T.O.M. wrote: ↑Sun Aug 18, 2019 9:31 pm
I read the replies in a completely different way.....no surprise here
To be expected.
Now the results show almost 40% gone or seriously considering it - for whatever reasons. Less than 30% completely content here, the rest on the fence for now. Poll results will always be interpreted differently, some are wearing their Thai tinted glasses, others are looking at the reality of the situation.
The baht's performance has been well reported recently and the central bank is trying to address the issue, so yes you can blame Thailand and it is over inflated. This is exacerbated by western nations manipulating their currencies and other issues in the UK - but I'm sure not all expats that voted above simply don't have enough pounds in their pockets any longer, some maybe sick of being treated like a criminal in the country they choose to spend their hard earned.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
As for the Thai tinted glasses....they have come off a long time ago.....But for me personally absolutely nothing has changed....Yes immigration has raised the bar.....money both before and AFTER the extension....but since I would have that amount in my account anyway, it doesn't make any difference to me. That is my reality.
Regarding all the political nonsense taking place here on a daily basis...I simply choose not to follow it...nothing to do with me anyway....Living in my own small bubble and enjoying the good stuff Thailand has to offer. It is not all bad...
I would consider leaving not because of the complicated immigration situation or because of finances, but because I'm just not that happy here. Our home is in Korat where my wife has her family and business. After 14 years I have zero friends and spend every weekday totally alone with no one to talk to. I find I have very little in common with most of the expats I've met. And, Korat is a horrible place to meet people. It has all the disadvantages of a city with none of the advantages. I hate the traffic and the parking problems. There's no place to go and nothing really interesting to do.
I also have a condo in Cha Am where we spend around one week per month. I love it there. I like waking up in the morning and being able to see the ocean from my bed. I love cycling to Cha Am beach in the morning for breakfast. I really enjoy all the other cycling possibilities. I like the fact that, most days, there's little traffic and parking is never a problem. I like the fact that it's easy to get around by car or by bicycle.
Sadly, the chances of moving to Cha Am permanently are nonexistent. I could never convince my wife to leave her hometown, her family and her business. Of course, I'd never get her to leave Thailand either, so that's just a fantasy. Anyway, where would I go?
^^
Way off topic here, but why don't you move to Cha Am alone?
The wife comes down for a week once a month and you could go to Korat once a month over the weekend....that way you will be together at least 10 days per month.
Win/win....you will have a better life and your wife will have a happier and more content husband.
After 14 years adjusting to your wife's needs and preferences, maybe it is time to think about your own happiness.
If your marriage certificate is worth the paper it is written on, your wife will understand and support your decision.
Ratsima wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:11 am
^^
When I first bought the condo I would come down by myself for long stretches. I stopped because I missed her too much.
So seeing her twice a month might be the “happy medium”?
I find it easy to believe your lack of friends up there. My schoolchum who lives in Issan /Scotland 6m/6m has been there about 10 years he has TWO friends. When he first told me that I guessed that additionally he had dozens of casual acquaintaces
NO, just two friends. I have written about him before he has now left to return to Scotland so that his two girls can get a good education and it is the Thai wife who is the one that is most insistant on the move.
But really just two friends.
oakdale160 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2019 8:19 am
I find it easy to believe your lack of friends up there.
<snip>
But really just two friends.
Before I retired to Thailand I lived on Saipan, a small island (US Territory) in the Western Pacific. There I was awash with friends. There was so much to do where you could meet people: sailing club, running club, the hash, scuba diving, expat bars and hangouts, etc. Korat has nothing. Nothing to do. No place to go to meet people.
What would be a good followup poll is one on alternative countries to Thailand offering the things that attracted you here in the first place but not the things that are making you want to leave now.
It would help the 40% of respondents considering a move.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
I went back to the US in 2015 after eight years. The missus followed about 18 months later. I haven't been back to Thailand since January, 2016, and while I don't regret one second I spent there, I don't miss it. Sometime we put up with a lot of hassles to live that relaxed life style.
I left because of political instability and the fact that it can affect us expats as you are seeing now. The missus should have her ten year green card in a few months. If her legal status permits it, we might move to Costa Rica or Ecuador, or maybe further south.
Cheers to those who stayed and to those who left.
"We're all living proof nothing lasts" - Jay Farrar
Cheers to those who stayed and to those who left.