americans in thailand

[Randy Stanaway]

i am from america and was recently in thailand. i have an uncle who lives there and my dads girlfriend and some acquantinces. i just wanted to say sawaddee krap to the people i know in udon thani

[businessman]

I must say the Americans i have met here have been of a very high calibre.

[GT93]

The Americans in Udon are of a very high calibre. Is this still so folks 8 1/2 years after the original posts? Or have things changed and Udon is going downhill? Fire away.

[Aardvark]

All the Yanks I know are great guys, some of the rest of us could learn from their good manners jmo ....

[rct]

Wow, amazing someone digs up this old thread.

I recall one of my first visits to Udon around the year 2000 or so, was taken to Harry's, and at the time Harry thought there were about 300 resident farangs in Udon and he said "most of them have no money". I did not seek out farangs per se, and seldom encountered Americans, even after moving here in late 2008. Though lately seems I bump into Americans all the time, and, are they getting younger, or am I simply getting older?!

By the way, I am from the midwest US.

[GT93]

Businessman's 2005 comment is interesting: "I must say the Americans I have met here have been of a very high calibre."

I guess this just means they are normal guys. I take Harry's comment to be the same. It's pretty normal to have to watch how many baht you are spending. Stickman says there are a lot more young farang in Thailand so he'd probably agree with your observation rct.

If there are more mongers in Udon these days, then I would expect that the calibre of Americans and other farang is falling. There are a few assumptions behind that opinion. Are there more trashy Americans and other farang around these days?

[FrazeeDK]

in 2000 the "300" Harry's estimate of "poor" Americans in Udon probably was based on a lot of retired elderly WWII/Korean/ Vietnam vets.. Nowadays, I see the latest American expat influx to be those married to Thais for 30-40 years who hit retirement age and decided to move to Thailand.. Financially stable for the most part and already in long term relationships... They'll be seeking out other expats and the better restaurant/pubs...

[parrot]

I've seen it two ways:
The 25 or so war vets who were here when I arrived in 1996.....while most weren't making a lot of money from their pensions, they were getting by. Many had supplemented their pensions with a few years lucrative work in Saudi. When Thaitanic sunk the economy, those vets were suddenly drawing 60+% more because of the devaluation of the Baht. And about the same time, many of the vets began drawing social security to boot. So, all in all, the war vets were doing fine. All the retired vets had/have insurance (Tricare/Tricare for Life).

But, with the devaluation of the Baht....and easy info from the internet, including dating sites.....came a new wave of expats.......some who weren't making much in the way of pensions/social security......but with the devaluation (40+ Baht to the dollar), they were doing okay. But as the Baht gained strength, their 'income' dropped. Some of these expats had no insurance plan...nor were they able to survive an experience in WBU. Their pensions were usually enough for day to day needs....but at the first hint of bad health or a bad tealock, the money soon dried up.
True story: One day back in 98ish, I was at JUSMAG (the military compound in Bangkok) having a coffee at the canteen, sorting through some mail. In walked two guys......and they came over to the table and asked if I lived in Thailand. When I told them yes, they began asking lots of questions. It turned out the two guys had served during the Vietnam War 20 years earlier (at that time). They got out of the military, became disgruntled with things in the US, and when the bottom dropped out of the Baht...combined with a night of drinking.....they decided to make a break for Thailand. They showed up in Bangkok, not sure of where they were going or where they were going to stay or what they were going to do. They each had two suitcases and had come over to 'live'. I have no doubt there were many others who followed in their footsteps.

[rick]

Most of the American's i have met in Thailand have been nice, sensible and generally law abiding individuals with good financials behind them. There are a few notorious keyboard commandos, but only know one. I will admit a few of the British here do seem to have more issues in these departments.

Why? Cannot say for sure, but i would say i haven't met any real rednecks here in Thailand. Most Americans seem more middle class, and planned coming here for a long time. The British are more diverse in their origins, and i suspect many of them were not actually planning on living in Thailand 15 years ago, but rode the wave of cheap baht holidays/internet dating and got hooked. Guess I sort of fit that category.

[Aardvark]

Seems reasonable that as so many move from poverty to our Countries for the Welfare, our Guys all cashed up after a life time of Work are moving to Thailand to enjoy their Golden Years in an affordable Country. I just can't stop thinking that Thailand is getting the better deal

[rct]

Several American transplants I met recently were not cashed up at all, in fact they left behind "under water" mortgages and were casualties of the economic crisis. Though indeed a main draw to Thailand was that is is more affordable. The other draw for many seems to be the women, or, at least a woman.

