Long timers - Is Thailand better or worse than 10 years ago?

[harrry]

AS you said yourself: " This is a proper useless rant" . So why bother the rest of us ?

"Proper useless rant" ah the quality " English teachers " they have in Thailand.... Sounds like an extra out of Eastender's or some other low class British soap..... During empire nobody spoke like this and if they did a good thrashing would be had

OMG! Soutpeel, I'm amazed how you can take each and every thread and turn it into an English teacher bash.

What's your issue with teachers?

They always gave him low marks.

[VocalNeal]

Traffic in BKK is worse than it was 10 years ago. That seemed to be the sweet spot for traffic.

[NeverSure]

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Wait. In my state, if you're low income you can get your property taxes deferred at age 65 for life. They build up as a lien but can't be collected until after you die. If you have heirs, they lose because the state gets paid first and the house must be sold, but owning a house for life is good enough for me if that's what I needed.

I don't know about other states because it applies only to a residence and not investment properties. Fair enough. But I can just see the fallout if a state started foreclosing on senior citizens and kicking them out of their homes for back taxes.

Someone said "wife." I don't have one for too many good reasons. Losing a house is one, doing what I want is one...

I don't buy the part about not needing a car. There are not buses all over Thailand that run the route I want to go.

Just buy THIS HOUSE and kick back. If you don't want a car get a scooter. Georgia has wonderful Southern weather.

Where would you want to go in Thailand that you couldn't get public transportation? Public transportation has gotten better in the past ten years. My point is you can live without a car in Thailand no problem. Most Thais don't have a car. That is impossible in many countries. PS when someone says something good about Thailand you really don't have to knee jerk reaction (its better in America). 1. It's not and 2. No one cares.

"Where would you want to go in Thailand that you couldn't get public transportation?"

Almost anywhere.

"PS when someone says something good about Thailand you really don't have to knee jerk reaction (its better in America). 1. It's not and 2. No one cares."

When someone from the US says he can get 6 - 8 times as much for his money in Thailand as he can in the US, he's going to get corrected. Even if he lives like a Thai he can't do that.

What's your issue? Are you stifling speech for a hobby?

Where would you want to go in Thailand that you couldn't get public transportation?

I can tell you that in Chiang Mai, there is some semblance of public transport, but it's not particularly convenient nor reliable. You really need your own transport if you value your freedom of movement. Even the Thais know this to be true. I've had Thais tell me that being without your own transport in CM is like not having legs. Of course, I'm sure there are expats in CM who'll say they do just fine without it. But I couldn't. About the only place I've been in Thailand where not having your own transport is doable (maybe even preferred) is BKK.

Agreed agreed agreed. Thank you.

[thailiketoo]

"Where would you want to go in Thailand that you couldn't get public transportation?"

Almost anywhere.

"PS when someone says something good about Thailand you really don't have to knee jerk reaction (its better in America). 1. It's not and 2. No one cares."

When someone from the US says he can get 6 - 8 times as much for his money in Thailand as he can in the US, he's going to get corrected. Even if he lives like a Thai he can't do that.

What's your issue? Are you stifling speech for a hobby?

All over Bangkok one does not need a car. All over Pattaya one does not need a car. I lived in CM for three years and had an arrangement with three tuk tuk drivers so never needed a car and got around just fine. Taxis here are a couple of hundred baht for 30 miles. You are 100% wrong about needing a car in Thailand. There are taxis, Vans, Song Taus, Tuk tuks and motorcycle taxis. It is the easiest country in the world to navigate without a car.

I'm not trying to stifle free speech. The topic is "Is Thailand better or worse than 10 years ago"

[NeverSure]

"Where would you want to go in Thailand that you couldn't get public transportation?"

Almost anywhere.

"PS when someone says something good about Thailand you really don't have to knee jerk reaction (its better in America). 1. It's not and 2. No one cares."

When someone from the US says he can get 6 - 8 times as much for his money in Thailand as he can in the US, he's going to get corrected. Even if he lives like a Thai he can't do that.

What's your issue? Are you stifling speech for a hobby?

All over Bangkok one does not need a car. All over Pattaya one does not need a car. I lived in CM for three years and had an arrangement with three tuk tuk drivers so never needed a car and got around just fine. Taxis here are a couple of hundred baht for 30 miles. You are 100% wrong about needing a car in Thailand. There are taxis, Vans, Song Taus, Tuk tuks and motorcycle taxis. It is the easiest country in the world to navigate without a car.

I'm not trying to stifle free speech. The topic is "Is Thailand better or worse than 10 years ago"

Do you think the sum of Thailand is BKK, Pattaya and CM? Do you realize that many expats would never live there? I say they are worse in many ways than 10 years ago and certainly more expensive.

