watgate

I will be relocating to the Pattaya area and am trying to get as much info as possible before my departure. I will coming with my thai g/f and she also knows very little about Pattaya and the surrounding area.  I don't much about the area. I know there is Jomtien and chonburi but have no idea where they are in proximity to each other. Ideally I would like to find a reasonably priced place away from the madness of Pattaya. I also need to find a hospital or a clinic where I can go for periodic testing of my blood to check my warfarin (INR) levels. I currently have a very convenient and very reasonably priced place in Chiang Mai and hope to find something  similar,not too far from where I will be residing, in the Pattaya area. Any suggestions for places to look at or areas to check out would be most appreciated. If someone could give a brief description of the layout of the Pattaya area and which areas are considered desireable versus not so desireable would also be appreciated. My g/f and myself are not big party goers and just would like to have some relatively fresh air and an opportunity to start to explore some of the southern part of Thailand and its coastline and beaches, as well as some of the islands. We would also like to go to Bangkok and see some of the City over time. Any info or advice would be most appreciated as we make plans to eventually move. Thank you.

   hmficc- You say fine outside of chiang mai. How far outside of chiang mai would you suggest?                                                                                                                                                             

I realize their already is a topic for smoke and pollution but decided to post here to try and get some immediate feedback concerning the current situation of smoke and pollution in chiang mai. I have been experiencing problems with my breathing this year in chiang mai and it started about 1 month ago. I have been coming here for the past 9 years and arrived this year in May. This is the first year where it has hit me hard and I finished off a course of antibiotics and other assorted meds about 1 month ago and I was feeling better. Now, again I am coughing and spewing up stuff from my lungs and most likely have developed another infection in my lungs. I am concerned about long term effects of the lack of air quality in chang mai and the detrimental effects in has on your lungs and breathing. A guy at the gym I go to who has only been in chiang mai for a few weeks has told me he is having problems with his breathing and can smell smoke. He also said other farangs in the hotel where he is staying are also experiencing problems with their breathing. I always thought the air started to deteriorate in January due to the burning and it gets progressively worse as the burning intensifies and the end of January and February and March are very bad due to all the burning that is going on in Thailand and SE Asia. My g/f is trying to tell me to go get some meds at a pharmacy and I will feel better in a few days but I am thinking that this is only masking the problem and not dealing with the root cause of my breathing problems. I guess if I had a car and lived in a place with a/c  and spent a lot of time in a/c  malls you could maybe escape some of the pollution but then you would be a captive to the pollution. I have always enjoyed coming to chiang mai to spend time with my g/f but am worried about ruining my health due to this incessant pollution in chiang mai. Is the air quality bad now in chiang mai? I am having to reconsider my future plans going forward and am thinking of  going to Isan for a couple of months to get away from this air pollution. I was wondering what other folks think and if they are experiencing any health related problems associated with the air quality in chiang mai?

These are some of the performers at the best Cabaret show in Chiang Mai. It is called the 6ixcret Show and the small cabaret establishment is located across the street from Pantip Plaza. If you want to see a great show which will leave you energized and feeling great then you have to go see the show. The performers are all high energy and really enjoy performing and interacting with the audience. Admission is free and you have to buy 2 drinks anywhere from water to juice to beer or mixed drinks. Unlike another cabaret show in chiang mai where you are aggressively confronted for tips, at this cabaret show the customer service is impeccable. I can't emphasize enough how great the show is and, if by some remote chance it wasn't for you, all you will be out is a little amount of money. I have gone several times and each time the audience has overwhelmingly loved the show so do yourself a favor and go see the show. You won't be disappointed. By the way, I have no financial interest in this show and am only posting this because I have seen how hard the performers work and they really love performing in front of an audience.

In a worse case scenario, If the World's central banks had another financial crisis and resultant financial implosion, what effects would that have on one's investments? Since it would appear that going forward, expat retirees are going to have to place funds in a Thai bank for retirement purposes, would their be any possible risk to the deposited funds in a Thai bank if the worse case scenario came to fruition? As for one's personal investing philosophy have you positioned yourself and your investments against another financial implosion or are not too concerned about events going forward and may be on the sidelines waiting for the appropriate time to  re-enter the stock market? I am just curious about one's financial tolerance and what their risk tolerance is in these uncertain times?  

