Life as a female expat in Thailand

What are some positive aspects about being a female expat in Thailand?
- it's a safe country for women, because as you can see, the majority of the Thai population is female, so this is a very female-friendly country.

What are some challenges in Thailand that women face, and what are the ways to overcome them?
- If you are single: be ready to be lonely. Reasons: 1) Finding friends won't be as easy as you think. Locals won't be able to think on your level, even if their English is decent, and you also would never fully integrate into their society and they would never fully accept you as part of them unless you speak perfect Thai. And the mindset is very different. Thais will do things you will find illogical. All the time. This makes connecting with them even harder for many foreigners. And fellow foreigners? They typically are either too busy to hang out regularly, or they are only into the bar and party scene, or they are arrogant pricks who think they know everything, or they would stay here for one month and then go travel again, go back here for another month, repeat.
2) Forget about finding a partner. Or even sexual company. Unless you are willing to "do" local men. Foreign men are typically only interested in Thai girls. Remember: they get away from "the west" to escape their own women. I'd bet you also wouldn't want to date the types of guys who moved here for that reason either.
- If you are married or are here with your boyfriend: be careful, Thai women can be and are very quick in seducing white guys. In ways that never occurs in your mind. It's something exciting and new for them, and the things they say to your man, the way they behave and smile at your man... boosts his ego. So if you're here with your man, be sure to put in extra effort to remind him that he indeed wants YOU. That you're worth keeping around, that you're so much better than "them". If your partner has had a cheating past, don't bring him to Thailand. Cheating is a very common practice here. He WILL cheat here if he's had that kind of past.
- Ways to overcome them? There are none. I've been living here for 3 years now, and I just have to accept the fact that I would just be lonely here. Hold on... there maybe is one way to overcome the loneliness: learn to speak Thai fluently, shut your brain and
mingle with them, talking about celebrities and clothes and gossipping about who has the most expensive condo or bag.

How is a woman's role viewed in Thai's culture and society?
- I have no experience to judge Thai men, but from what I've heard, they are lazy. So the women are often left with the bulk of the housework, taking care of the kids, and bread earning work. Women are hard workers here, I think life is tough as a woman because of the traditional mindset (good girls don't drink alcohol, don't have tattoos, cover everything from their collar bones to their knees, etc), that it feels like many modern Thai women are kind of trapped, so they end up showing a different version of themselves depending on where they are going and the people they hang out with. Think 1950's housewives meets the mormons. Meets 1990s (where women enters the work force)


Is it relatively safe for a woman to live in Thailand?
- Yes. You just have to learn how to speak Thai, and be careful when you take a taxi while being drunk. I would initiate a chat with the driver, slipping something in the talk that indicates that I know my way around here, so he doesn't take me on a scenic route or something. Sit behind the taxi driver (so it's not possible for him to point a gun or a knife at you). These kinds of things happen even to Thai women who go home alone drunk, so be careful.

How would a woman go about expanding her social network in a safe way?
- Don't expect too much intriguing or in-depth conversation on things if you meet someone new. Don't expect people to keep their word. Take everything easy, take nothing seriously. Have fun in having shallow connections.

Are there any resources available for women to help with their expatriation (e.g. books, articles, support networks, etc.)?
- There are meetups for expat women, and definitely other kinds of organizations for women, I've seen one of their pages on facebook. Check them out, and see if kthe crowd is right for you.