-Where were you born?

I am European.

Bangkok, Thailand, for better or worse...

With my wife

2 years

-What is your age?

I am 37

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Thailand?

I have lived in a few other countries before and Thailand always sounded like an interesting destination.

It is not too difficult to get one, as most companies can provide it if they meet the requirements, which are mainly employment of a certain ratio of locals over foreigners, but you do not need one as long as you travel frequently, as the automatic visa on arrival gives you 30 days in the country. Under Thai immigration law, you can only stay a cumulative maximum of 90 days in the country using visa on arrival; however, I have never seen this law being applied. I myself do not have a work permit, and since I travel a lot I have no problem with the 30-day limitation. Although the work permit may give you some benefits, the detriments are the paperwork, the renewals, having to pay taxes, etc.

Another way to stay is to get tourist visas. There are many people that come to teach English and who have lived here for a long time who stay on tourist visas. Another way is to get an education visa, but you must enroll in some classes. Most Thai language schools will process it for you if you sign up for a year program, but there is the obvious cost. As everything else in Thailand, the best is just to ignore the laws.

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?

Medical treatment in Thailand is very cheap. Buying insurance is easy, or you can have an international insurance plan. Remember that Thailand is centre for Medical Tourism. It does not mean the quality of the doctors is good (see below), just that it is cheap. Dental is likewise a fraction of what you pay in the west.

-How do you make your living in Thailand? Do you have any type of income generated?

I work as an expat for an international firm. There are a lot of foreigners living in Thailand, probably more than anywhere else in Asia, for all kinds of reasons. Expats enjoy the best standard of living, as everywhere. Teachers get paid low salaries and despite all the myths life is just "relatively" cheap in Thailand. Many foreigners retire here because the dollar goes further than at home. Many other foreigners just come to try their luck with some business, a lot of them on the export side.

Finally, there is a non-negligible amount of losers who have no business at all and just prey on others. I would say that it is not easy to find a good paying job in Thailand. The best is to find a job with a foreign company that will pay you western wages, with or without expat benefits.

-Do you speak Thai and do you think it's important to speak the local language?

I am a firm believer that unless you learn the local language you will always be a pariah and you will never be able to partake into what local life has to offer. Language is a powerful barrier, both practically and psychologically. People see you in a different light when you are unable to speak their language, here and everywhere.

I can speak Thai but I still have a hard time understanding. I can read and write slowly. A major mistake that many foreigners make is to skip the reading and writing. I never understood why they like to be illiterate when it does not take that much to learn how to read Thai, unlike Chinese. Your entire experience is transformed, both at work and outside, when you can speak even the basic language, because people never know how much you know, and you go from being a white buffalo to being part of society. See below on my recommendations on how to learn Thai.

With respect to "missing home" everyone is different. The takeaway is when you move to another country, your life changes in many ways, some good and some bad. People facing moving for the first time must see this as an adventure they will never forget.

There are a lot of things to do in Thailand, like everywhere else. Travel is easy and cheap. The train station is centrally located and it serves many destinations. I particularly enjoy the night train with the sleeper car, either first class (your own cabin) or second class where you sleep with everyone with lower and upper berths on each side of the aisle covered by curtains. Trains are, however, subject to constant delays, but that is Thailand, my friends. The new airport is very close and accessible and it is very good. There are many destinations served by the budget airlines very cheaply.

Bangkok is a chaotic city with not too many green spaces. It is not like other places like Singapore where there are ample outdoor activities. Bicycling or skating are a major hassle due to the trafic, the pollution and state of the roads and streetwalks. There are few parks that get very crowded on weekends. The riverside is very enjoyable and there are many places to visit during the weekend.

-Do you have other plans for the future?

Why plan for the future when you never know what will happen? Thailand is NOT a lifetime destination. The cons far outweigh the pros. It is just an experience. In my opinion, anyone moving here for more than 3 years is wasting valuable time. Those foreigners who end up staying longer is simply either because of sex or because they are trapped doing some business and they cannot move out. Believe me, Bangkok is a nice place to adventure around Thailand for a couple years, but who wants to set a home base in a third world city? In South East Asia there is only one city where I would contemplate living long time and that is Singapore.