By the way Parrot, in 1994 I moved here with two suitcases too, though also had a job, which I still have. What happened to the fellas in your story, what became of them?

[parrot]

rct "What happened to the fellas in your story, what became of them?"

Don't know. But I'd guess they spent a few terms on a neighborhood WBU campus. What caught my attention was how 'spur of the moment' the guys were (most likely driven by liberal amounts of alcohol). My wife and I talked about our move here for 24 years.....then when I retired from the military, it took another year of daily talk....go, no go, go, no.....before we finally decided to take the gamble. I think our family and friends back in the US thought we were crazy for selling everything off and moving over.....but we've had no regrets. After moving out to the countryside, hardly a day goes by that we don't comment that we made the right decision.

[GT93]

Seems reasonable that as so many move from poverty to our Countries for the Welfare, our Guys all cashed up after a life time of Work are moving to Thailand to enjoy their Golden Years in an affordable Country. I just can't stop thinking that Thailand is getting the better deal

I'm not with you on this one Aardvark. In my opinion western countries do very well out of immigrants. Western governments do a lot of cherry picking on who gets a visa. Immigrants usually make the western country more diverse and interesting. They also work their arses off. I don't see them as welfare seekers. That's usually the locals born in the western country. Western countries also often need foreign workers to pay taxes for the increasing costs of providing services to elderly locals.

Maybe Thailand would do better if it reduced the number of older people moving to Thailand and started to pick professionals such as doctors, engineers, IT workers, senior civil servants etc. Sure not many would come but I think a fair few might. In other words in respect of this thread young high income earning Americans rather than older Americans. No offence intended to older folks.

[pf-flyer]

[quote="parrot"]rct "What happened to the fellas in your story, what became of them?"

Don't know. But I'd guess they spent a few terms on a neighborhood WBU campus. What caught my attention was how 'spur of the moment' the guys were (most likely driven by liberal amounts of alcohol). My wife and I talked about our move here for 24 years.....then when I retired from the military, it took another year of daily talk....go, no go, go, no.....before we finally decided to take the gamble. I think our family and friends back in the US thought we were crazy for selling everything off and moving over.....but we've had no regrets. After moving out to the countryside, hardly a day goes by that we don't comment that we made the right decision.[/quote]

Parrot:
The same here. You either learn from your mistakes or you learn the hard way and you get to do it all over again. My wife and I have seen our share of individuals that lost it all also due to immaturity, infatuations, insufficient blood flow to the brain and the need to attend WBU.. My Thai wife and I lived in Pennsylvania for 39 years. Did the whole routine,Bought a House, Both of us worked, Children, Put the kids thru College, Grandchildren. We talked and planed and did a lot of soul searching about living here for about 10 years. We did not tell a lot of people. Just did not want to hear the negative criticisms. My family finally disenfranchised us and our children. We originally planed to keep a home in the U.S. and Thailand but both of our children lived too far away and we could not depend on them to keep an eye on things and we decided to sell out.
We realized that no decision is perfect. Several Thai Graduate Students and Most Faculty in the University Physics department and the University Business college where I worked that were encouraging to us toward our plans to retire in Thailand. The Thai people in our village and our neighbors where we now live have been good to us and we make an effort to be part of the community. We both agree that we have made the right decision. No regrets.

[LilRed]

"...were casualties of the economic crisis."

Where? The US economy is going great gangbusters since the end of the last great recession (under President Bush's administration...).

LR

[parrot]

Mod Note: Let's keep the thread on topic......Americans in Thailand

[LilRed]

Sorry for forgetting the punch line...


My point, if I may:

Most Americans here share a lot of common ground. I believe many of us feel, that prices here, give us a better quality of life in our retirements...

But, that does NOT equate to the US economy in shambles...

The stats are clear... The economy is in good condition.

BR

[bumper]

Well if you made the Embassy meeting you would seen a bunch of us old American gits. I saw lot guys there that I had never seen before.

[thrilled]

LillRed.Look at the National Debt inAmerica.Bush it reached 10 trillion,Under Obama it nearly 18 trillion and counting

[parrot]

Mod note: the topic is Americans in Thailand. Please stay on topic.