JCauto
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6 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:
????????????????????????????????????
Seriously aside from your seriously stupid dream, I ate breakfast in Siem Reap everyday at a different restaurant. Which were all dedicated to bringing their employees up out of poverty, support schools,etc.
One of these restaurants had a little factoid on the wall that only 3% of Cambodian kids achieve a minimum education standard.
How high are the walls on your pool villa going to be? ????
Oh look at you! What a marvelous person you are! You can tell by the way you look down on other people and brag about buying breakfast at some NGO project restaurant - no doubt you carefully inspected the books to ensure your dollars were completely helping the poor, not some scam. And the depth of your research speaks for itself - the words of the social scientists were written on the restaurant wall! Around 98% of statistics randomly written down as graffiti are completely made up including this! I'd make a bet with you that despite all of the lentils you've weaved into handicrafts to warm old Khmer grannies during the cold season that this fellow would contribute more to the economy in one season than you would in several years.
So what does this fellow's pool villa have to do with the kids' education?
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7 minutes ago, Jenkins9039 said:
I lived in Dubai, it's not ideal for the kids with their nannies, the nannies need to be able to go back and forth without having too many issues...
that means neighbouring states for the year .
Singapore and Malaysia are ruled out due to the strict enforcement, Cambodia and Laos came up from some of my financial connections due to a number of reasons.
Then it comes to practicability.
We shop, we eat, eating could just bring in a chef, shopping can dart back and forth or send for, lifestyle is mainly food.
You can get superb French and Italian food in Vientiane for a ridiculously cheap price. Lao food can be good, although lacking in comparison to the neighbours. But there's all sorts of restaurants that cater to all sorts of tastes, eating here is a delight.
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1 hour ago, LaosLover said:Just back from Vientiane, a total ghost town. The part of Vt that you might enjoy is about 6 short streets. If you're at the tax shelter level, you will find the amenities lacking.
Med-wise, Bangkok Hospital has opened a branch there. Because of Chinese interest, rents are similar to Chiang Mai for a lot less quality.
Residency means a business visa. You'll def be paying some key money for your visa. Nannies? No prob. Teachers? Plenty of qualified old whities to do the job.
These poorer countries have really cut back on mosquito abatement due to less tourists. My wife caught dengue fever in Luang Prubang.
As per my name, I'm in love with the culture of the place. But you're not, and should give it a wide miss.
Vientiane's status as a capital city and at the same time a ghost town is part of its charm of course. I didn't get the impression though that this fellow was out in the clubs until late in the evening, so they might find the laid back lifestyle there perfect when raising a family of small kids.
Tax- and bureaucracy-wise, you'll find it easy to deal with since you can simply pay an agent or company to do all the necessary things for you. Taxes aren't particularly high, and they have zero ability to deal with your income outside of Laos, so you won't be bothered unless you actually open a business here, in which case you will be bothered, but not unduly as in Cambodia for example.
There are decent international schools and lots of available teachers for tutoring, nannies, etc.
Mozzies? Yeah, they exist pretty much everywhere, the countries that do mosquito abatement also still have dengue outbreaks. I've been living in Southeast Asia for over 30 years without dengue, wear socks, pants and a long-sleeve shirt towards the end of afternoon until around 7pm and you're good to go.I should think Laos would be a quite pleasant place to retire to and raise your kids, good crowd of expat folks here without a lot of the sexpat crowd, and the lack of the bargirl scene will likely keep them away indefinitely. Don't find a lot of scammers and other lowlife who are trying to maintain their sad existences at the expense of other expat suckers.
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There was another thread about just this topic the other day.
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14 hours ago, transam said:
How old are you, 15....................
Mentally, probably about right. Peter Pan syndrome. Treating women as commodities for pleasure not humans for companionship. Let's try to guess where his political proclivities lie, no prizes unfortunately.
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That's it! Disqualify him from future elections. For...I dunno, find something.
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Having lived and worked in all countries mentioned other than the Philippines, I'd say this is a reasonable take for older Thai-based expats.
Cambodia is basically coming on like gangbusters and Phnom Penh is starting to resemble a "mini-Bangkok" but will obviously have quite a ways to go to get to the level of the "Big Mango" if that is your ideal. On the other hand, the food there is becoming good and diverse and there's tons of high-end spots to party at to go along with the usual low-end dive and girly bars. It is definitely more expensive than Thailand on a day-to-day basis, and always has been. No 800K issue or likelihood of someone deciding to turn the screws on the expats. Health care getting better, but the best plan is to get on a plane to Bangkok if seriously ill or in an accident. Siem Reap is becoming a nice little enclave a la Chiang Mai, but has a ways to go to get there. The other towns like Battambang and Kampong Cham would be similar to living in Isaan. The beach is there for the modern age hippies in Kampot and the Chinese in Sihanoukville, but it's second-rate compared to Thailand.
