Hua Hin/Thailand: why are you there?

[Calguy]

I have been reading this forum off and on since 2008 trying to glean info that I need to decide if I want to retire there. So far most of what I read is complaints, complaints about the bad, unreliable water, unreliable internet and electric power, awful traffic, theft of packages in the slow postal system, the corrupt bureaucracy and cops, blocked internet sites, rising prices, back and forth sniping and character assasination of nationalities (Brits vs Yanks) etc. I was born here in Calif. and I am the minority but we all get along. I would be the minority there as well.
What I want to know is what attracted everyone to Thailand in the first place? Everyone sounds unhappy and some have said they are. My attraction is the cost of living on a pension, but some who want Americans to stay out quote a monthly expense of 120k Baht per mo., far more than I pay now in a huge city. This forum has generally been a very negative experience.
Will the Americans there fill me in on the situation there? (HHFarang and Tiger are ones I know of)
There are many relatively inexpensive places in the world for Europeans to retire to, like India for instance where they speak English, so why do so many Brits choose Thailand, a non-Christian nation with a 3rd world infrastructure?
I'm puzzled
Calguy

[GLCQuantum]

Sorry but am short on time so I'll put it in a nutshell...

why do so many Brits choose Thailand, a non-Christian nation with a 3rd world infrastructure?

..because it's a nicer place to live than England.

Unhelpful I know.

India? Thanks but no thanks.

[PeteC]

There's been a few threads like this. Below is one I could find quickly. Contains humor, and some truth I guess. Pete

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=18293

[sargeant]

. My attraction is the cost of living on a pension, but some who want Americans to stay out quote a monthly expense of 120k Baht per mo.,

I think you will find that the person leading the charge with that ammount
WAS an American HHfarang to be exact

I live on less than 20,000Bt a month and have been here 15 years 7 months

The weather is better
The food is awesome
the prices are lower
the women are pretty
Its more relaxed

and i do not believe the brits hate the Americans it seems to me the Americas are just far to sensitive and take any criticism of America personally

[Babylon]

I think you need to take this board with a pinch of salt, I have lived here for several years and frankly my experience is nothing like the majority of contributors here. Maybe sob stories just make better reading, but I agree with you the overall atmosphere of this board is overwhelmingly negative. It is actually a standing joke in my circle of friends that we are glad we don't live in the same town as HHAD contributors!!

Truthfully, I find most people here are living very happy and satisfied lives, and are very positive about the experience of living / working / retiring in Thailand.

My only advise would be to plan a long holiday, say 6 months, rent a place etc, and just see how you like it, make friends, live here etc. Then make a decision, and don't feel the need to rush into anything. Living in Asia is not for everyone, but there is a silent majority living here very happily. Don't be to put off by people horror stories.

[heartofmidlothian]

Maybe you just don't understand the mentality of Brits! Not happy unless we are moaning about something! Calguy, you should just make your own decisions on whether you like Hua Hin by spending time here. It is a great place to live and the cost of living is still cheap and I take it you have never spent much time in India! Thailand is the best place in Asia to live.

[GLCQuantum]

It is actually a standing joke in my circle of friends that we are glad we don't live in the same town as HHAD contributors!!

You and your group sure sound like a barrel of laughs.

[Babylon]

It is actually a standing joke in my circle of friends that we are glad we don't live in the same town as HHAD contributors!!

You and your group sure sound like a barrel of laughs.

Probably right, but the best I can do it this cra&* town !

[jingjoe]

Im australian,and for me thailand is a quarter of the price of my home country.
The average price of a house in my country is $400000(13million baht) to rent same house,not much change out of $400 a week,kilo of chicken $15(500bht) etc,etc, etc.
Lucky enough for me our dollar exhange is high,in fact it has gone up 30% in the last 5 years.Most complaints come from the other countries expats because of an almost 50% depreciation in currency.Imagine retiring here 6 years ago on a fixed income and now you have almost half as much and then of course inflation over that time.
I would use the thai immigration requirements has a pretty good ball park figure of how much to survive in thailand in relative comfort(65000bht a month).If you play golf once a week then add on another 10000 baht a month.,
I have been living in thailand for three years and keep a daily diary of what i spend,a bit pedantic i know,but it keeps me honest to my yearly budget.I am 45 married(soon to be separated) have young son,live in a 3 bed f/f house,cable tv,internet,drive a pickup,eat 50/50 western thai food,drink a few beers,play golf once a week,do some travelling,pretty much have and do everything i want and average 75000bht a month.
But the very best thing about thailand is the way you feel about yourself,i walk into tescos or a restaurant and i can smile at a girl/lady and she will smile back and even be a bit flirtatious,it makes me feel good about myself,i guess it makes me feel like a man,in my country if i smiled at a lady in a shop i would probably be scowled at and called a pervert..And that feeling of worthiness is what stops me returning back to oz

[Pleng]

some who want Americans to stay out quote a monthly expense of 120k Baht per mo
Calguy

I guess this thread will generally be full of people trying to convince you of all the good things about this country, as that's generally what happens when a post like yours is made, but I'm going to go against that trend and say that if you don't even live here yet already feel like a victim then I guess this is probably not the place for you!

People of all nationalities lay into each other all the time. Most of it's usually jovial. If there's anything genuinely snide then just don't mix with those people! Yet you seem to have found anti-americanism in a thread that as far as I recall didn't even mention nationalities. And, as I've said before, the race-ripping that generally takes place here is nothing even close to how the Thais will appear (to you) to rip into you about everything.

[sargeant]

Calguy wrote

There are many relatively inexpensive places in the world for Europeans to retire to, like India for instance

The water supply in my bathroom is the best in the house but i dont live in it, now in India yes i would but probably not by choice the bombay trots ringabell

Not a criticism or a put down just brit humour

[buksida]

Maybe sob stories just make better reading, but I agree with you the overall atmosphere of this board is overwhelmingly negative. It is actually a standing joke in my circle of friends that we are glad we don't live in the same town as HHAD contributors!!

Human nature sadly; it is far easier to gripe about something than it is to compliment it - as it is also far easier to focus on the negatives of something rather than the positives.

It takes 43 muscles to frown, but only 17 to smile.

[dozer]

I have lived here since 1987 and I thoroughly enjoy this forum, but it certainly does always reflect the Hua Hin I know, after all is said and done it provides just a very small snapshot of life here.
Forums in general tend to convey a more negative outlook, but I guess that’s just human nature, so don’t be put off by what you read here.

[Bamboo Grove]

Calguy wrote:

so why do so many Brits choose Thailand, a non-Christian nation with a 3rd world infrastructure?

Just wondering why this seems so important to you? In most cases the Buddhists are more tolerant than many other religions around our planet.

[dtaai-maai]

I have been reading this forum off and on since 2008 trying to glean info that I need to decide if I want to retire there.

A word of warning - don't make any hasty decisions you might live to regret.