Living In Thailand Isn’t That Hard

[villagefarang]

In response to billd766 and Mitkofisland posts,

I live in between your worlds. I have met some really disgusting foreigners in Thailand in my years. Conversely I have met a handful of really genuinely nice ones that are working class guys, married with families, have a house, cars, responsibilities. Heck spend some time reading the farming section of TVF. Go look at the photos of the guys making a run at it. I admire many of them. That's my favorite section of this site. They are a different type of foreigner(expat). With that said I will say its much harder to meet nice ones versus the troubled ones as I think Mitkofisland speaks of but it doesn't make living in Thailand any harder.

I was originally put off by most foreigners I met except the few professional types that worked in the business segment. Most were rude and all they wanted to do was drink and hang in bars. Some were just down right scumbags. But those types exist in every country. I think why one comes to Thailand initially sets the tone of how they will likely behave while living here. I also think where one might live plays a significant role in it as well. People become products of their environment.

I personally don't need a lot of foreigner interaction which makes living in Thailand much easier for me than some others. I have a few acquaintances spread out through out Thailand but we mostly talk by phone or email. Quite honestly most are significantly older than I am (physically and mentally) and our interests never aligned enough to do things together. I think one of the other challenges I have come across that while there are many foreigners in Thailand they all hail from various countries and its hard to connect and relate to them. So if you require a lot of westerner contact it can be challenging.

So I understand both of your points of view.

I strongly identify with your last paragraph.

[GarryP]

Happy to hear that you have found some good foreign friends. I have a few that are able to speak Thai and stay out of trouble. Have lived here for many years and have traveled throughout most of Thailand numerous times. I understand there are good foreigners out there but as i said most i avoid as from what i have encountered and from the experiences that Thais i have met they don,t think highly of most of them. Not a day goes by where there is not a report somewhere of one causing problems. Reports on the internet such as this site, newspapers and on the news. It seems to get getting worse by the year. Sorry my opinion has not changed nor will it in the near future. I have great respect for the majority of the Thais i have met. Can,t say that for the foreigners here.

From the majority that i have seen and encountered most are drunken a-holes. So most if not all you buddies speak Thai? Really? Where? You must not get out much.

Thank you very much for your biased comment.

Not all expats are like that. Most of the ones that I know are just the opposite.

Still, what do I know, I only live here.

Perhaps the ones that you known are, and if so, I suggest you find somewhere else to hang out and get your information from.

You just proved my point.

Quote from you yesterday

"From the majority that I have seen and encountered most are drunken a-holes. So most if not all you buddies speak Thai? Really? Where? You must not get out much."

It is simply your opinion and certainly not mine.

My friends are in Pattaya, Jomtien, Bangkok, rural Thailand which is where I live, Bang Saray.

Most of them are married with Thai families, most are engineers, some are retired like me, most eat Thai food and can speak Thai to a degree, some speak more than others,. None of them spend much time in bars as that is long out of their system. Most have lived in Thailand for 10 years or more and love it here.

Yes, there are a lot of foreigners who I would not give the time of day. However, in their drunken behaviour they tend to be far more harmless than the drunken Thais.

You get the good and the bad everywhere you go, but they do tend to value life a bit more than many Thais do. Look at the figures for assault and murder in Thailand, and even domestic violence which is very prevalent here. Thailand is certainly not the land of smiles it is made out to be, there seems to be something sinister simmering under the surface here.

Having said that, I have made a good life here and this is the place I consider home. Utopia does not exist in this world. It is pure fiction. It is what you make of it that counts.

End or sermon.

[papayasalad]

they built Mac Donald and KFC so we don't have to eat their nasty Thai food.

they have Tesco so we don't have to go to Thai market.

they have tourist police so we don't have to deal with Thai polices.

the list is long but basically you can think Thailand is already the 51st state of America .

[rogeroc]

I strongly agree with the OP that the success and enjoyment of living in Thailand will largely be down to attitude and temperament and i believe tolerance of Thainess is vital as is not imposing our will. I remain unconvinced about the benefits of learning the language and i think this especially applies to those living in a city environment. I think cities worldwide are becoming more multi cultural and unless there are drastic changes this will apply to Thailand. Slowly, slowly English will become more widely spoken and more easily understood. Regrettably with regard to the language i also find some locals quite hostile (for reasons i fail to understand) when you try and speak it. My Thai may not be brilliant but is so frequently met with an 'arai na' and a frown, even with the simplest of phrases. It is the reason i gave up learning. On the plus side i see that those Thais who speak English well (and there will be more and more of them in time) are happy and confident to do so.

