Life as an Expat in Thailand

Agenda:
In this episode, we talk to David Lenovitz about his experience living in Thailand.
David is a super-fit 65 year old living in Chiang Mai.
Like me, he moved here from Miami Beach. He also lived in New York City.

Questions for David:
- Do we have to be a little crazy to live in Thailand?
- Why Chiang Mai?
- What advice can you give to men to men over 50 to be fit like you?
- How long will you stay in Thailand?
- Is this a good place for retirement for men over 50?
- How good is medical care here?
Follow up videos: David's exercise and nutrition routines.

Here is the link to our video

Peter: Hello from Chiang Mai, Thailand. I'm happy to say I'm here with my good friend, David Lenovitz. David happens to live in Chiang Mai like me. So, he must be a little crazy to move all the way here. I met David just a few months ago. Believe it or not, he moved here from Miami Beach like me. What a small world. What I thought was really interesting about David, and frankly a source of inspiration for me, is David is 65 years old and as you can see, he's a very fit dude. He has an extremely disciplined health, fitness, and nutrition routine. We share that passion, but I think David is even more passionate than me. I've learned a lot from David just in the last few months of knowing him. I'm hopeful that you as well will learn some things from David because he has a lot of good information to share. In this video, we're going to talk a little bit about life as an expat living in Chiang Mai, Thailand. David, thank you for being here.

David: Thank you for inviting me, Peter. This is exciting. I've learned a lot from you too, Peter. It's not just a one-way thing. You're a great inspiration to me. So, thank you.

Peter: We're in a cafe that's in the jungle. The grounds here are beautiful. You can see a little bit of the trees, the bushes, the plants, and cactus. The jungle is beautiful.
David, tell us a little bit about your background, where you came from, and then finish that with, why are you here?

David: That's a that's good question. I'm trying to figure it out. But I do love it. I love being here. Well, I was born in New York. I was raised in New York and Miami. I met my wife 40 years ago. We started a business. It was great. It's still going strong. She's running it now. We are divorced now, but she is my best friend. So, I'm very lucky and happy to say that my ex-wife is my best friend.

Peter: Your ex-wife is your best friend now? That's very impressive, David. I want to congratulate you on that. Or maybe I should congratulate your ex-wife. I'm not sure.

David: Well, I'm the lucky one. She's a gem. So, here I am. I was looking for a new start, something different. I was a little tired of Miami Beach. My daughter, who had lived in Chiang Mai for a couple of years said to me, "Dad, it's an amazing place. It's a healing land. You will love it. You can reinvent yourself there." I saw a chance for an exotic location. I didn’t know if it was a vacation or a move; I didn't know what to expect, but I came.

Peter: What brought your daughter here?

David: She was trying to find herself, exploring life. She's very adventurous and a big traveler. She's a bit of a free-spirit. I learn a lot from her every day. She said you can really reinvent yourself here. So, I came and I'm in the process of that now.

Peter: Do we have to be a little crazy to live here in Thailand?

David: There is a little something about it on the edge, but I relish it. I actually like life on the edge a bit. I'm happy to be here. The only thing that I miss from the United States is my family. I always try to get them to come here, and my kids do come on a somewhat regular basis. I love it here. I can't say enough about it. And, yes, we are on the fringe a bit.

Peter: What are your thoughts on life as an expat here? And what’s your social life like here?

David: Well, socially, I have some expat friends. I don't have any romantic interests now. I'm just concentrating on myself now. As the song says, “I'm searching to find a love within.” I'm trying to love myself. Maybe in my whole life I've never really done that and so I'm concentrating on that now and I know that's important. You need to be able to love yourself before you can love anybody else.

Peter: What advice can you give men over 50 to be fit like you?

David: Well, I'll tell you one thing for certain. There is definitely no magic pill. I know a lot of people think there is, but there isn't.

Peter: Well, they have pills for other things, but not for fitness?

David: No fitness pill. It's really just work; bust-ass work. But I don't look at it as work. I look at it as therapy. When I go to the gym, it's my it's therapeutic time. It's a release and it feels great. And then when I'm done, I feel even better. So, it's just work. It's just putting in time and effort and having the will. Anybody can do it. It takes time and motivation. I think anybody can do it if they want it badly enough. You have got to want it. You need to get yourself into the mindset. It needs to become part of your DNA, your ethos. You need to get it from the back of your mind and to the front of your mind. So, it's every day. You'd feel bad if you didn't go to the gym or you'd feel short-changed if didn't get your dose that you need in. I feel invigorated at the end of the gym. I don't feel tired. I feel ready to go.

Peter: How long are you going to stay here?

David: I'm going to stay until I'm not happy anymore, and I'm very, very happy. I plan on staying here for a long time.

Peter: Is this a good place for retirement for men?

David: I can't think of a better place, to be honest. It has everything. It is such a welcoming, loving place. It's so beautiful geographically, but the best thing about it is the people. They're the most beautiful thing. I feel like I found Nirvana. And I'm not alone. There's a whole army of people behind me that have found it too and you should try to find it yourself.

Peter: Is this true for life in Thailand generally, or is there something special about Chiang Mai?

David: There is definitely something special about Chiang Mai. It's hard to put my finger on it, but there is something very special about this town.

Peter: Are you happy with medical care here?

David: I’m so happy with medical care here. It is incredible. For any medical needs here, I go to Ram Hospital. It is cutting edge. The staff is amazing. I cannot recommend it enough. It's so inexpensive and the doctors are topnotch; as good as doctors in the United States.

Peter: I know from local friends that a lot of the doctors here are trained in the US.

In the next video, we want to talk about aging and mental wellness. You know me, I love to talk about purpose, meaning, learning and exploration.

David: On mental aging, I always say to myself - the jungle isn't out there, it's in here, in our minds.

Peter: Mental health is a hard thing to navigate, but I strongly believe we have a lot more control over our thoughts and emotions than a lot of people believe. If you're a man over 50, we need to remember we can continually learn. If you stick with us, you'll learn more about some of these things.

Peter: In closing, I want to say thank you very much David for taking the time to be in this video.

David: My pleasure, Peter. Thank you for inviting me.

Peter: In upcoming videos, we will share David’s exercise and nutrition routines. I promise you will learn a lot.

I'm Peter Pavlina with David Lenovitz of the Well-Being Man, and we hope to see you in our next video. Thank you.

Thank you,
Peter

Here is the link to our video

 Here are the links from the video description:
- David's photography: here
- Ram Hospital Chiang Mai: Ram Hospital
- The video location at a jungle cafe: Wild Coffee & Bistro