This paper investigates lifestyle and activities of suburban people in Khon Kaen city. Qualitative methodological approach was implemented in the study with in-depth interview and non-participatory observation, which were used as research instrument. Key informants included seven labour-aged people who lived in Khon Kaen suburban village. Data analysis was done by the content analysis method. Research results found lifestyle and activites of suburban people including 1) suburban people who have a good living; they had high income, and they had many activities to do such as shopping and travelling. 2) Suburban people who have a moderate living; they had middle income. Activities they did adhered to religious practices, and they preferred to stay at home for relaxing, and went to shopping sometimes. 3) Suburban people who have a difficult living; they had low education and low income. Their activities related to survival practices such as collecting natural resource for livings.
LIFESTYLE AND ACTIVITIES OF SUBURBAN PEOPLE Prapaporn Supunya supunya_1980@hotmail.com Assoc Prof Dr Dusadee Ayuwat dusayu@yahoo.com Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand Abstract This paper investigates lifestyle and activities of suburban people in Khon Kaen city Qualitative methodological approach was implemented in the study with in-depth interview and non-participatory observation, which were used as research instrument Key informants included seven labour-aged people who lived in Khon Kaen suburban village Data analysis was done by the content analysis method Research results found lifestyle and activites of suburban people including 1) suburban people who have a good living; they had high income, and they had many activities to such as shopping and travelling 2) Suburban people who have a moderate living; they had middle income Activities they did adhered to religious practices, and they preferred to stay at home for relaxing, and went to shopping sometimes 3) Suburban people who have a difficult living; they had low education and low income Their activities related to survival practices such as collecting natural resource for livings Keywords: Activities, lifestyle, suburban people Introduction Thailand is agriculture-based country Mode of production of the country primarily based on subsistence mode in which most products have made for household consumption (Pothisita, 2012) Natural resources has used as a main source of household production, and production yield is exchanged with other households when production yield is over supplied In the past, most Thai households were poor, and they lived in the countryside Many Thai households has been living as the extended households in which several households have lived together at the same area They help each other to conduct household production, and they exchange their labour forces with neighbors Therefore, it is to say that relationship within community is based on kinship system which link people together (Yothakong, 2011) Decades ago, Thailand launched the National Economic and Social Development Plan as a guideline for the development of the country The plan has implemented since the first issue (1961-1966) to the twelfth issue (2017-2021) The plans have focused on development of economic, transportation, and infrastructure of the country This becomes a turning point of Thailand Production mode of the country has changed from agriculture- 289 based production to industrialization-based production in order to meet the capitalism, which has been global trend of economic development Moreover, the change has resulted in the city growth and migration phenomenon from rural areas to urban areas (Palen, 1987) The changes have occurred rapidly, and it has affected development on economy, society, politics, and technology Rate of development in industrial and service sectors has been increasing, and urban area of the city has expanded (Leoprapai, 1998) It was found that rate of urbanization growth in Thailand has increased from 20 percent in 1960 to 55 percent in 2017 (World Urbanization Prospect, 2014) The expansion of urban areas has led the fragmentation of people in urban areas to suburban areas, where socio-cultural context is still presented as rural lifestyle (Guest, 1998) In Thailand, suburb area often refers to the Sub-district where located next to boundary of city downtown Due to city expansion, those sub-districts are full of wellprepared infrastructure as same as in urban area Although city expansion provides several types of development to suburban areas, it resulted in the decreasing of natural resources, and lifestyle of people in suburban areas has changed into urban lifestyle Such development encourages suburban people to move into urban areas in order to seek for better opportunities in life so that lifestyle of suburban people has changed into urban lifestyle (Sawaengdee et al., 2007) Moreover, the development causes of capital accumulation Lifestyle of people is more convenient People have more chances to choose which lifestyles are suitable for them in accordance with the Capitalism (Bourdieu, 1984) Those lifestyles, thus, are based on everyday life and activities of suburban people which are different from in the past This paper has set a research question on how lifestyle and activities of suburban people has changed, while research objective is to investigate lifestyle and activities of suburban people who work in urban area Scope of the research focuses on two issues which are lifestyle and activities of suburban people who work in urban area in order to understand lifestyle and activities of suburban people in a context of Globalization Method This research focused on lifestyle and activities of suburban people Qualitative methodological approach was applied to the research Unit of analysis was individual Key informants were divided into two groups included 1) village stakeholders included village headman, village health volunteer, sub-district healthcare officer, community development officer, plan and policy analyst, and community seniors This group of key informant were interviewed to collect data about village background Another group were ten suburban people in Khon Kaen city In-depth interview was applied to collect data from those suburban people with inclusion criteria included 1) key informants were aged between 1859 years old, 2) key informants worked in Khon Kaen