copa8

Current job due to end by the end of April. Already booked flights to HK and BKK for a 1 month trip. Will resume trading, which I did for about 4 years, when I get back.

To answer the OP because many are not wearing rose glass's and are not fooled by the hub of idiotic corrupt ministers saying all is fine no need to panic, Thalland will not be affected by "...." insert any major event here.

Thailand is still very much a developing 3rd World Country whatever some people believe, the Baht is subjected to massive Currency inflows from Country’s that are about to experience financial mayhem (whatever some believe)

Thailand has one of the highest interest rates in Asia ...hence money looking for a home with reasonable return is flooding into Thailand...if you think this is not going to go bang well good for you; I know where My money will be and it is not sitting in the Thai stock market or Thai banks.

Too many people living here a couple of months/years view Thailand as a 1st World state, all I will say is yes it’s a state in fact it’s a mess

You are entitled to your views, as I am so lets see how it plays out, it will be very clear in the next couple of years

My rose colored glasses have a wide angle lense. One needs to look at Thai's politics, economy, and policies not in a vacuum, but compared to other countries in the region. Vietnam, China, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar. One or two of those may be equally good places to invest (and live). The others are all run by the same "idiotic corrupt ministers" (your words) and they have equal political/social/economic problems. If Thailand collapses, the rest of Asia is going down with it.

that's putting too much weight on thailand. if asia goes down, then the rest of the world would too.

even the aboriganee's in australia mount there kangaroo's from the left hand side!

because of the boomarang holsterd on the left side of their undies...

glad you wrote "from the left", instead of from behind.

i would trade the OPs current singapore residence in a heartbeat for mine.

What do you expect from a country full of over 60 million people who don't know that a world exists beyond their borders and who generally despise non-Thais? Nothing new here for those of us who live here. Let the 2 week tourists be surprised.

ignorance is not just limited to thais. people in advanced economies with higher levels of education make similar errors. a few years back, some american firm did a marketing piece with blatant asian-american stereotypes. you think they would know their own citizens better.

If it taste like Pizza Hut pizza in Thailand you can have it.if it taste the same as the pizza's they make in the us then i'm up to it.

pizza hut and dominos tastes like sh&t wherever they are made.

A Paedophile is a paedophile is a paedophile!

People trying to make excuses for this behaviour because she probably approached him, and she lied about her age and he may not have known her true age are pathetic.

If you are not a paedophile you do not proposition a girl without ensuring she is of legal age especially when the majority of asian girls look younger than what they are.

If you are not sure of her age, but you are certain you are not a paedophile, then you walk away.

true. so many on the board are trying to make stupid-ass excuses. you forgot the one about he's probably drunk.

makes you wonder why these guys have so much sympathy for the perp.

Officers from the Police Region 2 Child and Women Protection Unit were monitoring the 13 year old girl around 4am on Tuesday Morning and were about to detain her and take her into care when they saw an approach by the American,

Why do I smell a set up ?

then go see a doctor, as your sense of smell ain't what it used to be.

setup or not, the perv shouldn't have even touched her with a ten foot pole. the article didn't say he was coerced/forced into going to the hotel room with her and strip naked, did it?

I take it you have no degree Karen?

I've read some nonsense on this forum at times but your post is pushing hard for the biscuit....

I dont have a degree HD...I retired at 39.....can I have a biscuit ? I like anzacs to dip.

yeah, but the chances of someone able to make a decent living is far greater with a degree than without one. you could've easily still be flipping burgers.

Yea, lol, I realize this is pretty broad, but I feel with a good idea and good management, I should be able to make it. I plan on running the company myself and not partying all my profits away. I'm just looking for some ideas that would make be between 50,000-100,000 baht a month with my 1.5 mil baht investment. I would idealy like to get a real job, but I have no degree, and that is bad news for emplyment in thailand, so starting a business is pretty much my only option.

you are just looking for 3.3% to 6.6% a month?!? i know i haven't been to thailand for a few years, but is it that easy now to earn such high rates of return? sheesh.

i think at best expect 1/10th of that and at worse expect to lose the whole bht1.5mm.

I earn all my money on the internet. Takes only about 4 hours each week doing it so you could say I'm semi-retired. Makes me 60k+ monthly. Easy living.

Is it a secret what ya do If not spill the beans we can all have a go.

