Spot on , no matter where you stay in the world full time has bad aspects, for me I split my time between 3 countries every year, no set months just when I feel like going I do, my intention is to continue living life like this until I’m too old and then settle in one, the truth is no matter where you stay in the world ( if it’s full time) it loses its shine, there’s absolutely no way of avoiding it, make your home in a few countries while you’re fit and that will always keep them great places and don’t stick to a timetable, go when you get the itch otherwise it’s pointless, sometimes no plan is the best plan!(great video ☘️)
We've been living "abroad" in our version of Paradise for 35 years now and haven't got tired of it yet. We've found that our approach to the place has changed with AGE, most of all. What was important to us in our 30s and what is important to us now in our 60s are different things. Three week annual visits to Pattaya in the 2000s and 2010s will become a three month annual visit in 2027. Let's see how many times we come back once we retire. Low season is our time in Pattaya and we rent out our home in the Mediterranean 🇫🇷🇪🇺 high season 💰. 😊+1
Another well thought out video. You articulated my fears of a 1 month Thailand investigatory trip. I was concerned I built it up in my head so much that disappointment would be the inevitable result. After 2.5 weeks here, with the stresses you take a vacation for gone, you can start to see if it is a place you can live. I will keep this video in mind over the next couple weeks before returning to the USA. Thanks for articulating my thoughts for me.
Hi Ramze, i enjoy your videos as always! As you mentioned that over age & time Our expectations change. In addition, our priorities are as well. Food for thought, this past summer in Vegas, the temperature range from June to the beginning of September was extreme heat of 100-115 degrees. In addition, you mentioned in several of your videos that safety is important to You & your wife, I am not quite sure that it is possible to compare safety in Vegas vs Thailand. I believe your idea of living in several places a year might be a very good option, but your pet situation may complicate this. You are a very wise person. Please continue to make fantastic content, and hopefully, at some point in time, our paths will cross & we will have an opportunity to meet in person. Happy New Year's 2025!🎉
Excellent video. I lived in Korea 9 years and I would say the first 2 were amazing, the next 4 were great but then the magic started to wear off. I’ve been back to my home country for about 15 years and have always wanted to be an expat again. I’m starting to rethink that idea. Keeping a home base at ‘home’ and then travelling to my favourite spots throughout the year may be ‘for me’ my best option.
You are 100% correct. I love your Intellect. The Best Strategy for maintaining the adventure feeling is to reside at a place that is both (1) economical and (2) centrally-located (or gateway) to travel to one’s desired destinations. I think Thailand is the best country, but “visiting” Thailand periodically allows me to experience the favorable things and avoid the unfavorable things (8 months of hot and rainy season, 90-day reporting, traffic, etc.), resulting in Thailand continuing to be my Best/Most Favorable Destination!
As usual, spot-on with all of this - even down to the exact point in time where the "magic" wears off and it becomes just another place to live (between 1-2 years, exacto). Four years myself into Medellín, Colombia, I find myself not living a much different lifestyle than I would in the U.S., with relatively little engagement with the culture. But bottom line is you have to plant your flag somewhere, and when looked at in the aggregate, this overall isn't a bad place to be. There are plenty of new places I have yet to visit where I can rekindle the "magic", and I've made lifestyle adjustments to allow me to afford to get out there and see them. But overall I do have to agree - you will enjoy almost anywhere more if you can visit in a limited time "vacation" mode than actually living there.
Thank you for another from the hip and straight shooting video. We will begin slow travel in 2026 and will be spending 1-3 months in each location. Starting in South America. Love the channel.
Very realistic insights. It’s usually unavoidable: not long after the place you love to visit becomes the place you decide to live, the honeymoon is over. And though you may be love living there, the THRILL of discovery & adventure & newness is GONE. And can’t be reignited.
Best is to be able to travel and stay where i want to, your base could be in Thailand but that doesn't mean you have to be there always. Stay 4-5 Month in Thailand but not the whole year. Go and visit other countries.......... Works for me.
I am an early subscriber. I appreciate your videos. My plan is to spend 8 or 9 months in Thailand and leaving during rainy seasons. Hoping that works for keeping things fresh. Keep up the good work.
