Out of Asia. I'm Done. (A ramble)

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offroadscholar
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Re: Out of Asia. I'm Done. (A ramble)

Post by offroadscholar »

23 years full time in Asia for me.
As one gets older I think its a natural progression for many to appreciate the civility and order of back home.
Rule of law and having rights as a citizen can be a nice change.
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Kammekor
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Re: Out of Asia. I'm Done. (A ramble)

Post by Kammekor »

Cruisemonkey wrote: Wed Oct 24, 2018 10:13 am Kung-fu Hillbilly,

Let us know if you experience any reverse culture shock.
I just thought about that when I read this:
kiwiincambodia wrote: Wed Oct 24, 2018 9:05 am Great post.

I’ve recently made the jump myself. After being in Asia for the best part of the last 17 years and growing up there Ive had enough as well.

I came back to NZ and am surprised with how much more I am enjoying life and the simplicity of everything, for example, It’s nice to be able to ask a question and get a straight answer. I used to complain about the strictness of the west but can honestly say this hasn’t effected my day to day life at all (so far). To be honest I haven’t even found it that much more expensive. Sure prices are higher but so is the quality, so you pay for what you get.

I still miss certain aspects of Asia and don’t know how long my current stint in Nz will last but I can say at the moment it was the best decision I made to come back and don’t regret it at all.
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Re: Out of Asia. I'm Done. (A ramble)

Post by phuketrichard »

sklmeera wrote: Wed Oct 24, 2018 8:15 am This is pretty common I guess . After 25 years roughing it in Asia I also find the order and normality of the UK very appealing . You are just lucky that you have the option of getting out to somewhere decent .
haahahah,, after 34 + years living in Asia, ( except for 14 months back in 98/99 when i lived in Ca) and currently vacationing in the states, ( first trip back in 6 years), there is NO WAY i'd ever consider moving here to live

To each their own :beer3:
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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Re: Out of Asia. I'm Done. (A ramble)

Post by ralphamsterdam »

Great post. My dream to live in SE Asia is after 25 Years vanished. Now I am pleased with 2 or 3 months holiday in wintertime and live the rest of the time in the Netherlands.


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Carpe diem
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hanno
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Re: Out of Asia. I'm Done. (A ramble)

Post by hanno »

I have recently began to question my choice of moving to Asia 23 years ago but I guess I am stuck here as I have nowhere else to go.
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timmydownawell
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Re: Out of Asia. I'm Done. (A ramble)

Post by timmydownawell »

Best of luck, Kung-fu Hillbilly. If I were to leave Asia I'd like to try Colombia.
You must walk in traffic to cross the road - Cambodian proverb
Pizzalover
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Re: Out of Asia. I'm Done. (A ramble)

Post by Pizzalover »

I m in the same boat. Also 17+ years and now making a change. 2 extended visits per year in SEA but that's it for the time being.

Last month, walking down a side street in PP - on the sidewalk - I got hit by a motorbike from behind. The sidewalk was partly blocked and i was walking pass the merchandise (on the sidewalk), no need for the bastard to stop. Hit my left arm and he almost tasted my right fist. Luckily I got my/the reflex under control.

For me the change had been planned for some time but then all came different. Political changes in one location meant that I was removed from the blacklist I had been on for the past 25 or so years. Now, I was offered a visa and a job. Actually they urged me to come. I will be doing what I am anyhow doing plus a lot of travel around Europe. The university ladies still have to learn that I got a long term contract and that I m not just visiting. So there is room for improvement. Corruption or harassment by staff are no issue for me. I work directly for a top administrator and no dean etc. can touch me. If they have an issue they need to come to me after obtaining an appointment. And there is a cheap health insurance coming with my contract cutting expenses. The chain of expat deaths in Cambo that were not drug related is scary. I dont want to die of a condition that can be easily dealt with. Reading some report at another place about a 450 USD health checkup, I thought it wise to do a malaria, amoeba test etc. for less than 5% of the Cambodian hospital's charge. I m now thinking of some other test as the ladies at the place deserve another visit, maybe on a daily basis.

