In retrospect, would you move again to Thailand?

Good to see there are people like you around, In my case I was near the same but after a phone call in the middle of one December night, made by police to my family police telling them to tell me to pay £250.000 or I might have an accident and die. I changed for ever.

I do not do corruption or take threats from anyone especially low life thugs like those T police.

That is what the country has turned into because of idiots in control. They think more of wealth and power than a human life.

This time they picked on the wrong person and if you do not fight back they get worse, but they will never make my life hell again or rob me of 397 days of my life.

Now can you see why I am angry money you can replace, days you cannot. so time to reverse that situation.

Just be very careful if you ever go there, never lend money to anyone and keep your social media to yourself. Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are much better and there you will not get ripped off with racial pricing.

Enjoy your life

Never Again

I came to Thailand in 1997 before the Asian Financial Crisis. Been through all the knocks, pinches, kicks, punches, wrestles etc

What does that teach me? To be extra careful and smarter. Is life over? Definitely not as I'm still breathing and enjoying my life.

I completely turn everything around by being an idealist.

Henry Ford's Quote, "An idealist is a person who helps other people to be prosperous."

I don't have problems or headaches or stress with Thais. I set my rules and if you want to be prosperous, you work for it as you are the boss. If you are lazy or irresponsible or work badly, I don't give you the business.

Besides I don't deal with any government officials etc and if needed be, my attorneys will handle for me. My clients are overseas and if Thais, then their income is over 300,000 baht upwards before they are interested to buy my products.

I don't need monthly salary staff and don't need to hear all kinds of excuses.

All my suppliers and contract workers knows the time to talk to me. Once office hours are over, I will not answer any calls. No appointments made with me, forget about seeing me. If you are late by 15 minutes, I cancel the appointment.

I'm well discipline and honour my words. If one can't plan their own time, I will not buy or give them business. If one can't guide or control their kids, how can they manage their staff who are adults.

For me is, show and prove to me that you can do the job and I will sure make you have a better life. Don't expect to sit and money drop from sky.

I do have mercy and will extend grace to people. But I will sure not be a fool and being used.

Be happy and help those in need genuinely.

For me I am still debating the question, even as Trump navigates his own Titanic.

It is always the guys with a sad story who tell their tales and spread their misery with such evangelical zeal.  In their minds, if it happened to me surely it could happen to anyone, because it certainly wasn’t my fault.  I would never suggest that anyone will ever be as happy or as fortunate as I have been in Thailand because everyone is different.

People are free to make lists of all the things they hate but my preference is to focus on the things I like and which make me and the people around me happy.  Reading people is not easy in the best of circumstances but throwing in cultural and language differences only makes things more difficult so be careful who you associate with. 

People are often attracted to Thailand because there seem to be fewer rules and less enforcement but that is a double-edged sword.  While you may be able to circumvent the rules and take advantage of the system, the other guy can do the same to you, so you have to add that to the equation.  Once you step onto the playing field it is assumed you understand how the game is played and have no right to contest the rules.  You have to look out for yourself, especially when you try to live your life where you are an outsider.  It is not their job to look out for you.  You are basically an uninvited guest.

You may end up happy in Thailand or miserable.  You may go through different phases, with cycles of good and bad, but in the end you won’t know until you try.  I moved here pre-internet with very little advanced knowledge and no one had any clue how much Thailand would change over the years.  Thailand has changed, I have changed and I have never looked back with nostalgic longing for the past.  That has worked for me but you will have to find what works for you.

In my case I have had a run of health problems, that wouldn't taken place in Arizona - humidity, for one. There are things I love and dislike, being  stranded in bed because of the smoke or humidity is one  of my dislikes. I'm still tossing the coin.

Weather is one of those things you have no control over.  The heat, smoke and humidity are not going away so if you can’t find something to do in air-conditioned comfort part of the year you have a real problem.  As you get older health problems are likely to get worse not better so that is something to consider.

To be honest I no longer encourage people I meet to move to Thailand.  If someone has a decent life where they are, it might be better to just visit Thailand from time to time.  If someone simply wants to continue their lifestyle but in a cheaper location, that can be a problem too.  Unless a complete change, new experiences and love of adventure are the main focus, I would not encourage anyone to make the move.

Another thing people fail to consider is that Thailand will continue to change, whether you like it or not and you will change as well.  Those who come looking for some primitive step back in time or a romanticized notion of the Noble Savage living a pure unadulterated life in idyllic surroundings are going to be disappointed.

Village Farang, I fully agreed with you Thailand has changed and sure changed much more.

Those who are doing business or in senior management knows very well. Labour work now are done by Vietnamese, Burmese, Laotians and Cambodians.

Many westerners who are here can't tell the difference because they can't speak Thai and don't know the slang. Besides the accent too as these people from Indo China countries speak Thai with an accent.

Now, many Thais look for easy job with high salary and many becomes very lazy. Many are in debts and buying lots of things on instalments and paying interest. They can own iPhone or iPad or things but on credit.

Usually after Songkran till August or September, many Thais on tight budget. Ask any of those selling mlm products and they can confirm. Why?

They need money to buy school uniform, shoes, books etc and school fees for their kids new school term. Pawn shops are having good business as they goes there with their gold jewelry.

