Typical foreign-Thai couples in Chiang Mai
Posted: June 10th, 2017, 11:39 pm
Here is an overview of the typical foreign-Thai couples that you will encounter daily in Chiang Mai. Northern Thailand is a more laid-back upcountry place seen as a great place to retire, and generally attracts a different type of expat than Pattaya, Phuket, or Bangkok does.
In Thailand, most older white men settle down with Thai women in their 30's, more than half of whom already have children from past relationships, although once in a while you do see some mixed-race children. The average age gap is around 20. Typical white man - Thai woman couple I see in Chiang Mai:
- Divorced white man in his 50's-70's (baby boomer generation)
- Divorced Thai woman in her 30's or sometimes even 40's (generation X)
I see these general patterns (observed from among dozens of couples generally seen doing grocery shopping at department stores in Chiang Mai).
Age
- Thai woman in her 20's : usually with white man in his 40's
- Thai woman in her 30's : usually with white man in his 50's-60's
- Thai woman in her 40's : usually with white man in his 60's-80's
Both usually already have had their own biological children from past relationships.
The pattern here isn't exactly half your age plus seven, but it's not really that far off from it.
Origins
Men: Most are from the Germanic-speaking NW European countries, such as Scandinavia and the German-speaking countries. Some are from the Anglosphere (UK, US, Canada, Australia, NZ). There is a very notable lack of Southern European, Eastern European, and Latin American men.
Women: Some are Northern Thai, but many are Isan (both Northern and NE Thailand are "red-shirt country"). You can tell by the languages they speak and even by their looks oftentimes. There is a notable lack of Central Thai and Southern Thai women ("yellow-shirt country").
Other observations
- The man will be on either a retirement visa or marriage visa, which are both 1-year visas renewable annually, and require hefty cash deposits in Thai savings accounts. Or, the couple may be living abroad, and comes back to Thailand for 1-3 months during the winter season.
- Many have presumably met each other via the Internet or at a massage parlor, and the women usually do not look like go-go bar girls. At least in Chiang Mai, foreign men often pick different women for P4P, and different women to settle down with.
- They will be speaking to each other in English rather than Thai.
- The man is almost always on the less attractive and more obese side, and looks like a decrepit old lizard with very white hair, a very large body size, and a very red face. He usually wears khaki shorts with long socks, running shoes, and a mismatching striped shirt.
- The woman usually isn't that attractive by Thai standards either, and sometimes, but not always, has dark skin. The woman often looks sly and cunning rather than innocent-looking, and reminds me of a witch on a broomstick from a child's picture book.
There aren't really that many foreign-Thai couples who don't fit this trend.
I'm not looking down on either. Just posting my observations here and adding a bit of humor.
In Thailand, most older white men settle down with Thai women in their 30's, more than half of whom already have children from past relationships, although once in a while you do see some mixed-race children. The average age gap is around 20. Typical white man - Thai woman couple I see in Chiang Mai:
- Divorced white man in his 50's-70's (baby boomer generation)
- Divorced Thai woman in her 30's or sometimes even 40's (generation X)
I see these general patterns (observed from among dozens of couples generally seen doing grocery shopping at department stores in Chiang Mai).
Age
- Thai woman in her 20's : usually with white man in his 40's
- Thai woman in her 30's : usually with white man in his 50's-60's
- Thai woman in her 40's : usually with white man in his 60's-80's
Both usually already have had their own biological children from past relationships.
The pattern here isn't exactly half your age plus seven, but it's not really that far off from it.
Origins
Men: Most are from the Germanic-speaking NW European countries, such as Scandinavia and the German-speaking countries. Some are from the Anglosphere (UK, US, Canada, Australia, NZ). There is a very notable lack of Southern European, Eastern European, and Latin American men.
Women: Some are Northern Thai, but many are Isan (both Northern and NE Thailand are "red-shirt country"). You can tell by the languages they speak and even by their looks oftentimes. There is a notable lack of Central Thai and Southern Thai women ("yellow-shirt country").
Other observations
- The man will be on either a retirement visa or marriage visa, which are both 1-year visas renewable annually, and require hefty cash deposits in Thai savings accounts. Or, the couple may be living abroad, and comes back to Thailand for 1-3 months during the winter season.
- Many have presumably met each other via the Internet or at a massage parlor, and the women usually do not look like go-go bar girls. At least in Chiang Mai, foreign men often pick different women for P4P, and different women to settle down with.
- They will be speaking to each other in English rather than Thai.
- The man is almost always on the less attractive and more obese side, and looks like a decrepit old lizard with very white hair, a very large body size, and a very red face. He usually wears khaki shorts with long socks, running shoes, and a mismatching striped shirt.
- The woman usually isn't that attractive by Thai standards either, and sometimes, but not always, has dark skin. The woman often looks sly and cunning rather than innocent-looking, and reminds me of a witch on a broomstick from a child's picture book.
There aren't really that many foreign-Thai couples who don't fit this trend.
I'm not looking down on either. Just posting my observations here and adding a bit of humor.