Is it worse for an expat who moves to Thailand to save money? I say yes because in his home country he has health insurance and if needed a government and private support system, and those are costs. I believe it's harder to live on the basic government pension whatever it is than it was 10 years ago.

As for your stifling speech, no I don't appreciate you telling me what I shouldn't post. Someone from the US said the US was 7 - 8 times more expensive that LOS and I threw the BS flag and set about to prove it.

That's important for someone considering moving while thinking Thailand is comparatively cheap for a similar lifestyle. It's also important to know that if you're going to live cheaper you have to live more like a Thai.

Guys retire to Thailand and leave behind their health insurance and Senior Citizens advocates and other safety nets believing that nothing bad will happen and that they can get by on 30,000 bht pm. It ain't gonna happen long term because sooner or later they are going to need health care they can't afford and can't get and they are screwed.

Thailand is now for guys who are a bit more affluent and choose Thailand as a choice. It's no longer a haven for those who are skint.

[MonkeyLoo]

Wherever you live in the world you can always focus on the bad points and talk yourself out of it. I see it all the time. Positive people focus on the positives and life is what they make it wherever they are.

Thailand has a wealth of plus points, too many to list.

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[bkkden]

Let's go back 20 years.

Every heavy rain Sukhumvit Rd, flooded and the sewers backed up. You had to take of your shoes and socks and roll up your trousers and walk through the disgusting flood waters to go some where. Hotels put planks outside for you to walk on.

No overhead expressway or BTS. I had to go from Ekkamai to Sukhumvit 24. That could take 2 hours!!! People would get out of the taxi in the middle of the road to smoke a ciggy! People would get out of the taxi and go buy takeaway for the street side vendors and then come back to the taxi because it still hadn't moved yet!!this was the norm!! Who remembers those days?

The single stroke oil fired motor bikes (I think that's what they called them) spewing pollution would make you sick breathing the air as well. The air quality was so bad then I remember a medical study that said Bangkok residents where susceptible to chromosome damage!

Aids was rampant until the famous doctor ( don't remember the name) taught the public to use condoms.

Is Thailand better now. The nations infrastructure investments have made

life so much better for everyone all over the country! Just one small example of why It is much better now! Good job Thailand.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[thaibeachlovers]

You are a very black and white type of guy aren't you. Love shouldn't be nor does it need to be blind..........

You wrote, "Yes indeed. I will be filling up my company BMW and going to watch the 20/20 cricket over the weekend." Why would you think any of us care? You bragging about a BMW and watching cricket?

You really don't know how obviously jealous that is? And why come here and attempt to brag?

I'm not a black and white guy. I live in Thailand because I like Thailand. I don't have to badmouth the USA or another country on American websites. That would be so tacky.

This is a thread about the changes in Thailand during the last ten years not about how much better your life is since you left. You are gone. Get over it.

The point was that I must obviously be loaded to be able to live in the UK. Hardly true at all

I was living well in Thailand and I live well in the UK.

In Thailand I couldn't afford a BMW and was forking out an awful.lot of money for things that are largely free in the UK. That's the point.

Depending on how you live in thaikand and the UK, things can be very close in cost. I will.go back to Thailand one day, but not sure I or the missus will live there.

Its a big wide world out there.

.......and for many of us replying to this thread, it's about comparisons and how Thailand and its' peoples' attitudes have changed over the last few decades.

In the South, the most locals think they don't need us living here anymore, eg the foreigners that have built buisnesses here over the years alongside the locals. Local Southerners are often keen to impress how wealthy they are nowadays and their attitute has really changed, almost to the point of hatred towards us foreigners, whereas before, whilst relatively poorer, their attitute could have been excused as ignorance; today it is invariably 'intent'. Maybe they do or don't need us anymore, that's a debate for another thread but the point is that they often treat us with utter distain regardless of how good our Thai skills might be or how interwoven we might be in their society or how respectful and polite we might be towards them.

In Bangkok I suspect they are are all business like and probably have a nonchalent attitute towards foreigners enjoying life here, but I don't have any experience to quote.

And for my experience in Chiang Mai, they are a different breed altogether.

There is a saying/rule of thumb said by Thias that the further North you travel, the nicer the people. Never a truer one in my experience!

Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are perfect examples of this and I think that (the CM bookeseller/red avatar American guy based in CM, sorry forget his name) confirms this in a post on this topic a few pages back, says that he hasn't noticed any differences in the last decade. Well, I haven't either up North, but I sure have 'big time' in the South.

A few of my comparisons/observations when comparing lifestyles between here and UK are below....

* If you pay personal and corporation tax as many do in Thailand, that it is probably cheaper to live a moderate lifestyle in the UK, especially if you have kids and don't have to pay for international schools here.

* You can relax in the knowledge that you actually own your own home in the UK and judging by Samui and Phukets' prices, England aint half cheap!

