Why does everyone expat hate Thailand

Hi Chauncehayden,

It is perspective of each individual; you cannot make your judgement based on metrics provided by a group of individuals. You can get the pros and cons and based on this you as an individual can better say it is Good or Bad. Every element has its bad and good constitution, but how it fits you and how you adapt to the situation is an individual way of living

That's all I can say you can have Happy days and sometimes not so happy days; Good people and not so good people . It is how you tackle it. We are in the Kingdom of ALMIGHTY, so cannot judge anything!
!

It is just that the unhappy ones have more to say than the happy ones and they say it louder.  I have a wonderful life here.

Yes, and the unhappy ones often have social problems due to drink and drug problems and are more likely to bump into tourists in bars and vent their spleen. Lots of happy settled folks, the ones that generally know the secret to living here, which is, remember that you are a visitor and don't take minor upsets as seriously as you might in your home country.

I'd love to hear more...  can you tell me about Chiang Rai?

Chiang Mai too has that Ying Yang thing. If you've never been here before it can be pretty amazing. But as time progresses you can find things to complain about. Immigration might be the biggest one in Chiang Mai. But you can always side step any conflicts. The truth comes from what are you going to do with yourself in Chiang Mai. If you follow that bar crowd it's a slippery slow and many people never return. It's enjoyable, friendly, always something to do, It also has alternative options "up to you".

CHAUNCEHAYDEN wrote:

I'd love to hear more...  can you tell me about Chiang Rai?

I have a blog and a FaceBook Page under my name but if you Google Chiang Rai Forums you will find a few options geared specifically to expats in Chiang Rai.  Getting information from a variety of sources is always a good idea.

I have been here so long and I am so well established that there is not much correlation between my life and that of a newcomer.  So, I am not sure what I can tell you that will be of much practical help.

Chaunce, I think it has to do with people not being prepared to live in a "third world" country.

Westerners expect everything to be neat, democratic and clean and everybody obeying the law, etc. Any poverty skilfully covered up, trash put away from sight, the natural smells of life well-concealed.

Then they leave for Thailand with romantic notions of some sort of paradise, only to have their illusions dashed. And I'm sure this is true of any cross-cultural situation, Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai or Vladivostok.

Thais are Thais, they have their traditions, yet I have heard from many expats who wish the Thais acted more like Americans or Brits. The truth is, that ain't gonna happen.

IMHO a happy expat is one who accepts the culture of their adopted country as-is, and does not expect major changes. An adaptable attitude is, I think, crucial.

(Mind, many old expats see their favorite places being assaulted by waves of tourists, with overcrowding and commodification of their paradise. That's another factor to consider too.)

Hello,
The expats that don't like Thailand, this is because they move around only in groups of expats and do not have any interest in Thai people orThai culture. They will focus on some bad event that may have happened some place like Pattaya and take that as example of all Thailand.

If you go only to the tourists places you will not get a full view of Thailand. However if you go somewhere where there are no or hardly any "falang", you will meet very courteous, friendly people, mostly honest, who will make you feel welcome and happy in Thailand.

However, there is one drawback: they probably won't speak any English.
So it requires some effort to at least speak some of the basics in Thai language. However, if you make this effort I am sure you will never regret it, because Thailand is a very old civilisation who have maintained many ways from the past, which elsewhere have been lost, so very enriching!

That was my hope... a spiritual place where one can discover themselves and live a peaceful and rewarding life......

Chaunce Hayden, I like very much your reply, I wish you success in your discovery of Thailand!

Hi Chaunce Hayden, I think you use the wrong word "Everyone" which means ALL!

In this world there's no perfect place or people or weather or things etc

Can anyone please the whole world? Can anyone have the best of both worlds?

An old proverb says, "One man's meat is another man's poison."

If everyone likes or love the same thing then it will be biggest fight.

Every expat who lives in Thailand has their own reasons. There are different types of expats too. (I posted the different types of expats quite some time ago)

You need to learn the history and culture of Thailand as well as being with them for a period of time then you know Thais better.

A quick intro of Thailand for you. Thailand is an agricultural country and the only country in this region non colonialise by any western countries before.

Thus when Thais especially in small cities or villages see a westerner (blonde or brunette or red hair; green or blue eyes) is different. Its engraved in them that westerners are rich and smarter.

They are happy to have a westerner as friend so as their local friends look at them as smarter. This happens at least 50 - 70 years ago in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia because a totally different looking person is in town.

Thais don't know the word Eurasian but Malaysians and Singaporeans do because of the British Colony. I'm sure Americans and Canadians don't know too.

