bbkings commented : [quote="ThaimanX10":3igu9qv0]I have to go along with Eric, with one exception and that is do use an international school to teach your child. All the other things like the turmoil in the government and such at the end of the day do not effect you to much. Most of the things are for the Thai People. I have been here now for over 18 years and am not going anywhere. My wife and I are quite happy here. When you speak of the alternative in your UK or England as you say, things there are really not much better from what I hear from by Brit friends who do not like the Scots being in charge, and I was just told by a friend of mine (I hope he was joking, but I'm not sure) that you can not celebrate Christmas there anymore for fear you may offend the Muslims there. [/quote:3igu9qv0] I agree. my kids go to international school and have a great perspective on life regardless of what is going on domestically. having friends from around the world is great for my kids and is something that they would not experience growing up in my country. so you have to take the good with the bad. make sure they are skilled in both Thai and English so they can make a choice where to live when they are older. chances are that with a good education they will have better job opportunities here in Thailand.

TheGreatGonzo commented : Being here a long time it is not surprising for the endemic corruption and the ability to fully speak your mind to bring you down. No doubt there is more corruption in Thaiand and less freedom of speech than the UK but let's put things in perspective a little bit: in which neighbouring countries are things better? Obviously not Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. Malaysia? only good if you are ethnic Malay, anyone else is second class citizen. Singapore? Politics there is something else. In fact in all of Asia in which country do you have less corruption and more freedom? Possibly only Japan am I right?

Eric commented : I don't think a child in his or her schooling years will be too interested in politics. Rather they will be more concern about their favourite pop star and finding their bff. Neither will he or she be too involved in corruption. I would therefore agree that schooling environment is very important and an international school is definitely a good idea. Most Asia schools study by route learning and very little of critical learning. A international school has that element.

triptrip commented : [quote="Ian":22hgpj5w]Whilst a strict interpretation of the law means that the farang is out on a limb, the good old Thai corrupt system has many ways of overcoming such details. Make friends with your local Amphur or District boss, introduce yourself in his office with a bottle of good whisky, say you would just like to say hello as a new farang in the neighbourhood. Do the same with the local police chief, make a regular donation to the police "tea fund", you will find they are very understanding [/quote:22hgpj5w] Ian, Are you going native? Recent posts from you certainly appears so. I guess at some point, each of us will feel rather than fight against the system, an easier option is to go with the flow. If the local people likes to play games, then playing game we shall.

thairunner commented : It seems that people in general do not understand that living in Thailand no matter what the circumstances are, is one of the great experiences in life. I visited here when I was 19 and was greatly impressed with the thai people, I am now 62 and have a beautiful thai wife and a 23 year old daughter and a 21 year old son by this marriage. I have not been made to feel as a stranger in this beautiful land. I do know that there are farangs who come to Thailand and who are rude and very condescending towards thai people, they think they are superior, but do not understand that they are really inferior to this loving people. Every country in the world has it's problems and it is a shame that some farangs bring their problems here to Thailand with them.

taysahai commented : [quote="Eggmeng":2aqgtzgx]It is facile in the extreme to say that Constantine Faulken was executed simply because he was a foreigner. He had come to play a key role in a Thai K**gdom that was complicitous in terrible European exploitation of that part of Siam, and he grew immensely rich and powerful in the process. The guy was very far from a saint. You can read the whole fascinating story in Maurice Collis' book "Siamese White." [/quote:2aqgtzgx] I have never read this, and do not research thai history in english, although I did check wikipedia for a reference about Yeragi Constantine's (Falcon,Phaulkon) "complicitous role in european exploitation" of Thailand. It is an interesting angle, but I would like to point out that K---G Narai granted Falcon the title of Chao Praya Wichayen, and lesser titles, and to attack Falcon's integrity is directly insulting character of K--G Narai. Falcon's death is not the moral of the story, only part of it. ref. Sub Lt. Royal Navy Pin Suwan (Ensign)

stilljustbrowsing commented : [quote="thairunner":zcm6iu50]It seems that people in general do not understand that living in Thailand no matter what the circumstances are, is one of the great experiences in life. I visited here when I was 19 and was greatly impressed with the thai people, I am now 62 and have a beautiful thai wife and a 23 year old daughter and a 21 year old son by this marriage. I have not been made to feel as a stranger in this beautiful land. I do know that there are farangs who come to Thailand and who are rude and very condescending towards thai people, they think they are superior, but do not understand that they are really inferior to this loving people. Every country in the world has it's problems and it is a shame that some farangs bring their problems here to Thailand with them. [/quote:zcm6iu50] The sooner the words superior and inferior are thrown in the bin, the better. Nobody is superior to me, nor am I superior to anyone else. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, it is about time this reality was used to help each other rather than trying to claim the upper hand by calling others inferior.