How they live in Thailand, or what is it like for foreigners in a foreign land
Thailand is a country of smiles and eternal summer. You will probably, having come here once for a vacation, think about whether it is possible to stay here and not go back to your homeland. With envy and admiration, you listen to stories from those or about those who have already moved to live near the sea or at least spend all winter and autumn in this country.
But is it worth changing your usual life in your homeland for the sake of exoticism?
In this article, I will talk about how I see it. Although there are already quite a few articles on the Internet about expat life in Thailand, which describes in detail both the pros and cons of moving. But, as a rule, they write about people who have been preparing for their move for a long time, have studied the issue for a long time and have good savings. I want to talk about ordinary people who do not have bank accounts or at least their own housing, which they could rent out at home in order to live on this money wherever they please. After all, everyone wants to live under the sun. But is it available to everyone?
I'll start with common cons. More precisely, I will write my opinion about them.
But a little about me, we don't know each other yet) My name is Anastasia. Too complex a name for most foreigners in Asia, and therefore, for them, I'm just Ana. My life story in Asia began suddenly, like any events in my life) No, I'm not crazy at all, although... In general, I lived in a province in Russia, 2000 kilometers from Moscow. Worked like everyone else. I rented an apartment so as not to burden either my parents or anyone else. A large inheritance, like, also does not yet shine. In general, ordinary life. There was only a lot of work, but the salary did not grow much. The usual thing.
I have not been on vacation for several years, I have never been abroad at all. The usual thing. And there are millions of people like me in Russia. And when I was denied vacation again at work (well, because there are not enough employees, or because everyone wants to relax in the summer, and I’m not the first in line, well, there are a lot of other reasons), I just took a day off and went to Moscow. She ran away) Together with her boyfriend, not alone. Literally in one day or even a night, an idea arose in my head to rush to Asia. No, not to Thailand, to Vietnam. Thailand then seemed, according to other people's stories, too expensive and spoiled by tourists. Vietnam, according to many reviews and articles on the Internet, was more friendly to poor foreigners like me, and cheaper. Yes, and it didn’t matter - the main thing was that there was a sea) Like that.
In Moscow, in a week you can urgently issue a passport, which we did. But urgent tickets cost us a fortune, because we wanted to leave the country as soon as possible. Yes, and while at work they didn’t miss that the employee ran away) What to do if there is no money for the plane, and there is also no strength to sit still? By that time, probably, fatigue from continuous work with no rest at all had an effect, which made me want to leave sooner, and everything around me irritated and seemed gray. People were furious. Everyone around was angry and dissatisfied. In a couple of days we got a visa to China, which was very easy to get. And with brand new passports we left for Kazakhstan by HITCHOP. Although we got to Kazakhstan quite quickly and it cannot be called a real hitchhiking.
Ah, yes, I forgot to add such a small moment - well, quite a small one. My boyfriend and I had two furry cats with us. Well, quite a small moment) During that week, while we were waiting for a passport, they were issued all the documents for departure. In addition to a certificate in English, which must be issued at the airport. But since we were driving on the ground, somehow it did not reach her. Thus, our journey was weighted with a shaggy burden, which made us completely abnormal in the eyes of people. Well, we were only afraid of difficulties with crossing borders. By the way, nothing was too complicated.
Thus, we in each country had the maximum number of days available for visa-free entry to Russians. We spent a month in Kazakhstan, traveling there mostly by train, visiting all major cities. And then we went to China. China would take a whole huge article if I wrote it) But the article is about Thailand) So, a month in China, then two weeks in Vietnam, which we aspired to. But only the country did not at all seem like the paradise we dreamed of, and we continued on our way. month in Laos. Hitchhiking is not very good there, and therefore we even walked a lot. I think we got to know Laos very deeply. Moreover, we returned there several times and lived there for a long time. And then Thailand.
Thailand was not at all the place that eyewitnesses told us about. Perhaps because we came from Laos and drove through the most non-touristic places in Thailand. For almost a month we lived in a Buddhist temple with the monks. And we saw exactly the real life of Thais, far from tourists and even the sea. But! From the very first moment, this country struck with brightness, color, colors. The kindness of people. Although Asians are almost all pretty kind, calm people. What only says such a moment that NOBODY has ever asked us why we bring cats with us)
Well, now about the cons and my opinion about them.
1. Ignorance of languages.
By that time, both of us barely spoke even English. But the miracle of modernity has given people such a brilliant thing as a Google translator in a mobile phone) In almost all of Asia, except for Thailand, no one speaks English, and even if they did, you would still not understand each other. The translator did not solve the problem of communication completely, but it helped a lot. And in the end, through an interpreter, a minimum of knowledge of English and sign language taught us to communicate with everyone without problems) It even seems to me that if there were no such language barrier, it would not be so interesting. In Thailand, almost everyone speaks English and much better than most tourists. Well, the same Google translator will help.
