Something that Jingjai wrote on long distance telephone thread, triggered my thinking about this!

When I was a kid,it seemed to me that the parents took their children and themselves to see the grandparents at the grandparents home!

Today,I get some subtle hints that I should be the one that has to do all the traveling to see family!I have not since 2002 because it is to expensive to travel all around the USA to see everyone and I feel the costs diminish my wife and daughters future security as it cuts heavily into savings!

I think the family ,as individual units,could come and visit us.It would be different,an adventure for them and a delight to show them around!

We are available all the time to visit and travel around because of retirement!When I go there,everyone is working or in school and there is no adventure or things for me to do except think about and miss my family in Thailand!

I agree completely, Stan.

Let 'em know where you'll be to come see you. Do your thing while waiting. If they show, they show. If not, oh well. They knew where you were.

things are differant now stan, everyone whos working has busy lives and a stressful life, ive the same problems as you but i appreciate that my son is just started to build his future and that takes time and energy, i love and miss everyday, but he knows im always here for him, im sure he takes comfort from that fact, it was my choice to move here out of the ratrace , he has his own life and future to worry about . i think it was easier when i was his age, or maybe its just my memory telling me it was easier .

when I was living in Arizona & my family in Long Island N.Y I paid for my kids to fly to vegas & I pick them up since Macaren was closer to my home than phx my reason was I wanted my kids to see my home after that I traveled to N.Y because this way I got to spend time with friends as well as family but every one has evaluate there own situation what works for me might not work for the most of you

Well, when my daughter's family was living in Arizona, I would fly out (from BKK) and see them. It made more sense for me to fly out there and visit the five of them, and my son who would also come to visit at the same time, than it did for the five of them to pick up and come to Thailand. And a lot cheaper too.

Consider:
• There is one of you and many of them (it costs much less for one to travel).
• You have a passport and they don't.
• You have time to travel, while those who get vacations are severely restricted.
• They miss you, Stan!

Of course, if my kids had the time and money to fly their families out to visit me, I would be overjoyed to host them. But in the go-go-go work-a-day world, spare time and spare cash rarely occur at the same time.


.

I have 3 children,1 in Montana,1 in Virginia and 1 in CA.!They They all have children that have 8 children.The last time I went when costs were lower was 2002 and the cost was almost 700,000 Baht for the trip,now the same costs would be 1.2 M!

I don't feel that missed and I feel that my wife and daughter ,here, need the savings for their future!When I was last there,I found that I spent most of my time alone because they work and the kids are in daycare or school.Plus I was worn out from traveling and jet lag,I was wanting to sleep when they were around

For me ,it is time to let go of them as I am closer and more attached to my wife and daughter here.I have no attachment to the 8 great grandchildren and spending the cost of a house to visit them just seems ridiculous.I could not afford to do very often anyway!

I will be 70 next birthday and living here w/o health insurance is another consideration with the costs of trips!

It all sounds reasonable to me, Stan. It's just the way it is ...

the defragmentation of families is all part of our modern society. stan your children are scattered all over the states, as i would imagine are a lot of other expats on here, people move away from the family for various reasons, i dont know why you came to thailand , but it was your choice to settle here. its not really a case of letting go, you did that when they left school . enjoy what you have here , they know where you are and that your happy.

saint wrote:the defragmentation of families is all part of our modern society.

I reckon you are spending too long on your 'puter, saint.

Unfortunately, as our families fragment, we can't just go to a "defrag" program to put them all back together again

bkstan wrote:and the cost was almost 700,000 Baht for the trip,now the same costs would be 1.2 M!

Interested ..Stan how would the cost of 1.2 million baht work out by flying back home..? (sounds too much)

Flying first class on all flights and saying in the honeymoon suites of the best hotels in each city should get you pretty close to the target of 1.2 million

Are well if it was first class all the way thats a bit more understandable, i just about scrap the Business section BKK-UDON..(one-way)

Without doing a complete breakdown,I can say that my last trip cost was a little over $17,000 in costs,I didn't fly first class anywhere!At the time it was over 740,000B!With the additional costs today and counting the over 11 baht drop in the baht,I estimate that the same trip would have cost me about 1.2M now!Dining,car rentals,a few hotels, air fares and presents add up fast when you have to travel all around the country!

Would be wise to save that money and stay put then.