SURVEY: Thailand, Better or Worse?

[monk213]

10 years is too short of a time IMO. To me, it seems pretty much the same.

25 years ago the whole sex industry was much wilder and much cheaper, but foreign food was absolutely terrible and there was very little access to many books, films, TV series and music from overseas that are all common now.

I agree.

The nightlife and adults entertainment scenes have become completely commercialised over the last 20 years and although Europeanised foods are now widely available it can be rather expensive, even more so than in our home countries. As regards the more availability of books, films, TV series, music and movies, this is because that most of it is available on the Internet, whereas 20 years plus ago virtually no one had Internet in Thailand. I can remember the only main sources of news from abroad was buying week old additions of over priced foreign newspapers in the town at selected stores, the Bangkok Post and listening to the BBC on a short wave radio. Back in those days the standard waiting list for a landline phone was 4 years or quicker if willing to pay an under the counter exorbitant price.

I could not vote in the survey because I think opinions must vary according to how long living in Thailand, which areas we live, age and circumstances. But going back 20 years, 25 years and 30 years, although the lifestyles were basic, I still preferred those times when everything was rough and ready, it was cheap and we seemed to have more fun. Many people have told me that I only feel this way because I have got older, but I don`t believe that because in Thailand over the years life has become much more commercialised, more expensive, fast and furious. Also what we used to take for granted as regular social and nights out, such as adult entertainments, has now become overpriced and an expensive luxury. I could no where near afford to let my hair down and have a night out on the town as often as I could in the past.

So for me I am not enjoying my lifestyle in Thailand as much I as did 10 and more years ago.

Move to Laos

[krisb]

So far it looks like 52% of voters are moving home.

You lot think lifes really bad in Thailand for expats??

Give me a break.

[monk213]

So far it looks like 52% of voters are moving home.

You lot think lifes really bad in Thailand for expats??

Give me a break.

Like I said above, why move home? I would rather move to some sketchy place like Istanbul or Mexico than home. But the best option would be parts of Laos, the language is pretty similar so if you can speak Thai you would be able to get by, and it is kind of like Thailand was some years back. Forget going home imo

[robertson468]

Really the question and response choices are too vague. Thailand provides a very wide spectrum for expats. Living in Chiang Rai is never going to be the same as living in Phuket.

Hone the questions for a more interesting result.

Do you feel more welcome as an expat in Thailand in 2015 than in 2005 ?

Is Thailand better to live in as an expat, or better as a holiday destination for about a month?

Are the expats you actually meet in Thailand the kind of people you make friends with - or not?

Other question suggestions please ?

1. Has the cost of living gone up or down significantly compared to your increase in income?

2. Has internet choices improved or degraded over the last 10 years?

3. Has internet connectivity improved got worse over the lst 10 years?

4. Has customer services improved, in such places as the Banks, Major Stores (if you have any), restaurants and places of entertainment, or have they become all too, too commercial and giving the bottom line more priority than the customer?

5. Is there a difference in the amount of times you have a power cut better/worse?

6. Have the standard of roads improved, or got worse?

7. Has air pollution got better or worse.

8. Has noise pollution got better or worse.

9. Are you treated better/worse/the same by Thai people?

10. Are facilities, on a pro rata basis better/worse/the same?

One could include no change for questions 1 to 8. I am sure there are many more questions others could include, such as standard of drivers, double standards on buying items or entrance fee to sight seeing places, issues regarding visas, obtaining visas for wife/girlfriend/friend to visit your home Country and so on. The last question could then be ones general view of living in Thailand - better/worse/no change.

[krisb]

So far it looks like 52% of voters are moving home.

You lot think lifes really bad in Thailand for expats??

Give me a break.

Like I said above, why move home? I would rather move to some sketchy place like Istanbul or Mexico than home. But the best option would be parts of Laos, the language is pretty similar so if you can speak Thai you would be able to get by, and it is kind of like Thailand was some years back. Forget going home imo

I like the forget going home bit!

I've heard Laos is lovely and also much cheaper than Thailand. Looking forward to getting there sooner than later.

Can westerners own land there?

[rgs2001uk]

So far it looks like 52% of voters are moving home.

You lot think lifes really bad in Thailand for expats??

Give me a break.

I wonder how many of the 52% have actually ran out of money, or came ill prepared in the first place.

