Where do you see Thailand in 10 years from now?

[Brunolem]

1 hour ago, CALSinCM said:

Within 10 years.  I see another financial crisis.  

All what you say...but you forgot to mention what is following economic depression, and which is already well under preparation: war!

 

Thailand will maybe be spared, although probably not the area around Utapao...

 

All this, and probably more, is bound to happen during the next decade, considering that it is already quite an achievement that we went that far given our condition...we have really become masters at kicking the can down the road, but all games ultimately come to an end...

 

[bwpage3]

7 hours ago, BobBKK said:

I take a more positive spin (for 10 to 20 years) because most of the dinosaurs that rule Thailand will be dead or deep in dementia (some are already). Hoping a new generation will turn away from this coup after coup mentality. FFP is a beacon so let's keep hope alive.

Is there such a thing as a politician that is not corrupt?

 

Politics in Thailand has not benefited the people one bit since I first started visiting in 1984.

 

Politicians want to control the budgets plain and simple.

 

Even current PM now caught with paying twice as much for helicopters as they were worth.

 

Money is the only thing important to these people as money buys power and face.

 

"Don't you know who I am" !

 

Politicians will never help the average citizen of Thailand with quality of life, education, retirement, or anything else

 

The first valid election won by the populace, will have another coup and back to years more of the same.

 

No possible way forward as no political party ever has the concern of the country or people in mind or actions

[alex8912]

22 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

To answer that question, one only has to look back 10 year previous and see what happened.

 

I first visited Thailand for an extended stay in 1984.

 

Nakon Nayok area.

 

I can honestly remember thinking, man, this must be God's Country. 

 

People were genuinely interesting and so good natured.

 

People were very happy and content with what they had because they didn't have any western mass marketing advertising telling them if they didn't own an Iphone there were nobody.

 

People worked hard for what little they had and were genuinely getting by just fine.

 

Without going into a diatribe, after I moved there full time in 2004, I was like holy shit! 

 

What the hell has happened to Thailand?

 

In those 20 years, western mass marketing advertising had taken over and Thai's then had to own everything.

 

Long gone was the happiness from not knowing they were poor.

 

Greed had replaced happiness and it was affecting everyone.

 

The Age of Money and Materialism had taken hold and developed such a strong grip it would change the personality of the entire country.

 

No longer were people or accepting of being poor.

 

Corruption was rampant to fuel the materialistic purchases that separate the Thai Hi-Si's from the rest of the population.

 

Corruption in government, politicians running for office simply to control budgets and steal from them, cops corrupt, schools corrupt, people injuring their own parents for control of their money, land, you name it. 

 

Crime due to greed had increased 100 fold. If there was a way to rip some one of to make money, Thai's would exploit it.

 

The education system, no matter what you say, has not moved forward one bit. When a high percentage of Thai's believe corruption is acceptable, what they are telling you is they want a chance at a share of the corruption money as well.

 

Land grabbing at an all-time high and we are just now seeing the monumental amount of resorts built on land they didn't even own.

 

Why did all of this happen in 20 years?

 

GREED due to being bombarded with western materialistic advertising.

 

All Thai's want to be somebody. 8 Student's living in a one room flat cannot understand that logic as long as they can be seen on the BTS with a new Iphone.

 

So where will Thailand be in 10 more years is easy to see.

 

Politicians fight, not for the right to make Thailand better, but to control the budgets that they will rape for their own personal financial gain.

 

Who will look out for the country and the people? The answer is no one.

 

Keep the population un-educated so the government can buy blimp airships for $700 million and expect the people to believe this is a sound purchase

 

Recent crackdowns on expats, when there is still monumental prostitution, drug dealers, you name it.

 

Expats are finally start to wise up to the fact, the country is going to do what ever it wants to regardless of the expats welfare or not?

 

I see a time, when if the current military regime doesn't get elected to run the country legally, then the next group of politicians will plunder the budgets for personal gain, allow their friends to land grab, build resorts, you name it.

 

Anyone that can expose that corruption will be arrested, disappear or shuttled out of the country.

 

Thailand has not advanced in industry for over 34 years since I have been there. Don't see any Thai Rockets heading to the Space Station and they are even launching from Africa these days.

 

Thailand will be more indebted to China than ever, as any rail project, dam or any other large infrastructure build money comes from China or Japan; yes there is a price to pay for that.

 

Thailand is the land of greed and corruption. Soap Operas all in giant mansions, mercedes benz, you name it. If you are not living like that, you have no worth.

 

No sane person can expect Thailand will ever get better and for expats, maybe even worse.

 

There is such of divide between the lifestyle of Thai's living in the city and those in Isaan who still struggle to survive cutting rice by hand for 200 baht per day.

 

It has not changed there in the 35 years since I first visited.

