Written Sadly by John Irvin                           No. 26                                               August 1, 1999

Moving Back to the U.S.A.

I’m moving back to the USA, and I feel very sad about it. But it’s a decision I made, or have been making, over the period of a year. I measured the value of staying here, the good effect for me, against the good effect of returning to my home country. My home country won out.

But I know that there are all kinds of parameters here. Many people go home, only to come back less than a year later. One friend returned to the U.S., and was riding on a Greyhound bus somewhere in the middle of Colorado, when he overheard a conversation about making decisions in life. One of the people was making a point about "letting go" of relationships, and my friend became so inspired that he got off the bus at the next stop and bought his ticket back to Thailand. He was gone from Chiang Mai less than a month.

I know some of you readers may be disappointed about my leaving, but let's be pragmatic for a minute. Every phase of our lives has a beginning and an end; some are long, and others short. I could have stayed in Thailand forever, until I became old and wrinkled, but I have other lives yet to live, other functions to fulfill, before I am finished. I may come back to Thailand again, to live or to visit, in the future. But right now I need to think of exploring other career opportunities, and of saving money for retirement. Those are two areas in which Thailand falls short, in my opinion. I will have to go somewhere else, at least for now.

We can all learn from this experience. I advise anyone in mid-life or younger who is thinking of moving to Thailand to consider the long view, as well as just taking a few years off. Money becomes important as you get older, and no one wants to be broke in their old age. Living in Thailand, there will be little chance to save money from most kinds of employment, unless you have additional income from overseas. Certainly, teaching English will not give you enough income to save. You’ll basically be at the level of wealth you walk in with when you first get here. It won’t get any better than that. So, if you want to stay for a few years, then go back home, fine, but if you are thinking of staying for the long term, be sure you are financially set to begin with.

Ditto for business and career connections. It is very hard to make contacts – say for publishing in the USA – while living in southeast Asia. It probably works better to have the connections you want before you come here. Visiting home for one month per year doesn’t seem to be enough time to establish these kinds of contacts.

Another issue that comes up for residents after a couple of years is severing the ties. It becomes more and more obvious after a while that bank accounts, credit cards, drivers licenses, and all the other forms of membership in your home country will eventually be lost, and you will lose your place in your home country as well if you stay away too long. For the first year or two, euphoria will make you overlook this, but eventually it will come to you. Then you'll have to choose, and decide whether your life is here, in Thailand, or back home.

Of course, having said all this, I realize that some people are fine living a life of uncertainty and adventure. Others are independently wealthy, so they can afford to travel, or they may have the kind of jobs that give them a lot of flexibility. I think that most people who move here don’t plan their entire future at one time, because those kinds of people usually wouldn’t move to Thailand in the first place. But – a word of experience – it wouldn’t hurt to do a little planning before you come.

In any case, this website will go on, and I'll try to have a new story every month (the first couple of months might be a little hectic, but I think you can understand that).   I have lots of Thailand inside me, and lots of ideas for stories already, eager to burst out of my head and onto your computer screen. I love writing about Thailand, just as I love the people, the food, and the smells (yes, even the smells of the fish market, or the rotting lamyai in my yard outside my house). In fact, maybe I'll do a story on the smells of Thailand.

So, what will re-entry into the fast lane be like? Will I be able to get a job and an apartment easily in the U.S.? Will I blurt out Thai phrases by accident to waiters and store clerks, and to my family? It's hard to say exactly how this will turn out. If it's interesting enough, I'll put some of my adventures online. But for now, I've got lots of packing to do. So, see you in a while – hopefully, next month. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Stay tuned for my next newsletter.

© Copyright 1999, John Irvin

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