urban area, and they lived in suburban area where located within 20 kilometres away from the city, 3) key informants have lived in suburban area at least year Those key informants were interviewed to collect data about lifestyle and activities of suburban people In-depth interview and nonparticipatory observation were applied to the research as research instrument Research 290 area was ―Ban Sai Ngarm‖ village (pseudonym), where located in Khon Kaen suburban area Data collecting period was during in January to March 2018, and content analysis method was used to analyse data Results Research results were presented as several parts included village background, lifestyle of suburban people, and activities of suburban people Each parts were presented as following details 3.1 Village background A village named ―Sai Ngarm‖ (pseudonym) is a suburban village located in the Southwest of Khon Kaen city The village is 18 Kilometers away from Khon Kaen urban area with 1,559 of village population The village locates near a natural creek named ―Kaeng Nam Ton‖, and the village is also rich of other natural resources such as forest and soil The village settles on the flat plain area, and soil surface is sandy loam, which is suitable for cultivation People in the village like to settle up their houses at center of the village, while their agricultural lands mostly are out of the village Villagers in Sai Ngarm village lived with simple lifestyle They grew vegetables and fed up animals for household consumption However, over a past decade, the village had been changing due to modernity which invaded in every single area of the rural village The village was influenced by urban society For instance, people in the village built their houses as the two-storey concrete house instead of one-storey wood house, or someone dressed up in urban style The village then was full of combination style between rural style and urban style Although the village was getting closer to urban lifestyle, the villagers still tied with kinship system and traditional lifestyle Main occupation of the village was agriculture Many of villagers did rice farming, while someone were working as contracted labours Some villagers also worked in service sector at urban area of Khon Kaen city, for instance, laundry service, housekeeping task, etc, and some worked in the industrial factory, where located not far from the village Government jobs such as teacher, deputy officer, nurse, or public health officer also found in the village Those jobs reflected that people in the village set priority to education, and it resulted in achievement on government jobs in some households In addition, SMEs were found as well Some households had big grocery shops or small grocery shops in the village, while some had own construction shop, mobile shop, or agro-trading shop Socio-cultural of the village still based on religious practices Most villagers especially seniors always participated in traditional practices such as making merit at temple, or attending traditional events named ―Boon Hee Sib Song Klong Sin See‖ There was a big temple located in the village The temple was considered as a place for assembling people Most of the events set up at the temple, and it allowed people to keep relationships each other Infrastructure of the village also was provided to villagers There were child development center and the opportunity expansion school in the village 291 Regarding healthcare service, the Sub-district Health Promotion Hospital set up at center of the village However, suburban people lacked of chance to access some services by the Sub-district Health Promotion Hospital because they had to work in urban area during daytime In addition, there were some occupation group presented in the village such as the handcrafting group 3.2 Lifestyle in suburban area In the past, Sai Ngarm village was a rural village that people used their simple lifestyle, and their livings relied on agriculture Kinship system ran relationships among the villagers When urbanism came to the village, people from outside village had moved to settle the residence at the village This caused the village was integrated by traditional lifestyle and modern lifestyle Infrastructure of the village such as water supply, electricity, and transportation system was developed Villagers were able to travel to the city easier by private car or public buses The villagers likely to business in urban area For example, shopping at the market or convenient store, or medical treatment at the provincial hospital Moreover, urbanization caused differences on land use change in the village There were more grocery shops in the village, and the community market was available for the villagers who want to buy or sell agricultural products ―Sai Ngarm village‖ is a village located close to urban area, so the village took the culture of urban society into the village Relationships among villagers had been changing from collective relationship to individualism Development of economic in the village caused villagers had own lands for agricultural activities Those who did not have own lands had to work in the city In 1998-2002, villagers suggested that it was a golden period for villagers Economic growth caused people in the village decided working at industrial estate where located not too far from the village, while others worked as contracted labour in service sector It resulted in a shift of village‘s livelihoods which was able to divided into period as follows Period (before 1997); in this period, it was a traditional rural society The villagers had poor economic status, so they sustained their livings with simple lifestyle Foods were collected from natural resources This is confirmed by Woods (2011) who found that people‘s living in prehistoric era was based on nature In this era, lands for cultivation was limited, so villagers did not have to work outside the village Villagers lived and adhered to local tradition They helped each other Money is quite valuable, since the cost of living was very cheap This findings is confirmed by Eiwsriwong (2014) who found that traditional rural society was rich in natural resources Commercial purpose had not yet introduced to traditional society, and no facilities to support lifestyle as much as in the present However, in 1994, many villagers sold their lands to the outsiders because price of the lands was increasing Agricultural products