Life as an Expat in Phuket

The good

Phuket is the perfect mix of “East meets West”. There is cultural life with local markets, temples and authentic villages, beautifully breathtaking beaches, modern malls and fancy restaurants as well as wild nightlife options. You can either live on a budget, eat with locals and shop in Thai markets, or eat in western restaurants and hang-out with expats or tourists. Chris and I are able to live in a nice house, rent a new car and overall live a much better lifestyle than we would in any other European or American country. We both manage to save money from our salaries, while travelling on weekends and never worrying about our bank balance! We basically eat out every single meal and never think about how much we spend. We can even afford hiring someone to clean the house and do our laundry! I think it's no surprise why we haven't left for four years... it's almost impossible to walk away from this lifestyle.

The bad

I find communicating with locals very challenging. It is both a language barrier and a cultural barrier. My Thai has come a long way since living here and I can use basic conversational skills to communicate. However, Thais don’t like telling you when they don’t understand so their natural response to questions is usually “cannot” or “no have” which is very frustrating when you know they could help you if they wanted to and tried. Customer service is virtually non-existent so it can be frustrating when you go somewhere expensive and expect a higher level of service.

The ugly

Another problem is the corruption. Getting help from the police is a utopia here. The roads are a complete mess and instead of controlling speed and general road safety, policemen arrest tourists for not having an international driver’s license to get the find money directly in their pockets. If we had traffic control of speed, a lot of accidents could be avoided. Locals can get their driver’s license in a day. No driving classes are required, which explains the randomness of road rules here. Little to say it is extremely dangerous to drive here! This is why I have never wanted to drive a scooter like most tourists do. I would rather have a car which offers more protection in the case of an accident. It is mind-blowing to see a family of 4 on a motorbike, with babies and children not wearing a helmet. 

In conclusion

I think that living in Thailand has amazing advantages which are undeniable. Personally, I am ready to move on and I have been ready to leave for a while. I would not want my children growing up in Phuket because of the many outrageous things which are considered normal here. Perhaps once they had a basic education elsewhere, lived in a country where you can generally trust institutions, I could consider coming back with grown-up children as I would be able to afford a better lifestyle but for now, it's time to move on!

Elephant in Khao Lak