Quit your job in the west and move to super cheap Chiang Mai!

Jingthing · January 22, 2017

I think I will wait on starting the American medical refugees topic on the home country forum until details of the "trump care" replacement are fully known. I do think based on current indications, the changes may prompt many especially older Americans (age 50 to 65) currently living in the U.S. to become medical refugees in Chiang Mai and other affordable destinations. Also of course cause current expats with medical concerns to delay repatriation.

Konini · January 22, 2017

I think you're doing the right thing in getting out Nancy. KK is a very Christian place, it will be one of the last to have the radicals take over. I've sat back and watched over the last 10 years or so since we sold up and I'm really sad about Malaysia. We have some very, very good friends there, all ethnic Indian or Chinese. I would love to live there, it was always my first preference but Chiang Mai won out when we got sick of being the oldest backpackers in the world 7 or 8 years ago and wanted to have a base. The strict Muslims used to be just down the east coast, but now they're spreading and getting more ridiculous; the religious police were stopping couples on motorbikes for being in close contact and not married a couple of days ago. How else do 2 people get on a motorbike?

I believe KK might be OK for another 5 or 6 years, I hope so for your sake, or at least long enough for the crazy politics in US to settle down a bit. I think we've had enough too. We have another year to go on our lease, and seriously thinking about packing everything up into a rented bedroom somewhere and going back on the road for a couple of years. There just doesn't seem to be the same buzz here in Chiang Mai anymore. Maybe it's just me being a moody cow.

Eastern Europe is beckoning, we may as well spend a bit more time there while our UK passports are still good for it.

mamborobert · January 22, 2017

Konini...I do not think you are Robinson Crusoe on the CM appeal waning side of things...or more correctly perhaps broader Thailand. Make no mistake I still like it here and am not making any plans to move, but in the back of my mind I think that if CM was like it is now, compared to what it was when I first came, I really do not think I would have made it my first choice retirement destination.

Will be really interested in how NancyL goes in KK. Think that a researched and chosen change in environment is always a good move.

Edited January 22, 2017 by mamborobert

cyberfarang · January 22, 2017

1 hour ago, Konini said:

I think you're doing the right thing in getting out Nancy. KK is a very Christian place, it will be one of the last to have the radicals take over. I've sat back and watched over the last 10 years or so since we sold up and I'm really sad about Malaysia. We have some very, very good friends there, all ethnic Indian or Chinese. I would love to live there, it was always my first preference but Chiang Mai won out when we got sick of being the oldest backpackers in the world 7 or 8 years ago and wanted to have a base. The strict Muslims used to be just down the east coast, but now they're spreading and getting more ridiculous; the religious police were stopping couples on motorbikes for being in close contact and not married a couple of days ago. How else do 2 people get on a motorbike?

I believe KK might be OK for another 5 or 6 years, I hope so for your sake, or at least long enough for the crazy politics in US to settle down a bit. I think we've had enough too. We have another year to go on our lease, and seriously thinking about packing everything up into a rented bedroom somewhere and going back on the road for a couple of years. There just doesn't seem to be the same buzz here in Chiang Mai anymore. Maybe it's just me being a moody cow.

Eastern Europe is beckoning, we may as well spend a bit more time there while our UK passports are still good for it.

It does seem on reading some of these posts that the expats of Chiang Mai, maybe in the whole of Thailand, especially the older western women, are mostly made up of drifters, neither being here nor there. They have left their own countries and doesn`t appear they consider Thailand as a home from home. Eventually they get itchy feet and feel the urge to move on somewhere else. Although I do get bored in Chiang Mai at times, I still consider it as may last hunting grounds and have no wish to go and live anywhere else, not even back to the UK. In fact I can`t imagine myself not living in Chiang Mai.

I am not in Chiang Mai as this thread title suggests because it`s super cheap, although I could argue that CM is not so cheap anymore, not saying I love it but I genuinely like it here and believe people of my age group, 60s and above should be settled at their time of life and if they can`t find contentment and make decent lifestyles for themselves in Chiang Mai that they`ll never find it anywhere.

