7 year itch

[sandemara]

The smart advice, I think, would be to not let your novelty wear off in the first place. Take better care of yourself and you could live for ever. Anywhere.

[joecoolfrog]

12 hours ago, Gonefortea said:

Not my country any more. 

As I thought , no logical reasons , just self justification.

[GOLDBUGGY]

On ‎3‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 11:37 AM, Kwasaki said:

Forced home to do what.?

If you want to stay Thailand make it so.

I guess the word "Forced" was a wrong word to use here. So you are right. Nobody can force me if I don't want to go and the laws remain the same. But coming here in your early 50's and staying here until the Grim Reaper comes to get you, can be a very long time.

 

A lot of unexpected evens could happen between then and now. An unexpected and costly illness is one such event which many people don't plan ahead for. Insurance can cover some unexpected event such as this but over the age of 65 it is every expensive to purchase. I would gather to say that many people in this age group don't have Medical Insurance at all and just put some money aside.

 

Like I said I don't have a money problem now, and I am still at an age I can work. But like I also said it could be a long time before the Grim Reaper comes to get me (I Hope) and many things could happen until then. Since I am not the type who can live on a Beach and eat off of a Food Cart, if I developed a money problem I would probably just go home. So I can understand why others would do that to.  

[phuketrichard]

I have left twice since 1985,

once back to the states with wife and child in 98,  lasted  18 months

than again when daughter left for college in 2008, moved to Cambodia,

lasted a year

Phuket has growing problems for sure but its the  best for me and my lifestyle  ++++++++

[Kwasaki]

36 minutes ago, GOLDBUGGY said:

But coming here in your early 50's and staying here until the Grim Reaper comes to get you, can be a very long time.

Yeah fair call but and there's always a but  very much depends on situation as you suggest about money also making up ones mind as in my case on retirement.

 

44 minutes ago, GOLDBUGGY said:

costly illness is one such event which many people don't plan ahead for.

That is one thing IMO that people should plan for that said l thought l was invincible until Dengue got me.   

 

49 minutes ago, GOLDBUGGY said:

Insurance can cover some unexpected event such as this but over the age of 65 it is every expensive to purchase.

This health insurance cost thingy gets bashed about from time to time and just not true, l have a very reasonable cover for health and accident which is certainly better than nothing, Thai ones are not hard to find. 

 

55 minutes ago, GOLDBUGGY said:

if I developed a money problem I would probably just go home. So I can understand why others would do that to.  

Again fair call but also a personal situation thing,  l can't say for sure in my case whether that leaving my home Thailand and having to go back to where l was born the UK would be a happy time, it would be more like a death sentence. 

[JimCrane]

it's possible to use thailand, rather then have it use you, but this angle is almost never discussed or brought up. it's always assumed to be a failure or a negative. i think these folks don't talk about it, they just leave, or perhaps their situation does not make for interesting reading.

 

it's very common for immigrants to live in other countries simply to earn or save money. very common with mexicans in the usa. notably, after they have saved up they invariably want to return to their home countries sooner or later, even when it's a less developed country.

 

if you have any source of offshore income or even a pension it's pretty easy to save up enough to move on from thailand if your living frugually. self-control is obviously assumed as well. in several years i will be about 7 here and will be able to afford a move to a more desirable location, perhaps in europe, or even back to the states if i prefer. needing to retire here is probably in the rear view mirror.

 

there's no reason to be in thailand if you can afford to be somewhere better, and there are plenty of better places to live if you can afford it.

 

so many of these folks could actually be getting their <deleted> together and moving on and not necessarily broken by language barriers, scams, etc.

[SiamBeast]

There's the key: Use Thailand rather than getting ran by it.

 

- You might complain about corruption and bribery, but...

When you're driving and you had a couple of drinks, you'll be happy that your cash is accepted.

 

- You might complain about the visa hassles and tourist visa refusals, but...

