Are you slumming it as an ex-pat?

by **petemcc** » August 23, 2010, 3:18 pm

The recent global economic crisis aside, are you slumming it as an ex-pat in Thailand, or do you think your standard of living is better than in farang land?

Many people seem to count Thailand's weather as an important factor as well as escaping the general fcuked-upness of many farang countries, having said that Thailand doesn't exactly make farang retirees welcome and the levels of bureaucracy and shite, let alone corruption make the west look tame.

So there's relatively cheap food, cheap houses and the knowledge that one is a handsome man and can if need be have an intimate encounter with some little angel who wouldn't cross the road to piss on you if you were on fire in farang land.

The downside is it's a foreign country without 70 English-speaking TV channels, a poor choice of anything not Thai, fewer facilities than most places in farang land.

Accepted it's a change of lifestyle and mindset, but being honest, do you consider yourself better off in Thailand than you may be back home?

by **nkstan** » August 23, 2010, 3:43 pm

I would be overconcious of my budget in the States as a retired person with most of my friends left behind at work.Here,other than ''normal'' prudence,I really don't need to pay alot of attention to the cost of living,I have expanded my association with peoples from all over the World,which most the time is great and I have learned so much about myself in relationship to other cultures.

Although my Thai residence is not American middle class,it is sufficient and meets all my needs for about 7-10% of what it would cost me back home.I'm lucky in the food dept.,as I prefer Thai food most of the time,another low cost situation!

Basicly I am more happy here than in America,I can spontaneously do whatever comes to my mind without much concern.like being on permanent vacation.I feel like I have cut my ''niche'' out here,able to adjust and accept the ways things are done here and the,IMO,general negative vibes towards falangs!

Except for a trip to Laos,I have not been out of the country for over 8 years,because I am comfortable here!

by **petemcc** » August 23, 2010, 3:54 pm

I have just been sent this via pm, which I chose to share:

You insult all of us when you insult Thais with such prejudicial remarks and assign stereotypes with such a broad brush. If it's been your experience to be fooled by an unscrupulous Thai woman along the way, that's you. It's not the rest of us.

I question why you even care to ask the questions you've asked if you assign such negative characteristics to everything in Thailand. If you're so concerned about TV, it might be good advice for you to shove off back to wherever you came. Guys like you end up making fools of themselves in public here, and give the rest of us a bad name.

Did anyone else read me insulting Thais with prejudicial remarks?
I haven't published this fuckwit's name, but clearly he has issues.

by **petemcc** » August 23, 2010, 3:57 pm

nkstan wrote:I would be overconcious of my budget in the States as a retired person with most of my friends left behind at work.Here,other than ''normal'' prudence,I really don't need to pay alot of attention to the cost of living,I have expanded my association with peoples from all over the World,which most the time is great and I have learned so much about myself in relationship to other cultures.

Although my Thai residence is not American middle class,it is sufficient and meets all my needs for about 7-10% of what it would cost me back home.I'm lucky in the food dept.,as I prefer Thai food most of the time,another low cost situation!

Basicly I am more happy here than in America,I can spontaneously do whatever comes to my mind without much concern.like being on permanent vacation.I feel like I have cut my ''niche'' out here,able to adjust and accept the ways things are done here and the,IMO,general negative vibes towards falangs!

Except for a trip to Laos,I have not been out of the country for over 8 years,because I am comfortable here!

Thanks nkstan, I suppose "able to adjust and accept the ways things are done here and the,IMO,general negative vibes towards falangs!" is the key.

by **Allen A Hale** » August 23, 2010, 3:58 pm

70 English-speaking TV channels ? I have to smile. I was not thrilled with what I considered to be the limited choices of English-speaking TV channels, English language programs and the paucity of current films on cable before I went back to the USA in May for a month. My parents have 125 channels of English-speaking TV at their home. I can't say that I noticed any large difference in quantity or even quality of programming - just more stations of the same crap. As for the movies - I was shocked - the same old films that I watched on TV here were playing on the TV over there.