So much can be said about this. In general, housing is still cheap, but everything is relative, as it depends what you compare it with. It is all over the range. Like most expats, my housing is paid for. Buying property in Bangkok or Thailand is a bad investment, apart from the fact that foreigners cannot buy land outright (although there are multiple ways to bypass this law, of course). Renting is the way to go. Rental prices depend on which part of town you live in, age of the building, size, whether it is local or targeted to foreigners, etc. Generally, a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment in a building with facilities will cost between 600 and 2000 USD per month, the range being due to location and standards. Very nice, large apartments in good areas can easily cost 4,000-5,000 USD per month, or easily more. Some foreigners live in local studios in cheap areas for 100 USD per month. I would not come to Thailand to live like that....

Electricity is cheap, but most buildings charge it with a different rate that allow them to cover all the other main building and facilities electrical expenses, which makes it not cheap. Running the AC is expensive. If you run the AC often in a 3 bedroom apartment, it will cost you about 300 USD per month.

Maids are very cheap. You can get a maid to come 3 hours a day, 3 days a week for less than 100 USD per month. Because I believe in sharing your good fortune, I pay my maid twice that amount. I make someone's life happier and easier and it still costs me a fraction of what I would pay in the West.

-What is the cost of living in Thailand?

Apart from what I mentioned above, the cost of living depends on what you like. Western style restaurants can easily have Western style prices, while eating in the street is safe and cheap. As a matter of principle, I avoid the Western style restaurants because their prices are unjustified: I know they pay their staff minimum salary and rentals are not expensive, so I refuse to help enrich those who are not willing to share.

The price of food in the supermarkets tends to be lower than in the west, but not too much, since the big supermarkets cater to a more affluent sector of population. Beer is much cheaper than in the West, both at the restaurants, bars and shops. A drink that is exorbitantly expensive at the restaurants is orange juice, a glass going to 3 USD.

One thing that is definitely much more expensive than in the West are electronics. A flat screen TV will cost almost twice as much as in the US, for example. Even the official Iphone (the unnofficial one arrived to Thailand years ago) still sells for about 800 USD even with the required 2-year plan to own one.

Clothes are cheap, but you should shop in the special areas. Shopping at the Thai malls is for fools. The stuff is the same that you find in Pathunam, for example, at 5-10 times the price. I am still convinced that most shops in the very expensive Siam complex of malls are fronts for money laundering. There is a lot of dirty money in Thailand.

-What do you think about the locals?

The locals are very local, much more so than in other places, but far from being rude like the Chinese, the locals tend to be quite nice. Thais are shy and that sometimes may be interpreted as rude, but the language creates a major problem. Most people can speak basic English but they are very shy to use it.

A lot could be written about the way Thais see the foreigners. Thais have a misplaced sense of pride. Often it feels like they think they have created everything and that they are self-sufficient. They are generally very blind to the fact that they are extremely dependent on the West. Thais have not created anything at all. They are followers, and in their following they start acting as if they were the leaders. There is a lot of anti-foreigner rhetoric around, conveniently forgetting that if it weren't for the foreigners Thais would still be walking around barefoot.

To a large extent, Thais ignore us, the language being the greatest barrier. Those with a higher education (or those with the lowest, as is the case of bar girls) tend to have the most contact with foreigners, but there is no melting pot here. Making friendships with Thais is not very easy, the language again being a big barrier, but their culture and upbringing being the other one.

Personally, I think that Thais are polite and courteous. There is a not insignificant amount of those who see us as walking ATMs. They have the wrong idea that all foreigners have money, so many do what they can to try to get your money.

Thais smile a lot, for all kinds of reasons. I call it the macaque smile. A smile has a completely different meaning and use in Thailand (and other Asian countries) than in the West. While in the West a smile is genuine (with exceptions) and it often reflects satisfaction or happiness, in Thailand it is just a camouflage. Not everyone who smiles at you is pleased to see you. People often smile for no reason (like macaques).

