Time To Move On

[rcalsop]

Well after 3 years working in Thailand I have decided to accept a job offer in Malaysia . We will still maintain the house here , one car sold ,motorbike sold and I start work in Penang 21st August .

Thailand is without a doubt the most difficult place I have worked the factory floor are great , junior management excellent to work with . BUT senior managers boy they are hard work .

I am hero of the hour as my Thai wife and very Thai daughter who have lived abroad with me outside of Thailand before ..they have continuously hoped I would find a job outside of Thailand so we could move ..

From my wifes point of view she likes to visit family now and again , she likes a broader more cosmpolitan society including a variety of food and new challenges .

From my daughters perspective it is mostly about school ..she is very critical of the poor level of schooling here ( and expensive ) there is not enough variety of pupils from other countries , She is hurt by the constant pressure about skin colour ( she is not that dark ) . She also does not like the Thai youth culture that exists but finds sherself drawn in to it by peer pressure.

So Penang here we come ..any person with Penang experiences to share ???

[GuestHouse]

No experience with Panang, but good luck with the move. I myself decided to move out of Thailand for reasons relating to the working enviroment in Thailand and the oportunities elsewhere, a decision other colleagues derided, but the truth is there is a lot of life away from Thailand - a lot more pay too.

I know entirely what you are saying and again wish you all the best of luck.

(Brace yourself for hopefulls PM'ing you for a lead on the job your leaving).

[aaaaaa]

Penang is an island - mainland Butterworth is cheaper !

why not consider KL ?

according to fresh report:

world's most expensive cities

Asian cities -- including Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai -- are among the cheapest places to live, based on the cost of a basket of 122 goods and services.

Kuala Lumpur was the cheapest city, followed by Mumbai, Buenos Aires and Delhi. Delhi was also among the bottom five cities in both the wages and purchasing power rankings.

I recall KL is much cleaner, greener and less polluted / noisier than Bangkok.

of course I like Penang, but it is not necessarily cheap.

[rcalsop]

Reply to my self after a year in Malaysia ,a year on from the move from Thailand to Malaysia it is time to sit back and review what went right and what are the negatives ,

Family life ...the move for better education was correct my daughter now reads books !!!!!by choice , the peer pressure is now not about the clothes and the latest trainers and make up ..it is about how well they are doing in class , exams ,and the morals of society are more conservative due to the influence of Islamic religion but not oppresive or too intrusive with a great religious and ethnic mix here , a genuine mix .....Great the descision was good Oh I nearly forgot cheaper than Thailand as well .

My sons Montisori school is excellent and although not yet 5 he comes home and sits with his home work every day ,and enjoys it he is thriving . also much cheaper than Thailand ....

Both of the schools are English language medium with Chinese and local Malaysian taught as subjects .

The country is generally , cleaner , better organised, less destructive corruption ,food a great variety including hawker food .

Driving petrol is cheaper , road rules , sign posts and manners actually exist ..they even have their own version of Top Gear Magazine . And organised U turns !!!!

Living is a little more expensive in general .

Expats are here for working and Retirement not the girly scene .

Working life ..more pressure , different work ethic to Thailand less free time , I am not as happy as I was in Thailand I really miss working there and my Thai friends . I would return tomorrow for the work . If that happens my Thai wife has already said supported by the kids "we will stay here and you can come and go to Thailand "....not totally serious but they would prefer to stay .

So to summarise for the primary reasons of change family ,education , language , social situation ....the move was great .

The move for Dad not as good but sacrifices are made so keep your head down and earn the money perfect balance is not easy.

However the strange thing is I am, after many many years in Asia ,a little home sick for the UK ...not really for me but for the kids .. to share snow , steam fairs , local village shows , fish and chips in the street ,banger racing on a Sunday , the Lake district walks , bonfire night , ...why has this suddenly started entering my head ..no idea ??.

[Prakanong]

Thanks for the update - very interesting indeed.

I too have worked in Thailand and now work in Singapore - I did find a lot of the same things as you in Thailand.

I love the variety of food here - about to po out for a nice Indian

The peer presure on the kids to do well as school is a big thing here I am told too - sometimes i think they work too hard but colleagfues make sure their kids have a balance.

The general consensus among my pals is make your money elsewhere and spend it in Thailand

[mikethevigoman]

Reply to my self after a year in Malaysia ,a year on from the move from Thailand to Malaysia it is time to sit back and review what went right and what are the negatives ,

Family life ...the move for better education was correct my daughter now reads books !!!!!by choice , the peer pressure is now not about the clothes and the latest trainers and make up ..it is about how well they are doing in class , exams ,and the morals of society are more conservative due to the influence of Islamic religion but not oppresive or too intrusive with a great religious and ethnic mix here , a genuine mix .....Great the descision was good Oh I nearly forgot cheaper than Thailand as well .

