would you still feel comfortable in your home country?

[wym]

I'd say this thread has veered way off course.

I'd agree.

-snip-

Look at the stats on blacks in the US jail system - they get locked up for the things suburban white kids get away with all the time. . .

I don't believe that. Please show me some credible sources. Not sources that may say that there are more blacks in jail than whites - that could simply mean that more blacks commit crimes?

Or, we could agree to disagree. I just don't believe a cop would care whether it was a black or white he caught doing a robbery or possessing meth or even speeding. I think either would get busted just as quickly.

Personal experience, both my own and minority friends in New York, Boston, Chicago and L.A.

The mayor of NY has been open on the record about on-the-ground enforcement there being very much unfairly discriminatory to blacks.

I got caught in possession many times and even street dealing in my teens, but as a white preppy they let me off with warnings only, Worst penalty was a ticket-type penalty for loitering. Actually getting beat up in Boston's "Battle Zone", but they were doing me a favor since they knew I was attending an elite school there and didn't want to blight my permanent record.

Many parts of the country if a black gets "uppity" with local law enforcement they'll bust him upside the head and fabricate a case out of thin air, he gets locked up for years and years.

All of this is common enough experience so as to be nearly universal, if you really don't know about it means you simply don't have many black friends and/or don't break the law very much.

Edited February 9, 2014 by wym

[belg]

according to some posters, that like to not look at facts, excuse me, where do you get your correct information if it is not from non-sensational newspapers, we have official newspapers, not like FOX in USA, that report on crime

official figures from the department of correctional institutions, you also will go say these are manipulated political figures?

at least here in thailand, you steal , rob, kill => you got your 5 min of fame & fingerpoining in the media or a 500 baht fine when you know the right people

[spidermike007]

Going back to the US to live would be a daunting prospect. Most of the people I run into back there are run down, depressed, bitter, lacking humor, and just plain old unfulfilled. Of course there are exceptions. But, I am talking about people without big money. They are really struggling, as the middle class has all but disappeared, and been stolen by the government and the rich. It is a fairly joyless existence. And if you happen to be over 50, even if you are still good looking, and in good shape, the only women you get attention from are the ones your own age. Make of that what you will, but I do not find it encouraging. I love getting a warm smile from a 20 something clerk in a shop here. It warms my heart! So many other aspects of life here make me smile on a daily basis. And I am always hunting for good Thai food back there! Hard to find. I have my fair share of complaints here, but I would sorely miss this place if I had to leave.

What, are you saying people in the USA engage in normal social relationships, for the most part, and you don't see pot-bellied men carousing with women young enough to be their great grandchildren? Warms your "heart," yeah right, is that the euphemism these days?

Sorry you have an issue with that. Myself, I say whatever makes a man happy, is fine, as long as he is not hurting anyone. Are you suggesting he is somehow hurting someone by being with a younger woman? Are you offended by that? Why? Have you bothered to look deep within yourself to figure out what the root cause of this bother is? Or, are you saying it is ok for an older man to be with a younger woman, as long as he does not have a pot belly?

[wym]

according to some posters, that like to not look at facts, excuse me, where do you get your correct information if it is not from non-sensational newspapers, we have official newspapers, not like FOX in USA, that report on crime

official figures from the department of correctional institutions, you also will go say these are manipulated political figures?

So please point to your "reliable official" sources for the below

my country had 1.000.000 new immigrants in 10 years, with a population that was believed never to have more than 10 million...

some SHAMELESS politicians (socialists) imported them, to keep their votes

10 years later, about 1% is WORKING, and the rest

siphoning the system - Unemployment benefits, Pension

85% of the prisons is full of foreigners, and in particular from a certain ethnic group

[willyumiii]

Cold weather...

No ice in my beer.....

Women who act and look like men....

No!

I would not feel comfortable there at all!

[NHT]

Cold weather...

No ice in my beer.....

Women who act and look like men....

No!

I would not feel comfortable there at all!

Sure everybody has its motives, and many have as little IQ, that's why Thailand is known for, as what it is known for!