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Thailand?

Here we go. Apologies in advance for being very long and very opinionated. Since this is a website used by people when considering moving to a new place, I think it is only fair to tell you all the truth.

The Pros:

- The weather: or those coming from a cold weather, it is a welcome change, but after a while you too will complain about the heat.

- The food: Thai food is very good, very varied and very cheap, especially if eaten in the street. Lunch in Thailand can be had daily for 1 USD. Thai food plays with 4 characteristics: sweet, salty, sour, spicy. After a while, though, you may also be craving a pizza...

- Fish sauce: it is obiquitious and it substitutes salt. You can add it on practically anything

- Public Transportation: Both the underground (MRT) and skytrain (BTS) are great ways to communicate the city and at less than 1.50 USD for the longest traject, it is very cheap. Buses also go everywhere, but there are no English signs. Another reason to learn to read Thai. The River public ferries and Canals public speedboats are great ways to travels, except that there are not enough navigable canals and not enough ferries plying the river up and down.

- One can live very cheaply in Thailand if one so wishes. Having choices is an often underestimated benefit.

- It is a good location for regional travel, well served by many airlines, including Air Asia.

- PAD, Phanthamit, or the Yellow Shirts: A pro-monarchic group that has succesfully fought against corruption, facilitating the removal of two incompetent prime ministers and the arrival of Abhisit, the current prime minister.

- Abhisit, the current prime minister: He is probably the only competent, smart and clean PM the country has had. Unfortunately one man can not do it all andhe has failed as of now to erradicate grave social problems in the country.

- The love of Thais for their King. The King of Thailand is a unifying force and has done a lot for the people, particulary the poor. Thai people love him deeply.

- If you get in trouble, you can bribe yourself out of anything

The Cons:

- If you get in trouble, you can bribe yourself out of anything

-Thaksin Shinawatra and his Red Shirts: Thaksin Shinawatra is a convicted criminal fugitive of justice with a vast resources trying to create a civil war. Thaksin was responsible during his infamous 2004 war on drugs for thousands of extra judiciary executions of innocent people, selected by the police in order to meet the unnofical quotas imposed by the Thaksin administration.

- The weather: it is often clouded in Bangkok. There are three seasons: the hot season, which is yes, hot; the rainy season, although it does not rain excessively, and the cold season, which is very comfortable and the only time where you see the sun (2 months).

- The lack of integration in society: Thais are very Thai and it is very difficult to stop being seen as an outsider. Their Thainess can be unbearable at times.

- Thai is a difficult language to learn. It requires a lot of work

- The street beggars: All those beggars with congenital deformations that you see in the street are actually slaves of a powerful mafia. They are shifted to different locations and the mafia makes a lot of money off these poor souls. The government does nothing because the police's pockets are always filled. DO NOT GIVE MONEY TO THE BEGGARS. You will only perpetuate the problem. Shame on the government for allowing this and other forms of HUMAN TRAFFIC.

- The elephants in the streets: DO NOT FEED THE ELEPHANTS. Elephants do not belong in the streets. They are taken there by the lowest scum in Thai society to sell overpriced food to the dimly-witted foreigners.

- Prostitution: It is rampant everywhere. Far from the world famous locations in Sukhumvit, it is everywhere in the city. Human traffic from the provinces is a major issue. Despite the well-known image of the sex tourists, most of the patrons are Thais. Thailand is as well famous for the GIK concept, which is basically a paid-for lover. Many well-to-do Thai males in the 40s, 50s and 60s have young girls on their personal payroll to entertain them at will.

- The hunger for money: As foreigners, we tend to attract always the worst, which is all sorts of people looking for our money. When money is at stake, trust no one.

- The press and media: Corrupt as everything in Thailand. Reporters are constantly being courted by all sorts of organizations, who take them to seminars in different resorts to make their presentations and ensure that they get good coverage. Highly Incompetent: The Bangkok Post is the worst newspaper I have ever seen. It constantly publishes unverified rumors, it publishes opposite stories from one day to the next. It has a number of editors that have spent too much time in academia and waste considerable amounts of news-worthy space to write their own views. Try The Nation. It is nothing to brag about, but nothing can be worse than Bangkok Post.