 

One can see the writing on the wall, that depending on which way the election winds blow, things could get even worse.

 

The best thing an expat could do is always have a plan; one way or the other.

 

There is no getting better until Thailand makes a commitment to educate the entire country and bring up their industrial skills to be able to develop themselves.

 

Predict there will be hard times ahead and the election will be the first start of all that.

Are cliff notes available on this post?? ????

[bwpage3]

I honestly think in the back of the minds of the politicians and Generals is the great financial melt-down in the end of the 1990's, that was so severe many Thai's committed suicide.

 

That bolsters the case for stealing as much money as you can when you are in power, so that when the country does meltdown, you go live in your second home in UK, AUS, or USA

 

Thai's only think about themselves, and how to financial enrich themselves for the day they know is coming.

 

Amazing how many multi-millionaire politicians, Generals, Police, etc their are in Thailand getting paid a Govt salary?????

 

One other issue is the media. Scare to death to call out the corrupt, cheaters, law breakers, you name it.

 

These rich and corrupt have no one to answer to.

 

Now please give back all the borrowed watches, ok?????????

 

 

[yrag]

You are spot on your observation, what i find ironic is that you need 65000 month for retirement visa but people who retire in states average S.S. check is 1,400 dollars for retirement. about 48,800 bt....but not enough for Thailand....Yes Thailand Bytes the hands that feeds them...

[ChakaKhan]

Mai pen rai!  In 10 years Thai will be same same but different! Why so serious!?  I go eat noodle! ????

[Nice Boyd]

Province of China

[blackhorse]

OP says farang will marry a village girl upcountry and when he dies they go into debt
What has that got to do with thailand and where it will be?

OP also quotes Pattaya... I nearly sprayed my beer over my tablet!

Middle class thai men live in neither and have no interest in marrying girls there. They leave that up to desperate farang

[Scouse123]

22 hours ago, balo said:

The economy in Thailand does not depend on old expats . Thailand will continue with trade , export is a big part of it. Tourism is only a small part. Rural villages will continue living as they did in the past , poor families but still earn enough to put food on the table. 

 

Having said that , we are under a military rule now , if you look at the history it will not last forever. When Thailand realize tourists and expats are leaving in big numbers to Vietnam/Cambo, maybe something will happen.  

 

Pattaya could very well turn into a ghost town if the Chinese decide they had enough and all the sexpats are gone. 

 

 

 

6

 

 

I am with you on your post, but Thailand really does care about the tourist dollars very much indeed. Now maybe, it's because they can't stomach any other country having anything more than the ' scraps left over ' after the Thai gluttons have had their fill, but they will react for sure if they see tourists moving in large numbers to other places within the region. Because as a good few here have rightly stated........GREED...... and can't stand the thoughts of cash going elsewhere.

 

I honestly feel Vietnam, yes many of us have said it for years, but now the place is ready to make a challenge. Let's be honest, cheap, great beaches, friendly and efficient immigration. not the same carnage on the roads, none of the taxi mafias or teenage armed gangs flying around like in Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket. Halong Bay now has an airport and billions has been spent creating beaches and funfairs and new resorts. Also, ease of getting around the country on trains, planes and automobiles.

 

Vietnam has recently announced further easing of visa restrictions AND opening up the domestic markets to foreign ownership without a lot of the old restrictions.

 

I will stay in Isaarn for the duration as I am happy with my lot and live a quiet-ish life. However, give me the choice of Philippines, Vietnam or Cambodia as an alternative to Thailand and it is Vietnam all the way for me. I will definitely continue to holiday in Vietnam as loads of places I still want to see there and don't feel the pressure or hassle that I do in big Thai cities or Cambodia.

 

I also agree when the Chinese and Russians get bored of the likes of Pattaya, and they will, (the go-go bar scene is long since dead and as we know, it has been dying for years), there will not be the former clientele to fall back on. The market has changed.

 

Pattaya and the likes will never be a family or world-class destination and the Thais are dreaming to imagine it will.

 

A few articles recently stated that Thai education and their ability to understand English in schools up and down the country was worse in 2018 than previously as school standards had fallen so much.

[balo]

3 hours ago, yrag said:

what i find ironic is that you need 65000 month for retirement visa but people who retire in states average S.S. check is 1,400 dollars for retirement. about 48,800 bt....but not enough for Thailand....Yes Thailand Bytes the hands that feeds them...

They have this weird image of farangs , if we can afford a flight ticket to Thailand we must be loaded with money .  They don't know much about the real world outside Thailand.

So many farang/Thai families living here and have a good life on less than 65k,  I would think in a year they contribute to millions of baht in shops and restaurants , paying the rent on time , always polite people, and they get treated like trash. 

 

 

 

[bwpage3]

2 hours ago, blackhorse said:

OP says farang will marry a village girl upcountry and when he dies they go into debt
What has that got to do with thailand and where it will be?