Too many were lured by the 75 to the pound or 45 to the dollar, exchange rates dropped and pensions didnt keep pace with Thai inflation.

My Ozzy mates remember the days of 20 to the Oz $.

Not mentioned medical insurance and medical costs.

[rgs2001uk]

So far it looks like 52% of voters are moving home.

You lot think lifes really bad in Thailand for expats??

Give me a break.

Like I said above, why move home? I would rather move to some sketchy place like Istanbul or Mexico than home. But the best option would be parts of Laos, the language is pretty similar so if you can speak Thai you would be able to get by, and it is kind of like Thailand was some years back. Forget going home imo

I like the forget going home bit!

I've heard Laos is lovely and also much cheaper than Thailand. Looking forward to getting there sooner than later.

Can westerners own land there?

Own land, no.

As for not going home, the other problem is finding somewhere just as easy to live in as Thailand.

There are some beautiful parts of Asia, not all of them are an option for full time living, I sure as heck dont want to live like a backbacker.

Yes Laos is beautiful.

[uptheos]

10 years is too short of a time IMO. To me, it seems pretty much the same.

25 years ago the whole sex industry was much wilder and much cheaper, but foreign food was absolutely terrible and there was very little access to many books, films, TV series and music from overseas that are all common now.

Who needed books, films, TV series or even foreign food, when the sex industry could keep a person busy for a pittance?

[krisb]

So far it looks like 52% of voters are moving home.

You lot think lifes really bad in Thailand for expats??

Give me a break.

I wonder how many of the 52% have actually ran out of money, or came ill prepared in the first place.

Too many were lured by the 75 to the pound or 45 to the dollar, exchange rates dropped and pensions didnt keep pace with Thai inflation.

My Ozzy mates remember the days of 20 to the Oz $.

Not mentioned medical insurance and medical costs.

I sent some money from Australia today. 24. 55 to the Australian dollar! That's terrible. Goes to show it all adds up. Last year or was it the year before we got 34 to the dollar.

Doable if like us only holiday there but I can see it squeezing a few for sure.

Makes me wonder why more don't look at Laos as an option?

Had a Laos guy eating soup in a village soup kitchen who said he loved Thailand because he made so much cutting sugar in Issan! Maybe 400 baht a day max I suppose.

Makes me wonder how life is there?

[monk213]

So far it looks like 52% of voters are moving home.

You lot think lifes really bad in Thailand for expats??

Give me a break.

Like I said above, why move home? I would rather move to some sketchy place like Istanbul or Mexico than home. But the best option would be parts of Laos, the language is pretty similar so if you can speak Thai you would be able to get by, and it is kind of like Thailand was some years back. Forget going home imo

I like the forget going home bit!

I've heard Laos is lovely and also much cheaper than Thailand. Looking forward to getting there sooner than later.

Can westerners own land there?

Like rgs stated yes Laos is beautiful, landlocked so no beaches but the forests and waterfalls, villages and jungles are amazing to explore. When I went to Vientiane which is the capital, I didn't have high hopes because I hate capital cities and like a slower pace of life. I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly the locals are there and how it was A LOT more relaxed than London or Bangkok, just generally a great place. They speak fairly good English but I speak Thai so I was just speaking Thai with them, they also accept kip, baht and dollar in most places as well which is good. Beer Lao so much better than any generic beer here and the food was amazing. Damn, ok I am going to Laos for an indefinite time I think You can get a 2 month tourist visa and keep leaving and returning as long as you like I think.

[uptheos]

So far it looks like 52% of voters are moving home.

You lot think lifes really bad in Thailand for expats??

Give me a break.

Like I said above, why move home? I would rather move to some sketchy place like Istanbul or Mexico than home. But the best option would be parts of Laos, the language is pretty similar so if you can speak Thai you would be able to get by, and it is kind of like Thailand was some years back. Forget going home imo

I like the forget going home bit!

I've heard Laos is lovely and also much cheaper than Thailand. Looking forward to getting there sooner than later.

Can westerners own land there?

Like rgs stated yes Laos is beautiful, landlocked so no beaches but the forests and waterfalls, villages and jungles are amazing to explore. When I went to Vientiane which is the capital, I didn't have high hopes because I hate capital cities and like a slower pace of life. I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly the locals are there and how it was A LOT more relaxed than London or Bangkok, just generally a great place. They speak fairly good English but I speak Thai so I was just speaking Thai with them, they also accept kip, baht and dollar in most places as well which is good. Beer Lao so much better than any generic beer here and the food was amazing. Damn, ok I am going to Laos for an indefinite time I think You can get a 2 month tourist visa and keep leaving and returning as long as you like I think.

