things you wished you knew sooner / advice from the long stays

[Makhao]

If I would have known in advance, I wouldn't have changed anything, but I would have come to LOS many years earlier already!

[JLCrab]

As attributed to NY Yankees' Mickey Mantle: If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself.

Actually more likely said by Eubie Blake or maybe even an unknown golf caddie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eubie_Blake

As he lived to age 94, it was probably said earlier by George Bernard Shaw-- everything else was.

[IMA_FARANG]

Learn the 80% rule.

80% of everything (in Thailand and elsewhere) is bulls--t.

The 80% rule applies to everything you see, hear, or are told you need to do.

The 80% rule is key to understanding any society you live in.

Just remember .... 80% of everything is bulls--t, and you'll understand human nature and why people act like they do..

That's how to stay sane and survive in Thailand.

[AYJAYDEE]

Learn the 80% rule.

80% of everything (in Thailand and elsewhere) is bulls--t.

The 80% rule applies to everything you see, hear, or are told you need to do.

The 80% rule is key to understanding any society you live in.

Just remember .... 80% of everything is bulls--t, and you'll understand human nature and why people act like they do..

That's how to stay sane and survive in Thailand.

so when can we expect the final 20% of your knowledge??

[oyster]

Dont believe all Thai women are mostly hookers and want money because they DONT, you probably wouldnt believe what some Thai women earn especially in Bangkok even Issan farmers daughters and not from prostitution

It might all seem fun at first but Thai drivers rank as the lowest and WILL kill you.

Take your time.

Oh very nice, they earn what? 15K-20K baht? The secret to the upper middle class here (and in most parts of Asia for that matter) are: a) live with parents or as many roommates as you can stuff in a 2 bedroom house. bank loans, for everything. c) cash from daddy, even at the tender age of 30-35.

So next time you find yourself wondering "how can they afford that"...well...

You see you really havent a clue have you....try 200+k a month, legit every month, no whoring involved and no scam either, I know at least 5 women like that mid 30's in age.

Don't worry keep the stereotype alive if it makes you happy, Wife meet s many men like you thinking they earn peanuts, usually looking for that 8k condo and then asking if they can pay late each month whilst talking down to them hahahahahaha.

Hi so's? huh no real Thai hard working women.

Probably applies to Asian women in general - in Manila, any half decent business was run by a woman, the men just hang around talking, drinking, posing and betting on cock fights.

When I was working in the UK, I came up with the 80/20 syndrome...80% of women work, the other 20 just try to look good and wait to get laid. With guys it was the reverse 20% worked, the other 80% looked busy, talked football/telly/girls/cars/fishing - about the past weekend and what was happening the next. Which in all probability was a very good thing, otherwise I might have had some serious competition.

[flyingdoc]

Thailand exhibits the two opposite extremes where women are involved, ranging from the Press favourites working in the sex trade, openly or disguised in some fashion, and then the vast majority, who are amongst the most reserved you can find anywhere on earth. However, do not date a girl, meet her family, then drop her suddenly after you have been introduced to her family, especially if she has some big burly brothers!

[rct99q]

Thailand is the last place on earth you want to look for love. I am under 30 and been with all kinds of girls and they all got the devil inside. Keep every girl at an arms distance and pay them for their services. Don't expect a girl just because she has a 'good family' to be anything like you know from the west when it gets serious. They all freak out and go bonkers once you break up with them.

Don't buy into this hi-so socializing crap. It's a waste of time/totally fake. Do your own thing in thailand, find a few good mates and stick to yourself.

Under 30 and been with all kinds of girls......your future, potential wife will love this. And with your advice why in thw world would you move here? You could live in some stick in the woods English <deleted> hole town to keep to yourself drinking with your like minded mates....unless of course the birds back home would not do what you pay the locals for here?

[jpeg]

Don't lend any money to your thai wife/girl friends family,this comes from some one who did,and is still crying 10 years later.

Don't lend money, period. If you have it to give, give it, and never think of it again.

[jpeg]

As attributed to NY Yankees' Mickey Mantle: If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself.

Actually more likely said by Eubie Blake or maybe even an unknown golf caddie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eubie_Blake

As he lived to age 94, it was probably said earlier by George Bernard Shaw-- everything else was.

Wrong. It was my grandfather who gave up smoking aged 81.

[cbluck58]

That 90% of what you get told by other Farangs in bars about living in LOS is total BS and that a good lawyer is worth every penny whenever you want to do something business wise.

Also wish I'd known I was going to stay for 30+ years , I would have got a VIP visa and been relieved of making all those flights and visa runs.

[bigbamboo]

As attributed to NY Yankees' Mickey Mantle: If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself.

Actually more likely said by Eubie Blake or maybe even an unknown golf caddie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eubie_Blake

Or old Keef from the Stones.....?

[Travel2003]

Remember, not all of us are x-special forces.

