That's completely opposite of my experience. I guess we have to chalk it up to different people have different experiences. It's also hard to compare experience

That's completely opposite of my experience. I guess we have to chalk it up to different people have different experiences. It's also hard to compare experiences as a tourist with those of a long term resident. If I attempt to aggregate various comments and my own experiences I think one of the few major differences is the visa situation. For younger people who aren't employed by a local business or married to a Thai citizen Thailand is a pain for a stay longer than 3 months.