There's nothing wrong with Pattaya, even though many bash the place. I've been there, terrific restaurants, lots of stuff to see, and driving around is a breeze. Good hotels choices too. Chiangmai as you already know is much more laid-back, more of a family kind of scene. Lots of northern girls but quantity-wise not even in the same league as Pattaya
Thanks to my girl I speak pretty good Thai but unfortunately cannot read or write. We speak to each other only in Thai but her English is BASICLY OK. If you decided to learn, there is a very good school here at the Payap University, many foreigners study there. I was planning to do a 2 hour per day course next year to improve and see if I can study the Thai script, which is quite likely a bitch to learn
Well, speaking and listening is pretty much all of the battle. Reading and writing are not too important, as you will also realize that most written stuff is translated to English (at least in the cities).
Yeah, you're right. For complicated or even just slightly difficult docs, she takes care of the interpretations and explains them to me. That's good enough.
You could try what I did in Phuket to talk to the girl, she spoke zero English at that time. Pattaya gotta have a similar school or schools. At Patong Beach in Phuket there was a school run by a Chinese Thai with Thai conversation classes one-on-one for 2 hours every day - I took that and in no time at all I was speaking. The short course is enough to be self-sufficient out on the streets and with the girls. The pronunciation is tough but it comes thru' after some practice. English is really all that's reqd. with the girls but speaking Thai is the EDGE
One of the drawbacks I found of understanding more Thai was that it brought back a reason for moving abroad that I had forgotten -- overhearing conversations. I'd lived in Thai for quite a while where I could hear people speaking but blissfully unaware of what was said. Then one day I noticed I was imagining how I would handle somebody else's situation, then realized, I understood Thai well enough that I was overhearing their conversation and getting drawn into it. Then it was some effort to get my mind back in order and try to ignore it. But other than that, I agree, if you can understand and speak some, it makes things go much more smoothly. I began reading and writing by getting a dictionary and reading billboards and ads. They are simple and see them frequently, it is a good start. The spelling is phonetic, so if you can sound out the letters you can figure out what it says. But I can't spell, that gets tough. AfterLOS -- she looks great, congratulations, and she likes cats !! My wife is great too, but she doesn't like cats much, I wish she liked them more.
AfterLOS and zeddoublenaught, I am jealous of both of you. As for those fellow men currently bearing the terrible burden of a white western woman, not only am I not jealous of you but in fact I pity you and pray for your well being. The thing you are living with is, on average, worse than living with a rabid dog with halitosis. You just don't realise it yet... or maybe you do!
Thanks very much RE: speaking the language My philosophy on living in a country, any country regardless poor or rich country, 1st world or 5th world, if I want to live there more than 6 months, the most prudent thing to do is learn the language for that is the price of admission to the CULTURE. 6 months is the threshold (for me) AfterLOS has been pulled over for speeding perhaps 13-15 times in total over the last few years in Thailand - cop comes over, I see him in the mirror, and just as he arrives at the window, I wai him, say "sawat dee krap" - in an ogonblick he auto responds with a wai and lo and behold we be pals = no ticket, no warning, but a business card with his number on it and then he says, "welcome to Thailand, if you have any difficulties here, call me, I will help you" That's one of the reasons (of countless others) why Thailand is called the Land of Smiles and in AfterLOS opinion, God's country
Since you mentioned your preference is to marry a Thai woman, relax and take it easy, let her come to you. No need to hunt. For PLAYING around you need to hunt, but for a wife you don't. Charles Bronson once said, "taking it easy is the first thing a businessman oughtta do" = ditto for a man looking for a wife. For matters of the aesthetic such as LOVE and DEVOTION one could shop till one drops but there will most likely be no cigar! Invoking PATIENCE opens the door to this realm. And when you find yours, pattayatrader, please post here and confirm for AfterLOS that your girl arrived at DESTINATION=YOU without fanfare and SOFTLY, the modus operandi of LOVE. Wish you huge amounts of luck, my friend
In light of the FREEEEEE education Americans MEN have received in this thread, a stupendously better answer than the one I gave you a few days ago would now be A charming MAN with DEVOTION native to his character