1 Year in Thailand

General chat about life in the Land Of Smiles. Discuss expat life, relationship issues and all things generally Thailand and Asia related.
RCer
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1 Year in Thailand

Post by RCer »

Today marks 1 year since I moved to Thailand. I thought I'd share my views on living here vs the US.

In total, I like it here and don't have any plans to go back to the US.

Here are the things I miss:

Medical insurance. In the US I am covered by Medicare, Tricare, and the Veterans Administration. Medicare costs me $120.00 per month but does not pay for care outside the US. The other 2 are cost reimbursement but limited.

900 sqft shop and all my tools
3 acres of land I could do anything I wanted on

Being able to buy a Harley without a 200% or more mark up

Driving my 4 wheeler out in the desert
My Ram 1500 pickup
Mph vs kmh
Lack of people nearby
Cool weather

Meals that are 85% meat and vegetable without cooking at home or making a special order

Medication that doesn't make me ill requiring 2 or 3 other medications to counter the side effects

Trifocal glasses


Things I do not miss:

Having to carry a gun every time I left my property

Looking over my shoulder
Sitting facing the door when dining out

Not knowing if I'm going to violate some special person's civil rights because of the color of my skin or use of English

Being told Merry Christmas is not appropriate

Not being able to get my food correct in a fast food place like Burger King (its never wrong here)

Daily shootings, robberies, etc on the news

Cost of everything
Unfriendly people
Rude and lazy customer service

Most importantly, I do not miss being single
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dtaai-maai
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by dtaai-maai »

RCer wrote: Things I do not miss:

Having to carry a gun every time I left my property

Looking over my shoulder
Sitting facing the door when dining out
Wow! No offence, but are you unusually paranoid or is this typical behaviour in the US?
This is the way
RCer
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by RCer »

dtaai-maai wrote:
RCer wrote: Things I do not miss:

Having to carry a gun every time I left my property

Looking over my shoulder
Sitting facing the door when dining out
Wow! No offence, but are you unusually paranoid or is this typical behaviour in the US?
I'm retired military and been stationed in some of the worst places in the world. Only place I've been shot at is the US.

Paranoid, no. Not a victim either.
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by handdrummer »

if you follow u.s. news you'll see and/or read that every day hundreds of people are killed in the u.s. chicago alone accounts for most of the shooting deaths. I lived in the deep south for 19 yrs. and everyone I knew was armed. you didn't go visiting at night without phoning first. racism or to be more accurate colorism and religiousism and I'm talking about all of them, are so divided and paranoid about each other that it's dangerous to go into a neighborhood where you look different. I grew up in the 40's and 50's in mixed neighborhoods; black and brown mostly and never had a problem. today I wouldn't set foot in one of them. it's a sad state of affairs and a tragedy to see what has happened in the u.s. all empires crumble and it looks like it's America's turn. the two candidates in this election should tell you all you need to know about the u.s. one bullshitted his way into the presidency and the other tried to lie, cheat and steal her way in. I've been here 3 yrs and I ain't goin' back.
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MajorBloodnok
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by MajorBloodnok »

Hello, :)

4 years in Thailand! :D

Veterans with combat experience will agree no doubt - basic precautions rather than paranoia! :thumb:

Warm regards,

MB
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Spitfire
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by Spitfire »

@OP.....TBH I guess your comments reflect some that often surface from new arrivals. Nothing wrong with that and glad you are happy here after a year.


Please post your thoughts again after you have been here another 15 years.......lol.

If you even care to post after such time..... :D
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by hhfarang »

dtaai-maai wrote:
RCer wrote: Things I do not miss:

Having to carry a gun every time I left my property

Looking over my shoulder
Sitting facing the door when dining out
Wow! No offence, but are you unusually paranoid or is this typical behaviour in the US?
Not typical at all... I've lived in 4 locations in the U.S., all large cities or huge metropolitan areas, west coast (1), east coast (1), and the largest cities in two southern states. I've also travelled as a tourist to 48 of the 50 states, I've been out in the streets of New York, New Orleans and Miami between 2 and 4 in the morning, and I've lived in majority black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

I've never felt the need to carry a gun, look over my shoulder, or sit facing the door while dining out. I've never known anyone who was shot in the U.S. and I've never been attacked or robbed in the U.S.

I personally knew two people in Hua Hin who got shot.
I personally experienced attempted robbery in both Holland and Italy.
A close friend was robbed in Holland while I was with her.
My wife was robbed in France while I was with her.

