Any Regrets Moving Upcountry?

[Vegemite]

Do you expats living in Isaan ever have any regrets.

I mean the people that have uprooted from thier native country and decided to live there permanently.

Do you ever feel homesick in a big way?

What about the food? How much do you miss the food from back home?

The language?

The Thai way?

If you have a Thai wife, has she forgotten any of the english ( or other ) that she used to be good at? Do you crave a chance to talk in your native tongue?

If you live in the sticks and miles away from other people or even a small village, what do you do?

I am only asking because I may be one of you in the future and probably a lot of others will have the same option.

[khunandy]

Do you expats living in Isaan ever have any regrets.

I mean the people that have uprooted from thier native country and decided to live there permanently.

Do you ever feel homesick in a big way?

What about the food? How much do you miss the food from back home?

The language?

The Thai way?

If you have a Thai wife, has she forgotten any of the english ( or other ) that she used to be good at? Do you crave a chance to talk in your native tongue?

If you live in the sticks and miles away from other people or even a small village, what do you do?

I am only asking because I may be one of you in the future and probably a lot of others will have the same option.

G'day Vegemite,

I have been going up country regularly for two years now and my wifes village is a fair way out from the nearest farang bar (80 kms). During this 2 years I have been weighing a lot of pros and cons in regard to building a house and settling down a bit and I have ended up going for it.

It is good now and again to stay a weekend in a city and talk english and have a laugh but personally speaking if you get on with the Thai family and dont mind feeling a bit cut off, can get on the internet without too much fuss I reckon it is worth a go....but try before you buy!

Of course if you live in an Issan regional centre the chances are that you will not lack in western company at all if you get a bit lonely.

Good luck

Andy

[ray23]

Do you expats living in Isaan ever have any regrets.

I mean the people that have uprooted from thier native country and decided to live there permanently.

Do you ever feel homesick in a big way?

What about the food? How much do you miss the food from back home?

The language?

The Thai way?

If you have a Thai wife, has she forgotten any of the english ( or other ) that she used to be good at? Do you crave a chance to talk in your native tongue?

If you live in the sticks and miles away from other people or even a small village, what do you do?

I am only asking because I may be one of you in the future and probably a lot of others will have the same option.

It's not Siberia, there are plenty of expats around to chat with depending on where you go. So many that a lot of us don't seek out expats to chat with

The computer and interent give you moer then enough english thought and communication.

I have all the foods I had in the states, just have to learn how to go about it. There is a learning curve.

I met my wife here so I can't answer that one.

Don't they do things the Thai way where you live now if it's Thailand.

Thi si my home the only time I feel homesick is when I leave here.

Speaking your native Tingue is not hard just got to find the people to talk to many times they are looking for you as well.

So the bottom line is up to you, as in anything else if you are not proactive you will not find what you seek.

Learning Thai is an advantage and not easy so that should take up a few years of your time.

[billd766]

Do you expats living in Isaan ever have any regrets.

I mean the people that have uprooted from thier native country and decided to live there permanently.

Do you ever feel homesick in a big way?

What about the food? How much do you miss the food from back home?

The language?

The Thai way?

If you have a Thai wife, has she forgotten any of the english ( or other ) that she used to be good at? Do you crave a chance to talk in your native tongue?

If you live in the sticks and miles away from other people or even a small village, what do you do?

I am only asking because I may be one of you in the future and probably a lot of others will have the same option.

Sorry Vegemite but I live on the other side of the country about 60 km south west of Khampaeng Phet and yes I do live here permanently except if I get a job offshore.

I haven't felt homesick for years and I have no reason to go back to the UK ever.

Sometimes I just fancy real pork pies or odd things like that then my Thai wife cooks up some pork belly or dried beef and I think of UK food as Nah not really miss it.

At 62 I find trying to learn Thai very difficult and frustrating and I make sporadic attempts to learn and I made a resolution to learn this year so I still have 4 months left.

