Of all the places in the world to live, why did you choose Thailand?
I want to start off by saying something cliche like: “Well, I could give you a million reasons to visit yada yada yada...” But to be truthful, I’m having difficulty coming up with just four main reasons to type about here. For one, I have always admired the Asian culture so I knew I wanted to visit this region next. The environment itself was a major draw for me as there aren’t many places in the world that can match Thailand's climate, vegetation, landscape and wildlife. Another factor was the cost of living; I am working on a fairly tight budget for now and the dollar goes a long
way by the end of each month. The fact that Thailand is one of the top tourist destinations in the world made me want to see what the hype is all about, and I have to say that the hype is real ladies and gentlemen... Finally, it was an old fish friend of mine by the name of Willy MakeIt who had ultimately convinced me that moving to Thailand was going to put me in the best of all possible worlds. So far, Willy has proven to be correct.
First of all, the Asian culture as a whole, let alone here in Thailand, is nothing short of beautiful in my eyes. Don’t get me wrong, all cultures are beautiful and unique in their own ways but between the different languages, handwriting, artwork, architecture, traditional dress, attitudes and norms, I’d felt compelled to explore this region for far too many years now. Back in 2014, I had made a post on Instagram of an area in China called Yangshuo and the caption read: “ Somewhere in China… Would love to live here once I am a free man; possibly become a monk, never learn their language and just talk shit to everyone in my village. They’d think it’s hilarious I’m sure”... As you can see, Asia has been on my mind for quite a while now. However, thanks to COVID, China wasn’t an option. Otherwise, that would have been my first choice so hopefully I will make it there one day.
Additionally, I have already been to other regions of the world such as Europe, the Middle East, Africa and all over North America (obviously, since that’s where I am originally from) so I figured I’d scratch another one off the list. Eventually I would like to check out South America, Australia and even Antarctica (although I have no idea what I’d do there) just for the sake of saying that I’ve been on every continent. But from what I’ve seen so far, there aren’t many regions in this world that can match the beauty of Thailand's climate and landscape. Between the islands, beaches, jungles, limestone cliffs in the south and mountain ranges in the north, nearly every square inch of this place is absolutely gorgeous.
Then there’s the tourism aspect. I knew from my time in Madagascar that it’s much easier to adapt to an area that is accustomed to tourists as opposed to going to a lesser known place such as Laos. Tourism makes up roughly twenty percent of Thailand’s annual GDP so I knew that I would (typically) still have access to the luxuries of back home such as hot water and electricity. Plus, you can still get your hands on western food such as cheeseburgers (thankfully, they have McDonald’s here). Keep in mind that there are exceptions to what I am saying as there are certain areas throughout Thailand that are completely unlike anything you would find in America, especially in the backcountry.
My two favorite hobbies at the moment are skydiving and Scuba diving. Part of what attracts so many travelers here each year is because this is home to some of the best scuba diving sites in the world. On top of that, the only skydiving dropzones in all of SouthEast Asia are located in Thailand so this factor alone was damn near a deal breaker when making my final decision.
Because tourism is such an important aspect of Thailand’s economy, the population is used to dealing with foreigners so most of the locals can speak English to some degree. However, their primary language is Thai so you have to improvise at times (this is typically a lot of fun depending on the circumstances). Prior to coming here, people back home would ask me if I understood the language (the answer was and still is “no, not at all”) or, they would ask if I was worried about not being able to communicate with people very well. What they fail to realize however is that communication is only about seven percent verbal; the rest is all charades, and I am currently undefeated.
The cost of living here was perhaps the most important factor that I took into consideration when searching for a place to move abroad. Part of what attracts so many tourists to Thailand each year is because nearly everything costs so much less. I couldn’t live the way that I have been for the past six months in other countries such as New Zealand, England or literally anywhere in the United States. You can live more than comfortably here in Thailand for less than $1,500 per month (as a single person at least) so as long as you work smart, you don’t have to work nearly as hard as you would in the United States. I’d say that’s a fair trade.
Plus, with COVID going on the country has been on lockdown and since tourism is such a major contributor to their economy, the cost of lodging specifically is even lower than normal. Less tourists also means that I’ve been able to visit a lot of popular areas that would normally be packed with crowds of people such as the famous Phi Phi Islands.
Now, here's the number one reason as to why I decided to move to Thailand. You may have heard about The Story of Willy MakeIt. Well, guess where he is originally from... Thailand. Now guess what the national aquatic animal of Thailand is… Siamese Fighting Fish. Clearly we were destined to come here at some point. Willy wanted to visit his homeland for the first time since he left back in 2015 and this was the perfect opportunity for him to convince me into going. He has a lot of friends and family here and after the incident, hundreds of them started sending us friend requests on Facebook. You read that right; there are Siamese Fighting Fish Facebook profiles out there and these are real fish whose accounts are managed by their breeders.
As strange as this may sound, their requests made me feel as though there is something for me within this region. I’m still trying to figure out what that might be. Regardless, Willy gives me hope for the future. I had been a big thinker long before meeting him so the fact we came together and entertained the world (even though it was only for a brief moment) encourages me to pursue my plans wholeheartedly until this day.
I’ve said it before and I'm sure that I’ll say it many more times: I want to go just about everywhere. In fact, depending on the circumstances, I would go anywhere (key phrase is “depending on the circumstances”). Choosing Thailand was not an easy decision but it was the most sensible option based on my ambitions and circumstances. The culture, natural environment, tourism industry, cost of living and of course, Willy were the major determining factors in why I chose to move here. There were so many other countries calling my name and they continue to do so but for now and the foreseeable future, I am content with living here in The Kingdom of Thailand.
UPDATE:
***Well, it just so happens that today (3 March 2022) I found out that I’ll have to leave Thailand by May 8 because my visa will expire and I can no longer get any COVID extensions… How ironic.***
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