I first moved to Thailand at the advisement of a friend who was working here who thought I would really like it. This all came about because I had just graduated from college and wasn't very pleased with the employment opportunities that were available to me as a fresh Finance graduate and the whole work environment was just depressing as hell. I didn't enjoy the idea of slowly climbing the corporate ladder just to make a decent wage sometime 10 years from now, which is kind of the way that things work in America unfortunately.
So when I came to visit him I had no idea what to expect but I didn't think that I would be so impressed that I would actually end up quitting my job and moving here, and that is precisely what I did.
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Coming from Texas to visit my friend who at that point lived in the south of Thailand and seeing the beaches for teh first time was something truly awe-inspiring. We have a coastline in Texas but let me tell you, it isn't very impressive. There's a reason why you never hear about people going to wonderful Texas beach resorts. Not only was this beach the most impressive that I had ever seen, but it also wasn't completely overrun with people either. I was simply awestruck.
When I visited my friend's house, it was a simple house, but functional. After a few days I really started to envy his life even though compared to the salary that I was making back in the USA, he was making peanuts. It took me about a week of wandering around with this guy and meeting his friends and seeing their own lifestyles to realize that maybe I had my priorities all wrong. Maybe making money isn't really the path to happiness.
I had to return to my job in the US after just a few weeks of visiting but the entire time I was back at my cubicle job that I absolutely hated, the only thing I kept thinking about was how this friend of mine had so much better quality of life than I did even though he was making 1/5 the amount of money that I do. This would occur to me constantly when I was stuck in traffic to and from work, surrounded by tens of thousands of other lemmings that were all doing exactly the same thing.
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When the above is 5 days a week of your life and it is really all you have ever known, maybe you don't hate it so much because it is just normal. I know that it is the way that I treated it as I kept having a routine of a coffee in the car and some commute radio shows that I found entertaining. It was what me and everyone else that I knew simply JUST DID and none of us complained about it too much because well, it's what everyone does, right?
Seeing the other side of things as far as my friend's life in Thailand was concerned seriously opened my eyes about what is really important in life. I started to see that money, and therefore the acquisition of "stuff" isn't really the pathway to happiness. I remember sitting on plastic chairs outside of his simple home in southern Thailand and having a BBQ on a grill that just sat on the ground and probably cost a couple of dollars. I recall a makeshift chest of beers with ice that we had purchased from one of the mom and pop shops that was just down the road as well. I remembered his very basic motorbike that was his only method of transportation and how unlike me, he didn't dread when he had to get on that bike and go somewhere. He didn't LOVE his job, but he also didn't hate it and he certainly didn't have to sit in traffic for an hour or more in both directions to his "office."
After being back at my corporate job for a while, I made a decision that I was going to move as well. I put a photo of the iconic beach on my fridge and it was my motivation to both continue going to work and also to save as much money as possible in preparation for the trip. It took me the better part of a year to feel confident enough to actually go and in that time I went to visit an additional time before fully "pulling the trigger."
At this point my friend had moved to Phuket and I was just blown away by the fact that this place, and the beaches, was even better than the first place he lived when I first visited.
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Not only was the water that perfect green/blue that everyone loves, but they also had year-round waves that were just the right size for someone like me that has never done much surfing to have a go at it. It is now one of my favorite things to do on earth.
Because of my ability to work only in very specific fields, I ended up needing to move to Chiang Mai in the north, which has no beach but no worries mate, getting to the beach is just over an hour on a direct flight from there to many beaches this country has to offer.
It's hard to believe now, looking back, that there was a time when I was considering going back to USA to "make more money" and if you read my stuff, you have probably seen me advise people to do exactly that. I started to talk like this because at that point in time, the only work you could do here was teach English for around $1000 a month, which even though this is a cheap country, isn't nearly enough money to have any sort of financial planning for the future. It was the college boy in me that was talking but I've had a change of heart since then.
These days, with the options of teaching online being what they are, if you properly work, you can bank (put into savings) likely MORE money than you would be able to accomplish if you were living in most of the United States. Things are just so damn expensive there and it is hard for me to look at those situations and not feel as though it is by design. Why would the exact same products be 3-5 times as expensive in USA compared to here?
My first thoughts when I was living here was "this is amazing, I have no commute, I have little stress, I have so much freedom" but the thought was always in the back of my head that I wasn't saving very much money and this could be a very big problem for me 10-20 years from now.
Things have changed with technology though and these days I am putting more money away than I ever was with my near entry-level job back in Texas. Things just kind of happened to fall into place by sheer luck because when I first got here, teaching English online wasn't really a thing, let alone a thing that can pay a bunch of money.