Ramze,you make a lot of sense in what you divulge in this video. Lots of truths which brings me to the question of “ Why is it that something that we strive for,something that we adore one day turns to I’m of sick of it the next day ?” How can our mind,our feelings or heart change in a period of time? Is it Boredom or a permanent Discontent that we all have and resurfaces every so often that triggers that “ I’ve Had Enough Feeling” hence our change of heart?
Totally get it. I live between Thailand and Sydney. I'm still some years away from retirement and all my friends and colleagues just assume that I'll relocate to Thailand. This is not the plan. I will continue to stay in Thailand for three or fours months each year and will still keep my home in Sydney. I still enjoy my life in Australia. Thailand is my second life.
It makes complete sense to go cooler places in high summers. BTW, For me a location like Pattaya, I will have several choices to beat the summer heat in nearby hill stations. Ipoh city and Cameroon Highlands in Malaysia, Hill towns of Vietnam, Bandung and surrounding hill towns in Indonesia, Kandy and surrounding highlands in SriLanka. All these are short flights (less than 3 hrs) from Bangkok.
I visit Thailand every year from January to March. I love Thailand and S.E. Asia, but when it's time for me to leave, I'm ready. I live on the north shore of Boston. Spring, Summer and Fall here are great. It's the winter i don't like.
I have a similar view, except I'm an Aussie & love living in Sydney & hate the winter. It is no problem to have 2,3 or even 6 months in Thailand each year. The big difference is that our winter is June to August, but I enjoy the low season.
I live the same way. I've been coming to Chiang Mai for 2 months or so during high season. I have a home in the western mountains of North Carolina. Plus I'm on Medicare so my health care is covered in the 🇺🇸. Plus I take multiple short trips around the world.
A wise man once said, "There are no solutions, only tradeoffs." Personally, I don't think people are hard wired to be content in most aspects. However if we can find contentment in most aspects of daily living then it's possible to carve out some peace for ourselves.
You hit the nail on the head. I am the same way way towards Penang, Malaysia, as that's my favorite destination in this part of the world. I've been there thirteen times or so. People say then why don't you just move there; retire there instead! Nope. That'd ruin everything. :)
Mark, eyeing a visit to Penang. Are there expats there or is it a place that most just visit...for food? 😀 Should I stay in Georgetown area or can you recommend other areas? Would one week be enough or stay at least 2 or more weeks? Thanks for any tips.
@@jnsa9454 Stay in Georgetown, as it's a UNESCO World Heritage site. Very charming. Have an afternoon gin & tonic at Farquhar’s Bar in the E&O Hotel. There are expats there, but I don't go there to see them at all. I don't go there for people. I go there for the history, the value for money, the two-hour flight, the architecture, the photo opps, the walking around, the shopping, the food. Lots to do there too revolving nature and temples. 60% Chinese, 20% Malay, 20% Indian. I am a Flâneur, which is a French word for a type of urban male "stroller", "lounger", "saunterer", or "loafer". There are beaches there too if you want that type of scene, but not anywhere near Thai-level. Cheers.
@@jnsa9454 where are you coming in from? and how long do you plan on staying here? i've been here in george town for about 4 months now. came in from upstate NY (the sane part of the state). let me know if you want to get together, and when.
@veloxtechcorp9459 I appreciate the invite 👍🏽 looking at maybe summer 2025 so a bit of a ways and still tentative but Penang on my radar for sure next time I'm in SE Asia. Settling in more now in your 4th month? I will definitely reach out when I make it there.
That happened to me in Taiwan. Saying that, i dont feel Vietnam has lost its charm. As i am a teacher i always approach a country different than an expat or tourist. Now a home, wife, and still adventure around the country
Yes, I know where you’re coming from. When my friends come to visit they wanna go out every night. Because they’re on holidays and I have to tell them I only go out a couple of times a week and they think I’m joking. 🥴
This is exactly the last 10 years of my life (except COVID years) and it workes out great. 4 months a year Thailand Vietnam Philippines (mostly Thailand) 8 month a year at my own country
It depends on a person and expectations. Keep yourself busy. I am going to retire in Cambodia, and I already plan my future photo projects there. I expect no paradise.
Amazing parallels between this video's theme and what would be a very similar theme in a personal relationship. Does familiarity, indeed, breed contempt ?