Yes there are some "material" aspects of life over here that are below what I had in the USA but I was working then. "Spiritually" and "Happiness" wise my life is superior here.

So I consider myself to be better off here. "Each to his own taste"

by **petemcc** » August 23, 2010, 4:04 pm

Allen A Hale wrote:70 English-speaking TV channels ? I have to smile. I was not thrilled with what I considered to be the limited choices of English-speaking TV channels, English language programs and the paucity of current films on cable before I went back to the USA in May for a month. My parents have 125 channels of English-speaking TV at their home. I can't say that I noticed any large difference in quantity or even quality of programming - just more stations of the same crap. As for the movies - I was shocked - the same old films that I watched on TV here were playing on the TV over there.

Yes there are some "material" aspects of life over here that are below what I had in the USA but I was working then. "Spiritually" and "Happiness" wise my life is superior here.

So I consider myself to be better off here. "Each to his own taste"

Thanks Allen, another good line..."Spiritually" and "Happiness" wise my life is superior here."

To my dissenters, I am building up a profile here of the advantages of living in Thailand. So far I have received two excellent and well-considered replies.

by **rufus** » August 23, 2010, 5:04 pm

I don't regard your remarks as derogatory. I think there may have been a misunderstanding in the way in which "slumming" was interpreted. What i miss here in Laos, is the Art and culture - the opera, symphony concerts, art exhibitions etc.

by **petemcc** » August 23, 2010, 5:18 pm

rufus wrote:I don't regard your remarks as derogatory. I think there may have been a misunderstanding in the way in which "slumming" was interpreted. What i miss here in Laos, is the Art and culture - the opera, symphony concerts, art exhibitions etc.

Thanks. BTW did you realise rufus means red haired in Latin? Maybe you did, hence your interest in culture. Unfortunately although educated and cultured I am still a cultural pleb ( I suppose Singapore isn't that far away though, or Macau, and in fact probably closer to you than another capital city in Australia that may get concerts is to me!) so it probably wouldn't worry me, but point taken, western culture is rich and as ancient as Thai culture.

by **bumper** » August 23, 2010, 5:40 pm

Interesting sounds o to me like you might be living in the wrong place I live much better here and to top that off I don't work six days a week 12 hour days,

One thing about Thailand it either fits or it doesn't I wouldn't trade what I have here for 70 TV channels or anything else you mentioned.

But, the truth is it doesn't matter what we want only what you want, hope you find it

by **petemcc** » August 23, 2010, 5:56 pm

bumper wrote:Interesting sounds o to me like you might be living in the wrong place I live much better here and to top that off I don't work six days a week 12 hour days,

One thing about Thailand it either fits or it doesn't I wouldn't trade what I have here for 70 TV channels or anything else you mentioned.

But, the truth is it doesn't matter what we want only what you want, hope you find it

555, don't get me wrong, I am talking about my imagined stereotypical farang ex-pat. To be honest where I live is paradise and has much more to it than tv, and if I had my way I would not live in Thailand. However I have to take into account my significant other and her family.

by **Prenders88** » August 23, 2010, 7:41 pm

Glad I escaped from South London, vast parts of it are like a slum. Islamabad and Soweto spring to mind.
Lots of nasty "Council Estates" where most of the kids are hooked on Crystal Meth.
Went to stay with my Mum this year, felt like a foreigner in her part of South London, the London I knew as a kid has gone forever. Even the KFC has gone Halal. I may as well be a foreigner in Thailand where I'm happy.

Like Bumper not having to work 12 hour shifts, just to pay the bills, and existing not living.
My quality of life has improved, no more British wet summers, or Winters, where London grinds to a halt if there is an inch of snow.
Plentiful fruit and vegetables here, and not at rip off prices like the UK.