My conclusion: yes, there is a problem with the language, of course, but this is not critical at all. But while traveling, you really start to learn the language.
2. Little money.
3. Can't work.
Most of the Russians we know in Thailand don't have money problems. But they either rent out housing at home, somewhere in Moscow (and this is close to them, but enough), or some kind of passive income. There are also good freelancers. This is in the subject of work. It doesn't matter where they are - work is always with them. Those who do not have such talents, and do not even know how to increase eyelashes and nails, were less fortunate. It is forbidden for foreigners to work in Thailand without a permit. Getting permission is quite difficult, even more difficult to find such a job. The list of allowed professions is very small. And in the end, if you work officially, you have a profession in demand, which means that you will also receive a good salary, which will be enough for a living. For those who do not have permission and work illegally, this is every day of risk and fear that you will be caught. There are frequent cases of raids by the immigration police on places where illegal immigrants can work. These are schools, restaurants, hotels, photographers, etc. Many women work from home, doing the same nails, eyelashes, sugaring and all sorts of other women's tricks. But this will only be until they are caught. Although many manage to work this way for years.
4. Heat or rainy season.
Many people are afraid of the rainy season and think that here it rains like a wall for days on end every day. It is a myth. But the heat and the sun began to strain me more, so much so that those rare rains became very desirable. I can only say from my own experience: if you don’t get used to living under an air conditioner, but use a fan like ordinary Thais, then living in the heat is much easier. You quickly get used to it. But a day under the air conditioner - everything is new. In addition, the body also goes crazy and it is easy to get sick.
5. Light day.
Almost no one writes about it anywhere. But this is also important, in my opinion. We had time to get used to the fast sunsets while traveling. Although it is still unusual. People wake up quite early. Too early. It may seem to ordinary tourists that Thais do not sleep at all. In general, it dawns early, but it gets dark too early. At 6 o'clock it is already night. For those who like to sleep until noon, the day will fly by very quickly.
6. Visa issue.
In fact, this point is almost the first, and one of the most important. No matter how you come here and no matter how much money you have, this question will never bypass you. In this country you will always and forever remain a FOREIGNER. Getting citizenship is almost impossible. Therefore, the visa issue will haunt you one way or another. And the less money you have, the more often) But this country also has a rather shaky visa policy, and during the period of aggravation of Thai services, anyone may not be allowed in even with a visa. And the longer you live in this country, the more difficult it is to get a new visa. It is because of the visa issue that many winterers choose other warm countries this year. And in general, many "long-livers" are already looking at new horizons. The visa issue will never leave you here.
For me, this item is in last place, as I normally tolerate Thai food. And after China, it doesn’t even seem spicy) But for those who like to eat borscht and dumplings, it will be a little harder. Still, you can find Russian cuisine here or just cook it yourself.
You can also expand an entire article on how to cook familiar food. But I will write briefly. In Thailand, there are not many products familiar to us. Even potatoes are not so easy to find. Especially bread, similar to the usual. Here rice is the head of everything. But I know people who bake their own bread, make kvass, boil cottage cheese and grow dill and parsley. Well, the usual dumplings are also cooked by themselves.
8. Medicine.
All medicine here is paid. If you go here for a long time, it is better to take out local insurance. How to do this and why, already wrote.
The sea and the sun are, of course, wonderful. If you live by the sea. But there are also such things as almost perpetual smog over Bangkok and Pattaya and other cities. Radiation, pollution. And in general, it's not as clean as we would like. But in principle, there is smog and dirt in Russia, and there is no need to go far. I’m just writing this paragraph so that it is not brought as a plus.
A real plus.
People are really kinder. Calm down. If you suddenly step on someone’s foot, they won’t yell at you in response) And they won’t even say a word. If you are standing in line, no one will try to get ahead.
You can calmly approach absolutely any Thai and ask something or ask for something. They will definitely try to help you.
I have never seen Thais swear. They screamed. Angry.
And as a subtotal. Am I considering Thailand for permanent living? For a permanent one, no. Only as long as you have money or strength and the desire to fight for your place under the sun. But personally, I think it's worth it. And I do not regret at all that we took the risk and fled here. Although only a year and a half has passed since we left. But we have already visited many Asian countries. And I know for sure that even if you don’t have money, you don’t know foreign languages, and you also have a cat and even two around your neck) - everything is possible if you really want to)
P. S. But my cats don’t care where to live) If only they were fed on time)
