Thaivisa survey: Half of expats have considered leaving Thailand in the last year

[rooster59]

Thaivisa survey: Half of expats have considered leaving Thailand in the last year

 

A Thaivisa survey has revealed that many expats in the kingdom are not happy.

 

In fact half of all expats have considered leaving the country over the last year.

 

And of the group that has considered leaving a whopping 84% said they are unhappier than when they first arrived.

 

The survey seems to represent a shift in opinion from earlier in the year when Thaivisa reported that most expats were happy with their lot.

 

Now particularly new arrivals seem to be more miserable. Some 38% of this group who had been in the country up to three years said they were unhappier.

 

A similar amount said they felt about the same as when they first arrived and only 23% professed themselves to be happier than when they arrived.

 

The average age of expats in the kingdom is also falling according to the survey. Before it was 55 and now it is more like 50 years old.

 

Under 60s expats who are working appear to be the least happy with many citing the cost of living as a reason for their troubles.

 

Bangkok and Pattaya remain the top places for expats while Hua Hin has experienced a surge from 6% to 11.4% of the total residing in Thailand. Udon has dropped from 3.3% to 1.75%.

 

Earlier in the year Thaivisa was criticized after a survey announced that expats were "blissfully happy" in the kingdom. Many people went onto the forum to say that this was not their experience on the ground.

 

The new results issued in October seem to confirm those sentiments.

 

Survey Stats:

 

• 20% of this survey have been in Thailand for less than 3 years and this new group is over indexing towards retirees as opposed to a new generation of working expats coming through (versus sample averages)

 

 

• Statistically, as an average, we are a little unhappier than when we first arrived here in Thailand

• The under 60 year old working expat are the least happiest with 44% of this group saying they are unhappier versus sample average of 38%

  • This is driven by financial status 60% saying it has become either somewhat or very difficult to afford living in Thailand over the last 12 months (versus a 42% sample average)

 

 

• Perhaps the biggest figure to take from this whole survey is that almost 1 in 2 expats have considered leaving Thailand over the last 12 months

• 84% of those considering leaving say they are unhappier than when they first arrived in Thailand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2016-11-05

 

 

 

[Johnniey]

I'm every year about half of expats consider leaving the country.

 

The long-term newbie with 5 years fall off their pink cloud. The long-term expats learn how to have an attitude of gratitude and accept things as they really are.

 

The main reason they are unhappier as they realize after a few years that the somewhat exotic dark-skinned Issarnite is not in fact desirable anymore.

 

 

[trogers]

What would be of interest is the preferred destination of those who expressed the desire to leave Thailand...

[Pattaya28]

1 minute ago, trogers said:

What would be of interest is the preferred destination of those who expressed the desire to leave Thailand...

 

I would guess Cambo

[Just1Voice]

I've been here 9 years in January.  Have a very good life/family, and absolutely no plans or intentions of going anywhere, other than to my favorite coffee shop. lol

 

[Mook23]

Lol. Blissfully happy. Then. Miserable. Thai visa surveys are pure dadaism!

[Johnniey]

2 minutes ago, Pattaya28 said:

 

I would guess Cambo

I think if you are talking about Pattaya dwellers only. Why on earth would anyone else want to go to Cambodia?

 

[mercman24]

its the jumping through hoops thing that sticks up my craw, they like to take my money, i bet my monthy spends are  more 12 of your average thai,(probably more) if we all decided to up sticks one day (ok it aint gonna happen) this place would be bancrupt overnight,

[Jingthing]

For those considering coming don't burn your bridges.

[Calach]

Sometimes I miss the homeland, or at least Europe, very much. More like-minded people, less deadly roads, no language barrier, Italian and French food, etc... but I'm pretty sure I don't miss it as much as I would miss Thailand and the Thais after 3 weeks there. 

[bokningar]

The pink filter is no longer clouding my eye's

 

Still like it here, but some stuff is probably better not knowing about if you want to stay happy.

Ignorance is bliss.

 

Maybe I have to stop reading what people post here on TV and I will be happier again :-)

 

 

[trogers]

8 minutes ago, Just1Voice said:

we have a huge, big screen tv that probably hasn't been turned on in, ohhh, 2 years, other than my adopted son SOMETIMES watching football. It's more of a decoration piece in our huge entertainment center than a functioning piece of electronic equipment. lol

 

 

Lucky I had invested on a media player and torrents 6 years ago...?

[Wilsonandson]

What would be of interest is the preferred destination of those who expressed the desire to leave Thailand...

This would be of great interest especially now. With immigration rules being tighten regularly and xenophobia on the rise. What options are there for an expat to live, work or retire else where in South East Asia?

[Jingthing]

Cambodia's visa system is easier but they lack decent medical care. 

I think it's obvious that most foreigners if they left Thailand would move back to their home nations. 

[ScotBkk]

Any real suggestions what can be done to make expats happier with their lot!