* You can get a mortgage to buy that house

* No need to worry about a Karaoke bar or motorcycle repair shop opening next door to that expensive house that you have just bought.

* You have a sense of belonging and depending on where you live ( a sense of community) which is pleasant.

* Interestingly a poster earlier attached an article from the Guardian about loneliness, especailly with regard to the elderly and in particular, I think about the London area. Yes, we Bristish could learn alot from Asia regarding taking care of our elderly, we think that that is the job of the state and their pensions. We all guiltily know that a few quid doesn't make up for taking care of our elders when they most need it, but again, that is another thread perhaps.

* No need to worry about your child getting bitten on the face by some rampant, possibly rabbid dog, that can surprise you at random anywhere in the KIngdom.

* NHS is free (that's also another thread if one wants to praise or criticise it), but peronally I'm ever so grateful that we have it.

* And most importantly, as a citizen, I feel respected by others in my community. People are genuinely polite and courteous towards each other in the UK, something which in the South of Thailand, (with the exception of a handful of usually well educated Thais that I know well) I have rarely experienced.

There are loads more examples pro for a return to the UK and many, many more for remaining in Thailand. I for one, have enjoyed most of my time here, it has been a serious learning curve. I have learnt how to be patient and how lucky we are in the West to have been born there and more. I still don't get 'losing face', I've tried and I could go on and on and on, but I won't.

Well done OP for starting this thread, very enjoyable, thank you

< People are genuinely polite and courteous towards each other in the UK>

I can only comment about London, but I always felt it was dangerous to go out on the streets there, but Thailand feels very safe to me. Perhaps that is because there are few English people in London now.

The youths were almost always loud mouthed yobs, and the less said about the football hooligans the better. Street crime was very bad, and the place was filthy. Only thing better than Thailand that I can recall was the public transport ( for the most part ).

[thaibeachlovers]

Let's go back 20 years.

Every heavy rain Sukhumvit Rd, flooded and the sewers backed up. You had to take of your shoes and socks and roll up your trousers and walk through the disgusting flood waters to go some where. Hotels put planks outside for you to walk on.

No overhead expressway or BTS. I had to go from Ekkamai to Sukhumvit 24. That could take 2 hours!!! People would get out of the taxi in the middle of the road to smoke a ciggy! People would get out of the taxi and go buy takeaway for the street side vendors and then come back to the taxi because it still hadn't moved yet!!this was the norm!! Who remembers those days?

The single stroke oil fired motor bikes (I think that's what they called them) spewing pollution would make you sick breathing the air as well. The air quality was so bad then I remember a medical study that said Bangkok residents where susceptible to chromosome damage!

Aids was rampant until the famous doctor ( don't remember the name) taught the public to use condoms.

Is Thailand better now. The nations infrastructure investments have made

life so much better for everyone all over the country! Just one small example of why It is much better now! Good job Thailand.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

TWO stroke m'bikes.

The Dr was ( is ) Meechai.

I used to walk if it wasn't too far, as the buses didn't move.

[thaibeachlovers]

Neversure is spot on. The difference between Thailand and a lot of Western countries is it's possible to live poor in Thailand. In the West there are so many statutory demands (council tax, high utility bills, high rents) that you can't get off the hamster wheel.

Thailand offers (offered?) the chance to turn on, tune in and drop out.

Spot on and well said. Living on the cheap in Thailand is dropping out. There's little chance to make money, you can't own your home and land.

What's with I can buy a new well equipped Camry in the US for less than I can buy a Vios or City in Thailand? I can buy a new well equipped Ford F150 cheaper than I can buy a small something in Thailand. I can buy gas (petrol) for the F150 as cheap as I can buy it per mile for the small truck in Thailand.

Rents and taxes? Property taxes are cheap in Georgia. They won't be more than $1,000 a year.

Click on the mortgage calculator just below the price in the listing I linked above. You'll find that with $15,000 down, 485,000 bht) your payments would be $298.00 (9600 bht) per month at 4.3% simple interest. No prepayment penalty allowed in the US. That's cheaper than putting up 800,000 baht and renting something that nice in LOS. By far cheaper. And you own it, all in your own name with almost 4 rai.

Thailand has become expensive not only due to inflation, but due to import taxes, VAT...

One does not need to drive in Thailand because they have mass transit much more sophisticated than most places in America. What is your fetish with owning your own home? Your wife will just get it in the end anyway. Rent and have a girlfriend. Why do you try and turn every thread into a Thai vs USA thread?

Get it through your head. You don't need a car in Thailand and you don't need to own a house. Everything else is cheaper. It is now and was 10 years ago.

Although I will grant that at the rate illegals are pouring into the States it will be a third world country soon and everything will be the same.

I concur with everything you say.

It's cheaper NOT to own a car and hire one for the few times necessary. Why is it when I see a farang driving a car, it's always a huge truck? Is it a penis substitute?

