55Jay

A modest, 3 bed 2 bath in a decent moo baan shouldn't break the bank.

Have you guys considered buying a town house/shop house, living upstairs and have the clinic at ground level?

Sounds like you got a "good" wife, that's great, but don't fall into the instant gratification trap.

Trust your gut on this one, and don't get rid of the biggest asset in your portfolio.  Try to make it work for you, save up for a while then help the wife get the business going.  And don't go quitting your job when you are adding liabilities and obligations to your life.  Hustle more and try to work yourself into a better paying position if you can. 

If the business doesn't do well, you still have that income producing asset.

If the business goes well, you'll still have that income producing asset + a blossoming business.  Then look at parlaying those 2 streams of income into the next goal of buying a house here. 

24 minutes ago, ddavidovsky said:

Got to admire their balls for taking on the whole world.

 

People will sacrifice much freedom for security (cf muslim women). Kim simply has to provide security (or the illusion of security) to secure the people's compliance. The west's constant threat-mongering is a (rather pathetic) attempt to make the people feel insecure and thereby undermine Kim. Kim is obliged to respond belligerently. It's expected.

 

The west wants to obliterate the regime not because he is a threat, but because he doesn't comply with their ways. Therefore they keep pushing him until he is a threat. That's the game the west is playing.

 

The N, Koreans are not suffering. They work hard and have a reasonably modern society. If they suffer it's because of the west's sanctions - the west is causing the suffering. Just leave them alone. They'll come around eventually.

 

I rather doubt Kim Jong-Un has seen his balls, or his shoe laces, in a long time.  He is a text book case of over-compensation for a severe case of short-man with small pee pee complex.

The US has virtually ignored NK militarily for 8 years, so this smarmy line about provocation from "the west", is nonsense, and you know it.  The US (and others) are responding because of NK's conscious, intentional, attention seeking provocations.  Failing to take responsibility for them is childish and intentionally obtuse. 

The Korean people are caught in the middle but are too cowed by generations of cult programming and communist propaganda bullshit.  Perhaps if we just leave them alone, they will quit blaming everyone else for what THEY have allowed to happen to their country.  Then grow a set of balls, string this fat kid up by his scrotum, and take their country back.   Ya' think? 

Tried it, didn't care for it, sticking with San Mig Light.

I think most normal branches have to get the letter from a higher office emailed to them, then the local branch prints it out on letterhead stationary.  That's been my experience at both Krungsi branches I've used.  The last one I got in April had a mistake, so we had to wait around for about 10-15 minutes while head office did a new one and emailed it. 

44 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Order it a few days in advance and specify the date you want n the letter, I've never had a problem with that.

+1. 

Suspense and intrigue in the Big Mango! 

8 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

So, to be clear on the opinion of the Trump-Haters; In YOUR opinion as stated repeatedly, he's "An Idiot", "Incompetent", "A Man-Baby", "Incapable", "A Moron", "Has No Clue About How The World Works", "Flip-Flops Every Other Day On Everything", YET, he single-handedly devised and executed a plan, Without Any Prior Political Experience, that completely duped the 2nd/3rd most powerful man in the world (Putin), the entire executive staff of every Russian intelligence agency, Julian Assange and Wikileaks into covertly undermining Crooked Hilary and associates (who by the way, were already doing this to poor Bernie as they knew no one would EVER find out) AND then proceeded to fool most of America into electing him to be the most powerful man in the world. Does that about cover it?  

The man must have an IQ of 180, the charisma of Slick Willy, Charles Manson, Jim Jones, Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, JFK and an acting ability that rivals the best in Hollywood. Way to go Mr. President!

Flame away. 

Good point.  Is he an orange flavored moron?  Or a genius who's 3 steps ahead of all these political sharks and journos, many who've been playing at this game for decades?

On 5/12/2017 at 0:08 PM, impulse said:

20+ years ago when I lived in Southern California, I could open up the morning news and look at the bacteria count all up and down the coast and decide whether and where to go swimming.  

 

Is there any credible analog here in Thailand?

Still.  Big raw sewage spill in February.  The vid in link article isn't it, but it is interesting to see the Tijuana River Valley and the Imperial Beach zone from drone perspective.  

Quote

Drone video suggests a massive raw sewage spill continued from Mexico into San Diego County beaches after Feb. 23, the date that authorities said the spill ended.

  http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/the-conversation/sd-video-tijuana-mexico-sewage-spill-san-diego-california-20170306-htmlstory.html

The aeration will help prevent algae bloom and reduce fish kill from lack of dissolved oxygen in the water. 

