Is it All it is cracked up to be?

[dab69]

Have been "sitting on the fence" about moving to Thailand since my first visit in '97.
Since that time I have visited a total of 12 times for a cumulative bill of about $50,000.
Haven't made up my mind quite yet, but enjoy checking it out and gathering further data.
Every time I renew a cell phone/cable contract I kick myself in the ass - what if I want to move
next year/? Te preceding winter months here have been devastating here in the cold USA,
but each spring I seem to forget all about it.

Have delayed visiting a couple years now thinking I could use the money should I move.
Fantastic way of saving money - delaying gratification and also staying on the safe side of doing nothing.
Now upon checking out retirement age in TH, I would have precious little time employed there,
since the retirement age is 60. No problem, I would make very little
there as a teacher anyway.

But not difficult to imagine cashing in too early and having difficulty later.
Perhaps with a bank, brokerage, or identity theft from wi-fi or internet shop and my accounts.

Nice episode on "house hunters" last night. Cute young female teacher was checking out apartments
in Bangkok for $475/month. All had access to pools. However, I am accustomed to not making payments for
quite a long time.

Probably 10 years from now- I'll still be "sitting on the fence". Maybe visit once in a while but stay there longer in the winter.

[Sooty]

Probably 10 years from now- I'll still be "sitting on the fence". Maybe visit once in a while but stay there longer in the winter.

I'm totally with you dab69 - the Land of Scams is okay for a visit but I'm not sure I want to live there. If I did I would organise my affairs so as I could catch the next flight out given the way politics has played out over the past few years and how it could evolve over the next five. The burning of buildings in central Bangkok a couple of years ago could be seen as a walk in the park compared to what may come in the next few years.

There are some good cheap books in the Kindle section of Amazon. I've read a few of them. Some are good, some of them so full of inaccuracies you wonder what sort of a grasp the author has on reality. A couple I found interesting - both by the same guy - are How to retire to SE Asia and How to survive retirement in SE Asia. I've just started Moving to Thailand - some reasons to do it, some reasons not to do it, which is more a personal memoir than a How To book. His summary is interesting and IMHO true:

If you only visit Thailand for a short time, it can be easy to underestimate how different Thais and Thai culture are from what you find in America or Europe. If you live here for a while, how those differences eventually come to effect you will depend on your personality and how open you are to changing your behavior. Thais will not immediately expect you to act like they do in all ways. On the other hand, if you live in Thailand for a while, they will expect you to modify your behaviors somewhat to fit in with their cultural expectations.

Personally, I have found living in Thailand for the last three plus years to be a very pleasant and satisfying experience. As I describe in my Kindle book, Nine Reasons Why An Old American Man Should Move to Thailand, part of the reason I've been able to make the transition from living in America so easily is that my Thai wife of two years has a good understanding of Thai culture and has been willing to share her knowledge with me. Members of her large family have also contributed to my insight into Thai culture.

In spite of all of Thailand's attractive aspects, living here is not a good fit for everyone. It's easy to find unhappy expatriates here. Many are unhappy and have a long list of things they find objectionable тАж but many can't seem to move back to their home country or on to another place that might suit them better.

[Khor tose]

I'm totally with you dab69 - the Land of Scams is okay for a visit but I'm not sure I want to live there. If I did I would organise my affairs so as I could catch the next flight out given the way politics has played out over the past few years and how it could evolve over the next five. The burning of buildings in central Bangkok a couple of years ago could be seen as a walk in the park compared to what may come in the next few years.

I quite agree. I started coming to Thailand in 2002 with one goal in mind, mainly to find a younger boyfriend. I discovered that short visits and hasty selections just plain did not work. Nor did the bar scene or massage scene seem to be the place where I could find someone I could be happy with. Do not take the last sentence wrongly. I have have met people who have been lucky to find their boyfriend that way. That way just did not work for me. Four years ago I moved here and found someone who I could live with, and as soon as a stupid law changes in my home country, we are returning to the USA. This country seems to please a lot of people for a lot of good reasons, but in America I get better health care, feel safer and more secure, and America will definitely offer my Thai BF greater opportunities for his future then Thailand ever will.
Had I been able to find a younger BF in America, I would never have left in the first place.

[francois]

Had I been able to find a younger BF in America, I would never have left in the first place.

Had I been able to find a younger BF at home I would prefer that . But could never bring my Thai BF to home; he would wilt like "an untimely frost upon the sweetest flower of all the field". However better a life with him in Thailand than no life at home.

[Sooty]

I'm totally with you dab69 - the Land of Scams is okay for a visit but I'm not sure I want to live there. If I did I would organise my affairs so as I could catch the next flight out given the way politics has played out over the past few years and how it could evolve over the next five. The burning of buildings in central Bangkok a couple of years ago could be seen as a walk in the park compared to what may come in the next few years.

I quite agree. I started coming to Thailand in 2002 with one goal in mind, mainly to find a younger boyfriend. I discovered that short visits and hasty selections just plain did not work. Nor did the bar scene or massage scene seem to be the place where I could find someone I could be happy with. Do not take the last sentence wrongly. I have have met people who have been lucky to find their boyfriend that way. That way just did not work for me. Four years ago I moved here and found someone who I could live with, and as soon as a stupid law changes in my home country, we are returning to the USA. This country seems to please a lot of people for a lot of good reasons, but in America I get better health care, feel safer and more secure, and America will definitely offer my Thai BF greater opportunities for his future then Thailand ever will.
Had I been able to find a younger BF in America, I would never have left in the first place.

Despite your earlier post on the virtues of Chiang Mai's less polluted atmosphere, I wonder how much of your dissatisfaction about, say, health care is because you are living in the provinces and not in the capital? I would never live outside Bangkok for that reason alone.

I've read speculation by the way that the Supreme Court will throw out the DOMA cases on a technicality - they don't want to make a decision. I've never understood why America places such a store by marriage - the rest of the world bases its immigration rules on the quality of the relationship, not its legal standing.