My sons Montisori school is excellent and although not yet 5 he comes home and sits with his home work every day ,and enjoys it he is thriving . also much cheaper than Thailand ....

Both of the schools are English language medium with Chinese and local Malaysian taught as subjects .

The country is generally , cleaner , better organised, less destructive corruption ,food a great variety including hawker food .

Driving petrol is cheaper , road rules , sign posts and manners actually exist ..they even have their own version of Top Gear Magazine . And organised U turns !!!!

Living is a little more expensive in general .

Expats are here for working and Retirement not the girly scene .

Working life ..more pressure , different work ethic to Thailand less free time , I am not as happy as I was in Thailand I really miss working there and my Thai friends . I would return tomorrow for the work . If that happens my Thai wife has already said supported by the kids "we will stay here and you can come and go to Thailand "....not totally serious but they would prefer to stay .

So to summarise for the primary reasons of change family ,education , language , social situation ....the move was great .

The move for Dad not as good but sacrifices are made so keep your head down and earn the money perfect balance is not easy.

However the strange thing is I am, after many many years in Asia ,a little home sick for the UK ...not really for me but for the kids .. to share snow , steam fairs , local village shows , fish and chips in the street ,banger racing on a Sunday , the Lake district walks , bonfire night , ...why has this suddenly started entering my head ..no idea ??.

I know exactly where you are coming from, i think the women are wiser than us, my wife would have rather stayed in the uk,( our daughters education etc ) we live on memories and we went back to the uk in 03 for 3 years, i couldnt stand the expense,people and winter, although now we really miss walking with a coat on in the winter,!. you can dress for the cold but not for the heat,.and on sundays i would ride my bike off road or go on the river dart, blimey you have me at it now, !..ignorance is a bliss, i sometimes wish i had never traveled, good luck in whatever you do,. Edited September 20, 2007 by mikethevigoman

[El Taco Loco]

Interesting update. Always wondered about Penang, or ML, for that matter. With a 17 month old, I am starting to peek out the window myself and see where the flowers are growing.

[Captain Chaos]

The move for Dad not as good but sacrifices are made so keep your head down and earn the money perfect balance is not easy.

No objective way to be sure, but based on what you have described I think you made the right decision for the right reasons. It's one I also had to make late last year ...

This is an interesting thread and sounds like Malaysia, a country I know v little about, deserves more investigation.

[Captain Chaos]

The general consensus among my pals is make your money elsewhere and spend it in Thailand

Amen to that ...

... but surprising how many still don't (want to) see it ...

[Prakanong]

The general consensus among my pals is make your money elsewhere and spend it in Thailand

Amen to that ...

... but surprising how many still don't (want to) see it ...

10+ years ago I probably thought the same as them - I would have took any job just to be in Thailand

Oh yes I looked buying a bar on an island and then English teaching - glad I got over those two quickly but to each their own!

Some guy's take pay cuts, work in jobs that will get them nothing elsewhere and on dead end projects just to stay with more and more piled on them - it might be OK if you are working for pocket money at the end of a career but for anyone else its just plain daft.

[rcalsop]

Thanks for the update - very interesting indeed.

I too have worked in Thailand and now work in Singapore - I did find a lot of the same things as you in Thailand.

I love the variety of food here - about to po out for a nice Indian

The peer presure on the kids to do well as school is a big thing here I am told too - sometimes i think they work too hard but colleagfues make sure their kids have a balance.

The general consensus among my pals is make your money elsewhere and spend it in Thailand

I think that sentiment of make it elsewhere and spend it in Thailand is correct ...it certainly is for my wife have just spent the school holidays in our Thailand house in BKK , the cards have melted !!!!. I actually work in both Penang and Bahtu Pahat not that far from Singapore . Having visited Singapore several times for business, I have often wondered what the living was like there , the impression was that it is a well ordered society , but I have the suspiscion that it would wear a little thin after a while just too ordered and because I watch a lot of Singaporean TV I certainly see the "engineered propoganda machine working in every thing from the news to the soap operas. Am I wrong in my non expert observations ?.

It seems to be a sort of a Macdonalds city state ,that is an example of a country if run by MacDonalds management , everything super efficient, clean and sanitised ,no suprises ,food is okay and we keep going back but we know there are better places to eat ... and look for a change .

[Prakanong]

Thanks for the update - very interesting indeed.

I too have worked in Thailand and now work in Singapore - I did find a lot of the same things as you in Thailand.