OP also quotes Pattaya... I nearly sprayed my beer over my tablet!

Middle class thai men live in neither and have no interest in marrying girls there. They leave that up to desperate farang

Where exactly did you read farang will marry village girl upcountry because I didn't see that?

 

Nothing about Pattaya either?

 

Are you in the right post?

[THE REVERAND]

Controlled by china and having to speak Chinese 

[blackhorse]

Where exactly did you read farang will marry village girl upcountry because I didn't see that?

 

Nothing about Pattaya either?

 

Are you in the right post?

 

 

put the Chang down and put your glasses [emoji165] on

 

[Thaimike370]

Thailand should work out the same deal as the Philippines has for its Brit ex-pats, this would mean Brits would get their UK pension increases.  The extra pension would be spent in Thailand, in my case over £50 a week increase.  It would not cost the UK a penny as we have paid for it all our working lives.  Thailand would benefit by many millions of pounds every year.

[HappyAndRich]

It will be exactly as it is today. 

[BobBKK]

8 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Is there such a thing as a politician that is not corrupt?

 

Politics in Thailand has not benefited the people one bit since I first started visiting in 1984.

 

Politicians want to control the budgets plain and simple.

 

Even current PM now caught with paying twice as much for helicopters as they were worth.

 

Money is the only thing important to these people as money buys power and face.

 

"Don't you know who I am" !

 

Politicians will never help the average citizen of Thailand with quality of life, education, retirement, or anything else

 

The first valid election won by the populace, will have another coup and back to years more of the same.

 

No possible way forward as no political party ever has the concern of the country or people in mind or actions

Maybe it's wishful thinking but I like to think the younger generation cannot be as bad as the guys in charge now who are steeped in nationalist 1500s ammart thinking. 

[micmichd]

43 minutes ago, Thaimike370 said:

Thailand should work out the same deal as the Philippines has for its Brit ex-pats, this would mean Brits would get their UK pension increases.  The extra pension would be spent in Thailand, in my case over £50 a week increase.  It would not cost the UK a penny as we have paid for it all our working lives.  Thailand would benefit by many millions of pounds every year.

That's the German-Thai model, too. Germans that worked for their pensions get it all paid to Thailand, with a permanent increase indexed on the the average salaries in Germany, too. Once you have your pensions settled, it won't get less anymore. So that's a reliable source of money for Thailand. 

So, how and where will ageing Germans and other in Thailand spend their income? Many will still try real estate, but that's a tricky business in Thailand. So, more and more of the ever-ageing Farang population will need services designed for their special needs. And those services will be bundled services in the medical and wellness area. With Farangs as customers, and Thai staff as labour force. Places like Sunshine International in Hua Hin are a model for future investments in Thailand, and - because of the longer life expectation of Western pensioners - a sustainable one. 

 

[micmichd]

10 hours ago, Brunolem said:

All what you say...but you forgot to mention what is following economic depression, and which is already well under preparation: war!

 

Thailand will maybe be spared, although probably not the area around Utapao...

 

All this, and probably more, is bound to happen during the next decade, considering that it is already quite an achievement that we went that far given our condition...we have really become masters at kicking the can down the road, but all games ultimately come to an end...

 

If the world is heading towards a new global war (most probably in the NATO area) and Thailand is spared, then that's another good reason to stay here. As long as possible. 

[lvr181]

Where?

Still in the 'feudal dark ages' OR 

merely a colony of China. 

 

A sceptic may ask, "What's the difference?". ????

[micmichd]

On 11/4/2018 at 6:44 PM, poanoi said:

it would be great if traffic goes down so its any point in trying to get to a supermarket mid day, but alas, i dont see pattaya getting the much needed depopulation

Why should Pattaya need depopulation? 

Many (if not most) of the people that work in Pattaya Beach actually live off Sukhumvit, in Chonburi where the Issan begins. 

Traffic is an issue, but with the coming extension of BTS much traffic will be taken off the roads. 

In east Pattaya you can always find a parking lot near a local market or a convenience store, and these local markets more expensive than the big supermarkets.  

[poanoi]

7 minutes ago, micmichd said:

Why should Pattaya need depopulation? 

Many (if not most) of the people that work in Pattaya Beach actually live off Sukhumvit, in Chonburi where the Issan begins. 

Traffic is an issue, but with the coming extension of BTS much traffic will be taken off the roads. 

In east Pattaya you can always find a parking lot near a local market or a convenience store, and these local markets more expensive than the big supermarkets.  

i live in south pattaya, the only places i feel like living in in asia is south or central pattaya, but the traffic jam is such that i rather just stay in my room waiting for death rather than trying to drive here in daytime.

i'll admit part of the aversion is the corrupt police here, but biggest reason is traffic jam

[Na Lee]

On 11/4/2018 at 7:02 PM, NCC1701A said:

the opposite is happening in Hua Hin. Its booming. Hi So Thais everywhere driving Mercedes and BMW.