This surely didn't surprise you at all........did it?

[YeahSiam]

 

It used to be a status being a falang here,but now you feel persecuted and mistrust, much more then before. It doesn't feel as safe as it used to either. Crimes against foreigners on the rise...

 

That's a good thing. Enough of our lowest common

denominators have come here and taken the piss

for the Thais to realise most of us took

advantage of their once-legendary hospitality.

Whitey has to earn respect now - having a few baht

doesn't cut it any more - and that's a welcome

cultural development.

[monk213]

Um, well kind of. I had never been to Laos before and I hate capital cities, so what did I have to go by apart from pictures on the internet? Things are very different IRL quite often.

But the best thing about Laos, imo, is the people. Often a local Thai smile means they want money, there in Laos they often genuinely are smiling.

So far it looks like 52% of voters are moving home.

You lot think lifes really bad in Thailand for expats??

Give me a break.

Like I said above, why move home? I would rather move to some sketchy place like Istanbul or Mexico than home. But the best option would be parts of Laos, the language is pretty similar so if you can speak Thai you would be able to get by, and it is kind of like Thailand was some years back. Forget going home imo

I like the forget going home bit!

I've heard Laos is lovely and also much cheaper than Thailand. Looking forward to getting there sooner than later.

Can westerners own land there?

Like rgs stated yes Laos is beautiful, landlocked so no beaches but the forests and waterfalls, villages and jungles are amazing to explore. When I went to Vientiane which is the capital, I didn't have high hopes because I hate capital cities and like a slower pace of life. I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly the locals are there and how it was A LOT more relaxed than London or Bangkok, just generally a great place. They speak fairly good English but I speak Thai so I was just speaking Thai with them, they also accept kip, baht and dollar in most places as well which is good. Beer Lao so much better than any generic beer here and the food was amazing. Damn, ok I am going to Laos for an indefinite time I think You can get a 2 month tourist visa and keep leaving and returning as long as you like I think.

This surely didn't surprise you at all........did it?

[ttthailand]

Worse I think....

Crime, costs, etc etc etc...

I don't go to the bars much but I do remember going out 15 to 20 years ago and seeing lovely girls working and dancing everywhere. For the sexpats it must have been paradise. I went to Pattaya last week and went into 6 or more gogos and a few beer bars. I only saw one girl who I thought was really lovely. I saw one who I remember seeing 10 years ago still on the take.... Hahaha ... Times are a changing.

[ttthailand]

Better or worse..... See below example ....

You meet a lovely but simple country girl who is sweet and honest (same Thailand before). You dress her up, put on some lipstick, increase her standard of living, give her all the toys she needs and now she looks great. The only problem is that now she is rude, disrespectful, cheats, lies, etc.... This lovely sweet girl has turned ugly inside (Thailand today).

[joshstiles]

the survey is a good idea and long overdue

u would like to see a survet pertaining to the quality of this website and how to horrendously improve it...and allow replies to speak freely

do you have the nards to do this ?

not holding my breath....

[Berkshire]

Worse I think....

Crime, costs, etc etc etc...

I don't go to the bars much but I do remember going out 15 to 20 years ago and seeing lovely girls working and dancing everywhere. For the sexpats it must have been paradise. I went to Pattaya last week and went into 6 or more gogos and a few beer bars. I only saw one girl who I thought was really lovely. I saw one who I remember seeing 10 years ago still on the take.... Hahaha ... Times are a changing.

As has been covered, the bar scene may have declined in quality and quantity of hotties....which for the country overall, is a good thing. And cost, yeah, inflation is everywhere. A lot of it has to do with mismanagement in your home countries, i.e., the currency exchange rate. As for crime...what are you talking about? I see no difference. Safer in Chiang Mai than any big city in the USA. I leave home every day and don't even think about it. I can read the news and see crime going on all over the world, but I don't personally see it in Thailand with my own eyes. How do you guys find all this "crime" stuff?

[AZBill]

We come over for a month or two every year. Last visit a few months back. Didn't notice any real changes. We don't hang out in seedy areas though.

[Godders]

Nothing ever gets better if you are old enough to remember what it was like before people told you it had.

