As a Thai and a US citizen, I can compare lives in Thailand and the USA.
I don’t hate Thailand and I don’t hate the USA either.
So many expats move to Thailand hating their own country for some wild reason?
We own a house in Florida, USA.
It is a very nice 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage with approximately 50 exotic fruit trees and flower gardens.
It is a wonderful home and I enjoy all my time there.
In Thailand, we have a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house on 26 rai in Isaan. Gardens, fruit trees, fresh vegetables. Thoroughly enjoy nature and the peace and quiet.
What I enjoy about Florida is that our house is close to everything. Within 3 miles have all grocery stores, restaurants, banks, home improvement stores and the hospital. It is also 0.5 miles from a fire station, ambulance and police department.
Our house is approximately 10 miles from the ocean, so getting to the beach is easy.
As far as costs, house is paid for. Electric costs about the same as in Thailand. Water and trash are much higher in Florida. Mobile phones and internet about the same.
Car insurance is very high in Florida as well.
The biggest cost in Florida is food. Food is very expensive here. It is not uncommon to have a food bill of US $800+/month for groceries. It is hard to eat out in a restaurant without spending US $40+ for 2 people with no drinks.
US citizens have Medicare after age 65 so that helps with medical bills when you get older.
In Thailand medical insurance for expats when they get old is expensive and the claims are hit or miss.
I enjoy my time in Florida and have no issues with hating the US like most that move to Thailand. The US has law and order, so I feel safe always and driving is much safer.
Florida also has every kind of Thai restaurant, Thai grocery stores, Thai Temples, Thai Massage you can think of. The difference is only in the cost. So if a person was moving to Thailand because of all that, it is all right here in the US.
I do not have to miss Thai food or anything else when I am in the US.
Thailand is my home, my language, my culture.
I also have a large family there that is an important part of my life.
Money goes a lot further in Thailand due to the low cost of Thai food. We eat out most of the time because it is so cheap and there is such an assortment of food to never get bored eating.
However, cars are more expensive as is fuel in Thailand.
What you find out if you try to replicate a western lifestyle in Thailand is it is not so cheap as people think. There are cost trade-offs every where.
If you have a 4 bedroom home in US and trade for a 1 bedroom condo in Pattaya, of course it will be cheaper.
To think expats that move to Thailand will be rich, is such a fallacy. The majority of expats have scaled back their living expectations to what they can afford. Going out and getting a beer is still expensive in tourist areas where expats like to live.
At the end of the day, I could stay in either location and have no complaints at all.
I am thankful I have a choice, as a US citizen, to live in the USA and not have to hassle with visa or anything else.
It is always good to have a backup plan and be able to move if need be.
Thailand is certainly not the Utopia many expats make it out to be.
Trading a large scale home in the west for a condo, is just surviving it is not really living.
Expats really find out how they like Thailand after the first few years when the shine and newness has worn off.
Then living in Thailand has it’s own challenges just like any other location in the world.