I'm not dying in ten years. and those that do they will be replaced by expats who can afford the 800k or what ever.

it might feel like that up north. i know when I visit Udon Thani it feels completely different than Hua Hin and Bangkok.

but it is sad the Thais are not making a lot of progress. I was stunned watching them install storm drains and electrical improperly.

 

Yes Hua-Hin is booming with unsold townhouses and shophouses a lot empty for years. Have a look for instance on Nongplub rd. Al the way from town to the bypass. LOOK at the licence plates on the Merc's and BMW all from BKK.

[bwpage3]

1 hour ago, BobBKK said:

Maybe it's wishful thinking but I like to think the younger generation cannot be as bad as the guys in charge now who are steeped in nationalist 1500s ammart thinking. 

Who do you think are the parents to this younger generation?

[Brunolem]

1 hour ago, micmichd said:

If the world is heading towards a new global war (most probably in the NATO area) and Thailand is spared, then that's another good reason to stay here. As long as possible. 

True...as long as the war would remain relatively clean (no radiations).

 

Thailand could be spared, except the for the Utapao area, because there is not much of interest for the conflicting powers in this area.

 

The "little" problem is that our pensions and other benefits from home country wouldn't be spared, if you see what I mean...

[Brunolem]

1 hour ago, micmichd said:

Why should Pattaya need depopulation? 

Many (if not most) of the people that work in Pattaya Beach actually live off Sukhumvit, in Chonburi where the Issan begins. 

Traffic is an issue, but with the coming extension of BTS much traffic will be taken off the roads.

Having some issues with geography?

 

Isaan is a long long way off Chonburi...and Chonburi is not off Sukhumvit...

 

As for the BTS, I have no specific information, but I have never seen a subway line extending almost 200 km out of the city it serves...one can only imagine the traffic issues and the difficulties to board trains that are already overcrowded at peak hours!

 

[simoh1490]

4 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Having some issues with geography?

 

Isaan is a long long way off Chonburi...and Chonburi is not off Sukhumvit...

 

As for the BTS, I have no specific information, but I have never seen a subway line extending almost 200 km out of the city it serves...one can only imagine the traffic issues and the difficulties to board trains that are already overcrowded at peak hours!

 

Sukhumvit is the longest road in SE Asia, it runs through Chonburi and on to the Vietnamese border.

 

Issan is considered to stretch all the way down to Chonburi Province, its strict interpretation of North East doesn't translate into the geographics of the matter.

[Peterw42]

11 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Sukhumvit is the longest road in SE Asia, it runs through Chonburi and on to the Vietnamese border.

 

Issan is considered to stretch all the way down to Chonburi Province, its strict interpretation of North East doesn't translate into the geographics of the matter.

Sukumvit rd runs from Bangkok to trat, it doesnt go anywhere near issan and there is no Thai Vietnam border. Issan does not border with chonburi.

 

 

Issan in red, no where near chonburi

 

[Brunolem]

11 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Sukhumvit is the longest road in SE Asia, it runs through Chonburi and on to the Vietnamese border.

 

Issan is considered to stretch all the way down to Chonburi Province, its strict interpretation of North East doesn't translate into the geographics of the matter.

True about Sukhumvit Road, but the poster I quoted wrote that people who work on Pattaya Beach live off Sukhumvit Road, which is generally understood as living on the other side of Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya/Banglamung, and not all the way down in Chonburi city.

 

Otherwise I have never read or heard that Chonburi was considered as part of Isaan??? 

Considered by whom, I mean, officially?

[simoh1490]

18 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

True about Sukhumvit Road, but the poster I quoted wrote that people who work on Pattaya Beach live off Sukhumvit Road, which is generally understood as living on the other side of Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya/Banglamung, and not all the way down in Chonburi city.

 

Otherwise I have never read or heard that Chonburi was considered as part of Isaan??? 

Considered by whom, I mean, officially?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isan

[simoh1490]

34 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Sukumvit rd runs from Bangkok to trat, it doesnt go anywhere near issan and there is no Thai Vietnam border. Issan does not border with chonburi.

 

 

Issan in red, no where near chonburi

 

I believe you will find that Sukhumvit runs through Cambodia all the way to Vietnam, indeed there is no Thai/Vietnam border and I did not mean to imply there was.

 

As for your map of issan: several maps see the picture slightly differently (see above), whether or not Chonburi is actually considered to be in Issan is debatable but it is certain that Issan is not a long way away from it.

 

Finally, I didn't say that Sukhumvit runs through Chonburi although according to wiki it does so: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhumvit_Road