Moving to Thailand

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How many of you would do it? Imagine, Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, spring like weather all year round, and if you really wanted to you could probably get by on US$300-400 a month including rent. If you do not have an independent source of income and you are White, you could make a decent living teaching English (Asians tend to believe that only White people know English, even if they are Polish or Czech).

If you did not have to work, then the whole day is free to yourself to do as you like. You could stay in the apartment and just surf the internet or head out to the street and mingle with the locals or go find backpackers to hang out with. If you had to work teaching English, usually it is no more than 15 hours a week, which leaves loads of free time for you to do what you want. And since you are the teacher, in the classroom at least, you are the boss.

No more getting picked on at work or going home to a situation that only forces humiliation and depression down your throat. It would be life, free and unencumbered, as it should be. An existence that is independent, self sustaining and honorable. The living would simple, but who needs all those material attachments anyway? You can furnish your apartment with very nice cane furniture made locally, eat out every day if you develop a taste for Thai food, and maybe even find a Thai partner to share it all with.

There would be peace because no one in Thailand expects you to be like them. Not only would they accept that you are different, they would actually expect it. No more fighting, no more recriminations, no more pity and hurt, no more banging our odd shaped heads to try and fit into all those socially predetermined cubicles. You could just be you, and it would be okay.

I'd do it if it wasn't for two things: too much sun and too many bugs ;p

The issue about the sun cannot be fixed, but there are probably only as many bugs in Thailand as there are anywhere else in the world. First time I have heard anyone say that they do not like the sun though!

yeah, it sounds really good. i would have no problem to change my life like that.

do you consider that option? i've read your previous post about wanting to change your work.

btw, you can teach English in Japan, too.

i've heard that an English speaking person from, for example, Czech Republic is preferred because they understand our English better than the accent of some native speakers...

I am not suggesting that people from Eastern Europe do not know English, but I have met a lot of people who had trouble holding a conversation in English and they were teaching it to Asian students. None of their students can tell the difference so it does not matter, but it is aggravating to see people rip others off so blatantly.

It has been a rough few days. Market has not done so well and there has been a new flu bug going around which means that I have been stuck in meltdown land since Friday. But yes, I have thought of it. I like the idea of having my own space, staying in it and not coming out except to get essentials. My pseudo-recluse existence is wearing thin because people are obviously uncomfortable with me showing up and yet not fitting in. I go to a university library and pay for the priviledge of doing so because it is a quiet environment but still people cannot stop themselves from talking loudly or otherwise contributing to the noise pollution. And of course I do not look at all like a twenty year old college student. What I want is silence but in tiny Singapore where everyone and everything is jammed together that is just impossible.

My own space in Chiang Mai. A small apartment on the edge of town. Close enough to the city so that I can walk to the supermarket but far enough from everything else and hooked up of course with a good internet connection. Maybe I would write or go on doing my equity research or just meditate more and explore the mysterious twists and turns of my own flawed mind. But I would be removed from others. I would not bother them and they cannot bother me.

yeah, people like that make me angry. my English is not that bad and even so I wouldn't teach it, since it's not perfect.

so tell me, what makes you stay in Singapore? family?

btw, i am applying for research fellowship there. i hope i get it.

Singapore is a good place to stay really. I went through a phase when I thought I would emigrate to the United States and actually moved there for a few years but ended up coming back to Singapore. I was at Bear Stearns and they did not treat people very well; especially if you are an Asian guy; then they make you their little corporate slave and they flog you till there is no more skin left to tear off. But hey, look what happened to Bear Stearns'

Where are you applying for the fellowship? I hang out at NUS everyday and never talk to anyone. If you get accepted to NUS, perhaps we should meet.

Singapore is highly developed with all the amenities that anyone would want. Except for the older generation of Singaporeans, everyone speaks English with varying degrees of success so you will never have to feel awkward yourself if your English is less than perfect. It certainly makes living in Singapore much easier than say Hong Kong where very few people speak the language.

The weather sucks and the religious right routinely succeed in getting websites like youporn banned on the grounds that it is offensive to their respective religions, but most porn is available if for no reason then to make sure that Singaporeans do not rise up in a sexually frustrated revolt. It is more expensive to live in Singapore than say Chiang Mai but definitely cheaper than New York or London and safer too. They are trying to open up but like all political awakenings it will take time. Come with the right attitude and you will have a great time.

i lived before in Portugal and now i live in France, where, also, only few people speak English, so Singapore would be my first English speaking country. language barrier is also a reason that i don't socialize very often, so maybe there it would be different.

i am applying for the position at NTU, but we could meet anyway

if i get accepted, i am sure i will have a great time there. i always do, whenever i end up
as you wrote, it's about the attitude.

Zeno, that opening post was wonderfully written. Either it's a wonderful idea, or you're a wonderful salesman.

I can't consider. I will run into criminal relatives other there.

No Thailand for me.

Don't plan to die of unnatural causes soon.


Even if that kid in class told that they had 'pineapple trees' in the gardens and how super cool that is hehe

Being that Chang Mai is a resort city (although I have never been there I am just guessing) is there busloads of decadent tourists? But still sounds like a great idea Thailand is an awesome place anyway.