I had ambitions in my life when I were younger and never archived most of them, but I am proud of what I have archived and 90% content with what I have as no one will ever be 100% happy with their lot, just being honest. But many of you people seem to be searching for the promised land and will probably never find it.

Edited January 22, 2017 by cyberfarang

sqwakvfr · January 22, 2017

I wish NancyL the best of luck in her move. I looked into Malaysia as a possible destination but the initial financial requirements for the "My 2nd Home" Visa program were too steep. When I looked into it the equivalent in USD was almost $57,000. For me the financial part was non-starter. I have not looked into it recently and I do no aware of the current financial requirement.

I have lived and worked in Muslim Countries for many years in the Middle East. The one time of the year when it was most difficult was during Ramadan. The strict requirement of not being allowed to eat or drink anything during sunrise to sunset was something I could never get used to. It was very difficult to get anything done that required business at Government Offices(Like Visa issues) because officially government offices were only open 4 hours a day. I do not know how strictly rules of Ramadan are enforced in Malaysia but even I could I would not want to ever live in a Muslim Country again.

mesquite · January 22, 2017

I've been traveling the world, with CM as a base, for a few years, always on the lookout for something better. I agree it's not what it used to be. Unfortunately other places I like have gotten crowded and gone downhill as well. So I will stay in CM for the foreseeable future.

And like mambo, if I were retiring today, I would definitely not move to CM. I would stay in the US and visit months at a time.

NancyL · January 22, 2017

12 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

It does seem on reading some of these posts that the expats of Chiang Mai, maybe in the whole of Thailand, especially the older western women, are mostly made up of drifters, neither being here nor there. They have left their own countries and doesn`t appear they consider Thailand as a home from home. Eventually they get itchy feet and feel the urge to move on somewhere else. Although I do get bored in Chiang Mai at times, I still consider it as may last hunting grounds and have no wish to go and live anywhere else, not even back to the UK. In fact I can`t imagine myself not living in Chiang Mai.

I am not in Chiang Mai as this thread title suggests because it`s super cheap, although I could argue that CM is not so cheap anymore, not saying I love it but I genuinely like it here and believe people of my age group, 60s and above should be settled at their time of life and if they can`t find contentment and make decent lifestyles for themselves in Chiang Mai that they`ll never find it anywhere.

I had ambitions in my life when I were younger and never archived most of them, but I am proud of what I have archived and 90% content with what I have as no one will ever be 100% happy with their lot, just being honest. But many of you people seem to be searching for the promised land and will probably never find it.

12 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

.

This is written like someone who has ties here that he can't get out of, like a Thai wife or girlfriend and extended Thai family/village that he is supporting. It's probably just simple jealousy that people like Konini and I, with our long-term western husbands, can chose to go anywhere in the world we choose and he can't perhaps due to financial limitations or more likely a wife that won't leave Thailand.

I would defy anyone to call someone like Hubby and me a "drifter" What an insult. We've contributed much more Thailand both in terms of money and effort than many, many others.

FolkGuitar · January 22, 2017

When I retired from my first career, despite being male I didn't move here for the bar scene or the sex scene. In fact, I moved here with my wife... who is NOT Thai. We moved here because we thought we would like living here. Turns out we do. We've been here a total of 15 years. I ran a business here as a second career for 10 of those years, then retired from that. Living elsewhere just isn't a consideration. Chiang Mai is 'home.' It's not a place we're staying in for a few years before we go somewhere else, either back to where we started or someplace new. We like this place. This is home. Of course we've witnessed the changes in Chiang Mai over the years, and many of them are displeasing. But many of them make us very happy to see or hear. I don't mind change.