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I can understand the attraction for our cash strapped pensioners, but for those not bound by financial restraints, why should they stay?

Every foreigner living in Thailand is bound by financial restraints!

Those without such boundaries won't be found living in Thailand.

(excluding Naam of course)

[MJP]

Neversure is spot on. The difference between Thailand and a lot of Western countries is it's possible to live poor in Thailand. In the West there are so many statutory demands (council tax, high utility bills, high rents) that you can't get off the hamster wheel.

Thailand offers (offered?) the chance to turn on, tune in and drop out.

Spot on and well said. Living on the cheap in Thailand is dropping out. There's little chance to make money, you can't own your home and land.

What's with I can buy a new well equipped Camry in the US for less than I can buy a Vios or City in Thailand? I can buy a new well equipped Ford F150 cheaper than I can buy a small something in Thailand. I can buy gas (petrol) for the F150 as cheap as I can buy it per mile for the small truck in Thailand.

Rents and taxes? Property taxes are cheap in Georgia. They won't be more than $1,000 a year.

Click on the mortgage calculator just below the price in the listing I linked above. You'll find that with $15,000 down, 485,000 bht) your payments would be $298.00 (9600 bht) per month at 4.3% simple interest. No prepayment penalty allowed in the US. That's cheaper than putting up 800,000 baht and renting something that nice in LOS. By far cheaper. And you own it, all in your own name with almost 4 rai.

Thailand has become expensive not only due to inflation, but due to import taxes, VAT...

One does not need to drive in Thailand because they have mass transit much more sophisticated than most places in America. What is your fetish with owning your own home? Your wife will just get it in the end anyway. Rent and have a girlfriend. Why do you try and turn every thread into a Thai vs USA thread?

Get it through your head. You don't need a car in Thailand and you don't need to own a house. Everything else is cheaper. It is now and was 10 years ago.

Although I will grant that at the rate illegals are pouring into the States it will be a third world country soon and everything will be the same.

I concur with everything you say.

It's cheaper NOT to own a car and hire one for the few times necessary. Why is it when I see a farang driving a car, it's always a huge truck? Is it a penis substitute?

I never understand this either. New English chap came to village some years back with possibly the fugliest old bird. Now this was a decent chap intent on a brand new SUV thing, cost of like 1.5m of the Thai Bahts.

So I ask prey tell what is this thing used for? Shopping.

How much was your car in the UK? Six grand (300k baht)

The light then dawned he'd left the brain at arrivals.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[thailiketoo]

"Where would you want to go in Thailand that you couldn't get public transportation?"

Almost anywhere.

"PS when someone says something good about Thailand you really don't have to knee jerk reaction (its better in America). 1. It's not and 2. No one cares."

When someone from the US says he can get 6 - 8 times as much for his money in Thailand as he can in the US, he's going to get corrected. Even if he lives like a Thai he can't do that.

What's your issue? Are you stifling speech for a hobby?

All over Bangkok one does not need a car. All over Pattaya one does not need a car. I lived in CM for three years and had an arrangement with three tuk tuk drivers so never needed a car and got around just fine. Taxis here are a couple of hundred baht for 30 miles. You are 100% wrong about needing a car in Thailand. There are taxis, Vans, Song Taus, Tuk tuks and motorcycle taxis. It is the easiest country in the world to navigate without a car.

I'm not trying to stifle free speech. The topic is "Is Thailand better or worse than 10 years ago"

Do you think the sum of Thailand is BKK, Pattaya and CM? Do you realize that many expats would never live there? I say they are worse in many ways than 10 years ago and certainly more expensive.

Is it worse for an expat who moves to Thailand to save money? I say yes because in his home country he has health insurance and if needed a government and private support system, and those are costs. I believe it's harder to live on the basic government pension whatever it is than it was 10 years ago.

As for your stifling speech, no I don't appreciate you telling me what I shouldn't post. Someone from the US said the US was 7 - 8 times more expensive that LOS and I threw the BS flag and set about to prove it.

That's important for someone considering moving while thinking Thailand is comparatively cheap for a similar lifestyle. It's also important to know that if you're going to live cheaper you have to live more like a Thai.

Guys retire to Thailand and leave behind their health insurance and Senior Citizens advocates and other safety nets believing that nothing bad will happen and that they can get by on 30,000 bht pm. It ain't gonna happen long term because sooner or later they are going to need health care they can't afford and can't get and they are screwed.

Thailand is now for guys who are a bit more affluent and choose Thailand as a choice. It's no longer a haven for those who are skint.

