impulse

As I recall, the Hessians fought for the British. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/hessians

I think that's the key, retirees can easily live in areas that have little or no appeal to families who have to concern themselves with jobs, commuting, schools, etc. That opens up a lot of cheap real estate options. (And not just in Texas, pomchop) Expecting I'll get ripped for saying this, all I need is a Walmart within 10 miles and a PO box to receive Amazon/Ebay packages. With Medicare (Advantage Plan), I need to drive an hour anyway and wait months for routine appointments, so that's not much of a differential. I chose to buy a lot so I don't have to worry about maintenance or property taxes. (And, I couldn't resist a $300 EBay deal.) But if I needed a place to live tomorrow, there's similar deals on houses, as long as the boondocks are okay.

Somewhere in the UK, there's travel people tracking British tourism and where they're going, and in what numbers to each country. Good luck getting honest data since they generally publish advertorials and not hard data. If it's available, it would be helpful to see if Brits are avoiding Thailand in favor of other exotic destinations, or just too skint to travel like they used to. Or maybe a combination, still traveling but shorter, cheaper hops. (Though Brexit and EU passport issues may play into that) My inkling is that it's the UK economy. But that's all it is, and inkling.

Why is it that the guys who say that are the same ones that compare Ukraine to WW2? Domino Theory ring a bell? The names change, the map coordinates change, and the excuses change. But it's another foreign war that the US seems bent on turning into yet another tragic forever money pit. Using tax dollars we don't have.

Just from a pragmatic standpoint, if you have 3 sheriffs, 1 cowboy and 200 indians, the best way to keep the cowboy out of harm's way would be to take him into custody. Not to do so would risk irreversible damage. You can always sort out the legalities later, when cooler heads are prevailing.

I paid $300 on EBay for a lot in a lakeside Texas community where I can build a shack (no RV's or Mobiles allowed). Mine's about a block from the lake, with homes on both sides of mine. You can still buy an RV permissive lot for a few thousand bucks. Or a lot that allows small and even tiny homes. It won't be in a prime location, but that's not a huge issue if you don't have to commute to work. Some of the neighborhoods I watched for years really took off during Covid (and the mad rush of Californians and New Yorkers fleeing to Texas). Lots that were in the $2,000- $3,000 range are now in the $20,000+ range, and it happened pretty much overnight. But you can still find cheap ones. Just watch the restrictive covenants to make sure you can build what you want, and avoid the kind of neighbors that you want. Edit: I'd add that it's probably going to cost $5,000 or so to get my $300 lot connected to water and sewer (or septic). And a few hundred $$$ to get connected to power (already on the lot). But still, amortize that over 5 years and it's peanuts per month. It's a plan C for me, or I can probably sell the lot to one of my neighbors who would expand their back yard.

Junkers are cheap, but I was paying $160 a month for liability insurance. High limits, but just liability. That's 5-10x what I was paying in Thailand for similar limits. I bought a junker, thinking I'd only be in the US for a few months, then Covid hit. Had I known I'd be a Covid refugee, I'd have spent more for a better car. Oh well.

Lighten up. The entire thread is nothing but a windup.

Ending once and for all the debate whether to drink tap water.

Dbl Post. My bad.

Judges, help me out here... Is this the first French lady on the board this year?

I probably could have communicated it better, but dozens of posts here seem to indicate that trolls (and, I suspect, drunk posters) are a major problem, making it difficult to moderate without crushing discussion and hurt feelings. There are a lot of big forums that seem a lot friendlier and more inviting. I'm sure there are well developed algorithms (AI based) to incent more useful participation and fewer toxic posts and flame wars. Seems like a reputation score to rate positivity/negativity would be a good start.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/18/entertainment/dickey-betts-death/index.html I always liked Duane Allman's slide guitar more, but he was one of the greats. And probably far surpassed Duane's technical guitaring just because he practiced the craft for so many years.

Based on a "study" of 16-30 year olds, they conclude that infants should be vaccinated. Implications for Public Health Practice These data do not support an association between receipt of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and sudden cardiac death among previously healthy young persons. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all persons aged ≥6 months to prevent COVID-19 and complications, including death. Way to follow the science. No wonder Americans quit trusting the CDC.

I think they arrested him because he's on the lam from a drug charge in Samui. Police checked Hartas’s criminal history and found that he had escaped arrest in a drug case in Koh Samui and sought refuge in Koh Pha Ngan. Hartas confessed to fleeing from the arrest in Koh Samui, stating that he resorted to begging for food. Not sure I agree with your assessment.

This related Thaiger article piqued my interest when I clicked the OP linked article... Phuket is gearing up for a greener future with the launch of a free air-conditioned electric bus service in the heart of the city. The service, open for both residents and tourists, will initially operate every day as a trial period. The buses will operate along a circular route every 30 minutes, from 11am to 10pm. The bus route comprises 16 stops, with Luang Por Rd being the terminus where buses will be parked. https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/phuket-launches-free-electric-bus-service-for-sustainable-tourism Anyone have any insights into the project, and how the tuk-tuk drivers are reacting?

Holey Moley. A little bit of compassion. Quite the pleasant surprise.

If they are staged, Team Biden needs to hire a new stager. His handlers are a disaster.

I don't worry about the polls so much when I see the contrast between Trump's visit to a bodega in NYC and Atlanta Chik-Fil-A and Biden's swing through Pennsylvania. Like night and day. Even in blue areas like Atlanta and NYC.

I'd almost pay for a subscription to a blog from someone who squats on their California property when they leave for a few days. Almost... And it would have to be a blogger/squatter with a sense of humor.

Nah. She's been watching Biden speeches. Figured she'd give it a whirl.

I don't know that it's the number of deaths. It's more the incredulity when the cops announce the results of their investigations. When there is an investigation. Admittedly, this coming from someone who just reads the reports and has no desire to go anywhere where buckets of booze are a thing.

Google's international. Fi is available in quite a few countries. https://au.pcmag.com/mobile-phones/93412/google-fis-unlimited-plans-are-getting-cheaper

Not Oz, but I'm using Google Fi from the USA. Not sure if it's available in Oz. But: 1) I had to sign up with a US address. (OP may want to say whether he's got family back home that can receive the SIM and send it to him) 2) After a few months overseas, my plan no longer supports the data roaming feature. Just phone and text. Apparently, if I was military on a foreign assignment, int'l data roaming is available. The messages say it'll work fine when I get back to the USA. Works for phone and text in Thailand and China where I've been spending the last year. I keep it as SIM1 in my 2 SIM phone, alternating between a China SIM and a Thai SIM (AIS) depending on where I land. That gives me the data...