Laos is like living in Isaan when I arrived there over 30 years ago. There's quite a bit of charm to that, but I understand this is mostly not what the older and better-heeled expat crowd are looking for. There's great food also in Vientiane; it's the cheapest and best place for high quality European food in the region in my opinion. Rent is cheap, living can be cheap, beer is less expensive than soda and the people are laid back and pleasant. Countryside is spectacularly beautiful so hikers, bikers and nature lovers will enjoy it immensely. Working here is a source of frustration for most due to the lack of industriousness prevalent in Lao society. This again can be more of a positive than a negative depending on your perspective. Health care is located in Thailand, if you are in peril here you're in trouble. So probably not the best place for most older people (I'm over 60 and I love it, but not the norm). Also no girly bar and other action sufficient for the many sexpats on TV considering a move. Lao currency is volatile and not convertible and the government has put themselves in rather a bit of bother financially, so there are concerns it could all blow up at some point. But probably not, this is after all Laos. They just float on by.
Vietnam is a place I've worked a number of times and always enjoyed the work - but I wouldn't want to live there. There's a fundamental difference between the Theravada Buddhist countries and the Confucian ones, and the former are quite a lot warmer than the latter in terms of human interaction and general attitude. Vietnam is also a more insular place and one where there's a longstanding tension between actual communist bureaucrats and the private sector and between the North and the South. Can't really comment on the costs or pros/cons of living there since I haven't spent long periods. Food is okay, but overrated in my opinion. Provincial food gets pretty similar and pretty old pretty quickly. Love the vibe of Hanoi, but again, not a place I'm keen to live especially given its awful weather. Saigon just doesn't do much for me.
Myanmar was a fascinating place, but until they get rid of the Junta, it's going to be one for development aid workers and adventurous travelers, not expats. China...no. Philippines has little interest for me due to terrible food and an ersatz culture with disaster management being the default government mode. I'm also happily married so have no interest in the bar scene other than non-girly bars.
Malaysia is probably the most similar to and likeliest bolthole for the better-off expats, they offer a lot better deals for long-term residence and have all the modern conveniences in KL and Georgetown. Their government is pretty stable and unlikely to collapse or suddenly take away the privileges of the expat community. There's no problem drinking and the food is good and can be great.
Singvegas is like someone dropped a Western city into the tropics. Better have a lot of dough and if that's your style, why did you move here anyway?-
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21 hours ago, impulse said:(Sorry, I'm trolling some lefties on some other threads and that's put me in a strange mood)
That's considerate of you to let us know you have no actual intention to debate and that you've no actual basis in your arguments but that was actually already understood and obvious. However, whenever one of you shows some consideration, it should be acknowledged. Not that it will become a regular feature or anything, but I will keep it in mind for the future.
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13 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:
My charging station in my garage was 6,000 baht, supplied & fitted.
Sure, TIT. I was looking at costs in the USA, so makes sense that they'd be about 40% of that.
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1 minute ago, vinny41 said:
The initial discussion was around who should fund cost the of install Charging Stations and associated costs in condo buildings
Then the forum pillocks ( POTV) jumped on board
Some people are unable to understand that issues are highly complex and open fora tend towards wide-ranging discussions that expand the original thought based on points raised. At some point, "impulse" posted that he'd never seen a gas station in a condo/apartment complex, hence we posted reasons why. So this response was pertinent to the discussion.
I find it amusing that you believe one can dictate the scope of a discussion on an open forum and that it should somehow naturally be restricted to those responding. Can you show me an example of such an Eden of fora that isn't at the same time so highly restricted that it has managed to achieve popularity? This is a problem worldwide since moderation requires so much effort and no websites seem profitable enough or interested in paying for said tasks.-
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1 hour ago, vinny41 said:
Do you know of any gas stations that have been installed in Condo / apartment buildings I don't
Can you think of a reason why? C'mon, you can do it!
Why would one not put a reservoir full of fuel within a condo/apartment building complex? Any ideas?
Did you know that you could install a charging station for as little as $500 for a single car in your own garage? How much do you reckon your own personal gas station would cost? Oh, and that cost comes with hardly any long-term environmental costs, no risk of leakage into groundwater or other contamination, no remediation costs once you close the site. -
On 9/10/2023 at 7:06 AM, JBChiangRai said:
The issue with H2 fueling cars is efficiency.
Whether fuel cell or H2ICE, the whole process is expensive and inefficient. It will always cost twice as much per km for an H2 car over a BEV car.
That said we may well see H2 cars if there is a shortage of Lithium and BEV cars become premium products.