The thread is not about a comparison between Thailand and the US or UK. I just don't know why you guys keep harping on it. The last ten years I have been in Thailand 520 weeks. How about you? You think I can't add? Ten years ago I lived in a nice studio apartment for $90 dollars a month. I can still find a nice studio for $90 a month. Food is a lot cheaper. 10 years ago I didn't have a gas burner now I have two. 10 years ago my utilities were not subsidized by the Thai government; now they are; so cheaper. Song Taus were 10 baht for 10 miles now they are 10 baht for ten miles. Motorcycle taxis were 15 baht for 10 miles now they are 20 baht.

When I got here I was spending 2000 baht per day on entertainment. After five years the doctor told me to stop smoking and stop drinking and stop eating fatty foods. So that cut my entertainment expenses from 2000 baht per night to about 200. I started drawing my pension about 5 years ago. So how am I doing compared to 10 years ago? I'm in fat city.

I know I won't get any bashroo points for this but inflation in Thailand for the last ten years has not been that much. My pension has a cost of living thingy and the exchange rate has been doing well lately.

Fun is cheap here. Movies are much better than 10 years ago and about the same price. The theaters and malls are new. Going out to eat is cheap. Thai women eat cheap.

My legal expenses are nothing here. Back in the West one of my ex wives was always suing me to try and get money for something. They never won but I still had to go to court.

When I moved here 10 years ago I told them to sue me anytime their little black hearts wanted to.

Edit to add. 10 years ago I did not have a true Thai friend. Now I do. She is the best friend a man could want. She would give her life for me. Two years ago she was a little ball of mud and fur in the gutter. Now she is a big beautiful well groomed and respected guard dog. She is one of the biggest soi dogs I have ever seen; good food from the time she was a pup. I wanted a friend and a guy on Thai Visa recommended I get a dog. I did and he was right.

Edited July 5, 2014 by thailiketoo

[lormakmak]

why do people like yourself resort to saying that people (like myself who left Thailand to better myself and my career) have to go as far to say we couldn't make it there... you are so wrong fella, I left Thailand with more money than I started with.

I feel you are a bit like the average Somchai out there who can't take criticism and you are having a loss of face cyber style by having to scrape the barrel like that.

Act your age you soppy sod and debate the issues raised or is that a bit too much to ask?

I got no problem with that at all. Good for you. But why come back to Thai Visa and badmouth Thailand? I know you have had a number of bad experiences here. Do you feel better when you tell us all about them?

Do you think it will change mine or anyone else's behavior? This is a thread about Thailand over ten years and a guy comes along and tells me how much better he is to be driving a BMW and watching cricket! For gosh sakes why?

Does it make the hurt you suffered in Thailand less if you tell everyone here about it? How long are you going to continue doing so?

In one self help group they have a tree that you pin your past problems on and then they burn the tree.

It really does not help to constantly relive your emotional and physical past problems. Get over it and move on.

I never really suffered at the hands of Thailand, I really do not know where you get that from?

The only thing I find weird is the people that go there to re-invent themselves and delude themselves about their home country that they have most probably burnt all their bridges to.

I lived a great life in Thailand but when the time was right I upped sticks and moved back home to give it another go.... that is something many cannot and will not do who reside over there through fear of hard work and the unknown.

This is why many foreigners to Thailand land themselves in trouble dealing drugs, overstaying on visas or defrauding people which ever way they can.

Are you a real life Fraser Crane or something? self help groups

You wrote, "I never really suffered at the hands of Thailand, I really do not know where you get that from?

It came from your two topics below.

My soon to be ex Thai wife and her secret lesbian life.....

Wife has UK ILR approved then vanishes and tells me not t...

You got too much time on your hands wannabe shrink, I've not even looked at your past posts nor do I feel the need to!

For the record my marriage breakdown happened in the UK, well away from Thailand the place I still like & holiday in, it was painful at the time but I'm well over all that now.

I just pointed out some not so good things about living there to add to this discussion & answered when another poster came out with the same old boring clap-trap about the English weather, you have gone a whole lot further by profiling me and trawling through my posts..... That's weird stalker type behaviour in my book.

Far too much time on your hands over there pal, like many people I used to see on a daily basis when I lived there..... That's not healthy

[harrry]

Their was a time when you could walk down the sidewalks and the only thing blocking them was this pair. Nice guys, I used to pass them every morning and the never failed to say hello. Was away for a week and they ran over and asked me if I had been OK.

[MJP]

nipa.jpgTheir was a time when you could walk down the sidewalks and the only thing blocking them was this pair. Nice guys, I used to pass them every morning and the never failed to say hello. Was away for a week and they ran over and asked me if I had been OK.

That is so cool. Great pic too Harry.

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[harrry]

nipa.jpgTheir was a time when you could walk down the sidewalks and the only thing blocking them was this pair. Nice guys, I used to pass them every morning and the never failed to say hello. Was away for a week and they ran over and asked me if I had been OK.

That is so cool. Great pic too Harry.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Sadly not mine but I am sure whoever it was took it will not mind.

