Seems like only yesterday when I decided to sell my business and make the move to Thailand. After a couple of trips to the country, I was certain Thailand was my Utopia. Years later, older and slightly wiser, I’ve concluded there is no Utopia – at least not in the physical sense. Not to burst anyone’s bubble but heaven on earth is a figment of our imaginations, devoid of any complete reality. Heaven is far reaching and every so often extends its hand – only until reality slithers its way back into the picture.
When I moved to Thailand, I was 32 years-old, I’m now 46. Fourteen years changes a person and while I’m certainly happy with my decision, I’m not sure I would have made a move at my current age and in my current situation. In other words, I made the move when the time was right.
As I said, Thailand is no Utopia, nonetheless, I can’t think of a whole lot of other places I’d rather be. Once you are entrenched in a foreign country’s society, its morphs from an exotic destination to a place you call home; normalcy replaces the euphoria of a vacation.
So when you’re on holiday in Thailand (or elsewhere) and thinking, “I’d love to live here,” never lose sight that living in country foreign to your own is much different than vacationing in one.
A few years ago, I spent three weeks in Cannes, France with friends. It didn’t take long before I thought, “I want to live here!” The French were not rude – at least to me – and the lifestyle was right up my alley. Every day I woke up, threw on a sports jacket, took a leisurely stroll to one of the many cafés in the city center, and had a croissant and a cup of Joe with friends. Each night, I dined in fine restaurants (sometimes with celebrities like Mischa Barton) and partied until the wee hours of the night – often on someone’s yacht whose name I did not know.
Without a doubt I thought, the south of France is one of the most magnificent places on earth and I had to find a way to live here! Occasionally, I’d go in to the Carlton Hotel (that’s the one where most of the movie stars hang out in case you didn’t know), all for the privilege of paying $20 for a cappuccino. When I somehow ended up spending the remainder of my vacation with two pretty, young Swedish girls, it was official, I was moving to Cannes. Yes, life was grand, indeed. My holiday ended, as holidays always do and I flew back home to Thailand.
Once settled, I sat down and began to figure out how to live in Cannes. When the thought to live in France initially hit me, I didn’t kid myself – it would be expensive. But, where there’s a will there’s a way, I thought. After crunching the numbers though, I wisely concluded it would be much more difficult than I originally thought, logistically, financially, and otherwise. The grass is almost always greener on the other side; Cannes is a great place to visit but living there as an expat is nowhere near as easy (at least financially) as living in Thailand unless you’ve got movie star dough.
When I left the U.S., I was relatively carefree, living with a girl I knew I wouldn’t marry, and running a business that made me quite a bit of money but that had me frazzled on a daily basis.
Then I moved to Thailand. Since moving, I’ve learned to speak the language, met a Thai woman, became a moderately successful photojournalist, visited eight countries in Asia, and learned the meaning of responsibility. Oh, and I almost forgot, I took a pay cut. If this doesn’t constitute change, I don’t know what does. Chinese philosophy, more specifically the I-Ching, refers to the acceptance of the inevitability of change. Just like dying and paying taxes, change is inevitable. Better to accept it than cling to yesterday.
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Nick Gatsby has lived in Bangkok for nearly ten years. He has done everything from teaching English to exporting Thai goods to his current love, photographing and writing about Southeast Asia .
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
another inspiring post. i need to read these on a daily basis to maintain my resolve to leave the USA at the end of my work contract this year.
Well done. I too split the scene, just a few years younger than you were and I wouldnt trade this continuing experience for anything.
Be on the lookout for a 4 part article about leaving the rat race and a few written by me – thanks for reading – tell your friends!
If you’re thinking about moving to Thailand because “life is miserable in the US in a cubicle”, you’re going for the wrong reasons. Move to Thailand because it calls you. Move to Thailand because you need to be there. Moving there to run away from a dreary life in the US means… you’ll just end up in a dreary life in Thailand. I’ve lived all over and done alot of things. Alot. I finally had to move back to “America” because I could grow a business and not get muscled by organized crime, bandits, heavy-weapons-carrying-”refugees”, military overlords, etc. There’s obviously alot more to it (i.e. travelling with an armed escort, getting tail straight up, etc.), but the point is that life is much more predictable (in a good way, as in “I think I will be alive tomorrow”) in the U.S.
I want to go to Thailand, Chaig Mai to teach English, and Music.
I’m a jazz musician (piano and trumpet). I have a contact at Chaing Mai Univesity. Here in California there aren’t many jobs for music teachers because of the job cuts even if you have two credentials E. Ed and Music (Secondary). Although I’ve toured every state in the Union (including all the Hawaiian Islands except Nihiau and the New England States, I’ve never been to Asia. So it’s kind of an adventure I’m seeking.
Well, one advantage you will have in Thailand is you have “Real” teaching quals – unlike most foreign teachers in Southeast Asia. That will put you at the upper end of the pay scale
Don’t sit around just thinking that you have a contact at CMU – Just do it, go man, and don’t look back
Best of luck to you bro