[huawei]

In response to billd766 and Mitkofisland posts,

I live in between your worlds. I have met some really disgusting foreigners in Thailand in my years. Conversely I have met a handful of really genuinely nice ones that are working class guys, married with families, have a house, cars, responsibilities. Heck spend some time reading the farming section of TVF. Go look at the photos of the guys making a run at it. I admire many of them. That's my favorite section of this site. They are a different type of foreigner(expat). With that said I will say its much harder to meet nice ones versus the troubled ones as I think Mitkofisland speaks of but it doesn't make living in Thailand any harder.

I was originally put off by most foreigners I met except the few professional types that worked in the business segment. Most were rude and all they wanted to do was drink and hang in bars. Some were just down right scumbags. But those types exist in every country. I think why one comes to Thailand initially sets the tone of how they will likely behave while living here. I also think where one might live plays a significant role in it as well. People become products of their environment.

I personally don't need a lot of foreigner interaction which makes living in Thailand much easier for me than some others. I have a few acquaintances spread out through out Thailand but we mostly talk by phone or email. Quite honestly most are significantly older than I am (physically and mentally) and our interests never aligned enough to do things together. I think one of the other challenges I have come across that while there are many foreigners in Thailand they all hail from various countries and its hard to connect and relate to them. So if you require a lot of westerner contact it can be challenging.

So I understand both of your points of view.

Why is having foreign friends challenging. I speak Thai, worked etc...I have far more in common with my western counterparts than my Thai ones.

I enjoy western company..the humour etc..and they do not have to be from my country of birth.

I have a lot of Thai acquaintances whose company I enjoy ( all speak good English) but it isn't the same.

Age maybe the issue not the fact they are foreign..

As I have got older my lifestyle has become more western, it was very Thai when I was younger, ( no money) .Done the living in a little apartment with a Thai g/f, done the moo baan with the family ( lovely Thai neighbours), done the poor Thai condo environment ( not that great) , now prefer to live in a modern condo in an affluent " more western friendly " environment.

It isn't hard living in Thailand if you have money. If you are old and poor living with poor Thais..yes it is.

Being poor sucks with all its associate problems...many will say it's the real Thailand, it's no more real than urbanised Bangkok.

[JAFO]

I strongly agree with the OP that the success and enjoyment of living in Thailand will largely be down to attitude and temperament and i believe tolerance of Thainess is vital as is not imposing our will. I remain unconvinced about the benefits of learning the language and i think this especially applies to those living in a city environment. I think cities worldwide are becoming more multi cultural and unless there are drastic changes this will apply to Thailand. Slowly, slowly English will become more widely spoken and more easily understood. Regrettably with regard to the language i also find some locals quite hostile (for reasons i fail to understand) when you try and speak it. My Thai may not be brilliant but is so frequently met with an 'arai na' and a frown, even with the simplest of phrases. It is the reason i gave up learning. On the plus side i see that those Thais who speak English well (and there will be more and more of them in time) are happy and confident to do so.

Excellent points, especially focusing on not trying to change Thai's to like what we like. It is their country. I have been of the mindset, if they want to learn they will engage with you, if not I let it be.

I am with you on the learning the Thai language albeit I never experienced any negative responses from any Thai when I spoke basic Thai to them. Usually they smile and kind of perk up, especially at the market. I speak a bit and understand some and cannot write it. But like you stated living in Thailand is not hard especially if you are in BKK, CM, Pattaya or Phuket. Most speak very fluent English in those locations and this will only increase over the coming years. Conversely where the challenge likely exists is if you have chosen to live way out in the country. I would think out there being fluent in Thai would be almost mandatory for a host of reasons. While not wanting to ruffle anyone's feathers I think a lot of posters that come on here and rant on about having experienced a bad time, got ripped off or scammed, relationship troubles, got bored and felt trapped etc probably moved to rural Thailand. That could make living in Thailand very difficult. I know people in California that lived in the city and moved to a rural area outside to afford a bigger house and couldn't take it and had to move back closer and there isnt any language barrier. Its a lot to consider when moving anywhere.

[papayasalad]

poor Thais are healthy and thin

I think poor Thai are richer than rich farangs.

in the USA, many are rich, fat, and sick due to excess of red meat, sugar, cholesterol...

in farangistan you always need to find money . each morning you wake up and you must look for cash to survive. at the end, the government strip you naked and take their share . if you complain, feds will knock your head against your toilet bowl, handcuff you and explain you who is the chef here. federal prisons are here waiting for you.

in thailand, you don't have to worry. this country is pretty much free. if people in the USA instead to spend half millions on a stupid house, they could come here and stop working.

instead they prefer to struggle under debt in a system that is not working anymore . when you add the cost for a cheap living in faragland, you can not make any more any money. the truth is that you finish broke and this is the reason why so many people fall in the debt trap.

[villagefarang]

Poor Thais die younger than their more affluent countrymen. Diet, lifestyle and poor health care/knowledge are killers.