Thailand comes 93rd place in UN’s survey of world’s most liveable countries

[TPI]

It's hard to be positive about life in Thailand, the expats you meet have very little to do with locals and generally mix with other expats when they are out! Most expats seem to live within their homes or trusted haunts and never get involved with anything Thai!

It's weird really, the only thing this country has going for it is, it's the cheapest country to live in in asia, that's it!!

[EyesWideOpen]

Looks like the junta thing is not working out very well..... Most people from democratic

countries who live in Thailand may start to slowly realize they are now living under

a form of government where the leader can do whatever he wants to do. Will be interesting

to see if the rate of farangs moving out of Thailand increases over the next three to five

years.

After 14 years of living in Thailand, I decided to move back to the states this year with my family.

At the airport , my passport of course had no return stamp. The immigration official pulled

me out of line, and started to intently question me as to why I had no stamp. He was actually

upset I was not returning. It was my final bizarre moment in Thailand......

[puukao]

When you are at 90+ on a list...it should be "least livable" and not "most"

I am 1999 out of 2000 in speed walking. I am "One of the best." LOL.

i guess technically every country is "livable."

but all they needed to add to the list is ".......plus super cheap soup, ladyboys, and getting ripped off."

Then #1......YES!!!!

[EyesWideOpen]

Australia would be nice....

If they had a soi nana and cowboy, I bet all the aussies would go back.

Haha, if Australia develops its own soi Nana and soi Cowboy, I will move

there myself.... :-) And forbids ladyboys of course.....

[tartempion]

Well yeah, if you have 100k baht/month to spend

[les Dennis]

What! no Fiji ! Nicest people and country I've ever visited.

[billd766]

Looking at the top 20, I'd rather live here than any of those.

New Zealand is a great place.

I lived and worked there for a year.

[tartempion]

Luxembourg was great, worked and lived there for 9 years, high living quality, low taxes.

[MaeJoMTB]

Looking at the top 20, I'd rather live here than any of those.

New Zealand is a great place.

I lived and worked there for a year.

It's a great place for a holiday, but most of the NZ nationals can't wait to move somewhere else.

[EricBerg]

Thailand is beautiful. Yet over the past ten years the situation regarding corruption has been deteriorating progressively. My Thai wife and I are happy to have sold our Thai company and our Pukhet home. The last years nearly all official contacts have turned more and more greedy. Perhaps the most upsetting part is that they do it more open than before. Fact is that farangs are free game. There hardly seems to be any protection from law, lawmakers, police, judges.

So now we visit the Kingdom on a regular basis for family and leisure mainly. In the meantime we are looking for another country with great climate and nature to spend much time. Perhaps the Dutch Antilles as we know quite a few people there. A very agreeable place but I doubt any country can match Thailand. Pity the Kingdom shows more and more signs of a failed state. And what will happen should the most loved one pass away? Instability will not accurately describe that situation.

[Howitzer]

Oh, I see my ex country Serbia is ranked 66. So why people don't go there? I can assure you it's cheaper, food is 100 better and women are hotter.

so why is your ex country and why did you choose to move to thailand?

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Oh, I see my ex country Serbia is ranked 66. So why people don't go there? I can assure you it's cheaper, food is 100 better and women are hotter.

so why is your ex country and why did you choose to move to thailand?

Because I spent 19 years there and wanted to try something new.

[nong38]

A little more from the UNDP regarding the Human Development Index

(from the data site)

"The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.

The health dimension is assessed by life expectancy at birth, the education dimension is measured by mean of years of schooling for adults aged 25 years and more and expected years of schooling for children of school entering age. The standard of living dimension is measured by gross national income per capita. The HDI uses the logarithm of income, to reflect the diminishing importance of income with increasing GNI. The scores for the three HDI dimension indices are then aggregated into a composite index using geometric mean. "

In the most recent ranking, how does Thailand compare to the top-ranked country, Norway?

1. Life Expectancy at Birth

Norway - 81.6 years

Thailand - 74.4 years

2. Expected Years of Schooling

Norway - 17.5

Thailand - 13.5

3. Mean Years of Schooling (achieved)

Norway - 12.6

Thailand - 7.3

4. Gross National Income Per Capita (PPP basis)

Norway - $64,992

Thailand - $13,323

Dont forget that Norway is rather cold compared to Thailand so shall we call that a win for Thailand?

[MickGC]

For work reasons I'm back home at number two on the list, after an eight year stretch in NE Thailand (not my first). I love both countries and their people. Similar weather there to the northern regions of Aus where I live. Have the same collection of bugs, spiders, snakes etc. Big difference is the respect here for the local environment and associated fauna. Sat on my back balcony this evening and observed at least a dozen different species of birds. Parrots, crows, bats, magpies, kookaburras, cockatoos etc. Where I live in Thailand it is devoid of birds. Most end up in the cooking pot. Guess its a money thing.

