Have We All Just Settled For Second Best?

[CharlieH]

Each to their own. One mans food is anothers poison.

All a matter of personal circumstance and taste.

[thailiketoo]

 

 

 

Envy might kick in if you owned a condo in Monte Carlo or an 18th century farmhouse in Provence or a vineyard in Tuscanny.

 

Envy would definitely kick in if you enjoyed blissful retirement in a Caribbean villa.

 

So you envy people who live in these places and have these things?  I certainly don't.

 

I wish I had a condo in Monaco or a villa in the Caribbean, but I don't envy those who do. 

 

My point is that very few people envy those of us who live here in Thailand.

 

 

Most people in the USA that I know get Thailand and Taiwan mixed up.  I don't think they really give a hoot unless it is down the street from them.  What I have duplicated in Manhattan would cost millions and I wouldn't like it as much but people from NYC think their poop don't stink so you could be in the South of France or Monaco and they would just feel sorry for you not being in the big apple.  
 

[lormakmak]

I have read a lot of these type of posts/topics on this forum and having lived a good part of my life and early years in Thailand between 25-35 years old and now back here in the UK I digress as to where the real happiness is to be found....

 

some days on my drive to work in Thailand I would be happy go lucky and singing along to the tunes in the car....others I would be full of rage as some soppy sod on a bike decided to pull out on me and nearly kill themselves and what goes with that is hassle and the obvious cost etc...

 

some days on my commute on the train into the city of London I am happy go lucky, polite and courteous to my fellow travelling commuters.. other days I hate everyone and am irritated by anything!

 

both places are crap if you are skint..... that's about the only thing I can make of it!!!

Edited August 14, 2014 by lormakmak

[AnotherOneAmerican]

 

 

 

 

Envy might kick in if you owned a condo in Monte Carlo or an 18th century farmhouse in Provence or a vineyard in Tuscanny.

 

Envy would definitely kick in if you enjoyed blissful retirement in a Caribbean villa.

 

So you envy people who live in these places and have these things?  I certainly don't.

 

I wish I had a condo in Monaco or a villa in the Caribbean, but I don't envy those who do. 

 

My point is that very few people envy those of us who live here in Thailand.

 

 

Most people in the USA that I know get Thailand and Taiwan mixed up.  I don't think they really give a hoot unless it is down the street from them.  What I have duplicated in Manhattan would cost millions and I wouldn't like it as much but people from NYC think their poop don't stink so you could be in the South of France or Monaco and they would just feel sorry for you not being in the big apple.  
 

 

 

Not to mention Austria and Australia!

[JLCrab]

... or Auckland & Oakland?

 

http://articles.latimes.com/1985-04-03/local/me-28522_1_europe-vacation

 

 

[mrtoad]

Looks like another thread set up to bash Thailand. A lot of desperately unhappy people out there at present. 

 

If a person is happy, then they certainly aren't settling for second best. 

[thailiketoo]

Looks like another thread set up to bash Thailand. A lot of desperately unhappy people out there at present. 

 

If a person is happy, then they certainly aren't settling for second best. 

 

Misery loves company and by bashing Thailand the miserable try to pull those living the dream/fantasy or whatever in Thailand down to their level.  Since there are more miscreant's than happy folk it makes sense to have a plethora of topics dealing with all sorts of wrongdoing, evil and other nasty things. 

 

Anyone can try it out.  Ask a simple question like how to get from point A to point B and the responses are

 

1.  Why do you want to go to B?  2.  B is a trash magnate without proper food, drink or people.  3.  Nothing in B is worth seeing can't hold a candle to ___________.  4.  That is the dumbest post I've read all day long.  I wish all I had to worry about was getting from point A to point B. 
 

[AnotherOneAmerican]

 

Looks like another thread set up to bash Thailand. A lot of desperately unhappy people out there at present. 

 

If a person is happy, then they certainly aren't settling for second best. 

 

Misery loves company and by bashing Thailand the miserable try to pull those living the dream/fantasy or whatever in Thailand down to their level.  Since there are more miscreant's than happy folk it makes sense to have a plethora of topics dealing with all sorts of wrongdoing, evil and other nasty things. 

 

Anyone can try it out.  Ask a simple question like how to get from point A to point B and the responses are

 

1.  Why do you want to go to B?  2.  B is a trash magnate without proper food, drink or people.  3.  Nothing in B is worth seeing can't hold a candle to ___________.  4.  That is the dumbest post I've read all day long.  I wish all I had to worry about was getting from point A to point B. 
 

