Living in a Thai Village is Not Always Easy

There are quite a few westerners living in rural locations all around Thailand; some claim to have found their perfect location, while others feel trapped and eager to leave. I lived in in a Thai village for four years and found it mostly to be a positive experience, but there are negative factors associated with westerners living in a Thai village. Any westerner considering the move to a rural location should definitely consider these prior to making the move.

The first factor to consider when moving to a Thai village is that you will likely be well away from other foreigners. The village where I lived was over a 100 kilometres from the nearest city; there were only two other westerners within a twenty kilometre radius. I could go weeks without meeting anyone who spoke English above a conversational level; it could be lonely. On the plus side it does give you an incentive to improve your Thai; even though some westerners prefer just to struggle alone in English with the help of their Thai wife or girlfriend. So living in a Thai village can be a lonely business if you are the type of person who likes deep conversations or who likes to have many ex-pat friends to go out drinking with.

There is a lot less entertainment venues in rural Thailand. This worked out well for me, as I gave up alcohol, but for some people not having bars can be a problem. There are karaoke places scattered around rural Thailand, but these venues are very different from the bar scene that most westerners are used to. Occasionally there will be village parties and these can be great fun, but mostly villages are quite with most people going to bed early so they can go work on the land at the crack of dawn. The village where I lived was dead after seven in the evening. Lack of a social life can be a real problem for those westerners moving to a Thai village.

There is very little privacy in a village and this can be a real problem if you are a solitary kind of person. People tend to drop by at whatever time they feel like and there are no secrets; life in a village is slow and people have a lot of time for gossip. It can be difficult to find time by yourself. Thai people like to eat as part of a group and this is even more enforced in a village; it is like they see it as something shameful to be eating alone. Lack of privacy can be a real problem for westerners moving to a Thai village.

A serious consideration for anyone moving to a Thai village is health care provision. Most villages have a clinic, but they will not be able to deal with serious problems. If you live in a village far from a city then it really could be risky if you have any type of cardiac history or any other condition that might mean you need sudden intensive health care provision. In the village where we lived it would have taken a couple of hours to get to a large hospital. This is why we left soon after our son was born. Lack of health care provision is something that people should think long and hard about prior to moving to a Thai village.

If you don't like Thai food or need to regularly eat western food then living in a Thai village might be difficult for you. Rural locations can be provide some delicious fresh food, but the availability of non-local products is often extremely limited. This is another consideration that people need to think about prior to moving to a Thai village.

I really enjoyed my four years living in a Thai village. If people carefully consider the benefits and problems associated with the move then they will be in a better position to enjoy the experience or to decide that it isn't for them.