How many of you are now addicted to Thailand?

[simon916 0]

And if so how are you now funding your craving?

Me i am so addicted i came back to England and have just sat a TEFL exam (teaching english to foreign students certificate) at a cost of £200.00.I am now about to move to Bangkok and start teaching.Am i crazy? my mates think so but they haven't been to Thailand.

Even if i only manage it for a year i think it will do me good.

[kjvegas 2]

  Quote

And if so how are you now funding your craving?

Me i am so addicted i came back to England and have just sat a TEFL exam (teaching english to foreign students certificate) at a cost of £200.00.I am now about to move to Bangkok and start teaching.Am i crazy? my mates think so but they haven't been to Thailand.

Even if i only manage it for a year i think it will do me good.

Read more  

 

 I fund my craving by buying stuff in Thailand that I can sell on Ebay.  I try to stay away from Gold and the shirts and watches that are knockoffs.

 You are not crazy for wanting to go to Thailand and teach.  Follow your dreams. :)If it does not work out you can always come back.  That is what I would like to do in a few years.  I work in the casino business, I'm only 31.  I can always get another job if things don't work out in Thailand.   People say I am crazy  [smiley=Eyecrazy.gif], I say "I have the papers to prove it"  I say go for it. :)

good luck

KJ

[Guest]

Go for it, Simon!

 I NEARLY took a TEFL course my last ten days of my scheduled three weeks in LOS myself.  If I was twenty years younger I'd be teaching there now.  It pays the bills and keeps you in LOS (barely) until you can find something better anyway.

 I'm a degreed accountant and have taught part-time at a local college for several years, so I wasn't too worried about finding a job in Thailand.  I used to visit Thailand on a paying client, which was great.  Unfortunately, times and fortunes change and I have to foot the bill myself now! :-/

 The next trip is on me, but I'll have the freedom to go & do whatever I wish, hence my first trip out of the Big Mango and off to Pattaya! :-*

 Wish you the best of luck in your adventure Simon!  Keep us informed, okay?

 

Take care,

WISteve

[vanilla73 10]

i say go for it!! i would if a had the chance

[jimmybcool 0]

Simon,

 

If it feels right do it.  

 

I would warn though that living there isn't the same.  Especially if you will be on a tighter budget than your usual vacation there.

 

And then, there is the "loser syndrome".  I see a lot of expats who don't want to leave, and they slowly sink into a lifestyle that is barely living instead of going home.  Many become drunks.  Lots of them each evening chase "balloons" for  free food with their Singha beer.  And maybe they'll be around when someone rings the bell.

 

Provided you don't go into "loser state", do what you want.  Thats what life is all about.

[Guest]

Go for it! I wish you all the best. When my time comes, I'm gone before you blink.

[fishingtime 0]

Funding Thailand is not hard, if you have  planned for a seven-figure retirement in the US.  Because once you hit Thailand you find out that  you no longer need 60-75K a year to live a great life.  In Thailand 25K is living like a king. How many guys work until 65 years old to be able to retire in the west,  when at age 50 they could have retired in Thailand with ease?

[PenName 1]

Yes, "addiction" is the applicable term it seems.  But for me, it's not just the inexpensive and available sex (although that would be more than enough in its own right).  What I did not expect on my first trip to LOS was that Thailand is more than a place and a culture... it is a state of mind.  Do I miss my favorite bar girl since when I return home?  Of course.  But I also miss the pace and the people, that sense of "Up to you," that permeates not just the bar scene but the whole country.  I also remain amazed how much of the outlook and perspective I bring home with me.  While I am only marginally aware of it, people who have known me for years constantly remark on my "new attitude" that encompasses more patience, less judgment, greater tolerance and an overall sense of seeing very few things worth getting even slightly bent out of shape about.  I too have begun to "run the numbers" on a Thailand retirement down the road as it is one of those far flung corners of the world that inexplicably feels like home, which I think is true for many of us.  It is an addiction for which I seek no cure, only proper management.

 

I don't really know if I found Thailand or if Thailand found me but I know I'm forever grateful for the introduction.  Woe that it can not change my past but what a rescue that it has changed my present and (potentially) saved my future.

 

I came for the women (yes, pun intended, I suppose) but the attraction has grown broader than that.  I take Thailand as it is: the good, the bad and the ugly as I would rather be stuck in a BKK traffic jam in a taxi with the driver "lost" as the meter spins and the temperature outside beyond anything even orchids could survive than 99% of the places I can think of ourside of LOS.

 

In the early stages of love, we are consumed by seeing the object of our affection as we would have them be.  When this evaporates, the real test begins as true love is found not when we cannot see the faults and flaws or when we love in spite of such imperfections... true love is when we see someone, something or someplace flaws and all, and love it or them all the more for those things.

 

More than a doxen times every day in LOS, I have been made to feel welcomed and loved (no matter the degree of facade or commerce), imperfections and all.  My version of this thread's addiction calls for me to admit that "yes, LOS, I love you, too."

 

(Forgive the rambling, stream-of-consciousness tone to the above but hey! (1) an addiction brings out such personas in us all, and (2) it's an otherwise uneventful Sunday morning in the USA and I'm Jones-ing a bit for a fix.)

[adil799 0]

Go for it!

 

I wish you all the best,

 

I will be one of your student if u want  

[simon916 0]

Thanks for the support guys, i will keep you posted on my progress.

I fly over on September 1st for 6 weeks job hunting and holiday.

Simon

[tom_pitt 0]

simon,

go for it. but remember that while the basics of life are pretty reasonable here, the extras are dear if you're living on a teacher's salary. do not come here for the money, but the experience is valuable, both for gaining work experience and curing your addiction (it'll happen).

