Forced to return to home country - what would you do?

[simon43]

This is purely a 'what if...' thread, but should be popular with the pro-USA/anti-USA, and 'dont let the door hit you on the way out' etc etc posters that seem to populate this forum nowadays

Suppose that you're happily living in Thailand, but that some serious event forces you to return to live back in your home country:

- Illness, but not enough to disable you

- Business gone bust in Thailand, money run out

- Thai wife has shacked up with her 'brother'

You have to return to your home country. What are you going to do there?

There seem to be a number of TV members who have 'a leg in 2 camps' ==> living in Thailand, but never really settled here. For them, relocating back home is probably an easy move.

What about those who have burnt their bridges, with no family, business or financial ties back home? A trip to the 13th floor (or higher) might be in order for a quick exit.

In my case, having lived for the past 14 years in Thailand, with business and family, the move 'back home' would be a difficult one. There seems to be little call for satellite/radio frequency engineers, especially those of my mature years. I guess I would swallow my pride, find a nice village in the west country, and go head-to-head with the Albanian refugees in stacking shelves at Tesco.

What would you do?

[Assurancetourix]

Ah ! Good question ...

Eight years I'm living here in E-San , never got out Thailand but if...

No,no , I will never come back to my european country ;

I will go to another asian country such as Malaysia or Vietnam or why not Cambodia ..

For me the move 'back home' wouldn't be a difficult one because it's a question I will never ask me .

[Jingthing]

Couch surf for awhile!

[willyumiii]

I am from the U. S. and find the idea of going back very distasteful.

I guess it depends on the reason you are leaving Thailand, Simon has listed a few different situations.

Other than a dire need for medicare in the U.S., I would avoid going there and find another country to explore and learn about.

55 years in the U.S was more than enough for me..been there, seen that and wore out the t-shirt..

P.S. If it was just her "brother" I would probably stay in Thailand and check out a few of her "sisters"!

Edited July 15, 2015 by willyumiii

[MaeJoMTB]

Deaths door but curable, back to the UK NHS.

Money problems, impossible, I'm a pensioner.

Thai wife moves on, plenty more younger & prettier Thai girls left.

Anything else, like civil war, just go somewhere warm in Europe.

Back to the cold & wet UK ....... not if I can help it!

Edited July 15, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[MaeJoMTB]

So out of 4 posters not one has read the question properly,

Forced to return to home country - what would you do?

OP has to work, most of us don't, if you are fully financed for life you have many other options.

[ignis]

Yep a Good question...

have thought about it from time to time, but no one know what might happen.... my plan is to end my days here can't think of a better place, but if I had to leave Thailand..

My idea would be maybe buy a motorhome, camper van, go where I want in the summer and maybe over winter in the Algarve Portugal

But then I would have a pension, so older than you, also know Portugal lived there 13 years, and speak the lingo, as I read, write and speak German, some nice places there been many times as well as worked there.

[willyumiii]

typo

I don't think you get it....

We are saying that we can not be forced to return to our country of origin.

Other than being deported, where you are forced to go to your country of origin, there are always other options.

If I were deported, I would return to America and then leave again.

I am American, I have the right not to live there if I so choose!

[Linky]

Think i would rather live in a cardboard box than return to australia. I could think of nothing worse than having to return there.

[chrisinth]

I can't foresee any problem big enough to force me going back to my country of origin. As with the majority of prior posters, and I had to leave Thailand I would travel to another country. Even for medical treatment.

I made it past 55 without being called up for military duty (customary 15 years after serving 22), so apart from quick visits, that negates any reason to spend time there.

And the bridges are still intact....................

[zierf1]

I don't know why people are so afraid to return to their home countries. Your home country is not going to bite you if you return(unless you have some sort of serious legal problem).

[delgarcon]

If I had the same set of circumstances as you Simon, it's a no brainer, I would head home. A visit to the 13th floor would not enter my head, but I couldn't stay here on my own with no money, no pension and no welfare. Stacking shelves in Tescos in your great country wouldn't be so bad once you got used to it and found some friends.

Fortunately I have a pretty good pension from the UK and France and have a decent Thai partner. Health out here can always be an issue and I have to say that I miss my friends and family, but I guess I'll stick it out. Good luck to you whatever you decide.

