Julian2 Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 A mate has just gone back to Australia after more than 20 years in Thailand. He says for 6 months but I don't think he will be back. He's never had trouble finding work here, mainly teaching, and enjoys the lifestyle so the only reason I can put it down to, and he hints at this, is his inability to sustain a serious relationship. Disillusionment has set in, he's getting old and worries about his pension, but I wonder why some guys can't hack it long term with the women here. I know some have no intentions of doing so, and more power to them, but others seem to go through a series of two or three year relationships just to see them crash and burn. Any comments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 So would they have any better luck in relationships at home? And what kind of women are they trying it with? Most of my Farang colleagues are happily married to non-BGs. Not to put BGs down, but realise whenever you get serious with one you are adding more complications to those that already exist in a cross-cultural relationship. A lot of guys can't handle them. As to the money concerns, they are quite understandable. Work here forever and you still get no pension. A colleague worked at his name uni for 27 years - and got the boot at 60 anyway. (He was positive they would keep him on.) No pension for him, as a Thai archan would get. Fortunately, he landed on his feet and got a better paying job. That plus his savings in the uni co-op got him enough to survive on. (The co-op pays 10% on savings in the"share" programme. When he started Farangs could join it. By the time I got there, it was Thais only. Most of my Thai colleagues are very surprised to learn that. One cute little Thai archan said to me, "But you're our colleague. You belong here as much as we do." Tell that to the folks who run the coop.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage_Kwai Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 It's also possible that some people may 'say' they want a relationship, but when finally faced up with it tend to get cold feet. I know of at least one, and the girl was not a bad prospect either. Disillusionment I can believe, however it can take more time to affect some people. If you live a single life and peruse of the available outlets, it is not difficult to get jaded quickly, hence the tendency of equating a proper relationship with a GTG with something in the nightlife category could become second nature. I think it would be very difficult to maintain a good (proper?) relationship with that mindset. Re pensions; I think if you paid into the social welfare scheme for a certain period of time you would get something. A pittance, perhaps, but still... Those 'share' programs are usually run by other companies (AIA, for instance) and are usually non-discriminatory. Methinks the uni admin have a hand in this exclusion. Having said that, I know of people who, instead of participating in these schemes, use LTF's instead and some of the returns can surpass the returns of these schemes, even with the included company (or uni) contribution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Someone pointed out the blindingly obvious on Stick's site this week, and its been said here many times - once you leave the Nanny State, you are on your own. Seems like your friend couldn't quite deal with that. I doubt that he will be happy here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted October 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 You seem to think the pension is the issue here, but I'm sure it's the relationship thing. He's had a mix, fellow employees, local girls and P4P lasses. Aussie government pensions get complex when you want to live overseas but can be managed with the right advice. Talking to him, he just seemed very down... only women can really do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 You seem to think the pension is the issue here, but I'm sure it's the relationship thing. He's had a mix, fellow employees, local girls and P4P lasses. Aussie government pensions get complex when you want to live overseas but can be managed with the right advice. Talking to him, he just seemed very down... only women can really do that. Foreigners can participate in provident funds here, which is basically a plan where a percentage of an employee's wages are deducted and remitted into the fund and the employer matches the employee's contribution. After a period of time, the employer's participation vests. But there are several problems. Most funds are not diversified enough. Misplaced patriotism by participants leads to Thai only investments. Some employers are refusing to meet their obligations to foreign employees, adopting a "so sue me" attitude knowing that foreigners are not treated equally in the legal system here. Its pretty appalling. The officals are far more concerned about losing face and bad press than honesty and accountability when it comes to foreigners. But the internet offers help. Relationships - well, they're sort of like the promises made to foreigners about provident funds. My hope is that the last several years - near-civil war, the foods, etc. - we'll cause people here to pause, stop consider, and turn around. The elites that run this place without any accountability will finally realize their days are number and finally understand that business as usual will put them out of business or worse. The references to the ancien regime are not accidental. Choppy chop: it get real nasty if the elites don't relinquish power and make serious compromises. The world;s changed. Scams and frauds that could easily be pulled pff in the past are now blasted around the world in nano-seconds. There is a record. There is accountability. We know can be trusted and who cannot. Instead of whining about how the internet is "unfair" because it reveals these problems about Thailand, a younger generation is emerging who realize that the the internet is not the problem - there are serious problems here that need to be fixed. May sound pessimistic, but I am an optimistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 My hope is that the last several years - near-civil war, the foods, etc. - we'll cause people here to pause, stop consider, and turn around. The elites that run this place without any accountability will finally realize their days are number and finally understand that business as usual will put them out of business or worse. The references to the ancien regime are not accidental. Choppy chop: it get real nasty if the elites don't relinquish power and make serious compromises. The world;s changed. Scams and frauds that could easily be pulled pff in the past are now blasted around the world in nano-seconds. There is a record. There is accountability. We know can be trusted and who cannot. Instead of whining about how the internet is "unfair" because it reveals these problems about Thailand, a younger generation is emerging who realize that the the internet is not the problem - there are serious problems here that need to be fixed. May sound pessimistic, but I am an optimistic. As you know, real change will only we _possible_ after the current generation of corrupt, greedy and incompetent politicians, military, bureaucrats and CEO's will have retired or will have been forced out of job. Moreover the old powers will do everything to stay in control. IMHO the problems will even become worse, before the situation _might_ become better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 And then a new generation of corrupt, greedy and incompetent politicians, military, bureaucrats and CEO's will eagerly step forward to replace them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 And then a new generation of corrupt, greedy and incompetent politicians, military, bureaucrats and CEO's will eagerly step forward to replace them. Not if the people decide that they have enough of them. We have just seen it in the Middle East. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Instead of whining about how the internet is "unfair" because it reveals these problems about Thailand, a younger generation is emerging who realize that the the internet is not the problem - there are serious problems here that need to be fixed. May sound pessimistic, but I am an optimistic. Worldwide, it has/is taking a long time for people to realize that like radio, the interweb is a medium, not an entity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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