I love the variety of food here - about to po out for a nice Indian

The peer presure on the kids to do well as school is a big thing here I am told too - sometimes i think they work too hard but colleagfues make sure their kids have a balance.

The general consensus among my pals is make your money elsewhere and spend it in Thailand

I think that sentiment of make it elsewhere and spend it in Thailand is correct ...it certainly is for my wife have just spent the school holidays in our Thailand house in BKK , the cards have melted !!!!. I actually work in both Penang and Bahtu Pahat not that far from Singapore . Having visited Singapore several times for business, I have often wondered what the living was like there , the impression was that it is a well ordered society , but I have the suspiscion that it would wear a little thin after a while just too ordered and because I watch a lot of Singaporean TV I certainly see the "engineered propoganda machine working in every thing from the news to the soap operas. Am I wrong in my non expert observations ?.

It seems to be a sort of a Macdonalds city state ,that is an example of a country if run by MacDonalds management , everything super efficient, clean and sanitised ,no suprises ,food is okay and we keep going back but we know there are better places to eat ... and look for a change .

Pretty much correct - I do not watch much Singaporean TV (except for the other night as it was something again about brave Chinese in WW2 and nasty Japanese) but the Straits Times is a bit of a propaganda masterpiece!

Its a very "Liveable" city - everything works, is efficient and getting outside is a bus, ferry or short plane ride away!

[Jockstar]

Not Malaysia. But i lived in Thailand for just under 5 years. I loved it. The people the food etc. But after moving back to live in Oz after not living here for 9 years. It was great. Things were easy. Obviously things are way more expensive. But i have a good job with a decent salary. I start at 7am and i'm finished by 3.30pm. I have my own vehicle. And pretty much everything i need. My wife(Thai) loves it here and doesnt want to live in Thailand again. We have been here nearly a year now. Not once has she said she wants to go back. Also regarding kids. We are trying for a family now. This is a great country to bring kids up in. IMHO. But i could live in Malaysia or Singerpore if i had the chance. For now i have no intention of going anywhere else to live. To the OP good luck and all the best for the future. BTW nice curries in Penang.

[Suszzy]

However the strange thing is I am, after many many years in Asia ,a little home sick for the UK ...not really for me but for the kids .. to share snow , steam fairs , local village shows , fish and chips in the street ,banger racing on a Sunday , the Lake district walks , bonfire night , ...why has this suddenly started entering my head ..no idea ??.

Ahh...you're home sick..

it's quite a nice feeling sometimes when you miss home,don't you think!

at the moment in the uk the weather is so nice,a little bit cold but so fresh..

just walking along the beach with the light coat on..umm....

it felt so good..so refreshing (even if the beach is not beautiful as in los)

[Prakanong]

However the strange thing is I am, after many many years in Asia ,a little home sick for the UK ...not really for me but for the kids .. to share snow , steam fairs , local village shows , fish and chips in the street ,banger racing on a Sunday , the Lake district walks , bonfire night , ...why has this suddenly started entering my head ..no idea ??.

Ahh...you're home sick..

it's quite a nice feeling sometimes when you miss home,don't you think!

at the moment in the uk the weather is so nice,a little bit cold but so fresh..

just walking along the beach with the light coat on..umm....

it felt so good..so refreshing (even if the beach is not beautiful as in los)

Hmm - I am missing the UK a little bit too - I want fish and chips, bacon sarnies and it to be a little bit cold.

I fly to Amsterdam tomorrow - I should have taken a few days at the end of the meetings to pop up home! I have 12 more days to take holiday this year and do not know how i am to take them???

I have been taking 3 months a year while in europe but moving to Singapore i dropped to 15 days annual leave - It was the biggest drawback for me but to tell the truth I have not had the time or the inclination to take too much time off.

[Scott]

Hope you have continuing good fortune. I've worked in about 14 countries--Thailand is one of the hardest--but it's such a great place to visit!

[onzestan]

However the strange thing is I am, after many many years in Asia ,a little home sick for the UK ...not really for me but for the kids .. to share snow , steam fairs , local village shows , fish and chips in the street ,banger racing on a Sunday , the Lake district walks , bonfire night , ...why has this suddenly started entering my head ..no idea ??.

I still live in Thailand, and have no intention to move, because I love my life here.

However I fully understand you getting homesick. Happens to all of us.

Forgetting the bad things and idolizing the things we used to like.

My remedy is to return twice a year to my home country to get my reality dose, and

I always find that the things I missed most are not so special as I remembered them to be, except

for food off course. One week each time is more than enough for me.

And remember getting older means more memories.

My 2 cents

onzestan