[DeaconJohn]

Think i would rather live in a cardboard box than return to australia. I could think of nothing worse than having to return there.

Substitute the US of A for Australia and I could have written that post myself.

For working people it was far and away the best country in the world when I was growing up... no more.

[guzzi850m2]

If I ran out of money when retired I would return to Scandi.

If I did at say 70 years old they would give me some sort of home and some money to spend.

I am still working and have over 10 years to go before retiring and I am saving so I don't run out of money (hopefully).

A former friend did just that last year; His wife spend all his saving on building a 5 story condo out in Jomtien and they managed to almost finished the building before they ran out of money.

His wife did a runner with 5mill I been told when she could see the writing on the wall and she told my friend to take their son with him home.

Everybody told him not to build this condo and save his +20mill baht and spend 1 mill per year and pension on top but no, he would not listen to us.

Now he is sitting back home, poor as poor can be and I think the only reason he are still alive is because of his son or he would have taken the easy way out and ended his life.

Sad man.

[CWMcMurray]

Get a job... Likely doing the same thing I'm doing here in Thailand...

[delgarcon]

If I had the same set of circumstances as you Simon, it's a no brainer, I would head home. A visit to the 13th floor would not enter my head, but I couldn't stay here on my own with no money, no pension and no welfare. Stacking shelves in Tescos in your great country wouldn't be so bad once you got used to it and found some friends.

Fortunately I have a pretty good pension from the UK and France and have a decent Thai partner. Health out here can always be an issue and I have to say that I miss my friends and family, but I guess I'll stick it out. Good luck to you whatever you decide.

just realised that this was a what if thread so I guess I jumped the gun in wishing you good luck, or did I?

[fiddlehead]

Easy question for me.
I would go back and do another long hike.
Probably the Continental Divide Trail again.
Or perhaps the PCT although that one is way too popular now with the "Wild" movie out a few months ago.
There are lots of other trails too.
So, a no brainer for me.

But Thailand is good for me too.
I have it too easy here.

Think I'll stay a while.

But, always have a backup plan.

[magnacarta]

Why are there so many expats slanging their home country,to me it is worse than Thai bashing.If they did not have the benefit of education and work then they would not be here,or any other country.I find them obnoxious,very quick to condemn Thai basher,but very slow to admit what their nanny states have given them.In my opinion you are worse and traitors to your heritage.

[smokie36]

Cry.

[Don Mega]

I'd send my tenants an email telling them they have x amount of time to get out of my house.. Then I would simply bum around going to the beach and get back into my surfing.

[Cypress Hill]

If I HAD to go back . . . there's far worse countries to live in than the UK.

OK it might be a bit of a drag having to go back to somewhere like Grimsby or Hull - LOL - but London's hip, fashionable and buzzin'

I'd have to do a few more hours to live like I do here but it'd still be at home.

Never commuting at rush hour or wearing a suit again

[Berkshire]

I certainly have not burnt my bridges and can easily go back to the USA if required. But if I "had to".....I'd cry a river of tears like a twelve year old girl. I'm getting misty just thinking about it.

[The Dancer]

Why are there so many expats slanging their home country,to me it is worse than Thai bashing.If they did not have the benefit of education and work then they would not be here,or any other country.I find them obnoxious,very quick to condemn Thai basher,but very slow to admit what their nanny states have given them.In my opinion you are worse and traitors to your heritage.

I am grateful to the US for a great education and the bit of money I made working there. At the same time I despise living there (incidentally, I also despise the IRS following me around with laws like FATCA when I haven't consumed a single tax dollar in the past decade).

Does this make me a traitor? I dunno. Mebbe an opinionated misfit but not a traitor I don't think.

Oddly enough, one thing college taught me is that it's perfectly possibly to hold two entirely different, even conflicting, thoughts in one's mind at the same time. Makes life interesting as a matter of fact.

[MaeJoMTB]

I am grateful to the US for a great education and the bit of money I made working there. At the same time I despise living there (incidentally, I also despise the IRS following me around with laws like FATCA when I haven't consumed a single tax dollar in the past decade).

