though fellas how many real social contacts do you have?i see many of you guys online all day long or some are really living in the sticks. do you got somebody you would really call a friend. I think it is quiet difficult to find a soulmate here and even if you find one they are living far away.the most expats in my town are already a bit older and the younger ones you will find in the bar soi and i am not in the bar scene anymore.due of my job i be surrounded be many people every day though on my off day i really enjoy my time with me beloved wife,my son and the dogs...and for exchanging thoughts...i got TFV...

what about you?

I work from an office, and when not a work I am generally online as my work is pretty much non stop.

Having a laugh on TV is a release from the stress of piles of work :-)

I'm pretty lucky though, as I work with a fairly large number of expats , so that has some advantages, as well as disadvantages. I have a good network of social contacts from Football and Cricket teams, as well as a couple of very good friends who live fairly close by, who we have got to know over the last few years. I also count a few friends from TV who I meet up with when they are in my area, or I am in theirs. Certainly not socially isolated at all.

Get mine through sports participation...a few close friends socially and some chats with neighbors.....we are not bar people and are both relaxed and quiet people.....neither of us craves attention and I get my dugout humor fix from the sports......

I don't work from an office, in fact I don't work at all and I am generally online non stop.

Having a laugh on TV is a release from the stress of my piles.

I'm pretty lucky though, as I work with nobody, so that has some advantages, as well as disadvantages. I have no network of social contacts from Football and Cricket teams, or any good friends who live fairly close by, who we never have got to know over the last few years. I also count a few friends from TV who I never meet up with when they are in my area, or I am in theirs. Certainly not socially isolated at all.

My situation has changed considerably and constantly over the years. When I was young in Bangkok, I had many friends, Thai and Farang, but most of them moved on because of their jobs. Because I am 60 and don’t work, people tend to lump me in with other retirees who found Thailand late in life. I am really more of an immigrant having lived here my entire adult life.

When we moved to Chiang Rai after 30 years in Bangkok, I found mostly very old retirees. Though we now know a lot of people here, we find we still have more in common with our Bangkok and overseas friends. We probably have more Thai friends than Western.

Like the OP I have online friends I have met through TVF, my blog and Google+. New people move to Chiang Rai all the time but I don’t always have time to make new friends as my life seems to be pretty full the way it is, and because of my location. It is nice having lots of superficial acquaintances to smile and have a brief exchange with when in town but most have little potential past that.

I find I also have a very different view of friendship from the more recent arrivals. I hear people talk about having buddies who would help them bury bodies, no questions asked or jump in and defend them in a bar fight. I find myself thinking I would not feel comfortable letting that kind of person into my life in any meaningful way.

I don’t look at friends as social assets to be used or to clean up my messes. I would never think of being a burden to a friend. If someone is toxic and brings nothing but problems and negativity then I would rather just be polite when we bump into each other at the Mall but not invite them home or into our lives.

The pool of attractive, healthy, athletic, adventurous, openminded and intelligent conversationalists where I live now is somewhat limited, so I use the internet to keep in touch with friends until we have time to visit each other.

I don't have any social contacts. Ain't got farcebook, ain't got twitster, ain't got nuffink. Apart from using my phone (wait for it.....) to actually talk to people I'm generally off the grid.

I use email for business. If my business contacts would accept a bit of paper in an envelope with a stamp on it then I'd prefer to use that. Well maybe that's stretching it, but I certainly don't use it to email them my last meal or tell them I have the trots today. Anybody deserving of a Merry Christmas gets a phone call as opposed to an impersonal shotgun sms message.

How rude - to send a message to your supposed friends and loved ones in a shotgun sms or email. I watched so many people playing with their phones after midnight at New Year, they didn't actually enjoy the spirit of the moment with the real people standing beside them.

I visit my friends, and they visit me. If distance is an issue we use Skype or the telling bone.

Social contacts - I actually find it an amusing little term. I used to do social networking when I was working, but (and wait for it again....) that meant actually going places, shaking people's hands and conversing.

The world's gone to hell in a handcart. (One of my favourite Stephen King phrases.)

I don't work from an office, in fact I don't work at all and I am generally online non stop.

Having a laugh on TV is a release from the stress of my piles.

I'm pretty lucky though, as I work with nobody, so that has some advantages, as well as disadvantages. I have no network of social contacts from Football and Cricket teams, or any good friends who live fairly close by, who we never have got to know over the last few years. I also count a few friends from TV who I never meet up with when they are in my area, or I am in theirs. Certainly not socially isolated at all.

Clown. 5555555

7 or 8

Costas2008, on 06 Jan 2015 - 09:13, said:

I don't work from an office, in fact I don't work at all and I am generally online non stop.

Having a laugh on TV is a release from the stress of my piles.

I'm pretty lucky though, as I work with nobody, so that has some advantages, as well as disadvantages. I have no network of social contacts from Football and Cricket teams, or any good friends who live fairly close by, who we never have got to know over the last few years. I also count a few friends from TV who I never meet up with when they are in my area, or I am in theirs. Certainly not socially isolated at all.

