56 replies to this topic

[Phil Lander]

I've not been to Phuket yet so Jim may be able to change my mind about living in Thailand . Phuket would probobly be one of the better places to live and work in . Sounds like paradise to me , roll on November.

[AdventureDude]

I'm with Jimbo. I've lived here almost 4 years now and I can't imagine going back to the USA. There were lots of good points made earlier, like you wouldn't want to be one of those guys worrying about whether a beer cost 65 or 85 baht... If you have no money, it's not gonna be so much fun. Forget all the barfines and lady drinks.

No matter where you are - Phuket, Pattaya or BKK, things can get old unless you have something to do besides sex and hitting the bars. I think that's true anywhere. Having a job is not a bad thing.

My biggest issue is that being married to a Thai, it's very difficult to get away for anything other than daytime ST and even that isn't always easy. Worse yet, before we were married we lived on Suk Soi 4 in BKK and we still know LOTS of people there, many of whom immediately call her if they see me. That pretty much cuts into my ability to hit Guess or the Nana bars.

When I came alone for short trips, it WAS exciting. The sex was plentiful and it was easy to go LT or multiple STs and I always had plenty of cash. Living here with a wife in tow whether Thai or not won't be the same as visiting by yourself, that much I can attest to.

The longer you live here, the more you can adopt the 'mai pen rai' attitude and can keep 'jai yen yen' - that is the 'no worries' attitude and the 'cool heart' when things aren't what you expect them to be.

The people who get grumpy are typically the 'prisoners of their own country' who expect everything to be precisely the way it is 'at home'. Always having to eat the food they ate at home, always having to watch their home team's games, surrounding themselves with only friends from their home country and only frequenting pubs and bars oriented to their home. Those are the guys that really don't make it here. Nothing wrong with following your home team and eating your home food sometimes, but you just can't build your life here around your previous home.

If you're only here for the GGs and LBs, you're better off visiting a couple of times per year I think. Just my opinion... :wink:

[AdventureDude]

I've not been to Phuket yet so Jim may be able to change my mind about living in Thailand . Phuket would probobly be one of the better places to live and work in . Sounds like paradise to me , roll on November.

I've only been to Phuket twice - both times in the past few months. I've been wondering why I never came before. The first time I came with the wife and her young daughter and spent all our time on the beach and exploring the islands from Phuket to Krabi. Truly paradise!! The second was solo and if you read my trip report, you will remember when I wasn't working, I spent ALL my time with Jimbo and his girls. Also truly paradise.

If I could afford to retire, it might well be in or near Phuket. [/url]

[bkklover]

For me I would need to have a full time job and a separate "normal" life away from the bars, and only visit nana or Pattaya at the weekends.

Otherwise, like others, I think you would get easily bored.

[dixon cox]

I would certainly give living there a try, it's what I plan to do in a few years when my mortgage is paid off. Also, I would not leave this country for good until my parents have.

I have become a cynical fuck who has basically given up on England as a place I wish to live out my life, I am going through the motions here for a few more years until I have enough capital and income from investments to live without working and to maintain a reasonable existence in Thailand. At least I'd like to try without eating into any capital, as I wouldn't plan on working there, but not wanting to make my choice of 'home' irreversable. Not working wouldn't be due to laziness (although I am), it's because I wouldn't want that level of financial involvement with the Thais and I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them re: a business venture. I would also not buy a property, to allow myself some freedom of movement within the country and not be tied down to one location.

I would prefer to be reasonably close to the action in terms of night-life and eating possibilities, but not necassarily within walking distance and certainly not on it's doorstep. Better to make it one, two or three nights out a week rather than a daily or nightly event. As others have said already, it can wear very thin after a few months and I can certianly see the potential for that. As far as food goes I'm happy with a 50/50 split of Thai/Farang.

As time has gone by I prefer and enjoy longer stays in Thailand. Two or three week trips are simply not long enough for me as I don't feel the need to go out every night and loiter in bars spending money like I am on holiday. I want to kick back and be bone-idle without conscience and basically do what I want to do everyday. I have never felt the need to hang-out in bars all day and I'm not a serial mongerer, although early hours street-walkers have always been a passion of mine.

Ultimately I can foresee that boredom and dealing with Thais daily would be the most likely things to eventually make me head for the airport home. So, exposure to the Thais could be rationed to a degree and I would need interests to keep myself mentally occupied from time to time, I have plenty of time to figure that out, but it wouldn't be golf.