Can't understand Americans not wanting to return.

USA is a big place with plenty of warm areas to live in.

Not to mention guns ..... I love guns, YeeHaa.

If only I weren't a Brit, cold and wet in the south, cold, wet and dark in the north.

(and no guns)

[Beetlejuice]

If for me it was a situation where I had to rely on having my own business or working to be able to support myself to stay long term in Thailand, than I would never had settled here under those circumstances. I could not live with the thought of being only one pay cheque from disaster if in the event I could no longer work..

I am fully retired, have a reasonable income, my wife and I have our own home, all legal and above board, my children have careers and working. I am both an American and a British citizen, both my parents departed now, heavily invested for my life in Thailand and sold up everything in the States and the UK long ago, so for me retuning back to the US or the UK would mean being either homeless or renting as I could no longer afford to buy back into the property markets and at my age, I doubt any one would want to employ me. Also after many, many years, returning to my home country I am sure would be a great reverse culture shock and probably hate it.

If the worst did happen and for some reasons I was told to pack my bags and clear off out the country, then my first choices would be to move to another south east Asian country or perhaps somewhere on the Indian continent.

I am sure there are many in a similar situation as myself, where there is much more involved than just packing a case, booking a flight and going back to what I describe as no man`s land.

[slapout]

If i had no money to live in my home country but was deported back, i would do a federal crime, daylight robbery, plead guilty and live out my remaining years feed, housed, medical care, make new friends, plenty of things to stay busy at , gardening, etc.at federal facilities

either that or stay in a boarding house (as i do have adequate pension to do so) close to a decent pub and discuss weather and cuss goverent with the other malcontebs/ attend the free holidays meals put on and the daily senior citizen free meal for variety sake.. and utilize medical care when needed.

[timtscott]

I am still in my home country (US) just bidding time to retirement. I can retire in 2016 but may work a couple more years after that. Once I move to Thailand or the Philippines I don't plan to return under any circumstances. My only living family member is my older brother. I told him should I expire in Thailand to just leave my body there. He quickly agreed.

[Time Traveller]

Why are there so many expats slanging their home country,to me it is worse than Thai bashing.If they did not have the benefit of education and work then they would not be here,or any other country.I find them obnoxious,very quick to condemn Thai basher,but very slow to admit what their nanny states have given them.In my opinion you are worse and traitors to your heritage.

yeah it's kind of perverted isn't it. And the country they hold out as better - Thailand - of all places !

Perhaps it's due to their own self loathing and their struggle to confront their lifestyles in their own countries. But without the social and cultural pressure, Thailand allows them to come out of the closet.

Consequently, these people will only ever see faults in their own country and countrymen, and ignore all the compromises they must make living in thailand.

Edited July 15, 2015 by Time Traveller

[StreetCowboy]

"We shall fight them on the beaches... we shall never surrender"

Edit: To be honest, if anyone offered me a comparable job, on a comparable lifestyle / salary, I'd be back in a flash.

But my career, my contacts, my standards, are here, so that seems unlikely.

SC

Edited July 15, 2015 by StreetCowboy

[Linky]

Why are there so many expats slanging their home country,to me it is worse than Thai bashing.If they did not have the benefit of education and work then they would not be here,or any other country.I find them obnoxious,very quick to condemn Thai basher,but very slow to admit what their nanny states have given them.In my opinion you are worse and traitors to your heritage.

yeah it's kind of perverted isn't it. And the country they hold out as better - Thailand - of all places !

Perhaps it's due to their own self loathing and their struggle to confront their lifestyles in their own countries. But without the social and cultural pressure, Thailand allows them to come out of the closet.

Consequently, these people will only ever see faults in their own country and countrymen, and ignore all the compromises they must make living in thailand.

I consider the actions of my oz govt despicable on far too many occasions, both political parties are disgusting and I want no part of it and how they treat the citizens.

I have lived in a number of countries over the past 20 or so years and whilst there are good and bad points I find these other countries to be much more livable and much better quality of life.

I feel absolutely no loyalty to my original country, just as they wouldn't care about me, im sure the feeling is mutual and both the govt and me dont give a damn.