That makes less "fake tourists" in the country, allowing the place to retain its "exotic factor" and be more appealing.

 

- You might complain about the high price of vehicles, but...

When you're driving in the city, you'll be happy that there aren't more cars causing traffic jams.

 

- You might complain about getting cheated on / divorce raped by your missus, but...

You have the choice between broken girls and good ones, it's your pick.

 

- You might complain about the language barrier, but...

Learning Thai from zero to High School level 5 takes roughly 10 months full time (I did it) and it will open lots of opportunities.

 

It all depends how you see things.

 

[nickmanchester2]

im in my 8th year and thinking of leaving thailand after my contract runs out on my condo

 

visas - im 43 on a METV, although its easy to get from UK (I go home for at least a couple of weeks every year) for me as I fulfill all the criteria, I keep on reading reports about having trouble staying long term and I am no way going to drop £12,000 on an elite visa even although the money is not an issue

 

beer - im not very keen on thai beer (or thai food much now) after 7 years, not had a drink for 3 weeks

 

relationships - had a few bad ones and all the usual death threats / mutilation - all non bar girls but had some good ones as well so 50/50

 

driving & corruption - its not that bad, I wear a seat belt and have thai license for car and bike so ok there

 

language - yeah, I have a good vocabulary of thai words, but no tone and I dont seem to be able to get the structure of sentences right - and not on a ED visa anymore so no school right now

 

weather - id prefer somewhere with a cooler climate

 

[wildewillie89]

There are bigger things to worry about than dual pricing, that as far as I am aware only really happens at Khao Yai. I generally won't go to many tourist areas so I am not aware of other places. It is the same reason you probably wouldn't go to tourists areas in your own country, you can find the exact same thing for free 5kms down the road. Is language really needed? Probably not. You don't need to be able to speak Thai to live everyday life. Everyday life usually consists of work, re-fueling your car, ordering food, shopping, going to the doctor/vet (minor things) - who can speak enough English etc. The more serious things should be translated anyway, as you know, they are serious lol. And whatever level of Thai you learn, will probably never be at a level that can be effective in serious situations anyway (most bachelor educated students cannot pass the Thai language exam to work for the government). Visas can be annoying if you don't have the money, but if you do, then it is a non-issue. 

I think bigger issues are things like environmental health. Burning off, the amount of sugar/salt in everything (high diabetes rates) etc. Seeing the mistreatment of animals and people by supposedly 'spiritual' people. I don't think it is being a 'drama queen' to complain about these things, I think it takes some intelligence/ethics to recognise them in the first place. To ignore them I think shows that the person is incredibly selfish and is here just for themselves (to use and abuse a developing country if you like - rather than the bullshit cultural adjustment excuse they try and portray). Educate the people around you into a better lifestyle (which many older folk are not ready for, but at the same time many of the younger generation are). Just in my village, people are raising their babies slightly differently now (after seeing how we raised our baby - as the farang baby everyone looks out for), people are becoming more aware of the dangers of burning off (as is it received differently coming from a farang - Thai know farang are better educated and accept that), people are starting to take more notice of how dogs need to be looked after so they don't just go around biting everyone (took getting bitten by 2 dogs to get that into their heads lol). I think you must constructively criticise if you ever want to develop (even if it just your immediate area). And you also must recognise so you can plan a life around the things you do to benefit your family. It maybe discussing things with a school to get a more Western based educational structure for your child. It may be refusing unnecessary medicine or choosing 'better' times when to vaccinate children/pets which will have more chances of success and less chances of side effects. 

