Relocating to Isaan

[emptypockets]

On 24 March 2019 at 11:02 AM, ThaiBunny said:

Swampy is just down the road; I'm not going to trek out to DM

Chauffeur not up to the job?

[Justin Side]

Isaan is amazing if you can find somewhere quiet.

 

If not. Forget it.

[Hanuman2547]

If you do decide to build a one bedroom house on the family land I would suggest purchasing all of the materials needed yourself.  The reason is that Thai builders are notorious for telling you they can get a "special" price to keep the costs down.  The reality is that they then buy cheaper, less quality, or sub-standard materials then what you are paying for.  You really need to be on site all the time so that you can supervise what is being worked on.  It is a headache but by doing so it pays off in the long run.

[metisdead]

Some non-helpful denigrating troll posts have been removed as well as the replies. 

[Sydebolle]

Stay off the family compound and keep a healthy distance for <70 kilometres; in your case close to Sakhon Nakorn or the nearest airport. While the family is still within acceptable reach you are closer to medical facilities, "semi-"urban life, shopping facilities and an airport. 

I did that with Nong Khai, family 100kms away, one hour to Udon (airport/shopping) and 30 minutes to Vientiane/Laos for many things which are not available in neither Nong Khai nor Udon. 

Dentist, medicals and authorities in Bangkok - 50 minutes flight at below 1'500 Baht return - go figure.......... 

[myshem]

On 3/23/2019 at 6:07 PM, Justin Side said:

Take your ear plugs.

Isaan is the noisiest place I have ever lived in.

You might just be lucky and fine a quiet place.

 

This is true ! so crazy ! But do we know why it's like this ? And is it going to change ?!

 

 

[myshem]

On 3/24/2019 at 9:17 AM, colinneil said:

Why post nonsense? Issan noisy, load of hogwash.

I am sitting here typing this and all i hear is the noise of the birds ( feathered ones).

Ohh my mistake a mc just went past, noisy exhaust.

 

The only nonsense here is in your post. You clearly do not know what you are talking about.

 

 

 

[myshem]

7 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

An important point.  I imagine many foreigners live in Isaan purely because their wife comes from that region. 

 

IMHO, the reason for moving to live in Isaan should be because YOU want to live there - otherwise I see problems on the horizon.

 

For me, happily single, happy with my own company, (but enjoy the local women without having to look over my shoulder for the irate wife with the garden shears), happy with my hobbies, non-drinker, khaen-player ==> Yep, I'm moving to Isaan because I want to move there ????

 

 

So you are a living evidence that it's never too late to learn and that someone who has been wrong so many times can still improve !

 

 

[swissie]

8 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

An important point.  I imagine many foreigners live in Isaan purely because their wife comes from that region. 

 

IMHO, the reason for moving to live in Isaan should be because YOU want to live there - otherwise I see problems on the horizon.

 

For me, happily single, happy with my own company, (but enjoy the local women without having to look over my shoulder for the irate wife with the garden shears), happy with my hobbies, non-drinker, khaen-player ==> Yep, I'm moving to Isaan because I want to move there ????

 

Quote: "Many foreigners live in Isaan purely because their wife comes from that region". I tend to agree.

 

There are many beautiful Thai-Rural Aereas that a Farang may have come to like. But no, the Thai "queen of the heart" wants to live near her Family. What could possibly be the reason(s) for that?

 

If a Farang (preferring rural Thailand over Tourist-Spots) can find a Lady willing to live with him in Rural-Thailand, 500 Km's away from "Family" may have found a "Gem". No immediate "Family Pressure". Farang Hubby and Thai Wife very happy.

 

Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Rural Thailand is conservative. An Isaan Lady settling in Central/Western Thailand will be tolerated, (same as her Farang) but will not be "part of them".
No wonder that underemployed country folks head for Bangkok or Tourist Spots. Not only for economical reasons. Those places serve as some sort of "melting-pot" where the "where you come from" for Thai's is not so important anymore for Thai-Newcomers.

Even if having gained fame or fortune, the village somewhere in the Isaan will remain a part of their live. With or without a Farang (and his ATM card) at their side.
So it was, so it is, and so it will remain. Unless "Big Joke" says "game over".

