My experience in Amazing Thailand has not been to great. In fact, I'm miserable here. I don't find the people at all nice. Outwardly, yes, but deep down, no. Before I came here I was talking to someone about my intention of moving here. He said Thailand... violence with a smile. I was deeply offended then, now I can see what he meant. I'm thinking seriously about moving onward, it's difficult, because I brought everything from the US, and now I have to find another place and go through all the hassle again. If you look at some of the statistics at a site called nationmaster they will tell you weird stuff like that LOS (Land of Smiles) Thailand has the 3rd largest # of gun homicides in the world - after S.Africa and Colombia. A good source for information is the thaivisa website. You will hear a bit more negativity there maybe because it's got a lot of long-time expat posters. Good luck whatever you decide. See my other 2 posts (I just joined so I can look for info from expats from other countries as a prelude to getting out of here). I think the most successful people here find a good girlfriend who helps act as an interface to the society, and those that can learn this really really difficult language. Just one man's opinion - Buzzer