On the other side, I m not sure how to survive without Pho Bo and what I could get in Prague was a bad joke. Those cooks belong in a Vietnamese reeducation camp. The local Indian cooks deserve instant cremation after a good beating. Luckily there are tons of Indian students and they have a canteen for themselves. Right now I sneak around that place like a hungry cat 2-3 times a week. Nice to sit down, discuss various kinds of dal etc. This way I learn a bit more about Kashmiri and Punjabi food. For SEA diet - I m doing the dumplings myself, bring my rice from Thailand or Cambodia as I do with a lot of other things. Never less than 40kgs and the gold card comes in handy. I should add that those Indian girls make my senses and mind shake. If they could read my mind.... Then there are those Iranian ladies no need for the many Russian girls here. All with university background and good English.

I do get fresh high-quality bread every day at a tiny fraction of what I paid for junk in PP. To my great satisfaction I got a local baker to accept orders for fruit cakes, stuff you wont get in a 5* place in SEA (ok, maybe some BKK places). The cheese, milk, fruit etc comes from the farmer. So life is good on that side. Rent is cheaper than PP, 250 USD for a large place. Public transport 10-20 cent US per ride (fuck the tuktuks). Long distance vans and buses comparable with SEA. Budget flights 110-130 USD one way (3-5 hrs) = same same SEA. Airport transfers cost me between 80 cent and 2.60 USD depending on the time of day (early mornings I cant do it by shuttle all the way).

The expat scene is small. Lots of US citizens who have 'their' coffee shops were the local staff even speaks with an American accent. These places try hard to look like US campus starfucks and they do charge similar prices. I prefer some local coffee houses and cafes - less plastic culture.

The change also means that I am likely to travel more in SEA than in the past few years. Visiting friends, exploring some more locations like Indonesia and spending again some time in Phils in that harbor town with the fish trawlers and those dance clubs.

Due to my work (freelance) I traveled 2-3 times a year to Europe and maybe once to the US with losing interest in the latter place. This way I kept in touch with developments and also prices as I supplied myself with stuff I could not get in PP (like decent olive oil) or only at a crazy price. Another factor was the drop in the Euro 2-3 years ago which meant that the USD gained some 20%. A closer look at some tax regimes showed that some countries are not bad at all. My overall budget looks nice. Slightly increased living expenses but I have some moderate extra income so that I m doing even better than in PP.

For those considering a part time change and doing this without a formal work arrangement: Try Georgia during the European summer. Free 1 year visa, no taxation of your off-shore income, great cuisine, great nature, civilized place. They have budget flights via Russia and the Gulf. Some of the women in Tbilisi are a serious health hazard as you risk your life passing them on the street. Almost got run over by a car when my neck was turned in some other direction.

So there is a life outside SEA and in particular outside Cambodia. Given the Chinese invasion (my PP quarter is slowly turning mainland Chinese) and the general trend, be it traffic, pollution, noise, shitty health system and the beloved one party system - I trust everybody should have a couple of alternatives in the back of his /her mind. Right now I m pretty confident that I wont go offline at 57 or 58 which is a real statistical probability in PP.
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Beerinthemorning
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Re: Out of Asia. I'm Done. (A ramble)

Post by Beerinthemorning »

Australia is a former penal colony
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Re: Out of Asia. I'm Done. (A ramble)

Post by sklmeera »

ralphamsterdam wrote: Wed Oct 24, 2018 12:57 pm Great post. My dream to live in SE Asia is after 25 Years vanished. Now I am pleased with 2 or 3 months holiday in wintertime and live the rest of the time in the Netherlands.


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Count your blessings . I passed through Amsterdam last year after 20 odd years away in SE Asia and just after some time in India . Was just blown away at how modern and cool old Amsterdam was .
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Re: Out of Asia. I'm Done. (A ramble)

Post by simon43 »

I've lived in south-east Asia for the past 16 years. Mostly in Thailand, (and mostly unhappy times). One year in Luang Prabang (happy times) and about 5 years in Myanmar (happy times).

I'm due back in Thailand next week, and I still can't decide whether to settle in Thailand again or to return to Myanmar. My dick says Thailand (ease of accessible women), but my heart says Myanmar (because the people and countryside are all lovely).

I'm concerned that prices in Thailand are rapidly closing on a European cost of living, and I'm also concerned about potential visa chnages in the future. I'm 12 months away from applying for PR in Myanmar, with a renewable 5-year visa on offer.

Decisions, decisions...
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