What makes the well contented ex-pat??

[Dannie Boy]

For me what makes for a contented expat is having a good partner relationship, if I was forever fighting with my wife I'd get the hump pretty damn quick. As it is we have as good as a relationship as you can get, I never have to worry about what she's up to and we share the workload so neither of us have cause to complain.

Of course having sufficient money is a basic requirement and the lack of it can certainly cause issues, but as any others have already said, the vast majority would be happy/unhappy wherever they lived, all things being equal.

[Ratsima]

I've been here ten years. I consider myself to be content. I run out of time each day long before I run out of things to do. Although I'm financially better off now than when I first moved to Thailand, I don't think the increase in wealth has made a huge difference. I was happy and busy then. I'm happy and busy now.

That said, I would enjoy life more (I think) if I had friends. I lived on Saipan for the 26 years before I retired and moved to Thailand. There, I was awash with friends with whom I had much in common and with whom I spent a great deal of time. Here I have a few acquaintances and a couple of friends. Most of my time is solitary.

My greatest source of discontent is my inability to communicate in Thai. I worked at it for years before I gave up. I'd probably have a better social life if I could actually converse with the people with whom I interact every day.

[dundrillin]

When i moved here, i stopped drinking as i knew i would want to do it all the time with these prices.

I did have a walk around and made a mental note of expats i didn't want to turn out like in later years....some are members on here...imagine that

Please have a few drinks,relax and perhaps you'll reflect on how pompous you sound.

[richard]

^^ DD, let him off, He's a new kid on the block and has a lot to learn

[STEVE G]

When i moved here, i stopped drinking as i knew i would want to do it all the time with these prices.

I did have a walk around and made a mental note of expats i didn't want to turn out like in later years....some are members on here...imagine that

Please have a few drinks,relax and perhaps you'll reflect on how pompous you sound.

"The secret to a long life is to stay busy, get plenty of exercise and don't drink too much. Then again, don't drink too little!" Herman Smith-Johannson. (Who lived to be 111.)

[Frank La Rue]

Interesting points.

1. First - I agree with the observation that some are basically content wherever they are due to an inate, positive attitude.

2. I agree that coping with the climate is a must. Thailand is not for everyone - I have a neighbour who went first time to Thailand last year - Cha Am coincidetnally - she came to me and gave me her baths - she will never go again as she does not cope with the climate

3. I do not speak thai yet - but I recognize it will enable me to be more on the inside in every respect if I do, news, any conversation etc I can part take. It is my ambition to learn thai when I relocate permanently in a couple of years .I don't say you cannot be a happy camper if you dont speak thai - I think you can, but the language skill I think can make the every day life a bit richer

4. Some hobbies and some mates - I agree to that. I have this almost romantic idea to pick up guitar playing again and start a band doing some gigs for fun. I have a rusty Fender telecaster ,I am planning on buying a PRS Semihollow from Andertons Music Shop IN Guildford.


5. Family - for me it's better to have a thai wife and a son than to live single. Obviously this is independent of where I live. This is my personal strategy for avoiding ending up in bars all the time due to chasing women

6. Extended family - I am fortunate that wifey's family are a good bunch, we see them almost daily in a nice, non-intrusive way. If we want alone we just say, if we want to socialize we just say. THus I have lots of socializing, eating in, eating out, many times they offer to pay and we do stuff together. Some here may have read the story I told from them visiting us in Norway - so we have grown quite close and the chemistry works well. This point is a blessing for me - I dont have to control them or avoid them, they provide lots of social life and make the transition to Thailand easy.