[Munger]

i am not the kind that says : they steal our jobs ...blabla

What you do say is far worse.

Back it up - documentd FACTS please with credible sources.

If you don't have them, then how could you know you haven't been brainwashed by xenophobic fascist hate-mongers?

something called: several independant newspapers / the local news / television stations

official crime statistics

Look at the stats on blacks in the US jail system - they get locked up for the things suburban white kids get away with all the time. . .

NONSENSE, as usual "wym". You need to get a life

[perdido]

....am really tempted to escape-from UK!!!

[spidermike007]

Cold weather...

No ice in my beer.....

Women who act and look like men....

No!

I would not feel comfortable there at all!

The last statement is the very embodiment of what is wrong with the west. And the women have conditioned the men to believe that women acting like men is acceptable. The average woman in the west is pathologically afraid of their own femininity. They perceive it as a weakness, when it is in reality their greatest source of power. Their utter masculinity is so devoid of appeal. Why would I want to be with a woman who is more masculine than myself?

[fifthcolumn]

I could see my wife and self going back to states for a year. She has been a few times and will go a few more, but she wants the experience of living in the US. I have no idea where we would go. I hate So CA now, NW is gloomy, east coast is ok but meh. The South, not really. Especially Texas <deleted>. The rest is landlocked. The SW is great for a few months at a time. Think maybe I would buy a car and just camp everywhere for a year. I'm too old to go back and start my dream lifestyle. Living off the grid, permaculture...Owning property freaks me out, its so permanent.

Most of you are old geezers. Old, but most importantly unhealthful. Thailand is your last gasp. You never had a bucket list, so Thailand is just a catchall. Mainly pussy. For UK and EU mongers Thailand makes sense, closest fleshpot. US has Central and South America, most Yanks down there, but tropical Thailand has its own appeal that is not Argentina and much of Central, South America is truly dangerous (and some getting better).

I have serious issues with buying anything here, but this is where the wife will die (myself as well no doubt). So maybe about 72++. US has some great property deals. Living there not so difficult, just stay away from people haha. Unsure I want my wife to deal with selling property in US after I am gone. No idea what that might hold.

Most of you truly have one foot in the grave so it is easy to say - Thailand, my home blah blah. You are done in ten years. The rest of us need to think where will Thailand be in 30 years. Not only for the wife but us - and maybe kids. I see Philippines, not Singapore. Better conditions because unlike stupid Philippinos, Thai use birth control.

I see return as inevitable unless you have serious cash if you have kids. Schools here are horrible.

The only thing holding this magic together is depressed wages. Cartels and monopolies push prices and labor down. Great for those at the top and tourists. This can disappear easily in a number of ways if and when it does, that genie cannot be put back in the bottle.

There are a few countries I would like to live in and many trips I want to make before I kick my heels up in Thailand and kill myself. Luckily, I married an adventurer. I plan on doing that before I come to Thailand and declare my life finished thank you.

We get out to see and enjoy this awesome planet before it's gone and my health precludes island hopping, mountain climbing and jungle trekking.

My hunch is, in the end all you old coots go back home. You seek out some family member who can care for you or at leadt manage the care for you. You get all that "free" socialist healthcare and you die with some sad and vague memory of the time some pretty woman paid attention to you conveniently forgetting - you paid for it.

You are all here because it's cheap. No harm in that I guess. You certainly not here for the food.

Who knows the future, even with a Thai wife I'm not married to Thailand. I have been here long enough to know what it is and is not. It is not a good investment, nor an ultra long play.

If you think it is greasy now, politics a mess and visas tedious. Well, you are in for a bumpy retirement because nothing looks like it is going to get better in the decade ahead. Again, if you are 75 you dont give a F.

Every one of you go on about how you love it here, blah blah. Few have real committment.

Who knows, maybe both of us will return to US to suck off the govt Medicare teet. Get us some of that Fox News Obama socialism. Bwah.

