Burning bridges – when can’t expats go home?

[Deepinthailand]

Why do people take these no news jackanory stories so seriously? ????.

Thailand land of smiles

Land of girls

Land of plenty

Go back to home country why would I.

Here get bored in village make an excuse to wifey and bugger off for a few days 'golf' to Pattaya friendly girls good company, go home refreshed.

Home get bored at home make an excuse to wifey and get third degree. Go anyway arguments when return. Plus where can I go in home country for bar girls nowhere.

So go home your Avin a laugh

You seem like a nice guy.........

Sems like a guy who gets the point of the OP.

You are correct

[Deepinthailand]

Why do people take these no news jackanory stories so seriously? ????.

Thailand land of smiles

Land of girls

Land of plenty

Go back to home country why would I.

Here get bored in village make an excuse to wifey and bugger off for a few days 'golf' to Pattaya friendly girls good company, go home refreshed.

Home get bored at home make an excuse to wifey and get third degree. Go anyway arguments when return. Plus where can I go in home country for bar girls nowhere.

So go home your Avin a laugh

You seem like a nice guy.........

I am a real nice guy thanks but don't ask I don't do blind dates cheers.

[little mary sunshine]

The ones that can't return home are the ones everyone

At home was happy to get rid of....Never supported family,

Always blamed everything on other people, bunch of

Deadbeats whose family are much better off without . Ran

Off to Thailand only to create more misery for another

Family.....want to jump off a condo now that you have used

And abused Everyone you know.....be my guest !!

Edited July 3, 2016 by little mary sunshine

[chicowoodduck]

Who says we can't go back.....? I always have two suitcases by the door and in the launch sequence....good to have a Plan B...?

[Jingthing]

Who says we can't go back.....? I always have two suitcases by the door and in the launch sequence....good to have a Plan B...?

You're not everyone and not everyone has anything viable to go back to.

[The manic]

There's not much fun in the UK if you're over 45 but in Thailand you can carry on having fun, eating well, listening to music, seeing girls for fun and travelling cheaply right up to your 70s. In the UK the brainwashed PC generation are depressing as is the Islamification of the country. But I have not burned my bridges. I have a property here which I rent out and a family and community I visted once a year. I try to keep my NHS account but basically returning to the UK is brain damagingly depressing and returning here permanently a depressing prospect. 3 weeks is more than enough.

[sirineou]

many unreasonable replies attempting to justify decisions.

Any expat living in Thailand should have a plan B to return Home if needed. Hopefully it will not, but one does not know what the future will bring.

Say what you will, you will never be Thai, and you will always be ,xyz.

Look at your parents, how was their health when they got old? why do you think you will not be the same? Will the social and medical system in Thailand take care of you when you cant?

Make love not war, but be prepared for both.

[soalbundy]

There's not much fun in the UK if you're over 45 but in Thailand you can carry on having fun, eating well, listening to music, seeing girls for fun and travelling cheaply right up to your 70s. In the UK the brainwashed PC generation are depressing as is the Islamification of the country. But I have not burned my bridges. I have a property here which I rent out and a family and community I visted once a year. I try to keep my NHS account but basically returning to the UK is brain damagingly depressing and returning here permanently a depressing prospect. 3 weeks is more than enough.

I don't know why people keep their NHS payments going. It makes no difference if you have paid in or not,if you have been out of the country for years you aren't entitled to free service until you have been back for a certain length of time and show that you intend to stay permanently

[sirineou]

Who says we can't go back.....? I always have two suitcases by the door and in the launch sequence....good to have a Plan B...?

You're not everyone and not everyone has anything viable to go back to.

only because of their inability to plan.

When I was working hard to secure for the future some were getting laid in Pattaya, then when things go south on them they complain they are now getting screwed!!

Boo hoo. nothing to return home to...well whose fault is that?

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. It is as simple as that.

[soalbundy]

Who says we can't go back.....? I always have two suitcases by the door and in the launch sequence....good to have a Plan B...?

You're not everyone and not everyone has anything viable to go back to.

Time changes everything which can make a plan B impossible. All my family have emigrated, i haven't been in the UK for 45 years, i have nobody there and nowhere to stay, landing at Heathrow with a couple of suitcases would just be a nightmare. I don't intend leaving,i'm quite happy where i am,as for getting ill and dying well that happens everywhere,the NHS wont save you from the grim reaper. I have health insurance here so i expect a comfortable death with clean sheets at least.