Could be worse you could still be in Greece. Maybe you'll need to go back soon when they are kicked out of the Euro and start printing confetti.

i have a few good social friends. Yes i spend a lot of time online.TV i use a lot helps me pass the time.

I get a lot of laughs here. A lot of support from people like !! that crazy Greek man !! Whats his name????

Without my social friends and TV members a would be very bored everyday.

My situation has changed considerably and constantly over the years. When I was young in Bangkok, I had many friends, Thai and Farang, but most of them moved on because of their jobs. Because I am 60 and dont work, people tend to lump me in with other retirees who found Thailand late in life. I am really more of an immigrant having lived here my entire adult life.

When we moved to Chiang Rai after 30 years in Bangkok, I found mostly very old retirees. Though we now know a lot of people here, we find we still have more in common with our Bangkok and overseas friends. We probably have more Thai friends than Western.

Like the OP I have online friends I have met through TVF, my blog and Google+. New people move to Chiang Rai all the time but I dont always have time to make new friends as my life seems to be pretty full the way it is, and because of my location. It is nice having lots of superficial acquaintances to smile and have a brief exchange with when in town but most have little potential past that.

I find I also have a very different view of friendship from the more recent arrivals. I hear people talk about having buddies who would help them bury bodies, no questions asked or jump in and defend them in a bar fight. I find myself thinking I would not feel comfortable letting that kind of person into my life in any meaningful way.

I dont look at friends as social assets to be used or to clean up my messes. I would never think of being a burden to a friend. If someone is toxic and brings nothing but problems and negativity then I would rather just be polite when we bump into each other at the Mall but not invite them home or into our lives.

The pool of attractive, healthy, athletic, adventurous, openminded and intelligent conversationalists where I live now is somewhat limited, so I use the internet to keep in touch with friends until we have time to visit each other.

VF- you seems to be the source of wisdom often needed here on TV...really like your comments,balanced..

Costas2008, on 06 Jan 2015 - 09:13, said:

I don't work from an office, in fact I don't work at all and I am generally online non stop.

Having a laugh on TV is a release from the stress of my piles.

I'm pretty lucky though, as I work with nobody, so that has some advantages, as well as disadvantages. I have no network of social contacts from Football and Cricket teams, or any good friends who live fairly close by, who we never have got to know over the last few years. I also count a few friends from TV who I never meet up with when they are in my area, or I am in theirs. Certainly not socially isolated at all.

Could be worse you could still be in Greece. Maybe you'll need to go back soon when they are kicked out of the Euro and start printing confetti.

According to a very wise member on TVF...........I'm Thai.

So why would I want to go to Greece?

I don't know how it is with you country mates but i got a few Germans here around but listen to them is mostly a nightmare...World champions in complaining and lecturing...Thailand is crap..TH could learn from us...TH need our advise...TH has to change... f$$ck them ...i left the old country for exactly those rasons...let Th as it is and just enjoy it...don't want to be social with these kind of people...

Costas2008, on 06 Jan 2015 - 09:13, said:

I don't work from an office, in fact I don't work at all and I am generally online non stop.

Having a laugh on TV is a release from the stress of my piles.

I'm pretty lucky though, as I work with nobody, so that has some advantages, as well as disadvantages. I have no network of social contacts from Football and Cricket teams, or any good friends who live fairly close by, who we never have got to know over the last few years. I also count a few friends from TV who I never meet up with when they are in my area, or I am in theirs. Certainly not socially isolated at all.

Could be worse you could still be in Greece. Maybe you'll need to go back soon when they are kicked out of the Euro and start printing confetti.

According to a very wise member on TVF...........I'm Thai.

So why would I want to go to Greece?

to see wonderful Santorini in real not just in Cha Am...555

I don't know how it is with you country mates but i got a few Germans here around but listen to them is mostly a nightmare...World champions in complaining and lecturing...Thailand is crap..TH could learn from us...TH need our advise...TH has to change... f$$ck them ...i left the old country for exactly those rasons...let Th as it is and just enjoy it...don't want to be social with these kind of people...

worse than poms? incredible

I don't know how it is with you country mates but i got a few Germans here around but listen to them is mostly a nightmare...World champions in complaining and lecturing...Thailand is crap..TH could learn from us...TH need our advise...TH has to change... f$$ck them ...i left the old country for exactly those rasons...let Th as it is and just enjoy it...don't want to be social with these kind of people...

worse than poms? incredible

Poms/Brits are compaired like innocent virgins...

3 to 5.

I don't know how it is with you country mates but i got a few Germans here around but listen to them is mostly a nightmare...World champions in complaining and lecturing...Thailand is crap..TH could learn from us...TH need our advise...TH has to change... f$$ck them ...i left the old country for exactly those rasons...let Th as it is and just enjoy it...don't want to be social with these kind of people...

worse than poms? incredible

Poms/Brits are compaired like innocent virgins...

they whine pretty good around here

Half a dozen.

We meet up regularly for beer and enough chat to right the worlds wrongs.

One is helping me move on Monday. Another is looking after my m/c while I am away. One baked not one but two cakes for my g/f when she expressed her like of cakes.

They are helpful guys.