 

 

You forgot,

If I were going to point B, I wouldn't start from point A.

[JLCrab]

Looks like another thread set up to bash Thailand. A lot of desperately unhappy people out there at present. 

 

If a person is happy, then they certainly aren't settling for second best. 

Then maybe that person is a deluded fool whose wife is looking to leave him without a pot to piss in and she can take the money and have a good time with her 'brother ' -- (just saving somebody else the effort)

[mrtoad]

 

Looks like another thread set up to bash Thailand. A lot of desperately unhappy people out there at present. 

 

If a person is happy, then they certainly aren't settling for second best. 

Then maybe that person is a deluded fool whose wife is looking to leave him without a pot to piss in and she can take the money and have a good time with her 'brother ' -- (just saving somebody else the effort)

 

Who knows? 

 

I think a few of the moaners probably don't have a pot to piss in, and there missing is getting rogered by her "brother". 

[DrTuner]

Could be a case of "I piss and I moan, therefore, I am". Free therapy.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Not to mention turkey and Turkey

[JLCrab]

Not to mention turkey and Turkey

...or Ladbroke Grove and South Gate, CA

[BKK Blues Brother]

 

I've hit the jackpot with my wife and kids.

The only thing that bothers me is that the kids don't look like me.

Small price to pay for a healthy, intelligent family.

 

arent you the same BKK Blues Brother than stated his wife dissapeared with all the famly money, and was partying it up for Songram,

 

and you were left eating cat food?

 

Arent you the same Steve Fong who pimps his batty on Beach road because he's blew his dough and carn't afford the flight home?

[Blindside]

You know what they say: "May your life be as awesome as it is on facebook".

 

 

[wotamess]

Looks like another thread set up to bash Thailand. A lot of desperately unhappy people out there at present. 

 

If a person is happy, then they certainly aren't settling for second best. 

 

I really don't understand these people - yes, there's a ball-ache; but it certainly isn't what you'd get at home. Here I can relax, shut down, & if I f*** it up, they won't beat down my door with some inane crap.

 

I'm not a pensioner or a paedophile; I looked all over Asia to find my wife. I came here to live, not to die; screw you who use this place as a p**s pot.

[EBlair48]

 I regret the move here and would not recommend it to anyone (except men seeking sex, of course who rave about the availability.)  I find most of the hype  is a great big lie, essentially perpetuated by m....., er  those who find  sex makes up for a lot of shortfalls in other areas.

 

(They'll be the ones who will assert my negative opinion is not valid  because of some fault within myself- just  watch. And I'll think that they are likely rather

low IQ dullards, follow their gonads- mostly  in life's  decisions and only really  care about having their personal and household chores done by a partner which leaves them to endlessly engage on the internet for lack of  communication with their spouse.)

 

I like the country alright, but not the people whom I find to be disingenuous in the extreme.

 

 Second best?  Well I'd actually place it lower,  I'm most definitely a 4th class person here in terms of status within the culture. 1) Thai men,  2)Thai women,  3)white foreign men, 4) white foreign women. It must be  very difficult being a darker skinned black woman here. Actually it probably is anywhere where white skin  is prized so much, since you have two biases to deal with.

Edited August 14, 2014 by EBlair48

[EBlair48]

 

Looks like another thread set up to bash Thailand. A lot of desperately unhappy people out there at present. 

 

If a person is happy, then they certainly aren't settling for second best. 

 

Misery loves company and by bashing Thailand the miserable try to pull those living the dream/fantasy or whatever in Thailand down to their level.  Since there are more miscreant's than happy folk it makes sense to have a plethora of topics dealing with all sorts of wrongdoing, evil and other nasty things. 

 

Anyone can try it out.  Ask a simple question like how to get from point A to point B and the responses are

 

1.  Why do you want to go to B?  2.  B is a trash magnate without proper food, drink or people.  3.  Nothing in B is worth seeing can't hold a candle to ___________.  4.  That is the dumbest post I've read all day long.  I wish all I had to worry about was getting from point A to point B. 
 

 

 

 

 The OP is asking if others feel disappointed in Thailand, many do.

This post  above is a great example of  a comment that seeks to discredit  and diminish contrary views for lack of ability to make a persuasive case promoting an opinion.