[thailiketoo]

I got no problem with that at all. Good for you. But why come back to Thai Visa and badmouth Thailand? I know you have had a number of bad experiences here. Do you feel better when you tell us all about them?

Do you think it will change mine or anyone else's behavior? This is a thread about Thailand over ten years and a guy comes along and tells me how much better he is to be driving a BMW and watching cricket! For gosh sakes why?

Does it make the hurt you suffered in Thailand less if you tell everyone here about it? How long are you going to continue doing so?

In one self help group they have a tree that you pin your past problems on and then they burn the tree.

It really does not help to constantly relive your emotional and physical past problems. Get over it and move on.

I never really suffered at the hands of Thailand, I really do not know where you get that from?

The only thing I find weird is the people that go there to re-invent themselves and delude themselves about their home country that they have most probably burnt all their bridges to.

I lived a great life in Thailand but when the time was right I upped sticks and moved back home to give it another go.... that is something many cannot and will not do who reside over there through fear of hard work and the unknown.

This is why many foreigners to Thailand land themselves in trouble dealing drugs, overstaying on visas or defrauding people which ever way they can.

Are you a real life Fraser Crane or something? self help groups

You wrote, "I never really suffered at the hands of Thailand, I really do not know where you get that from?

It came from your two topics below.

My soon to be ex Thai wife and her secret lesbian life.....

Wife has UK ILR approved then vanishes and tells me not t...

You got too much time on your hands wannabe shrink, I've not even looked at your past posts nor do I feel the need to!

For the record my marriage breakdown happened in the UK, well away from Thailand the place I still like & holiday in, it was painful at the time but I'm well over all that now.

I just pointed out some not so good things about living there to add to this discussion & answered when another poster came out with the same old boring clap-trap about the English weather, you have gone a whole lot further by profiling me and trawling through my posts..... That's weird stalker type behaviour in my book.

Far too much time on your hands over there pal, like many people I used to see on a daily basis when I lived there..... That's not healthy

If you don't mind a question. You don't live in Thailand. You have had bad experiences with Thai people as a casual perusal of your posting history will affirm. Why do you post on Thai Visa?

I hate St Louis. I have never been to a worse town. Nothing about it that I like. Yet I don't post on a St Louis forum about how bad the place is. See what I'm saying?

[plachon]

I don't remember those days of smiling and jokes at Don Muang tbh.

I tend to agree. Many things have changed in Thailand in the last 10 years (mostly for the worse), but the attitude of immigration has been a constant - surly and arrogant. I hate Heathrow, but the immigration are always civil there, and some even smile. An immigration officer in Bangkok saying Thailand is not LOS is ironic, to say the least.

[roamer]

I don't remember those days of smiling and jokes at Don Muang tbh.

......... I hate Heathrow, but the immigration are always civil there, .......

Actually I've always found it's quite a popular job for Asians, my IO yesterday was a Sikh complete with turban, odd as I'd had a similar experience at JFK, one was rude, one was polite. Leave you to work out which was which.

[wow64]

We do t want you here go back home......

Ps can you please take a picture of the receipt for the donation..100b

Sent from my c64

[rgs2001uk]

"Where would you want to go in Thailand that you couldn't get public transportation?"

Almost anywhere.

"PS when someone says something good about Thailand you really don't have to knee jerk reaction (its better in America). 1. It's not and 2. No one cares."

When someone from the US says he can get 6 - 8 times as much for his money in Thailand as he can in the US, he's going to get corrected. Even if he lives like a Thai he can't do that.

What's your issue? Are you stifling speech for a hobby?

All over Bangkok one does not need a car. All over Pattaya one does not need a car. I lived in CM for three years and had an arrangement with three tuk tuk drivers so never needed a car and got around just fine. Taxis here are a couple of hundred baht for 30 miles. You are 100% wrong about needing a car in Thailand. There are taxis, Vans, Song Taus, Tuk tuks and motorcycle taxis. It is the easiest country in the world to navigate without a car.

I'm not trying to stifle free speech. The topic is "Is Thailand better or worse than 10 years ago"

Do you think the sum of Thailand is BKK, Pattaya and CM? Do you realize that many expats would never live there? I say they are worse in many ways than 10 years ago and certainly more expensive.

Is it worse for an expat who moves to Thailand to save money? I say yes because in his home country he has health insurance and if needed a government and private support system, and those are costs. I believe it's harder to live on the basic government pension whatever it is than it was 10 years ago.

As for your stifling speech, no I don't appreciate you telling me what I shouldn't post. Someone from the US said the US was 7 - 8 times more expensive that LOS and I threw the BS flag and set about to prove it.

That's important for someone considering moving while thinking Thailand is comparatively cheap for a similar lifestyle. It's also important to know that if you're going to live cheaper you have to live more like a Thai.