My wife speaks fair English though there are a lot of Thai words that she cannot translate into English and English words that I cannot translate into Thai so we use the dictionary.

I live about 6 km from the nearest village and I potter about and help to look after our 2 year old son and the time passes, at least it must do as I never wear a watch at home.

Would I live back in a city? Not a chance. Here we have fresh air, no pollution, fresh food and the 7/11 is only in the village and I can drive 125 km to the Big C in Nakhon Sawan every couple of weeks.

My friend lives in Denmark and his wife is building a bigger house 200 metres away, there is an american in the other village about 12 km away and I pop down to see RC every so often.

After 2 years I wouldn't live anywhere else.

My wifes family live in Bangkok and are welcome at any time for as long as they wish and they are no problem at all.

Try it first and see what it is like, you won't be disappointed unless you are into girly bars and western food all the time.

[Bicko]

Do you expats living in Isaan ever have any regrets.

I mean the people that have uprooted from thier native country and decided to live there permanently.

Do you ever feel homesick in a big way?

What about the food? How much do you miss the food from back home?

The language?

The Thai way?

If you have a Thai wife, has she forgotten any of the english ( or other ) that she used to be good at? Do you crave a chance to talk in your native tongue?

If you live in the sticks and miles away from other people or even a small village, what do you do?

I am only asking because I may be one of you in the future and probably a lot of others will have the same option.

Well Veg these are pretty basic but important questions. It is a good idea to check it out. I have lived in upcountry Isaan for some years and love every bit of it. There is no doubt that it may be necessary to make a few sacrifices and most certainly you need to be prepared to accept some changes in your life style if you plan to make a long term comittment but if you have a good woman and you are prepared to accept most of what comes along it is, for me anyway, the best situation I could have have ever imagined.

I am in my mid 60's and pretty fit and my Thai wife is in her mid 40's. I lost my first wife with cancer in Oz several years ago and I do go home occasionally to see my kids and grandchildren but for me this is home.

We built a very nice home in our village and this is paradise for me. Have a great garden and lots of farming land so there is always plenty of interesting things to keep me occupied. Today was a trip to town (Lam Plai mat) to buy fertiliser for the rice.

My wife speaks good English and is very keen to expand her knowledge. I must admit that i am a bit slow at learning Thai.

Her family are great and respect our situation. It is VERY important to establish ground rules on that issue and make them aware that if they want money then they have to work for it- laundry, gardening, planting rice etc. There are no handouts except a few beers now and again. A couple of my mates are with younger Thai girls who seem to think their old man is a walking ATM!!

The effects of this damned Thai whisky are pretty obvious in our village so I will not buy that for them. We have a good set up on the back verandah where we socialise and only 3 or 4 immediate family come in to the house.

I have ipstar satellite internet and satellite TV. It's a bit expensive but worth it to have the communication. There are no other farangs in our area that I am aware of so that compensates.

I am still working as a humanitarian aid worker and spend a lot of time in other countries. My wife always accompanies me so we spend a lot of time together and we are a damned good team.

Of course all of this is OK if you can settle for the quiet life. If you are a party animal then forget it. Now and again we drive to Surin and spend a couple of days and enjoy the hospitality at the Farang Connection or to Khorat and stay at a decent hotel.

Life is what you make it mate.

Good luck. If you are in the Lam Plai mat area let us know. We can have a beer or two.

Cheers, Bicko

[phibunmike]

Do you expats living in Isaan ever have any regrets.

I mean the people that have uprooted from thier native country and decided to live there permanently.

Do you ever feel homesick in a big way?

What about the food? How much do you miss the food from back home?

The language?

The Thai way?

If you have a Thai wife, has she forgotten any of the english ( or other ) that she used to be good at? Do you crave a chance to talk in your native tongue?

If you live in the sticks and miles away from other people or even a small village, what do you do?

I am only asking because I may be one of you in the future and probably a lot of others will have the same option.

