[trettegeani]

frightened_farang, neo_universe, my advice? Keep visualising your dream house, it eventually comes true, I promise.

delawang, love the way you said this:

Quote[/b] ]Thai people believe in interdependence for security.

A society's wealth is in the quality of its people. Thailand may not have material wealth compared to "developed" nations, but I think it is rich in many other ways.

[Gcromqgb]

Soon's like there might be a few plumbing jobs coming up in Thailand in the future. I had better not get rid of all my trade tools yet...

Been out of the trade now for a few years but have been working on the tools for the last few months while I complete some study and catch up with the relo's back here in NZ

[Nothatspecial]

i posted a response here in error because i was tired and wasn't paying attention. hahahahaha

[Nothatspecial]

Quote[/b] (delawang @ Sep. 23 2004,09:46)]Anyone here ever see a boon gert bahn? That is the ceramony you do when your house is finished.

But, as long as I'm here, yes, I have seen that ceremony up close. It was done shortly after my wife and I finished building our house.
Good way to meet all your neighbors.

[Nothatspecial]

I think Thais are generous towards those that are less fortunate as evidenced by all the collection kiosks in stores and malls.
Also, there is the article about the man who gave his winnings from a game show to an orphanage.
The king and queen are very benevolent giving away millions of baht a year and spending their own money on projects to make life better for their subjects.
My wife helps out her family from time to time which doesn't bother me at all because one of the reasons I married a Thai is they're more family oriented than people in the west.

[Chooriwrocaey]

Quote[/b] ]I'm guessing your friend does not live in San Francisco

...or Miami. That much wouldn't get you much more than a two bedroom condominium down here. It is pretty sad

My wife and I have discussed what kind of house we want to build in Thailand. We have settled on 1 million baht. This will give us a nice two bedroom place with a reasonably large sitting room, an outdoor kitchen (believe me this is a good thing), and an indoor toilet (western style) and shower. We will also have a traditional outdoor toilet (Thai style) and shower. When we discuss larger houses, we arrive at the following conclusion:

1. Farang build bigger houses in Thailand to impress people

2. Nobody is impressed

3. There would just be more house to clean

4. We don't really need the extra space

5. The money would be better spent elsewhere

6. Other people would think we are made of money, and think we are greedy if we are not comparably generous/helpful

7. All-in-all it would be nothing but a big headache

[Loovikeillilen]

frightened farang, we're in the same boat, i'm also 20 and already been dreaming the last 2 yrs of the house i want to build/buy there

[Crilosajsamq]

We should just do a real estate topic. lol

No I never really lived there or stayed long enough to take notice of the homes. I mean we looked at the houses, but never considered their ages I guess. But now that you mention it, it seems that way with them in the States as well.

[Mappaindy]

Quote[/b] ]In most people, the membrane surrounding the brain is semi-permeable...in most people that is

That is if these people had a brain to begin with....

[ulw7A8Po]

Very well worded Vision!

Sabai it would certainly entertain them!! 55555

[Crilosajsamq]

I think so too the USA has the worst set of responsibility level than any other place I have seen or studied.

You mention how personal acheivement does not mean much to a Thai whereas to a Westerner it means the world. I think it is true to an extent. Acheivements of a MA, BA High School, Retirement account and PhD mean nothing to the Thai. But to the person who has the honor, the family is still quite proud and enjoy their respective bragging rights. Ya know I mean it is not considered worthless. But the and personality must go along with it to gain respect from their peers.

LOL No the house is in Ohio. If it were in San Fran surely it would be $800,000 easily. I didn't mean exactly that he has changed either. Just the house is special to him, but does not seem to even phase his peers.

[Chooriwrocaey]

My Thai wife never had much in the way of wealth and personal possessions, but she values sharing whatever good fortune comes her way. I have seen her buy things from poor old women vendors, not because she needed the item, but because she knew the person needed to sell something to survive. Whenever we go to Thailand, she spends much time thinking about who she will buy things for.

I once heard a story about a man who started working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in the Southwestern United States. He was being driven across the reservation by one of the local tribal elders. When they passed a nice house with a new car parked in front, the young BIA man was impressed. There were mostly mud hogans and small shacks on the reservation and he was surprised to see such a nice home and car. He remarked to his Indian driver, "That house and car must belong to someone really important in your tribe." The driver responded, "Who, that worthless so-and-so?" The BIA man was taken quite by surprise and asked, "What do you mean by that? He appears to have considerable wealth." "He never let's anyone else use the car and he lives in that big house alone. What good is he to anyone?"

[Crilosajsamq]

I am aware too of the rising costs, I have heard that plumbing materials have risen sharply, as well as flooring materials in Thailand. But I think you could still have a fairly Westernized home for 15-20k in Thailand. As with San Fran and Miami, you probably could not have a home like this in BKK for that price, but generally throughout the country it does not seem to be too difficult to manage such a task.