- The state of neglect of everything: classical in highly corrupt countries, nothing is taken care of.

- The Medical institutions: Although dentists are actually not bad, Bangkok makes too big a deal of its Bumrungrad Hospital, which attracts a lot of medical tourists from the Middle East. Behind the facade of luxury created by the setup of a hospital like a fashionable mall (it even features McDonald's), hides the low quality of the doctors it employs. It makes sense, very good doctors do not stay in Thailand. Bumrumgrad is a for-profit organization. Its emphasis is on the marketing side rather than on providing a high standard of care. Do not be fooled by the looks. Not for nothing, the Thai Doctors Association has been heavily lobbying the government to cap their liability.

- The traffic and the pollution: I know, there is not much you can do about it, right? As in most underdeveloped countries, and make no mistake, Thailand is one of those, everyone wants to have a car. The car shows status, so silly, right?

- The "saving face" concept so prevalent in the Asian countries. Thais, like many Asians, are never willing to admit ignorance or mistake, and that can be frustrating.

- The Corruption: Although Thailand has a few institutions that are investigating and punishing corruption, there is still too much of it out there. Even when they finally do something about it, it is useless. Look at the case of Thaksin Shinawatra. He and his family stole millions from the government and the people. He was finally found guilty of using his influence to allow his wife to buy underpriced land and condemned to 2 years in jail. He was however, allowed to travel during this trial, and he never came back. The government has not moved a finger to have him arrested abroad. His wife is walking around freely, entering and exiting the country, all while she appeals her personal conviction that should also land her in jail.

-The Police Corruption: Did I say corruption already? Yeah, you can say it over and over. Look around you when you are in Bangkok. Do you see all those stalls selling food, crafts, DVDs and, at night in Sukhumvit, drinks? There ain't no city permits, and it ain't free. They all pay the police. Food stalls between 3,000 and 20,000 baht a month depending on location and size. Those who sell the same crap (read crafts) everywhere about 3,000. In-promptu bars on Sukhumvit rd 700-1,000 baht per day!

-Street sellers on Sukhumvit and Patpong: Buy nothing from these people. They sell overpriced stuff. Fake DVDs sell for 3 USD. They are brought from Malaysia, where these people pay almost nothing from them. To give you an idea, in the Philippines the same fake DVD will cost you 20 cents of a USD!!! Big rip-offs. These sellers on Sukhumvit sell the same stuff you can buy at Pathunam or Chatuchak at twice the price. Let them starve and die off.

-Other scams and rip-offs: Even Pathunam and Chatuchak are ridden with them. Beware of money hungry Thai-Chinese sellers: offer them always half, and if the product is made in China, offer even less.

- Thai Airways: one of the worst managed airlines, which constantly seeks to stifle competition and make the customers pay more for flights. Do yourself a favor and fly the budget airlines: Air Asia, Tiger Airways, Jet Star, Cebu Pacific. Their prices are 1/3 or even 1/4 those of Thai Airways (or even Singapore Airways)

- The crime and the constant efforts to hide it (not to eradicate it): Most foreigners will echo the mantra that Bangkok is safe. Wrong. Every day there are multiple thefts, typically conducted by passing motorcycle drivers, who grab and pull purses and other items mainly from women. Only a few weeks ago a German female tourist died after 2 days in coma from hitting her head on the asphalt when a motorcycle rider grabed her purse and made her fall. It happens all the time, so watch out.

-The slums: surprised? well, on your next day off go for a tour of the Klong Toey slum, one of the largest in Asia, and at only a subway ride from Siam Paragon, king of malls... Now seriously, IF you choose to go, bring Kleenex (you will need them to wipe your tears, unless you are cold as ice) and candy for the children. DO NOT HAND OUT MONEY, and do not give the same children too much candy, or the adults will take it away and sell it. Unfortunately, you cannot change a thing, nor can I.

