It starts off feeling like you’ve arrived in the most pulsating, vibrant place on the planet. The city of Angels, the town that never sleeps. The nightlife mecca for those wanting to party like there’s no tomorrow. After a few months you begin to realise that living like a two week millionaire, into infinitum, isn’t a long term option for one’s health, or the bank account. If you’re there on a generous expat package then life probably has a degree of discipline about it. Simply because achieving work targets makes too many late nights, and too much booze, unsustainable. Somewhere down the track you’ll probably get involved with a local lady. The unwise, or the unwitting, can often end up with a hard luck tale of duplicity, and a drained bank account. Finding a girlfriend in the red light areas is never a viable option.
If you're a person who likes large, crowded, hot cities, that are mainly about the nightlife, then Bangkok is the place for you. Don't kid yourself. If you're not a short term tourist, and you don't have a legitimate expat job, then the primary reason for foreign, single males to live there is for the nightlife. It always comes back to the nightlife. After about seven years, you'll wake up to the fact that if you want to live in a healthier environment, for your physical and mental well-being, you don't live in Bangkok. Sorry, but to think otherwise is nonsense. If you want an outdoor activities based lifestyle, you don't live in Bangkok. Additionally, Bangkok is reputed to be one of the hottest capital city’s on the planet. Places such as Dubai get hotter, at certain times of the year. But if you consider the average (mean) year round temperature, at 28 degrees celsius, Bangkok is listed as one of the hottest. Apart from a one week stretch, around xmas time, Bangkok never cools down.
Once the novelty of the bright lights, the frisky ladies, and too much partying/drinking wears off, you’ll be looking for an exit plan from the city of Angels. The noise, the poor air quality, the traffic jams, the heat, and the stress of a fast paced life which never lets up, will see you eventually moving to either Chiang Mai or Phuket. If you’re a big city person, and you have the financial capability, then Singapore is a far better option than Bangkok. Singapore is cleaner, greener, less polluted, more organised, more efficient, has better public transport, virtually no scams or corruption, and is the leading tech hub in Southeast Asia. The only thing which Bangkok trumps Singapore for is nightlife, partying, and frisky ladies.
Once again, as a foreigner, if you don’t have a legitimate expat job, the only real reason for living in Bangkok is the nightlife. If you want to sleep at 10 pm and wake up at 6 am to a coffee and the sound of birds, then Bangkok isn’t the place to live (unless you’re in the outer suburbs). If you want an early morning walk, and a swim, along the beach, then Bangkok definitely isn’t the place to be. If you want to see hills covered with green vegetation, you aint going to see it in Bangkok. If you want to breathe clean air, it isn’t happening in Bangkok. As mentioned, most foreigners will put in about seven years in the city of Angels, before getting out. Something akin to the seven year itch. Once you leave, and relocate to healthier area of Thailand, you’ll wonder why you ever wasted so many years there. What is a better long term option than Bangkok? Definitely Phuket.
The beaches are the main attraction of Phuket
Nothing beats a Phuket sunset.
Or a mango shake near the beach.
There’s some great hiking trails.
And some great spots for a sundowner or three.
Time for a tropical coffee.
And another swim at the beach.
It’s the end of the day, let’s get some seafood.
Safe travels,
Mega.
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