I Chose a Thai Village over Australia at 56 (Here’s Why)

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]It's easy to assume that every retired ferang or western man that comes to Thailand is down and out and broke.

[00:00:06]Trust me, I've heard it all before.

[00:00:09]Before I came to Thailand, I had already made plans to leave the city behind. I bought a beautiful house in one of the best towns in West Australia, Walpole. I was serious. I wanted off the grid.

[00:00:21]Fishing, hunting, golf, awesome 4x4 beach tracks, old growth forest. I had the Land Cruiser, my golf clubs were polished, the ESI was full. I had everything I needed for a normal hardworking Aussie bloke. Then the redundancy wave came sooner than planned. So, what's really cool about uh village life and also semi-retirement, you know, let's let's let's blend the two here, is that you can just get up and do what you want when you want. I am not used to that, man. That to me is one of the biggest revelations is to be able to just operate under your own clock.

[00:01:01]Now, of course, that comes with responsibilities.

[00:01:04]If you're doing a little business on the side or whatever, um I think even if I was fully retired, I would still be working at some level. I would be I would be doing something to keep me occupied for sure and picking up a few dollars on the side. But anyway, here I am. Um, absolutely loving it.

[00:01:25]It's been what, five months since I've been up here and yeah, zero zero regrets. But what I wanted to show you guys is just give you a little feel for my world here. And I know I've come off the back of some serious videos about isolation and loneliness. And I just want I wanted to preface my next series of videos with that just to plant the seed in your head and just let you know that they're the sort of struggles I think the mental struggles are probably I would rank one of the highest um risks that you're going to face. Put aside, you know, insurance and health and all of that stuff. I think the mental side is the most important for us lads because as we get older, we get more fragile. Have you noticed that you can't handle things as as as well as you used to when you were young? We we seem to take things a little more serious when we're older and we seem to take things a little more personal. So, learning a to brush all that crap aside and just live one day at a time for me is uh is the way I handle the situation. Out here in the villages of Thailand, life moves differently. Nobody's in a hurry. People just live. In many rural Thai communities, the cost of living is much lower than the West. People rely less on debt-driven consumer lifestyles. Family and community networks are still really strong, and outdoor social interaction is still very common. People seem to live dayto-day. And for a western man who spent decades inside schedules, deadlines, and endless pressure, that simplicity was harder to get used to than I expected. Out here, the biggest decision for me some mornings is whether to grab another coffee and watch the rain roll in over the rice fields. When I first got up here, it just gave me North Queensland vibes. And even though I'm West Australian, I've lived in North Queensland and I absolutely love Queen Queensland's probably my favorite state in Australia. I just love the people.

[00:03:31]They seem to be a little bit more chilled up there. I love the I love the weather and yeah, this reminded me straight away of North Queensland. Now, we are in the beginning of the wet season, I believe. Pull me up if I'm wrong, boys. What are we? Miday. So, have a look at this, guys. And I'll try and find some uh footage when I first came here just to juxtapose the difference how green and rich it is. Now I'm out front of one of my cabins. So I rent two cabins, guys. And um one is my home and one is my studio. This will be my office. And also Patchy will be working out of here as well in the future. Um, and this is the view from the office, mate. Now, you can't see it, but the mechong is basically those if you I'll try and zoom in, but those buildings are across the river. That is Lao. You're looking at Lao there. Um, there is a little creek right in front of us that runs into the river. There's a little offshoot creek there, but basically we're 40 m. You can see someone is in the field there doing something. But um yeah, so the deal is I uh I rent two cabins on a private property and I'm paying for a,000 B, guys. All right. Uh between you and I, one thing you notice very quickly in rural Thailand is that people still live close to each other. Families here don't always operate as isolated little units the way we often do in the West.

[00:05:15]grandparents, cousins, aunties, uncles, everyone seems connected into daily life. And because of that, village life is far more sustainable than our modern western cities. People still grow things, trade things, they cook for each other. They share meals, and they share spaces. And it's not because it's trendy or organic, but because that's simply how life has worked here for generations. Back home, most of us become completely dependent on systems we barely even think about anymore.

[00:05:47]Supermarkets, credit cards, delivery apps, endless consumption. Out here, there's still a connection between people and the land around them. But there's a resilience in small village culture that modern western cities have lost over time. When your life revolves around community instead of consumption, you don't seem to need as much to feel secure or comfortable.

[00:06:11]We have traveled out to see Pachy's father today. And one thing I can say is these guys are living totally sustainable here. They are able to pretty much 100% live off the land.

[00:06:26]Purch.

[00:06:29]You're going to show us around this property and I'll show you what I mean.

[00:06:32]Guys, for starters, I just saw someone roll up and drop off these um Show us the mushrooms, darling. Yeah, check this out, guys. Like, obviously, right now, mushrooms and mangoes are in season, so everyone's eating mushrooms and mangoes.