including livestock was at high selling price Therefore, villagers decided selling lands and livestock, and they bought a variety of facilities to support household‘s needs such as vehicle In 1997, Thailand had faced with financial crisis (aka Tom Yum Kung) The crisis started in Thailand Thai government was forced to float the Baht (Thai currency) due to 292 lack of foreign currency to support its currency peg to the U.S dollar (Bank of Thailand, 2013) The crisis severely affected the living of Thai people Many business, such as housing companies, construction business, industrial sector, and financial institutions were severely affected Many companies had closed down with debt A huge number of employee were laid off Every family had to save money Unemployed people in the city could not return home because they migrated out of the village for a long time Those who work in many companies have been confiscated, while their children were not able to continue studying because their parents had no money for education expense These severely effects also hit Sai Ngarm village unavoidably Villager‘s lifestyle turned to be simple again Period (after 1997 to 2006); financial crisis caused livelihoods of villagers especially on household economic status Villagers of Sai Ngarm did not have any jobs or incomes to support their livings until 2002 Country‘s economy was getting better in the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, a Prime Minister Villagers had a chance to work outside the village again They worked in industrial estate, and some worked as contracted labour at urban area of Khon Kaen city, or they migrated to worked over the country where jobs were available for them This findings was supported by Kanchanapan (2011) who found that rural societies have been entering into a new form of social structure Several governmental projects took place, and villagers received benefits from the projects such as the village fund which allowed villagers made a loan when they needed, or the 30 Baht Health Care which provided health security to Thai people (National Health Security Office, 2015) The villagers were able to access medical service by paying 30 Baht of medical fee Moreover, the project had well-managed operation There were the ambulance cars available for every single area of Thailand The villagers did not had to pay for transportation fee This was quite different from the past that villagers had to rent a car to take patients to the hospital, and both transportation fee and medical fee were quite high The 30 Baht project could save extending the life of the poor people In addition, the project was more effective when the 30 Baht project was run by Sub-district Administration Organization This change would provide more accessibility of medical treatment to villagers Period (2007-present); an era of economic growth Capitalism played an important role in villager‘s lifestyle Many villagers went to work in industrial areas and urban areas due to a high wage they received Working in industrial areas and urban areas helped them improving household economic status Villagers had more opportunities in life, and they got more properties and compensations from the state Quality of life among households was better with a lifestyle combination between traditional lifestyle and urban lifestyle The findings supported Kearney (1996) who found that rural communities had been changing in the context of globalization He also suggested that most of rural society in post modernity era had characteristics which is a combination between localism and urbanism It was not a traditional peasant society anymore Suburban community located close to urban area, so the community might receive influence of urban culture easily However, traditional lifestyle was still exist Villagers still fed up their livestock, grew vegetable, collected wild foods from forest, etc, while someone worked outside community such as working in industrial areas The income of this group will be fixed, and they 293 earned regular income rather than those who still relied on traditional way of life Those who worked in the factory would earn 300 Baht daily wage, and working condition in workplace was good It was different from traditional lifestyle which villagers had to find wild products in the forest According to statement above, it is found that villagers did not only focus on income, but they also focused on working condition Although it was a hard work, working in industrial factory provided regular income and comfort facilities, while natural resources nearby village were decreasing However, it is found some households with good financial status also had activity related to natural resources as well Those who had big houses and facilities, they would fed up the cattle within resident area The findings was supported by Rigg and Ritchie (2002) who found that rural people had changed their roles and activities They turned themselves from the producers to supply their households into the producers who played important role in the market They could make money and move up their social status Selling price of cattle currently is high Now the villagers could sell cattle with a price of 20,000-30,000 Baht per unit, while in the past the villagers sold cattle 3,0004,000 Baht per unit Moreover, the trade of cattle could be made easier than in the past The middlemen would come to the village directly to buy cattle Then, the middlemen would sell cattle at the cattle market, where located not far away from the village Now there are estimated 20 percent of villager in Sai Ngarm village who raise cattle The study found that villagers who raised cattle might not be poor people as in the past because they could make a lot of money from the cattle trade In addition, villagers who have their own rice field, it is found that nowadays the fields are sold to the capitalists from outside the village From statement above, villagers have lifestyle which is a combination between rural lifestyle and urban lifestyle Some villagers not conduct rice farming anymore, since rice fields are sold to the capitalists from outside the village They, thus, turned to work in the factory Some villagers are still working in rice farming They tried to rice farm with integration method because nowadays the current farming does not have to throughout the season It has more facilities to grow rice Modern technology helps farmers