More or less foreigners moving to Udon Thani?

[Wisdom]

Thanks Prenders88 for your advice about finding a place to rent in Udon area. Next visit, i will check out area for private rentals.

[LoveDaBlues]

PhilR - I think you'll be wasting your time checking on rentals. There are PLENTY of places here for rent and sale. If you decide to retire to Udon full time then just check out the places for rent then. I would steer clear of 'estate agents'; just another middle-man to extract money.

[homer]

When asked by a couple of buddies what the appeal was about Udon that made me choose it over other places in LOS, I half-jokingly said,"no golden arches." They found this hilarious, and informed me that Ronald was soon coming to town via the new UDcenter.

[Paul]

There were 'Golden Arches' here when I first came here (quite a few years ago) they belonged to an outdoor buffet type restaurant - oddly enough they seem to have disappeared now

[homer]

There were 'Golden Arches' here when I first came here (quite a few years ago) they belonged to an outdoor buffet type restaurant - oddly enough they seem to have disappeared now

LMAO! Trust the Thais. You gotta love their unique brand of entrepreneurial spirit.

[KHONDAHM]

For a significant increase in expats living in Udon, there would have to be 100's more places to rent, and also to buy....Without the expansion in houses to rent or buy, Udon will remain a niche place, not saturated with new expats.

Co-signed.

Also, for any city anywhere to grow, there needs to be some sort of anchor to grow around. Bangkok has commerce and government, Khorat is like the fallback for Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket have the beach/nightlife, Rayong has factories, etc. Sure Udon has an "international" airport, but not enough is happening there to draw enough people away from other places. It does seem that more long-term expats are making the move to Udon and away from the primary cities. IMHO, and in my case, it is because the wife has roots nearby and the cheaper and easier living.

[TJ]

IMO there will be masses of foreigners fleeing Europe, many will be moving to LOS and Udon Thani as Europe falls to the Islamics.

"A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe. San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century."

... in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world, a world very few visitors see – and one that does not appear in your tourist guidebook. It is the world of the parallel society created by Muslim mass-migration. All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighbourhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It’s the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps ahead. With mosques on many street corner. The shops have signs you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighbourhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe. These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe, street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, city by city.

There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe. With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule."

Link: http://www.cicentre.com/articles/gw_ame ... nding.html

[BobHelm]

Oh thanks for that link TJ. Old Geert really is a card, a true comedian in the style of sacha baron cohen, although his punch lines need some work...

[Asiaphile]

IMO ... Clearly, the signal is: we rule."

While driving through Soi Sampan to drop me off at Top Mansion, a Thai friend made comments of similar import on FALANGS in Thailand …

[jackspratt]

"A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe. San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century."

Link: http://www.cicentre.com/articles/gw_ame ... nding.html

No - San Diego University didn't calculate it.

The only place you will find references to this is amongst the normal alarmist (that is the kindest word I could find) blogs, and some news reports, which refer to a Jay Wax, a researcher at SDU.

Try doing a google search for the elusive Mr Wax + SDU - you will come up pretty much pretty empty handed.

And of course the "calculation" appears to be based purely on extrapolation, and ignores the fact that the fertility rates of 2nd generation Muslims in Europe are dropping.

The current population of "Europe" is estimated at 830 million, of which 25% is 207 million. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Europe

So from the current base of 54 million (in itself a debatable number), there is going to be a further 153 million Muslims born or immigrate to Europe by 2021 ie quadruple the current population Particularly when the current rate of all immigration (ie not only Muslim) into Europe (as best as I can establish) is about 2 million per year

Just a tiny bit of analysis exposes this as the nonsense that it is.

Reds under the beds stuff.

[UdonExpat]

IMO ... Clearly, the signal is: we rule."

While driving through Soi Sampan to drop me off at Top Mansion, a Thai friend made comments of similar import on FALANGS in Thailand …

Your Thai friend and TJ should get together. I'm sure they'll be able to reinforce each other's paranoia.