Welcome to Isaan (or is that a little premature? - what the hcll, welcome anyway )

I never get homesick for UK, as I have anyway lived in asia for a good many years now and regard it as my home. I enjoy both Thai and Isaan food, I do miss a good steak sometimes but I travel regularly to Singapore so that is easy. There is sometimes one other falang in our nearby town, and an hour's drive away I can meet a couple more, that is enough. We live in the middle of rice fields, so beautifully quiet and peaceful.

A couple of posters have mentioned the importance of learning Thai, and the difficulty for those who are in their wiser years - the thing here is, most people around don't really speak much Thai, just Isaan. The young kids learn Thai at school, and I can speak to them, but I am now learning Lao so that I can chat to other villagers.

I spend a lot of time pottering in the garden, I always have "projects" - new garden lighting, sprinklers, a new seating area, etc. Also I can still work from home as I have an internet connection (IpStar) and all i need for my work is a computer and internet connection. Did I say work ? Oops, silly me, of course I don't work here....

The biggest challenge for me, ironically, was also one of the things I love about Isaan - the informality. The inlaws "drop by" maybe 2 or 3 times a day, often staying for a meal, or helping themselves to some vegetables from the garden. I found this quite intrusive (from the western concept of privacy and "my home is my castle"). But I am loosening up now. However, if I was doing it all again, I think I would build my house a bit further from their village. Having said that, it is also really great the way the family takes care of my house, garden, fish and dogs when my wife and I are away .

I do enjoy popping down to the local bar sometimes when I am in Singapore, so that is one thing I would miss here - there really aren't any less than an hour away that have the same ambience as a western style bar. Isaan villages go to sleep by 8 or 9pm. If we want a night out (e.g. restaurant followed by bar) we drive to Ubon and stay in a hotel overnight. But most of the time I am happy on my balcony or in my sala, with my wife's delicious cooking, perhaps a nice grilled fish from our pond....

Cheers,

Mike

[phibunmike]

If you live in the sticks and miles away from other people or even a small village, what do you do?

- just another thought about that question...

What do you do now ? Most people actually don't do very much most evenings, just stay home...

[Vegemite]

Thanks Andy, where are you?

[Vegemite]

[

Thanks for the great replies.

But

What about the ants and the chickens/roosters.

Does the heat get you sometimes

The noisy mobile shop trucks at 6AM

[billd766]

[

Thanks for the great replies.

But

What about the ants and the chickens/roosters.

Does the heat get you sometimes

The noisy mobile shop trucks at 6AM

The chichkens and roosters are not really a problem. The mozzies get me now and again but the tennis bat zappers deal with most of them but the red ants, Oh Oh they hurt but they are usually out in the garden/farm. Sometimes my son plays where the ants get him but he has caught on a bit now.

There is only 1 noisy mobile shop that gets to and he is the pork butcher around 6 am and the music he plays gets all the dogs from miles around singing (howling).

Most of the time in the evenings we don't do anything but sometimes Thai friends come around an as Mike does they sit out in the sala and I sit beside it just having a few drinks and eating home cooked food that my wife makes so well.

We have no oven but a Thai 2 burners gas cooker and we also cook on charcoal a lot.

I watch the sun rise and set over the hills and though it does get hot sometimes we use the fans to keep cool. We have airconditioning in the beedrooms but they have only been switched on for about 3 hours this year to see if they still work.

[phibunmike]

[

Thanks for the great replies.

But

What about the ants and the chickens/roosters.

Does the heat get you sometimes

The noisy mobile shop trucks at 6AM

We have lots of black ants around the house, but mostly outside, and they aren't really a nuisance. As billd766 says, the red ones hurt, but they seem to be restricted to certain trees in the garden.

Not many chickens where I am as I am not in a village, but isolated in the countryside. Same with the mobile shops, very rarely come down our little road.

Sometimes some cattle might wander into the garden if I have left the gate open, so I just have to shoo them away - I don't want them eating everything !