[NativeSon360]

Another strange and pointless article from the bog-rag that is Inspire Pattaya.

This is the worst kind of editorial - asking a ton of questions and giving no proper counter argument, or any reasonable reason for composing the article at all.

Of course - there are will be a slew of people who are here but perhaps don't have the financial or employment resources to just up and leave and replant themselves somewhere else.

The grass is always greener wherever you are unless you have your financial needs completely tied down and a good social circle and a nice home and 4 wheels to get from A-B.

Reasons for staying or going will vary from age group to age group - family commitments. educational needs, health concerns etc etc etc.

Thailand is the perfect escape for retirees fun for single 18-30 year olds and a curse for those in between. If you are in your later 30's - early 50's (the money making years) living in Thailand and making your pot of gold will be very unlikely unless you speak the language well and are committed to embracing the society and contributing in a way that is meaningful and of service to the country.

You would have to find a niche in the market and make your money.

This is just a generic overview, and where the article falls down, because thee are no real or specific scenarios being examined here and ultimately the premise is all completely subjective.

It's actually go nothing to do with Thailand - you could replace "Thailand" with any country in the world which is not the place you may call "home."

In fact - a better premise may have been - "When does an expat call Thailand, "Home".

Otherwise an response would end up being a long never-end piece of drivel, going round and round in circles - a bit like I have been in my response......

Indeed, your closing sentence was the nicest of all. Talk about the needless Burning Bridges phenomenon!

It doesn't require any astute rocket-science knowledge to criticize someone else's OP topic thread. Any idiot-savant is capable of accomplishing that task. Then again, the average idiot-savant is neither mean-spirited, nor malicious enough in character, to behave that way, to begin with. They would simply read the topic thread, agree or disagree with it, then quietly move to next thread, w/o making a value judgement commentary.

As such, that begs the question of why not have you posted a much more interesting OP topic thread, based upon an original thought of your own, instead, eh? Just curious

Edited July 3, 2016 by NativeSon360

[Jingthing]

Who says we can't go back.....? I always have two suitcases by the door and in the launch sequence....good to have a Plan B...?

You're not everyone and not everyone has anything viable to go back to.

Time changes everything which can make a plan B impossible. All my family have emigrated, i haven't been in the UK for 45 years, i have nobody there and nowhere to stay, landing at Heathrow with a couple of suitcases would just be a nightmare. I don't intend leaving,i'm quite happy where i am,as for getting ill and dying well that happens everywhere,the NHS wont save you from the grim reaper. I have health insurance here so i expect a comfortable death with clean sheets at least.

I agree. Even with the best made plans, conditions can change a lot over time and it does indeed happen that long term expats have nothing to go back to. But that nothing may still be better than staying in Thailand, depending on many individual factors. This issue is not something a lot of hopeful wannabe expats think about too much.

[soalbundy]

There's not much fun in the UK if you're over 45 but in Thailand you can carry on having fun, eating well, listening to music, seeing girls for fun and travelling cheaply right up to your 70s. In the UK the brainwashed PC generation are depressing as is the Islamification of the country. But I have not burned my bridges. I have a property here which I rent out and a family and community I visted once a year. I try to keep my NHS account but basically returning to the UK is brain damagingly depressing and returning here permanently a depressing prospect. 3 weeks is more than enough.

I don't know why people keep their NHS payments going. It makes no difference if you have paid in or not,if you have been out of the country for years you aren't entitled to free service until you have been back for a certain length of time and show that you intend to stay permanently

You reckon,....Mr.illegal Polish guy turns up at hospital with a prob...What happens...?

Tell us....

If it is an emergency he will be treated,if he is illegal he will, like us have to pay 150% of the cost of treatment. I think you have to be back in the UK for 18 months to get NHS treatment free whether you have paid contributions or not. Since the Polish guy is in the EU he isn't illegal and there is likely to be a reciprocal agreement anyway. While i was still in the UK i had a road accident in Yugoslavia (Zagreb), i had 5 operations, due to a reciprocal agreement with the UK i paid nothing.

[NoshowJones]

Is this topic a wind up....?....Gawd....It reads like something a TVF banned Scottish bloke had written...

Now I wonder who that could be.

[NoshowJones]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebiRZz-1Ovshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebiRZz-1Ovs

Here is just the song for this topic. Hope you like it OP.

