Paradise Lost? Island Living in Thailand (2.47)

Today we compare living in Bangkok vs a tropical island
paradise in Thailand. Also, we share how you can participate in our
upcoming one year anniversary show, and give yet another reminder
about the big Bangkok-wide I Love Podcasting In Bangkok event
coming up August 30th, 2017. Please forgive the sound
of the rolling surf in the background during the interview with
this week's guest. That's just one bonus of living on an island in
Thailand vs the big city of Bangkok: giving up the sounds of
traffic for the sounds of the sea. Like many people, our guest this
week - an old friend of Greg's named Tad - first discovered
Thailand on a famous full moon party island. After stretching his
vacation to two months, he went back to his native home in Los
Angeles and started making plans for full-time living in his
newfound paradise. A year later, he was back at the same spot,
ready to do it again and forever. Stop me if you heard this one,
but it wasn't quite the same the second time around. Paradise, as
it seems, can be lost. "It's like Groundhog Day, but
with Red Bull and SangSom." - Tad Still convinced that
island living was what he wanted, he packed up and moved to the
barely-occupied Thai island Ko Lanta to try his hand at living
pre-tourist wave. But that was a decade ago. Fast-forward to today
for our episode topic: Expat living in Thailand away from the
hustle-and-bustle of Bangkok, deep in paradise. Is it really all
it's cracked up to be? Can you really trust a "professional
electrician" who wears flip flops on the job? And how often can you
hit the waves when you're running your dream business seven days a
week? Tad brings a healthy dose of reality for those ready to
follow their dreams. Listen in to get some pro tips. Oh, and
to add a bit of color to the interview, here's a photo Greg took
from Tad's pad on Lanta. No wonder you could hear waves in the
background. Click to embiggen. As mentioned on the episode,
we're quickly approaching one year of doing the podcast, and for
our 50th show we'll be featuring questions submitted by our
listeners, so get in touch via the links below! Also, if you
haven't yet RSVP'd to the big I Love Podcasting In
Bangkok meetup coming up on August 30th, please do
so. Love, Loathe, or Leave While there
are many cultural affections in Bangkok that stand out to North
Americans, we're covering the comb-over on this episode. You know,
that thing that went out of style in the '60s and only adopted by
old men who didn't get the news? It's categorically not out of
style over here and is as commonplace as women carrying shoulder
bags. Listen in to find out where our heads are on the issue. (Did
you see what we did there?) We Love Our
Supporters! This week, we're thanking another of our
supporters. This time, it's Matthew "Cookies"
Cramer. How did Matthew -- or just Cookies -- earn that
title? You'll have to listen to find out what story we have to
tell. You can thank Cookies and dozens of other people who help us
keep the show free of annoying ads and get access to bonus content,
cool swag and more by supporting us on
Patreon. You should join them! Want More
Bangkok Podcast In Your Life? If it's your first time
experiencing The Bangkok Podcast, you really should get our show
downloading to your phone automatically every week. If you use iOS,
it's a breeze to listen via Apple
Podcasts. Android users are be able get
the show any number of ways. And for bonus points,
leave us a review on those platforms or however you listen to the
show. We'd love to hear from you! You can
add our official LINE account, comment on a post
or send us a message via our Facebook
page, tweet to us
@bangkokpodcast, or simply via the
contact form on our website. You may also be
interested in Greg's tweets of snarky Bangkok
goodness, and you can see way too much of Evo's
face  on Instagram. If
you're really new, the Bangkok Podcast is co-hosted by
Greg Jorgensen and Evo
Terra. Together the have over 20 years expat
experience in Bangkok, and are self-certified experts in living in
the City of Angels. (Not Los Angeles. Thailand, silly!)
(Direct download .mp3)