Criticise, but criticise to get the best result for your family and the community (not yourself). The community can see the benefit of that. I think otherwise you're just a sitting duck that is going to either live an unhealthy life (as the life is unhealthy - even Thai are the first ones to admit that), or live a life of misery as you don't put yourself/family out there as almost a model structure that the community can follow to live a healthier/safer life. Plus it saves them money due to not needing many unnecessary things the community culture currently dictates. My extended Thai family (which makes up most of the village) has already stopped the unnecessary anti-biotics, annual vaccinations of dogs, Thai drugs supposedly helping people/animals. Realise the importance of helmets, seat belts, baby seats. Understand that formal education as a 2 year old rather than a 6 year old is ridiculous...You just have to  be smart. Pick your fights with what matter, that is teachers, doctors, vets, people causing harm to the community etc. And let minor things go. Corruption, unfortunately it all depends on the family or social group you marry in to and who they are/know.

 

I admit, my father in law is the Mayor of the Tessaban where we live (so how we do things is generally mirrored), and being a 27 year old farang, people obviously take more notice than the older farang who live here permanently. However, I personally think it is an utter disrespect to yourself, your family, and the new community you live in, if you can see a better way of doing something that benefits all and choose not to do it. Why not do it? Are we scared of being labelled a 'drama queen' on a forum by some old guy who obviously hasn't succeeded in his country enough to retire comfortably so has had come to a developing country to do it. Or being labelled as an 'idealist'. You cant change things on a national level (lets be realistic here), but you can certainty make changes at a local level if you really want to....educating is better than complaining/ignoring anyway. 

[i claudius]

Dont know about the 7 year itch ,but in this hot season ,my balls itch a lot of the time

[Andrew Dwyer]

Dont know about the 7 year itch ,but in this hot season ,my balls itch a lot of the time

Although not too much information in this post still way too much for me !!

[GOLDBUGGY]

25 minutes ago, i claudius said:

Dont know about the 7 year itch ,but in this hot season ,my balls itch a lot of the time

Mine Too!

 

So that what that is?

[buddhalady]

Good points, Widewillie - shame about the three following posts!

[Kwasaki]

8 minutes ago, buddhalady said:

Good points, Widewillie - shame about the three following posts!

Really. 

 

1 hour ago, wildewillie89 said:

There are bigger things to worry about than dual pricing

I stopped reading the composition there. 

[thaibeachlovers]

Well, it would have to be a 25 year itch for me, but staying's not affordable now given that my ex wife took a lot of money out of my "staying in Thailand till I die" nest egg. Had we stayed together I'd still be living in LOS till I died.

I did find the visa extension process to be a real drag, but for once a year it could be tolerated. The biggy though, was insurance. 60,000 last time and going up every year.

If I could afford it, I'd still like to go back as a tourist every year. Being a tourist has the advantage of not living in a village in the middle of nowhere or some grotty town.

[Odysseus123]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Well, it would have to be a 25 year itch for me, but staying's not affordable now given that my ex wife took a lot of money out of my "staying in Thailand till I die" nest egg. Had we stayed together I'd still be living in LOS till I died.

I did find the visa extension process to be a real drag, but for once a year it could be tolerated. The biggy though, was insurance. 60,000 last time and going up every year.

If I could afford it, I'd still like to go back as a tourist every year. Being a tourist has the advantage of not living in a village in the middle of nowhere or some grotty town.

I agree.

If I ever come back it will be on a vacation only and ,most definitely,will not be near the part of 15th century Transylvania where I live now.

 

The only money which I will handover will be to those who provide the proper and appropriate services.Make of that what you will..

 

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, wildewillie89 said:

There are bigger things to worry about than dual pricing, that as far as I am aware only really happens at Khao Yai. I generally won't go to many tourist areas so I am not aware of other places. It is the same reason you probably wouldn't go to tourists areas in your own country, you can find the exact same thing for free 5kms down the road. Is language really needed? Probably not. You don't need to be able to speak Thai to live everyday life. Everyday life usually consists of work, re-fueling your car, ordering food, shopping, going to the doctor/vet (minor things) - who can speak enough English etc. The more serious things should be translated anyway, as you know, they are serious lol. And whatever level of Thai you learn, will probably never be at a level that can be effective in serious situations anyway (most bachelor educated students cannot pass the Thai language exam to work for the government). Visas can be annoying if you don't have the money, but if you do, then it is a non-issue. 

