California couple moves to Thailand to avoid the financial stress of living In the US

[kamahele]

Not a move for everyone. Actually they could have done the some thing by staying in America and moving somewhere less expensive but I guess Thailand just sounds more exotic.

[phetaroi]

What are they going to do for jobs here?. Teach English for 800 baht a day? I suppose with two of them they can pool enough money to live comfortably in Phuket.

Theyre not going to like the expensive cars,.petrol and filthy streets.

Lets have a follow up to this story in 12 months.

Yes, I agree.

First, they've only been in Thailand a few months. They are still essentially tourists. They live the same lifestyle...yet in California they had a car, here they have a motorbike. They have a condo = to California style....except they show us no photo of that, only touristy photos.

Frankly, I doubt the validity of this story. It didn't match my experience of living in Thailand.

[PeterSmiles]

Wonder why it didn't make headlines when I moved to Thailand ?

[DocN]

...and Thailand will welcome them with open arms, throw jobs and condos at them, lot's of money, no difficulty whatsoever....

[lostmebike]

And??? Who gives a ..? Another quality story.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[marcusd]

They could have moved to any other state and lived cheaper then California. To say they moved to Thailand because it is cheaper to live in Thailand is asinine. I lived in Michigan and it cost me the same to live here as it did in Michigan. The only thing cheaper in Thailand is labor and medical.

Have you tried buying a car lately or a computer or go buy some petrol for your car.  The big difference in cost is you can buy

cheap china products that USA does not allow in country.

 

Yes I have.  I don't need a car to live here because the public transportation is so good and available, saving me quite a bit of cash.  Yes I bought a computer here quite a bit cheaper because of the software included.  All in all I spend 500% less for the same lifestyle as the States.  

did you live on the top floor of SAKS FIFTH AVENUE perhaps?...

I have visited your country lot and to say 500%dearer is way overstretching.

PHUKET in NOT CHEAP. in fact nothing there is cheap.

In Australia I can get comparable same price or cheaper.

Medical?, true nut quality same?. hmmmm. I should know.... I am in the profession.

Sent from my RM-892_apac_laos_thailand_219 using Tapatalk

[thailiketoo]

Yes I have. I don't need a car to live here because the public transportation is so good and available, saving me quite a bit of cash. Yes I bought a computer here quite a bit cheaper because of the software included. All in all I spend 500% less for the same lifestyle as the States.

did you live on the top floor of SAKS FIFTH AVENUE perhaps?...

I have visited your country lot and to say 500%dearer is way overstretching.

PHUKET in NOT CHEAP. in fact nothing there is cheap.

In Australia I can get comparable same price or cheaper.

Medical?, true nut quality same?. hmmmm. I should know.... I am in the profession.

Sent from my RM-892_apac_laos_thailand_219 using Tapatalk

A lot of things make the medical care cheaper here for me. Au Bon Pain in the hospital so I don't have to send a taxi out for espresso and bagels. Refrigerator and dishes, silver and china and extra beds and chairs and tables in the room for the family. State of the art new hospitals. A lot of the doctors trained in the UK and USA. It is just nicer. All the big wigs from the MIddl East come here. They have the cash to go anywhere but come here. I have never been to Phuket. So I can't comment.

Edited November 13, 2013 by thailiketoo

[sabaii69]

so, the news is............wha???? come on!

[CIHUAHUA]

Waaaaa

[oakweb]

been there, and I did that 10 years ago.. but I work on the Internet

I also saved 80,000 a year in taxes

though, I don't think it's a good move for anyone unless they do work on the Internet

[rct99q]

I'll give them a year... any takers?

I give them another 6 months......as that is what they said in the article.........

[belg]

basically, they are working illegally ...

case for immigration to check that out...

and, that job for video editing, can i apply looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool

if it pays well enough

Edited November 13, 2013 by belg

[planetdweller]

May not turn out to be the panacea they envision. Better to move to Thailand with a solid source of income , period. Thailand is not the land of opportunity for the incoming farang.

[Doc46]

That's a load of crock shit, why freelance jobs,,,find a real job and work, get you hands dirty if you WANT to work you can work, especially in your own country which language you speak. Coming to Thailand ,how are they getting jobs? they speak Thai ?,if they struggling now for money they will be broke and live on the street in a month ,not very bright (my opinion)

[sirchai]

What a sad story.-

[jinners]

They could have moved to any other state and lived cheaper then California. To say they moved to Thailand because it is cheaper to live in Thailand is asinine. I lived in Michigan and it cost me the same to live here as it did in Michigan. The only thing cheaper in Thailand is labor and medical.

Have you tried buying a car lately or a computer or go buy some petrol for your car. The big difference in cost is you can buy

cheap china products that USA does not allow in country.

