Hua Hin/Thailand: why are you there?

[Homer]

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,

Those are examples of things one gives up to live in a less developed nation. Some complain about it.

This forum has generally been a very negative experience.

Fortunately it's not a representative sample of expats in HH.

I'm an early retired Ameican. Thailand may not be where I settle but it has met my expectations in the 2 years I've been here. The following are generalities. Thailand is safe. Most of the infrastructure works most of the time. Getting a long term visa for retirement is a pain but then it's easy to renew. The food is good, the country is attractive, the people are friendly enough. Living in or near a tourist destination means there will be plentiful choices of goods and services and you won't have to learn Thai. As for Hua HIn in specific. The air is clean. It's close enough to Bangkok for the airport, shopping or entertainment as a day trip, but better as an overnight trip. It has a tourist industry infrastructure but it's not a tourist disneyland. The quality of expat one meets here is higher than in the towns where most of the men are either indulging in bar girls & alcohol or resting up until they can start again.

Cost of living? My last year was the most expensive of my retirement. Contributing was an uninsured hospital stay, buying medical insurance for the rest of '11 and all of '12, new electronics (laptop, smart phone and DSLR), and 45 days traveling in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Monthly average was 60k THB.

[johnnyk]

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,

Those are examples of things one gives up to live in a less developed nation. Some complain about it.

This forum has generally been a very negative experience.

Fortunately it's not a representative sample of expats in HH.

I'm an early retired Ameican. Thailand may not be where I settle but it has met my expectations in the 2 years I've been here. The following are generalities. Thailand is safe. Most of the infrastructure works most of the time. Getting a long term visa for retirement is a pain but then it's easy to renew. The food is good, the country is attractive, the people are friendly enough. Living in or near a tourist destination means there will be plentiful choices of goods and services and you won't have to learn Thai. As for Hua HIn in specific. The air is clean. It's close enough to Bangkok for the airport, shopping or entertainment as a day trip, but better as an overnight trip. It has a tourist industry infrastructure but it's not a tourist disneyland. The quality of expat one meets here is higher than in the towns where most of the men are either indulging in bar girls & alcohol or resting up until they can start again.

Cost of living? My last year was the most expensive of my retirement. Contributing was an uninsured hospital stay, buying medical insurance for the rest of '11 and all of '12, new electronics (laptop, smart phone and DSLR), and 45 days traveling in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Monthly average was 60k THB.

Well said.
There are inconveniences everywhere, Thailand is not special in that regard. What the hell do people expect when they come here? It's not the same as back home, because guess what? it's not back home. Presumably that's one reason why many people choose to live in Siam at least part of the time. Doing some research on a place before coming is always a good idea.

[johnnyk]

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

What does non-Christian have to do with it? Last time I looked Buddhism made a lot of sense. They don't ram their religion down others' throats for one thing nor is there a history of burning people at the stake.
T-O-L-E-R-A-N-C-E is the key word.
Third world infrastructure? Hello, have you been to the third world? Try Lagos. Thailand has a very good infrastructure for a NIC (newly-industrialized country). Its safe, easy and cheap to get around, first rate BTS and MRT in Bangkok, clean water, dependable electricity, good medical services and facilities, clean food, internet, no drugged-out teens waving AK-47s, convertible currency, proper banks and so on.
Stop whining or go somewhere else. Lagos works if you want real 3rd world, failing that try Kinshasa or Cairo or Dhaka.

[HHCanuck]

I am on my 11th year in Thailand, my story is similar to others I came here for a holiday met an amazing woman and married her 1 year later. Coming from "Old Iceberg" (Canada) I put up with high taxes, high prices and low temperatures none of which I liked.

Thailand seemed ideal with friendly people, easy going life style and great weather year round. Since officially I am a tourist I pay no tax on the income I receive from outside Thailand.

Thailand is an illusion many have shared, It is hard to judge a country the first few years living in it. In retrospect I think staying here was a mistake. For a single guy or couple with no children it is fine. Between my wife and I we support 5 children on 2 continents I make a reasonable living however no money can buy the upbringing I had in Canada.

I wish I would have taken my wife back home and raised our family there. It would have given our kids a better education and Canadian values. I can try my best to pass on my values and give them the best education I can. But in the end it is hard to fight against the culture they are brought up in. We have too much invested in Thailand so we will stay and make the best of it.

We are happy here I just hope my kids will prosper, they have dual citizenship so can always go to Canada for a higher education.

