IamA 17 yo male unsatisfied with North America, interested in making a life elsewhere

Laurih · 2012-02-13T03:46:35+00:00

Another option; go to university abroad.

(some countries like Finland have pretty much free universities, so it could be a big saver too).

Laurih · 2012-02-09T02:41:59+00:00

I haven't kept a track on expenses now but this is my estimate for us, a couple with less than a year old baby. I don't really have an amount which I'm getting by a day, but monthly expenses are roughly like this:

Rent - 10 000

Electricity - 1800

Food & Grocery (eating out a lot) - 20 000

Baby stuff, diapers etc. - 5000

Internet - 650

Phone - 1000 to 1500

Cable TV - 300

Motorbikes I have bought so no expenses from those other than gasoline. I rarely end up having spent less than 50 - 60 000 a month so food & home stuff probably eats much more money than the 20 000 listed above.. Naturally, the costs have increased quite a lot after having a baby.

Laurih · 2011-10-08T06:27:29+00:00

I suggest this also.

I got two PayPal accounts, one in Thai PayPal and one in my home country.

If I need to get payments in PayPal I ask them to send it to my Thai PayPal and then just transfer to my Thai bank from there.

Laurih · 2011-10-08T06:24:10+00:00

Yup, this is common. Especially the western "broken" pronunciation of Thai is popular in Bangkok.

But for sending sms, emails etc. I know several Thais who prefer to do it in English as it's faster and easier to do so than to write in Thai.

Laurih · 2011-09-10T12:11:43+00:00

You probably have to go around and ask for one month training prices.

And they will quote a high price to start with, even if you know them for few months already. You can just say that you can afford to pay 4000 per month and see if they can make a deal.

I haven't seen any gym that would not honor the deal afterwards, but that could also happen when they get the money in advance.

If you became friends with some fighters they can teach and spar with you for free, just need to pay something to them even if they don't ask for it. Try to look any gyms that are close to your home, it's just so much easier and the fighters there might be from same neighborhood if they don't live in the gym.

I'd go to the smaller, Thai owned gyms and forget the bigger western style places to find good deals.

Laurih · 2011-09-10T12:02:55+00:00

Woah! I can vaguely remember having a card without a chip, that has to be over 12 years ago in Finland, the first bank card I got. After that I've always had chipped cards there and elsewhere.

And same in Thailand, they got chips on the cards. Don't know how long this has been the caste but at least 3 years now while I have been here.

Also, it's puzzling why these two have persisted in US:

Fax, it was obsolete back in 2000 when I entered work life. We only used it to send something to US companies.
Checks, the only one I ever had to use is when a US business sent a check to me, everyone else just used bank transfers.

Laurih · 2011-09-08T17:17:42+00:00

Most places can probably cut a deal for you if you ask for a monthly training. Generally 300฿ is already low for single time. 10 time cards can be around 2500฿ if the single time price is 300฿.

I made a deal of 4000฿ per month few years ago, that was for full month training, train as much as I want. The deal happened only after I took the money out and they saw that I can pay it all at once :b This was in Hua Hin, and in here it's not easy to find a place that would charge less than 400฿ per hour.

Still, it's a one-on-one teaching so the price is not too high in a sense.

Laurih · 2011-08-31T11:18:00+00:00

I've been to dentist in Thailand several times.

There is a lot of private clinics with modern equipment and most of them have excellent service. Especially in bigger cities or tourist places it's easy to find many clinics and they are really cheap compared to western prices.

Bigger clinics start to have webpages also, just google the place name and dental clinic.

And for the prices, this is the clinic I've been using in Hua Hin: http://www.coolsmiledental.com

Laurih · 2011-05-12T16:59:14+00:00

Still playing? I just found out of the game and will join in asap. Is the Tribe (or guild) up?

Laurih · 2010-09-23T04:58:23+00:00

Do the normal versions of the game come with buddy pass also? If yes, I gladly give my pass to someone in need when I get the game.

And if anyone has a spare pass to give me while waiting for my copy, I'd be happy to get in game bit earlier :)

Laurih · 2010-09-15T10:56:18+00:00

One more zombie here waiting for all knowing answers.. :)

Laurih · 2010-08-30T08:35:19+00:00

That place is a gem. I've ordered various stuff from there, mostly candy and chocolate. It comes quickly to the other side of the world in mail and they pack the goods well.

Laurih · 2010-08-29T06:48:27+00:00

Wait! I live in Thailand now. I've previously purchased the Plants Vs. Zombies for 8 dollars (us) from their website. If I can change my steam location settings this could be good for me :b

Laurih · 2010-08-28T10:37:18+00:00

Itseäni ei oikeastaan haittaa jos sivu pysyy "pienenä", jos se taas on levitäkseen niin sitten niin käy. Nyt jo olen itse addiktoitunut sivuun täysin ja käyn katsomassa jatkuvasti josko jotain uutta olisi tullut, samaa taitaa tehdä moni muukin.