I for one don't feel entirely secure with investing money in property etc. it's far too risky never having that good feel factor. All these people who profess they're living in Paradise need their heads examined if you ask me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Maverell]

If I ever leave Thailand it will because I am unable to afford to live here without using my savings. The dwindling value of the GBP is forcing it on many Brits. Simple as that.

 

I am looking to leave Bangkok for a cheaper area right now, but it will still be in Thailand. Not sure about what I will do in a year or two though.

 

Probably Cambodia, or back to the UK to join the other scroungers....5555

Edited November 5, 2016 by Maverell
Added text

[trogers]

6 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Cambodia's visa system is easier but they lack decent medical care. 

I think it's obvious that most foreigners if they left Thailand would move back to their home nations. 

 

Like to move back, but many cannot afford to.

 

They would have found out that inflation affected their home nations as well, and from a higher base cost...

[Mook23]

I left and didnt regret. I had great time here for many years. Im back home now working 1/3 of the year. And the rest im enjoying traveling europe. Much Better quality of life but not as cheap as mongerland. But i can say what i want. Read what i want. Like what i want. I can have a chat with many people about something more substantial than food and money. Music. Literature. World politics. Etc. Thailand is too much of an intellectual vacuum for me.

[Thaiwrath]

Most of the 50% who have 'considered leaving Thailand' will not go.

Instead, they will continue to vent their anger at Thailand, and it's people, on Thaivisa on a daily basis.

[Maverell]

6 minutes ago, Thaiwrath said:

Most of the 50% who have 'considered leaving Thailand' will not go.

Instead, they will continue to vent their anger at Thailand, and it's people, on Thaivisa on a daily basis.

 

How true - I stopped reading comments from particular people long ago.

[Mook23]

4 minutes ago, Thaiwrath said:

Most of the 50% who have 'considered leaving Thailand' will not go.

Instead, they will continue to vent their anger at Thailand, and it's people, on Thaivisa on a daily basis.

True. Losers will be losers. Thailand isnt receiving the best quality of farlangs. In fact. Many farlang i have met here are low level. Many dont even speak enough thai to say more than hello and thank you.  Yet these very people feel superior. Oh well. People 555.

[abrahamzvi]

46 minutes ago, Calach said:

Sometimes I miss the homeland, or at least Europe, very much. More like-minded people, less deadly roads, no language barrier, Italian and French food, etc... but I'm pretty sure I don't miss it as much as I would miss Thailand and the Thais after 3 weeks there. 

That's exactly how I feel and I have been here in Thailand over 10 years now. As long as I am able to travel to Europe for few weeks every year, I am happy. Staying in Europe/US for longer than few weeks makes me feel home sick -for Thailand!

[chasntong]

55 minutes ago, Johnniey said:

I think if you are talking about Pattaya dwellers only. Why on earth would anyone else want to go to Cambodia?

 

 

I take you are a expert on Pattaya dwellers!

[SheungWan]

Happiness is over-rated.

[Smarter Than You]

1 hour ago, trogers said:

What would be of interest is the preferred destination of those who expressed the desire to leave Thailand...

Probably countries with functioning democracies!

[gdgbb]

Obviously complete nonsense.

 

"In fact half of all expats have considered leaving the country over the last year."

 

Really?  How would Thaivisa know that, have they surveyed every expat in Thailand or are they assuming, wrongly, that all expats in the country are Thaivisa readers and that they all responded to the survey? 

 

I wonder how many responded to the survey, so far no one here has said they did but it's early days'

[elgordo38]

1 minute ago, gdgbb said:

Obviously complete nonsense.

A good friend of mine starts off his conversations this way but he is my friend so I over look his little idiosyncrasies as we are not all equal in thinking. Asking every expat in Thailand is a big job. Polls are flawed (just look at the American presidential campaign) but its all we have to go by. Carry on up the Khyber old chap.

[fstarbkk]

1 hour ago, Pattaya28 said:

 

I would guess Cambo

 

Cambodia: The smelly armpit of southeast Asia.

[Just1Voice]

I've been here going on 9 years now, and my "happiness level" is about the same as it was in the beginning.  First, I had no illusions about Thailand being "paradise", or the perfect place for me to live.  I accepted it as a new, different country, with it's up's & down's, it's good & bad, like any place else, including the U.S., where I came from.  I didn't come to Thailand for Thailand. I came to Thailand to get away from the U.S., which was becoming much too expensive for me to live on my VA Disability pension.  

I've been married to the same woman, who is only 10 years younger than I am, for most of those 9 years, and have a wonderful, loving adopted son, who is working on his Master's in Thai Education, and a niece studying for her law degree, who calls me her dad as well.  Life is good.  Perfect?  Not by a long shot, but 10 times, or more, better than it would be back in the States living alone in an apartment.  I speak enough Thai so that when I take a 2-4 day road trip on my bike, I have no problems getting by. 

 

Life ain't "great", but it's damn good for me, and that's just fine. 

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2016 by Just1Voice

[gdgbb]

3 minutes ago, elgordo38 said:

Asking every expat in Thailand is a big job.

My point exactly but that is what the OP claimed, hence my comment.