[newarrior]

I personally like it here, for me at least life is very uncomplicated & despite all the political / administrative issues Thailand is still a very "can do" sort of place.

Living here a while you tend to get a feel for how things are done, and if you have an ounce of sense, you adapt accordingly, and life is pretty sweet.

And as other posters have mentioned, the quality of life for the average Thai citizen probably is reflected in the lowly ranking. It's such a shame because there are many Thais who work so hard and are rewarded with so little in return, and now there is almost nothing they can do to make it better for the next generations.

Well stated sir ! For a decently off expat or one with a decent job OR a decently off a well off Thai the ranking might be higher

[newarrior]

Oh, I see my ex country Serbia is ranked 66. So why people don't go there? I can assure you it's cheaper, food is 100 better and women are hotter.

so why is your ex country and why did you choose to move to thailand?

Because I spent 19 years there and wanted to try something new.

I think most people would choose Serbia over Thailand. Cuter more decent woman that you can truly connect to, better medical care, more stable government...I am confused.Where do you live now ?

[newarrior]

It's hard to be positive about life in Thailand, the expats you meet have very little to do with locals and generally mix with other expats when they are out! Most expats seem to live within their homes or trusted haunts and never get involved with anything Thai!

It's weird really, the only thing this country has going for it is, it's the cheapest country to live in in asia, that's it!!

"It's weird really, the only thing this country has going for it is, it's the cheapest country to live in in asia, that's it!! "

There are cheaper places in Asia--Indonesia, Laos, Burma, East Timor, New Guinea, Vietnam, Mongolia, Cambodia....So that statement makes no sense..Are you really in Thailand for the low cost of living only ??!!!

The expats you describe are sufferring from clinical depression, lazyness, cynicism, are beaten down mentally and god knows what else..To thrive in Thailand you must get actively involved..Work, take classes, get out of the house, take classes, go to a gym, interact with Thais more, take a yoga or meditation class, voluntter, go back to school, get a degree, get a job, study at a Thai massage school or Thai medicine school, get involved in their community, work at an animal rescue center, exercise daily, do not go to bars or drinks, eat well, read lots of books, keep getting out in the world, try new things, new places, new people, tap their alumni association from their farang colleges, use meetup.com, internations,com, attending business meetings and mixers, etc., etc.

Edited December 20, 2015 by newarrior

[Jingthing]

Sounds exhausting! You can keep all that. There isn't one recipe for all.

[mpa]

MY INCOME: 13000 THB monthly, actually much less lately so I still prefer Thailand. Have been in AUS, UK, US, GER, SIN. Perhaps West Holly only.

But I still prefer to live here & I suspect you also live here when you have the choice to live somewhere else.

15,000 baht a month is considered a good income for millions of Thais $6000/annum. Many make half that.

[newarrior]

Sounds exhausting! You can keep all that. There isn't one recipe for all.

I exercise everday so at age 52 I got the energy for it...I just finished a college degree from a major university in Los Angeles..What's the alternative ? Sit in a bar destroying your internal organs with boozem your ears with loud noise and chasing whores ? That's why so many on this site are depressed....They've lost any internal motivation to lead a life worth living and got complacent and lazy in their later years...

[Jingthing]

So in your view if people don't do what you do, the only other alternative is to be a barfly. Amazing!

[puukao]

if you defend thailand you are sex tourist.

if you troll, you have been here for a long time

if you stay out of discussion, you are content

but the BIG question is......What are you going to do to make Thailand 92nd???

oh yea...nothing...

so none of this matters

do dah

[NCFC]

The survey doesn't really mean anything to me, been in about 15 of the top 20 and comes from one of the top 5 countries and don't really want to go back.

For a lot of western gentlemen Thailand is one of the few countries where they can get sex.

[newarrior]

The survey doesn't really mean anything to me, been in about 15 of the top 20 and comes from one of the top 5 countries and don't really want to go back.

For a lot of western gentlemen Thailand is one of the few countries where they can get sex.

Well said sir...And no sex or touch from women is a slow death..Monkeys who don't get touched die and are depressed and agitated before they evetually die a slow death,,,,,,,America and the West have become sexless hell hokes

[slipperylobster]

Oh, I see my ex country Serbia is ranked 66. So why people don't go there? I can assure you it's cheaper, food is 100 better and women are hotter.

Well why are you here then?

This is the question I asked myself many times on Thai visa. My stomach detests Thai food and I would have no visa issues.

So, why am I here? Because I spent 20 years in Canada and started to think stupid.

Serbia sounds quite good...

[natway09]

It is still not a bad place to live although my biggest 2 gripes would be

1)Thais over the years have been very good at constructing, building, making things but very bad at maintaining them.

2) Accidents, events, Thais are wonderful at shutting the gate after the horse has bolted

[Seligne2]

OP is full of it. No where in the 273 page report does the term "liveable" appear.