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The drive from BKK to Hua Hin is very long 3H plus sometimes 4H so Pattaya is way ahead regarding travel time I agree. So for people who travel regulary from BKK, Pattaya may be the better option. HH is way quieter then Pattaya so better suited for me, especially if you like to ride your bicycle in a quiet countryside instead of fighting for surrival the first 10K in Pattaya.

I found it easier to rent a pool villa in Hua Hin then renting a villa in Pattaya Darkside or Jomtien. Prices were 50 to 100% higher in Pattaya. Downside of Hua Hin is that there are only flights to Chiang Mai and a trip to BKK takes 3 hours plus.

The big downside of Malaysia IMHO is that there are no "high end" pool villas to rent. For about 1000 to 2500 USD per months there are tons of options in Thailand but next to nothing in Malaysia, same for the Philippines (exception maybe tagatay) only very limited options as there are simply not enough expats (I guess).

At least no one in the article mentioned the ww taxation again.

Article in PM stating that TH could ease ease taxation on remitted income ... As usual do not shoot the messenger 🙂

No character is black and white... you said it yourself. Picking out one trump potential! action does not make a whole person bad. Maybe watching too much ÖRR aka Rotfunk? Cannot argue much for Putin agreed, but russians here would remark he made his country strong which I strongly disagree with. Trump was reducing medication cost and lowering corporate as well as income taxes.

BTW your statement Putin is bad, Trump is bad is as black and white as it gets 😉

It is simply not enough that most of them are peaceful people (which is true BTW thanks for pointing it out!). All the people Europe lets in should be peaceful AND have sufficient qualification to pay for themself. After all most of us live in Thailand and have to prove that they can maintain themself and help the thai economy. Why is that so difficult to see for most Europeans that is perfect normal in the rest of the world? Whenever I apply for a thai visa I have to deliver tons of paperwork.

There has been no official promulagation if credit card expenditure is taxable or not. So how can a level 1 support answer a question when the higher echelons have not made up their minds? Maybe the TRD helpline can help in filing in the paperwork I agree but not on how to calculate the p&l of an SP500 future or if cc spending is taxable.

The Thai RD Help line will be utter useless in our special situation like the german helpline is useless for me here in Germany with any out of the ordinary circumstances.

The easiest way IMHO is still to receive gifts from relatives or friends abroad. You could also arrange for a loan you gave someone without interest and he is paying you back month by month. I have no clue how Thai IRS will handle several investments on top of each other over 10 years, my first guess would be they do not care and just look at the last investment. Over 10 years also to be super safe the last year you spend only 180 days in TH and realise all your profits and that year. All your income is then tax free.. or at least should be according to the current laws which of course could change any year.

I had to explain to the guy in the german idl department that TH switched to the Vienna convention around 2020 cause he wanted to give me the Paris convention IDL which is not valid after 2020, make sure everyone that you get the Vienna convention IDL from 1968 for Thailand. Technically they could consider it as driving without dl and then you are in some deep s... when it come to insurance claims.

How much would the help of an agent be to get a thai driving licence and is the licence "legit"? Thanks!

The 1968 IDL version is needed in TH and this should be valid three years imho. I have mine from GER and it is 3 years valid. TH changed to the 1968 version of IDL around 2021.

How long is the IDL valid? Three years I assume. Thanks!