khunPer

I use TOA Super Shield semi gloss; the gloss will quickly disappear, but makes the surface better resistant to dirt and water. Most important is the primer, where you can use TOA Quick Primer, which also works on old paint. Loose stuff needs to be removed and cracks repaired before a new paint job. Don't save on paint quality, you just need to repaint more often. For best outdoor result: Two times primer, and three layers of top coat, preferably with one day separation between each layer. I was able to negotiate paint price in HomePro, when I did my house – so far it has lasted well for 15 years and still looks good – so I don't have recent experience in negotiating paint rice for a whole house.

I have – and have had for many years – two personal savings accounts in both Bangkok Bank and in SCB.

That is also what the Thai lawyers, who wrote the book "Thai Law for Foreigners", also says. You can write your own will or use a template, and sign it in front of two witnesses; it's a fully legal last will. Just make sure somebody knows about, there being a will, so it can be easily found after your death.

The problem with salesmen is often, that they sell products which are not yet available...

Rock bands that should have been bigger: My old rock band in the late 1960s...

Sweden is preparing for war (with Russia), and therefore cash is again important and shall be protected as legal payment, in case of the fancy electronic systems are nor working, which can simply be due to cyber attacks even without at physical war...

Yes, both parents need to approve a passport for a Thai minor (under 20 years of age). Your daughter can enter Thailand on an expired Thai passport without problems, but she'll need a new Thai passport to lease the country. She cannot use her US passport to leave, if she haven't entered on it. And the link shared abroad by @OJAS is of course interesting.

You need a non-immigrant O-visa, which you can extend the permitted stay of for one year every year. A non-O might be available inside Thailand, you'll need 800,000 baht transferred from abroad in a Thai bank deposit. For annual extensions of stay you'll either need a deposit of 800,000 baht or a monthly income transferred into Thailand of not less than 65,000 baht each month; the 800,000 baht bank deposit solution is the easiest one. A non-immigrant O-visa applied for inside Thailand is around 2,000 baht. If applied outside, check the embassy webpage for fee in the country from where you apply for the visa. Annual extension of stay is 1,900 baht plus costs for photo and fee to a bank for approval of funds. If you leave Thailand you'll need a re-entry permit, which costs 1,000 baht per time or an one-year multiple re-entry permit for 3,500 baht.

It's el Nino-years with much less rain. Rainy seasons will come back again. However, the major problem is that tourism is constantly boosted by authorities without improving the already lacking infrastructure on the island.

When I've been in doubt about requirements for a public service in Thaioland, I've visited the office – also Land Transport Office – they are normally kind to help with answers. If something is new, please update in the the pinned thread.

April 13th, Sound Club, Chaweng Beach... If you haven't got enough water during Songkran day, then Sound Club's Miss Wet T-shirt competitions are back, last time it was held at the front sound stage. Sound Club's 2nd sound stage in the back has also reopened and plays mainly cool house music...

Some dates you might like to be aware of... Songkran: April 12th, Friday, normally some water-splashing begins in the evening in Chaweng Beach... April 13th, Saturday, the day where the whole island is fighting water war; normally Songkran is only one day on Samui... Full Moon Party dates at Haad Rin's Sunrise Beach on Koh Phangan... –in case you either might wish to attend or instead use the night in a less crowded Chaweng-nightlife: April 23rd, Tuesday May 23rd, Thursday June 21st, Friday July 22nd, Monday August 19th, Monday September 18th, Wednesday October 15th, Tuesday November 15th, Friday (also Loy Krathong) December 15th, Sunday December 31st New Year Party, Tuesday You might notice, that sometimes the Full Moon Party is not held the night with the full Moon, which is due to religious days, where sale of alcohol is forbidden from midnight to midnight. Therefore these dates might also be of interest, as you cannot buy or get alcohol served from midnight to midnight, where the nightlife will also be closed; i.e. nightclubs won't open and next night open from midnight: May 22nd, Wednesday, Wisakha Bucha Day July 20th, Saturday, Asarnha Bucha Day July 21st, Sunday, Buddhist Lent Day October 17th, Thursday, end of Buddhist Lent

April 12th 6pm, free symphony orchestra concert "Samui South Wav" at Phru Chaweng (Chaweng Lake) Tourism Association of Koh Samui: SAMUI SOUTH WAV is a free concert with zones for VIP and general public Let's watch and listen to good music to welcome Songkran to our Samui people this year. Come experience "Music, Waves, Wind, Magic of the Island". Show schedule... For more info, SAMUI SOUTH WAV's Facebook profile HERE.

You are on your own and needs health related insurance, no matter what visa or permission to stay – tourist visa or retiree – your have. If you stay less than six months you can normally use a travel insurance with repatriation to your home country. If you plan to stay as snowbird the METV (multiple entry tourist visa) gives you 2 x 90 days with a visa-run for re-entry and two 30-days extension on each 60-days entry. The retirement visa – non-immigrant OA – gives you one years stay on each entry, but requires more paperwork from home, proof of funds and a an approved health insurance. Not all countries issues that visa.

It's the same all over the free world, it's called free trade, so you'll see competing prices instead of only the highest price...

If you read the pinned thread, you'll find answers...