WOW a very Good perspective that most don't think about ..Do you have a background in phycology....I also have lived what i thought was my dream in another country other than North America..
same as skip the tourist mode, you should see Thailand as better, nicer instead of paradise? There is a wonderful swedish song 'Wonderful is short' that nails it. Wonderful experiences are usually short. Your mindset, I think, is very important if you gonna move to Thailand.
I totally agree - it's all in the mind. Plus if you're from Europe or the USA it''s not what Thailand is - it's what Thailand's not. The politics of the West, the cost of living, the trashing of everything decent. You can forget all about it in Thailand. & you can afford a reasonable lifestyle too.
And you're trading it in for another round of eventual dreaded familiarity in Vegas as well aren't you? Perhaps immerse yourself in muay thai or buddhism or whatevers unique to Thailand?
Spot on , no matter where you stay in the world full time has bad aspects, for me I split my time between 3 countries every year, no set months just when I feel like going I do, my intention is to continue living life like this until I’m too old and then settle in one, the truth is no matter where you stay in the world ( if it’s full time) it loses its shine, there’s absolutely no way of avoiding it, make your home in a few countries while you’re fit and that will always keep them great places and don’t stick to a timetable, go when you get the itch otherwise it’s pointless, sometimes no plan is the best plan!(great video ☘️)
Spot on , no matter where you stay in the world full time has bad aspects, for me I split my time between 3 countries every year, no set months just when I feel like going I do, my intention is to continue living life like this until I’m too old and then settle in one, the truth is no matter where you stay in the world ( if it’s full time) it loses its shine, there’s absolutely no way of avoiding it, make your home in a few countries while you’re fit and that will always keep them great places and don’t stick to a timetable, go when you get the itch otherwise it’s pointless, sometimes no plan is the best plan!(great video ☘️)
We've been living "abroad" in our version of Paradise for 35 years now and haven't got tired of it yet.
We've found that our approach to the place has changed with AGE, most of all. What was important to us in our 30s and what is important to us now in our 60s are different things.
Three week annual visits to Pattaya in the 2000s and 2010s will become a three month annual visit in 2027.
Let's see how many times we come back once we retire.
Low season is our time in Pattaya and we rent out our home in the Mediterranean 🇫🇷🇪🇺 high season 💰. 😊+1
Another well thought out video. You articulated my fears of a 1 month Thailand investigatory trip. I was concerned I built it up in my head so much that disappointment would be the inevitable result. After 2.5 weeks here, with the stresses you take a vacation for gone, you can start to see if it is a place you can live. I will keep this video in mind over the next couple weeks before returning to the USA. Thanks for articulating my thoughts for me.
Hi Ramze, i enjoy your videos as always! As you mentioned that over age & time Our expectations change. In addition, our priorities are as well. Food for thought, this past summer in Vegas, the temperature range from June to the beginning of September was extreme heat of 100-115 degrees. In addition, you mentioned in several of your videos that safety is important to You & your wife, I am not quite sure that it is possible to compare safety in Vegas vs Thailand. I believe your idea of living in several places a year might be a very good option, but your pet situation may complicate this. You are a very wise person. Please continue to make fantastic content, and hopefully, at some point in time, our paths will cross & we will have an opportunity to meet in person. Happy New Year's 2025!🎉
Excellent video. I lived in Korea 9 years and I would say the first 2 were amazing, the next 4 were great but then the magic started to wear off. I’ve been back to my home country for about 15 years and have always wanted to be an expat again. I’m starting to rethink that idea. Keeping a home base at ‘home’ and then travelling to my favourite spots throughout the year may be ‘for me’ my best option.
Really love your thoughtful and nuanced videos. Also congrats on hitting 7K subs!
Thanks so much!
You are 100% correct. I love your Intellect.
The Best Strategy for maintaining the adventure feeling is to reside at a place that is both (1) economical and (2) centrally-located (or gateway) to travel to one’s desired destinations. I think Thailand is the best country, but “visiting” Thailand periodically allows me to experience the favorable things and avoid the unfavorable things (8 months of hot and rainy season, 90-day reporting, traffic, etc.), resulting in Thailand continuing to be my Best/Most Favorable Destination!