I think bigger issues are things like environmental health. Burning off, the amount of sugar/salt in everything (high diabetes rates) etc. Seeing the mistreatment of animals and people by supposedly 'spiritual' people. I don't think it is being a 'drama queen' to complain about these things, I think it takes some intelligence/ethics to recognise them in the first place. To ignore them I think shows that the person is incredibly selfish and is here just for themselves (to use and abuse a developing country if you like - rather than the bullshit cultural adjustment excuse they try and portray). Educate the people around you into a better lifestyle (which many older folk are not ready for, but at the same time many of the younger generation are). Just in my village, people are raising their babies slightly differently now (after seeing how we raised our baby - as the farang baby everyone looks out for), people are becoming more aware of the dangers of burning off (as is it received differently coming from a farang - Thai know farang are better educated and accept that), people are starting to take more notice of how dogs need to be looked after so they don't just go around biting everyone (took getting bitten by 2 dogs to get that into their heads lol). I think you must constructively criticise if you ever want to develop (even if it just your immediate area). And you also must recognise so you can plan a life around the things you do to benefit your family. It maybe discussing things with a school to get a more Western based educational structure for your child. It may be refusing unnecessary medicine or choosing 'better' times when to vaccinate children/pets which will have more chances of success and less chances of side effects. 

Criticise, but criticise to get the best result for your family and the community (not yourself). The community can see the benefit of that. I think otherwise you're just a sitting duck that is going to either live an unhealthy life (as the life is unhealthy - even Thai are the first ones to admit that), or live a life of misery as you don't put yourself/family out there as almost a model structure that the community can follow to live a healthier/safer life. Plus it saves them money due to not needing many unnecessary things the community culture currently dictates. My extended Thai family (which makes up most of the village) has already stopped the unnecessary anti-biotics, annual vaccinations of dogs, Thai drugs supposedly helping people/animals. Realise the importance of helmets, seat belts, baby seats. Understand that formal education as a 2 year old rather than a 6 year old is ridiculous...You just have to  be smart. Pick your fights with what matter, that is teachers, doctors, vets, people causing harm to the community etc. And let minor things go. Corruption, unfortunately it all depends on the family or social group you marry in to and who they are/know.

 

I admit, my father in law is the Mayor of the Tessaban where we live (so how we do things is generally mirrored), and being a 27 year old farang, people obviously take more notice than the older farang who live here permanently. However, I personally think it is an utter disrespect to yourself, your family, and the new community you live in, if you can see a better way of doing something that benefits all and choose not to do it. Why not do it? Are we scared of being labelled a 'drama queen' on a forum by some old guy who obviously hasn't succeeded in his country enough to retire comfortably so has had come to a developing country to do it. Or being labelled as an 'idealist'. You cant change things on a national level (lets be realistic here), but you can certainty make changes at a local level if you really want to....educating is better than complaining/ignoring anyway. 

When I did something the right way it was disregarded as they always knew better, like when I wired up the power properly and they changed it to their way. I got the last laugh though, as the entire system melted when they turned the power on ( they omitted the circuit breaker ).

 

BTW, I had a very successful life ( as long as making zillions of dollars isn't the benchmark for a successful life ) in three different countries, but I found that telling the "ignorant natives" that they were wrong didn't go down too well, and that doing my own thing and letting them do theirs was the key to a smooth life, or as smooth as possible.

[Odysseus123]

6 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

When I did something the right way it was disregarded as they always knew better, like when I wired up the power properly and they changed it to their way. I got the last laugh though, as the entire system melted when they turned the power on ( they omitted the circuit breaker ).

 

BTW, I had a very successful life ( as long as making zillions of dollars isn't the benchmark for a successful life ) in three different countries, but I found that telling the "ignorant natives" that they were wrong didn't go down too well, and that doing my own thing and letting them do theirs was the key to a smooth life, or as smooth as possible.

