It’s been too long

First of all I want to apologise for the absence of any posts, I know there are only a few of you who follow me, but still. its been too long.

I went back to the Uk in May and was working, so was far too tired to complete any blogs, then came home to Thailand at the start of November.  I suppose it should have been easier to do the occasional blog, but my mind was completely elsewhere, It has been one, or should I say , two of those years. I am not going to go into details, but there has been a lot of disruption so have been very unsettled since arriving back in the UK in May. I had a plans in mind to sort out , but , these all came to a head last month and the plans, that were only in my head, then had to be out into action. So, as from this week is concerned, part one of my plan has been completed, and it had not been an easy thing to do.

Part two of my plan is still on hold, as I still have to sort out my work and accommodation for my 2020 work stint. So I thought I would pass on some advice as a result of these few months, well years.

For those of you who are thinking of moving abroad, and settling in another country, before you go, please remember there are more things to moving, than just the physical move itself. I know personally, a good way to get a feel for your move would be to stay in your nominated country, for a month or so, to get a feel, so it’s less of a holiday and more of a trial. I stayed for a month, and during that time we found our home.  The experience of house hunting , was , an insight into the Thai logic and thinking. Trust me, it’s not a European thinking mindset, at all, and a hint of things to come.

Being away, enjoying your new found country is wonderful and will give you an idea of what it may be like, regarding the people, food, transport and climate, etc, especially those who are moving across the other side of the world. If you are moving say, from Australia or the US, its a big move, but the language and culture are similar, not to mention the laws, but moving to a country with different language, mindset, religion and laws, it’s a different matter and I would recommend to do a lot of research before you go. Reading travel blogs or travel books are great, but that is for travel, not staying or living, I doubt you will be living in the tourist areas, as the prices are a lot higher to live, not to mention , using Thailand as an example, it’s not the real country.

Here, in the Land of Smiles, English is the second language and you can manage Reasonable, but most of the population here, can’t or don’t want to speak english, even thought it taught in their schools.  The reason, culture, and this maybe a subject of another blog.

living , literally , thousands of miles away from friends and family, a quick pop back to the UK , or your original country, will not easy, or practical. Firstly , there is the cost, a rush booking can cost over £1000, from Thailand and more likely more, not to mention getting a flight at short notice, if , you can get one at all, also not taking into account public holidays at each country. Secondly, is the time difference, it takes at least a day to travel, sometimes more , depending on the direction of travel . Thailand is, at the moment, 7 hours ahead of the UK , but normally 6 hours ahead taking BST into account.

Communication is a problem too, in Thailand For example , 8 hours or so you are either asleep, then the rest of the day the UK / Europe is asleep. So calling a relative, or even doing business, like contacting your bank etc, is a pain. Say I want to call my UK bank, at 9am UK time , I have to wait until , 4pm Thai time, 5Pm UK time is midnight here. It’s also a pain is you want to watch the live sports say Rugby live, or the football. If you want to watch US sports it’s 12 hours behind Thailand. So, taking all this into account, I have been very stressed , sorting things out back in the UK, and a lot of the times feeling frustrated due to the time lapse. 

I have found using Skype has been a god send. Yea, you have these internet applications, that use the WiFi, Facebook messenger, WhatsApp etc, yes they are free, but you can’t use them to contact your bank , landlines or mobile phone numbers.  I pay around £8 a month for a subscription , and it allows me to call, any phone , be it a landline or mobile in the UK or Europe. They also have other subscriptions that can suit too, depending on your countries.   It’s a better way to contact someone, the good thing is, your registered phone number in the UK comes up on their phone, even when you are call from another country.  If that does not suit, well, you can put down some money , on a pay as you go type thing .

I suppose the point I am making, if you have a very close family, and you are leaving them back in the UK, most of the time its ok, but when a crisis happens, its hard. The distance and time difference can take its toll. You can’t just pop over and give them a hug or help in that way. It can be stressful and draining .

It could be a lot worse, for me if my wife is from the country I moved too , it could be worse if she was from the UK and still had family back there, then the chances of a crises happening , is, well,  doubled    So , take that into consideration, if you are considering a move. 

I wish you all well, and even thought this is more of a negative post, more blogs are to come that are not as negative , albeit informative.

I hope to do smaller blogs, and will do some food blogs to.