I find the Germans loud blowhards that think they are superior that plays just the opposite....Brits are a complainy type of whiney but at least have a humor about themselves....

I find the Germans loud blowhards that think they are superior that plays just the opposite....Brits are a complainy type of whiney but at least have a humor about themselves....

brits whine to farang AND consider themselves superior to thais.

Too many real contacts....dropping by all the time, annoying the living crap out of me.

I suspect a lot of the time the women want to admire my good looks and striking physique and the lads want to catch the scraps.

It surprising I get any time to post online really.

Too many real contacts....dropping by all the time, annoying the living crap out of me.

I suspect a lot of the time the women want to admire my good looks and striking physique and the lads want to catch the scraps.

It surprising I get any time to post online really.

I agree, and I now think virtual friends are the way to go. They are much easier to control than the annoying flesh and blood type. Besides, I get more than enough admiration simply standing in front of the mirror.

Too many real contacts....dropping by all the time, annoying the living crap out of me.

I suspect a lot of the time the women want to admire my good looks and striking physique and the lads want to catch the scraps.

It surprising I get any time to post online really.

I agree, and I now think virtual friends are the way to go. They are much easier to control than the annoying flesh and blood type. Besides, I get more than enough admiration simply standing in front of the mirror.

It's easy to see why.....very hansum.

I don't mind blood and flesh visitors, it gives me the chance to practise my leg sweeps and forearm takedowns and the occasional choke hold.

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I find the Germans loud blowhards that think they are superior that plays just the opposite....Brits are a complainy type of whiney but at least have a humor about themselves....

Brits like to stand in queues.

And if there aren't any available, they will stand by themselves until someone falls in behind them and form their own queue.

That's what we do.........................

I don't work from an office, in fact I don't work at all and I am generally online non stop.

Having a laugh on TV is a release from the stress of my piles.

I'm pretty lucky though, as I work with nobody, so that has some advantages, as well as disadvantages. I have no network of social contacts from Football and Cricket teams, or any good friends who live fairly close by, who we never have got to know over the last few years. I also count a few friends from TV who I never meet up with when they are in my area, or I am in theirs. Certainly not socially isolated at all.

Piles Costas???? Piles of what? Money?

The only farang I see in Thailand is my neighbour Rob, when he is here. The nearest farang apart from him is about 40 minutes away in Phon Cheroen, but I don't know his name.

I like Rob. He was my neighbour in Coffs, and introduced me to my wife.

Ooops, have to go; my wife is calling me for dinner...

My wife and daughter are the center of my social life.

Beyond that I get by on a social diet of brief interactions with Thais which usually last less than half an hour. Over many years of these interactions, I feel there are many Thai people locally who know who I am.

My concept of friendship has changed a lot since moving to Thailand. I no longer think of a friend as someone who I can tell my dark secrets to or trust with my ATM card. I think of a friend as someone who enjoys interacting with me and we have some common interests.

I don't have any farang friends in Thailand mainly because there are very few in my immediate vicinity, and the few that are here don't seem to be very receptive to even saying hello on the street. Also, there is a lot of turnover with the foreigners who live here. Many leave the area after divorce, health problems, accidents, or deciding that living in a small village is not for them.

I show up at the open markets early before the crowds get there and talk to the vendors a lot. I talk about my family, food, cooking, field questions about life overseas, that sort of thing. A lot of these vendors I think of as friends. I also interact with teachers and students at school, and am friendly with most of my neighbors. My wife has about 50 relatives in town who she is related to by blood or marriage. Many I only see on occasion, but because I am part of this family, they are always friendly to me. If I want to talk, I can always go over to where my wife's immediate family lives.

I know some will say this is a spartan social life, but I feel satisfied with my social life here. I feel much more socially connected and supported here than I ever did back home.

My wife and daughter are the center of my social life.

Beyond that I get by on a social diet of brief interactions with Thais which usually last less than half an hour. Over many years of these interactions, I feel there are many Thai people locally who know who I am.

My concept of friendship has changed a lot since moving to Thailand. I no longer think of a friend as someone who I can tell my dark secrets to or trust with my ATM card. I think of a friend as someone who enjoys interacting with me and we have some common interests.

I don't have any farang friends in Thailand mainly because there are very few in my immediate vicinity, and the few that are here don't seem to be very receptive to even saying hello on the street. Also, there is a lot of turnover with the foreigners who live here. Many leave the area after divorce, health problems, accidents, or deciding that living in a small village is not for them.

I show up at the open markets early before the crowds get there and talk to the vendors a lot. I talk about my family, food, cooking, field questions about life overseas, that sort of thing. A lot of these vendors I think of as friends. I also interact with teachers and students at school, and am friendly with most of my neighbors. My wife has about 50 relatives in town who she is related to by blood or marriage. Many I only see on occasion, but because I am part of this family, they are always friendly to me. If I want to talk, I can always go over to where my wife's immediate family lives.

I know some will say this is a spartan social life, but I feel satisfied with my social life here. I feel much more socially connected and supported here than I ever did back home.

best of 2015 so far...same for me and HAPPY

HAPPY would be my answer too...although the mongers and malcontents would say it's not possible.. ..