SURVEY: How long have you lived in Thailand?

[Scott]

Many of our members have been living in Thailand for quite a while. How long have you been living here? For the purpose of this survey, consider yourself a resident if you stay 6 month or more per year, or if you work abroad, you consider Thailand to be your home base.

Please feel free to comment on your time in Thailand.

[Credo]

I've been around here for 20+ years. Some of it was spent working abroad, but the home base was Thailand and I was back every 3 months for about 3 weeks to a month. Sometimes I was back more frequently.

When I finish this contract, I will retire and will return to my home country. It's been a long time, so adjusting may be a little difficult.

[4evermaat]

6 years... Although visas are always non-resident immigrant, never any extensions. Oh well. Maybe a separate survey on how many people do back to back visas vs extensions of stay would be useful.

Good to occassionally leave to another location like Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, etc. Kind of glad to have to leave and get a new visa to force a change of scenery.

[KhaoNiaw]

27 years and counting, which is well over half my life. I've had the ups and downs, made mistakes and had the great times that I would have done anywhere. With the kids grown up and starting to build their own lives, I'm thinking more about what I want for myself from the coming years. I wouldn't change too much about my time here though.

[Franky Bear]

I did the rotation thing in oil and gas for 10 years while living here. I don;t do any living on an oil rig.

[Dmaxdan]

7 years. Feels like a lot less.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[klauskunkel]

10 years +

years are boring, let's count Prime Ministers, I have 7 to date

[Rhys]

Since 1991... baht at 24 then..still had the telegram service..fun..

[Chapelroad]

This excludes a lot of members who don't live here !

[MissAndry]

I've been here 2 months, but have rented a house for a year.

Guess I don't fit in.

[phantomfiddler]

Over 35 years, and they are coming to take me away, away, they,re coming to take me away

[billd766]

10 years +

years are boring, let's count Prime Ministers, I have 7 to date

Including Thaksin 3 times and 2 military coups, then since 1993 I count 16.

I wasn't here all the time as I was working offshore a lot of the time though I kept coming back but that is the closest I can work it out to.

This may help as a reference.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_Thailand

Edited July 24, 2016 by billd766

[oxo1947]

I've been here 2 months, but have rented a house for a year.

Guess I don't fit in.

Why not you have committed.... it is slightly unusual for a single mid age lady to pick BKK to live, do you want to share why................or just tell me ..........NO..!!..........there's 29 ways to say it.

What part of the UK did you come from......?

I had a friend who come live here as he said there were to many foreigners in the UK.........I don't quite know what he expected to find over here.

Edited July 24, 2016 by oxo1947

[thai3]

10 years, its gotten a lot worse in every way

[IMA_FARANG]

I first came to Thailand in 1977 at age 31.

By your definition I worked outside of Thailand living and working in a number of countries, but visiting here at least once yearly for at least a 30 day stay each time until 2010 when I finally retired to from work and came here to Thailand as a retiree.

I am a U.S citizen, but regard myself as an expat, and only visit my relatives in the U.S. maybe once a year, in warm weather.

Possibly this fall in September, if it is a warm year, and the fall leaves on the trees are colorful this year

I last visited my "home" in Massachusetts in January 2015, and I was there for a week, and it snowed 5 days out of the seven days I was there.

Spent over $200 Dollars on "winter clothes" then which I haven't worn since I returned to Thailand.

Edited July 24, 2016 by IMA_FARANG

[lovelomsak]

10 years retired here.I have found that the longer I live here the less I know about Thailand its people and its culture.,or so it seems.

[geriatrickid]

I'd love to hear more from some of the 25+ year inmates. I showed up around 20 years ago, a young with high hopes and terrified of catching diseases off of everyone and everything. No villa market back then, two way traffic on Bangla, Child hookers on every corner in Silom etc. Sure has been cleaned up since.

[stander]

1983 on rotation then based in Bangkok office from 1987.

[MissAndry]

I've been here 2 months, but have rented a house for a year.

Guess I don't fit in.

Why not you have committed.... it is slightly unusual for a single mid age lady to pick BKK to live, do you want to share why................or just tell me ..........NO..!!..........there's 29 ways to say it.

What part of the UK did you come from......?

