Thailand in the top 10 and the U.S. 297th? Are you serious? lol
Standards, bro, standards. You ain't got 'em.
Yeah ok, Top 10 for expats coming in with their big USDs/EURs/CADs maybe, certainly not for Thai people.
You really have no clue at all. I don't know why I keep answering this thread... I bet you imagine that most thais live in thatched huts and save up all year for a nice steak meal that Americans wouldn't eat? LOLOLOL...
The city of Bangkok is far and away more sophisticated, advanced and awesome than any US city. The Malls there are ten times the size of our malls here, and I can buy hundreds of REALLY GREAT products there that I can't get here in the US at all. -Not even shipped in.
Worse, my diet here in the USA is killing me, because there are ZERO restaurants in my entire state that don't put huge amounts of Salt and Grease in their entire menus... Oddly the same foods can't even be found in places like Bangkok, and most of the world for that matter, I bet in Lebanon they have more healthy food than they do in the US, don't try and deny it.
Sure, there is a class of people that aren't getting every last opportunity there, but they don't call Thailand the Land of Smiles for nothing... Average Thais are genuinely happy there and for those that are born low but aspire for better things; the internet provides anyone there with money online just like it does here. They even have Thai Adsense!
If you think so then you're obviously not turning on the news here. -Of course that can be a very good thing, too, since they mainly serve as a national indoctrination device for the government anyway. (Oh, maybe you are then. My bad.)
There are laws (although not always fair) that protect everyone. A police officer can't walk up to you and say: give me all your monies or I'll make your life a living hell. In 3rd world countries, that's what happens all the time. You never know what to expect, shit coming in from all corners.
I'm not a fan of those countries. I'm sure they exist but I'm sure if you're rich, those countries would be very nice to live in too.
Here at least you know what to expect: high taxes, lots of paperwork, internet laws, etc., but that's all workable. It doesn't stop you from running a successful biz and banking hard.
Neither would many better countries than the USA. Thaliand, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc... They are the very best business incubators. We haven't even been a good one for 20 years or so...
Then we can take our monies and fuck off to Thailand or Costa Rica and live the high life while the locals are eating dry white rice right? This is NOT possible (or very difficult to achieve) for someone born in a 3rd world country.
I'm not advocating every country out there... Mainly I'm just saying that the USA is rapidly losing it's first-world status... Ever since our GDP got smaller than the interest on our national debt investors have been pulling out of this country as if we got the smallpox... Now the BRICS are even making agreements to not trade in USD anymore, so we're sure to lose our coveted status of the world reserve currency soon, which means hyperinflation is nearly upon us... All of this while taxes rise and freedoms rapidly dwindle.
50 years ago I wouldn't have been so down on the USA at all. I could have taken pride in the space race thing or many of the great acheivements this shithole once produced... But those glory days are long, long gone.
You've arrived too late.
There are SO many successful immigrants in the U.S., that weren't able to do shit in their home countries even though they spent a larger portion of their lives there. How do you explain that?
I explain it by using a calendar. This isn't 1950 anymore.
The truth is, if you guys just made more money than all of a sudden all the "problems" in the US pretty much disappear. I live in San Diego, I have guns, I have everything I want, the government doesn't fuck with me, and I have all the freedom I need. I couldn't be happier. The shitty government we have doesn't really affect me or bother me one bit.
You have been isolated so far. SD is a really cushy part of this nation, I too see the appeal.
However I didn't enjoy my time there nor was I able to afford the high quality of life there that I achieved in Bangkok for far less...
Anyway, as previously stated, you're in for a shock when the cushiness of SD is worn away by hyperinflation and the growing police state. No mansion in this country can save you from what we're sure to see here in our lifetimes if Paul isn't elected POTUS.
I seriously challenge you to name ONE WAY I would benefit from moving away from the paradise I live in now.
Alrighty, here are three, off the top of my head:
1. Diet. The FDA guidelines here are not your friend. Even if you enjoy average salt and grease intakes that most countries would and have banned nationally, there are many things you HAVE TO eat here in the USA that are cancerous or hurt you in other ways. Viva la crony capitalism!
2. Product Availability. Every try to buy a REALLY good product of any kind? From healthcare products to skin creams to cars to suits to jewelry, etc... If you've traveled a lot, you'll learn that almost all REALLY good products aren't made here, and most of those aren't even SOLD here! We get the chinese leftover shit while people in Tokyo, Hong Kong or Bangkok get the stuff that we can only dream about, made in places like Switzerland, Germany or Paris. It's like freaking Cuba in here... Yet there is enough variety that you just don't know what you're missing if you haven't travelled and seen it first hand.
3. Freedom. We've been over this a lot, but in general the actual level freedom you experience in the USA is laughed at by most countries. Even peons in the Amazon can have far more freedom than you do here, and wouldn't trade lives with you in cushy San Diego for all the money in Brazil. Perhaps your cage is too gilded for you to see that. It'll be a sad day for you indeed to learn that the gilding is just gold
plated.
C'mon you guys, this is silly - just admit that you can't afford to live the way you want here in the US, and that's why you want to move to some other country that's cheaper.
No, it's not POSSIBLE to live the way we want in the US. Travel Moar and see for yourself.
Lukep, for the 1000th time, YOUR big problem is that you think MFA farms are long-term solid businesses lol
I bet even you have figured out by now that I'm not exactly hurting for teh monies. Lol all you want at my content farms, the money just keeps rolling in, no matter which country I'm in, how long it's been since I've logged on, or even if it's a panda or a penguin in the news this week.
Lukep if you really believe that why don't you renounce your U.S. citizenship and get a Thai one?
God you sound stupid... When are you going to learn not to open your mouth??
1. The US doesn't even let you stop paying taxes for 10 years after you pay a big tax to renounce your US citizenship.
2. Thailand isn't taking new citizens. Not even if you marry in like I did.
These are both very common themes both online in the expat community and here in WF STS... Try lurking more before making such newbie mistakes.
Open a Thai bank account and bank in Baht while you're at it. See how that works out for ya.
Oh, I got one of those. So far, I'm up a few whole percent against the pathetic USD, thanks. :thumbsup:
Actually, the average American pays less than 25% in Federal taxes. 49% of Americans pay ZERO tax.
LOL; call them "federal taxes" all you want, but until you add the word "income" to that sentence, you are misleading yourself into thinking that we're
not being taxed more than most nations on this planet once you include all of the other forms of taxes we pay.
Just
dying around here will get you taxed so heavily that a lot of EU expats won't consider living here at all!
...And don't get me started on proof...
Eduardo Saverin is a classic example of what is happening to this country because of our high tax rates and Buffet's big mouth. We tell all of our innovators and job makers to GTFO, leaving ppl like you stuck with the high taxes and high unemployment in your communities... And you still let socialists like Obomba get elected anyway!
That's fine bro, but that's not what lukep and his gang are all about. They are all moving to Thailand because they claim the US government is taking away all their freedoms and too much of their money.
Don't forget about the better quality of life elsewhere, too! That shit's pretty important.
And its quite simple, if you don't like where you live, instead of bitching about how bad it is - MOVE. Which is what I did. 