I've only been back to the States a couple of time in the last 30 years... perhaps 3-4 times and never for more than a week or so. I don't want to be in the States. I want to be in Chiang Mai. We've traveled the world and seen a lot of wonderful places... wonderful places to visit, not to live in, though we could if we wanted. We don't want to. We want to be in Chiang Mai. My wife owns a rather large farm house in southern Japan. He sister and nephew are living in it, but it's actually large enough for 2-3 families, and was designed as such 100 years ago. We could live there but we don't want to. We want to live in Chiang Mai. We like it here. We don't go to bars, we don't go to clubs at night, we live a pretty quiet lifestyle, and do so on a loose monthly budget that may be less than some pay for rent alone here. We want for nothing. We travel when we feel like it, socialize when we feel like it. We like living in Chiang Mai. And we like the fact that living here is cheap. It's not as cheap as it once was. No question about that. But it's cheap enough. That's all that matters.... we like it and it's cheap enough.

cyberfarang · January 22, 2017

1 hour ago, NancyL said:

This is written like someone who has ties here that he can't get out of, like a Thai wife or girlfriend and extended Thai family/village that he is supporting. It's probably just simple jealousy that people like Konini and I, with our long-term western husbands, can chose to go anywhere in the world we choose and he can't perhaps due to financial limitations or more likely a wife that won't leave Thailand.

I would defy anyone to call someone like Hubby and me a "drifter" What an insult. We've contributed much more Thailand both in terms of money and effort than many, many others.

Quite right I do have ties here like a Thai girlfriend, and her extended family plus some very close friends that I would never want to get out of as I actually love them all. If I really wanted to, I could marry my Thai girlfriend and we could both move on to somewhere else, but I choose not to, I am content with my situation, in fact I have no problems with my lifestyle, my finances are in good shape and very content where and how I am..

As it seems you are interested in my personal life I will tell you I do not support anyone else but my girlfriend, that is my choice, I am nobody`s fool, and I see no point in marrying being on a retirement extension and having no kids together, we rent a house from her brother and if anything happened to my girlfriend, she got ill or died from an accident and I have no investments in land or house that I could never legally own in Thailand, then no one has any claims on me. If I die first I have already made provisions for her. Later on I may decide to marry her when I feel the time is right. Although I know I`m getting on in years this is still the best time of my life, no debts, nice pension incomes, savings and owe nobody nothing. I am proud of my achievements and the situation I am in, have no complaints and feel good about myself. Providing my health holds out, the future is looking bright for me in Chiang Mai and have no reasons to go somewhere else.

You have the typical western woman perspective of Farlang men living in Thailand, they must be under the thumbs of their Thai wives or GFs, being bleed dry of their assets and stuck in a rut. But unlike many of the women I see posting on TV, I am not making any complaints or blaming anyone else for any failings I have in Chiang Mai, that I don`t, and thinking about going elsewhere. As for being jealous, how can I be jealous of people that for some reasons feel the need to leave Chiang Mai and even Thailand when I have a settled lifestyle and happy with my lot, long standing Thai partner, family community, friends and set up income for the rest of my life, independent and all under my control. So sorry to disappoint you.

mamborobert · January 22, 2017

I am not overly offended by the drifter tag. This is a place I live, very enjoyably, but it is not my home. I have a home in my house country and travel back there at least twice a year for ten days or so to see my parents and adult children. I enjoy every day in CM without fail, but there is nothing here that I cannot walk away from in a heartbeat. I have no plans to leave CM but neither would I guarantee I would stay here till final curtain call.

I have the finances to live pretty much where I want. I stay her because I like it, not for the cost of living. When I do not like it anymore then I can and will go.

Obvioulsy having a Thai significant other, or children, or job, or property, or limited finances, or health limitations, or passport nationality, or language profficiency, or current transferable and marketable job skills, or support mechanisms in home country, or age, or personality (or lack thereof) makes everyone different. That is just part of the rich tapestry of life. Saying someone is a drifter or a transient or limiited in choices is just recognition that we are all different. CM would be a very boring place if we were all the same.

Fact is NancyL and Konini and many others have the choice to stay, go, or alternate. Others for reasons stated above are more limited. Welcome to the real world.

WinnieTheKhwai · January 22, 2017

9 hours ago, NancyL said:

This is written like someone who has ties here that he can't get out of, like a Thai wife or girlfriend and extended Thai family/village that he is supporting. It's probably just simple jealousy that people like Konini and I, with our long-term western husbands, can chose to go anywhere in the world we choose and he can't perhaps due to financial limitations or more likely a wife that won't leave Thailand.