I had a friend who come live here as he said there were to many foreigners in the UK.........I don't quite know what he expected to find over here.

Off topic,

From central London, I have a flat 200m from Kensington Palace. Only one of three Native English speakers in my 15 flat block. Your friend was correct, almost no English spoken around me in London.

Flat so small I can touch both walls at same time. Chiang Mai, I'm living in a bigger place (2 bed bungalow) for 70 gbp a month. (Vs 350,000gbp for my flat).

Don't socialize, so the same as back home, but warmer. I can stay in watch TV (via internet) and it makes a nice change.

[ksamuiguy]

First time 1962, advisor, permanently since 1988 with short contracts around Asia from time to time. No regrets, no problems.

The "Thai American Amity Treaty" works and has for many years. Depended on who was in power as to how smoothly things went, but all and all, it's all good.

[gamini]

1963 When I got a job in Bangkok. I have been living here on and off since then.The country has changed a lot

. But the Thai people haven't and that is why I love this country. I have so many wonderful Thai friends many of them who I met in the early sixties. Loyal and helpful.

[off road pat]

I've been here 2 months, but have rented a house for a year.

Guess I don't fit in.

Why not you have committed.... it is slightly unusual for a single mid age lady to pick BKK to live, do you want to share why................or just tell me ..........NO..!!..........there's 29 ways to say it.

What part of the UK did you come from......?

I had a friend who come live here as he said there were to many foreigners in the UK.........I don't quite know what he expected to find over here.

Off topic,

From central London, I have a flat 200m from Kensington Palace. Only one of three Native English speakers in my 15 flat block. Your friend was correct, almost no English spoken around me in London.

Flat so small I can touch both walls at same time. Chiang Mai, I'm living in a bigger place (2 bed bungalow) for 70 gbp a month. (Vs 350,000gbp for my flat).

Don't socialize, so the same as back home, but warmer. I can stay in watch TV (via internet) and it makes a nice change.

You should get to places around and discover Bangkok,...get lost in some sois and go further and further until you find a great looking place to eat or have a coffee....there are some incredibly beautiful places which are not in the tourist travel books... if you get lost there is always a taxi to get you back...this is what i love when in BKK,..I love to discover places like Chinatown,...the old quarters....Don't waist you're time in front of a TV..

best regards.

[1FinickyOne]

Was first here in 1974 with a back pack - stayed a month - returned for business in 80s... been here full time about 15 years now...

enjoy it more and more every year, though I am not crazy about getting older each year...

[oxo1947]

10 years, its gotten a lot worse in every way

Wow all those posts & only thai3 whining about it.....what a surprise.... (not)

.

getting worse every-way ----that's a pretty dire state of affairs ---how long before departure then..........(there's a few on here holding their breath for the answer...........

[khunano]

I came to Thailand for the first time in 1988 as a tourist and moved to Bangkok at the end of 1994. So have lived permanently in Thailand well over 20 years although now spending more time in Europe again since a few years and liking it. Time to move on/back home??

[dominique355]

My first visit to Thailand was in 1995.

In 2006 I moved to permanently live here with (Thai) wife and kids.

We have now houses and land which I could not have owned here in 1995. Well, wife (of 18 years) is the legal owner.

Edited July 24, 2016 by dominique355

[isanbirder]

I first came here (by train from Singapore) in 1957.

I came back to live here in 1991.... and reach the 25 year mark next month.

[Scott]

I've been here for the better part of 25 years. Some interruptions, but my organization was based here, so it was always the home base.

A long time ago it was very different and it felt more exotic. Now it has a lot of the same things as most major western cities. I find when I travel, there isn't a lot of difference. The people are much attuned to being friendly than other places, so most encounters with strangers there is a nod and a smile. That doesn't happen in a lot of other places.

[balo]

Since 2010 , but visited over longer periods since 2004, easy to remember because of the tsunami .

[NanLaew]

First visited in late 1978, became a full-time 'resident tourist' between 1980 and 1990. Abandoned the place for a spell but doing the faux 'I live in LOS' bit again since 2004. Based on the work rotations of my chosen industry and time spent visiting my homeland and vacationing in other places, it probably only totals about 5 years of actually "living" in Thailand tops.

Keeps it all in perspective I think.

Edited July 24, 2016 by NanLaew