As usual, spot-on with all of this - even down to the exact point in time where the "magic" wears off and it becomes just another place to live (between 1-2 years, exacto). Four years myself into Medellín, Colombia, I find myself not living a much different lifestyle than I would in the U.S., with relatively little engagement with the culture. But bottom line is you have to plant your flag somewhere, and when looked at in the aggregate, this overall isn't a bad place to be. There are plenty of new places I have yet to visit where I can rekindle the "magic", and I've made lifestyle adjustments to allow me to afford to get out there and see them. But overall I do have to agree - you will enjoy almost anywhere more if you can visit in a limited time "vacation" mode than actually living there.
Very true
Thank you for another from the hip and straight shooting video.
We will begin slow travel in 2026 and will be spending 1-3 months in each location. Starting in South America. Love the channel.
Tô much of a good thing can be poison ☠️ as I’ve always said and your 💯 right Ramz!!!! P.S more reality 🎥 videos ❤️❤️
Pleasure does not last; or if it does, it becomes monotonous. -- Buddha
Very realistic insights.
It’s usually unavoidable: not long after the place you love to visit becomes the place you decide to live, the honeymoon is over.
And though you may be love living there, the THRILL of discovery & adventure & newness is GONE.
And can’t be reignited.
Best is to be able to travel and stay where i want to, your base could be in Thailand but that doesn't mean you have to be there always. Stay 4-5 Month in Thailand but not the whole year. Go and visit other countries.......... Works for me.
That makes a lot of sense Bravo
I spend a few months in Pattaya then Colombia and back to Europe. Variety is my spice of life
I am an early subscriber. I appreciate your videos. My plan is to spend 8 or 9 months in Thailand and leaving during rainy seasons. Hoping that works for keeping things fresh. Keep up the good work.
Great plan!
Ramze,you make a lot of sense in what you divulge in this video. Lots of truths which brings me to the question of “ Why is it that something that we strive for,something that we adore one day turns to I’m of sick of it the next day ?”
How can our mind,our feelings or heart change in a period of time? Is it Boredom or a permanent Discontent that we all have and resurfaces every so often that triggers that “ I’ve Had Enough Feeling” hence our change of heart?
I think the world is made up of two kinds of people, settlers and reachers.
Totally get it. I live between Thailand and Sydney. I'm still some years away from retirement and all my friends and colleagues just assume that I'll relocate to Thailand. This is not the plan. I will continue to stay in Thailand for three or fours months each year and will still keep my home in Sydney. I still enjoy my life in Australia. Thailand is my second life.
It makes complete sense to go cooler places in high summers. BTW, For me a location like Pattaya, I will have several choices to beat the summer heat in nearby hill stations. Ipoh city and Cameroon Highlands in Malaysia, Hill towns of Vietnam, Bandung and surrounding hill towns in Indonesia, Kandy and surrounding highlands in SriLanka. All these are short flights (less than 3 hrs) from Bangkok.
Dalat Vietnam looks awesome, hopefully there's no burning season like Chiang Mai.
I visit Thailand every year from January to March. I love Thailand and S.E. Asia, but when it's time for me to leave, I'm ready. I live on the north shore of Boston. Spring, Summer and Fall here are great. It's the winter i don't like.
I have a similar view, except I'm an Aussie & love living in Sydney & hate the winter.
It is no problem to have 2,3 or even 6 months in Thailand each year.
The big difference is that our winter is June to August, but I enjoy the low season.
Hey mate just wondering what did you do for a job before you retire if you don't mined telling me. Thanks , get up the good work
I live the same way. I've been coming to Chiang Mai for 2 months or so during high season. I have a home in the western mountains of North Carolina. Plus I'm on Medicare so my health care is covered in the 🇺🇸. Plus I take multiple short trips around the world.
😊 more blessings
You are a winner and your paradigm reflects that 👍🏽
🥹
A wise man once said, "There are no solutions, only tradeoffs." Personally, I don't think people are hard wired to be content in most aspects. However if we can find contentment in most aspects of daily living then it's possible to carve out some peace for ourselves.
Wow listening to this is like you read my mind
You hit the nail on the head. I am the same way way towards Penang, Malaysia, as that's my favorite destination in this part of the world. I've been there thirteen times or so. People say then why don't you just move there; retire there instead! Nope. That'd ruin everything. :)
Mark, eyeing a visit to Penang. Are there expats there or is it a place that most just visit...for food? 😀 Should I stay in Georgetown area or can you recommend other areas? Would one week be enough or stay at least 2 or more weeks? Thanks for any tips.