 

september should be a good time to look for work as i think the semester starts in october, tho' often schools wait until the last minute (or later) to look for teachers. you might check out ajarn.com for jobs.

good luck

[Daveuk 29]

Yes I'm addicted too. I'm 60 and semi-retired - just working now and again after selling my business.

My aim is to make about 3 trips per year of about 3/4 weeks. At the moment I just dont think I could live in Pattaya.

The pros are:-

1. The availability of sex and relationships with beautiful young girls at a very modest price.

2. The presence of many friendly farangs who are similarly placed to form friendships on a sort-term or long term basis

3. The exotic relaxed atmosphere - especially in the country away from Pty and Bkk.

4. Everything is to be had at a bargain price.

 

The cons are:-

1. I dont particularly like the heat and humidity. I like sports and keep-fit : Jogging, cycling, golf etc. Its hard doing these especially the former 2.

2. I miss family, friends and familiar surroundings at home.

 

Hence I think I can cope with the addiction by 3 fixes a year !. Next one in 5 weeks 7 September - Cant Wait !.

[Rex7777 0]

I'm not sure I'm "addicted," but it's good to know I can always go to Thailand and spend a few years with no problem.  I think I'll do just that in a few years, while I'm still young enough - I'm now 52...  It's sort of neat being someplace where no matter how much you spend you can never spend enough to run out of money (or at least it seems that way).  I found it really really hard to spend much more than 6,000 baht a day, sometimes a lot less.  

 

Rex

[fishingtime 0]

  Quote

I'm not sure I'm "addicted," but it's good to know I can always go to Thailand and spend a few years with no problem. .. It's sort of neat being someplace where no matter how much you spend you can never spend enough to run out of money (or at least it seems that way).  I found it really really hard to spend much more than 6,000 baht a day, sometimes a lot less.  

Rex

Expand   Read more  

 

The longer you spend in Thailand the less money that you spend. I have a friend who has been in Thailand for about 20 years he spends about 42000 baht a month in total. Granted he is not in Pattaya but up country so that helps a lot.

[Rex7777 0]

Yea, I assume anyone living in Thailand long term would eventually get the hang of things so as to not spend too much money unnecessarily.  But even as a tourist, it amazes me how cheap things can be. It's a nice change from the prices we pay here in the states.  If, for example, I were to go down the block to the local Thai restaurant for an order of Pad Thai, I'd pay about $9.  In Bangkok, I'd probably pay about 50 Baht, maybe less.  And I hate to think what the charge would be for a L/T session from a stunner at on of the local go go bars.  

 

Rex

[juliankay 0]

I wish you all the best, I would if I could ;D

[mike100 0]

Go for it.

I moved to Thailand 10 months ago and it was the best decision I have ever made.

 

No more real work for me anymore, but I manage to have a reasonable lifestyle after selling up everything in the UK and living off the interest, plus a small pension cashed in way too early.

 

The folks at home thought I was crazy, but no regrets so far.

 

New life, new future.

[LOSO 2]

Go for it Simon!

If you dont follow that dream you'll only regret it later.

Good or bad the experience is priceless.

Yes I think most of us are addicted...no other word really describes it better. Its more than the bars and girls, in a lot of us it runs much deeper. Once you get over the first few trips you realise Thailand is a way of life. Like many I am planning on living in LOS as soon as possible. The falang life here just does nothing for me anymore, every waking moment is focused on getting back to LOS.  :)

[laffnliv 78]

    Interesting thread!  And, yes, I am addicted also.  My first trip was 10 years ago.  Seems like each year I spend more time in Thailand.  Last year it was 6 months.  I am on schedule this year to spend 7 months.  Where will it end?

    My trips are funded by my retirement income.  Yep. an old fart here!  But having a great life (when I am in Thailand).

    Roy

[TabMule 1]

I'll be in Pattaya from this Sunday. I can't wait. Only a short trip of 5 or 6 days this time. It's my life fix and I will love every minute of it.

 

Yes, I'm addicted!

 

PS - Tell me more about what items are sold on ebay from LoS [smiley=grins-jump.gif]

[torrenova 660]

I know a few guys who have moved to Thailand with vastly differing views on it after a year or so.

 

Some didn't really think through the financial side well enough and are forced to live in lesser accommodation and have a quieter lifestyle than they would like. Others, usually older and nearer "retirement" age are like pigs in shit, as they had planned for a retirement income in their home country which now goes much further in LOS.

 

I think you really have to assess what you spend on holiday and what you spend it on. Then work out what the long term costs of doing the same thing would be (e.g apartment instead of hotel room etc.). OK, you would probably drink less, but might want to play more golf.

 

If you're having to earn baht, I think you'll have little left to fund much extra curricula activities. How much savings do you have to use initially before any income arrives and then perhaps to "fund" a better lifestyle ?

 

If it isn't going to fuck up your life or long term future plans then I would say go for it, but perhaps not tomorrow. If you don't have savings, try and build up a reserve fund over the next 6 to 12 months. Remember, if it all goes tits up, then you will need funds to return home and some money to get started again.

[upena 2]

U.S. Army sent me to BKK 30 years ago....been addicted ever since.  When I retire, I will move there permanently.....hopefuly in 405 years.  In the meantime, once a year for 3-4 weeks.

[Code Monkey 0]

Planning for your retirement in 405 years time is what I call forward thinking!

[OJ 1]

Hi  ;D

 

Everybody thats following this board from their farang country is addicted.......  wherever they now it or not  

 

 

[smiley=1luvu.gif]

[OJ 1]

Hi Code Monkey  ;D

 

I like your attitude !

......retirement in 405 years.... keep the spirit  ;D

 

Chock dee  [smiley=cheers.gif]