I would defy anyone to call someone like Hubby and me a "drifter" What an insult. We've contributed much more Thailand both in terms of money and effort than many, many others.

What a strange thing to get insulted about. Especially because being nomadic really has nothing to do with how much you contribute to the world or the place you find yourself in.

And this from a person who skips no opportunity to denigrate people in relationships with Thai people including in this post.

So let me get this straight: because you have a Western significant other you're free to go to Kota Kinabalu.. I think it has more to do with being properly retired with no job or kids and enough funds. Because Thai people can settle there just fine too; if they're Christian Thais it may even work out.

10 hours ago, mamborobert said:

Konini...I do not think you are Robinson Crusoe on the CM appeal waning side of things...or more correctly perhaps broader Thailand. Make no mistake I still like it here and am not making any plans to move, but in the back of my mind I think that if CM was like it is now, compared to what it was when I first came, I really do not think I would have made it my first choice retirement destination.

I would. Chiang Mai 20 years ago was indeed more suited to who I was then, but Chiang Mai right now is a LOT more suited to who I am now.

Plus I just really like Thai culture and society; I'd be hard pressed to name another country that I could see living in. Maybe Laos, but that's mostly a different country in terms of politics and borders, less so in language and people.

Although.. maybe the entire concept of settling in different countries is something that people over think way too much; it's a 45 minute flight to Luang Prabang, I could easily spend a good part of my time there without it being either emigration or drifting; it's just getting on a flight, maybe keep an apartment there, etc.

A lot of it is also by choice: you have to consciously acquire 'stuff' to become attached to a place. Stuff being everything you own that doesn't fit in a couple suitcases or backpacks, plus relationships and work/investments. If you don't do that then you can be out of here and into another place with a couple days notice. I remember the moment very well that I acquired the first thing here that wouldn't fit in my duffel bag.

Edited January 23, 2017 by WinnieTheKhwai

stament · January 23, 2017

7 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

Quite right I do have ties here like a Thai girlfriend, and her extended family plus some very close friends that I would never want to get out of as I actually love them all. If I really wanted to, I could marry my Thai girlfriend and we could both move on to somewhere else, but I choose not to, I am content with my situation, in fact I have no problems with my lifestyle, my finances are in good shape and very content where and how I am..

As it seems you are interested in my personal life I will tell you I do not support anyone else but my girlfriend, that is my choice, I am nobody`s fool, and I see no point in marrying being on a retirement extension and having no kids together, we rent a house from her brother and if anything happened to my girlfriend, she got ill or died from an accident and I have no investments in land or house that I could never legally own in Thailand, then no one has any claims on me. If I die first I have already made provisions for her. Later on I may decide to marry her when I feel the time is right. Although I know I`m getting on in years this is still the best time of my life, no debts, nice pension incomes, savings and owe nobody nothing. I am proud of my achievements and the situation I am in, have no complaints and feel good about myself. Providing my health holds out, the future is looking bright for me in Chiang Mai and have no reasons to go somewhere else.

You have the typical western woman perspective of Farlang men living in Thailand, they must be under the thumbs of their Thai wives or GFs, being bleed dry of their assets and stuck in a rut. But unlike many of the women I see posting on TV, I am not making any complaints or blaming anyone else for any failings I have in Chiang Mai, that I don`t, and thinking about going elsewhere. As for being jealous, how can I be jealous of people that for some reasons feel the need to leave Chiang Mai and even Thailand when I have a settled lifestyle and happy with my lot, long standing Thai partner, family community, friends and set up income for the rest of my life, independent and all under my control. So sorry to disappoint you.

Good on you Cyberfarang, you sound like you are very content and not jealous at all. I have a Thai wife and 3 boys now, the latest addition just over a week old. I personally love Chiang Mai and plan to retire here when the time eventually comes as I love it here. I also really like being in my wife's village (near Li) but prefer to split my time half there and half in CM. Besides my boys are at school so we can only go back at weekends or in school hols.

