Less Farang Living In LOS?

[Robert24]

My sense is that numbers of foreigners in Thailand are up and up considerably. But it's only my personal observation over the last 5 years+. Would be interesting to see actual data from immigration.

[jspill]

Confirmation bias - the tendency to interpret data in a way that confirms one's beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities.

Thailand is giving the under 50s the boot! Better late than never! I'll feel like a hansum man again walking around town, a big fish in a small pond. They were probably all on overstay! Giving us law abiding folk with the right to be here a bad name!. Or working online for offshore entities, which is super illegal because I say it is! Or teaching English, the horror!

Yeah, never mind the terrorist attacks, junta government, suspicious murders of expats and other factors, leading to a 78% decline in foreign investment in Thailand...

[MockingJay]

The big influx of westerners into Thailand occurred in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis and the collapse of the Bht against other currencies - heady days for foreigners with hard currency to spend. And spend they did.

Since then three significant things have happened.

• The Bht's recovery against western currencies
• The internationa financial crash
• Inflation in Thailand.

Indications that these things were hurting people who planned life in Thailand on a historically abnormally cheap Bht rate, started to appear in the "Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investment' forum, the jubilant posts proclaiming the end of western currencies (particularly the demise of the dollar) where replaced by ever more fantasy filled posts on what might happen to get the Bht to return to cheap rates on which life plans had been made.

The condo in which I have an apartment, went in a period of 2 years from busy daily arrivals of new faces, followed by new Fortuna's, new white goods, and frequently new partners, to a gradual emptying, the car park no longer full, occasional 'flits', and quiet departures.

There's always a lot of discussion on this board about Thai women robbing foreign men, of course that goes on, but I know from the experiences of more than one expat I know personally, that they, and perhaps many more would have had a far harder time had they not been taken care of by their Thai girlfriend/wife.

One such guy I know is back in the UK, separated from a woman he lived with for over ten years, living in a rented flat and no real prospect of getting back on his feet. It wasn't a Thai woman that put him in this position, it was one of the Bangkok "Independent Financial Advisors" who sold him the idea that the pension he's worked and saved for all his life, would, in their hands, allow him a care free early retirement.

He, and a lot of people like him, have made a few bad choices, for which they've paid a very heavy price.

Yes there are fewer westerners in Thailand right now, and very many hard stories behind the departures.

Count your blessings, and hold on to your assets.

Quality post.

100% in agreement!

[djayz]

Thailand has made it quite clear it isn't interested in foreigners staying here long term. It wants the two week holiday maker now.

I disagree .

There are long term visas available and Thailand wants people to stay here on the correct visa .

Quite understandably, Thailand doesnt want foreigners living here full time on tourist visas .

If you have a valid reason for staying in Thailand then there are visas available

I disagree. The impression I get is that the people who make decisions in Thailand don't want westerners living here. 2 week vacation to photograph the elephants, spend the $, and then PO.

I have to disagree with you and agree with Luke. If you have a VALID reason to be here long term, then it is possible to get the CORRECT visa. I think the authorities don't want foreigners living here long term on tourist visas, etc. which weren't meant to be used for long-term residency or work.

Get your paperwork sorted out and you're welcome to stay. Abuse the system and people get tired of you.

[bazza40]

It's possible the less affluent Falangs are moving to Cambodia, Laos or Vietnam so they don't have to endure the immigration BS. Can't say I've seen a marked change, perhaps reliable figures from the Thai authorities would shed some light. Oops, what did I just say?

[mgjackson69]

I've noticed more Caucasians up here in Korat over the past 18-24 months.

A few are obviously just passing through, but I believe many of them are settled/settling down here.

I concur with this observation.

Certainly in my village (Chok Chai, 30 km south of Korat city), there are many more non-Thais than there were 10 years ago.

[Petchou]

Yes, I would agree.

Just out of my fairly small social circle, there are 5 friends/acquaintances who have left Thailand. Two were here on ED visas and couldn't get them renewed. One was a guy who had lived in Thailand on tourist visas for years and the other two were teachers who didn't have degrees (and who were also on here on tourist visas).

Thailand has made it quite clear it isn't interested in foreigners staying here long term. It wants the two week holiday maker now.

Thaïlande Made it clear that parasite foreigners, working without work permits (as those you mentioned), people on wrong visa and not respecting the immigration rules have to go back home.

[MockingJay]

O.P. - well spotted!