Occasionally we get small scorpions and larger centipedes in the house, especially if the house has been empty for a while, so my wife always checks the bedding carefully when we return from a trip. We get some snakes in the garden, but they have never come inside.

Sometimes too hot in the day to do anything in the garden, so I often do garden jobs in the early morning or late afternoon. I haven't got aircon, just fans, which is fine for us, but I am going to install aircon in the guest bedrooms. In Singapore I never get up early, but in Isaan it is really nice just after dawn and I love to get up and wander round the garden with a mug of coffee, dogs following me, mist in the distance....

If it has been raining, but then no wind, we sometimes get a lot of flies in the evening, buzzing around lights, so we have had to position lights away from seating areas (so they don't drop in your beer).

[ray23]

I would just add this you will be a busy as you want to be, my saying is nothing to do and not enough time to get it done. Also remember you can take trips to the bright lights, and they are a lot brighter when your not in them all the time.

[teletiger]

The red ants are a godsend on the fruit trees. They attack anything that wants eat your fruit. Just make sure the staff picks it You forgot to mention sitting outside in the evening, sipping your cold beer and looking up at 100 billion stars. I love it out here.

regards

[kevc]

Do you expats living in Isaan ever have any regrets.

I mean the people that have uprooted from thier native country and decided to live there permanently.

Do you ever feel homesick in a big way?

What about the food? How much do you miss the food from back home?

The language?

The Thai way?

If you have a Thai wife, has she forgotten any of the english ( or other ) that she used to be good at? Do you crave a chance to talk in your native tongue?

If you live in the sticks and miles away from other people or even a small village, what do you do?

I am only asking because I may be one of you in the future and probably a lot of others will have the same option.

I’m just a newcomer out here, been here for 18 months although I’ve been visiting our village from the U.K. with the wife for the last ten years to see her parents so I new what I was getting into. The only thing I used to hate was that it felt a bit like camping out no real place to put anything, when they cooked it used to be a balancing act where to put things, but now we have our own home with the leather 3 piece, 44inch TV, and a micro

feels just like home and it is home. The only thing I really miss is talking in English without having to think , only one who really speaks is my born again Geordie wife, weather takes a bit getting used to but you find if you just slow yourself down and stay in the shade it’s not so bad mind you after the initial 3000 baht electric bills for the air con you soon get used to fans. Food not a problem although very restricted on what farang food you can buy here thank God for 7/11s, but I just top up if I go to Bangkok. If you haven’t had much time out here I would definitely try before you buy as the man said, I think if you can get away with the heat, the lack of proper conversation ( oh how I miss a good manly natter now and again ) and having to watch Thai dramas with your wife every now and then and pretend to be interested ( they only have one script it seems between the whole Thai TV network) then go for it, I know it would take a lot to get me back to live amongst the scroungers and asylum seekers in the good old U.K. no thanks I think I'll stick with my beer, swingy seat, and the veranda on the evenings thats when you realise you've done the right thing.

[Thaddeus]

I don't think I can add much to this that hasn't already been said.

I was pretty much a 'small town boy' in the UK, I personally could never have lived in a large conurbation like London or Birmingham.

The air is so clear here that with a full Moon and no clouds, you can wander around outside without any artificial light.

I used to spend a bit of time travelling to the local town to have a decent conversation in English (with a Manc, a Geordie, a Scot and a Welshman, plus the assorted Germanic types).... but since I had IPStar installed my trips have become far less frequent.

The first three months here were the hardest, mainly getting used to the laid back attitude of the locals, which when you are trying to get a house built, can be quite frustrating. But then one day, I took the top of my head off, twisted my brain through 90 degrees..... instant Thai, instant Mai pben rai.... just a joke, it was mainly the huge difference between the 'has to be done today, chop chop busy busy work work bang bang' lifestyle I had previously.

As others have said, it's hard to get homesick at home.

But also as others have said, it doesn't suit everybody. I have known a few farangs who have moved out here only to move out again a few months later.... come for a few months without making any serious commitments and see what you think.