I work in Dubai and my family live here In CM. I visit CM every 7 or 8 weeks at present. It works well, as I work quite long hours so wasn't seeing an awful lot of them when they were in Dubai. Plus it's important for them to learn Thai. Having a good job in Dubai enables us to have a good life and plan for the future. However, I do admit I wish I could live here in CM all the time. However, I get to spend a large chunk of days here around 1/3 of the year so I can't complain!

I think different situations work for different people, I am married and extremely happy and don't feel jealous at all of others and you are happy in your situation, it's good you are doing what you want and not letting others influence you. I enjoy joy your posts and you and many others on here offer good advice on a number of topics, we will have to meet for a beer one day. ?

amykat · January 23, 2017

On 1/19/2017 at 8:18 PM, masuk said:

and your point is???

Every single time Nancy posts, this guy makes a comment about it, that is just a personal attack.

TooPoopedToPop · January 23, 2017

22 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

Quite right I do have ties here like a Thai girlfriend, and her extended family plus some very close friends that I would never want to get out of as I actually love them all. If I really wanted to, I could marry my Thai girlfriend and we could both move on to somewhere else, but I choose not to, I am content with my situation, in fact I have no problems with my lifestyle, my finances are in good shape and very content where and how I am..

As it seems you are interested in my personal life I will tell you I do not support anyone else but my girlfriend, that is my choice, I am nobody`s fool, and I see no point in marrying being on a retirement extension and having no kids together, we rent a house from her brother and if anything happened to my girlfriend, she got ill or died from an accident and I have no investments in land or house that I could never legally own in Thailand, then no one has any claims on me. If I die first I have already made provisions for her. Later on I may decide to marry her when I feel the time is right. Although I know I`m getting on in years this is still the best time of my life, no debts, nice pension incomes, savings and owe nobody nothing. I am proud of my achievements and the situation I am in, have no complaints and feel good about myself. Providing my health holds out, the future is looking bright for me in Chiang Mai and have no reasons to go somewhere else.

You have the typical western woman perspective of Farlang men living in Thailand, they must be under the thumbs of their Thai wives or GFs, being bleed dry of their assets and stuck in a rut. But unlike many of the women I see posting on TV, I am not making any complaints or blaming anyone else for any failings I have in Chiang Mai, that I don`t, and thinking about going elsewhere. As for being jealous, how can I be jealous of people that for some reasons feel the need to leave Chiang Mai and even Thailand when I have a settled lifestyle and happy with my lot, long standing Thai partner, family community, friends and set up income for the rest of my life, independent and all under my control. So sorry to disappoint you.

Thanks for an excellent reply to a nasty post that is a direct insult to all of us who have Thai wives and families whom we love and respect.

Edited January 23, 2017 by TooPoopedToPop

amykat · January 23, 2017

On 1/21/2017 at 9:46 AM, cyberfarang said:

You really are out of touch.

It is not easy for retirees on first entering Thailand to find a circle of friends either Farlangs or Thais considering the lack of expat social clubs in Chiang Mai, and also not easy for an expat to fit in with mainly Thai orientated clubs and groups. What clubs there are intend to be very cliquey and not easy for them to find new friends and make other expat connections within a short period of time.

I as a Brit having lived in Thailand for sometime and having no UK accommodation address I am no longer entitled to receive treatment under the UK National Health service if I fall ill or infirm and many of us do not have family or family willing to care for us in our own countries. It`s not as simple and as cut and dry as you think.

You are correct that expats should not rush into forming relationships with Thai women but there are many Thai women here who can make great wives and can be beneficial to both parties if the man finds the right Thai woman that are around if the man chooses carefully. But it seems you are tarring all Thai women with the same brush, as is the usual attitudes of western women.

Gee ...really it isn't easy here??? Maybe it would be easier it you men didn't dislike Western woman and talked to us once in a while, as I was promoting in the other thread. Is she tarring all Thai women the same?? Were you men not doing that to me?? Are you not doing that is the same sentence ...calling what she says "the attitude of Western women'?