What I can say to add my 2 cents is that most of the dinosaurs, (like me) who made it through the 90s in LOS, and were able to set up a business and work themselves up to a certain standard, are still around. We all mostly will stay since most of us have house, wife, job/business, kids, etc. and basically are (and have the backing to support that) comfortably numb... Plus have we lost the "connection" to our native homeland... We would simply not fit in anymore...

But let's be honest - LOS is not the fun place it was used to be. As (talking to people who started here in the 90s) if all those coups, violently extinguished student protests, civil unrest and bombings in the south, the carnage(s) Thaksin was responsible for, the tsunami, the following yellow vs red disasters, airport seizure, civil war alike scenes in bkk, flood disaster in bkk, shut down bangkok idiocracy, and on and on goes the list...

As if all this was not enough to destroy the common westerners illusion of "paradise of smiles", we got overfishing, destruction of reefs by fishing fleets, speedboats, and jet skies, we got lazy and greedy park rangers, trashing Thais, murdering island mafiosi, murdering taxi drivers, in broad daylight tourist executing policemen, gang shootings, unexplained tourist "suicides" by the thousands, 2nd worldwide in traffic accidents per capita, a whole generation of useless drug-addicted Thai youngsters, jet ski scams, pickpockets wherever you go, sun bed and sun umbrella ban on beaches, destruction of highly profitable beach club areas, a corrupt and highly inefficient legal system, a corrupt police force in limbo, inefficient, corrupt and lazy officials wherever you look, an education system that never was good but now turns worse with native English teachers being driven out like in a witch hunt... oh man, where should I stop??? This could fill a book!

As if all the aforementioned points wouldn't be enough to destroy that illusion, we got more for you: Crackdowns on part foreign owned businesses whenever a Thai tourist related company screws up, crackdowns on visas, crackdown on foreigners in general, or (what we also had recently) police and/or army simply checking and padding down any tourist they might run into at a local 7Eleven, ever changing laws and/or regulations all purely focused on making the life of a foreigner living and working here as difficult as possible, the general anti foreign attitude many locals still reflect in their behavior, the selfcenteredness of the Thai people with their "we are the greatest, we were never occupied, never colonized, (never civilized?), nobody can beat us, nobody can tell us what to do!" attitude, etc. along with all those scams and ripoffs in private Thai/foreign partnerships that we all know just too well...

Man, if all of that is not enough to destroy your illusion of the "paradise of smiles" you either are a complete nutter, a LOS dinosaur (feeding on all those sweet memories of the long gone good times), or both...

I believe I am the latter as much too often I am asking myself "what the fffork am I doing here?"... I believe many of the oldtimers here will share my sentiment...

Edited January 30, 2016 by MockingJay

[khunPer]

Presume it must be depending of where one live - I see quite a number of new faces, and almost all the usual suspects are still here...

[fey]

to me it seems like there are more foreigners around, but they are just not settling for various reasons. like the older retired folks are traveling around like the backpackers rather then digging in.

that gives a whole new vibe to relating and conversations with them.

chiang mai area

[jacky54]

I guess not everyone likes living under a military dictatorship where they can't even look at certain news sources on the internet legally. Land of the free and of smiles it has not been for a long time, if ever.

[jacky54]

I believe I am the latter as much too often I am asking myself "what the fffork am I doing here?"... I believe many of the oldtimers here will share my sentiment...

Ha ha brilliant, I ask myself this at least once a week, if not for the mrs i'd be on the first plane home

[fey]

Yes you are right.

At my condo, there is a 50% drop in rentals according to statistics.....

I have the same experiences, had many fellow farrangs that have moved out of Thailand and that is after being here a long time.

Most have actually gone to Cambodia.

Reason?

Cambodia is like how Thailand was 20 years ago.....

Very easy visa, paying $ 280 and you get a one year multiple business visa.

cambodia is actually not like thailand at all. not a cheap version of thailand.

it's only for hardcore cases, not a preference over thailand for most unless there is some extenuating circumstance (like having to get a visa)

[thaiduncankk]

I believe I am the latter as much too often I am asking myself "what the fffork am I doing here?"... I believe many of the oldtimers here will share my sentiment...

Ha ha brilliant, I ask myself this at least once a week, if not for the mrs i'd be on the first plane home

If you don't like it here, take her with you. Problem solved.

[jacky54]

I believe I am the latter as much too often I am asking myself "what the fffork am I doing here?"... I believe many of the oldtimers here will share my sentiment...