Good news then!
https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/lithium-deposit-found-us-may-be-among-worlds-largest-study-finds
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2 hours ago, impulse said:
Have you observed the $30+ trillion in US gub'ment debt? Any idiot can throw money at a problem.
Carbon market? What, exactly is the commercial value of carbon, other than a scheme to transfer wealth?
My interlocutor requested evidence of affordable, acceptable interventions from Government that worked.
That they are affordable is self-evident - I suspect even you would scoff at anyone attempting to blame US Government debt on carbon credits. That it is acceptable is similarly self-evident - the markets have now risen to the point where carbon is viable, meaning that the corporate world has accepted them as a worthwhile investment in the future.
The question is whether the reduction of carbon in the atmosphere will work. Given that the models that were used to make the case for the carbon markets appear to have significantly UNDER-ESTIMATED the impacts of anthropogenic global warming and severe weather impacts are upon us already, there really isn't a case for "laissez faire" or "status quo" economics. -
On 9/10/2023 at 3:20 AM, thaibeachlovers said:
Given that I've been asking someone, anyone on your side of the divide for ages to provide examples of what governments are doing that is affordable, acceptable and works to deal with climate change, but received narry a reply, IMO you are taking the mickey.
Really? What could be easier?
Have you observed how renewable energy has taken over that market for example? That's basically the result of government intervention funding the research and startups and putting priority on development of alternative non-fossil fuel energy.
Have you observed the carbon markets? For the first time they're now becoming economically viable in terms of the market price providing sufficient incentive and funding. That's again the result of government intervention then the markets realizing that this is a worthwhile investment and taking it on. -
1 hour ago, impulse said:
It's the GOP that's leading state efforts to keep cities from banning gas appliances:
Other progressive cities followed suit with similar bans (on gas appliances). San Francisco passed its own ban in 2020. New York City became the largest US city to pass a version in 2021, with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vowing to pass a statewide law that would ban natural gas by 2027.
But other municipalities looking to take similar action are running into a brick wall. Twenty states with GOP-controlled legislatures have passed so-called “preemption laws” that prohibit cities from banning natural gas.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/17/politics/natural-gas-ban-preemptive-laws-gop-climate/index.html
The GOP seems to believe in choice and letting consumers decide. If you read the article, the cities that banned gas appliances are the usual lefty led swirlers. You know, the ones swirling down the toilet of lefty policies.
If we're going to go down the path of "find the farthest Left/Right example and put that up as an exemplar" then there's not really much point in discussion. Do you think it likely I could find the opposite example in some podunk county or state? Of course I could, but it doesn't advance the discussions.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3815311-wyoming-lawmakers-propose-ban-on-electric-vehicle-sales/
I have addressed your points, howsabout you address mine? This is always the way debate goes in TV, someone on the Right makes a point, we on the Left rebut it and ask a pertinent question, the person on the Right ignores that and pursues the next line of "whataboutism" or some other deflection. Proper debate proceeds more like a tennis match, whereas the posters on the Right proceed as if it is golf, where two different players are at the same place but playing on different holes without reference to each other.
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9 minutes ago, impulse said:
How's the weather down there in Bizarro World?
Where up is down, cold is hot, east is west, and the right is the party trying to ban gas appliances and gas cars.
So no rebuttal to the factual points made about Republican Party policy?
The Democrats are not trying to "ban" gas cars, they're offering incentives for people to switch to more climate-friendly alternatives. You know, like the way Western Government policies offer companies massive incentives to continue to produce fossil fuels. Notice the difference? The Right try to prop up fossil fuels despite the obvious damage they cause to society (first observed accurately in the studies of those same fossil fuel companies in the 70's) and their method to provide incentives is to provide free money to companies. How much free money is being provided to prop up the fossil fuel industry? Oh, a MERE 7 TRILLION DOLLARS OR 7% OF GLOBAL GDP IN 2022!!!!!!!!!!! How's that square with your ideas?
https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/climate-change/energy-subsidies
As to "ban gas appliances", let's stick to the facts, shall we?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/06/13/war-gas-stoves-house-gop-ban/70297193007/-
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On 9/6/2023 at 12:10 PM, thaibeachlovers said:
Another reason to vote Trump.
Because it's a core principle of conservative economics to try to overcome market forces with legislation! Because businesses need intervention from the government to function efficiently and correctly!
LOL. Sad how lost the Right has become. There is no more "policy", just slavish devotion to a Cult of Personality.
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On 9/7/2023 at 10:42 AM, ikke1959 said:
And that they found out after more than 10 years????
Par for the course. Remember those Saudi jewels?
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On 9/7/2023 at 2:44 PM, thaibeachlovers said:
If it were unambiguous there would be no need for an appeals court.
