gk10012001

Do they require the Alive thing if living in the USA, as far as they knowor if really living in the USA

Taxis really are an OK deal. Have taken many over the years, especially the times I arrived on a 2 am flight, although I tried to avoid those flights and arrive during daylight hours if possible. You can head to Ekamie bus station and probably find mini vans hanging around that will take 5 or 6 people to Pattaya. Not the best though because sometimes they do NOT go directly to Pattaya, but sometimes go out of their way to pick up as many people along the way as possible. Did that once because a van was ready and the next bus was an hour away. How bad could it be I thought. Well, 3 hours later we finally got to Pattaya! We went down a lot of roads I did not know existed between Ekamie bus terminal and Pattaya! On my very first trip I flew into Don Mueng before Suvi existed. There were several mini van options one could reserve in advance and that worked out well. I suspect there are similar at BKK. Check online for some ads or maybe others will post something about them here

yeah, I just passed 65 and my social security is actually going to be over 3K usd a month if I start it in january. Plenty for a modest living, and yes, I understand the SS direct deposit into USA bank accounts only. Luckily I doshed up quite a bit and have twice my SS coming in right now as dividends and interest in my IRAs I accumulated over the years. Now time to trade off money for number of years left to live. A few more months should wrap things up now that Thailand is or may be getting back to normal a little bit

really? I have not been in two years due to covid. Not even the cheap bus to pattay north eh? wow. I always traveled with just my carry on so I loved the convenience of either bus. Many times I walked down to Pattaya Klang from Sukhumvit where that cheap bus would stop, then catch a baht bus to wherever. Many 30 and 60 day stays. Thanks for the update

and still working a few more months. Thought I was punching out two years ago, but covid made world and USA travel a pain so I kept doshing up. that;s ok. My SSA benefits have gone up over 2k a year each year I postponed. Medicare is more pricey than I would like, so I have to watch my investments income, IRA withdrawals, dividends, etc and tax wise and Medicare wise premium things to find the sweet spots

yes always. I would not be giving up my USA presence. Own and rent and will be returning home 2 or 3 times a year. Just will be getting O multiple entry for convenience. And wondering about dealing with fidelity while overseas. Calling with my phone if I have to get a Thai Sim card, if my email shows me logging in from overseas, or if the Fidelity website pukes at seeing a foreign IP address, etc. But I like the idea of monthly auto

I thought Fidelity had issues with people calling or updating things while overseas? Maybe it was just they would not let one open a new account(s) while overseas

the majority of them do not spend much money in Pattaya as far as I have ever seen. Walk around in bunches. Most working illegally or improperly in the hundred or so hole in the wall indian restaurants. Fronting the various Tailor shops

yeah. living in a one room small studio. No air con. Futons for beds, one room mate at least . how those girls still manage to bath and wash their hair amazes me

My Etrade reimburses ATM fees in the USA but they stopped reimbursing fees from overseas ATMs many years ago. I am about to open a CS account as my portfolios have grown and a better company that at least addresses international issues is on my list. I wonder how CS is at handling monthly retirement deposits to Thailand? Etrade does NOT have any sort of automatic transfer and I hate the idea of having to wrestle with their form all the time. I would love to set up a regular monthly transfer to Thailand for my OA retirement extension monthly income method. Set it up for the middle of each month so there is plenty of time for me to check that the transfer worked properly, was properly foreign transaction coded etc

well, getting coke in a can over there tastes much better in my opine than in the skinny glass bottles. I think those bottles of coke are left over from the vietnam war era

Bell Travel bus. reserve in advance. Bus goes to Pattaya North bus terminal. Then they have mini vans included in price that take you to your hotel. Have to book in advance so I stopped using them, but the service was always good.

In addition to raising the income cap for when they stop taking out social security "taxes", I would not be surprised that in a few years they will increase the percentage a little bit from the current 6.2 or whatever it is, up a bit to say 6.5. Not a big increase for most people but it could add up overall to the fund

yeah. cookies and browser stuff often leave data laying around you don't want. Starting over a good idea.

There was an interesting article on a Thai News paper about a stampede of expats to immigration to convert various visas to Non imm O visas to get that visa that does not require Thai health insurance

what country

I read the pdf that Ubon posted. the last item said Rental Agreement between the Applicant and the Landlord ; A copy of house registration. Location map of the house and a rental receipt Past three months. How can one have a past three month record of stay if just arrived in country on a Visa exempt method? This is exactly how I plan to enter Thailand later this year and then convert to non Imm O, reasons of retirement extension, etc. OK. I edit my post to see that one gets a 90 day permission to stay and then they get the full retirement extension. I was confused! So there is that extra step in there/ Thanks

what injuries were done? As for causing a danger to life, well, a danger does not mean anything actually happened. Sounds like a witch hunt, a little bit. But being unlicensed, well, that has more legal force behind it. The Thai image thing is over done, but that does come up in Thailand, so one needs to be aware of that when traveling there.

Make sure you find a dentist that makes the crown on site, i.e. a cool new ceramic type of thing that machines the crown right there. No longer need to wait a few days after the root is dug out, a temporary crown installed, a mold sent out to some place to be made, then returned. My dentist in San Diego has that and it is the bee's knees. literally same day or next day service depending on how your tooth root canal looks.

One really can live relatively cheaply in Thailand. Street food, local hole in the wall restaurants, buying food and cooking at home. Stir Fried rice and some veggies and some meats goes a long way. Laundry not a big deal. Drinking out at clubs can be a big expense in any country The problem is one often has expenses related to home country. Americans such as me for example, really need to continue paying Medicare Health monies. Not required, but if one every returns to the USA, the prices are higher to start medicare again because one gets a 10 percent penalty every year they did not have it. The lowest Medicare B premium is 187 a month I think now. And then one probably has a Part D or advantage plan or Drug plan on top of that. Maybe one maintains their USA driver license, maintains some auto driver insurance, etc.

As an engineering contractor the last 20 years, I got paid very well, ... when working. Sometimes the contracts ended much sooner than expected, sometimes I had a few months between jobs, etc. One thing one of the old time contractors I shared a cube with said struck a chord with me and I repeat it here: "When working, live like you're not, so that when you are not working, you can live like you are"

well done. Good examples and information

Yeah but the idea is to avoid all problems in advance. Challenging for me to get a test prior to arrival as I travel across the USA through several cities and airports, with a layover at odd hours. And the idea is to get to Thailand with no restrictions, no sign ins, etc. I won't be going for another month or so, so I will wait and see what sort of experiences people encounter. On a side note, I read that Taiwan is now allowing passengers to transit through Taiepei airport now. For many months they were not allowing that which eliminated many flights from the USA (LAX, SFO, SEATAC, etc. on EVA air

None I ever tried were comparable to many of the local places in Providence Rhode Island, my home town. Parts of this city had the center stripe on some of the streets painted in the Italian Flag colors. That's how Italiano it was However, two places of convenience I liked in Pattaya were 1: The weekly Lasagna special with salad at the old Robin's Nest on Soi Diana. A fine little restaurant. I don't expect miracles when traveling half way around the world. 2: The little spaghetti stall at the corner of the street there. At night she cooks up the onions and garlic and tomatoes and makes that the sauce. Again, not 5 star rating but quick, easy, a few stools to sit on if you want. Again, half way around the world, I don't expect miracles.

Me too. But I also go for the foot massages, and swimming and relaxing in the nice hotel pool on a hot day.