What I like about HH is there are no industrial areas pumping out pollution. I think as far as places that are family friendly, with reasonable schools, good hospitals and a clean environment (compared to the rest of Thailand) HH checks all the boxes.

[johnnyk]

I am on my 11th year in Thailand, my story is similar to others I came here for a holiday met an amazing woman and married her 1 year later. Coming from "Old Iceberg" (Canada) I put up with high taxes, high prices and low temperatures none of which I liked.

Thailand seemed ideal with friendly people, easy going life style and great weather year round. Since officially I am a tourist I pay no tax on the income I receive from outside Thailand.

Thailand is an illusion many have shared, It is hard to judge a country the first few years living in it. In retrospect I think staying here was a mistake. For a single guy or couple with no children it is fine. Between my wife and I we support 5 children on 2 continents I make a reasonable living however no money can buy the upbringing I had in Canada.

I wish I would have taken my wife back home and raised our family there. It would have given our kids a better education and Canadian values. I can try my best to pass on my values and give them the best education I can. But in the end it is hard to fight against the culture they are brought up in. We have too much invested in Thailand so we will stay and make the best of it.

We are happy here I just hope my kids will prosper, they have dual citizenship so can always go to Canada for a higher education.

What I like about HH is there are no industrial areas pumping out pollution. I think as far as places that are family friendly, with reasonable schools, good hospitals and a clean environment (compared to the rest of Thailand) HH checks all the boxes.

I hope your kids can go to a good school in Thailand, a regular Thai high school will not prepare them for a western university. In fact, it might not even make them ready to go to a Canadian high school.

[Homer]

Third world infrastructure? Hello, have you been to the third world? Try Lagos. Thailand has a very good infrastructure for a NIC (newly-industrialized country).

Good point. The economics and politics of the world have changed since most of us learned to use 'Third World' to describe poor nations not under Soviet influence. From Wikipedia: NICs are countries whose economies have not yet reached First World status but have, in a macroeconomic sense, outpaced their developing counterparts.

When I start thinking about life after Thailand the first question is 'Go where?' Thailand loses most of the point by point comparisons to countries I can't afford to live in (or could if I wanted a standard of living I haven't had since graduate school). It wins most of them when looking at countries I can afford.

[sargeant]

the cost of living thread is of extremely limited use

DM as you can see with the quote under this all calguy saw was what i have highlighted in red

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.

TIGRs post was absolutely bang on it was pretty comprehensive in how much and why and above all it was in DOLLERs and IMHO pretty much the average

the 120k a month figure was also an American add to that TIGRs & Homers American contributions (the same figures 60Kish) calguy now has a raft of information to calculate in

its his quote, the parts highlighted in red and in particular blue that bothers me about the cost of living thread

[T.I.G.R.]

I try often to remember how I felt when I first retired and we were living in a rented Palm Pavilion condo. I used to stand out on our small balcony and wonder at the absolute beauty of our new life. I had never had the peace of mind from not having to work hard every day and our new home was well on the way to being finished. Thailand was a new paradise waiting to be enjoyed! The world was a different place from what it would become when we got past the first blush.

My first few years in Thailand were filled with frustration;dealing with situations and people I had never encountered before, trying to learn an impossibly new and strange language, different cultural attitudes, different food, driving habits, millions of people on motorcycles travelling about like little ants, no building codes, things that didn't work right, etc. Even my wife who lived here the first 30 years of her life had to adjust back to the way things worked here vs. the U.S.

On top of that it wasn't a move made by choice, but one made by necessity. To tell the truth, it's been hard to deal with what was essentially a failure. Most of the world aspires to be like America and though I was excited about making a new life here, I knew America wouldn't be a part of our future.

It took many years to become and feel like a real part of our new community but it has happened. Just the other day on the way back home from the new Tesco shopping center in Tha Yang we were talking about how happy we are here now.

So.....when you think about the negativity in this or other forums, or people's venting about how things aren't like they were at home remember that it has been a tremendous period of adjustment for all of us immigrants.....and if you are hoping or planning to live here, it is a process you will go through yourself. Try to make yourself ready for it. Take what you can from this or any forum and attempt to help the new guys get along....... enjoy the bitching and complaining for what it is; people adjusting to a very, very new and different life.

[Dannie Boy]

I try often to remember how I felt when I first retired and we were living in a rented Palm Pavilion condo. I used to stand out on our small balcony and wonder at the absolute beauty of our new life. I had never had the peace of mind from not having to work hard every day and our new home was well on the way to being finished. Thailand was a new paradise waiting to be enjoyed! The world was a different place from what it would become when we got past the first blush.