Nancy pointed out SPECIFIC things in her post, such as, the lack of medical knowledge that most Thai people have. This will effect you and if you had a Western partner, you would fair better. I saw my own Thai friend's Mother die, while the family sat around and watched for over 12 hours. She had a well known heart condition. She had well known symptoms all night and the next morning and they let her just die on the floor ..making many excuses, such as waiting until the maid arrived and this and that. Then they all acted so shocked and they "didn't know" even though I told them ..but you know they can't listen to a farang. I only gave advice over the phone of course.

amykat · January 23, 2017

On 1/22/2017 at 9:50 AM, Bassosa said:

My Th

That's old school thinking. Plenty of us have girlfriends/wives that look after themselves financially.

Wives that you got when you came here as a retiree, and who is now taking care of you 27/7 because you are old, sick, demented???

cyberfarang · January 23, 2017

2 hours ago, amykat said:

Wives that you got when you came here as a retiree, and who is now taking care of you 27/7 because you are old, sick, demented???

In case you have forgotten, this thread is about quitting the west and making lives for ourselves in Chiang Mai, not about women`s personal views and to air insults about Farlang men and Thai women. Give it a rest.

totally thaied up · January 23, 2017

On 22/01/2017 at 0:41 PM, Trujillo said:

Perhaps, but from my observations over the last decade here, that's not normal.

Times are changing. In my circle of friends, most women I know earn a lot more than their farang husbands. Like I said, you don't have to choose to be in a poor relationship. It's all up to the guy in reality due to so much choice if you are careful and take your time.

As for NancyL moving on, that is her choice and good luck but many of us are not stuck here, and it does not matter if you are with a farang husband or Thai wife. I could go back to Australia comfortably or even to any other Asian country if I wished. We are all not tied down. Some may be but within my circle of family and friends, we all do travel widely/regularly, and nothing is chaining us down. About the only thing I will not do here is get caught up using my own time helping others out. I had my fill of that over the years and if your silly enough not to have thought all this out before coming to Thailand regarding Insurance, budget and all the rest and then when you fall on your face, and it blows up, it's not my problem. I could not give a damn about farang clubs.

Nope, if you're packing up and thinking of living here either with a farang wife/husband or a Thai, you got to think first about it all in depth. I love Chaing Mai, but I have met just too many people over the years that I could not trust, and at times I have seen a dark side to Chiang Mai from the farang community and the older I get, I want nothing to do with that in the least.

As for a Western Women looking after someone better medically, that is laughable. In what I have seen during my time here in two different relationships is in both cases, I had an overabundance of care and constant questioning to my doctors about my condition from my partners. My current medications are well understood. Maybe in some cases with uneducated women (including Western) or girlfriends or wives that do not care, nothing can be done, but from the care, I have received, it could not be better.

Like Cyberfarang noted, this is about making our life here or like NancyL, making a move to fit what is best. Once again, like in many cases, it brings to call, it seems like we, the male are made to look like we have run to Thailand looking for some submissive Thai girl to care about an old farang. As to date, I have never met a submissive Thai girl, and I doubt I ever will, but someone will always have to bring up the fact that we are now stuck here, yet for most of us, staying here was an easy choice because we found a place we think we can call home for this period of our life.

Edited January 23, 2017 by totally thaied up

OneZero · January 24, 2017

6 hours ago, totally thaied up said:

if your silly enough not to have thought all this out before coming to Thailand regarding Insurance, budget and all the rest and then when you fall on your face, and it blows up, it's not my problem.

I couldn't agree more. 100% spot on. I've seen farang in CM asking for help to pay his hospital bill and shortly later buying the latest Samsung or Apple gadgets. I had contributed. But no more.

amykat · January 24, 2017

Totally Thaied Up:

I just want to agree with you on one big point: I don't think Thai women are SUBMISSIVE at all!! That is though a MYTH that Western men are taught and believe before they come here. They don't however, get what they want through confrontation, directness, and honesty, so many people here don't even realize for a long time, that the woman is so powerful.

