Why Are You In Thailand?

Lot’s of people ask me that question, and I ask a lot of other guys too. (It’s overwhelmingly guys who chose the ex-pat life in Thailand.) The answers, I think, are rarely forthright or truthful.

Rather than examine the various self-serving answers posed by myself and others I’ll offer an incomplete selection of possible reasons that a person might wish to leave the country of his birth and set up shop somewhere else:

1. It’s Just A Good Idea.

There are many counties in the world that are worth moving to. Coming to Thailand, for instance, just happens to work on the good idea level. Good paying jobs are easily available (caveat: without a college degree it’s much, much harder; caveat number two: that’s “good paying” in the local economy; caveat number three: you might have to teach English). The cost of living is low to reasonable. The weather and the food are the best in the world. The hospitals are good, and perfectly good doctors are easy to find. The hygiene level is good all over. People are nice.

Many countries would be good choices. Some have a lot going for them. Some pay more than others; some have more modern development than others. Lots of places to choose from though. Might even raise your standard of living!

2. You Can Reinvent Yourself.

This might just be a nice way to say that you can run away from yourself, but it’s true. Living in another country, people’s perspective on you changes completely. Your perspective on yourself changes as well. I moved from New York City to Los Angeles at the age of twenty-seven and I was amazed at the changes along these lines. In New York I was just a zero from Queens; in L.A. I was a hipster from New York!

No one in your target country knows anything about you. You become the person that you present to the new society. You can whitewash your past with impunity. All of this can be very, very comfortable.

3. You Can Leave Behind All Of The Annoyances Of Your Own Miserable Country.

Besides Fox News I mean, I’m talking about things on the personal level. I meet lots of guys over here who suffer from some level of social anxiety, even painful shyness. These conditions will almost certainly ease up once one is removed from one’s native culture. An odd result of living overseas is that social interaction becomes less difficult for most people. If one has always felt alienated in America, it is strangely less problematic in a country where one actually is an alien.

For one thing, all interactions take place at a reduced level because of the language difference. Life becomes much more simple. If one suffers from depression, there are fewer triggers. It’s great.

4. Satisfy Your Need For Adventure.

Even a place like Thailand seems like an adventure, although the truth is that you are as safe as being in bed. Everywhere I go, everything I see, is new and exciting.

If you want real adventure, you can go to Kazakhstan or Africa, but none of that for me thank you. I prefer comfort to real adventure, and I’m comfortable where I am.

5. Time For A Change.

Maybe it’s just enough already! America is a nice place, but after a few decades maybe you’ve gotten tired of it. What is there left that you want to see? Yellowstone? I’ve seen plenty, and thanks for the memories. If I want to see Yellowstone, I’ll buy a video.

6. (!!!)

I don’t want to put too fine a point on this one, but let’s just say that there are some guys, including some guys in America, who couldn’t get laid in a whorehouse with a pocket full of hundred dollar bills. The world is full of countries where a guy like that can do okay. I’m not mentioning any countries specifically, you can look it up. Lot’s of socially inept, unattractive guys travel to increase their prospects. ‘Nuff said.


So why am I in Thailand? It’s a combination of several of the above. I’ll let you figure out which ones.