This is an integral part of "rule of law". There are appeals processes for those convicted or otherwise on the losing end of a court case. I see you lack even the basic understanding of the legal process.
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I thought surely there was someone other than I on this forum who can speak Thai! Let me translate.
"Cabinet seats are now up for sale, one week only! Gentlemen, please submit your bids."
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14 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:
You don't seem to have asked me that question , I have looked back through this thread and you haven't asked me a question and I have looked on my notifications list and you don't seem to have replied to me before , let alone asking me a question .
The reason why I have "declined" to answer your question, is because you haven't asked me a question .
Perhaps it was another poster. These are rolling discussions. I asked the question, you're on the other side of the rolling discussion, figured you could probably answer it too.
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Look past this particular case and you will observe the face of another very real problem in this country - anyone can easily sue anyone else for defamation and the courts will just let it proceed. This has been used as a means of suppression of opinion over and over and over again, almost inevitably by the wealthy and powerful against anyone criticizing they or their business, whether that criticism is absolutely warranted or not, and with consequences heavily weighed against the criticizer. This is another manifestation of the sorts of legal basis for the powerful to maintain their power indefinitely and extends so far that one cannot safely post a valid review of a hotel or restaurant without risking actual jail and damages. This is why a certain political party who won elections are not sitting in power while those who clearly lost are and their stated reason for doing so.
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15 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:Do you still believe in the rule of law if a Court decision goes against your preferences .
Like in the Kyle Rittenhouse case , did you support the rule of law when he got a not guilty verdict ?
Do you believe in the rule of law only when it suits you ?
No, I support rule of law. It's pretty unambiguous. I see that you're once again projecting your own opinions onto those of your political opponents. Yes, I understand this, pretty much every Republican policy is projected from the basis of "I know what we are doing/would do, therefore it's reasonable to assume our opponents are doing the same thing and therefore we're justified in getting out in front of it." Except that, with the evidence that there is no longer any realistic policy base for what passes as leadership other than "winning" or "against woke-ism" or "abortion bad" or "dog-whistling past the (electoral) graveyard", there's no coherence in any of it.
Do I think that Kyle Rittenhouse should have been guilty? I do think so based on what he did, but I understand that the current laws of the USA as stuffed into the ballot box by the Gun Lobby make it that he was not. I have faith that in the vast majority of cases the Judge and Jury will rule according to their understanding of the law. That we dislike that law is self-evident and that we would rather change that law than come up with a basis to circumvent it or ignore it in favor of achieving our desired result is exactly what my post was about. The current divide between Republican and Democrat is as much about process versus results. Republicans believe in achieving outcomes that they desire in any way possible; illegal, immoral or unethical means are just towards that end so are acceptable. Democrats do not. I actually think poor young Kyle is not that bad a kid, just one who's been manipulated his entire life, first by his gun-nut moron parents and then by becoming the face of the Right. He's just a kid.
So no, I don't believe in rule of law only when it suits me. But of course, I asked that question of you, and you have declined to answer it as is generally the case with my Right-Wing interlocutors.
(Edit: changed "then" to "than")
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5 hours ago, transam said:Tell us who Biden fans here are, after all you seem to know everything...????
He also knows whether we're happy or not.
He can't understand why we don't fly "Biden" flags and wear his name on our shirts. We don't believe in personalities, we believe in social democracy, systematic justice and rule of law. That means taking care of the poor and the planet while keeping things moving economically. Check into the "Doughnut Economy" model for example.
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Cambodia/Laos - What's it like?
in General Topics
Posted
Oh dear. I seem to have offended you somehow, I assure you that wasn't my intention. However, I do happen to live in Vientiane so perhaps may be better informed?
If you'd like the number of a visa agent in Vientiane, why not ask? I'd happily give you two immediately - both of whom run quite successful businesses here providing services including running visas for expatriates (business, retirement, long-term residence) and also buying and delivering train tickets. That you are unaware of this and willing to state unequivocally that there are no such people in existence or that it could not possibly be viable given the market makes me think you're perhaps not as well informed as you claim to be. I haven't asked whether they do Thai visas, probably I should think.
One travel agent in town to help you book the train - again, LOL. I'll give you three others if you like.
"VT is seriously shut down" - what does this mean? Are the restaurants and bars I frequent figments of my imagination? As I noted, there's no real girly bar scene here, is that what you mean?
Is your claim that mosquito abatement is 100% effective and stops Dengue Fever in its tracks? They do it in Cambodia too, probably helps, doesn't completely eliminate it ever. Best is to avoid being bit, and the mozzie that transmits dengue is the black-and-white striped one that is active between around 4-7pm, hence my clothing suggestions. Seems to me that according to WHO Thailand is more problematic for dengue...
https://www.who.int/southeastasia/health-topics/dengue-and-severe-dengue