[00:06:48]Look at this. Now, in Australia, I was taught that mushies that are white underneath are not edible, but apparently over here they are, cuz they're eating them.

[00:07:02]Uh, I'm not a mushy guy. I don't know anything about mushrooms. I'm totally totally ignorant. But we will learn, guys. We're going to learn how to live sustainably. And trust me, these guys are doing it. So, I'm going to show you around the little property here. And when I observe, all I see is food everywhere. I see pumpkin. That's pumpkin, darling.

[00:07:34]>> H.

[00:07:34]>> Pumpkin.

[00:07:36]>> Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[00:07:36]>> Yeah. Pumpkin.

[00:07:39]>> Mango.

[00:07:40]>> Small pumpkin.

[00:07:43]>> Yep. Little pumpkin. Yep. I could see pumpkin a mile away. I know what pumpkin looks like. And >> oh, chili. Oh, this is all herbs here.

[00:07:55]All this is herb garden.

[00:07:59]All herbs. I can see the uh lemongrass everywhere. Mangoes.

[00:08:09]>> Tomato.

[00:08:10]>> Not tomato. Um, >> what is this?

[00:08:14]>> Oh, little squash.

[00:08:15]>> Like I think that's a squash, guys.

[00:08:20]But let's have a look around. And >> it is like intensely hot today, guys.

[00:08:26]Just check it out. I'll give you a little Have a look at this. This is I reckon it's got to be 80% humidity right now.

[00:08:34]And what these guys do, they do what we used to do back in the 80s, and they put a sprinkler. Now, I'll zoom in on this, but there's a sprinkler sprinkler system on the roof there, and they turn that on to cool the tin roof down.

[00:08:51]No insulation. I mean, I think I'd have to put a ceiling in that in that building and put some insulation in there, but they do it their own way. And there's plenty of water up here, too.

[00:09:04]This is looks like squash. What are they, darling?

[00:09:09]>> What is this?

[00:09:11]>> Um, these little uh plum.

[00:09:17]>> No. Uh, >> I will translate later.

[00:09:22]>> You eat. Oh, she's eating it. Oh, sour.

[00:09:27]Um, >> I will translate this later. I haven't got a clue what Patchy's saying, but all right, let's get out there quick because this camera is heating up like a a proverbial, but it's um getting very hot this camera. Um, and the batteries don't like it now. But come out the back here. You got the bananas here.

[00:09:51]You can see there's just food everywhere, guys. And these guys don't go to Big C and buy I mean they rarely even go to the shop. The I think the only time these guys go to the shop is to buy snacks or beer.

[00:10:08]But here you can see you got the mangoes everywhere. These guys the mangoes are growing wild on the sides of the streets and bananas. Like you you're just not going to go hungry up here. And if, like I said, if there was ever a a zombie apocalypse, I know where I'm going to be. And it won't be in the West. One thing that I've struggled with over the years is the growing feeling that modern Western society no longer trusts ordinary people to make decisions for themselves.

[00:10:41]Because for far too long, we've allowed our governments to overreach into our personal lives. And somewhere along the way, a culture developed where governments increasingly stepped into areas of life that is our personal responsibility. There's an underlying idea that people constantly need to be protected from themselves. Some people call this progress. Some call it safety.

[00:11:05]But for me, it feels like a nanny state mentality that slowly chips away at personal freedom and individual responsibility. And maybe that's part of why village life in Thailand feels so different to me. Out here, life feels less controlled and less managed. Now, that doesn't mean Thailand is perfect.

[00:11:24]Far from it. But after years of feeling boxed in by systems, rules, bureaucracy, and social pressure, there's something deeply refreshing about living in a culture that still places genuine value on community, elders, and personal responsibility.

[00:11:42]We've got to head into Pompasai, which is the main town from the village we're staying in. And uh we got to head in there. I want to go to DIY. It's like a Bunnings. I got to grab some sealant, a few bits and bobs. All right. Don't laugh at the helmet, guys. It is definitely under regulations, but it's better than nothing. The only time I'll ever ride in Thailand is if I go into town from here.

[00:12:09]And we're we're out in the middle of the stick. say the traffic's not so bad, but it I wouldn't ride in any of the ma major tourist spots or metropolises.

[00:12:20]Too busy, too risky. All right, let's get out of here.

[00:12:25]I got me uh my baby doing the riding. Patchy, are you going to get us home safely?

[00:12:34]Look, she looks like a a biker.

[00:12:38]All right, let's go.

[00:12:43]Ow.

[00:12:44]See, it's hot. Ah, and I'm totally under clothes, guys. I would normally wear jeans and but it's way too hot.

[00:12:52]Let's do it, baby.

[00:13:07]All right, we've arrived at Mr. DIY.