All the very best for the future to you-thaibeachlovers.

[Myboat13]

On 07/03/2017 at 8:39 PM, Gonefortea said:

Coming up on third 7 year itch then and have no interest in leaving. In fact leave for what? Birth country is going to the dogs nothing there for me.

How do you have any idea about your Birth county if you have been away 21 years? Gets me .

what thailand is not going to the dogs ? . 

Thailand to me is great for a holiday , tried to live there but not for me to much bs and no thai woman or any woman is  Worth living in a 3 rd world country. 

For me  can't understand how you blokes do it but up to you . 

 

Edited March 13, 2017 by Myboat13
Add

[Odysseus123]

4 minutes ago, Myboat13 said:

How do you have any idea about your Birth county if you have been away 21 years? Gets me .

what thailand is not going to the dogs ? . 

Thailand to me is great for a holiday , tried to live there but not for me to much bs and no thai woman or any woman is  Worth living in a 3 rd world country. 

For me  can't understand how you blokes do it but up to you . 

 

Stockholm Syndrome-that's how they do it.

[wildewillie89]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

When I did something the right way it was disregarded as they always knew better, like when I wired up the power properly and they changed it to their way. I got the last laugh though, as the entire system melted when they turned the power on ( they omitted the circuit breaker ).

 

BTW, I had a very successful life ( as long as making zillions of dollars isn't the benchmark for a successful life ) in three different countries, but I found that telling the "ignorant natives" that they were wrong didn't go down too well, and that doing my own thing and letting them do theirs was the key to a smooth life, or as smooth as possible.

Like I said, my father in law is the Mayor, so the things I say naturally carry a little more weight than your everyday farang in the village, whether rightly or wrongly due to the structure of Thai society, that is not for me to comment on. They carry further weight when you are proven to be correct from professions such as doctors etc....as Thai people show the up most respect to these types of occupations. These professionals know what they do is wrong and know it is purely for business, but will always concede to the farang (as farang can provide the relevant research). And if the Thai people are there to see that, instant credibility comes your way. If your way is good enough to be endorsed by the highest of professions then it is good enough for people to follow and live by. One of the most simplest things  was asking to see the instructions of a vaccine, and to check how long the duration of immunity was....rather than the professional saying what he thinks (business model). You're instantly seen almost higher than the professional. 

When i first moved here my ways were also disregarded/almost laughed at sometimes. But i kept thinking of ways to gain respect. My wife was pregnant and another family in hospital and i saw the way Thai people would not argue with doctors for the right thing. I saw that as a way of gaining credibility, i also searched the relevant research from different Thai and world associations that couldnt be disputed. The next minute the whole village is gossiping (as villages always do) about how the farang stood up against the doctor or vet or teacher and they had to concede to him because he was right. Many Thai are ignorant about many things, yes, but you can use that to your advantage also to try and improve the community. Ignorant people can only go in two directions. Stay the same or move forward. 

[JimCrane]

On 3/12/2017 at 8:24 AM, SiamBeast said:

There's the key: Use Thailand rather than getting ran by it.

 

- You might complain about corruption and bribery, but...

When you're driving and you had a couple of drinks, you'll be happy that your cash is accepted.

 

- You might complain about the visa hassles and tourist visa refusals, but...

That makes less "fake tourists" in the country, allowing the place to retain its "exotic factor" and be more appealing.

 

- You might complain about the high price of vehicles, but...

When you're driving in the city, you'll be happy that there aren't more cars causing traffic jams.

 

- You might complain about getting cheated on / divorce raped by your missus, but...

You have the choice between broken girls and good ones, it's your pick.

 

- You might complain about the language barrier, but...

Learning Thai from zero to High School level 5 takes roughly 10 months full time (I did it) and it will open lots of opportunities.

 

It all depends how you see things.

 

wow, if you can really do that you could live anywhere and be happy. environment is not a factor.