Eurasian is European and Asian. Whereby Europeans men married Asian women and their kids becomes Eurasian. The Thais are excited about it and go crazy over Eurasian local celebrities.

Some Thai ladies want western men and hope to have kids as they see them lovely. The Thais called it Look Kern which means half child.

Thais generally look at westerners as rich people and good to be with them.

You need to know Thai education as their education is lower standard. They know history of their country but not others even their immediate neighbours. Their geography is very poor and many think Austria is Australia.

Give a map to the Thais and many will turn the map 360 degrees yet could not find out where are they.

Pick a few major cities in the world like Canberra, Wellington, Tel Aviv, Berlin etc then ask any fresh graduates to point it on the map, you will be shock of the answer.

Go to any major bank and observe the teller who are graduates and need calculator to do simple mathematics. Give 1,000 and deposit 250, she needs the calculator to count 1,000-250=750

She can't do by brain or instead subtraction, use addition.
250+50=300. Then add 700 will give you 1,000.

It does not take a minute to solve simple mathematics without a calculator.

It all depends on individual expat, are they here working in multi corporation with English staff assisting or work with Thai staff with very limited English language or doing business or retire here and just kill time.

Here is another example, will the person eat 69 baht steak at the road side or go to Sizzler or Santa Fe or Choke Jai steak house or Neil's Tavern or Tony's Roma or New York Steak house?

Everyone has their taste, choice and budget.

Sorry to say this, many westerners don't know about Asian food or Thai food.

The only Thai noodle is Phad Thai as all other noodles are Chinese. Most of it has changed a lot in taste to suit the Thai taste and not original anymore

Ask any Thai to name you their Thai soup and it's only 1 - Tom Yum. The rest of the soup are Chinese. Thais have many curries Kaeng.

If you look carefully, most Thai dishes comes with a dipping sauce. What does that tells you?

Compare it with any western food or other Asian food.

Just food alone, the choice and varieties and changes to the original food are wide.

Have you noticed Thais add lots of sugar into their food? They add lots of MSG too.

In conclusion, it's all about how you adjust yourself to the situation and be VIGILANT at all times. If you read the 2 English newspaper and analyze the articles, you know what Thailand is all about and by opening your eyes wide at sign boards etc, are they foreign friendly or not.

I think that Chaunce was using the word "everyone" in a rhetorically provocative sense. Nothing wrong there.

Ha ha, "no matter where you go, there you are".

So well said.....

Those with stereo types mind find it hard to adjust to new environment etc

But those who are in business and marketing mindset because they need to think like the locals so as to transact business otherwise they can't do business.

One need to switch the brain before the plane lands, be it any country you visit.

Most important is don't loose your roots. You rule and not they rule because if they rule you then it will be difficult for you to adjust back to your own country later.

Many of you speak from wisdom and it's so appreciated and inspiring. I have been battling where to live... your answers have helped.

PM--Will te  u the good and bad here..Mostly bad

Not everyone expat hates Thailand.
The ones that do are mainly alcoholics who spend all their time in bars talking to other expats.
They don't speak Thai, they don't know Thai people or Thai culture, so what they hate is themselves.
Please don't take any notice of their opinions, discover Thailand for yourself
P.S. Thailand is not only Khaosan road, Phuket, Pattaya, etc.

What I have found in my experience is that Thailand has a false welcoming presence.

Basically it goes like this. Someone comes to Thailand for a week or two and thinks "Wow, this place is great" and maybe even 'falls in love' with someone who they are sure is the one. Thailand is designed like this. Come for a few weeks, spend lot's of money, then leave. The other category is retiree's who are not able to work and Thailand knows all they will do is spend money and probably die soon and maybe even leave all their money behind.

It is only for those that don't fit into certain categories after they actually try to live here and see all the insane hoops you have to jump through to do anything, from constant hassle for visa's, 90 day check in's, 24 hr. address registrations, not being able to own land or a home, and always having to be aware of the changes to the immigration rules or risk being fined or deported, dual pricing for Thai's and foreigners, that they being to resent the place.

Most the one's that have it great are usually in 3 categories.

1. Married to a Thai person and are already retired with lot's of money.
2. Retired with lot's of money.
3. Working in Thailand and has a company that handles everything for them.

Thailand was better in general about 10 years ago but since the Junta took over every year it got a little worse for the visa situation. Add to that the rising issues with pollution across the country and I just can't see what the allure is anymore. There are so many other options to choose from other than Thailand.

So when are you leaving, as you seem to be in the category of the ones who dislike what Thailand is today?