In fact, it's all a vast conspiracy by the European governments to get their socialist loving citizens to abandon their homelands and replace them with immigrants who will take care of themselves.

[Asiaphile]

Your Thai friend and TJ should get together. I'm sure they'll be able to reinforce each other's paranoia

That's an excellent suggestion! =D>
They can then bid up against each other who has more radical xenophobic ideas.

[thanuhak]

I agree with KD, and think the foreigners moving here will continue to be predominantly retired gentlemen with their Thai wives.

It's pretty tough for most Westerners to generate a decent living here, and Udon is less accessible to newcomers than other big cities in Thailand with larger expat communities.

In fact, I'd say you need to pretty clever to eke out a decent living here, with no other incoming sources of revenue from anywhere.

There are a few niches, and you can freelance, but in my experience, it takes some inspiration and lots of perspiration - even more than usual! - in order to do more than just get by.

[TJ]

The same is happening throughout Scandanavia. Though I understand you embrace the philisophies of the Fabian Socialists, I do not understand why you spread disinformation about the coming demise of western civilization.

20% of "Swedes" are already muslims (by immigration or birth by immigrants during the last 20 years). Sweden with 9 million citizens recieved 100 000 (one hundered thousand) Iraqi refugies during the one year of 2008 alone. By 2035 a MAJORITY of the "Swedes" will be ARABS.

http://mises.org/Community/forums/t/5616.aspx

[BobHelm]

TJ the figures you quote above are a complete fabrication.
In 2008 Sweden received 24,353 IN TOTAL - 6,083 were from Iraq. Source Official Swedish Government Figures
http://www.scb.se/Pages/TableAndChart____118098.aspx
360,000 of the population are Muslim - 4% NOT 20%

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/rel_i ... population

Really...some of these sites are unbelievable..

[jackspratt]

Really...some of these sites are unbelievable..

Au contraire Bob.......they are quite believable if the nonsense they are sprouting fits your narrow and unquestioning view of the world.

[DRILLER]

ive eaten at maccas twice already...there are other advantages with maccas too....not just the food

[KHONDAHM]

Being a passive atheist (I don't subscribe to nor care about - but try to respect - others' religions), it is interesting to follow the hijacking of this thread and observe that no one is running around saying "OMG! Those Christians are taking over! Run for your lives!" It's a historic fact that violence, oppression, and intolerance overwhelmingly comes from them more so than Muslims or any other religion. Fleeing religious intolerance, oppression, and yes "religious terrorism" in Europe is how my country got its start - and those weren't Muslims running around whacking everyone - it was Christians and it is unfolding all over again. Both are giving reasons to justify another Crusade or Jihad against the other.

I mean, c'mon...repeating history by generalizing and perpetuating fear of a theological invasion is a bit ridiculous IMHO. Every person I know personally of a variety of religions are all decent human beings. There are wackos in every religion, and it is sad that the wackos are getting so much attention with so much media and a passive audience; but statistically as a percentage of any large population, there are bound to be wackos.

If we have forgotten history, the books are still around - heck, it's now on video. Let's pause for a moment and take the time to revisit and learn from history, not repeat it. [-o<

Just my song-baht.

Cheers!

[rick]

More. Lets try a little TJ-nomics on this. There are maybe 8,000 falangs in Udon thani. The numbers are increasing by 50% every year (my source is local tuk-tuk driver). In only 15 years, we will be the majority. In 20 years, Thailand will be eligible to Join the EU or become the 51st State. Hmm..... maybe.

[Wisdom]

Your tuk-tuk driver probably already found plenty of 'real ale' in Udon! 8000 plucked out the air. 50% more each year. Majority in 20 years. Maybe farang good for business, and his fantasy maybe!? Where are all these new farang to live? I haven't seen FBI Estate Agency blossom with extra properties to sell or rent, if anything seems less lately. Keep Udon special, keep farangs out out out!!! (sorry thought i was on an RMT picket line for a second there). You can live in Udon rick, and me of course, but, keep Udon Thani mainly Thai i say, and keep costs there compared to 'tourist Thailand', forever lower!