Ha ha brilliant, I ask myself this at least once a week, if not for the mrs i'd be on the first plane home

If you don't like it here, take her with you. Problem solved.

She's a som tam and family girl, hates the UK. In her own words- 'too many <deleted>'

Edited January 30, 2016 by jacky54

[cyberfarang]

O.P. - well spotted!

What I can say to add my 2 cents is that most of the dinosaurs, (like me) who made it through the 90s in LOS, and were able to set up a business and work themselves up to a certain standard, are still around. We all mostly will stay since most of us have house, wife, job/business, kids, etc. and basically are (and have the backing to support that) comfortably numb... Plus have we lost the "connection" to our native homeland... We would simply not fit in anymore...

But let's be honest - LOS is not the fun place it was used to be. As (talking to people who started here in the 90s) if all those coups, violently extinguished student protests, civil unrest and bombings in the south, the carnage(s) Thaksin was responsible for, the tsunami, the following yellow vs red disasters, airport seizure, civil war alike scenes in bkk, flood disaster in bkk, shut down bangkok idiocracy, and on and on goes the list...

As if all this was not enough to destroy the common westerners illusion of "paradise of smiles", we got overfishing, destruction of reefs by fishing fleets, speedboats, and jet skies, we got lazy and greedy park rangers, trashing Thais, murdering island mafiosi, murdering taxi drivers, in broad daylight tourist executing policemen, gang shootings, unexplained tourist "suicides" by the thousands, 2nd worldwide in traffic accidents per capita, a whole generation of useless drug-addicted Thai youngsters, jet ski scams, pickpockets wherever you go, sun bed and sun umbrella ban on beaches, destruction of highly profitable beach club areas, a corrupt and highly inefficient legal system, a corrupt police force in limbo, inefficient, corrupt and lazy officials wherever you look, an education system that never was good but now turns worse with native English teachers being driven out like in a witch hunt... oh man, where should I stop??? This could fill a book!

As if all the aforementioned points wouldn't be enough to destroy that illusion, we got more for you: Crackdowns on part foreign owned businesses whenever a Thai tourist related company screws up, crackdowns on visas, crackdown on foreigners in general, or (what we also had recently) police and/or army simply checking and padding down any tourist they might run into at a local 7Eleven, ever changing laws and/or regulations all purely focused on making the life of a foreigner living and working here as difficult as possible, the general anti foreign attitude many locals still reflect in their behavior, the selfcenteredness of the Thai people with their "we are the greatest, we were never occupied, never colonized, (never civilized?), nobody can beat us, nobody can tell us what to do!" attitude, etc. along with all those scams and ripoffs in private Thai/foreign partnerships that we all know just too well...

Man, if all of that is not enough to destroy your illusion of the "paradise of smiles" you either are a complete nutter, a LOS dinosaur (feeding on all those sweet memories of the long gone good times), or both...

I believe I am the latter as much too often I am asking myself "what the fffork am I doing here?"... I believe many of the oldtimers here will share my sentiment...

Yea, I wonder the same thing, why the fffork are you here?"

You have taken all the negatives about Thailand and collated them into one big heap. You could do that with any country. If that`s how you feel that Thailand has only negatives to offer and nothing good going for it, then why the fffork are you here?" The same goes for anyone else that feels the same way you do.

Edited January 30, 2016 by cyberfarang

[Cypress Hill]

I guess not everyone likes living under a military dictatorship where they can't even look at certain news sources on the internet legally. Land of the free and of smiles it has not been for a long time, if ever.

Yeah pull the other one. Most of these people couldn't give a monkey's about the junta as long as they're getting their leg over regularly.

[luke000]

O.P. - well spotted!

with native English teachers being driven out like in a witch hunt... oh man, where should I stop??? This could fill a book!

That isnt correct , its people who are working illegally who are being "driven out" .

People with working visas are not being "driven out"

[GinBoy2]

O.P. - well spotted!

What I can say to add my 2 cents is that most of the dinosaurs, (like me) who made it through the 90s in LOS, and were able to set up a business and work themselves up to a certain standard, are still around. We all mostly will stay since most of us have house, wife, job/business, kids, etc. and basically are (and have the backing to support that) comfortably numb... Plus have we lost the "connection" to our native homeland... We would simply not fit in anymore...