I won't ever get rich from doing that, but then again, I realized after my first trip to visit this part of the world that money and the acquisition of things isn't happiness anyway. I have evolved since coming here and now, I'm kind of working towards never having to leave.
This ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be so I am going to separate it into two pieces so that it isn't so long that nobody reads it. If you made it this far, I think you for reading
It's amazing how you appreciate the simple life that your friend have ☺️ and then suddenly you wanted it too, because you are exhausted of the usual life that you had. You chose freedom over money, but still working to survive at the same time 🥰, and that's something that I wanted to do. But right now I'm just living under the same roof with my family, but I'm also seeking for small or big opportunities and I think that's enough for now, right? haha. Thank you so much for sharing this journey 😊, it made me open my eyes to view what really matters.
well there are a lot of things to consider such as even for the "fortunate ones" that are born into families in relatively wealthy countries, there are lots of pressures to become part of the rat race of making money. I definitely was goaded in that direction and had it not been for my pal I likely never would have known what the other side of life can be.
You made such a huge decision living in Thailand. Life is different in Asia than in the West. Americans are reaching for more and some for a luxurious life. Some maybe. Some of my countrymen really wanted that American dream because life is hard here. My Uncle just retired from a corporate job and was really happy because his and my cousin's American Visa was approved before President Trump took office. But I guess they love it there and are entertained by American life. But until when? Though life is so simple in Asia, which it should be, How can you resist being drawn back to the stunning beaches? That is our life. The beach is just an hour or less drive from town. Simple yet satisfyingly beautiful.
where is it that you call home?
I meant How can you resist being drawn back to the stunning beaches?
You certainly have found your home and heart in Thailand. No material possession nor large amount of money can equate to having peace of mind, inner happiness, and contentment. The need to acquire vast wealth sometimes drive people to overwork thus resulting to a stressful routine; and people get caught up in this cycle that is hard to escape from. Embarking on a new journey can really be nerve-racking, but in the end, your journey led you to a new realization about life and one's purpose.
I still work pretty hard but at the same time the price of life over here and as it turns out, most of the world, is so low that you don't have to work nearly as hard over here just to make it. When I hear stories about the amount of rent that my friends in various cities in the USA are paying I am just astounded and find it hard to believe that anyone can get ahead.
I agree, how can a person get ahead if they are already burdened by such financial obligations. However, our choice partly directs our path. It's not easy either to just leave due to different factors. Indeed, our journeys are different because of the decisions that we choose for ourselves.
A good read. Happiness is not found in money or material possessions. Simple life, freedom and peace is worth more than a high paying job. Proud of you that you choose your happiness. Me and my family visited Phuket many years ago, nice beaches and nice place. Last 2 years ago, me and my husband went a vacation in Bangkok, Thailand.
what did you do in Bangkok? I know that it is a popular vacation destination but I have never really understood why.
Hi @jack.russelle we went there for a short vacation, just for unwinding. We visited Railway and Floating Market, Temples, Hidden Bangkok Canal, Siam paragon and ICONSIAM. I think it's more affordable to visit compared to other countries, that why many people want to visit Thailand 😀
Yes when you sit down and work out the time wasted in traffic you realise how bad things are. My 4 hour a day commute is 80 hours a month or 24 days every year wasted and why I moved away or one of the reasons. 10 years is nearly 1 year wasted of your life sitting in a car.
you had a 4 hour commute? Wow, that is just another level of awful and good for you for getting out of that.
The commute was not fun and why I hate queueing.
Such amazing journey you have not so easily to navigate our life of where we want but it has a time to make our life much better than our past. I am so happy for you about that because you handle your situation well even you experienced the situations hard but your so hardworking to put more efforts to your next work to be better @jack.russelle .
Wow what a beautiful journey. thailan was very nice place and it is so clean huh,Happiness is not found in money or material possessions.money can equate to having peace of mind, inner happiness,and contentment.Thankyou for sharing your story here on hive platform🥰enjoy and be happy always sir nice to see u here Have a nice day!
'$1000 a month is s big money, following the life style of villagers . No night club, cook yourself and invest in joint small business with local people
Wow what an amazing story, I'm happy for you and also admire the courage people have to move to another part of the world, the beach looks lovely for sure!
you should check it out some day if you get the chance
thailand is a very nice place , thailand is my dream country to visit because of its culture and traditon , hoping for the best ! have a great day !
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I would say that they are some of the most beautiful in the world. I haven't been everywhere, but they are the nicest I have ever seen by far
the flip side to this philosophy is that there are a lot of people that take the taking it easy part of life a little too far and never build any sort of wealth. THey make just enough money to keep living the life that they have even though with just a bit more they could have some savings. Most of the ESL teachers I know that are quite lazy barely make it through the month even though they make, on average, about twice to three times as much as Thai native teachers.