He sells meatballs on Ebay.

or refrigerators to eskimos on ebay.

I haven't used EVA but with regard to their lack of enthusiasm on beer handouts from London. I heard that their trolley dollies have to put up with all these lecherous old Brits, already sporting their favourite Chang singlet and wet, tufted armpits, ogling them unflatteringly as they paw the lithe Asian bodies with their grubby hands and cajole another beer through nicotine stained teeth from the 'not smiling but grimacing' air hostesses. It's sort of the pensioner sexpat bus of choice to paradise.

Sent from the Back 'o Bennachie with an Asus eePad Transformer TF201 thingumabob.

isn't groping sexual harassment? i'm surprised the stewardesses put up with this. should've contacted local authorities upon landing.

Over 300 million guns in the USA and only a handful of nutjobs shooting people

That handful of nutjobs shot over 10,000 Americans last year. The Vietcong never had it so good.

Stupid comment. Anyway, besides the Vietcong, you left out the Germans, Japanese, North Koreans, Iraqis, the Taliban.

I'm all for some gun control, but what happened here was a failure of our health care system, or lack there of. Please also notice that a man in China stabbed 22 children yesterday.

Please also notice that of the 22 children stabbed, NONE died.

But had the culprit been using a gun, then the odds are there would've been many deaths.

"well, as you stated above you made/make your money abroad so where is the point of your posts in regard to OPs question? Probably nobody is interested to know how much you spend or save here.

I agree with one of the above posters that good jobs for foreigners in Thailand are rare and if you are not bringing special skills or connections to the table then sorry to say chances are slim.

Not talking about internet based businesses (which is of course also a special skill) that can be run from anywhere."

in almost all countries, not just thailand, companies would prefer to hire locals than foreigners (unless they bring special skill sets).

Asia has free enterprise, if you are smart and work hard you can make it. The west has controlled enterprise, not free, very hard to make the jump from employee to owner. Jim

I agree that it is more common to see self employed people in Asia, but it seems that's more related to the poor salary alternatives and the ease of skirting the rules, rather than a genuine ease of getting relevant permissions, etc.

I think it's more like if you don't work, you don't eat. If you can't find a job working for someone, then you work for yourself (sell fruits, noodles, etc). Thailand and most of Asia don't have a welfare system like the U.S. Therefore, you can't just sit on your ass at home and still collect a check from the government.

I'm with Capt Haddock. I work in Thailand and like it just fine.

But if they sent my paycheck elsewhere, I wouldn't be too disappointed.

My only advice to anyone caught up in "The American Nightmare" is to quit watching the news and reading the newspaper. Every time I go back to the States and visit family, they're doing quite well and so are most of my friends. In fact, everything looks fine right up until I tune in to one of the gloom and doom talk shows, or read the chicken little newspapers. All of a sudden, it seems like we're all screwed, the Chinese are taking over and everyone is or will soon be unemployed.

Strangely, when I turn off the television and interact with real people, it all seems better...

they need gloom and doom to get the headlines. will always need a foreign threat to generate fear. was the soviets during the cold war period, japanese in the 80s and now the chinese. who knows, in 20-30 years, might be the canadians.

What are they missing in the west. Jim

A FUTURE.

Think you may find the future is Asia at the moment, better a well of Thai than an unemployed welfare recipient in the west. Asia has free enterprise, if you are smart and work hard you can make it. The west has controlled enterprise, not free, very hard to make the jump from employee to owner. Jim

maybe OP should consider other places in asia...perhaps hk?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-20/hong-kong-beats-netherlands-and-u-s-as-best-place-for-business.html

Maybe the OP is from Detroit? If so, then Thailand would be moving up.

hi all,

would appreciate if you can recommend any hotels/serviced apartments that offer reliable/secured (preferably free) high speed internet. thinking of staying for 1-2 months early next year and need to connect every night. don't want to risk booking for that long of a period and have a less than good connection.

thanks in advance.

I'm not day trading from Thailand, though one day I hope to. I trade the U.S. e-mini futures (ES, NQ, YM) via Interactive Brokers. IB's round turn commissions is about $4 per contract. I average about 5 trades per day using 3 contracts, so about $60 in commissions. Trading is very difficult, but more so mentally than anything else. But once you find a system/edge that works, it's the best "job" there is.