Yossarian wrote:I can see that I've touched a raw nerve or two here and I certainly hope the South Carolina Department of Tourism is not logging on here (they'd never let me back.) I was just expressing my opinions about the subject of home values in Udon Thani. For me, the subject includes a discussion about the relative value of living in Thailand. I am not "trolling"; I sincerely hold the views I've expressed here.
This is the internet so I suppose anyone can login and say anything they want without having to look you in the eye or prove it.
Including you mate. 
I've lived in Udon on and off over the years. I like Udon very much, it is really one of my favorite places in Thailand. Now, I am a student at a Thai university in Bangkok, which is not as nice.
What's wrong, can't hack the US schools.....or can't afford them? Has to be a reason you're still here as you've made it quite clear you prefer the US over Thailand. It's sad you live such an unfufilling life in a country you despise so. 
There was a housing bubble in America and Europe from 2002 until about 2007. Just like in the stock market bubble of the 1990s, buyers bid-up home prices beyond their intrinsic value. The market is in the process of readjusting home prices to their more rational valuations as happened to most internet and technology stocks after 2000. This process takes longer in housing as it is a more illiquid asset. I think many of you perhaps bought or sold your homes during the bubble which is not a true reflection of your homes value. I think that we have to wait another 6 months to a year to see where prices settle back in the US and Europe. I think if you are basing your opinion on what the US housing market was during the bubble years, it is not a valid comparison.
I hear a lot of anti-American rhetoric on these boards, which has become quite fashionable. People have short memories. While they were in power, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher were deeply hated, especially in Western Europe. Yet, because of their sacrifices and policies, millions of people in Eastern Europe experience freedom and democracy and have even become members of the EU.
It is obvious from my posts that I think poorly of Thailand, its culture, and its people. When I first came to live here, the opposite was true. My opinion about Thailand is a result of having lived here for years and learned as much as I could about the country, culture, language, and people. The more I learned about it, the more I disliked it. Regardless of how long we live here, how many wives or children we have, or how much we assimilate into the culture, we will always be a "farang" to them, an outsider, a permanent tourist. Most of us are probably too drunk on women or beer to know or care one way or the other.
Guess you're just a masochist; otherwise you'd leave and never come back......a very simple solution.
Is it real? Maybe. Or maybe it just proves the adage, familiarity breeds contempt. I think white foreigners who somehow feel "integrated" into Thai culture or "at home" here are just deluding themselves.
It's OK to enjoy the women and beer, but don't confuse it with what's real. I don't necessarily look down on Thailand, etc. It's more that I see our cultures as being so different, opposite really, in so many fundamental ways as to make it inevitable that we would not get along.
Okay, thanks I will. 
Funny, the women and beer here seem real enough.....guess I'm just not a 'deep thinker' like some folks. 
At any rate, if you feel comfortable buying a house here and feel as though it is "home," then that is your experience and you really can't argue with someone's experience.
I'm quite envious of white foreigners who can feel at home here but for me, I just can't knowing what I know.
Ahhhhhh.........the truth comes out........I thought that was it. =D>
That's okay mate, a little geen-eyed envy never hurt anyone; good luck in SC. 
