Times Up, Leaving Pattaya For Good

I remember I made a post on the Pattaya sub on why I came to Pattaya and the challenges I faced while getting my feet into the town.

So far so good. I overcame the sheer boredom and loneliness that you feel when you move in a new country.

After approximately, 3.5 years I've decided to move on. I think that I'm done with Pattaya and Thailand in general.

I've not moved to Pattaya or Thailand to save money. It was my third country where I lived for a long time. My aim to move to a new country is to experience life from a different angle, have new perspectives, and to learn something new that I wouldn't have learned had I been stuck in my parent culture.

Frankly speaking, when I bought that Thai Elite visa, I was quite sure that I'd live here for long. Now that I'm in my 40s I feel that I was wrong.

I think living in a new nation is like how you feel in a new relationship with a hot chick. At first its the curiosity stage, then the aha stage, then the oh fuck yeah stage, then the "okay" stage, then "get off my face" stage, and finally, the break up.

So, it's time for break up. What has made me to move on?

I think I'll shed some light on it so that if you're planning to come and live here, then maybe knowing these things will help you to channel your energy in constructive way if you want to make Thailand your new home.

Here's what made me to decide that time's up -

It's Boring Now

Okay, let me put this straight. A boring uneventful life is actually a happy life. Ask any pensioner and he will tell you so. We all aim for that kind of stage in life. We all work hard and save for it. At the end of the day you want to spend your silver years with enough money in the bank and lounging in the hammock with nothing to worry.

But when you are of my age, then probably this is not what you're looking for. Beyond debauchery, Pattaya has limited things to offer to someone who has living here for long. There's nothing more left for me to do. And no matter who you're, you'll get bored of the pleasure that is available at the click of the button.

The Tax Issue

The taxation of expats in Thailand is really a dicey matter. And the worst part is that there's no consistency in rules. There are many expats, including the ones who derive their incomes from outside of Thailand, faced no queries. And there are foreigners like me who had to face some issues.

Here's what happened. This incident was pivotal for me to decide if it's right place for me or not.

I bring somewhere around 2 mil baht per year to Thailand, at once, for my living expenses. Some of you might say it's a huge amount but majority of the money goes to upkeep of my motorcycles.

I had seven bikes, 5 of them were track bikes, and every track day at Bira circuit in Pattaya or in Chang international circuit will cost a fair amount of money. For example, you'll need two set of tires for each track day, and one pair of race tires will cost 80,000 baht. Tires wear out fast on a 200 hp bike speeding at 250 Km/hr.

My bank is Bangkok bank in Pattaya, and on April 2024 I got a notice from them that the Revenue Department has withheld my account on the suspicion of money laundering. I was like WTF.

The suspicion arose because of my nationality. I'm an Ex- American passport holder. I gave up my American citizenship in 2018 and bought a new nationality of St. Kitts, which is a tax-free zone.

My company is registered there and all my income goes to an off shore account based out of Georgia (Not Georgia state in the US, but Georgia country in the Balkans).

Long story short, I got the account un-seized, after proving each and everything, by following a normal procedure.

I was trying a lot to get a Tax ID here in Thailand. But the RD always brushed me off stating that my visa is a tourist visa and I can't get a Tax ID because tourists cannot.

However, again I get a notice in October this year that I need to pay taxes. I agreed, but then again, they're refusing to give me a Tax ID.

Dealing with Thai bureaucracy is far worse than dealing with French or German bureaucracy.

The language barrier, the lack of transparency, and the lack of accountability in these officials made me realize that as long as I'm living in the gray area, I can be taken for a toss without any reason.

Frankly, I haven't paid 600,000 THB to have sleepless nights and to use google translators with the officials who're so hell bent in not understanding my problem.

So, I thought it's enough.

Thailand is as Predictable as it is Unpredictable

Before I say what I mean, here's the disclosure - Thailand is a beautiful nation. The landscapes are amazing. And if you're living here and you're not riding a motorcycle, you're missing out a lot. Provinces like Nan, PKK, Khon Kaen, Krabi have some fantastic roads I ever rode on.

Having said that, and after riding in all the 76 provinces in Thailand, rode to 23 provinces thrice, there's nothing new left for me to explore.

On top of it, when you realize you know Thailand, you come across something from the same place or person which is entirely new or unpredictable.

Thai people have their own way of doing things. I guess, Thai people approach life with a manual. It's like if a happens then do b and if a doesn't happens then do c. And if d happens, wait a minute I don't know what to do so let's just fuck it up. Although I've nothing to do with it, but at times, when you live here it can rub you in a wrong way.

