So, I’m 43, and grew up on a big farm in northern Iowa, USA. We do for ourselves. It’s expected, it’s ingrained from a very early age, and even today is a cultural norm in the rural Midwest. I have never paid anyone to do what I can do myself, ie. - mow my own yard, do my own laundry, clean my own house, cook my own food (part of which I grew/raised myself). When looking at properties to rent in Thailand I was so confused at first about the lack of a kitchen and laundry room in most places until Iearned that many Thais (in urban areas) eat out, and use laundry services. I can’t kick how odd this feels for me🫤(I understand this is cultural and from my background). Why pay for services I can do for myself?? But then?… Does it cost significantly more, enough so, to rent a place with a kitchen and at least a washer, that it negates saving money by doing these things myself? And even then does the weird “I’m being lazy” feeling ever go away?

* I DO NOT THINK THAI PEOPLE ARE LAZY! I understand it’s a cultural difference, and that it’s different between rural and urban areas in Thailand.