Since the old event was free and was so spectacular I thought it was only fair to purchase a Kom Loy inside the venue to benefit the Buddhist organization for holding such a fabulous and breathtaking event. I guess there were always some cheap charlies who would attend for free and then buy a kom loy outside the venue at a cheaper price. I figured the least I could do was show some appreciation for the free event by giving the Dharma Society some  business. Also, by releasing a kom loy outside the venue you missed a lot of the great experience of releasing a kom loy with your loved ones, inside the venue, surrounded by the multitudes all doing the same. It was truly a magical and surreal experience and one that is forever etched in ones mind.

If you wanted to release a Kom Loy at the now discontinued free event at Mae Jo you had to purchase a Kom Loy inside the venue. You couldn't buy one outside and bring it in to the event. The good ole days when you could attend an amazing spectacle for free unlike now where you have to shell out big bucks.

I am so glad I had the chance to go to several of the magnificent lantern releases at Mae Jo when they were still free and uncommercialzed. All you had to do was spend 100 baht for a Kom Loy and you entered the venue and were in a magical surrounding replete with many colorful garbed monks and huge throngs of folks all there to marvel at the festivities. Unfortunately, like most things in Thailand, money takes precedence and the powers to be saw an opportunity to turn the once free festivities into a lucrative enterprise.

Thanks maximuss. That was the one I was primarily looking  for.

i can deposit 800k TB into a Thai bank but have to finally decide if Thailand is really in my future for me. The handwriting appears to be on the wall and the get tough attitude of  Thai immigration speaks volumes. I think the Thai gov't doesn't really want a long stay unless they have big bucks. I can definitely see mandatory health insurance down the road and if one can not get it due to pre-existing conditions too bad. If thai immigration comes up with a workable solution where folks can combine their income and assets to meet the eligibility requirements then maybe I will re-evaluate my opinion. I am also  of the opinion that the asset and income limits will be raised to clean out  more of the undesireables and will the government grandfather folks who are already in the system or will they take a different approach next time? I am going to research Mexico, it  is a lot closer to me where I reside for several months of  the year in the US. Thailand was a fun place when I first starting coming here but times are changing so one has to do what is best for them.

i can deposit 800k TB into a Thai bank but have to finally decide if Thailand is really in my future for me. The handwriting appears to be on the wall and the get tough attitude of  Thai immigration speaks volumes. I think the Thai gov't doesn't really want a long stay unless they have big bucks. I can definitely see mandatory health insurance down the road and if one can not get it due to pre-existing conditions too bad. If thai immigration comes up with a workable solution where folks can combine their income and assets to meet the eligibility requirements then maybe I will re-evaluate my opinion. I am also  of the opinion that the asset and income limits will be raised to clean out  more of the undesireables and will the government grandfather folks who are already in the system or will they take a different approach next time? I am going to research Mexico, it  is a lot closer to me where I reside for several months of  the year in the US. Thailand was a fun place when I first starting coming here but times are changing so one has to do what is best for them.

Besides OS Visas CO on Nimmanhaem Rd, Assist Thai Visa on Chang Klan Rd, Star Visa Services on Wichayanon Rd are their any other Visa assist companies in Chiang Mai? I know there used to be G4T Company at Promenada but I think they closed and a new company replaced them. Any updates on the current list of Visa Assist companies would be most appreciated.

  2 hours ago, HHTel said:

One option to avoid holding a lump sum in Thai baht is to keep in a Foreign Currency account.  That way your cash will be in US dollars or GBP which you can draw from when the exchange rate is favourable

     A previous poster said that if you deposit funds in a thai bank that are not thai baht they will not be protected by Thailand's version of FDIC insurance for bank deposits, If true then depositing funds in another currency in a thai bank would be very risky.

