank my booze and eaten my food in my house and they know my name, but I am still just looked at as the stranger here who needs to be shouted at every time I walk down my road so being treated as a 2nd class citizen after everything I've done here does irk me a little.

As for the local culture, well I dislike Isaan food to say the least; I love Thai food but hate eating raw meat in cold blood soup or offcuts and bones or anything with Pla Raa after seeing how it's made here, so apart from the occasional Som Tam I don't share any food likes with anyone and at any get-togethers I eat Thai food while everyone else eats their Isaan food. I soon got bored of that one Isaan song which differs slightly that is played all the time here too.

The highlight of my week used to be playing PS3 games online with my mates in the UK but now we have 2 kids I rarely get the time any more so now my favourite day is Sunday when I get up early and spend all morning cooking a huge Sunday Roast lunch for me and my gf's family, drinking beers by myself while I listen to my local home radio station over the internet, basically simulating my Sundays I had when I was back in the UK. I stream UK TV over a UK VPN because local TV is the worst of the worst. I'm sure as a young guy you will feel the same, with nothing to do and nobody to do it with you will soon get bored like I was/am. It's not like this is my first time away from home, I've constantly lived outside of the UK since 1999 in various places all over Asia, some much more remote and isolated than here, and I have not been as homesick or bored as I am now.

You also have to think about what is best for your kid. You want them to be healthy, safe and well educated. For me, none of those things are here in Isaan. Even the best private hospital here is 1 hour a way from where we live. We are surrounded by tropical diseases and even though we are fastidiously clean and careful, our son got hand foot and mouth disease twice by the time he was 18 months old including the Enterovirus71 which can be deadly and was very scary. Lastly any expat who makes his kids go to an Isaan school should be done for child neglect.

My gf's parent's adore my children and spend every day with them but I am starting to have issues with their discipline and lack of with my son, and the sorts of things and habits they are teaching him.

I knew when I started this experience that it was only going to be short term until my son was old enough to go to school and then we would move away and come back to this house during holidays to visit the family. Well since then I have now decided to move back to the UK when he is ready for school and raise him in the UK instead. I made up a list of pros and cons and the UK won vs Thailand 20:4. Maybe you should also have a good think about what you are going to do.

If I was you I would weigh up the following scenarios from a realistic perspective, considering cost, practicality, pros and cons;

- building a house in the Thai countryside and being isolated.

- extending your gf's parent's house to give you both a living space, which you either live in full or part time.

- renting long term in Pattaya/Jomtien and visting Isaan when you feel the urge then returning back to civilisation when you've had enough.

- Moving back the UK.

Believe it or not, I am quite happy here with our lives at the moment, but probably because I know that it is only temporary and in about 18 months we will be moving to the UK. My point is, everything that I expected from my first visit here worked out very differently and not for the best I think. If I could re-write history and my gf's family came from Chiang Mai or Koh Phi Phi or just about anywhere else in Thailand that wasn't Isaan, then I would.

I will second your post as a guy that has seen and realised much.

May I add that I built our house a zillion miles away from the ''family'' and do NOT put up with any crap. It is a very BIG learning curve for us that for many is hard to accept, me,............ my Mrs learned about her learning curve to have a farang hubby, so far OK, but the ''family'', weeeell, they have a one way street with no intersections leading to me, but, that's OK cos I/we are left to our own life.