But let's be honest - LOS is not the fun place it was used to be. As (talking to people who started here in the 90s) if all those coups, violently extinguished student protests, civil unrest and bombings in the south, the carnage(s) Thaksin was responsible for, the tsunami, the following yellow vs red disasters, airport seizure, civil war alike scenes in bkk, flood disaster in bkk, shut down bangkok idiocracy, and on and on goes the list...

As if all this was not enough to destroy the common westerners illusion of "paradise of smiles", we got overfishing, destruction of reefs by fishing fleets, speedboats, and jet skies, we got lazy and greedy park rangers, trashing Thais, murdering island mafiosi, murdering taxi drivers, in broad daylight tourist executing policemen, gang shootings, unexplained tourist "suicides" by the thousands, 2nd worldwide in traffic accidents per capita, a whole generation of useless drug-addicted Thai youngsters, jet ski scams, pickpockets wherever you go, sun bed and sun umbrella ban on beaches, destruction of highly profitable beach club areas, a corrupt and highly inefficient legal system, a corrupt police force in limbo, inefficient, corrupt and lazy officials wherever you look, an education system that never was good but now turns worse with native English teachers being driven out like in a witch hunt... oh man, where should I stop??? This could fill a book!

As if all the aforementioned points wouldn't be enough to destroy that illusion, we got more for you: Crackdowns on part foreign owned businesses whenever a Thai tourist related company screws up, crackdowns on visas, crackdown on foreigners in general, or (what we also had recently) police and/or army simply checking and padding down any tourist they might run into at a local 7Eleven, ever changing laws and/or regulations all purely focused on making the life of a foreigner living and working here as difficult as possible, the general anti foreign attitude many locals still reflect in their behavior, the selfcenteredness of the Thai people with their "we are the greatest, we were never occupied, never colonized, (never civilized?), nobody can beat us, nobody can tell us what to do!" attitude, etc. along with all those scams and ripoffs in private Thai/foreign partnerships that we all know just too well...

Man, if all of that is not enough to destroy your illusion of the "paradise of smiles" you either are a complete nutter, a LOS dinosaur (feeding on all those sweet memories of the long gone good times), or both...

I believe I am the latter as much too often I am asking myself "what the fffork am I doing here?"... I believe many of the oldtimers here will share my sentiment...

I think you sorta summed up a lot of my own feelings. I've lived here a long time, and have a lot invested in my life here.

But I've also had the 'what the f_c_*k am I doing here' feeling. It's certainly not the free and easy lifestyle I used to feel, maybe as I get older it doesn't help, but I think it came to a head few months back when the local BIB came to my house to have me fill out yet another form (for them) plus more pictures, talk of internet gateways, it's just all getting too much. Plus it ain't that cheap anymore.

I've seriously been considering a move to Mexico for a while (No, it's not all drugs and violence), mainly because it's closer to the US & my kids, cheaper, I'm hispanic so speak Spanish, plus they leave you alone.

My major concern is 'if' my Thai wife could adapt, if it wasn't for her, I would be outta here already I think

Edited January 30, 2016 by GinBoy2

[jspill]

In the other news today 91% of Thais are unhappy with the government, economy, cost of living, corruption, and crime rate http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/890932-are-91-of-facebook-users-really-unhappy-with-the-thai-government/

[oxo1947]

Less Farang Living In LOS----OP

Maybe the Chinese have eaten them all......................

[fey]

O.P. - well spotted!

What I can say to add my 2 cents is that most of the dinosaurs, (like me) who made it through the 90s in LOS, and were able to set up a business and work themselves up to a certain standard, are still around. We all mostly will stay since most of us have house, wife, job/business, kids, etc. and basically are (and have the backing to support that) comfortably numb... Plus have we lost the "connection" to our native homeland... We would simply not fit in anymore...

But let's be honest - LOS is not the fun place it was used to be. As (talking to people who started here in the 90s) if all those coups, violently extinguished student protests, civil unrest and bombings in the south, the carnage(s) Thaksin was responsible for, the tsunami, the following yellow vs red disasters, airport seizure, civil war alike scenes in bkk, flood disaster in bkk, shut down bangkok idiocracy, and on and on goes the list...

As if all this was not enough to destroy the common westerners illusion of "paradise of smiles", we got overfishing, destruction of reefs by fishing fleets, speedboats, and jet skies, we got lazy and greedy park rangers, trashing Thais, murdering island mafiosi, murdering taxi drivers, in broad daylight tourist executing policemen, gang shootings, unexplained tourist "suicides" by the thousands, 2nd worldwide in traffic accidents per capita, a whole generation of useless drug-addicted Thai youngsters, jet ski scams, pickpockets wherever you go, sun bed and sun umbrella ban on beaches, destruction of highly profitable beach club areas, a corrupt and highly inefficient legal system, a corrupt police force in limbo, inefficient, corrupt and lazy officials wherever you look, an education system that never was good but now turns worse with native English teachers being driven out like in a witch hunt... oh man, where should I stop??? This could fill a book!