Frankly, that has left me feeling "there's nothing more new to it".

When you visit outside of the touristic towns, you'll find Thailand is quite monolithic culture like Japan and korea. There are some hues of differences from province to province, but nothing much noticeable. Dialect can differ, but not to an extent that it'll reveal new sounds or new way of living. Anyone who has been to culturally diverse place like the US or India knows well what I'm talking about.

I'm not a culture vulture as such, but coming from a multi-cultural family (dutch mother, italian american father, and an extended family that has a mix of nationalities of 17 different countries) it's not something that is appealing to me.

The Quality of Life

I don't think so that Thailand is a third world country anymore. It has superb consumer conveniences, infrastructure is the second best in SE Asia (after Singapore) in my opinion, and the healthcare is great too (if you've insurance).

However, I'm quite unnerved by the air quality, crowd, and the slowly dissipating value-for-money thing. Going to central pattaya from Pratamnak is kind of an ordeal to me during the evening. And the moment when I enter Bangkok I feel like when I'll leave.

Now I've no issues with other provinces. They're clean, lovely, and have a chilled out vibe. However, those places are not for me. I am not a 70 year old pensioner with a 30 year old Thai wife who is living happily with goats and pigs in a farm. I am not there yet. But I'm quite sure that I'll never have a Thai wife, for reasons that need a different post.

I don't think so that none of the expat-oriented towns in Thailand, such as Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya, and Bangkok are providing the kind of value and comfort that they used to provide before covid, and especially from the early 2000s to 2015 or so.

Being in your early 40s is quite a confusing period. You're no longer in your 20s and you're not a senior either. So, yeah I guess you understand what I mean.

Safety isn't an issue here as long as you don't attract attention. I for one like to dress up, wear my nice watches, and I feel that I cannot do it here anymore. And I for one never ever enjoyed wearing shorts, tank tops, and white sneakers.

Heat is also turning into an issue for me and so as the monsoon and flash floods. I am a florida guy, so i haven't been raised in an environment where sun is a luxury. I like clement weather and I don't think so I'd like to be in a place where I've to stay home from April to October because of heat and rain. And both the north and south have become ecologically vulnerable and my opinion is things aren't going to get better from here.

So, What's Next for Me?

All my motorcycles have been sold and I'm now back to the baht bus. I've off-loaded all my belongings, though I haven't bought much here in Pattaya. My flight is on the 2nd of Jan. I'll be heading to my parents at Fort Lauderdale and stay with them for two months before I move to....

Almaty, Kazakhstan.

I got the digital nomad visa for Kazakhstan. The process is quite simple, you apply for it, and you get it lol...nothing more to add there. But you'll need to do it via a lawyer.

Why Almaty? First, the taxation issue is quite straight forward. 10% flat tax irrespective the amount you bring in. Visa was cheap, I spent US $2000 for the visa, including lawyer fees. However, you'll need to show an income of US $3000 per month, minimum, to qualify for the visa.

Tax residency for me is important right now and so is the quality of life.

I found Almaty as the sweetest spot between traditionalist and modernist. The infrastructure is good, air quality gets a bit bad during the summer (not Chiang Mai bad) but not because of pollution. It's because the city's geography is such that it doesn't allow the hot air to circulate and pass.

Second, I found it immense value for money. I didn't rent a home, I straight away bought one for just $37,000. A two bedroom newly build apartment measuring 72 Sq Ft, 7 miles away from the city center. This is my first real estate purchase of my life.

City isn't crowded, no traffic issues, not densely populated, roads are huge, and very good nature around, which will keep me busy hiking or off-roading a dirt bike. Food is delicious.

Frankly speaking, women and nightlife were never the go-to factor for me to pick a destination to live. Although mongering options always help. And Almaty has them too but not in the way Pattaya has. Nothing can beat Pattaya in that regard.

Kazakhstan is culturally diverse too, with a mix of lot of Russian, Arabic, Persian, and Asian cultures. I lived there for two months before deciding to base my camp there and I found people of at least 10 different nationalities living there. The strangest part is there are too many ethnic Koreans and Mongols living there for centuries.

Well, this was a bit long. And I hope it wasn't boring. I'd continue contributing and add value to it. And if you want to read my initial struggle of settling down here, then you can read my post here which I wrote in the pattaya sub.

If there are any questions about living here, feel free to ask, would be glad to answer.