My first few years in Thailand were filled with frustration;dealing with situations and people I had never encountered before, trying to learn an impossibly new and strange language, different cultural attitudes, different food, driving habits, millions of people on motorcycles travelling about like little ants, no building codes, things that didn't work right, etc. Even my wife who lived here the first 30 years of her life had to adjust back to the way things worked here vs. the U.S.

On top of that it wasn't a move made by choice, but one made by necessity. To tell the truth, it's been hard to deal with what was essentially a failure. Most of the world aspires to be like America and though I was excited about making a new life here, I knew America wouldn't be a part of our future.

It took many years to become and feel like a real part of our new community but it has happened. Just the other day on the way back home from the new Tesco shopping center in Tha Yang we were talking about how happy we are here now.

So.....when you think about the negativity in this or other forums, or people's venting about how things aren't like they were at home remember that it has been a tremendous period of adjustment for all of us immigrants.....and if you are hoping or planning to live here, it is a process you will go through yourself. Try to make yourself ready for it. Take what you can from this or any forum and attempt to help the new guys get along....... enjoy the bitching and complaining for what it is; people adjusting to a very, very new and different life.

I think that this and your previous reply TIGR are about as good a summary of what it's like to move from your home country to somewhere like HH. I have read that many Americancs find it difficult to adjust moving from one State to another, so moving to somewhere like Thailand must multiply the factor by 10. It takes time to adjust and clearly not everybody can cope with that, so prepare and research as much as you can before leaping into the unknown - I am still a relative novice but slowly adapting to the new way of life and glad to be here (most of the time anyway).

[Homer]

I have read that many Americancs find it difficult to adjust moving from one State to another, so moving to somewhere like Thailand must multiply the factor by 10.

That jogged my memory ... A US-centric early retirement forum had a discussion on knowing if one has what it takes to be an expat before trying to live in another country. Someone suggested moving to a town in the US that has some features you really like but the drawbacks were bad enough that you couldn't imagine living there. His advice was if you can't adapt to that town after a year there, don't even try living in another country unless your finances dictate it. Having lived in Southern California all my life except for grad school and the last 4 years in the cultural wasteland and climate hell-hole of Las Vegas, I think it's great advice.

[T.I.G.R.]

Good ideas Homer but I'm not sure anyone could adapt to a completely new environment in a year.......especially as we get older. It kind of seems to me that only a certain type of person would be happy moving as far away as we have. I'm pretty sure I'd be in Mexico or South America somewhere if it weren't for Natalie.

[richard]

Well I have friends in their 70's who originally lived in Zimbabwe and left just before in went down the toilet, moved to Cape Town and when signs were that that was going down the toilet moved to California which they liked.

Eventually they, as many do, moved from the states to north Mexico where there is a high proportion of US retirees. However, they are planning to move back to Zimbabwe despite it is still going down the toilet. Their friends are gone and their property seized but they feel their roots are there so home they will go and suffer warts and all.

Needless to say they are extremely wealthy

[Pleng]

I think a lot depends on the reason for your move.

If you came here on holiday or for travelling or whatever and fell in love with the place during your stay, I'd imagine you're more likely to find lasting happiness than if you came over here, fell in love with a girl, and moved there because of her.

If you're basing your decision purely on economics and deciding you're likely to have a better 'quality of life' here on your income, then, again, you might find that you end up with a few more disappointments on the way.

As others have eluded to, it makes a big difference if you're single or in a relationship. And having kids is another factor.

It's a long way to come (for most of us!) so you really need to think about what you'll be leaving behind. You won't see your friends and family as often, some people you may never see again. Even if your family have all passed on, or moved elsewhere themselves, you probably have a good friend or two (most people have at least 1), then you need to factor in how you're going to feel not being able to socialize with them so often. Take promises of "I'll definitely come and visit" with a grain of salt, no matter who they come from!

If you're feeling the need to factor up the pros vs cons, then definitely make sure you try and take as much into account as possible. Come over for a few months. See how it feels.

[sargeant]

I know it is of topic a bit but it is nice to read a number of posts from Americans hopefully HHfarang will return and swell their numbers

[richard]

I know it is of topic a bit but it is nice to read a number of posts from Americans hopefully HHfarang will return and swell their numbers

Those of you that know HHfarang and I know you do Sarge will know why he is reluctant to return.Despite what I have said to him in private and no doubt some others have too, his return to the fold is up to him.

I hope he does as I enjoyed his contributions to the forum