[colinneil]

4 hours ago, myshem said:

 

The only nonsense here is in your post. You clearly do not know what you are talking about.

 

 

 

Another i hate Colin poster, well quite a few TV members have visited me here, and can verify what i posted.

So you are calling jipp 99, pralonchai nick, panjaporn ,bobby cullen bprinceuk, possum, costas liars then?

[puchooay]

11 hours ago, Rc2702 said:

It's the shocking valuations too though Nan. The awful driving and I mean noticeable difference. Went back 1st time in 3 months the sea of changes to local business I don't think is business related I think the people are genuinely bored to death there. 

I've lived in Buriram for over 20 years. It's a very nice place to live. Also, with all of the development around in the last 10 years or so, there is not much of your general daily needs that you can't buy locally. There are a good few expat meeting places, if you like that kind of thing, or many great Thai places for good food and a relaxing time.

 

The driving is not that great but then where is it any better than bad?

 

The local people are generally happy and pleasant, there are a few grumpy ones as with every place, the same with the expat community. I would not swap for a big city at anytime.

 

However, just because I don't like the bigger and busier cities, I'm not going to slag them off and I think it is a shame that some people go down that route with regards to the smaller and quieter places.

[Humpy]

Bring plenty of water !!

[simon43]

and that someone who has been wrong so many times can still improve !

 

I have never lived in my wife's Isaan village, not with either of them..  I lived in Phuket ==> my choice, not theirs ????

[CGW]

9 hours ago, myshem said:

This is true ! so crazy ! But do we know why it's like this ? And is it going to change ?!

No! change would require the "Police" to start doing what they are hired and paid to do - enforce laws, if they enforced laws, this would mean no noisy polluting trucks, no motorcycles making as much noise as possible, no village "BOOM" boxes blaring whenever the urge for noise takes over (Often!) Having people take responsibility for their dogs so they are not barking all night long.

Then, being an agricultural area would only have to deal with the tractors, weed whackers and chain saws on occasion ???? 

[geoffbezoz]

On 3/24/2019 at 3:15 PM, Nsp64 said:

So my spelling and grammar are poor, but my observation is spot on.

Didn't know I needed an English test to post. 

But thanks anyway, grammar Nazi 

Don't throw your dummy out because of your troll post, just grow up please.

[akirasan]

Welcome to Issan! I've been here for 3 years.

Pros: Great people
        Awesome food
 

[akirasan]

To add to the above useless post (can't edit anymore, I don't type fast enough evidently)..

Welcome to Issan! I've been here for 3 years.

Like several others here my wife thinks it's the best place on Earth so I didn't have much choice but to move here.

We live in a pretty small village. What I found was awesome food, great culture, happy people and a peaceful life.

It did take some getting used to, but after I got internet/tv setup, bought a car, furnished the house how I wanted, it's a lot better and not much bothers me anymore. I can't remember the last time I got stressed or anxious about anything.

The only problems I found was it can be difficult to get car repairs or house repairs done quickly. If you're not out the back of Nakorn-nowhere it will be much easier but I've used my free time to start learning how to do more things myself (like car and house repairs).

Good luck with your move, keep us updated with how

[GarryP]

On 3/23/2019 at 4:03 PM, kirkieb said:

147 kms from where we plan to locate. to Khon Kaen, Sukhon Nakon is about 1 hrs drive, Kalasin 1 hr, Somdet 30mins. Hoping to find a hopsital a bit closer to me although I only need go every 3 months or so. Thanks for your input.

I don't know where you are or what size hospital you need. But there is a small hospital in Khammuang which is 45 km to the north of Somdet.  

[Odysseus123]

I kinda liked my Isaan village...mad place but interesting...

 

To give you a feel for the medieval aspect of the thing..there were 5 villages.

1.Cross roads village

2.Temple "

3,Charcoal "

4.Clay pot.

5.Broom "

 

They all specialized in something different.. but 6 years was my max.

 

 

[guzzi850m2]

Hmm, all this talk of food, I think I gonna scooter down to Ter21 soon and visit Carl's Jr. and have a nice juicy burger.

 

Wife have land/house outside Sisaket, 5 days top and I run screaming away. That area is flat and boring but I can understand that someone move to a mountainous area with awesome views.  