 

[SteveFong]

 

 

Utopia is a fantasy! 

 

It does not exist, therefore all other places on earth are 2nd best.

 

Without compromises, there is no single place that meets each of our individual criteria.  If it meets yours, then it will not meet mine as our lists are not the same.

 

In retirement, I've enjoyed the last five years living here in Thailand with semi-annual 1-2 months trips to the USA - CA and Hawaii.  I also enjoyed my decades working in the USA, but was always in search of something better after my family matured.  During the next 5 years, I plan to continue splitting my time between the USA and Thailand, but possibly more equitably.   As I get into my more senior years, criterias change.

 

Enjoy your moments of happiness.

 

 

 

 

 

this is a good assessment, which would be more instructive to me, if I knew your age.

 

I am 54, and my kids are 27, 24 with the older 100% independent and the younger, almost

 

it is that "almost" that has me back here after exploring Thailand for 6 months last year, Oct 2013- March 2014

 

after that though, I can not see Thailand as top of the list

 

sure, I can get by there, and as a native New Yorker, BKK is easy for me to deal with, if I want to deal with a hot polluted city where very few speak english

 

yes it is true, the girls are fabulous in Thailand, but they are not free,

 

just because there is a multitude of them,

 

means the same as a man who loves the water, but cannot swim,

 

Thailand is too much hassle for me, as I have lived a pretty luxurious life the last 15 years, due to the tech stock bubble and then the real estate bubble, both which I was a fairly lucky surfer, and even with the crashes that followed, I am still in decent shape,

 

but what is the attraction to Thailand?

 

example,

 

Cocoa Beach, Florida,

 

a 2 bedroom apt on the ocean, $1,000 a month,

I ride a motorcycle so, no need for insurance that never pays,

 

I am healthy,

the food here is top notch,

 

there is music in the bars, music I like,

 

now,

 

the women,

 

non existent, some grotesque, some obese, many smoke cigarettes, in most cases, downright disgusting.

 

but,

 

there are Thai massage places, and other "massage" places, all around, so,

 

where is the benefit to the quantity theory?

 

and to the guy who prefers to fake smiles and the greetings, I say, really?

 

last on my list,

 

I love to play golf,

 

it is too damned hot in BKK to golf and the sun way too strong,

 

I dont care what people say,

 

Thailand, is not a healthy place

 

 

People that comment like you make me laugh, ever tried some other places in Thailand they do exist you know  

 

 

Sadly, for me, no

 

only bkk, chaing mai and chaing rai,

 

I need to next try the coastal areas of the south, but at a place where they arent trying to kill white people

 

[FritsSikkink]

everyone with the same colour skin 

 

Live must be hard for you with these different skin colours in Thailand bowerboy 

[SteveFong]

 

 

 

 

3 year residency permit, no taxes on money earned offshore, no 90 day reports, no re-entry permits, no map to my house, no free roaming gangs of teenagers, no farang this, farang that and a language I can easily speak and understand 

 

 

Alas no gogo-bars and 1000 baht freelancers   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

where?

[SteveFong]

 

 

I've hit the jackpot with my wife and kids.

The only thing that bothers me is that the kids don't look like me.

Small price to pay for a healthy, intelligent family.

 

arent you the same BKK Blues Brother than stated his wife dissapeared with all the famly money, and was partying it up for Songram,

 

and you were left eating cat food?

 

Arent you the same Steve Fong who pimps his batty on Beach road because he's blew his dough and carn't afford the flight home?

 

 

no, but thats funny,

 

why not tell us what happened during your wife's disappearance at Songram,

 

last you left off, she had drained your bank accounts, was partying in the village and got a new tattoo?

 

 

we invested a lot of time in you,

 

you owe it to us who kept you from suicide to tell us how that panned out?
 

[BKK Blues Brother]

 

 

 

I've hit the jackpot with my wife and kids.

The only thing that bothers me is that the kids don't look like me.

Small price to pay for a healthy, intelligent family.

 

arent you the same BKK Blues Brother than stated his wife dissapeared with all the famly money, and was partying it up for Songram,

 

and you were left eating cat food?

 

Arent you the same Steve Fong who pimps his batty on Beach road because he's blew his dough and carn't afford the flight home?