You can say many Thais are in debts as they just buy without calculations and financial planning. 2 things they want to have is a house or apartment and vehicle.

They can be very tight on finance and look for overtime jobs. As economy slow and no overtime, they are stress because of their loan commitment.

They will stinge on food by eating raw vegetables dip in prawn paste (nam prik kapik) and glutinous (sticky rice) - 15 baht. Perhaps a hard boiled egg to top up.

If they can eat prawns or crab, once a month is good.

Thailand gets more polluted as they just litter everywhere. Left over food are on the road so as to give to stray dogs or cats but invite rats, cockroaches etc too

Plastic bags, cups, plates etc are left behind and these pollute the place or clog the drains and flooding occur.

Up north in Chiangmai, they burn the trees etc and smoke pollution.

Bangkok with no city planning as all houses stick together. Vehicles passing and emmit fumes and it's contain in there due to no free passage of air between buildjngs, trees, plants etc to take in carbon dioxide.

Look at the canals with all the garbage thrown in and no strict regulations to control factory waste.

Thailand is different from yesteryears. There are villagers with roads but port holes and muddy. No tap water or electricity. Many places are without broadband internet. Some are facing 3 or 4 G signal problems.

Thailand is not a place that I recommend for tech savvy or up to date information center. Neither it's a place for peace and quiet unless you have the financial backing.

Not sure what to make of this comment

But  when people threaten to kill you as they are in need of your money what do you do give it to them or fight for your rights.

Me I do the later, I did not start this problem some little scum local did, he had just so happened to have been in my country and knew I had a few £s and decided he wanted it.

Give in or Fight?

You have to be an idiot to give in and I am not

lies and scams which the place is famous for are not my cup of tea and with over 300 British deaths a year every year something is wrong.

Needs someone to highlight it and it looks like because of the job I do I am the one to do it.

I am positive of that.

In my experience, strangers don’t just walk up to you and threaten to kill you, so something always transpires before all the threats.  Not knowing the details and not caring to know, leaves me with nothing more than an unsubstantiated tale of woe. 

I have heard enough victim stories over the years that I am perhaps a bit jaded and skeptical.  I have never had a problem navigating the darker side of life in Thailand by being polite but keeping a respectful distance from those who held the potential to do me harm or make life difficult for me.  Perhaps I am just lucky but these bad things never seem to happen to me and it is not like I lived a particularly sheltered life.

If anything untoward were to happen to me I would most definitely be asking myself how in the world I let myself get in that situation in the first place.  I understand not everyone looks at life that way.

There are many success stories in Thailand but they don’t get as much coverage as the victim stories.  Happy well adjusted people are largely silent or ridiculed for being naive and liars while those who tell horror stories are believed without question.  I guess that is just human nature and the internet these days.

You have been lucky then my friend like I was for 30 years.

In my experience, strangers don’t just walk up to you and threaten to kill you.

You did not read or understand what was written, it did not happen as you may well think. It happened because a low life scam local needed money and has he knew of me from his time in the UK he thought he knew how to get it with lies and corruption from his family police and attorney.

Then when he and his wife found out there was no chance of getting it, they fought almost themselves to the point of him knocking the daylights out of her. We have it on video and in photos of the mess he made of her. Sent in emails by her.

Then he realised he was in big trouble as she has the power and did a runner out of the country, says it all about the low life this whole family is.

There are no morals in the place and law and order as all but ended, except if you happen to do a like on facebook.

So I say to you keep doing what you are doing and I will keep my fingers crossed for you that something similar does not happen to you and like you I was just relaxing keeping away from others in a tiny little village when a bib from Bk appeared and it all started.

so please wake up and be aware, these thing happen by scum people even to nice people like you and I.

Never again

Every word that you said, I know and understand you.

Whether it's in Thailand or any country, one need to be street smart and VIGILANT.

Now, almost all countries are not safe, robberies, killing, cheating, rape, molest etc

Sometimes no matter how much you give advice, some people don't listen. It's like teaching your stubborn teenager.

Let their head gets knock hard and when they start crying and feeling the pain, then they learned.

It's like some western guys who love a lady deeply that they are lost in their own world. If all goes well, great but if got cheated then hopefully wake up.

I'm not saying all are bad ladies but just take your time and be patience.

The Europeans have a Management style, I tie a rope around your neck and I slack the rope. I may be a good boss and give you more slack but when I pull one day, you will get choke to death.

I'm a person who enjoys watching the show and will not be a hero. I just sit and watch the show while I keep learning.

When the time comes, I will finish the race as a winner coming from behind like a dark horse in a race track. Bottom line is I win the race or year end results on the company's balance sheet, I got profits with assets increase and liabilities decrease.

I never considered Pai...  can you tell me more? Is it more affordable than Chiang Mai?

Would do it in a heart beat , but then I married a large supportive family that all work hard together supporting themselves, have a home , married 8 years, have a car and ride every day around town, stay busy with the kids nieces & nephews, live far from any thing that might draw tourists, like a beach or, temples , so nice and quiet and inexpensive and love the food and enjoy the quiet.

No. worked, saved finally had enough to make the retirement requirements and 5 years later I don't have enough to stay here. Was a soldier here for 2 years and my company employed 13 to 26 Thai Nationals but After spending nearly 100k in 6 years I don't have enough.....