Comments by "Jeremy" (@josiah5776) on "Man Left The U.S. For Thailand And Never Came Back" video.

  1. When I decided to expatriate, Thailand was on my short list. However, I decided on the Philippines because the the visas were much easier to get and most people here speak English. Thailand is a bit cheaper, from what I have researched. The guy in the video stated that he feels content in his new place. That is exactly how I feel in the Philippines. It really is a fresh, new start ... even though I am twice this guy's age. I went for a rural location on one of the smaller islands, rather than the city. That is just personal choice, but it comes with less luxury. Honestly though, I have all that I need. I can relate to his comments about the US being a hyper-aggressive, consumerist environment. I tried moving rural in the US, but all that quickly followed me. Another thing that followed me was the man-hating ideology. Within only a few years, the small rural town to which I moved had more and more overweight, tatted, pierced, short blue-haired, shrill women (and their equally overweight, tatted, pieced, but also neck-bearded male allies) aggressively pushing "The Message" in my face. That was the tipping point that made me decide to leave. I very much enjoy being someplace where I am not vilified and condemned just for being white and having a Y-chromosome. Imagine that. People of a different race treat me far better than my own. I love it here. Dining out here is easily $25 for three people in the resort areas and down to $10 for three in the province rural areas. Beef is also not cheap here, but there is amazing chicken, seafood and pork, if you eat it. Yeah, I love a good steak, but it's not a deal breaker. The steaks here are different from the US Southwest, so you end up paying a lot for disappointment. I just don't eat it anymore. For that I get fresh seafood of all different varieties. Fresh ... not half rotten like in the mainland US. Another unexpected benefit here is the lack of chemicals and preservatives in food. Almost everything is sourced local from small farms and fishermen. Organic without the expensive label. I eat more carbs here than I did in the US, but have not gained any weight. It was an eye-opening revelation how poisoned the food is in the US. Rent/housing is a bit more expensive here, but you can get a very nice 2-BR condo in a resort area, with a pool and security guard, for 1K a month. In the rural areas, a renting a house can cost as little as $100-$200 a month. Less amenities though. Transportation is also cheap here. $1 for a short ride and no more than $5 for a long ride. A 2-hour bus ride to the other end of the island is $7. However, I rent a car and am buying one here. Personal preference. Many expats don't own a car, or just have a motorcycle. I have a family too, so owning a bigger vehicle makes more sense. It is always summer here, so you have to get used to the heat. If you cannot stand heat/humidity, you might want to reconsider. It's not as bad as Dallas, Houston or Phoenix in the summer, through. You're right that more money doesn't equal more happiness. In fact, more stuff = more overhead keeping it all organized and running. Far less is available here, so you buy far less. Only what you really need. Amazon doesn't deliver where I am, so that massively cut my spending :D Overall a great move. I don't regret it. Western men, you are being lied to about the world outside the West. I catch the same negative comments from a lot of my Western friends, who have never been here or even researched it.
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