Bama and SEC fans in Bangkok?

quote:

---

He retired to Bangkok 3 years ago but has struggled to find other expats to hand out with.


Then why the hell did he retire there?

Oh wait, I think I know the answer.

---

He was tired of the rat race where he was living in the U.S....high cost of living, etc, etc. He was miserable. He visited Thailand with his son, liked it, and made up his mind to move. He enjoys a much higher standard of living for much less money. Rents a fully furnished, beautiful condo for maybe $700 a month, and lives very well without having to pay for a vehicle. Eats very well for a fraction of the cost in the US. Since he moved there, he has not only traveled all over Thailand, but also Japan, China, Vietnam, and one family trip to Eastern Europe. Anyone who has visited there knows that you can live like a king, with a very nice lifestyle, for not a lot of money. But creating a social life with other expats has been a challenge for him. When he posts something in expat Facebook groups, he just gets snide, anti-American comments from Aussies, Kiwis, and Brits.

When I lived in Bangladesh several years ao, my family and I would do a couple of trips to Thailand each year, so I was already very familiar with it. In the weeks leading up to his move, he started to get cold feet. I told him two things...1, if he doesn't do it, he will always wonder what life might have been like and he will continue to be unhappy, and 2. if he doesn't like it, he can always come home.

I get why he struggles to meet friends. Lots of the expats are Aussies, Kiwis, and Brits who were already bitter when they arrived, and who have a dim view of America and Americans. And, as with many places where expat Americans retire to...Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama...they get there expecting paradise and when things don't go well, they become disenchanted. He has been pretty happy there, but other expats he meets in bars or wherever fall into that other category.

If it was me, I would start by finding a couple of nice sports bars that show NFL & NCAA football, MLB baseball, and hang out there some. I'd join a golf club...but he isn't a golfer. I'd volunteer at the US State Department-sponsored International School of Bangkok. But that's just me. It would be easier for me, because I'm in my 19th year of living as an expat abroad. He never had lived abroad.