Here everyone has tinted windows to keep the heat out, in London the only people with tinted windows on their cars are drug dealers.
I don't miss much from the UK.

by **BobHelm** » August 23, 2010, 9:45 pm

Financially I think there are 3 types of expat living in Thailand Pete (well maybe 4 if you include the criminal one as a seperate unit

).
1. Retired. These people (me included) have a set income that exists no matter where they live. While the strength of the baht against other currencies would alter the balance, generally speaking as long as expenditure in Thailand is less than their homeland then they may be living in a slum but it is a better class slum than they could afford in their place of birth. As I am from the UK & housing & associated costs are just so much more expensive at home than here that is especially the case.
2. Ex-Pat employed from home country working in Thailand. This is just the BEST situation in the world to be in. I have never had this pleasure in Thailand, but I have elsewhere in the world. The terms & conditions of your employment mean that you have a standard of living that is far higher than living in the country of your birth. Well, if it doesn't then, frankly, the person is an idiot.
3. Employed in Thailand. This is tricky. Undoubtedly the person will be paid less than if they were employed in a similar position in their home country - probably considerably less. The cheapness of living will undoubtedly compenate for some of this, BUT it depends how a person wishes or needs to live. Some people have a live style & outlook that means that living on Thai food & in Thai living conditions is actually attractive to them. Someone else might call that living in slum conditions, but I think that is very much the individuals' call.

It is NOT necessary to get involved in the 'bureaucracy' in Thailand. I get a year 'o' non imm visa from the Uk because that suits my situation of returning to the UK on a regular basis - it means I have to visit Laos every 90 days - but only for seconds & no one can refuse me entry - as long as I obey the normal rules of acceptability when entering a foreign country.
As rufus has highlighted already Western culture events are really a thing of the past unless you are Bangkok based (& that is for mainly 'popular' music).
Like Alan Hale I have just returned from a trip back home. The I-do-not-know-how-many-channels-I-have service offered by Sky was amazing in number, but shocking in quality. If you don't like cooking or property programs there is nothing to watch. Even the property programs on some of the channels were 3 years old - about as informative as you can get!! :shock:

by **Texpat** » August 23, 2010, 11:18 pm

I could never live on my retired pay alone back in America.
I would have to work -- and I'd rather goof off all day.
Simple as that.

When I left California in 2006, my monthly rent on a small, three bedroom, two bathroom apartment was: 65,275 baht (at today's exchange rate)

No thanks.

IMO the weather in southern California is much better than the weather in Thailand.

by **snowball** » August 24, 2010, 4:25 am

"cheap houses"... not really sure that is true any more. I mean, a dumpy studio condo in Pattaya, or Hua Hin, or Rayong costs more than a much better, bigger condo in Florida nowadays (forgetting the HOA/strata dues). I think you can buy a nearly new house in Florida for the same price as some lousy condos in LOS. If US real estate continues down again (as it seems it might be doing), "cheap houses" will not be a factor much longer, at least for US persons.

by **Khun Paul** » August 24, 2010, 6:18 am

I have just been sent this via pm, which I chose to share:

You insult all of us when you insult Thais with such prejudicial remarks and assign stereotypes with such a broad brush. If it's been your experience to be fooled by an unscrupulous Thai woman along the way, that's you. It's not the rest of us.

I question why you even care to ask the questions you've asked if you assign such negative characteristics to everything in Thailand. If you're so concerned about TV, it might be good advice for you to shove off back to wherever you came. Guys like you end up making fools of themselves in public here, and give the rest of us a bad name.

Did anyone else read me insulting Thais with prejudicial remarks?
I haven't published this fuckwit's name, but clearly he has issues.

Clearly petemcc, you have problem and I really do concur with those comments. It is unfortunate that you do come over as a complete A***-hole, but then the world is full of many people with differing views. You however seem inclined to display that in an obnoxious form on a public forum.
Most of your comments are unwarranted and if you really wish toi live elsewhere, take your significant other with you, I am sure she would be happier.

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