As if all the aforementioned points wouldn't be enough to destroy that illusion, we got more for you: Crackdowns on part foreign owned businesses whenever a Thai tourist related company screws up, crackdowns on visas, crackdown on foreigners in general, or (what we also had recently) police and/or army simply checking and padding down any tourist they might run into at a local 7Eleven, ever changing laws and/or regulations all purely focused on making the life of a foreigner living and working here as difficult as possible, the general anti foreign attitude many locals still reflect in their behavior, the selfcenteredness of the Thai people with their "we are the greatest, we were never occupied, never colonized, (never civilized?), nobody can beat us, nobody can tell us what to do!" attitude, etc. along with all those scams and ripoffs in private Thai/foreign partnerships that we all know just too well...

Man, if all of that is not enough to destroy your illusion of the "paradise of smiles" you either are a complete nutter, a LOS dinosaur (feeding on all those sweet memories of the long gone good times), or both...

I believe I am the latter as much too often I am asking myself "what the fffork am I doing here?"... I believe many of the oldtimers here will share my sentiment...

I think you sorta summed up a lot of my own feelings. I've lived here a long time, and have a lot invested in my life here.

But I've also had the 'what the f_c_*k am I doing here' feeling. It's certainly not the free and easy lifestyle I used to feel, maybe as I get older it doesn't help, but I think it came to a head few months back when the local BIB came to my house to have me fill out yet another form (for them) plus more pictures, talk of internet gateways, it's just all getting too much. Plus it ain't that cheap anymore.

I've seriously been considering a move to Mexico for a while (No, it's not all drugs and violence), mainly because it's closer to the US & my kids, cheaper, I'm hispanic so speak Spanish, plus they leave you alone.

My major concern is 'if' my Thai wife could adapt, if it wasn't for her, I would be outta here already I think

you should seriously re-think that one. tried mexico and cut the trip short.

don't put your thai wife through that one if you value your relationship.

[dageurreotype]

Thailand has made it quite clear it isn't interested in foreigners staying here long term. It wants the two week holiday maker now.

I disagree .

There are long term visas available and Thailand wants people to stay here on the correct visa .

Quite understandably, Thailand doesnt want foreigners living here full time on tourist visas .

If you have a valid reason for staying in Thailand then there are visas available

Really. I very recently spoke with an English woman who told me she'd been living here (in Phuket) for just one year. When I'd asked her how she liked it here she told me, 'not good but not terrible, transport and visas were the worst'. Imagine having to report to Immigration (who are another branch of the police) every 90 days. Have to 'renew' your Extension of Stay every year, whether familied up or not, year after bloody year ad infinitum. No long term visas for anyone without a catch (eh? you 'elite visa holders you LOL!), in any other country in the world. Particularly a half arsed, half witted third world and-getting-worse country like this one. Dikhead.

[dageurreotype]

O.P. - well spotted!

What I can say to add my 2 cents is that most of the dinosaurs, (like me) who made it through the 90s in LOS, and were able to set up a business and work themselves up to a certain standard, are still around. We all mostly will stay since most of us have house, wife, job/business, kids, etc. and basically are (and have the backing to support that) comfortably numb... Plus have we lost the "connection" to our native homeland... We would simply not fit in anymore...

But let's be honest - LOS is not the fun place it was used to be. As (talking to people who started here in the 90s) if all those coups, violently extinguished student protests, civil unrest and bombings in the south, the carnage(s) Thaksin was responsible for, the tsunami, the following yellow vs red disasters, airport seizure, civil war alike scenes in bkk, flood disaster in bkk, shut down bangkok idiocracy, and on and on goes the list...