Well well well, look what just rolled up my alley. I lived in Thailand for a month. I spent a great amount of time in Bangkok and Krabi.

I miss Thailand so much. The people there are masterful at smiling, so they'll teach you how to smile like the pros. intolerance and bullies are not really a problem for the most part. In asian culture, it is very much emphasized that you get along with people. The sun in thailand may be stronger, but it's less harsh.

Also, all the rumors about heroin and drugs are not necessarily true. Sora, there is more crime in New York city than in Bangkok. Just use common sense.

The drug issue probably depends on the individual. Junkies and seasoned traffickers looking to score can probably get their stuff in Thailand as easily as they could in Tallahassee. I have never done it so I would not know but I imagine it would be cheaper in Thailand. For a country that has been known to be a conduit for heroin from the Golden Triangle, Thailand is surprisingly free of the scourge of drug addiction. In Bangkok, it is the terrible traffic situation that hits you most of all, other social ills like homelessness or street prostitution just do not seem evident. The sex trade is well controlled and I suspect that the same can be said about the drug trade.

But Thai people are very friendly and it is easy to like them. You do not get the same coldness in Singapore or the fake niceness in the United States. It feels decent and appropriate which makes recent political events in Thailand all the more bewildering. The contest is so bitter that a powerful minority is now pushing to undo democracy on the grounds that it does not work in Thailand.

I wonder though how long I could last in Chiang Mai holed up in my apartment. I did something similar in Dali and Lijiang in China but found myself sick at having to deal with people who could not stop poking their noses into why I was there. The problem was that I speak Chinese with native fluency and people could not help but think that I was Chinese. Perhaps a cave with an internet connection would be more appropriate… hmm.

Dream on buddy, you are not going to the land of smiles but to the land of saving face...so many rules and social skills that you can't possibly begin to understand. I have been there many a times and I am a Tefl teacher, and taught there last in 2007.

Now I am a Belgian, and yes Poles or Czechs or Belgians might teach better English than natives, who have such terrible accents, that Chinese or any Asians wouldn't get there head around their pronunciation.
If you really want to find out how difficult it has become to teach in Thailand...go top www.ajarn.com or www.tefl.com

Thailand has prostituted itself to gain all the material wealth which the West flaunts. They are racist, shallow by all means and the only thing they want is your money or they say "f**k you go home". They have never been colonised and consider themselves to be number one. No other country exists for them. And the slightest criticism you have on their country could land you in jail for lese of majesty.

Last edited by Loborojo on 22 Sep 2008, 12:20 am, edited 2 times in total.

Lobrojo, you are an example of someone who should not be teaching English to anyone. I have met a lot of people like you who go to Thailand or China and essentially scam the locals by pretending that because they have the right complexion, they are fully qualified to teach the language. Do not wave that TEFL certificate in my face either because it can easily be bought from the many unscrupulous schools in the region.

Asians are racist, and that is an undeniable and ugly truth which I have already alluded to. But I find your diatribe against the Thais even worse than the racism you condemn because you assume that you are somehow enlightened, deep and above materialism. Why did you go to Thailand in the first place? To feel richer than other people and to take advantage of their desire to acquire your flaunted wealth? And being a guest, why would you choose to belittle a people who so obviously struggle to make ends meet?

It sounds like you have been in jail or threatened with it for insulting Thai royalty. I am not defending Thailand's monarchy, but if you understand the painful history that Thailand has endured, you would understand their sincere affection for the crown. Not only have many of their politicians been corrupt, they were also often inept. To make things worse, many of these leaders were often chosen by foreign powers who had a vested interest in ensuring that the Thais remained pliant. Their King has stood above it all and endured the test of time. For better or for worse, he is deeply revered by his countrymen and that is something anyone who goes to Thailand ought to respect. But I think that is where you problem is, you do not know how to respect anyone, not even yourself.

Stay at home Loborojo, if they will let you. There is no where you can go to get away from yourself, so you might as well stay put.

I am right now in Peru, teaching Tefl. Talking about prejudice and judgement. How do you now me so well, and how sure are you that I would have bought my certificate? I taught for the ELC and they check out every little bit on you. OK?
But I will not go in deeper into this.

Maybe just read the Tefl pages yourself to find out what reputed Tefl teachers an foreign principals think.
No, I have not been in jail. I am referring to an Australian teacher who lived in Thailand and taught and wrote a book about Thailand which was internationally awarded. He was recently arrested when homebound for his country at BKK airport for lese majesty. No personal attacks by him on the king, but yes on the corrupt politicians.

I get invited to teach in Thailand by reputed schools, I wonder how often yo have been in Thailand and for how long? I as an artist and teacher of TEFL, have mixed with different people, as well with the poor working class, as with the upper (teaching private one to one) class as with intellectuals and artists. I know what I am talking about.

There was one reporter who left the country after 15 years of living in Chiang Mai, and had to admit that leaving the country he wasn't leaving one friend behind.

I know how Thais feel about blacks and how they turn their nose up for a darker skin colour (including Cambodians). Thais are in love with themselves and hardly have any good word for their neighbouring countries.

Last edited by Loborojo on 22 Sep 2008, 12:24 am, edited 1 time in total.