Guys retire to Thailand and leave behind their health insurance and Senior Citizens advocates and other safety nets believing that nothing bad will happen and that they can get by on 30,000 bht pm. It ain't gonna happen long term because sooner or later they are going to need health care they can't afford and can't get and they are screwed.

Thailand is now for guys who are a bit more affluent and choose Thailand as a choice. It's no longer a haven for those who are skint.

The thread is not about a comparison between Thailand and the US or UK. I just don't know why you guys keep harping on it. The last ten years I have been in Thailand 520 weeks. How about you? You think I can't add? Ten years ago I lived in a nice studio apartment for $90 dollars a month. I can still find a nice studio for $90 a month. Food is a lot cheaper. 10 years ago I didn't have a gas burner now I have two. 10 years ago my utilities were not subsidized by the Thai government; now they are; so cheaper. Song Taus were 10 baht for 10 miles now they are 10 baht for ten miles. Motorcycle taxis were 15 baht for 10 miles now they are 20 baht.

When I got here I was spending 2000 baht per day on entertainment. After five years the doctor told me to stop smoking and stop drinking and stop eating fatty foods. So that cut my entertainment expenses from 2000 baht per night to about 200. I started drawing my pension about 5 years ago. So how am I doing compared to 10 years ago? I'm in fat city.

I know I won't get any bashroo points for this but inflation in Thailand for the last ten years has not been that much. My pension has a cost of living thingy and the exchange rate has been doing well lately.

Fun is cheap here. Movies are much better than 10 years ago and about the same price. The theaters and malls are new. Going out to eat is cheap. Thai women eat cheap.

My legal expenses are nothing here. Back in the West one of my ex wives was always suing me to try and get money for something. They never won but I still had to go to court.

When I moved here 10 years ago I told them to sue me anytime their little black hearts wanted to.

Edit to add. 10 years ago I did not have a true Thai friend. Now I do. She is the best friend a man could want. She would give her life for me. Two years ago she was a little ball of mud and fur in the gutter. Now she is a big beautiful well groomed and respected guard dog. She is one of the biggest soi dogs I have ever seen; good food from the time she was a pup. I wanted a friend and a guy on Thai Visa recommended I get a dog. I did and he was right.

Brilliant post, obviously written by someone who actually lives here, as opposed to our regular 2 week millionaires.

My best friend here is my bangkaew, name "ee" gaew, that dog would give her life for me, best friend a man/farang could ever have.

[NanLaew]

My dog pisses on my tires.

[rgs2001uk]

My dog pisses on my tires.

Great stuff, dog is just taking care of its master and laying down boundaries for other dogs.

The Thais where I live cant believe my dog speaks English and not Thai.

They try the usual, nang long see, I tell them say, sit, holy moly the dog sits.

The dog is that smart, I taught it to, sit, wait, eat.

After saying wait, the dog looks at me waiting for the order to eat.

The mrs couldnt believe it, one day she was busy doing the washing outside, she told the dog, sit wait, but forgot to tell het to eat, she came into the house 20 minutes later and the dog was still waiting to be told to eat.

I swear that dog is smarter than my mrs.

I come home drunk with a couple of Issan sausages, the dog is so happy to see me, the mrs gives me shit, the dog licks me, work that out.

[rgs2001uk]

Let's go back 20 years.

Every heavy rain Sukhumvit Rd, flooded and the sewers backed up. You had to take of your shoes and socks and roll up your trousers and walk through the disgusting flood waters to go some where. Hotels put planks outside for you to walk on.

No overhead expressway or BTS. I had to go from Ekkamai to Sukhumvit 24. That could take 2 hours!!! People would get out of the taxi in the middle of the road to smoke a ciggy! People would get out of the taxi and go buy takeaway for the street side vendors and then come back to the taxi because it still hadn't moved yet!!this was the norm!! Who remembers those days?

The single stroke oil fired motor bikes (I think that's what they called them) spewing pollution would make you sick breathing the air as well. The air quality was so bad then I remember a medical study that said Bangkok residents where susceptible to chromosome damage!

Aids was rampant until the famous doctor ( don't remember the name) taught the public to use condoms.

Is Thailand better now. The nations infrastructure investments have made

life so much better for everyone all over the country! Just one small example of why It is much better now! Good job Thailand.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Correct, everything so true.

I remember getting off a bus coming from Prakhanong heading to Asok, up about soi 35 way, the traffic was choka.

I got off the bus and started walking towards Nana, about 40 minutes later I got back on the same bus just as it had passed Asok, had to pay another 5 baht, should have kept my ticket LOL.

I remember walking up Suk rd with my trouser legs rolled up and shoes in my hand, even the tuk tuks and motorcycle taxis couldnt drive in the floods.

[lormakmak]

I got no problem with that at all. Good for you. But why come back to Thai Visa and badmouth Thailand? I know you have had a number of bad experiences here. Do you feel better when you tell us all about them?