[NoshowJones]

Welcome to Pattaya

Respect the food, culture, country, and people. Don't forget you are a guest here. Be safe, don't get complacent with anything potentially dangerous.

Driving on motorbikes here is truly one of the most dangerous things you will do in your life.

Good post apart from one thing, we are not guests in this country, guests have to be invited. We are allowed to stay here because Thailand needs our money. If I had a guest in my house and sent him on border runs and go somewhere every 90 days to report, how long would he be a guest?

[AYJAYDEE]

Welcome to Pattaya

Respect the food, culture, country, and people. Don't forget you are a guest here. Be safe, don't get complacent with anything potentially dangerous.

Driving on motorbikes here is truly one of the most dangerous things you will do in your life.

Good post apart from one thing, we are not guests in this country, guests have to be invited. We are allowed to stay here because Thailand needs our money. If I had a guest in my house and sent him on border runs and go somewhere every 90 days to report, how long would he be a guest?

youre a guest. their tourism marketing efforts are the invite.

[soi41]

Thailand is the last place on earth you want to look for love. I am under 30 and been with all kinds of girls and they all got the devil inside. Keep every girl at an arms distance and pay them for their services. Don't expect a girl just because she has a 'good family' to be anything like you know from the west when it gets serious. They all freak out and go bonkers once you break up with them.

Don't buy into this hi-so socializing crap. It's a waste of time/totally fake. Do your own thing in thailand, find a few good mates and stick to yourself.

What a sad post from someone under 30!

At that age, especially here, you should have the time of your life, instead of offering your cynical "advice" here on Thaivisa.

Can only imagine, what your posts are going to be like in 20-30 years time!

[NoshowJones]

Welcome to Pattaya

Respect the food, culture, country, and people. Don't forget you are a guest here. Be safe, don't get complacent with anything potentially dangerous.

Driving on motorbikes here is truly one of the most dangerous things you will do in your life.

Good post apart from one thing, we are not guests in this country, guests have to be invited. We are allowed to stay here because Thailand needs our money. If I had a guest in my house and sent him on border runs and go somewhere every 90 days to report, how long would he be a guest?

youre a guest. their tourism marketing efforts are the invite.

A guest is someone who you treat with respect. The biggest majority of Thai people will treat you with respect if you respect them, but does the Thai government?

[Fookhaht]

Wish I had adopted the Thai "mai-pben-rai" response much earlier in my 10-year-stay, thereby averting about thousand stressful outcomes.

This applies to driving, work, "friends" with ulterior motives, irresponsible apartment managers, coups, punctuality issues, knee-jerk water service, wrong orders in restaurants, and 992 other examples I can't think of just now.

I am a guest in this country, and I am probably the least-effective person to change the culture; if indeed, it needed changing at all.

I believe having now learned this, life is 99% more stress-free. I can't control the vast majority of these problems, but I CAN control my response to them. As a "golden-age" senior citizen, I believe I've added a few more years to my heart's health to boot!

[tboxcar]

Thais actually drive good compared to Indonesians....completely 'lawless'.... in Indo

[AYJAYDEE]

Thais actually drive good compared to Indonesians....completely 'lawless'.... in Indo

well

[hellodolly]

Thailand is the last place on earth you want to look for love. I am under 30 and been with all kinds of girls and they all got the devil inside. Keep every girl at an arms distance and pay them for their services. Don't expect a girl just because she has a 'good family' to be anything like you know from the west when it gets serious. They all freak out and go bonkers once you break up with them.

Don't buy into this hi-so socializing crap. It's a waste of time/totally fake. Do your own thing in thailand, find a few good mates and stick to yourself.

Are you suggesting play with your self?

[JulesMad]

Thais actually drive good compared to Indonesians....completely 'lawless'.... in Indo

Absolutely true!

I remember when I lived in Sulawesi and visited my friends in Thailand, they were all bitching about the Thai traffic. At that time, I just laughed and told them that Thai traffic is heaven compared with Indo traffic!

Nowadays, I just drive extremely defensive offensive

[Emdog]

Never ever think you totally (or even substantially) understand the whys of Thai culture and behavior: you will be setting yourself up for a lesson in humility and hubris bashing. And listen to your gut feelings more.

[elzach]

Dont believe all Thai women are mostly hookers and want money because they DONT, you probably wouldnt believe what some Thai women earn especially in Bangkok even Issan farmers daughters and not from prostitution

It might all seem fun at first but Thai drivers rank as the lowest and WILL kill you.

Take your time.

Oh very nice, they earn what? 15K-20K baht? The secret to the upper middle class here (and in most parts of Asia for that matter) are: a) live with parents or as many roommates as you can stuff in a 2 bedroom house. bank loans, for everything. c) cash from daddy, even at the tender age of 30-35.

So next time you find yourself wondering "how can they afford that"...well...

You see you really havent a clue have you....try 200+k a month, legit every month, no whoring involved and no scam either, I know at least 5 women like that mid 30's in age.