[stickylies]

i'm not old nor grumpy and i can confirm that thailand (like rest of the world) hasn't become a better place to live. but it's still an OK place.

for me the worst is (still): blatant ignorance, even amongst so-called educated people. lack of critical thinking. group-mentality (follow the pee/leader). corruption.

[flyingdoc]

I think it is slightly better, but one has to be careful and more selective!

[pilotp]

Im voting with my feet - my wife and I leave on Sunday - no regrets

[CajunCruiser]

My recollections of Bangkok date back to the early 1980s, from the perspective of a frequent visitor.

TV used to have few channels, mostly in Thai, although the occasional American show had audio simulcast on FM so she could listen to the dubbed Dukes of Hazzard while I had the original soundtrack on my FM Walkman. I believe the TV stations signed off at midnight and started their broadcast day at 0600. FM radio signed off at 0200 and resumed play at 0600. I have fond memories of an instrumental version of Jamaica Farewell on FM 107 at 0155.

Happy hour drinks at Loretta Bar or Milano on Soi Cowboy cost 20 baht instead of the usual 40 or 50. Veteran entertainment editor Bernard Trink's column in the World in the afternoon told us all we needed to know. Free tourist magazines were all over the hotel counters, each with its own assortment of advertisers. As a group they gave visitors a fair idea of their choices for shopping, touring, dining, and entertainment.

Traffic? When the flow changed on Sukhumvit, "One way mai dee." Thank goodness for BTS and MRT, and hope they come to an agreement on passes so we don't need to carry different ones. Sukhumvit had no high-rise buildings to speak of, just normal 4- and 5-floor shophouses. One could actually walk along the sidewalks without being obstructed by vendors, although the dubious quality of the pavement meant watching one's step carefully, and one still had to dodge the professional beggars who were dropped off and picked up at odd hours when few farangs were about. There was no Nana Entertainment Plaza. Soi 4 has become a gross caricature of itself.

Chiang Mai? The Pornping had no tower. Chieng Rai? The Wiang Inn was brand new. Golden Triangle? There was a billboard on the spot, but no development, just a little shack of a store with less stock than a 7-11. 7-11? Where did they all come from? One of my college girlfriends' father in Houma, Louisiana was a founding shareholder of the Southland Corporation that owned 7-11. Who'd 've ever thunk it?

To sum up, nowadays there is more glitz and less charm.

[cekipa]

If thailand is supposed to attract high class european tourists, please explain to me the choice of stopping beach chairs and umbrellas in Patong Beach and, after many foreign tourists were not allowed to bring their own, introduce now umbrellas and beach mats at the same price. Is this supposed to be a move towards high profiled european tourists ?

[mickyboy]

Scams are getting worse

Violence toward westerners is getting worse

Corruption getting worse (more and more "suicides", not murders)

Cost of living increasing

Teacher's salaries staying the same, though contracts are getting shorter and shorter

More xenophobia

Foreigners getting blamed for everything....more cracking down on us, when they should be dealing with their own problems

Cost of going up (sorry)

Worse traffic jams

More pollution

Less natural environment

think in your case its time to leave as nothing is any good only hell can be worse or syria

[Berkshire]

Scams are getting worse

Violence toward westerners is getting worse

Corruption getting worse (more and more "suicides", not murders)

Cost of living increasing

Teacher's salaries staying the same, though contracts are getting shorter and shorter

More xenophobia

Foreigners getting blamed for everything....more cracking down on us, when they should be dealing with their own problems

Cost of going up (sorry)

Worse traffic jams

More pollution

Less natural environment

think in your case its time to leave as nothing is any good only hell can be worse or syria

Agree. What's funny is his TV name which is so appropriate.

[catweazle]

10 years is too short of a time IMO. To me, it seems pretty much the same.

25 years ago the whole sex industry was much wilder and much cheaper, but foreign food was absolutely terrible and there was very little access to many books, films, TV series and music from overseas that are all common now.

I agree.

The nightlife and adults entertainment scenes have become completely commercialised over the last 20 years and although Europeanised foods are now widely available it can be rather expensive, even more so than in our home countries. As regards the more availability of books, films, TV series, music and movies, this is because that most of it is available on the Internet, whereas 20 years plus ago virtually no one had Internet in Thailand. I can remember the only main sources of news from abroad was buying week old additions of over priced foreign newspapers in the town at selected stores, the Bangkok Post and listening to the BBC on a short wave radio. Back in those days the standard waiting list for a landline phone was 4 years or quicker if willing to pay an under the counter exorbitant price.