You hit on another point, that Cyberfarang brought up and that was calling us Western women, "drifters" which some of us, found offensive, including me. I am not retirement age, and I have been here 12 years. I adopted a child here, I "bought" a home here, and I am financially very stable and don't work in any way. If, and when, I decide to leave Thailand, I would hardly call that ..."drifting".

Cyberfarang ...you like to brag about yourself ..which is fine, but you can do that, WITHOUT also putting other people down in at the same time. It doesn't make you look better ...it is a sign of bad things which some of us recognize, and you should learn about.

Edited January 24, 2017 by amykat

totally thaied up · January 24, 2017

31 minutes ago, amykat said:

Totally Thaied Up:

I just want to agree with you on one big point: I don't think Thai women are SUBMISSIVE at all!! That is though a MYTH that Western men are taught and believe before they come here. They don't however, get what they want through confrontation, directness, and honesty, so many people here don't even realize for a long time, that the woman is so powerful.

You hit on another point, that Cyberfarang brought up and that was calling us Western women, "drifters" which some of us, found offensive, including me. I am not retirement age, and I have been here 12 years. I adopted a child here, I "bought" a home here, and I am financially very stable and don't work in any way. If, and when, I decide to leave Thailand, I would hardly call that ..."drifting".

Cyberfarang ...you like to brag about yourself ..which is fine, but you can do that, WITHOUT also putting other people down in at the same time. It doesn't make you look better ...it is a sign of bad things which some of us recognize, and you should learn about.

No that is not drifting, and I respect that but there is a large subclass of younger women here drifting, and they are doing it hard. I was at a party some time back with a friend that is connected well in the farang community here. In the minimum, there would have been at least 50 or so Western girls at this party. They came from many different countries and many different class levels. During the evening, I spoke to many of these women. Over 60% were working illegally, were living month to month on paychecks and many did not have the money to get back home. They worried about visa runs, and it was very surreal in many ways.

I know all are not like this but there is a drifting community here, and it was in my view, larger than it looked. Most men (I will use this lightly) do come here looking for something (and mostly we know what that is) but women are in a different place as Thailand I feel treats them fine, but it is in so many ways here, being a man.

We are all drifters in a sense. In the Wild West days, peopled 'drifted' till they found what they looked for or died trying. Many people drift into Chiang Mai hearing the stories on how cheap it is to live via unsubstantiated news or blog reports. This city has changed a lot and will keep changing. People will come and go. Some will make a difference, and other won't or they will do damage to themselves.

We al have our own ideas on how to live our lives, but in general, most of us do not live by the word we say.

Edited January 24, 2017 by totally thaied up

finy · January 24, 2017

Has anyone here lived in the US underground by hopping from city to city on the back of cargo trains?

if so, did you run to catch them for dramatic effect?

every foreigner in Thailand is a drifter whether you like it or not.

no need for anyone to get offended, it's no big deal.

little mary sunshine · January 24, 2017

18 minutes ago, finy said:

Has anyone here lived in the US underground by hopping from city to city on the back of cargo trains?

if so, did you run to catch them for dramatic effect?

every foreigner in Thailand is a drifter whether you like it or not.

no need for anyone to get offended, it's no big deal.

What?. Rather dumb post.

WinnieTheKhwai · January 24, 2017

15 hours ago, amykat said:

Wives that you got when you came here as a retiree, and who is now taking care of you 27/7 because you are old, sick, demented???

Potentially. Or at any point along the way: people who came here before being properly retired, and/or not yet old sick and demented. (I'm not sure I fully understand the question; or if rhetorical then I don't think I understand the point.)

3 hours ago, amykat said:

I just want to agree with you on one big point: I don't think Thai women are SUBMISSIVE at all!! That is though a MYTH that Western men are taught and believe before they come here.

Not just men, Western women too if not more so, especially if they never visited Thailand. This largely due to shoddy journalism in newspapers and TV shows about Thailand, but both men and women gobble that up just the same. (They just come away with slightly different angles: the women think: "All men that go to Thailand are horrible". The men think one of "Wow I can find a nice girl who'll take care of me" or "I'll be a knight in shining armor and give one a better life.", or both.