I intend to rent the first few years we are there, hopefully that will give plenty of time to find the right places for the materials, so I can not say that I currently know what to do, but I am dying of curiosity.

I am coming in December '05 can we move in too? 55555

[Crilosajsamq]

No I have not. Please describe the events or is it the same party we all have when we buy a new house? Everyone you know brings you a 12 pack and everyone stays for 20 hours untill the beer is gone?

[BenBoobmers]

I notice the middle class live very comfortable in Thailand, having servants to cook clean and garden at home. The percentage of people who have servants in Australia would be much lower. My self even though I have a contractor come in and do my gardens and lawns once every 2 weeks, I eat out, or buy a take away most nights, I still clean my own house, wash and Ion my clothes. People are not accustomed in Australia to have servants as there is not as much disparity between rich and poor in the general society. Thailand has many very poor, with a reasonable size upper middle class that can afford this cheap labor. Having been born into a very poor family my self, I have lives on both sides of the fence, and have come to a conclusion, If you have never owned an executive jet, you will never miss not having one, so living poor can be a very pleasant experience, but once you have lived rich, it is very sole destroying to revert back to poverty again. The biggest fear for a rich person is to lose there money, and that's why, that man with the big house, in that poor village, is so unpopular, as he is always afraid of losing what he has, and is not willing to share what he has, as no one understands his fear. I feel sorry for that man in the big house, as no one is willing to understand his point of view, they just think I'm poor, I can't stand him because he is rich. Jealousy is a curse, I never minded being poor and why is every poor person out to persecute the rich.

[Chooriwrocaey]

In most people, the membrane surrounding the brain is semi-permeable...in most people that is

[TimoDass]

I can only hope, at this point at least, that one day I will be able to buy or build a house in Thailand. This is a long ways off, being that I'm only 20 and not exactly rich. I'm guessing it would be cheaper to buy a used place?

[shieclulaweew]

Quote[/b] ]but you know what the Thai opinion is? They all say so what! No big deal, yes it is bigger but you need to work 3 jobs to pay for it.

Yes, that's familiar! I once asked a dear friend of mine whether she'd like to live in a large house like the one we've seen the model of. She said, while the house looks nice, she prefers a smaller one that is more personal. She said, she wants to be able to clean it, take care of it, so living in it will make her happier. I really liked her explanation. It made me think in a new direction.

While this contradicts what Paul said about middle-class Thais having housemaids, I have to say that I also see examples that support his statement. Take this tiny, two-room apartment for example. The family has a maid for cleaning it, and another who takes care of the laundry. The head of the household is working 10-12 hours every day though.

In the US, a family friend of ours, who is the wife of a successful lawyer and director of a well-known funeral home, well.. they have a huge house, and one cleaning lady to take care of all.

Quote[/b] ]Ya know I mean it is not considered worthless. But the and personality must go along with it to gain respect from their peers.

Stacker, I agree with you! (sorry for the disappointment ). The same friend of mine is getting her PhD in January, and her family is very very proud of her. However, outsiders don't make a big deal about it, AFAIK. Generally, they are more concerned about one's personality first, the other stuff are the "icing on the cake".

Quote[/b] ]I think so too the USA has the worst set of responsibility level than any other place I have seen or studied.

Heck, yeah! After going across the globe living in three continents, I must declare Americans as the true champions of irresponsiblity. They turned it into an art form!

[ulw7A8Po]

I liked that vision

My wife is the same exactly. We have our months when we barely can pay our bills, I am not rich. Yet she regularly send hundreds of dollars to her entire family back home. Our neighbor's mother-in law is a 70 year old crazy (really) Thai lady, who refuses to file the paperwork for the welfare benefits she deserves. That woman will knock on our door, with her son in law's pork outta his freezer and 'sell it' to my wife for $1.00 each package. She uses the money to buy her grandson tamarind, and some chaw for herself. She likes to chew and spit all day long

We always buy her fresh slaughtered pork. But when she goes to the store give it back to our neighbor so he can put it back into the freezer. But the point is... It is about giving, whether we have anything to give or not she still will give.

[Chooriwrocaey]

Sabai-

I think it would be a nice thing to print and share these thoughts. It is always a good learning experience to see how other people view the world. One must always be willing to acknowledge that there are people in this world who do not think and believe as we do.

If we think only about money and weave that into our self-image, we will likely become jai dam (black hearted). If one focuses on working hard and trying not to complain too much, he/she will always have enough to eat. If one shares his/her good fortune with others in need, he/she will always be well-regarded. If one can be such a person, even rich men will be jealous of what he/she has.