I could not vote in the survey because I think opinions must vary according to how long living in Thailand, which areas we live, age and circumstances. But going back 20 years, 25 years and 30 years, although the lifestyles were basic, I still preferred those times when everything was rough and ready, it was cheap and we seemed to have more fun. Many people have told me that I only feel this way because I have got older, but I don`t believe that because in Thailand over the years life has become much more commercialised, more expensive, fast and furious. Also what we used to take for granted as regular social and nights out, such as adult entertainments, has now become overpriced and an expensive luxury. I could no where near afford to let my hair down and have a night out on the town as often as I could in the past.

So for me I am not enjoying my lifestyle in Thailand as much I as did 10 and more years ago.

You saved me a lot of typing, Beetlejuice Thanks for that - your views mirror mine by a good 80% and I would like to add that Thailand seems not be that much fun anymore just because you are getting older... When I look back 23 years ago when I arrived and compare my findings with everything I see now, I can definitely state that the sentiment and general mindset of the Thai people has gotten colder, especially in the industry.

In the past years and especially the past months since our beloved soldier PM has entered the stage, all I can see on an almost daily basis are more restrictions, more crackdowns (mostly on westerners, their visas and businesses), more eradication of fun places, and shots in the knee of Thailand's tourism...

The beach cleanup had the effect that we have a 30% decrease in arriving tourists who opted to stay home or visit Bali and other fun beaches instead, because they think there is nothing left, not one single beach chair or umbrella at or near the beaches here, and this clusterf..k is just one of the many Mr. P has performed since the coup.

I am angry at myself for investing everything I own here and am concerned about my future and the future of my little Thai/foreign family in Thailand due to recent developments and the never ending "I will make sure to destroy the word FUN in this country once and for all !" stance of Mr. P . I really liked him first for putting an end to the Yellow/Red kerfuffle, but by now this guy starts to p!$$ me off!

Edited January 29, 2015 by catweazle

[catweazle]

Scams are getting worse

Violence toward westerners is getting worse

Corruption getting worse (more and more "suicides", not murders)

Cost of living increasing

Teacher's salaries staying the same, though contracts are getting shorter and shorter

More xenophobia

Foreigners getting blamed for everything....more cracking down on us, when they should be dealing with their own problems

Cost of going up (sorry)

Worse traffic jams

More pollution

Less natural environment

think in your case its time to leave as nothing is any good only hell can be worse or syria

Agree. What's funny is his TV name which is so appropriate.

Even though his head might be empty, he has listed some good and true points. Think bullying him is rather inappropriate.

[catweazle]

Btw - the vote clearly shows that very few posters find that Thailand has changed for the better. Thailand would have had the power and the ressources to be one of the very few places that changed to the better despite the crisis and all, but greed, thurst for power, corruption and the typical "from here to my fridge, tv, motorbike and back" thinking and 'Thailand to the Thais" anti-foreigner Thai mindset destroyed the biggest chance Thailand ever might have been given. It's too late now and under this army tyrant LOS will not only become a no-fun place like Singapore, China or even North Korea, but will be flushed down the drain when the final economic and financial blow will hit the world, which will happen in a not a too distant future... May God/Buddha/Allah have mercy on us!

Edited January 29, 2015 by catweazle

[Berkshire]

Btw - the vote clearly shows that very few posters find that Thailand has changed for the better. Thailand would have had the power and the ressources to be one of the very few places that changed to the better despite the crisis and all, but greed, thurst for power, corruption and the typical "from here to my fridge, tv, motorbike and back" thinking and 'Thailand to the Thais" anti-foreigner Thai mindset destroyed the biggest chance Thailand ever might have been given. It's too late now and under this army tyrant LOS will not only become a no-fun place like Singapore, China or even North Korea, but will be flushed down the drain when the final economic and financial blow will hit the world, which will happen in a not a too distant future... May God/Buddha/Allah have mercy on us!

Blah, blah, blah, yeah, whatever you say. Disgruntled rejects like you have been predicting the demise of Thailand for years and years. Yet, the reality is that foreigners still flock to Thailand, many relocating here for the long term. There are so many more foreigners here in Chiang Mai today than 10 years ago. This must really piss you off.