Once I deposit 800K in a thai bank I was wondering what would be the best way to close out the acct and withdraw my funds if at some point in the future I get to the point where I have had enough of the land of smiles. Since the funds would be in thai baht I would want to most likely convert it back to usd. I guess I could take the thai baht to a currency exchange place and exchange the thai baht for usd. I would then have to get the necessary form to bring the usd back into the US since it would be more then the 10k limit for bringing usd currency into the US. 

     For all you astute financial wizards would I be better served to transfer or wire the funds back to my US  financial institution if I decided to close out my acct in Thailand? How cost effective would that scenario be since I am sure I would have to pay the associated bank fees to change the thai baht back to usd before wiring the funds back to the US plus whatever bank fees would be charged for wiring the funds back to the US. 

    Does anyone know what would be the most cost effective way to transfer or bring my funds back to the US if I decide to go that route.  Thanks for any info or advice.

Since I have never put 800k in a thai bank I was wondering what exactly one has to do with complying with the FACTA/FBAR reporting when doing one's income taxes at year end? Since I go back to the US for a couple of months each year do I need to get something from the bank where my 800k will be on deposit in order to be able to complete the FACTA/FBAR requirement? I don't want to go back to the US and not be able to complete the FACTA/FBAR requirement since I don't have the necessary info or documentation to complete it.

Two issues come to mind. First off,if one has to transfer into their thai bank acct 65k each month, aren't they going to be hit with monthly wire fees and bank fees which can add  up. Secondly, what about going the tourist visa route as a former poster suggested in a previous posting. He said " If I have to I'll go the METV route or SETV plus runs. I'm just trying to minimize the hassle and giving me the chance to come and go as I please over a full year".  Are tourist visas still practical for stays of 6 months or longer or has immigration cracked down on them?

I am only up to page 21 so if someone has already answered my question my apologies. Say,at some point I want to say adios to Thailand and want to withdraw my 800k thai baht to take back to the US. Can you convert the 800k  thai baht back to usd or will you be hard pressed to find an exchange place willing or able to convert that much thai baht into usd? If you have to take 800k thai baht back to the US does anyone know if you will take a big hit in the conversion from thai baht back to usd? I realize one can get a thai atm card which you can use to withdraw funds from your  thai bank acct while in another country so maybe that would be the rest way to go.  Any comments or info is appreciated.

TallGuyJohninBK- Do you have the names of any mutual funds or ETF's that invest in Dividend Kings or Dividend Aristocrat companies?

I go to McCormick Hospital around once a month to have my coumadin levels checked via blood work which usually takes around 1 hour from having my blood drawn to getting the test results. When I initially check in I am usually asked if I want to see the Dr and I say no.  The cost to have my blood tested is 250 baht.

I am the furthest thing from a stock market investor but realize that if one wants to try and make their money grow over time then being invested in good solid companies is one of the best ways to try and stay ahead of the ravages of inflation and loss of purchasing power. With all the recent turmoil in the stock market and uncertainty, I was wondering if folks are currently on the sidelines and maybe have cashed out some of their holdings, waiting for an opportunity to jump back into the stock market when they feel it is most appropriate. I do realize some investors take a buy and hold approach and the financial pundits say it is very difficult,  if not impossible, to time the market. I am interested in hearing about folks strategies for investing in the stock market. The last 10 years or so, after the financial implosion, it was quite easy to make money in the stock market but now it appears to be a whole different ballgame.  If the stock market does truly enter bear territory and, in a worst case scenario stocks tank 40-50% what will folks do? Do they have specific stocks or mutual funds or ETF's in mind?  What investments would they enter in to as to give them the best possibility to maximize their returns and how important is preservation of capital as one seeks to pick those stocks they deem to be winners going forward? Any info or advice or insight would be appreciated so as to give me some insight into investing. I know their are savy investors on board and it will be interesting to hear about their personal strategies for investing, as well as their recommendations for specific investments going forward.

Ubonjoe- So I take it the only way to post a free classified ad is with at least one accompanying picture?