[soalbundy]

Is this topic a wind up....?....Gawd....It reads like something a TVF banned Scottish bloke had written...

Now I wonder who that could be.

I do wish he would stop writing Gawd with every post, he never used to, perhaps he is back in the east end eating pie and chips in a cafe of noble repute.

[tomyumchai]

my home has been turned into a 3rd world ghetto so i might as well enjoy this 3rd world country, the rain is warm and so far no ones wanted to cut my head off.....

[Deepinthailand]

Why do people take these no news jackanory stories so seriously? ????.

Thailand land of smiles

Land of girls

Land of plenty

Go back to home country why would I.

Here get bored in village make an excuse to wifey and bugger off for a few days 'golf' to Pattaya friendly girls good company, go home refreshed.

Home get bored at home make an excuse to wifey and get third degree. Go anyway arguments when return. Plus where can I go in home country for bar girls nowhere.

So go home your Avin a laugh

You seem like a nice guy.........

I am a real nice guy thanks but don't ask I don't do blind dates cheers.

Were your birds on the side blind, is your wife blind.....?

Where does it say I had a bit on the side it says good company friendly girls not shag partners. Some peoples minds I don't know

[NickJ]

I can't cause I don't want to....and my close buddies all move here ib the end.

[lucifer666]

I'm sure that the OP only asks these stupid questions to garner "Quotes" for their next pointless diatribe.

[timendres]

Utter tripe.

[smotherb]

Poor little boys home-sick for mommy? My home is where my ass resides; always has been, can't imagine it any other way. I find enjoyment everywhere; if I can't, I leave, period. When I worked I likened it to two buckets; one for money and one for shit; whichever bucket got full first, it was time to leave. Now that I am retired, it seems there is only the shit bucket; however, same-same.

[Jingthing]

You can't predict how you will feel in the future. You think you can but you can't.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

My god!what a depressing post.i was in a good mood until i read this.if this is a troll post trying to make every expat feel like shit,then i have to say'what kind of <deleted> are you.

[gemguy]

Hmmm...I think there is a whole lot of exaggeration and embellishment stated in this particular OP

I would venture to say, if there are some people, such as the OP describes, then those people will not be happy or content where ever they decide to reside as some people are just like that and can not be changed while they eventually become one of the many curmudgeons that live amongst us.

Cheers

[malcoml]

Ok... So I was sort of in this situation. Left my home country for Thailand and have very little contact with my home country for five years.

Decided to move home due to the changing Thailand.

It was a strange feeling as I sort or really thought I would pick up exactly where I left off without realising people's lives had changed a lot in five years.

I would spark up conversations with people I had not seen for five years and get weird reactions as I was still talking about things that happened before I left.

Some friends are no longer close as I really had little contact with them over five years. Although for me time had stood still in my home country for them time had moved.

A handful of friends are still the same.

I could not imagine what it would be like if you were away 20 years.

[BudRight]

When you look back at things, you tend to remember the 'good' times only.

Indeed, its called dwelling on the "healthy" positives of progressive living, instead.

If that were true then why leave your home country in the first place? Why can't moving to Thailand be a seductive mistake for legal and cultural reasons?

Everyone talks about how "cheap" Thailand is, but I spent more money living there for a lower standard of living than I do now in my own country - and I am accepted here and have rights and legal recourse when things go wrong. Plus no "border runs!"

Glad I left when I did.

[blazes]

The place you left many years ago isn't really there any more.

It's an illusion in your head.

It's a different place and you're a different you.

The OP is pimped up, but there is something to it.

Or, to put it another way, "the native never returns".

[blazes]

Having spent many years doing 6 months in my home country and 6 months in LoS, the major difference, for me, is quite simply the weather. It truly is a luxury to know that the weather will always be warm, even if sometimes the heat can be insufferable. But better insufferable heat than insufferable cold.

It's all swings and roundabouts, but there is something to be said for being able to leave the house without first consulting the weather and dressing accordingly.

[timendres]

The place you left many years ago isn't really there any more.

It's an illusion in your head.

It's a different place and you're a different you.

The OP is pimped up, but there is something to it.

Or, to put it another way, "the native never returns".

Like Thailand was home when you first came here? Give me a break.

You go home, you adapt to the changes, and appreciate (or not) the constants.

OP => TRIPE.