- The sex tourists: there is an increasingly large number of nauseating older men, with their big bellies and their tattoos that come to Thailand looking for cheap sex. Lower Sukhumvit is full of them. If on tour of the red light areas, take your new camera and take a lot of pictures, then post them all on the internet...

- The local salaries and standard of living: Most Thais earn a basic salary of 200 USD per month. Professional ones will average 1000 USD per month, with only a small percentage making above that. It is very hard to get by on these salaries. It's called "capitalism", sounds nice, doesn't?

- Massage parlors: beware, as most of these are fronts for prostitution (all or them are in Patong Beach, Phuket). Regular massage can be obtained, though, but query the skills.....

-The Buddhist monks: most of these are lazy and unproductive. It is baffling to see seats reserved in public transport for monks. Some airports even have couches reserved only for monks! Aren't they supposed to have a life of sacrifice?

-The fake monks: the roam the tourist areas of Khao San, Grand Palace, Sukhumvit, Silom, etc. They are not even Thais. As a rule, if you not a Buddhist save your money for a cold beer. You ain't gonna get no karma-sharma...

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Thailand?

- It is easy to live in Thailand. Just read my comments above. Avoid the negative parts and focus on the positive ones. Learn Thai, even if it is only just enough to greet people and order food or ask for directions. You will find out that many people will speak English to you after you have made the effort. Why is that? Because you are taking the first step and make them think that it is not necessary to speak well in order to speak. Watch your money. Be careful trusting other foreigners, as some can be worst than the bad Thais. Please, be generous. As foreigners, we are lucky to live in a cheap location. If people are nice to you, treat them well: taxi drivers, hairdressers, maids, service people, these people are making an honest living. Tipping in Thailand is not necessary, but it not only helps financially, it also makes the service provider feel good about himself, because the un-required tip means you are really happy with the service. At the end, remember that the future is unexpectable and you may find yourself in that position.

For those coming to Thailand in search of love, keep one very important rule in mind: Do not marry or get involved with a bar girl. Bar girls and other kind of prostitutes are like Mickey Mouse in Disneyland. Many adult men need to be reminded that "no, you cannot take Mickey home with you"!!! Many foreigners who are not necessarily sex tourists end up entrapped by the girls they happen to meet at a bar or a massage parlor.  All this women are prostitutes:100% with no exceptions. 20 years after you marry them, they are still prostitutes and the moment the money stops flowing the girl is gone.

Be patient with people. This is truly a different culture, and if you cannot speak Thai, remember that you are at a disadvantage and no one in Thailand is obligated to speak English, so when they do, be always grateful.

Finally, trust nobody. Thais who are eager to befriend you are usually looking to scam you. Normal Thai people have no interest in meeting foreigners. Same thing goes towards the foreigners living in Thailand: beware of the friendly ones, and never ever make contact with Africans or Middle Easterners, who are only looking for your money.

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Thailand? 

There are a lot of foreigners with their websites. I found them mostly useless, but you can try looking for them. In terms of learning Thai, the best book to learn how to read is Reading Thai is Fun by James Neal (a great writer who unfortunately passed away recently).

For grammar, Thai Reference Grammar by James Higbie (excellent book on grammar and syntax). For general learning clearly the best is Everyday Thai for Foreigners by Wiworn Kesavatana (but you must be able to read already as it is not transliterated). Also good are the books by Benjawan Becker, which are very popular (but the software is horrible).

Blogs and books: You just cannot avoid the typical foreigner who spends a couple years in Thailand and feels like they have "discovered" Thailand, and claim to know everything about the country and its people. They even publish books! To all those foreigners, do the rest a favor and keep your egocentric behaviour at home with your family.

Christopher Moore has written a series of novels (the Vincent Calvino novels) set mostly in Bangkok. They are a good way to being to understand Thai society, but I find that despite all his years in the country, the author tends to exaggerate many concepts and may create impressions of things that are not real. Stephen Leather's famous Private Dancer is the bible for those who end up with dubious relationships with prostitutes.