Nathan..

[Jeff S]

Your post about Thais has become buried under the snowstorm of fights. I'd like you to expand on your comments please. I personally know only two Thai woman/Western man couples, and both seem to be very happy and much in-love. One's an older guy, (mid 40s) younger wife (late 20s) couple without any kids, the other are both pretty young, he, late 20's and she early 20s when they were married about 7 years ago and she's now pregnant with their 2nd child.

My ex-brother-in-law, well traveled in SE Asia, lives in Thailand 6-8 months a year and rates Thai women far higher than Filipinas. I've never gotten him to expound on why, but he seems like he was scammed by a Filipina once, so usually mutters a few un-mentionable adjectives and changes the subject.

Just curious about your comments.

- Jeff

[Nathan]

... in response to Nathan.., posted by Jeff S on Aug 29, 2003

Jeff,

    Well, it sounds like his experience was a bad one in the Philippines, but overall it is usually easier for an American
to function in the Philippines than in Thailand, if for no other reason than the level of english language in the Philippines vs Thailand. Culturally, the Philippines is much closer to the US than is Thailand. However, since it is not nearly as popular to marry a westerner in Thailand, it could be that a lot fewer scammers are in the pack, even though I have heard about plenty of notorious scams in both places.

[Jeff S]

... in response to Thailand vs Philippines, posted by Nathan on Aug 29, 2003

Personally, i think the overall level of scamming is greatly overexaggerated, especially from Asia. While I'm sure it has happened, it seems to be the topic most discussed, and most worried about by those thinking about going East, and the one least likely to actually happen. All too often when things go sour in a relationship, it's easy to justify a person's own failure by just announcing, "she was a scammer." That being said, those who were actually scammed, and were brave enough to post their experiences here, seem to have ignored, or just plain missed, some obvious red flags. I haven't read about nor known about any of the very sophisticated and devious scams you read about on the East European board.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I seem to meet a lot of very sweet and friendly Thai girls. They seem very open to Westerners and don't appear to be the social climber types - those I meet are ususally the hard working, industrious types. I'm just surprised there aren't more couples or men interested in Thailand on this board.

- Jeff

[Nathan]

... in response to Re: Thailand vs Philippines, posted by Jeff S on Aug 30, 2003


   By far, scams are not the biggest problem a man will face.
Simply making bad choices is the greatest risk a man will encounter. Some men should give Thailand a look- I don't know if you spent any significant amount of time there, but it is more difficult to connect with women there ( I mean non working girls ) and most yanks would find a catholic or protestant girls who speak english to be a far easier match than a Thai girl who does not. However, with a little work, a man could overcome those difficulties, especially if he can spend a lot of time in Thailand. It does have one advantage- it is a pretty safe country to visit compared to the Philippines- it has a much lower violent crime rate in Thailand.

[HaroldC]

... in response to Re: Re: Thailand vs Philippines, posted by Nathan on Aug 30, 2003

nt