Edited February 11, 2014 by fifthcolumn

[canuckamuck]

I could see my wife and self going back to states for a year. She has been a few times and will go a few more, but she wants the experience of living in the US. I have no idea where we would go. I hate So CA now, NW is gloomy, east coast is ok but meh. The South, not really. Especially Texas <deleted>. The rest is landlocked. The SW is great for a few months at a time. Think maybe I would buy a car and just camp everywhere for a year. I'm too old to go back and start my dream lifestyle. Living off the grid, permaculture...Owning property freaks me out, its so permanent.

Most of you are old geezers. Old, but most importantly unhealthful. Thailand is your last gasp. You never had a bucket list, so Thailand is just a catchall. Mainly pussy. For UK and EU mongers Thailand makes sense, closest fleshpot. US has Central and South America, most Yanks down there, but Thailand has its own appeal that is not Argentina and much of South America is truly dangerous (and some getting better).

I have serious issues with buying anything here, but this is where the wife will die (myself as well). So maybe about 72++. US has some great property deals, but we could never live there. I would not want my wife also to deal with selling property in US after I am gone. No idea what that might hold.

Most of you truly have one foot in the grave. The rest of us need to think where will Thailand be in 30 years. I see Philippines, not Singapore. Better conditions because unlike stupid Philippinos, Thai use birth control.

The only thing holding this magic together is depressed wages. Cartels and monopolies push prices and labor down. Great for those at the top and tourists. This can disappear easily in a number of ways.

There are a few countries I would like to live in and many trips I want to make before I kick my heels up in Thailand and kill myself. Luckily, I married an adventurer. I plan on doing that before I come to Thailand and declare my life finished thank you.

We have about ten years of seeing what is left of this awesome planet before it's gone and my health precludes mountain climbing and jungle trekking.

My hunch is, in the end all you old coots go back home. You seek out some family member who can care for you or at leadt manage the care for you. You get all that "free" socialist healthcare and you die with some sad and vague memory of the time some pretty woman paid attention to you conveniently forgetting - you paid for it.

You are all here because it's cheap. No harm in that I guess. You certainly not here for the food.

Who knows the future, even with a Thai wife I'm not married to Thailand. I have been here long enough to know what it is and is not. It is not a good investment, nor an ultra long play.

If you think it is greasy now, politics a mess and visas tedious. Well, you are in for a bumpy retirement because nothing looks like it is going to get better in the decade ahead.

Every one of you go on about how you love it here, blah blah. Few have real committment.

Who knows, maybe both of us will return to US to suck off the govt Medicare teet. Get us some of that Fox News Obama socialism. Bwah.

So bitter, how did you get that way? Some of us are quite pleased with our choices.

[fifthcolumn]

So bitter, how did you get that way? Some of us are quite pleased with our choices.

Some.

Most aren't. I have been here a very, very long time and what I see, the guys I see in the streets in the larger Thai cities are not men enjoying themselves. They are unhealthy men eeking out an existence. Judging by the guys I see in the streets, you all find the heat unbearable.

You also, judging by this board refuse to do snything the local way. Visa runs are done by plane and visa services. You whine endlessly about lack of western food. You constantly berate the female population.

First and foremost, you must acknowledge that Thailand is a fleshpot and that is why most men are here. Not doing so is not being honest.

These guys would leave Thailand faster if therevwas a total clampdown on prostitution than if the govt decending into utter chaos. Like 2010?

To those with homes, wives, kids, long standing business, adventurers, avid travelers, farmers, golfers, birders, divers and outdoors people - hats off, you are enjoying your life and what the country has to offer.

The rest are just fooling themselves. Sad old fools.

Edited February 11, 2014 by fifthcolumn

[Ulysses G.]

And the women have conditioned the men to believe that women acting like men is acceptable. The average woman in the west is pathologically afraid of their own femininity. They perceive it as a weakness, when it is in reality their greatest source of power.

Actually, it is the left-wing press - men and women - and they actively encourage it as being "progress".

Edited February 11, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[canuckamuck]

So bitter, how did you get that way? Some of us are quite pleased with our choices.

Some.

Most aren't. I have been here a very, very long time and what I see, the guys I see in the streets in the larger Thai cities are not men enjoying themselves. They are unhealthy men eeking out an existence. Judging by the guys I see in the streets, you all find the heat unbearable.