I use WindyTV now.  Not an expert by any means but reading about updates, the default view is 12 hrs.  GFS is 6hrs.  It's enough for me, but not "real time". 

Obama strollin' and chillin' with the homies back in the day.  

He's pulling a Putin.  Flattery will get you everywhere with this one. 

2 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

When I was a kid, we moved from a busy street in Chicago to a quiet suburb on the south side.  It took months before we could sleep through the quiet.

 

I once rented a house at college that turned out to be 50 meters from some train tracks.  For a few weeks, the daily train woke me up at 06:05- which was handy for making those 08:00 classes.  Within a month, the train didn't wake me up.

 

You can get accustomed to just about anything except that pit in your stomach that comes from harboring a resentment.  That'll kill you.

Yes, I'm aware of all that, and have my own experiences.  But Condo/Apartment living?  Been there done that too, never again. 

2 hours ago, impulse said:

I love the sound of kids having fun, with the added bonus that they're usually inside and quiet even before my early bedtime.

 

Don't forget about those paper thin walls. 

And the pitter patter of little feet on the floor above you (your ceiling), followed by THUMP THUMP THUMP when Mom chases them around the room. 

3 hours ago, aussienam said:

So now here I sit realising my mistakes and feeling quite stupid in my decision making.

If this is the place I'm thinking of, I looked at one to rent short term not long ago.  Saw the photos, condition of the rooms, it looked like a tourist / kid magnet.  The reviews on it by past guests were horrendous and almost word for word to your OP!   Realize it wasn't like this when you got there, but right, the slow decline of condos and moo baans is a common story in idyllic Thailand.

If there's no threat of foreign armies of elephant mounted troops invading the city, fill the damn thing in, make the roads wider, parking, and rots and rots of noodle shops. 

23 hours ago, SkyRider said:

Oxx, could you please give some suggestions on the best ways to move and keep wealth in Thailand?  

 

I ask, because I'm concerned about this, all my money is in the U.S., and I'm worried about losing a lot of it to the exchange rate.  

Moves far away from the OP.

What is your situation?  Working?  Retired/Monthly Pension?  Investments producing income?  How do you bring money from the US to Thailand now and at what frequency?

At any rate, probably best to open a new thread in Banking/Economy, you'll get more eyes on it.

No, Mr. President, you are not under investigation.  That was probably a true statement.  The second half may have been, "but your election staff, and present/former WH Staff, are. 

Anyway, it's a clown car show at the moment.  Very embarrassing for America but we've gotten used to that over the past 20 odd years with Messrs Clinton, Bush, Obama, and now Mr. Trump.   Still have faith the process will go forward, even if it drags on like Act II of the Hillary Clinton-Benghazi investigation.  Still a damn sight better than having a Prayuth, Article 44, and kicking down doors of those who might "Like" the wrong post on Facebook.  We aren't quite "there" yet, and the Americans will do the right thing - after exhausting all other alternatives.

42 minutes ago, lazygourmet said:

Same risk as you smoked a joint before boarding a plane at Schiphol ; and got an urine test just after landing at Swampy!

 

Or land with an E-cigarette and vials of juice and be considered a Felon. 

My first wife (from PI) was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, domestic servants, etc., then Dad lost the lot playing cards and chasing women.  They wound up in a typical, poor area of Manila.  Fall from grace.  Mom dumped loser Dad and went to The Sandbox, worked her way up to manager of a restaurant, and built it into a booming success.   Oldest daughter, who had recently finished Uni and was working as a pretty face at Samsung, Manila, was hauled over to the Gulf by Mom, with an eye toward becoming a flight attendant on the Arab airlines.  That's when I met her.  She was just another Filipina in the crowd, Dime a Dozen, but got the job.  I taught her how to swim and she passed all the airline training.  She started at the bottom of course, but in time, was making relatively good money (for an Asian in the Arab world) whilst getting to visit main cities in Europe - places she had only dreamed of seeing.  We got married, she had to quit her job because of that (so unfair!), and followed me around the world for a number of years before we parted ways.  She now lives in Florida, USA, with her Mom and other relatives.   Not sure what she's doing but I suspect winding up in the US was a bit like winning the lottery compared to where she started.

