Have you decided to leave Thailand and/or Hua Hin?

[PeteC]

Do they have a place like this here for us fringe guys?

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[Name Taken]

For me I think we are never truly accepted into Thai culture and community, even for those that can speak Thai and I would say only a very few speak good Thai.
We have no influence and there are no groups to join that can lobby for change. We live nicely but on the fringe of the greater society.
I have lived in other English speaking countries and with most you are far more inclusive of the greater society than here.

I agree 100%, and I'm sure this is one of the main reasons why people eventually get sick of Thailand. On the other hand, some people actually prefer it this way. At least I hope so because I'd hate to think that I'm the only happy to be living on the fringe of society. My view is, with greater acceptance comes a greater amount of crap.


I can quite honestly say that there is nothing I miss, living here in Thailand. I guess I'm fortunate in the regard.

and I think some of those people are criminals that are trying to avoid arrest/incarceration.

[Name Taken]

Could it be that there are other issues which make some people disgruntled with Thailand, and other countries for that matter.

A relative visited me recently and he loved HH and just about every where we took him however he did have some gripes, obviously he is relating to things at home, and no where is ever the same.
No libraries, he is an avid reader but does not use internet
No garden clubs
No OAP clubs especially with sing alongs, sometimes he was quite the entertainer, the young ladies loved him.
No expat clubs, even Pattaya has a very big weekly expat club meeting.

For me I think we are never truly accepted into Thai culture and community, even for those that can speak Thai and I would say only a very few speak good Thai.
We have no influence and there are no groups to join that can lobby for change. We live nicely but on the fringe of the greater society.
I have lived in other English speaking countries and with most you are far more inclusive of the greater society than here. You are allowed permanent residence, voting rights, can join in political and social groups that just do not exist here. I am sure some things like these influence certain people to move I personally wish things could be somewhat different here but I doubt there will be any change for years to come

[Takiap]

For me I think we are never truly accepted into Thai culture and community, even for those that can speak Thai and I would say only a very few speak good Thai.
We have no influence and there are no groups to join that can lobby for change. We live nicely but on the fringe of the greater society.
I have lived in other English speaking countries and with most you are far more inclusive of the greater society than here.

I agree 100%, and I'm sure this is one of the main reasons why people eventually get sick of Thailand. On the other hand, some people actually prefer it this way. At least I hope so because I'd hate to think that I'm the only happy to be living on the fringe of society. My view is, with greater acceptance comes a greater amount of crap.


I can quite honestly say that there is nothing I miss, living here in Thailand. I guess I'm fortunate in the regard.

and I think some of those people are criminals that are trying to avoid arrest/incarceration.

I don't for a minute doubt it, but there are also others, including myself, who simply enjoy living on the "outside" so to speak. While some see it as "exclusion", I see it as extra freedom. As it stands, nothing is expected of me in Thailand since I am not REALLY a part of the system. Great, because that means I can just enjoy my life and what little I have. Someone mentioned voting rights. Why would I want to have voting rights if I've never yet come across any political party worthy of my vote?

All I'm saying is there are many of use who are perfectly happy with Thailand being just the way it is.

[richard]

Takiap said

All I'm saying is there are many of use who are perfectly happy with Thailand being just the way it is.

[hhinner]

Someone mentioned voting rights. Why would I want to have voting rights if I've never yet come across any political party worthy of my vote?

For the occasional 500 baht (or whatever the going rate is) of course.

[cashie]

[[Mod Edit] We do not need personal vendettas on the forum. Please discuss by e-mail - you obviously know the person concerned.]

[johnnyk]

Bottom line?
Take it or leave it.
Thais are happy if you take it but they won't be shattered if you leave it.

Well said that man!
All this stuff about land/property ownership - bank loans - dual pricing etc etc just goes on and on. However a topic starts as often as not the same old moans surface sooner or later. Of course this particular topic was bound to bring it all out even more, but I would love to have a government in the UK which had the guts to impose the same restrictions on foreigners who move here. And a NHS with the guts to charge them double for treatment.

I wonder just how many expats ran AWAY from somewhere rather than TO Thailand? People run away from taxes or excessive regulation or bad weather or debts or failed relationships or poor finances. They arrive in their 'promised land' to find low taxes but poor public services or infrastructure. They chafe at onerous rules and regs back home only to discover they are on their own against crooked officials, criminal developers etc. They escape bad weather then complain about the constant heat after they find it. Failed falang relationships are replaced with ones with little if any real understanding of each other. The financial nest egg is whittled away by choosing ill-suited partners and currency fluctuations beyond control. And so on.
They can't change Thailand but many keep banging their heads in anger that Thais 'don't get it'.
Actually, they do.
In ways that make sense to them and they feel no need to change who they are and how they do things to accommodate the relatively few expats among their 62 million population.