[Nignoy]

I don't think I can add much to this that hasn't already been said.

I was pretty much a 'small town boy' in the UK, I personally could never have lived in a large conurbation like London or Birmingham.

The air is so clear here that with a full Moon and no clouds, you can wander around outside without any artificial light.

I used to spend a bit of time travelling to the local town to have a decent conversation in English (with a Manc, a Geordie, a Scot and a Welshman, plus the assorted Germanic types).... but since I had IPStar installed my trips have become far less frequent.

The first three months here were the hardest, mainly getting used to the laid back attitude of the locals, which when you are trying to get a house built, can be quite frustrating. But then one day, I took the top of my head off, twisted my brain through 90 degrees..... instant Thai, instant Mai pben rai.... just a joke, it was mainly the huge difference between the 'has to be done today, chop chop busy busy work work bang bang' lifestyle I had previously.

As others have said, it's hard to get homesick at home.

But also as others have said, it doesn't suit everybody. I have known a few farangs who have moved out here only to move out again a few months later.... come for a few months without making any serious commitments and see what you think.

Well welcome to Isaan!! just imagine landing in a village 90kms north of ubon in 1962, electricity, no have well water no have only nam fuhn and not knowing a word of thai, laos or isaan, and no thai wife , That happened to me been an Isaan convert ever since Nignoy

[LoveDaBlues]

Why not just have the best of both worlds? Live in a small village within 20 minutes or so drive to the 'big town'. This I do and recommend.

Very small percentage of people IMO last in the truly remote villages. Age seems to play a factor; as the age goes up it seems the percentage who stay increases.

[ray23]

Guys you do have to remember Issan is not just small villages, Udon is Issan as well, there are very few amenieties that you can't find here including speaking your native togue. Just a lot slower pace.

My neighbor just put together the best of two worlds, a home here an escape condo in Jomtien to see the bright lights from time to time. Now to me that is a great idea. If your like me and don't have the sheckles for that a six hour drive and a hotel room will do the same thing. It's not a prison you can travel and then return to peace and quiet.

[Thaddeus]

Guys you do have to remember Issan is not just small villages, Udon is Issan as well, there are very few amenieties that you can't find here including speaking your native togue. Just a lot slower pace.

My neighbor just put together the best of two worlds, a home here an escape condo in Jomtien to see the bright lights from time to time. Now to me that is a great idea. If your like me and don't have the sheckles for that a six hour drive and a hotel room will do the same thing. It's not a prison you can travel and then return to peace and quiet.

Yes, you are absolutely right, but even if you do live in the centre of Udon/Korat/Buriram/Surin etc... it's still 6,000 miles in distance and an entire world away in lifestyle than living almost anywhere in the UK. (I only used UK as my point of origin) With the possible exception of Stoke-On-Trent

Edited August 27, 2006 by Thaddeus

[RayBan]

Yo there Vegemite,

I have really enjoyed this thread and the various insights of the guys living in Isaan. There is so much sound advice from these guys that I hope you digest it fully, because it is very factual.

I am from UK myself, a similar sort of background area as Thaddeus, but all my life I desired to live in the countryside. My 1st (UK) wife was a city girl too and would not entertain such a mediocre way of life.

I met my 2nd wife back in 1999 and I have lived in LOS since, although the 1st 5 years were spent in Pattaya or a few kms outside it. My new wife is from Buriram and therefore over the years we paid regular visits and I became accustomed and drawn into the simple way of life.

We started to build a place a couple of years ago and early this year moved to Buriram permanently. It has only been a few months, but already I love the life dearly. However there are customs and obligations that come with living in rural Thailand, most of which have been covered in this thread. They are very much different than what you may be used too, so follow the advice and try first.

I returned to where I once lived in Pattaya recently and it was a nightmare for us both, noisy, busy, traffic jams everywhere, my only jams these days are stuck behind a herd of buffalo!!!!