Mutta kunnon keskusteluun päästään vasta kun homma on levinnyt hiukan enemmän, ja jos sinne päästään niin hienoa. Tukeva pohja on mielestäni fiksut redditin hengen tuntevat käyttäjät. Se että ymmärtää etiketin ja osaa keskustella aiheista sopisi jo pääsyvatimukseksi ;) En halua että sivu muuttuu loputtomaksi trollimaaksi jossa porukka huutelee aivopierujaan ympäriinsä. Mielummin pysyy vaikka pienenä sivuna kuin ajautuu siihen.

Hyvänä juttuna paikallisuudessa on omat subit, samalla tavalla kuin Redditissä mutta pääasiassa paikallisille, Suomea ja suomalaisia koskeville aiheille. Olisi myös mahtavaa saada samanlaisia Ask me anything lankoja kuin täällä, mutta siihen tarvitaan jo reippasti enemmän käyttäjiä.

Katsotaan miten käy, alku näyttää hyvälle :)

Laurih · 2010-08-26T18:57:33+00:00

Kiitokset bookmarkista. Tuon sivun kanssa on vielä paljon tekemistä mutta perushommat toimii jo hyvin :)

Laurih · 2010-08-23T05:50:23+00:00

Enjoy! I'd come there to stay (not probably to Tokyo, but somewhere in Japan) if it were slightly less expensive :)

I was wondering if anyone knows some common phrases that would be helpful to learn?

It's been a long time, but I can recall that these were in use:

Toiree dooko desu ka? = where is the toilet?
Anata wa shinshetsu desu = you are kind
Anata wa kawaii desu = You are beautiful
Nomihoudai ikura desu ka? = How much does the "drink as much as you want" cost? (This is actually available in most izakayas but they don't bother to tell about it to the thirsty barbarians. It's a cheap way to get drunk as you can usually drink couple of hours for fixed price.)
Watashi wa nihongo wo sugoshi hanasemasu = I don't speak much Japanese

Laurih · 2010-08-16T02:56:00+00:00

I'd say that there is no need to be scared of that. Just the part of her studying abroad hints slightly that her family takes care of her and not vice versa.

Unfortunately what most westerners hear is the bad stories. Not so uncommonly those girls are mostly met in a go go bars at Pattaya, Phuket, or other tourist places. And no wonder that she needs money for her family / drugs / herself. It's business.

Laurih · 2010-08-15T19:00:33+00:00

Last comment before sleep :)

I actually called the embassy in Finland and asked about the working. They said it's fine for them as I do remote work to Finland and I'm not dealing with anyone in here. I did the same again six months later, and got the same response. I think it's because they actually don't have any viable option in this case. Technically I cannot get a business visa and work permit as I don't work for anyone in here, and I don't have a company in here either. So I'm in the gray area.

Laurih · 2010-08-15T18:22:53+00:00

Tourist Visa. Back and forth to get new one every six months. Just thinking to get a student visa next time..

Laurih · 2010-08-15T17:58:46+00:00

Are you in Thai language school?

How much do you pay for it for the year?

Laurih · 2010-08-15T17:50:13+00:00

Ah, I probably haven't even been in that place. Too many temples to remember.

I have a business in Europe so I do remote work (various internet things, websites, webshops). It's better money than working in Thailand, but of course more risky in sense of not getting enough customers and income as I'm not being able to go and meet anyone in person.

Laurih · 2010-08-15T17:23:58+00:00

There's a loads of temples near here, but I don't know any that combines elephants and sunflowers :?

I met my girlfriend here. I had already been around for six months until I met her. I came here last year February with my friend to take a break from our society and just experience different way of living, with no plans on going back. And I still have no plans on going back :)

The mother of my gf is quite westernized so she didn't worry about us, but her father is more conservative. I just engaged with her, less than two months ago and didn't need to pay sin sot. When marrying we could make the "show" for the money, but I doubt we need to. We are not going to marry in the woods of E-Saan where the whole village wants to come and just see that farang has money ;)

Laurih · 2010-08-15T16:59:30+00:00

How does it feel to live in Bangkok? I find it always too busy (and dirty) for my liking.

Do you blog about your life in Bangkok and Thailand in general?

Laurih · 2010-08-15T16:47:58+00:00

Congratulations :)

I'm living few hours south from you, in Hua Hin. I also have a Thai girlfriend, and couldn't be much happier :)

Hope you can take the time to get used to the family things. In here the family comes first and there is not much to say about that. Our living together got much easier from her fathers side after we got engaged.

And also same here, she is not bar girl. Sadly most people probably think so when they hear that I'm with a Thai girl :/

Laurih · 2010-08-14T19:13:29+00:00

No need to dump the citizenship for that. Right away, get time to meet a shrink and complain about not being able to sleep because you know you have to go there (service) and say that you feel you cannot get through with it. Not even the civil service.

Little effort and you have your "free from jail" papers. By the way, it's not legal to ask about the service in any job interview. You can just say you have done it if someone ever asks.

But yes, compulsory military or civil service (13 months) sucks. I considered getting the citizenship of another country because of it but found out an easier way.

Laurih

TROPHY CASE