[margaretcarnes]

Could it be that there are other issues which make some people disgruntled with Thailand, and other countries for that matter.

No expat clubs, even Pattaya has a very big weekly expat club meeting.

I have lived in other English speaking countries and with most you are far more inclusive of the greater society than here. You are allowed permanent residence, voting rights, can join in political and social groups that just do not exist here. I am sure some things like these influence certain people to move I personally wish things could be somewhat different here but I doubt there will be any change for years to come

To be fair Steve I think you've hit the nail on the head yourself there - 'in other English speaking countries' ... surely that is the key to feeling more inclusive? (Or at least for those whose first language is English anyway.)
Yes - Pattaya does have a much more active expat social life. It also has a much higher number of expats than HH, many of whom have been there for years. In fact it would even be fair to say that Pattaya is a town founded on farang. The authorities there recognise that, which helps.
But there are also plenty of farang who don't like Pattaya for those very same reasons.
I personally wouldn't expect to have privileges like voting rights or membership of political groups in Thailand. I can understand how it could be frustrating for others to feel excluded, but that is a choice people make when they move to the LOS - or at least it should be their choice based on an informed decision.

[Name Taken]

Bottom line?
Take it or leave it.
Thais are happy if you take it but they won't be shattered if you leave it.

Well said that man!
All this stuff about land/property ownership - bank loans - dual pricing etc etc just goes on and on. However a topic starts as often as not the same old moans surface sooner or later. Of course this particular topic was bound to bring it all out even more, but I would love to have a government in the UK which had the guts to impose the same restrictions on foreigners who move here. And a NHS with the guts to charge them double for treatment.

I wonder just how many expats ran AWAY from somewhere rather than TO Thailand? People run away from taxes or excessive regulation or bad weather or debts or failed relationships or poor finances. They arrive in their 'promised land' to find low taxes but poor public services or infrastructure. They chafe at onerous rules and regs back home only to discover they are on their own against crooked officials, criminal developers etc. They escape bad weather then complain about the constant heat after they find it. Failed falang relationships are replaced with ones with little if any real understanding of each other. The financial nest egg is whittled away by choosing ill-suited partners and currency fluctuations beyond control. And so on.
They can't change Thailand but many keep banging their heads in anger that Thais 'don't get it'.
Actually, they do.
In ways that make sense to them and they feel no need to change who they are and how they do things to accommodate the relatively few expats among their 62 million population.

I don't know about that johnnyk, I have seen quite a few Thais that looked and acted like they were totally confused/directionless.

[Dr Mike]

That is true and after all, you never see confused or directionless people in our home countries.

[dtaai-maai]

That is true and after all, you never see confused or directionless people in our home countries.

I agree. Nor do you see confused and directionless farang living in Thailand who never have anything positive to say about the place or the people.

[Name Taken]

That is true and after all, you never see confused or directionless people in our home countries.

I agree. Nor do you see confused and directionless farang living in Thailand who never have anything positive to say about the place or the people.

My comment was only half-serious.

[dtaai-maai]

No problem. Mine wasn't serious at all.
I'm sure you've had many positive things to say about Thailand over they Years, NT.

[playboy]

Bottom line?
Take it or leave it.
Thais are happy if you take it but they won't be shattered if you leave it.

Well said that man!
All this stuff about land/property ownership - bank loans - dual pricing etc etc just goes on and on. However a topic starts as often as not the same old moans surface sooner or later. Of course this particular topic was bound to bring it all out even more, but I would love to have a government in the UK which had the guts to impose the same restrictions on foreigners who move here. And a NHS with the guts to charge them double for treatment.

I wonder just how many expats ran AWAY from somewhere rather than TO Thailand? People run away from taxes or excessive regulation or bad weather or debts or failed relationships or poor finances. They arrive in their 'promised land' to find low taxes but poor public services or infrastructure. They chafe at onerous rules and regs back home only to discover they are on their own against crooked officials, criminal developers etc. They escape bad weather then complain about the constant heat after they find it. Failed falang relationships are replaced with ones with little if any real understanding of each other. The financial nest egg is whittled away by choosing ill-suited partners and currency fluctuations beyond control. And so on.
They can't change Thailand but many keep banging their heads in anger that Thais 'don't get it'.
Actually, they do.
In ways that make sense to them and they feel no need to change who they are and how they do things to accommodate the relatively few expats among their 62 million population.