Major positives for making the adjustment more agreeable are local farang's in your location, get to know your area. Finding these guys (they will be there somewhere) is the number 1 introduction to your learning curve, especially the old hands, they will usually have it all sussed out!! These guys will be able to direct you to seek out whatever your requirements may be.

As technology progresses, well the internet and forums of this nature are also a 1st class source of knowledge and introduction.

Last, but not least, personal transport is a must to be truly able to settle in without remorse and regret. With transport one can always go and visit a friend, find a requirement or just get away from it all for a break; A very important attribute to living in the countryside until you are sure.

That was my small addition to helping you come live, adjust and enjoy the many special attributes of Buriram

[Thaddeus]

Oh... just remembered one other thing, and I don't think this has been mentioned by any other poster to this topic, so it probably isn't applicable to all of Isaan, but I think it is to most of it.

The Climate.

I have never lived in Bangkok, but I have visited during all the seasons (yes, all three ) and one thing never changes for me, the heat. You have the traffic generating heat, the air-con condensers generating heat and the buildings just soaking it up all day and then chucking it out at night.

Granted, during May, June and July it can get unbearably hot here, I have measured it at over 45 Centigrade in the shade on more than one occasion, and then both On and myself will both retreat to the room with the air-con.

At this time of year, being the rainy season, some days do still get hot but the ground rarely heats up enough to the point that it isn't comfortable either inside or outside at this time of the day.

During November, December and January it can get positively cold at night and we frequently have to light a small bonfire in the morning to warm up.... for most of December last year I didn't take a coat off during the day..... roll on December.

I think it has something to do with being 600ft above sea level in my location, but I'm no expert.

(P.S. Chang Rai and Chang Mai are probably the same..... which would go some way to explaining the dearth of earthworms there )

[ray23]

Guys you do have to remember Issan is not just small villages, Udon is Issan as well, there are very few amenieties that you can't find here including speaking your native togue. Just a lot slower pace.

My neighbor just put together the best of two worlds, a home here an escape condo in Jomtien to see the bright lights from time to time. Now to me that is a great idea. If your like me and don't have the sheckles for that a six hour drive and a hotel room will do the same thing. It's not a prison you can travel and then return to peace and quiet.

Yes, you are absolutely right, but even if you do live in the centre of Udon/Korat/Buriram/Surin etc... it's still 6,000 miles in distance and an entire world away in lifestyle than living almost anywhere in the UK. (I only used UK as my point of origin) With the possible exception of Stoke-On-Trent

Oh lets hope so, I'm trying to figure out how to get America moved just a little further away

Yes transporation even in Udon is a major freedom tool.

[Thaddeus]

Last, but not least, personal transport is a must to be truly able to settle in without remorse and regret. With transport one can always go and visit a friend, find a requirement or just get away from it all for a break; A very important attribute to living in the countryside until you are sure.

Absolutely Ray (apologies for both of us posting the last ones at roughly the same time BTW)

My life here improved significantly when I bought a motorcy I could handle (Yamaha Mio, Auto gear, just couldn't get to grips with the manual gears when on two wheels).... when I bought a car my life improved drastically, I probably don't do any more travelling than I did twelve months ago, but now I can do it when I want.

[RayBan]

when I bought a car my life improved drastically, I probably don't do any more travelling than I did twelve months ago, but now I can do it when I want.

Hi Thadd,

My personal experiences of meeting the guys who have committed themselves to living in the "Sticks" is that they are much more happy and settled when having the freedom of movement with personal 4 wheel transport.

The "grumpies" and " Isaan is Doomed" merchants are the ones that are trapped!!!! Isaan is to me the "Eden" of my requirements, but I still have to visit Sodom and Gomorrah sometimes!!!!!!

[Thaddeus]

when I bought a car my life improved drastically, I probably don't do any more travelling than I did twelve months ago, but now I can do it when I want.

Hi Thadd,

My personal experiences of meeting the guys who have committed themselves to living in the "Sticks" is that they are much more happy and settled when having the freedom of movement with personal 4 wheel transport.