As if all this was not enough to destroy the common westerners illusion of "paradise of smiles", we got overfishing, destruction of reefs by fishing fleets, speedboats, and jet skies, we got lazy and greedy park rangers, trashing Thais, murdering island mafiosi, murdering taxi drivers, in broad daylight tourist executing policemen, gang shootings, unexplained tourist "suicides" by the thousands, 2nd worldwide in traffic accidents per capita, a whole generation of useless drug-addicted Thai youngsters, jet ski scams, pickpockets wherever you go, sun bed and sun umbrella ban on beaches, destruction of highly profitable beach club areas, a corrupt and highly inefficient legal system, a corrupt police force in limbo, inefficient, corrupt and lazy officials wherever you look, an education system that never was good but now turns worse with native English teachers being driven out like in a witch hunt... oh man, where should I stop??? This could fill a book!

As if all the aforementioned points wouldn't be enough to destroy that illusion, we got more for you: Crackdowns on part foreign owned businesses whenever a Thai tourist related company screws up, crackdowns on visas, crackdown on foreigners in general, or (what we also had recently) police and/or army simply checking and padding down any tourist they might run into at a local 7Eleven, ever changing laws and/or regulations all purely focused on making the life of a foreigner living and working here as difficult as possible, the general anti foreign attitude many locals still reflect in their behavior, the selfcenteredness of the Thai people with their "we are the greatest, we were never occupied, never colonized, (never civilized?), nobody can beat us, nobody can tell us what to do!" attitude, etc. along with all those scams and ripoffs in private Thai/foreign partnerships that we all know just too well...

Man, if all of that is not enough to destroy your illusion of the "paradise of smiles" you either are a complete nutter, a LOS dinosaur (feeding on all those sweet memories of the long gone good times), or both...

I believe I am the latter as much too often I am asking myself "what the fffork am I doing here?"... I believe many of the oldtimers here will share my sentiment...

I think you sorta summed up a lot of my own feelings. I've lived here a long time, and have a lot invested in my life here.

But I've also had the 'what the f_c_*k am I doing here' feeling. It's certainly not the free and easy lifestyle I used to feel, maybe as I get older it doesn't help, but I think it came to a head few months back when the local BIB came to my house to have me fill out yet another form (for them) plus more pictures, talk of internet gateways, it's just all getting too much. Plus it ain't that cheap anymore.

I've seriously been considering a move to Mexico for a while (No, it's not all drugs and violence), mainly because it's closer to the US & my kids, cheaper, I'm hispanic so speak Spanish, plus they leave you alone.

My major concern is 'if' my Thai wife could adapt, if it wasn't for her, I would be outta here already I think

you should seriously re-think that one. tried mexico and cut the trip short.

don't put your thai wife through that one if you value your relationship.

Oh <deleted>. Try Baja.

[pegman]

Depends where you live, where you hang out and with whom

I can only speak for BKK but I'm seeing untold younger farangs around the more upmarket establishments

They're hanging out with young, hip locals and they won't be seen dead in Cowboy, NEP or Pattaya.

The demographics of the farang expat have changed considerably . . . Thank God

What? A bunch of insufferable gays?

[DavisH]

I certainly think there are far fewer long term teachers here than before. There are a number in my school, but the mix is more and more to young agency teachers on their gap year. Most of them never had a job before, and a significant number can't finish a contract. The screws have slowly tightened on requirements for teachers, along with rising costs not commensurate with increasing salaries.

[NanLaew]

I certainly think there are far fewer long term teachers here than before. There are a number in my school, but the mix is more and more to young agency teachers on their gap year. Most of them never had a job before, and a significant number can't finish a contract. The screws have slowly tightened on requirements for teachers, along with rising costs not commensurate with increasing salaries.

You mean salaries not commensurate with rising costs? Pretty much sums up any job anywhere in the world right now.

Edited January 30, 2016 by NanLaew

[Mooner]

Will be even less with the new visa rules

[Cypress Hill]

Depends where you live, where you hang out and with whom

I can only speak for BKK but I'm seeing untold younger farangs around the more upmarket establishments

They're hanging out with young, hip locals and they won't be seen dead in Cowboy, NEP or Pattaya.

The demographics of the farang expat have changed considerably . . . Thank God

What? A bunch of insufferable gays?

It's bigoted farang dinosaurs with similar opinions to yours that are dying out in this country.

Cause for celebration indeed.

[charmonman]

I too have many friends who have either moved away from Thailand or are planning to, either because they're sick of the place, can't find decent employment, or both. These people have typically been here for close to a decade or far more.

It is quite possible that there are younger people moving in to replace them, but I wouldn't know. Frankly, I think if I was in my twenties or early thirties now, I would find somewhere else to explore, the way Thailand is now, but then I was looking for adventure, not pretentious nightlife or English Premier League Football on tap.