You also, judging by this board refuse to do snything the local way. Visa runs are done by plane and visa services. You whine endlessly about lack of western food. You constantly berate the female population.

First and foremost, you must acknowledge that Thailand is a fleshpot and that is why most men are here. Not doing so is not being honest.

These guys would leave Thailand faster if therevwas a total clampdown on prostitution than if the govt decending into utter chaos. Like 2010?

To those with homes, wives, kids, long standing business, adventurers, avid travelers, farmers, golfers, birders, divers and outdoors people - hats off, you are enjoying your life and what the country has to offer.

The rest are just fooling themselves. Sad old fools.

Men whose primary source of advice comes from their nuts will not be happy with the long term results. However I think most expats are not as simply described as such.

Edited February 11, 2014 by canuckamuck

[spidermike007]

And the women have conditioned the men to believe that women acting like men is acceptable. The average woman in the west is pathologically afraid of their own femininity. They perceive it as a weakness, when it is in reality their greatest source of power.

Actually, it is the left-wing press - men and women - and they actively encourage it as being "progress".

I do believe that it is both the men and women who encourage it. But, that is due to the fact that very, very, very few American men have actual possession of their cajones. Their women keep it in safe possession for them. I know of so few men back there that insist on remaining a fully intact man, while with their women. And I know of very, very few women back there who are comfortable allowing a man, to be a real man. It is a real issue for them. A man must lay down, and surrender, or she cannot be with him. He cannot maintain his free will. Very few exceptions. A lot of men will argue that they are the exception. But, lets see them make a financial decision without their wives permission. Or lets see them make a decision to visit their friend out of state, without their permission. Etc, etc, etc.

[fifthcolumn]

What I read here:

♥ There is not so much professed love for Thailand, but rather a few reasons you feel* you can't return. Oh, but you can, and you will.

Most of you on TV arrive old and retired. Retired from work and retired from life.

You don't like the cold

You can't get any tail

It's too expensive

This is the TV expat. Let's be honest, it's been stated a dozen times in this thread.

In fairness, a big thumbs up to those who elaborated why they want to stay here.

I would be very interested in stats on how many foreigners die (retirees) here. Scant few, the ones that get caught out due to health. So all you guys in poor health above 70, start making plans for the door. Back home you have medical insurance and competent care, and there is nothing wrong with that. Just don't go blathering on about how you can't go back.

Some of us really can't go back. You know this when you try and fail two or three times. And it's not about Thailand, it's about being an alien in uour own country. If you feel like Nicaragua is more inviting than Nebraska or North Carolina and you have never been to Nicaragua, you can't go back. Until you have this understanding of yourself, you can and will go back. You are a short timer.

[NHT]

So bitter, how did you get that way? Some of us are quite pleased with our choices.

Some.

Most aren't. I have been here a very, very long time and what I see, the guys I see in the streets in the larger Thai cities are not men enjoying themselves. They are unhealthy men eeking out an existence. Judging by the guys I see in the streets, you all find the heat unbearable.

You also, judging by this board refuse to do snything the local way. Visa runs are done by plane and visa services. You whine endlessly about lack of western food. You constantly berate the female population.

First and foremost, you must acknowledge that Thailand is a fleshpot and that is why most men are here. Not doing so is not being honest.

These guys would leave Thailand faster if therevwas a total clampdown on prostitution than if the govt decending into utter chaos. Like 2010?

To those with homes, wives, kids, long standing business, adventurers, avid travelers, farmers, golfers, birders, divers and outdoors people - hats off, you are enjoying your life and what the country has to offer.

The rest are just fooling themselves. Sad old fools.

Do you realise how many likes you get (and I)?

That should tell you everything who is here and likes it here.

Did you also notice what post get's censored out and which can stay on this (won't name any color) forum?

That should tell you everything who is staying here as fools and happy posting here ...

;-)

Tells you everything, doesn't it.

Hope they get what they want, and then it will be 100% worse than China, which opens up more and more, while this circus is about to close down.