[00:13:12]All right, the first thing we need is corking or sealant cuz uh we've got some big cracks in our cabin and the little lizards are coming in and and everywhere. So, ah, here we go.

[00:13:29]>> Small Huh?

[00:13:31]>> Some more.

[00:13:32]>> Oh, what you got? You got me one.

[00:13:36]>> You can't be eating those and not giving me one. Huh?

[00:13:40]>> No.

[00:13:40]>> No.

[00:13:43]>> Here we go. How much are these? 83 B. Oh my god.

[00:13:47]>> Up. Up.

[00:13:48]>> Here we go. All right. I've got the dis I've got the dispenser or the tool. So, we need this acrylic sealant.

[00:13:58]78 B. We're going to need two of these minimum.

[00:14:06]Okay, I'll tell you what we need because I'm organized and I have a little shopping list here.

[00:14:14]Wet wipes, sealant. I want the mini HDMI to HDMI cable.

[00:14:20]Here's the one thing you got to get used to when you're up here in the sticks, guys, is getting hold of little things. Like, I just want a little mini HDMI to HDMI. I ordered one on Shopee, but there's a medium size. I need the really tiny one for my Sony camera. Hey guys, have you got a mini HDMI to a big HDMI cable?

[00:14:50]Yeah.

[00:14:54]>> Yeah. But it's a mini mini to big >> mini to big. So little to big.

[00:15:16]Oh, sorry.

[00:15:18]There's a warmth in rural Thailand that's difficult to explain until you've actually lived around it. And I'm not talking about the weather. I'm talking about the way people interact with each other. The small smiles, the casual conversation, the old lady at the market waving when she sees you again. The landlord dropping food around without expecting anything back. In many Western countries, people have become increasingly isolated. Everyone's busy.

[00:15:46]Everyone's stressed. Everyone's connected digitally, but somehow disconnected socially. There's a simplicity to the way people relate to one another here that feels increasingly rare in the modern world.

[00:16:00]All right. Anyone that's been to a Muslim country and heard the call, the prayer, they do it every I think they do it every night, every morning. But over here we have the Buddhist temples which I find uh on an artistic level these things are just amazing guys the artwork these guys are very uh talented artists the ties it's one observation that I've made as a whole that like their craft their craftsmanship in terms of the artistry is Mindblowing.

[00:16:42]I'm going to show you something, guys.

[00:16:44]Cuz what they do over here is they ring a bell and they bash on a a drum. And they only do it on certain days.

[00:16:56]And then they have this drum. And here's the thing, they beat off at uh consistently four or five days a week.

[00:17:06]Um between 5:30 and 6:00. I noticed they just changed 5:30. It used to be 6:00, so they're they're bashing away earlier.

[00:17:15]The longer I stay in Thailand, the more I realized this journey was never about escaping one country for another. It was about stepping outside of a version of life that no longer felt healthy to me.

[00:17:27]Back in the West, everything started feeling increasingly fast, expensive, complicated, and emotionally disconnected. Housing's become harder to afford. family spread apart and somehow despite having more technology and convenience than ever before, people seem more anxious, isolated, and exhausted. Out here in Thailand, I've met people with very little materially, who still laugh together, eat together, spend time together, and seem emotionally present in a way many wealthy societies have lost. That doesn't mean Thailand is perfect, and it still has its own struggles. What I have found about this place, these guys are 100% sustainable. They do not need shops. I have seen how these guys live.

[00:18:16]Especially the connection to my own family here.

[00:18:20]These guys are totally sustainable. I was I was shocked. And it wasn't a you know, it's not a oh, these guys are that poor that they have to live off the land. I think it's just this is what these people have been doing for a long time and it doesn't matter.

[00:18:39]I mean, they they're having they have money troubles just like we do, you know, on their own level, but they don't have the level of debt that we have, guys.

[00:18:50]You know, look, we we can never compare the two because they're two different worlds.

[00:18:57]But these guys have the same pressures.

[00:19:01]Soon as a little bit of fuel goes up, they feel the pinch. Same as we do, except ours is on a more extreme level.

[00:19:10]And the other major difference about this country and our country is most of these people don't pay income tax, guys.

[00:19:17]I paid over 60% of income tax money that was going out of my children's pockets that I couldn't send. A couple of them I couldn't send to private school because it went to the welfare state.

[00:19:31]And then when I did lose my job and got made redundant, I couldn't get welfare.

[00:19:37]They told me to piss off.

[00:19:48]>> All right, guys. I've I've run into a couple of fishermen.

[00:19:51]>> Oh, Thailand. Thailand. Thailand.

[00:19:52]>> Yeah. In Thailand. We're not in Lao. No.

[00:19:54]No.

[00:19:55]side.

[00:19:56]>> This is the tie side. Say hello. Hello.

[00:20:00]And this man is having his breakfast.

[00:20:03]Thank you.