As we all know, there is something extemely captivating about Thailand and it gets a grip on people and makes them act in ways they perhaps wouldn't act like had they never been exposed. It's up to those individuals to maintain control over the exposure to their desired 'drug' and drip feed it within their own financial limits and sustain control. Most of us have seen examples of people who have lost that control and it is never pretty.

I have often entertained the thought of chucking everything in right now, I still do, but that would be premature. Preparation for such a test, of perhaps a year, would be the most sensible. And there are visas available, other than a retirement visa at 50, which means the need to wait is not necassary, should the choice be made by an under-50 year old to make his move for an extended period.

[PP]

.....

[stonefre]

I plan to retire in 4 years and am considering Thailand as my destination. My plan is to rent a place and try living there for 6 months first to see if it is where I really want to stay.

[AdventureDude]

I plan to retire in 4 years and am considering Thailand as my destination. My plan is to rent a place and try living there for 6 months first to see if it is where I really want to stay.

Good plan! It's basically what I did, although I tried it out for only 3 months before returning to the USA to make arrangements to move (including a divorce).

[pog1701]

I would love the full time thing, though I would more than likely burn out and I know the LB's love ATM's and teaching English does not make a whole lot of money. Part time better and more fun. after a while I would have to work and then it is the same rubbish, just a different currency.

[Phil Lander]

I might look into the retirement Visa at 50 as it gives me a few years to work out what I want to do with my life .
I would lose my Pension at home if I'm out of the country more than six months . I dont think I would be interested if I waited till I am 65 anyway .

I have two friends living in Asia for more than twenty years . One is still loving it going out a few times a week with about five regular girls , some P4P , and the other seemed to have got bored with the whole P4P scene and is only there for the money.

[dontae7]

i stayed there for nine months once, but i was younger, i think its a great place to visit or if your rich to live a life with few worries but working there and dealing with the thais mite not be the best thing in the long run, your always an outsider and it does get really old as u eventually sober up and learn more,, but i miss it as im typeing this and look forward to seeing the thai smiles and sexy girls we all luv in the near future..

[Crackerjax]

I love thai food, thai ladyboys, thai sea, thai sand and thai stick. I already took the plunge as far as moving abroad many years ago - unfortunately I chose a country without ladyboys! Hopefully that will change, but that's a whole 'nother topic....

IF I WAS SINGLE, I'd absolutely love to live in Thailand, but I must say doing it like Adventuredude describes it would be tough. I know what a bitch it is to be in Phuket on vacation with the wife and kids and unable to sneak off to Bangla Road to check up on the nasty side of life. :evil: Having to deal with that kind of frustration on a daily basis could be hard on one's health!

If I wanted to keep working I'd probably choose Bangkok as surely there's more money to be made in the big city, but in terms of really enjoying Thailand you'd be hard pressed to beat Phuket - great food and ladyboys, sand and surf and ladyboys, golf and diving and ladyboys, decent air connections, good weed, and ladyboys. Did I mention ladyboys - it has all of the above in ready abundance!

Unlike many of you here who are stuck far away in Europe or the US, I am a (relatively) short 5 hour flight away. Unfortunately my work has ZERO Thai component to it, as I would love to be able to go there "on business" more often. Matchman and some of the other Singapore-based BM's are in a good situation, especially if their jobs get them up to LOS on a regular basis. This is something to consider for some of you thinking about taking the plunge - instead of just retiring and giving up on new income, come out to Asia and work. Working as an expat in Singapore or HK or many other places in Asia can be both lucrative and give you increased access to LOS. Of course in my case I am forced to come up with creative and increasingly less believable excuses to either my wife, my boss, or both, for my little getaways.

While I am quite well situated financially at this stage, I have no intention of retiring just yet - these are boom times in China and I'd leave a lot of money on the table if I walked away. And if my wife followed me to Thailand with the kids I'd be completely fucked anyway! Looks like I'm doomed to keep working!

I think that the other angle that some of you might consider would be investing in Thailand - just not necessarily in a ladyboy bar (Jimbo's shining example notwithstanding)! It's not just China that is a strong growing economy - much of Asia is a great investment opportunity - and I'm sure many of you have arears of expertise that are in short supply out here. I believe Thai real estate is now open to foreign investors - what about other business sectors?

As it is, I remain golden handcuffed here in the Middle Kingdom, and without any legit work excuses to run by either my wife or my boss, my LOS trips invariably are too short - but plenty sweet!