How to Help Out your Fellow Expat Community on Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan and Thailand in general is becoming more and more popular of a place to emigrate to and we all know the reasons why.

From young adults who want some solid foundations for their life investing in businesses or setting up their own to older retired men and women wanting to spend their days in a nicer climate with a more comfortable living cost, there are people from all over the globe that now call Koh Phangan their permanent home.

As paradise as it is, it can still sometimes be tough for people living away from their families, it can be a lonely place even when it’s full of people and business is thriving, some friends can come and go and everyone has a bad day every now and then (but hopefully not many).

We thought it would be nice to share some of our ideas and thoughts on how to help out your fellow expats, and even if you are not here full time you can still take notice.

Possibly most important would be to just keep an eye out for people’s safety, it goes without saying really. Give them a lift home if they're too drunk, be the designated driver or just get a taxi. We know it feels like you can ride with your eyes shut after being here for many years but just don’t let them do it. It’s always shocking when one of the Phangan long termers has an accident but it proves that we need to look out for each other.

Check up on people every now and then if you haven’t heard from them, just a phone call or a pop in to say hello always helps.

Sometimes we don’t know what people have been through before their Phangan days, your mate may need someone to talk to every now and then and you never know when you may need an ear in return.

There are quite a growing number of retired and older people coming here to live now and if you’re lucky enough to get to know some of them then they can give great life advice to us younger folk! But remember to give something back, they may like some company, their families and children will probably live elsewhere so make sure they still have some vibrant conversation and that they’re generally doing ok.

Sometimes people have to leave the island for a while, they may have some important family matter or business elsewhere and more than likely they might need to leave their bike or some important possessions in a safe place until they come back so be that person with a little bit of room to help out, look after their stuff for a bit, you never know you may even get some use out of it if they agree! What goes around comes around and you never know when you might need a safe space to store something.

Try to give advice and help out the ‘new’ expats if you’re an established one and BE POSITIVE! It’s all too easy to let those negative thoughts creep in when you’ve been here for a long time but remember this is the new generation so be sensible and use it as a way to influence them in a good way. Help to carry on the good for the local Thai people and the island itself by giving sound advice to others who have chosen this place as their home.

Direct them to good lawyers, banks or anything else business related, let them know a little about how things work on the island and then Phangan’s expat community will evolve in a productive way.

And finally, eat at your friends restaurant, drink beer at their bar and buy something from their shop, be sure to support your fellow businesses and help them to thrive as everyone has to pay bills right?!