to rice farming easier Some farmers could hire contracted labour to farming in order to save time, while farmers have more time to other jobs in the city According to findings above, conclusion of lifestyle of suburban people is presented as follows (Table 1) Table 1: Lifestyle of suburban people in Khon Kaen city Period Lifestyle Period Period Period before 1997 1997-2006 2007 - present - Agrarian society – subsistence mode - Simple lifestyle - Rely on rural traditions Lifestyle - Kin-based relationship - Non-monetary system 294 - Economic growth - People started working out of community or working in the factory - Combination between rural lifestyle and urban lifestyle - Better livings - Capitalism flows, money becomes primarily concern in life - Money is used to - More commercial- Period Lifestyle Period Period before 1997 1997-2006 exchange facilities for themselves or families - No facilities Period 2007 - present based production - People started working out of community or working in the factory - Capital accumulationresulted in better economic status - Active life and competitive life for owning resources 3.3 Activities of suburban people This part focused on activities of suburban people who spent their life as the commuter It was found that suburban people were influenced by location of village where was close to urban areas of Khon Kaen city Therefore, suburban people and urban area had related to each other through socio-economic aspect Sub urban people took urban culture and activities into village Conditions related to activities of suburban people were presented as following detail 1) Recreation; is one of activities that suburban people loved to Types of recreation were designed based on several conditions For instance, the type of work that is determined by time, economic status in which money is the main factor in life, and age difference among family members The study found that people in the suburban areas who had a stable job They would have high income and owned a lot of property Those conditions resulted in good economic status of the family They had a good quality of life They had many activities to relax themselves The activities they did normally reflect family‘s status and desires such as leisure trips to tourist attractions on the weekend This symbolic consumption was generally expressed by the Generations X people and Generations Y people This findings was supported by Piriya phonphiroon and Pangpond Rakamneukit (2007) who found that people nowadays have more consumption of signs For instance, the selection of foods and restaurants, shopping luxurious facilities, going to the mall to shop for convenient amenities, or other activities that are often associated with technology While group of suburban people, who were moderate life, would have regular jobs which provided middle income to them Thus, activities they did mostly were reasonable, and they would something which was necessary to their families Activities they did such as leisure activities, shopping some necessary items They normally shop and used the items that were usually available in the market Suburban people who were faced with difficult life Their options in lifestyle were quite limited So, their activities they did mostly related to recreation and survival strategy For instance, they spent time to find wild products for household consumption In addition, the items that they used in daily life were usually found in the village 295 2) Community-related activities; are activities that suburban people participated together Most of activities related to religious practices, traditions, and local culture According to an interview with suburban people who participated in community activity, the Generation X and Generation Y people were main group that participated in community activities, especially religious activities The findings was confirmed by Gray et al (2016) who suggested that those two group of people were still adherent to local traditions When they had day-off, they usually went to temple to make a merit While suburban people participated in some local rituals and traditions depended on their time availability They could not participated in all rituals and traditions because they had regular job to One of key informant stated about the participation of local rituals and events as following detail ―I occasionally go to temple for making merit If the Buddhist day is on the same day as my day-off, I will go with my children But I cannot attend every events because I have work to do‖ (Ms.Nongluck (pseudonym)) Moreover, suburban people who had a middle financial status gave an interview as follows ―In the past people in the village spent time together to activity in the temple, but now they have to work They not have time to community events Moreover, people think about themselves more and more They would not become a member group if they not get any advantages If there are some advantages for them, they would participated in for example, the village fund The fund has some money for villagers The villagers are happy to be a member of the group‖ (Ms.Daoreung (pseudonym)) It is clear that suburban people still have the desire to participate in community activities, such as bringing children to temples to learn traditions and religious practices However, participation of group would be interested when there are some benefits for villagers It is noted that suburban people, who have middle quality of life and poor quality of life, would be applying for community group such as the village fund because there are loans to make when they needed From the above, suburban people are trying to adapt themselves In the past, they had lived with a simple lifestyle, but currently "money" is the main factor for villagers to select lifestyle and activities Suburban people try to seek for money and resources in order to sustain livelihoods of themselves and households Therefore, they choose to move to work in urban areas because they believe that working in urban areas would provide better economic status to their households When they come back to live in suburban areas, they take urban lifestyle activities into suburban areas Researcher divided the lifestyle and activities of suburban people which related to their livelihoods into groups as following detail 296 Table 2: Activities of suburban people in Khon Kaen city Livelihoods Activities Activities Poor livings - Main purpose of activities is for household consumption, occupation, or survival - Relying on natural resources For example, agroactivity on their lands, or make natural-based household facilities - Being contracted labour in vary business Fair livings Well livings - Activities are more reasonable - Activities related to religious practices such as making a merit at temple - Activities of participating community event such as be a member of the village fund - Recreation such as doing housekeeping tasks with household members, or go shopping However, activities are depending on household economic status and age of household member - Activities are variety - Activities were made in order to meet household‘s desire - Consumption of signs such as eating at restaurant, or shopping some luxurious goods - Activities for recreation such as travelling with family in weekend - Shopping some luxurious goods or high price facilities People who were generation X and generation Y liked to shopping Discussion and Conclusion The study of lifestyle and activities of suburban people in Khon Kaen province can be concluded into three pattern as following details 1) Suburban people who have a good living and high income; it is found that this group owned many resources When they worked and were able to collect money, they had several ways to accumulate capitals such as economic capital, social capital, cultural capital, and even symbolic capital They choose to activities depending on their desire such as family vacation, shopping on the weekend, eating at their favorite restaurants, or shopping luxurious goods These activities refer to their identity and social status 2) Suburban people who had moderate living; they normally have reason to choose activities Most activities would be considered based on their incomes from regular work and necessities of livings Activities often relate to religious practices such as making a merit at temple Moreover, they are members of the group within community in order to receive some benefits, such as being members of the village fund to get a loan They usually spend their time with family at home on the weekend, or go to shopping mall to buy the necessary items It is noted that most items they bought usually are available in the market 3) Suburban people who had difficult living; people of this group had low education and low income They had a limit in life, so they cannot activities as they wish Most of activity relate to survival strategy including collecting wild foods at the forest, working in the rubber plantation to get a place to live in return However, they still have some time for relaxation 297 The results also found what makes differences of lifestyle and activities of suburban people Occupation and economic status are major conditions relate to the differences of lifestyle and activities among suburban people It is to say that different occupations would lead to different economic status among suburban households The differences of economic status among suburban households also relate to lifestyle and activities of people This findings is confirmed by Bourdieu (1984) who investigated a concept of social stratification In this study, behavior of suburban people and social stratification can be linked as following details Each group of suburban people has different lifestyle and activities including 1) sociable person; who mostly are those who success in life, and they have high income, properties, and other capitals They are educated, and have high confidence in themself Social image is important to them, so they usually present themselves with a unique lifestyle They usually perform their identity through activities such as shopping luxurious goods, or eating at a high-class restaurant 2) Those who want to succeed This group owns some capitals They mostly are well-educated, and be responsible in work and life This group primarily concern activities relate to recreation or family vacation They have middle income, and like to consume trendy fashions They have wide-knowledge, and be reasonable in life Therefore, they have belief which adhere to social morals Regarding consumption in daily life, they love to consume mass-branded products Their lifestyle and activities are about families, temples, clubs, and nation And 3) the struggling person; they mostly own less living capitals, and low-educated They have limits in life, so their social engagement are quite low They are quite concern their daily expenses They prefer to use the same old items in life so that their lifestyle and activities are for living rather than recreation References Chay Pothisita (2012) Thai Rural in Capitalism Journal of the Royal Institute, 37(4), 163-185 Yothin Sawaengdee, et al (2007) The Growth of the Junction City : A Case Study of Nang Rong District, Buriram Provicne in Population and Society 2007 (Worachai Thingthai and Sureeporn Punpeung editors) Nakorn Pathom: Institute of Population and Social Research Press Mahodol University Nithi Aiwsriwong (2014) ―Ruralism in Thai Politics‖ Matichon Weekly (28 November - December), 5-11 Somjit Yothakong, et al (2011) ―Agriculture and Thai Society‖ in Thai society and management in agricultural extension and development Unit 1, pp.45 -52 Nonthaburi: Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University Anant Kanchanapan (2011) ―Rural Isan Changes Structure, What Does People change?‖ Journal of Arts Ubon Ratchathani University (special Edition): New Liberalism in Isan Economy (1), 5-4 Pierre Bourdieu (1984) Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Guest, P 1998 ―Urbanization and Its Implications for Health Services.‖ Journal of Population and Social Studies 7(1):21-52 John J Palen (1987) The urban world New York: McGraw-Hill Michael Woods (2011) Rural London and New York: Routledge 298 ... lifestyle and activities of suburban people who work in urban area in order to understand lifestyle and activities of suburban people in a context of Globalization Method This research focused on lifestyle. .. differences of lifestyle and activities of suburban people Occupation and economic status are major conditions relate to the differences of lifestyle and activities among suburban people It is... lifestyles, thus, are based on everyday life and activities of suburban people which are different from in the past This paper has set a research question on how lifestyle and activities of suburban