Observations of a working expat couple, and their 9.5 kilogram cat ‘George’

All expats have a story of how they ended up in the Land of Smiles. Few are just ‘I got a job here’. It usually happens the other way around where people visit Thailand and find a reason to stay. John Read, writing for the Financial Times, and his husband German, have lived and worked in many of the world’s cities and hot-spots but currently live in the Big Mango with their own take on ‘nouveau expat’ life…

“We both like hot weather, and were happy to push our winter clothes to the back of the closet. In the “cold” season (December to January) Thais melodramatically put on scarves, hats and down jackets, but the temperature rarely falls below 20C — nicer than cold, rainy Jerusalem, where it can dip below zero.”

In this case the pair have settled into life in Bangkok working as foreign correspondents, along with their 9.5 kilogram cat ‘George’. Having lived around the world they say they’re always evaluating their new homes rated on the climate, food and social life.

“Bangkok delivers on all three counts. It has 8m people and can accurately call itself a world city. It pulls in foreigners from the region and overseas, whether Burmese builders, Australian restaurateurs or “ladyboys” from the Philippines who work at the clubs off Silom Road (fluent English is a plus when impersonating Beyoncé or Britney Spears). We have made more friends and acquaintances here in less than a year than we did in Jerusalem in nearly five.”

Read about their adventures and observations of life in Bangkok, ‘Building a new life in Bangkok, Thailand’s world city’ courtesy of Financial Times, HERE. And check out our list of the best 5 co-working spaces currently available in Bangkok.