The "grumpies" and " Isaan is Doomed" merchants are the ones that are trapped!!!! Isaan is to me the "Eden" of my requirements, but I still have to visit Sodom and Gomorrah sometimes!!!!!!

Hi Ray

Agreed totally...... I need to visit those places every now and again.

My brother came over for a holiday with his girlfriend to Hua Hin (not trying to tie up Hua Hin with Sodom and Gomorrah in any way).... I went to visit him while he was there..... I was oh so glad to get home.

Edited August 27, 2006 by Thaddeus

[Dave the Dude]

when I bought a car my life improved drastically, I probably don't do any more travelling than I did twelve months ago, but now I can do it when I want.

Hi Thadd,

My personal experiences of meeting the guys who have committed themselves to living in the "Sticks" is that they are much more happy and settled when having the freedom of movement with personal 4 wheel transport.

The "grumpies" and " Isaan is Doomed" merchants are the ones that are trapped!!!! Isaan is to me the "Eden" of my requirements, but I still have to visit Sodom and Gomorrah sometimes!!!!!!

Hi Ray

Agreed totally...... I need to visit those places every now and again.

HI Vegi/Thad/the Rays, et all

Great thread,good to hear good news for a change. I am escaping London for Surin in about 6 months(House/minimart finished now) and I cant wait.Found info in this site to be the best and has helped me try to cover the requirements for my move! I find the locals make the area what it is and get along with them all.(they do think I'm a bit mad at times,but what the h-ll)

Regards from the other kingdom

My brother came over for a holiday with his girlfriend to Hua Hin (not trying to tie up Hua Hin with Sodom and Gomorrah in any way).... I went to visit him while he was there..... I was oh so glad to get home.

[Gary A]

If anyone had told me a few years ago that I would someday be living out in the boonies I would have told them they were insane. THEN came a big surprise. I met the love of my life after having given up finding anyone who could put up with me. After she moved in with me (Jomtien condo) she told me she had a house upcountry. It took her about four months to talk me into going up to have a look. I was surprised to see that it was a two bedroom western style house. We stayed about a week the first time.

The first thing I did was to buy a mattress. Her mattress was hard as a board. The second trip I put screens on the windows. The third trip I put in a farang toilet. By that time I decided it was nice and peaceful up there so decided to stay a while. I then re-wired the house, installed a water pump and a hot water shower. Last year I finally rented out my condo and hopefully I am here to stay. To be truthful, I would have never bought land and built a house and if anything were to happen to our relationship (doubtful) I would be headed back to Jomtien to kick out my renter.

We are 150 kilometers from the nearest super store but I have gotten used to 100% Thai food and my wife is a great cook. I would be content living ANYWHERE as long as I have her. Life is good.

[ray23]

For me the transporatation wa the key, I have two bikes one a 750 I restored and a phantom 150, If I feel the tension getting to me,. to much house tiem I just find a road I haen't been down before and check it out I call it village hopping. Really a great stress reliever, I have never been treated badly on these trips people have alway been nice to me. Not a dangerous activity here in Issan. So a great way to sepnd an afternoon. You can also get involved in group rides and have a bit of fun.

You end up meeting people from all over he world who live in Issan not just Thai's.

[legendarysurfer]

A previous time we were writing about this subject, there was much discussion about missing certain family members back in our mother countries. I still think this will be the big one for me once I make the move. I am very close with my older son... anone have intent to visit regularly and find themselves staying in Thailand for longer periods? I'm thinking this is likely to happen to me.

[khunandy]

Thanks Andy, where are you?

G'day Vegemite,

I am at Phu Pha Man about 90 Kms west of Khon Kaen.

It is fairly isolated but beautiful country, quite a lot of mountains and National Parks which I ma looking forward to exploring. I do have the advantage of working away for a month at a time so I wont go too stir crazy when the house is built. Will you be living in Issan full time eg: retirement?

Andy