Do you think it will change mine or anyone else's behavior? This is a thread about Thailand over ten years and a guy comes along and tells me how much better he is to be driving a BMW and watching cricket! For gosh sakes why?

Does it make the hurt you suffered in Thailand less if you tell everyone here about it? How long are you going to continue doing so?

In one self help group they have a tree that you pin your past problems on and then they burn the tree.

It really does not help to constantly relive your emotional and physical past problems. Get over it and move on.

I never really suffered at the hands of Thailand, I really do not know where you get that from?

The only thing I find weird is the people that go there to re-invent themselves and delude themselves about their home country that they have most probably burnt all their bridges to.

I lived a great life in Thailand but when the time was right I upped sticks and moved back home to give it another go.... that is something many cannot and will not do who reside over there through fear of hard work and the unknown.

This is why many foreigners to Thailand land themselves in trouble dealing drugs, overstaying on visas or defrauding people which ever way they can.

Are you a real life Fraser Crane or something? self help groups

You wrote, "I never really suffered at the hands of Thailand, I really do not know where you get that from?

It came from your two topics below.

My soon to be ex Thai wife and her secret lesbian life.....

Wife has UK ILR approved then vanishes and tells me not t...

You got too much time on your hands wannabe shrink, I've not even looked at your past posts nor do I feel the need to!

For the record my marriage breakdown happened in the UK, well away from Thailand the place I still like & holiday in, it was painful at the time but I'm well over all that now.

I just pointed out some not so good things about living there to add to this discussion & answered when another poster came out with the same old boring clap-trap about the English weather, you have gone a whole lot further by profiling me and trawling through my posts..... That's weird stalker type behaviour in my book.

Far too much time on your hands over there pal, like many people I used to see on a daily basis when I lived there..... That's not healthy

If you don't mind a question. You don't live in Thailand. You have had bad experiences with Thai people as a casual perusal of your posting history will affirm. Why do you post on Thai Visa?

I hate St Louis. I have never been to a worse town. Nothing about it that I like. Yet I don't post on a St Louis forum about how bad the place is. See what I'm saying?

But I don't hate Thailand!

[poweratradio]

You need a Thai woman or partner to calm down but just to get the 100 Baht for charity Get out get gone go back to UK

[poweratradio]

You're totally right. Both about treatment in Thailand and the reception you'll get when the saffron colored glasses crowd wakes up and start telling you to relax and enjoy life and smell and the roses and blah blah blah.

There's a lot of countries besides Thailand that are as nice or better. Really there are. When you go there you'll think 'why the hell did I waste so many years in a place that hated me.'

I am a many Thais

Really though, it was better ten years ago. It was cheaper, I was younger and you could do visa runs to your heart's content. I did hundreds of them.

Please give the list of hassle free places. "There's a lot of countries besides Thailand that are as nice or better. Really there are." I and many Thai's would love to know these places where??? "Places where you can own land in your own name. Places where you really can just show up and stay as long as you want with no hassle."

Perhaps your BudRight brain is just shooting us a load of dream fantasy here.

[poweratradio]

Did 18 years.

Finally ran out of love for it last year. Came home to the UK. Best thing I ever did.

You must have plenty of money to afford all these taxes, to run a car, to pay lots of income tax, council tax etc etc etc.You must also be happy to walk about in all that wind and rain, be stuck in huge traffic jams (not just in the cities, everywhere) almost every time you go into your car.

No thanks, even allowing for about 90% of drivers and riders having very little road sense, I will just stay here.

Is that all you got? it's 27 degrees in London today and not a cloud in sight....

difference is if I have an accident on the road in the UK then at least i've got a chance at the hospital for them to patch me up.... I wish you well to whatever chop shop you end up in out there if that ever happens....(not that I wish it to)

lived in both places, Thailands great for a holiday and bit of time out or maybe a few years work on expat salary but full time.... I agree with the OP and the fella who has the silly cow turning up for the interview at the wrong time cos it suited her.... mind you kudos to her being 4 hours early

Having a heart attack. Time from front door of hospital to hooked up, sensors, a heart specialist, 4 nurses in the ICU? 2 minutes. Where do you think?

Nowhere in the world did that happen or will happen in 2 minutes. Get real.... Perhaps you were busy sweeping the ER steps when your ticker lost time and you fainted.

[Benmart]

May I recommend Devon?

Oh man... You think I'm that guy? Devon? Frigging Devon?

I'm gonna get blasted on this thread. I can see it coming a mile off already.....

I won't "blast you"...it's not my place to do so.

Your comments may have personal validity and it is indeed unfortunate.

I've been coming to Thailand since 1993 and live here now. When I find that the enjoyment factor has run its course, I will seek greener pastures.

Good luck to you and happy travels.