Asinine??? Didn't realize Michigan was so cheap? I know Europe, and particularly UK isn't. The costs of fuel(half price) water (20%) electric (half price) and general living (no rates, no standing charges on utilities, no TV tax) makes things immeasurably cheaper here. And that's without the cost of a nice new truck (a lot less like for like) or eating /drinking out from the bargain basement places to the higher end. Conversely, the only thing I found expensive here is the medical cover, but then all private cover is compared to the NHS, even in England. Dental care is probably a 1/3 however.

You seriously saying the biggest difference between the 2 is cheap Chinese imports???

[bushwacker]

Breaking News .... I feel so much more informed!

[rotary]

Gosh, 2 folks that borrowed money to get an education and live the "American dream" now they run away from responsibility and commitment . If you make a debt, you pay that debt. And people ask whats wrong with the USA

[planetdweller]

May not turn out to be the panacea they envision. Better to move to Thailand with a solid source of income , period. Thailand is not the land of economic opportunity for the incoming farang.

[Trouble]

More power to them. However, that being said, running off to another country to try and get ahead is probably not the best choice. They are young and have some time but they seem to be working free lance jobs so probably no benefits whatsoever. Sure California is costly to live but they surely had alternatives. I guess I would like to have taken off to the beach on nice days here in Los Angeles when I was working but I damn well wasn't going to get ahead that way. Let them live their fantasy for a while. The money they are saving seems already spent on a trip to Europe so all I can see is they are living a little better and having some fun. Unfortunately when they do return they will be older and they will be competing with the kids graduating from college. Good luck to them.

[kimbathewhitelion]

Of all places, why move to Phuket. It's more expensive than Los Angeles! Libs! The same Gov which they voted for are the same with the new laws which will track them down via their Passports & collect when the payoff is enough.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Carrerakiss]

Yes I have. I don't need a car to live here because the public transportation is so good and available, saving me quite a bit of cash. Yes I bought a computer here quite a bit cheaper because of the software included. All in all I spend 500% less for the same lifestyle as the States.

The finest pirated software in Asia. Spending 500% less?....doesn't 100% less bring a person to zero cost?...my mind is I'm still trying to understand this 500% less quantum mechanics math for living costs.

It's obviously a typo for 50%, but carry on being anal if you think you are adding something to the thread.

[oldsailor35]

Probably one of the reasons i will not live in Australia.

[gohmer]

I lived in Bangkok, Hua Hin, and Chiang Mai over a 6 yr period. Married a Thai who lived in these places with me. We just moved to the states. We now live balf way between San Diego and LA; however, I've also lived in Texas, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Nevada, North Carolina, Florida, Idaho, and Colorado. I've also visited 48 of the 50 states. Point being, I think I can make an unbiased assessment of the differences between cost, quality of life, value, and lifestyle more than most.

Here is my list of pros living ing the states vs Thailand.

1. If your job makes more than around $60,000/yr you are far better of in every state in the US, except in the largest cities like LA, New York City, Boston, and San Francisco. Most other big towns are a fraction of the cost

2. Water, sewer, and electricity are so dependable and cheap you take them for granted.

3. Every street in all of San Diego county, where I live look like they are clean by the hour.

4. Public transportation is every where, cheap, allows bicycles on, and has wifi

5. All houses are built to code far far far exceeding the standards in Thailand even with foreign built homes

6. Every street in the county has 1-2 meter wide bike paths

7. All of the schools from elementary to university teach critical thinking ( I believe it is well documented on this site the lack thereof with the Thais)

8. If I buy most anything from most any store and I'm not 100% satisfied, I can return it for no questions asked refund, even without a receipt in many stores if I used a cc

9. Used Cars are 50-60%

10. Food in the grocery stores for comparable items is about the same (only eating out is much more expensive)

11. Fuel is significantly cheaper

12. Traffic laws are enforced

13. Police protect you regardless of nationality

14. Beer is the same price

15. Starbucks is way cheaper

16. Beaches, rivers, streams, lakes are clean, many even prestine

17. National parks like yosemite, yellowstone, glacier, gettysburg, etc beyond compare with Thai NPs

18. Bus and train travel is safe

19 able to purchase just about any product the world bas to offer without fear of it being a ripped off copy

20. I can buy a house for under 4-5 million baht of higher quality in al least 40 of the 50 states. A 1-2 million baht house in Thailand would not pass code in the states.

I could keep on going for hours with this list, but I think this is enough of a comparison to show why I, and my Thai family, now live in the US.

Goog luck to the couple, but it is obviously a case of thinking the grass is greener when you've taken for granted what you already had.