Edited February 11, 2014 by NHT

[thailiketoo]

So bitter, how did you get that way? Some of us are quite pleased with our choices.

Some.

Most aren't. I have been here a very, very long time and what I see, the guys I see in the streets in the larger Thai cities are not men enjoying themselves. They are unhealthy men eeking out an existence. Judging by the guys I see in the streets, you all find the heat unbearable.

You also, judging by this board refuse to do snything the local way. Visa runs are done by plane and visa services. You whine endlessly about lack of western food. You constantly berate the female population.

First and foremost, you must acknowledge that Thailand is a fleshpot and that is why most men are here. Not doing so is not being honest.

These guys would leave Thailand faster if therevwas a total clampdown on prostitution than if the govt decending into utter chaos. Like 2010?

To those with homes, wives, kids, long standing business, adventurers, avid travelers, farmers, golfers, birders, divers and outdoors people - hats off, you are enjoying your life and what the country has to offer.

The rest are just fooling themselves. Sad old fools.

Do you realise how many likes you get (and I)?

That should tell you everything who is here and likes it here.

Did you also notice what post get's censored out and which can stay on this (won't name any color) forum?

That should tell you everything who is staying here as fools and happy posting here ...

;-)

Tells you everything, doesn't it.

Hope they get what they want, and then it will be 100% worse than China, which opens up more and more, while this circus is about to close down.

Fifth Column has 55 likes and you 38 and I have 792. Now what is that supposed to tell me? In English please.

[Seastallion]

That's a really good question. The short answer is No, and I come from arguably the best part of Oz, with some of the world's best beaches and environment. But Oz is rapidly becoming the most expensive place on the planet to live in. More importantly, I like the unpredictability here, despite the current situation. I have enough friends, I'm never bored, life is simple,still relatively cheap, and there is not a regulation for everything.

I do miss Oz and it's still home, but only for a holiday to see relatives and friends. I would find it hard to fit in back there, especially as I'm semi retired.

You must be from Avalon/Palm Beach.

[Seastallion]

And the women have conditioned the men to believe that women acting like men is acceptable. The average woman in the west is pathologically afraid of their own femininity. They perceive it as a weakness, when it is in reality their greatest source of power.

Actually, it is the left-wing press - men and women - and they actively encourage it as being "progress".

I do believe that it is both the men and women who encourage it. But, that is due to the fact that very, very, very few American men have actual possession of their cajones. Their women keep it in safe possession for them. I know of so few men back there that insist on remaining a fully intact man, while with their women. And I know of very, very few women back there who are comfortable allowing a man, to be a real man. It is a real issue for them. A man must lay down, and surrender, or she cannot be with him. He cannot maintain his free will. Very few exceptions. A lot of men will argue that they are the exception. But, lets see them make a financial decision without their wives permission. Or lets see them make a decision to visit their friend out of state, without their permission. Etc, etc, etc.

You have a strange idea of what it is to be a "real man".Is making financial decisions without his life-partner/love a sign of "real" manliness? Or going out of state? I would say that is a sign of a man who does not have respect for his partner. I would say the man with real cajones is the one who loves and trusts his wife enough to relinquish his hold on the purse strings and doesn't care what other men think about it.

Having said that, I do agree that the West has many hen-pecked husbands and too-strong-for-their-own-good women.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Seastallion

[Munger]

Cold weather...

No ice in my beer.....

Women who act and look like men....

Wow, no ice in beer.

And how many men that dont want their own woman (act and look like men), end up in Issan with a woman that looks like,acts like, and is a prostitute

[thailiketoo]

Cold weather...

No ice in my beer.....

Women who act and look like men....

Wow, no ice in beer.

And how many men that dont want their own woman (act and look like men), end up in Issan with a woman that looks like,acts like, and is a prostitute

Relax. Every country is different. Some the women act like men and others the men act like women.

[thailampang2012]

I had my doubts in to be back to the US before....but... after walking my dogs free of leash on a beautiful park close to my home in Chiang Rai....never again. I glad I didn't have small children when I was living in the US....Now, not only dogs.....

US parents walks their kids with a leash too!