[Odysseus123]

If anyone is interested in cultural anthropology (as I am) then Isaan is fascinating.

 

I used to imagine myself talking to Jared Dimond or Yuval Noah Harari..

 

But then they showed up for tom yum goong and I realized that I was hallucinating-time to leave.

 

[UTH001]

On 3/25/2019 at 11:27 PM, Sydebolle said:

Stay off the family compound and keep a healthy distance for <70 kilometres; in your case close to Sakhon Nakorn or the nearest airport. While the family is still within acceptable reach you are closer to medical facilities, "semi-"urban life, shopping facilities and an airport. 

I did that with Nong Khai, family 100kms away, one hour to Udon (airport/shopping) and 30 minutes to Vientiane/Laos for many things which are not available in neither Nong Khai nor Udon. 

Dentist, medicals and authorities in Bangkok - 50 minutes flight at below 1'500 Baht return - go figure.......... 

Quite interested to hear what you find in Laos that is not available in NongKhai or Udon. Cannot think of anything, except Beer Lao and cheap cigarettes, maybe?

[Sydebolle]

1 hour ago, UTH001 said:

Quite interested to hear what you find in Laos that is not available in NongKhai or Udon. Cannot think of anything, except Beer Lao and cheap cigarettes, maybe?

Well, to start with - large variety of excellent bakeries and coffee shops, Indian, Greek and Turkish restaurants next to excellent Italian ristoranti and the seasoned places offering French fare. The selection of wine and considerably cheaper access (40% - 50% of Thai prices) invite the seasoned traveller like me to enjoy the pleasure of the (communist) capital. 

To cross just for a meal or a lunch is questionable for those requiring a visa, but not all (incl. me) require visas - which explains why I like to hop over the Friendship Bridge on one or two monthly occasions. 

[expat1010]

I have been in small town Issan for coming on 6 months now. Was in BKK Rama 9 before. On the plus side minimal traffic, quieter, air generally better save when the fields are burning, food both farang and Thai is excellent, relaxed pace, friendly locals, no crowds and very inexpensive. On the other side of the coin, not a lot of entertainment ie movie houses, bowling, water slides, shows, beer bars, tourists etc and it is a long way to the beach.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Enki]

On 3/24/2019 at 3:17 AM, colinneil said:

Why post nonsense? Issan noisy, load of hogwash.

I am sitting here typing this and all i hear is the noise of the birds ( feathered ones).

Ohh my mistake a mc just went past, noisy exhaust.

Because, depending where you are, the roosters start at 2:00 in the night to make noise over kilometers of an area for 30 minutes or more. Then at 4:00 a random temple starts an early morning prayer with singing, because one died a day before. The dogs get agitated and again in a range of several km all dogs start wolf howling. Then 5:00/5:30 the roosters do it for real, and inferno is breaking out ... around 6:00 they stop. 

 

Then again you have another day and roosters and dogs do it 3 or 4 times during the night.

 

Then again you have another day and not only one temple is busy but four of them.

 

But no worries, I survive. My wife is a teacher, when she is at school, I drink two beer and sleep from 11:00 - 13:00/14:00 again ????

 

Last time I spent there 5 month ... I don't think I slept a single night.

 

The buffalo cow was calvin on the other side of the road ... no one on my property noticed. And: THAT WAS LOUD!!

[Enki]

On 3/24/2019 at 10:41 PM, bkkcanuck8 said:

You observations are your observations, but you generalizations to include everyone that you did not observe (Isan) is the same rationalization that leads to racism and prejudice.  Simply put, your statistical sample is small and not diverse enough to make any conclusions on the generalization you made.

He most likely lives after a lazy westerner clock. Gets out of bed at 9:00 ... sees lazy farmers relaxing or eating around 11:00, then he notes they go home or sit on the ground in the shadows and doze a bit till 14:00 or 15:00 and then again they are home again around 18:00. And during that time he took a few beer sat on his computer and basically did nothing really constructive.

So he simply missed that the Thai people around him got up between 5:00 and 5:30 in the morning and where in the temple or on the fields around 6:00 and when he first noticed them being "lazy" they already had worked half a day ...