 

 

no, but thats funny,

 

why not tell us what happened during your wife's disappearance at Songram,

 

last you left off, she had drained your bank accounts, was partying in the village and got a new tattoo?

 

 

we invested a lot of time in you,

 

you owe it to us who kept you from suicide to tell us how that panned out?
 

 

I am eternally grateful to the Chaing Mai experts club from rescuing me from the induced brink of a catatonic Chang coma! Be thankful for the extra traffic i seduced to the wanton lair.

Edited August 14, 2014 by BKK Blues Brother

[wotamess]

Is it just me??

 

The recent moans & woes appear to come from the "let's go a-wenching" fraternity.

 

I don't want to hear about the cost of prostitutes or massages, and I really don't want to hear statements that put my wife on a level with your dog. I'm not surprised you're unhappy if this is how you view yourself in the overall cosmic picture. You sound like knackered old men trying to get their end away one more time before it's done.

 

Good luck with that - I'm sure your next encounter will be your gateway to Nirvana.

 

BTW - every culture loves dirty old men that fund red light districts & turn their countries into brothels - thanks for that. Dicks like you make everyone in the West raise an eyebrow when you tell them your wife is Thai.

 

Please go find somewhere else to pollute, or stay in Pattaya & stop posting. Don't likie? Don't doie.

[SteveFong]

do you really think it is old men,

 

that cause middle age women in the USA to turn their faces in disgust when you tell them you just spent a few months in Thailand?

[wotamess]

do you really think it is old men,

 

that cause middle age women in the USA to turn their faces in disgust when you tell them you just spent a few months in Thailand?

 

Regardless of your age, I think you're knackered - welcome home!

 

I'm not from the USA, but if you say so I guess it's your doing.

[mrtoad]

do you really think it is old men,
 
that cause middle age women in the USA to turn their faces in disgust when you tell them you just spent a few months in Thailand?

 
Regardless of your age, I think you're knackered - welcome home!
 
I'm not from the USA, but if you say so I guess it's your doing.

Given that scarpolo talks of his great Thai expertise from his soapy massage and red light experiences, it's not just middle aged women, but pretty much anyone that turns their face in disgust

[Albertosez]

Thailand has some seedy and smelly cities - I know because I live in one. Never mind, at least the seedy part is not in denial. I don't need to engage in that side of life here- as I have found a more than capable match for my energy levels. However, if I ever did need to turn to the vice offerings, at least I would have a very good choice and could have a fun time going about it. It sure beats fumbling about behind a dark, wet and cold Bus Terminal trying to grope and old druggie with no teeth and purple hair .......that must be 200 hundredth best option !

I think there are a lot of ex.pats who regret that Thailand has a seedy image and they can waste a full day trying to defend that to their foreign family and friends. I do the opposite, TBH, they all know I have a very good companion and am satisfied with most of what I have, so instead I celebrate what other attractions Thailand might have. After all, it's great to have a range of entertainment options on your doorstep - if you want them !

[SteveFong]

Thailand has some seedy and smelly cities - I know because I live in one. Never mind, at least the seedy part is not in denial. I don't need to engage in that side of life here- as I have found a more than capable match for my energy levels. However, if I ever did need to turn to the vice offerings, at least I would have a very good choice and could have a fun time going about it. It sure beats fumbling about behind a dark, wet and cold Bus Terminal trying to grope and old druggie with no teeth and purple hair .......that must be 200 hundredth best option !

I think there are a lot of ex.pats who regret that Thailand has a seedy image and they can waste a full day trying to defend that to their foreign family and friends. I do the opposite, TBH, they all know I have a very good companion and am satisfied with most of what I have, so instead I celebrate what other attractions Thailand might have. After all, it's great to have a range of entertainment options on your doorstep - if you want them !

 

Thailand can change its name to Candyland, and, it will be more descriptive,

 

I do agree the entertainment within blocks, and, the cheap massages are something that is not easily reproduced in the USA

 

I do miss both, but not enough to return, yet

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I think there are a lot of ex.pats who regret that Thailand has a seedy image and they can waste a full day trying to defend that to their foreign family and friends. I do the opposite, TBH, they all know I have a very good companion and am satisfied with most of what I have, so instead I celebrate what other attractions Thailand might have. After all, it's great to have a range of entertainment options on your doorstep - if you want them !

 

Why would anyone care what they think back home.

(Mostly their thoughts are accurate)