Edited November 13, 2013 by gohmer

[The Usual Suspect]

They could have moved to any other state and lived cheaper then California. To say they moved to Thailand because it is cheaper to live in Thailand is asinine. I lived in Michigan and it cost me the same to live here as it did in Michigan. The only thing cheaper in Thailand is labor and medical.

Have you tried buying a car lately or a computer or go buy some petrol for your car. The big difference in cost is you can buy

cheap china products that USA does not allow in country.

Where in Michigan did you live? In a van down by the river? With a pen name of Yooper, I imagine you were in the U.P. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not calling you a liar, I'd just like to know how you were able to live so cheaply.....had to be way out in the sticks. I lived in Michigan all my life until I retired. I lived a fairly spartan lifestyle in a very modest dwelling, cutting costs, sometimes painfully, wherever I could, and it was NEVER as cheap as it is here in Thailand. Currently I am able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle AND put money in the bank on my Social Security and a very small pension from my former employer. If I was back in Michigan (in the area where I lived previously), I would just barely be able to make it from month to month, and would have no savings in case of emergency.

Edited November 13, 2013 by The Usual Suspect

[Emdog]

I wonder if they can get partial refund on ticket? "I booked ticket to paradise, but you sent me to Phuket!" Well, being from Oregon (state north of Cali), for my friends and family's sake still there, I hope more follow their example. We have signs "Don't Californicate Oregon".

[shawndoc]

I'll give them a year... any takers?

Nah, debts can be collected for up to 7 years after the last payment. They're not going home until they are no longer on the hook.

[thaibeachlovers]

So they moved to what is probably the most expensive and most crime ridden place ( for farangs ) in Thailand .

To call Phuket paradise is

[NotAnOldGrumpyMan]

Ahhhh grumpy old men QQing about young people living the dream. Let's talk about how they make money: They freelance with clients they gain from online connections. You know, that crazy thing they call the internetz... You can actually use it to make money. I use to freelance write. It wasn't glorious work, but it paid out about 1 - 5 cents per word depending on what I was writing and how much. This would make me $10 - $20 dollars per hour. As a naive little 19 year old, this wasn't breaking the bank and would be tough to live on even in the USA, but in wonderful Thailand, I was making what most make in a week in one day. This was about 5 years ago. These two have a much more specialized freelance skill, which probably pays more but with less clients. Not enough to live off of in the USA with the inflated living costs, but more than enough for Thailand.

I offer freelance consulting in a professional field that now that makes me upwards of $200 per hour. To think I'm not working my ass off for it just because I don't have a proper "job" or a boss to push my papers to is absurd! Since when is owning your own business/being self-employed a bad thing?

Taxes - so long as they only stay in the US less than 1 month of the year and make less than 100k USD, they'll both only pay social security (15%). As an American, we are one of the only few countries that requires expatriates to pay income tax. Talk about getting screwed!

Let's talk about the price and quality of living. For $100 a week, I can feed myself thoroughly (at local restaurants), supply myself with plenty of drinking water, and take care of what needs to be taken care of. For 800$ a month, I can rent a 3 story brand new fully furnished town house in a lovely private village with all bills paid. For $5 I can get public transport to anywhere in the city (Bangkok) that I need to be. I don't own a motorbike but as you see they aren't spending much for it. When they move, they can sell it and probably get back 75% of what they bought it for. For another 1k a month, I can party all I want, eat nice food, and enjoy life more than the grumpy old men posting here. Considering bottle service in places like LA and LV can cost more than $1k just for a bottle of $100 champagne, this is a steal!

"Oh but its filthy they'll hate it! Oh but Thai's love to rip off foreigners, they'll hate it! Oh but its dangerous, they'll hate it!"

Why don't we let them make their own minds up? All I see here is old man QQ in and out, all day everyday. BUT STILL, all you grumpy old men continue to live here, and I'd like to think, enjoy it! So much hypocrisy, its insane! Thailand aint perfect, but I'll take it over a failing US economy, power hungry "spying on all your crap" government any day. Grow up, let the couple enjoy their stay (which they are and will), and go grump up with your grumpy self elsewhere. Are you just bored and have nothing else to do until your favorite beer bar opens? Or were you foolish enough to fall for the "sick buffalo" ploy and won't give up until everyone else agrees with you?

Edited November 13, 2013 by NotAnOldGrumpyMan

[lifeincnx]

Business Insider??

A story about a couple not able to face up realities, fleeing their responsibities!!

Good Us taxpayer money wasted on their "educations".

Not that I agree with all their decisions but please explain how taxpayer money was wasted on their education? Brooks Institute is a for-profit, private arts college, and not a public school? If they pay off their student loans JQ Public is not impacted.