Where do you think I feel safer...
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by Deep Blue »

hhfarang wrote:
dtaai-maai wrote:
RCer wrote: Things I do not miss:

Having to carry a gun every time I left my property

Looking over my shoulder
Sitting facing the door when dining out
Wow! No offence, but are you unusually paranoid or is this typical behaviour in the US?
Not typical at all... I've lived in 4 locations in the U.S., all large cities or huge metropolitan areas, west coast (1), east coast (1), and the largest cities in two southern states. I've also travelled as a tourist to 48 of the 50 states, I've been out in the streets of New York, New Orleans and Miami between 2 and 4 in the morning, and I've lived in majority black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

I've never felt the need to carry a gun, look over my shoulder, or sit facing the door while dining out. I've never known anyone who was shot in the U.S. and I've never been attacked or robbed in the U.S.

I personally knew two people in Hua Hin who got shot.
I personally experienced attempted robbery in both Holland and Italy.
A close friend was robbed in Holland while I was with her.
My wife was robbed in France while I was with her.

Where do you think I feel safer...
You were lucky or you're full of cat shit now. I'll go with cat shit. LOL
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by centermid7 »

Whatever medications the OP was referring to to are not working. Schizophrenia can be controlled.
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by Jack Sprat »

HHfarang....I have been a frequent traveller to the US for many years, and I have to say I feel it's a very dangerous place to be.....too many idiots with guns is scary.
Add to that, the racial tensions that exist there, and you have a boiling pot that spills over all too frequently.
I feel much, much safer here in Thailand (except whilst driving LOL).

The picture below shows the deaths in Chicago alone!
2001 to the present day, there were/are more deaths in Chicago than the total American losses in the Iraq & Afghanistan wars combined!!!!
[img][/
Chicago Deaths2.jpg
Chicago Deaths2.jpg (93.29 KiB) Viewed 3729 times
img]
Source....
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by brianks »

67 years in the U.S. and never experienced anything like being talked about here. You doom and gloom guys about the US are reading the news too much. I never experienced any of the problems that have been suggested here just as HHFarang said. All you have to do is get fixated with the news and believing it as being gossipel for all of the U.S. and everything looks bad. Must be all second amendment fanciers with all 3% of the population owning 50% of the guns. I would certainly feel less safe if I carried a gun around with me all the time.

Life in Thailand can be much more unsettling than in the U.S. as I have been here for 9 years now.
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by Deep Blue »

brianks wrote:67 years in the U.S. and never experienced anything like being talked about here. You doom and gloom guys about the US are reading the news too much. I never experienced any of the problems that have been suggested here just as HHFarang said. All you have to do is get fixated with the news and believing it as being gossipel for all of the U.S. and everything looks bad. Must be all second amendment fanciers with all 3% of the population owning 50% of the guns. I would certainly feel less safe if I carried a gun around with me all the time.

Life in Thailand can be much more unsettling than in the U.S. as I have been here for 9 years now.
How about some murder rate comparisons, per 100,000 people.


UK 0.9
Denmark 1.0
Spain 0.7
Japan 0.3
South Africa 33.0
Source; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... icide_rate


Now some American cities.
1. St. Louis, Missouri
> Murder rate: 59.3 per 100,000
2. Baltimore, Maryland
> Murder rate: 55.4 per 100,000
3. Detroit, Michigan
> Murder rate: 43.8 per 100,000
4. New Orleans, Louisiana
> Murder rate: 41.7 per 100,000
5. Birmingham, Alabama
> Murder rate: 37.2 per 100,000
6. Jackson, Mississippi
> Murder rate: 31.1 per 100,000
7. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
> Murder rate: 26.2 per 100,000
8. Hartford, Connecticut
> Murder rate: 25.7 per 100,000
9. Salinas, California
> Murder rate: 25.3 per 100,000
10. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
> Murder rate: 24.2 per 100,000
Source; http://247wallst.com/special-report/201 ... -capitals/


As a long time American, I can tell you confidently, a lot of Americans are fools. There’s twenty cities on the list but I listed just ten. None of them is safe anytime, at night you would be risking your life and you know what the common denominator is, readily available guns and the dumbest criminals on the planet.
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by centermid7 »

Where is Nurse Ratched when you need her?

We need to ask her to come in here and take a look at a couple of you 'ol boys - and bring LOTS of meds!
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by Homer »

Deep Blue wrote:There’s twenty cities on the list but I listed just ten. None of them is safe anytime, at night you would be risking your life and you know what the common denominator is, readily available guns and the dumbest criminals on the planet.
There's lies, damn lies and statistics. Google any city name and 'murder map'. Anyone who is surprised the murders are concentrated in certain areas is a fool.

The LA Times has an interactive map of LA County. Just checked the two places I lived and 5 work locations. Year to date there were zero murders in the towns where I lived. Four of the towns I worked in had among them a total of 1 murder. One place had 4, which was also the only place I'd not want to be wandering around alone, day or night.
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Re: 1 Year in Thailand

Post by Big Boy »

Interesting. I've just done that for where I last lived in the UK. The results it threw up were:

Anti-social behaviour 1
Burglary 1
Criminal damage and arson 1
Championship Plymouth Argyle 0 - 1 Preston NE :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

Points 41; Position 18
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