Gerg, you are probably on a much safer bet with a 40+ year old (your's being 41) as she is probably lonely too - and unlikely to be 'a working girl' with practice of ripping off Farangs. So, good choice there.

I must say though, that most Farangs rent here. There are many reasons and I'll try to list a few:
- Houses are not the investment as they are expected to be in the west (pre credit crunch at least). Thais prefer to buy new or rent old too.
- Houses are often not built to last (especially now a days) and if you rent, you can just move if the house starts to fall apart.
- There are basically no community protection laws here. You neighbour could suddenly turn their house into an all night disco, bar, brothel, motorbike garage, kennels, whatever and if the right tea money is paid, tough.
- Rents are very cheap.
- You can move at will.
- Many come fully furnished (TV and kitchen electrics, beds and bedding, furniture, the works), so keeps the costs down there too (though I'd buy your own bedding!).

You will be surprised by the price of second hand cars here. Thais never really got the term 'depreciation'. Ten year old cars, dented and unserviced for years will still cost thousands of dollars! Nearly new cars are the same (or strangely sometimes more) than the new prices. New pickups can be had for cheap though.

One other thing though - if you are easily bored, village life may not be for you. After the holiday novelty has worn off, its basically boring - that's why most of us live somewhere more urban like Chiang Mai (or Pattaya if your mad - sorry KS). Its also nice to hear some English now and again too (especially if your Thai is up to it) - and get a decent (ish) internet connection. Just a thought.

Good luck and let us know when you're one of us