@@jnsa9454 Stay in Georgetown, as it's a UNESCO World Heritage site. Very charming. Have an afternoon gin & tonic at Farquhar’s Bar in the E&O Hotel. There are expats there, but I don't go there to see them at all. I don't go there for people. I go there for the history, the value for money, the two-hour flight, the architecture, the photo opps, the walking around, the shopping, the food. Lots to do there too revolving nature and temples. 60% Chinese, 20% Malay, 20% Indian. I am a Flâneur, which is a French word for a type of urban male "stroller", "lounger", "saunterer", or "loafer". There are beaches there too if you want that type of scene, but not anywhere near Thai-level. Cheers.
@@jnsa9454 where are you coming in from? and how long do you plan on staying here? i've been here in george town for about 4 months now. came in from upstate NY (the sane part of the state). let me know if you want to get together, and when.
@veloxtechcorp9459 I appreciate the invite 👍🏽 looking at maybe summer 2025 so a bit of a ways and still tentative but Penang on my radar for sure next time I'm in SE Asia. Settling in more now in your 4th month? I will definitely reach out when I make it there.
That happened to me in Taiwan. Saying that, i dont feel Vietnam has lost its charm. As i am a teacher i always approach a country different than an expat or tourist.
Now a home, wife, and still adventure around the country
Yes, I know where you’re coming from. When my friends come to visit they wanna go out every night. Because they’re on holidays and I have to tell them I only go out a couple of times a week and they think I’m joking. 🥴
Time to back your bags buddy, go home look after your parents but definitely come back , happy new year mate .🤠
This is exactly the last 10 years of my life (except COVID years) and it workes out great.
4 months a year Thailand Vietnam Philippines (mostly Thailand)
8 month a year at my own country
I think Uncle Ramze is priming us for his eventual return back to the States.
Always thought provoking. Thanks Ramze.
My pleasure
It depends on a person and expectations.
Keep yourself busy.
I am going to retire in Cambodia, and I already plan my future photo projects there.
I expect no paradise.
Amazing parallels between this video's theme and what would be a very similar theme in a personal relationship. Does familiarity, indeed, breed contempt ?
Until you find the right place or one, yes!
Makes sense!
WOW a very Good perspective that most don't think about ..Do you have a background in phycology....I also have lived what i thought was my dream in another country other than North America..
same as skip the tourist mode, you should see Thailand as better, nicer instead of paradise? There is a wonderful swedish song 'Wonderful is short' that nails it. Wonderful experiences are usually short. Your mindset, I think, is very important if you gonna move to Thailand.
I totally agree - it's all in the mind. Plus if you're from Europe or the USA it''s not what Thailand is - it's what Thailand's not. The politics of the West, the cost of living, the trashing of everything decent. You can forget all about it in Thailand. & you can afford a reasonable lifestyle too.
@@lexluther973Please stop, politics in 🇹🇭 are just as crazy as the 🇺🇸.
At least in the latter I can say The 🤴 is a Fink without going to jail.
Real value videos
I think visiting during certain times of year is a great option...unless you have dogs. It's difficult to bring dogs on flights!
I have two and don’t I know it!
Hearing ya brother..
Familiarity breeds contempt .
I do not consider Pattaya the place to reside full time .
And you're trading it in for another round of eventual dreaded familiarity in Vegas as well aren't you? Perhaps immerse yourself in muay thai or buddhism or whatevers unique to Thailand?
Must have been real difficult to live in Cuba!!!
I was still ambitious and hungry for adventure. It was very tough by the end.
There is no heaven in the world ( Even your home country)😂
Very true
Spot on , no matter where you stay in the world full time has bad aspects, for me I split my time between 3 countries every year, no set months just when I feel like going I do, my intention is to continue living life like this until I’m too old and then settle in one, the truth is no matter where you stay in the world ( if it’s full time) it loses its shine, there’s absolutely no way of avoiding it, make your home in a few countries while you’re fit and that will always keep them great places and don’t stick to a timetable, go when you get the itch otherwise it’s pointless, sometimes no plan is the best plan!(great video ☘️)