My Stepdad was a poor, Mexican American kid in California.  Dime a dozen.  Served in WWII, shot, captured, and escaped from a German POW camp, walked for 2 weeks making his way to the coast and onto a fishing boat, they hid him and dropped him off in an Allied area.  Rest of his life was gravy after that I suppose?   After the war,  got himself into some kind of apprentice program to learn about aircraft engines, said he was the only "dark skinned" guy in his group.  Ate beans, lived in a spartan, shared flat and put himself through night school (college) earning 2 Associate's Degrees and landed a civil service job with the US Navy working on aircraft engines.  Retired, modest gov pension.  Landed a job at General Dynamics on the F16 program then later, Solar Turbines as jet engine inspector, retiring as Senior Inspector with a second pension.  Began receiving Social Security retirement benefits.  Continued on as a part-time consultant at Solar until he died. 

Not everyone can be a superstar.   But I'm relatively sure most on this forum can point out a few examples of people they know who started out with little or no means, and did ok for themselves.  Feeling bad or being made to feel guilty because others were born into less opportunity, is a fool's errand.  As Giddyup stipulates, it's half the world's population. 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

FB ‘likes’ can constitute criminal conspiracy in eyes of law enforcers

4 hours ago, bangkoken said:

Keeping God in your life kind of evens the playing field for all people. Faith is enduring.

What does "kind of" mean?

All people? 

Faith is not enduring. 

1 hour ago, perspectiff said:

<snip>Looks like I will need to plan ahead to generate more passive income or operate some form of business while living there. <snip>

Hopefully you are making reasonably good money at this point in your life and have a developed saving/investing discipline.  Where are you coming out of?  You mentioned it was nearby, only a few hours from Thailand... but has no old age pension system.

To the passive income talking point, in broad strokes, the portion of my portfolio for passive income is about 1/2 million USD, which produces a fairly consistent $2,200 per month.  Mid-cap, medium risk/growth.

I have other passive income, so to the cost of living question, without any loans/debts/kids/ex-wives, etc. and not including big ticket purchases or long trips abroad, Mrs and I live a comfortable life here on about $2,400 a month.  Sometimes a bit more, sometimes bit less... usually the former, not the latter. 

52 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

I live a life beyond my wildest dreams....but by other's standards, maybe not so good...  how come?

   I don't have a lot of money, my children and extended family have no time for me. I have one friend back home (Ex wife). Have many "acquaintances" but that's all they are ,if I needed help I wouldn't ask one of them for it. My relationship here is almost on the rocks, so virtually alone. I live on my own which I don't particularly like or dislike, there are advantages and dis-advantages.

   So why my opening sentence....because after 33 years of trying and failing I finally found recovery from the disease of Alcoholism, relief from it's  stranglehold over me, I am no longer a slave to Alcohol. But it certainly took everything that was near and dear to me before I got here. I give all the credit for my recovery to a Higher Power (God) after pleading to the unknown (anything out there) for help and surrendering to the fact that my "will power" would never conquer my problem and accepted I was totally defeated  and at that point in life  I was a complete failure.

   I never believed I would live beyond about 45yrs. of age and die a miserable death  like many others the same as myself.

   I am 68 this year and 16 yrs. free of the "obsession" of Alcohol....Without the slightest doubt best 16 years of my entire life.

   To those who do not believe in a God I say....why not give it a try, ...what have you got to lose?   If there is a God you will reap all the benefits....if there isn't who cares....you'll be dead and non the wiser.

    With regards to life....I think you get out of it what you put into it.

I prefer not to judge life by rights and wrongs.......to me it is a case of "balance and imbalance". 

  

You have merely replaced one obsession or addiction, with another. 

Now that you are stable (good on ya' by the way!), instead of inviting others into your newest addiction, you should leave us alone.  Inviting others into your new "thing" is enabling behavior and therein, you can see the parallels with being an alcoholic or drug addict.  They want a buddy to get high or drunk with.   "Come on just try it!  Just once, come on, you'll love it!"

As others said, don't sell yourself short by outsourcing the credit for achieving victory over your own problems.  It was you who did it.  There is a physical addiction aspect to it of course, but half the battle is in your mind.  It's you against yourself.  The bottle is animate.   If it "calls to you", that is a product of your own mind.   There's nothing else going on there, and it's not the "devil" leading you by the nose either.  That's more of the same immature behavior, seeking to transfer responsibility instead of taking it on board and dealing with it rationally and logically.