They need money for the 10,000 baht scheme...

Same place have some. Otherwise JIB in Central. You can choose main bord, SSDs (solid state drives) and graphic card. They'll assemble it for you and install OS after your choice, fx. Win10 or Win11. Power Buy (I think it is named) on the ground floor in central might also still have some desktops. Lazada is an alternative. I've bought desktops from there, arrives within two days.

Paper-recycling, none were interested.

Banana next to Lotus's use to have some good ASUS laptops with preinstalled 64-bit WinOS; I bought one there recently.

School fees might well be due to competition, as it's a fairly small island with 4-5 international schools, and a really good bi-lingual EP-school. It's worth to look at PBISS, and ISS (International School Samui in Bo Phut), if you wish the most expensive. The schools had football competitions (before Covid), changing between the leading international schools as host – at that time the EP-school also had an international section – so we got around and had a close look all the leading ones. Property prices are as always based on the three important factors: Location, location and location. It's a small island, so many properties on Samui have a good location and therefore relative high price both for buying and for rental. However, you can find reasonable priced properties both on sale and for rent, but not as many as in Hua Hin-area. In Hua Hin you might see reasonable priced property advertised as close to the sea, only 5 kilometers, on Samui it's 500 meters. Sea view-homes are also in high value, even that a beach is not within walking distance. Property prices are depending of life style and preferences for location; i.e., for example beach, shopping or view. You can find nice 2-bed homes – bungalows or villas – from around 25,000-30,000 baht per month in rent; or a small 1-bed apartment with sea-view for 70,000+ baht per month. However, it's possible to rent a small 2-bed beachfront pool-villa in the area of around 60,000 baht per month, when it's a long term agreement. At many locations some daily needs shopping is within walking distance; but not when it's with sea view up in the hills, there you need to include some kind of transportation in the budget, and the school bus might also not drive up there. Good sites for research, depending of choice of school, is Bo Phut-area (ISS), Chaweng Noi area (PBISS), and Lamai (Lamai International School (LIS) and Windfield International School / L’Ecole Française Internationale de Koh Samui. But I've recently seen a PBISS school bus as far away as Maenam, which might widen your choices for ISS/PBISS to include Maenam. However, I normally recommend to check anything physically before accepting a rental agreement and pay a deposit, even that Google Street View is a good help to get an impression of an area. Some excellent places you might also not find on the Internet, but instead from a local "For Rent"-sign or spoken word-method.

I've been living here for 18 years – Koh Samui – since I was 56, and I had my daughter in an international school. IMO you best choice would be a non-immigrant O-visa based on retirement for you – 50+ years old – with annual extensions of stay. It requires either a cash bank deposit of 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account – which is the easiest solution – or a monthly transferred income of not less than 65,000 baht. The paperwork is not more complicated than you can do it yourself. For your partner and child's mother, a dependent visa for her daughter studying, attending a Thai international school. Most, if not all, international schools will help with details and paperwork. To my knowledge a capital or deposit of 500,000 baht is necessary. There can be huge price differences for international schools, ranging from around 150,000 baht per year and up to more than one million baht per year. So the number of schools and their prices within an area of interest might be important for the overall living costs; also distance from home to school and availability of school bus service. As you mention Koh Samui as a potential destination I can reply my experience living here with a child in international school. There are at the moment four English-Cambridge curriculum (IGCSE) international schools and one French. The most expensive (Bo Phut) is in the range around 450,000 baht for a year (some extra payments might apply); while the others (Chaweng Noi and Lamai) are in the range around 250,000 baht per year (also with some extras payments). Only two of the schools offers the higher levels, IGCSE-certificate and Cambridge A-level. One on the schools "PBISS, Panyadee British International School Samui) furthermore offers Cambridge STEM. It's possible and easy to change school – we did that that, as by that time there was one more international school on the island, which is now only bi-lingual (EP, English Program) with Cambridge curriculum and native English.language teachers, but not international certificate. EP with Cambridge-curriculum is a possibility for Thai P1-P6, which equals international Y2-Y7, as you don't need a certificate for primary school, but the Thai school year (May to April) is different from the international school year (September to July), so there will be some long holidays when changing. We chose to do Cambridge IGCSE and then my daughter continued – at the moment – in a foreign European boarding school for IB (International Baccalaureate), as that diploma should give better possibilities for studying than a Cambridge A-level. You are welcome, if you have questions.

It's not toilet paper – look in Thai's toilets, do you find it there? – it's a tissue roll, so perfectly acceptable on a table; just get used to it...

It's depending of the province you live and the local immigration office. According to the police order you don't need to make a new TM30. However, where I live – Surat Thani-province – the immigration office don't care and wish a new TM30 every time someone leaves the province. When applying for extension of stay you might be asked for a receipt or copy of you TM30 registration. The immigration officers might check online in the database. I've been out and I followed the police order, but last October, when extending my stay, I was told that I've been abroad and did not have a TM30 registration after returning. Extension of stay-application refused until I has a new TM30-registration. It's easy today to register TM30 online, so better do it too much, rather than ending up coming back later a start all over again in the queue-line for extension of stay-applications.

It's depending of the immigration office, they are not equal.