Stickman Readers' Submissions December 23rd, 2010

The Dream Is Becoming A Nightmare For Many

The Bangkok Post has just posted an article indicating "Thailand's economy for 2010 has the potential to grow more than 8% cent year-on-year if exports continue to perform well this month". Yes the Thai economy is growing. However foreign
currencies, in particular the Euro and USD, are at the same time weakening against the Baht. I have said for some time now that Thailand will not be a cheap place to retire to in the near future. When I say near future I think we are talking within
10 – 15 years time. For many people in their late 30's and 40's who have not secured a decent income stream their retirement years could be a true nightmare.

Many could be in the position of not only having insufficient income to live in Thailand but being unable to move back to their original homelands because property prices and the cost of living in those countries left them behind many years
ago. I think a lot of people are totally asleep to the fact that consumerism has hit Thailand and the Thais are expecting and will be getting a slice of the action. With it will come increases in wages and increases in costs. We now laugh at the
fact that you can no longer find a girl for 500 THB a night and many of the attractive girls are now commanding anywhere from 2,000 THB to 5,000 THB a night. Watch as this changes in the next five years. Short times will be 5,000THB for an hour
and the overnight stays will be prohibitively expensive. Not unlike most European or Western countries where it is not the norm to have a girl overnight unless you have serious cash. This will be the new Thailand. Are you prepared for it?

He Clinic Bangkok

Along with it, girls are also going to increase their demands. The Thai girls are already exhibiting many of the Western girl traits and this is going to continue. I have recently created two profiles on a well known Thai dating site. One
my normal profile (mid 30's – average looking) but working in Thailand as an expat (untrue). Another an older man in his 50's who I got from Facebook (poor guy hope he doesn't mind) average looking, a little podgy but not obese
(average these days) and indicating that he is looking for a partner to enjoy life and spend time with (a normal guy). Well 10 years ago the 50-year old would have got more responses than the 30-year old. Not now. Thai girls want the young expat
with sufficient funds to keep them in a comfortable lifestyle. They aim for the hi-so life and the consumer goods that come with it. The 50-year old stable man who might be a good provider just doesn't have the same attraction anymore. Can
we see something similar that happened to Western society 30 years ago happening in Thailand now. Give it another 10-15 years and the old sexpat will be derided. Sure the bars and clubs will still be around but the prices will be increased to
reflect people who have the cash to pay. As the economy improves so will jobs and people will move out of the bars into other work. This always happens as an economy improves and "normal" work pays less but not so disproportionately
less than prostitution. This will reduce supply and demand will increase as more Russians and Indians and Chinese with wealth enter the shores. It's happening already.

The internet has created a demand for many to have the Western lifestyle. Unfortunately we all know how it ends. It ends with woman asserting greater rights until those rights are better than a mans. It means bleeding the man dry until he
has nothing left and then leaving him for someone else. It means finding a man who has cash to fund their lifestyle. It means expensive dinners, new phones, new IPads, new cars, better apartments, more clothes. Thailand is going down the same
path many of the Western countries have gone down before. It will end the same but unfortunately greed and the desire for more and more will make it inevitable.

I don't know the reasons for Stick having considered leaving Thailand but I think his timing is wise. The land that he entered all those years ago is no longer the same land and in another 10 years it will be totally unrecognisable.
It will not be a cheap place to live. It will be expensive and the problems that exist in London, Sydney, New York and so many other developed nations will merely spread like a cancer into the city of Bangkok and ultimately into it's surrounding
regions. For those in there 60's already you will probably pass this world before Thailand changes so much it is not the same country you moved to for a peaceful and comfortable retirement. However for those in their 40's and 50's
that 20,000 Euro income stream will not be buying the same things it does today. And if you don't plan for it then be in for a rude surprise.

CBD bangkok

So for the old monger who was hoping to live out their life in Thailand with cheap housing, cheap food and cheap woman. Guess what your dream is about to become a nightmare. You've been warned. Prepare for it.



Stickman's
thoughts:

I agree with most of what you say, in fact I have been saying these things for a while.

Thailand, or rather Bangkok (and Phuket), started getting expensive about 5 years ago if you sought a Western lifestyle. More recently, with inflation, huge increases in commercial rent, oil and other commodities soaring in price and of course the Thai baht strengthening in value then it was inevitable that prices would increase massively.

The cost of female company increasing seems to be more complicated, a mix of guys throwing silly money at them and huge demand for the prettiest girls.

As far as older guys meeting younger girls on dating sites and outside the whoring industry, I don't remain convinced. I have a lot of friends in their 50s who date university graduates in their early 20s. And these guys are neither good looking nor rich. There may have been some change there – and for sure there will be more to come – but I haven't noticed huge change yet.

nana plaza