Don't worry keep the stereotype alive if it makes you happy, Wife meet s many men like you thinking they earn peanuts, usually looking for that 8k condo and then asking if they can pay late each month whilst talking down to them hahahahahaha.

Hi so's? huh no real Thai hard working women.

My description applies to let's say 90% of the upper middle class Thai women. Your description applies to 0.1%, or 4-5 women you met. Unless you seriously believe there are many Thai women who make 200K baht a month from investments/rents (because there's no such salary here).

Case closed.

[David48]

You see you really havent a clue have you....try 200+k a month, legit every month, no whoring involved and no scam either, I know at least 5 women like that mid 30's in age.

Don't worry keep the stereotype alive if it makes you happy, Wife meet s many men like you thinking they earn peanuts, usually looking for that 8k condo and then asking if they can pay late each month whilst talking down to them hahahahahaha.

Hi so's? huh no real Thai hard working women.

My description applies to let's say 90% of the upper middle class Thai women. Your description applies to 0.1%, or 4-5 women you met. Unless you seriously believe there are many Thai women who make 200K baht a month from investments/rents (because there's no such salary here).

Case closed.

Actually ... case remaining open ... don't assume your mileage is the same as others ...

[nickmanchester2]

Dont buy a property as you may end up with a crazy girl and not be able to sell

Dont let girls get too close, 1 night a week if they stay over best if they are not from the same area as where you live

Get a car instead of a motorbike

Dont drink and drive - get a apartment / house near cheap public transport / motorbike taxi

Get some hobbies / way to keep yourself busy at nightime - going drinking every night is not good for you

Now if i could just do all of these myself i would be happy

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[bangkockney]

Dont believe all Thai women are mostly hookers and want money because they DONT, you probably wouldnt believe what some Thai women earn especially in Bangkok even Issan farmers daughters and not from prostitution

It might all seem fun at first but Thai drivers rank as the lowest and WILL kill you.

Take your time.

Oh very nice, they earn what? 15K-20K baht? The secret to the upper middle class here (and in most parts of Asia for that matter) are: a) live with parents or as many roommates as you can stuff in a 2 bedroom house. bank loans, for everything. c) cash from daddy, even at the tender age of 30-35.

So next time you find yourself wondering "how can they afford that"...well...

You see you really havent a clue have you....try 200+k a month, legit every month, no whoring involved and no scam either, I know at least 5 women like that mid 30's in age.

Don't worry keep the stereotype alive if it makes you happy, Wife meet s many men like you thinking they earn peanuts, usually looking for that 8k condo and then asking if they can pay late each month whilst talking down to them hahahahahaha.

Hi so's? huh no real Thai hard working women.

My description applies to let's say 90% of the upper middle class Thai women. Your description applies to 0.1%, or 4-5 women you met. Unless you seriously believe there are many Thai women who make 200K baht a month from investments/rents (because there's no such salary here).

Case closed.

There are women in Bangkok who earn 200k +. Some for MNCs, others for banks etc. Sure, not the majority, but those salary levels are available to women here.

[Frank James]

Having made too many foolish and expensive mistakes my first couple of years here, I now wish I had read two books dealing with Thai lady/farang male relationships:

"Foreign Relations: a Humorous Guide to Thai Ladies", by Barry Sandal. Self-published and hard to find, but a 100% right on, BS-free masterwork. Barry, you need to run off another batch of these, and get them into the bookshops at all major Thai airports.

"Private Dancer", by Stephen Leather. Completely different from Leather's other, thriller type stuff, but a harrowing cautionary tale about a guy who took too long to see what's what. Broke out in a cold sweat reading this, with a there but for the grace of Buddha went I...feeling.

I have no connection to these two authors, but recommend these works whole-heartedly. I am happy to say I am now married to a wonderful Thai lady (yes, dare I say it, from Isaan!) who makes my life here so much more enjoyable, and keeps me from getting ripped off. A keeper, to be sure.

[Jasun]

Living in LOS is a bit like going to a casino: you can have a lot of fun and even make some money, but if you hang around long enough the house always wins.

[willyumiii]

You Are not really a "Handsum Man"!

[umbanda]

Dont believe all Thai women are mostly hookers and want money because they DONT, you probably wouldnt believe what some Thai women earn especially in Bangkok even Issan farmers daughters and not from prostitution

It might all seem fun at first but Thai drivers rank as the lowest and WILL kill you.

Take your time.

Oh very nice, they earn what? 15K-20K baht? The secret to the upper middle class here (and in most parts of Asia for that matter) are: a) live with parents or as many roommates as you can stuff in a 2 bedroom house. bank loans, for everything. c) cash from daddy, even at the tender age of 30-35.

So next time you find yourself wondering "how can they afford that"...well...

Well....I know some earning 10 K/month.........US dollars....Those are not on the Internet or bars...and are not looking for retired foreigners.