gk10012001

Yes. That tax thing is quite a large unknown. Even if the dollars and cents become not an issue, the alleged and possible need to report income, provide tax records, argue about capital losses or net gains, or deductions etc. will stop a lot of actions by many people. I know that when i retire in February of next year I will not be spending the 180 days in thailand. Not a big deal but it will require me to sort out my living here in the USA with any long term rental in Thailand differently than i was planning. I remember back in 2004 when I was so going to buy a condo in Pattaya. It would have been OK for about a dozen years but as my work and time habits changed, then COVID, and not to mention whatever problems might have cropped up such as crazy neighbors, condo maintenance not happening, immigration paperwork for my visa, etc.. I am glad I did not buy. So many less headaches.

Oh man I remember my first few trips starting back in 2004. Palm trees and shade trees were great. There were flower beds all along the walkway. There were metal benches one could sit on and relax and enjoy the sights. The walkway on the North end was still usable and you could walk to Won Amat beach area. It was such a pretty serene place.

Screen snapshot from youtube here in the USA. I currently prefer Firefox as my browser although of course youtube sign in is now part of google. No idea if other offers or discounts are available

Two of my friends were lefties growing up. They pointed out a few things. 1: Doors and the door knobs are designed more for righties to use then lefties. This was in the 70s and 80s anyway. Not so sure I agreed with them but I saw their point. 2: Those little manual can openers are easier to use by righties than lefties. 3: In the USA the cars with manual shifters on the floor and most automatic shifters require the right hand. The manual shifting if they had not driven a stick much took some getting used to

The USA will NOT release your 1040 complete tax forms to Thailand. Now, if you yourself do end up having to report to Thailand all your tax records that is a different kettle of fish. I would not trust Thailand with such information, It will be interesting to see exactly how this tax reporting, assessing works and how Thailand will regulate or mediate it as there will be disputes over what is covered what is not covered, what is excluded, etc..

I think the Sabai Dee or one of those soapy massage places could help. The thai massage is kind of a combination of wrestling, massage, manipulation etc.

The Democrats for better or worse, for good reasons or bad do keep putting up women candidates. Remember Geraldine Ferraro back in the 1984 VP candidate? Then Hillary Clinton Presidential candidate in 2016. Now Kamala Harris.

Sheesh. Dinosaur sized birds? All the birds in the province?

why invert up to 220 VAC? Why not 110 VAC? I would think those might be available at RV or Boat or marine supply stores

Thanks. I would be interested in using that and keeping an eye on things when I head to Pattaya. I use the ones here in some CVS pharmacies here in the USA. I think I used one at a walmart pharmacy area also

Pfff. Nothing new. past few decades as I have visited there at night and late the rats all along walking street running in and out of the garbage dumps, dashing down the sewer drains etc. People there years before me tell me that along the sides of Soi 7 and Soi 8 those little gutters used to contain the sewage and drainage from the hotels and bars there. Noise has gotten worse over the years. The small town atmosphere is almost gone. I remember before central plaza was built and I miss that. Still a fun city to visit but not as good as it used to be

I love the local outdoor thngs. Remember down on Walking street in Pattaya right at the beginning on the right was a bar that always had live Issan entertainers. Good nostalgia

Some Thai interrogation techniques or threats of long jail time before even seeing a judge or a court, or the Thais probably had some info and knew they had large amounts somewhere. Telling no doubt was said to reduce their sentence or punishment. So crazy to try drug dealing selling trafficking in an eastern country. Jail time there is not fun. No doubt they think they will be extradited to their home countries and get off easy. A follow up would be interesting

My first trip to the LOS was in 2004 when I was 47. On the flight home I was outlining my investment strategy and my future plans as I steered my investments to earning the about $2000 USD a month income needed for the retirement visa extensions, etc. when I got t 50 years old. I was so enamored with the country. I since have visited 15 times. Each year retiring there options got stranger and required more hoops to jump through. Initially the Retirement income Affidavit from the USA embassy was available. Then the USA embassy stopped that. The Elite Visa for convenience was looking good as I could easily afford that but then recently they raised that price and cut back the number of years the basic one was good for. Now this tax thing.. which nobody knows for sure how that will work or what must be filed, or how disputes will be handled, what documents the Thais may want, IRS tax records, USA tax records and complete 1040 filing packages, how slot jackpots in the USA that were written off by losses , and how stock gains offset by losses will be handled, etc. It all seems too complex country by country for the Thais to understand and process properly. So in short now that I am semi retired, I simply won't be in Thailand for more than 180 days. Not a horrible thing, but it puts a damper on the worth of renting a place for a continuous year for the discount. Will see how things look next year

Oh I love it. The prisoner was such a cerebral show and I loved watching it when I was growing up

So MAGA will now stand for Make America Golden Again? Time will tell. The Stock Market DOW aversage in the USA was up over 1500 points today, mostly in the large company stocks.

crumple zone construction in the front of cars really didn't have head first crashes due to going over a garage railing,

This is nothing. Starting back in about 2005 or when Russia got a lot of relief on visas by Thailand the number of Russian women that worked on Walking Street handing out papers, and fliers for various clubs there really expanded. Once I asked one if she had a visa and a work permit. It drew a lot of attention from her "handlers" so I moved on.

Will I win the Mega Millions or powerball lottery if either of them wins? That is about as relevant a question.

why wear expensive jewelry there? Showing off? Vanity? I wear my 8 USD armitron digital watch I bought over a decade ago at Wal Mart and it keeps great time. Once one of the ladyboys did the old grope and distract attempt and as he/she got to my wrist and saw the cheap watch , the creature left me alone

Who or what says he is popular?

Put down the phone, pay attention when driving

yeah. Not rare over there for many balconies and so called walls. Really not much strength

Agreed 100 %.

So sad. Too many construction accidents over there. The mental image I had was from the old movie the Omen where the man got killed by large plates of glass sliding down and offing his head.