Another huge misconception (among Americans (m/f) especially) is that everyone in the world is just gagging to move to the US.

But everyone's wrong until they live here and spend a decade or so.

finy · January 24, 2017

3 hours ago, little mary sunshine said:

What?. Rather dumb post.

Is it dumb because you're angry you'll always be a drifter in Thailand?

An alien. An immigrant. A farang.

Youre here on a short term pass, so get ready to move at a moments notice sunshine.

seancbk · January 26, 2017

On 1/24/2017 at 3:03 PM, finy said:

Is it dumb because you're angry you'll always be a drifter in Thailand?

An alien. An immigrant. A farang.

Youre here on a short term pass, so get ready to move at a moments notice sunshine.

There is a huge difference between being a 'drifter' and being an alien, immigrant or farang.

I lived in Hong Kong for 35 years? Was I a drifter? Of course not.

I've lived in Thailand for 8 years, now I'm setting up a large multi-national business and will probably stay here.

Does that make me a drifter? No it does not.

I'm certainly not angry about any aspect of living here and I don't find any aspect of it difficult.

amykat · January 26, 2017

Well Winnie, I understand what you are saying. I would like to point out however that probably Americans would be the least prejudiced, and you seem to be saying the opposite. We have almost no media coverage about Thailand. Not many Americans come here, it is extremely far, we don't have much vacation time, if any at all. We have good weather, and better places to go nearby, etc. Therefore there is no market for the kind of media coverage you get in the UK for example. Most Americans know nothing about Thailand, and often will think you just said Taiwan. If you say Bangkok, they think "giant whorehouse" and that is about it.

It is really only the Americans who have been here, travel in Asia, or are purposely seeking information, that then find that information.

In many countries, people are looking to come to the US to live, to get green cards. So the fact that in general people don't know that Thais don't really want that, they prefer a paycheck to be mailed in, or someone to come marry them and live here, you can't really fault them for that?

true blue · January 26, 2017

33 minutes ago, amykat said:

Well Winnie, I understand what you are saying. I would like to point out however that probably Americans would be the least prejudiced, and you seem to be saying the opposite. We have almost no media coverage about Thailand. Not many Americans come here, it is extremely far, we don't have much vacation time, if any at all. We have good weather, and better places to go nearby, etc. Therefore there is no market for the kind of media coverage you get in the UK for example. Most Americans know nothing about Thailand, and often will think you just said Taiwan. If you say Bangkok, they think "giant whorehouse" and that is about it.

It is really only the Americans who have been here, travel in Asia, or are purposely seeking information, that then find that information.

In many countries, people are looking to come to the US to live, to get green cards. So the fact that in general people don't know that Thais don't really want that, they prefer a paycheck to be mailed in, or someone to come marry them and live here, you can't really fault them for that?

Bit of a naive post obviously some one who does not get out much.i bet there is more expat yanks here than any other denomination.certinally seems to be on tv as well.can tell by everything quoted in dollars.bet a quick straw poll would confirm this.

amykat · January 26, 2017

6 minutes ago, true blue said:

Bit of a naive post obviously some one who does not get out much.i bet there is more expat yanks here than any other denomination.certinally seems to be on tv as well.can tell by everything quoted in dollars.bet a quick straw poll would confirm this.

Not really true blue ...I didn't think I had to spell it out for you ...not many Americans as compared to our population ...got it??

amexpat · January 26, 2017

1 hour ago, amykat said:

1 hour ago, true blue said:

Bit of a naive post obviously some one who does not get out much.i bet there is more expat yanks here than any other denomination.certinally seems to be on tv as well.can tell by everything quoted in dollars.bet a quick straw poll would confirm this.

1 hour ago, amykat said:

Not really true blue ...I didn't think I had to spell it out for you ...not many Americans as compared to our population ...got it??

I guess it's up to me to spell out to him that the US dollar is the world reserve currency and referenced by many non-Americans.

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