Edited February 11, 2014 by thailampang2012

[impulse]

Would I feel comfortable back home?

If my employer were to start mailing my paychecks back home, I could have my BKK apartment packed up, my crap sold off and be back there to cash it before the first one got delivered by the post office. Or I could stay here a while longer if they keep the paychecks coming.

I've had approximately 50 mailing addresses since I left college. Thailand would rank about the middle of the pack in terms of places I've enjoyed living. I like it here just fine, but I'd leave in a heartbeat with no regrets if the paycheck weren't involved.

As an aside, I get all gloomy and doomy when I read the mainstream news about just how bad it is back in the USA. But when I talk to anyone in my family, they're all doing very well. I guess news stories about middle class folks living their normal lives just don't make headlines and generate clicks and ad money. Buying houses, graduating college, getting married, having kids, retiring to live on the river, traveling internationally, getting promotions and raises, winning Little League games- all very ho-hum. Unless it's the folks you care about in the stories...

[jackinbkk]

I got to live in Thailand 2008 to 2010. Loved every minute of it. Only money was an issue. I may have stood a better chance not moving out there during an economic catastrophe.

By early 2010 there was no choice but to head back to the UK for work. I eventually got a good job and brought my Thai wife over. She's just started working and she's never been so flush with cash.

She works very hard and I think people actually take advantage of her. In time we will sort something better out.

I like the relaxed Thai style of living but then it is nice to know what drivers on the road will do here. I know I wont see a car coming the wrong way up a road, most of the time. I wont need to watch out for a bike on any and every flat surface. Then again I know any little mistake is instant fines over here and some cop who thinks he's a frikin genius. It's also great to have the NHS. Yes I pay taxes but I never have to worry about medical care. I hate to see the system abused though. That's a whole other topic.

I never wanted to come back to the UK. The climate depresses me. I spend every minute thinking about my next trip out of the country which now is only holidays. Last year it was Thailand, Florida, Florida, Barcelona and Thailand again. It's not good to be somewhere you want to get away from. Months and months of work for a few days of happiness. Luckily I like my job and it pays well. The quality of life is certainly better in Thailand in my opinion. Many will have less money being there, but there has to be a balance. It's probably why California is so popular.

[maccaroni man]

After 16 yrs in Asia I have been back in the USA 1.5 yrs. It has many qualities that make life easy and convenient, the cost of living is on par with island living in Asia. My pet peeves is big brother at every turn, fruit and vegetables being more costly than meat, loud vicious pack mentality soccer moms and no bum sprays. It will never be home and neither will Thailand. I want to explore a bit more

[ihunnieibee]

I'm American and some of the things I miss in America are comedy and people in-line with my sense of humor and food stuff which I don't really need anyways.

Work ethic here would have me slipping up back home, I can be a total slacker here and look like I'm doing a ton of work compared to my Thai co-workers (in most cases)

I have this love/hate relationship with Thailand as I'm sure most people do.

I really do go back n forth -- I miss USA when I'm here... When I'm in USA when I'm in Thailand

;_;

Edited February 11, 2014 by ihunnieibee

[tim armstrong]

Seastallion, - actually its Byron Bay.

[wym]

Man used to love them festivals at Nimbin back in the day, but if I'd stayed would never've got sober. . .

[perdido]

....maybe the, metaphorically speaking, well-rounded individual feels comfortable wherever s/he is/goes........as a man who was once advised by a young medic, ''...you just don't fit in ANYWHERE'', and has received the (to me) accolade ''maverick'', countless times, and who does not feel particularly at home in his own country of Scotland, and only marginally better in North of England, have to say felt much more at home during the short time ,if you'll pardon the expression, (29 nites) was in Pattaya, 'bout 18 months ago........So, looking forward to another, more extended, bash at the land formerly known as Siam........addendum per my long dead countryman James Boswell, in HIS day('bout 250 years ago), the whole of developed Europe bore a striking resemblance to Thailand, in terms of the availability, and normality of commercial licentiousness....even if one don't eat, say, sturgeon roe, it's good to know it's available;'gather ye rosebuds, while you may'......have a great day, wherever you are...