 

Same story everywhere. Greek are considered lazy in Germany. Why? Super simple. During WWII Greece was occupied by German troops. There was a curfew, I think till 8:00, not sure. So when the German officers came around 9:00 to the placcas taking breakfast, slowly the placca filled with Greek, or was already partly occupied by them. (Placca, central place in the town, surrounded by shops and restaurants). So all the Greek were taking breakfast or coffee, too. And the Germans always wondered why the lazy bastards are not working ...

Simple: they ignored the curfew, and where out on the fields from 3:00 or 4:00 at night till shortly before 8:00 when the curfew ended. Of course only the stigma stuck ...

[Enki]

I guess you typoed and mean: Sakon Nakhon? Sakon Nakhon has 15 hospitals on google map. I guess most of them have a web site, are perhaps even on trip advisor and might have an english speaking email address. Worst case your Thai relatives can call ...

[Enki]

On 3/25/2019 at 1:10 PM, bkkcanuck8 said:

On 3/25/2019 at 12:42 PM, NanLaew said:

 

Podcasting can be video or without video

No. The term podcast implies it is voice only.

[bkkcanuck8]

3 hours ago, Enki said:

He most likely lives after a lazy westerner clock. Gets out of bed at 9:00 ... sees lazy farmers relaxing or eating around 11:00, then he notes they go home or sit on the ground in the shadows and doze a bit till 14:00 or 15:00 and then again they are home again around 18:00. And during that time he took a few beer sat on his computer and basically did nothing really constructive.

So he simply missed that the Thai people around him got up between 5:00 and 5:30 in the morning and where in the temple or on the fields around 6:00 and when he first noticed them being "lazy" they already had worked half a day ...

 

Same story everywhere. Greek are considered lazy in Germany. Why? Super simple. During WWII Greece was occupied by German troops. There was a curfew, I think till 8:00, not sure. So when the German officers came around 9:00 to the placcas taking breakfast, slowly the placca filled with Greek, or was already partly occupied by them. (Placca, central place in the town, surrounded by shops and restaurants). So all the Greek were taking breakfast or coffee, too. And the Germans always wondered why the lazy bastards are not working ...

Simple: they ignored the curfew, and where out on the fields from 3:00 or 4:00 at night till shortly before 8:00 when the curfew ended. Of course only the stigma stuck ...

I often go out early in the morning at 4:30am - and I see quite a lot of Thais already getting ready in things like Food services.  The work day tends to be longer and by the vary nature of being long tends to lead to longer rest periods in the middle. 

 

BTW, Podcasting tended to be a phenomenon started with Apple (i.e. the iPod - which started as sound and later introduced video).  Apple which serves a majority of podcasts refers to video as podcasts.   vlogging (IMHO) has a connotation of being fluff by people with very little substance.

[UTH001]

On 3/29/2019 at 11:20 AM, Enki said:

Because, depending where you are, the roosters start at 2:00 in the night to make noise over kilometers of an area for 30 minutes or more. Then at 4:00 a random temple starts an early morning prayer with singing, because one died a day before. The dogs get agitated and again in a range of several km all dogs start wolf howling. Then 5:00/5:30 the roosters do it for real, and inferno is breaking out ... around 6:00 they stop. 

 

Then again you have another day and roosters and dogs do it 3 or 4 times during the night.

 

Then again you have another day and not only one temple is busy but four of them.

 

But no worries, I survive. My wife is a teacher, when she is at school, I drink two beer and sleep from 11:00 - 13:00/14:00 again ????

 

Last time I spent there 5 month ... I don't think I slept a single night.

 

The buffalo cow was calvin on the other side of the road ... no one on my property noticed. And: THAT WAS LOUD!!

 

You forgot a few things, haha: Like at 6am, loud music everywhere (sometimes starting at 4am), i guess to wake up? Then, announcements over the village speaker system no later than 6,30am, if there is a festival at the local Wat (we have four nearby...), extremely loud music often until 6am during the weekends, to continue at 9am, and often from 7am (yes, I am awake by then...), the small trucks selling vegetables, complete with blarring messages and music. Yes, it is far more quiet in the center of Bangkok, I sleep well in Lumphini...