Dave Phuket Sisaket

Even with an MBA from a top European business school it is difficult to find a job via firing off the CV through online submissions. Generally a good word from someone in your network and them forwarding your CV is how the bulk of job interviews are landed, or via headhunters. If you have deep experience with transferable skills it might be worth reaching out to a bunch of headhunters. Otherwise, reconsider your network. They may have connections in other industries than the one they are working in. The main thing is trust, so if the key hiring person trusts them, and they trust you from previous dealings, your lack of a degree should not stand in the way.

Good luck!

I know people teaching at international schools in Thailand earning great money with only a teaching degree but no teaching license back home. You can network your way in if you are on the ground here, but probably not from somewhere like Surin. You can't do TEFL as a career but at the international schools your quality of life will be way better than teaching in America. If you have kids they will go to school free, which is really the only expensive part of living in Thailand.

Most of the "generally accepted wisdom" you will find here on tv, such as the the myth that Thailand is only a place to spend money but not make it, is total bs. I know loads of people who have become rich in this country, but they don't open a bar or massage parlor.

You can have a great life here as teacher in an international school but not as a TEFL teacher (at least not long term). If you are not confident about your current qualifications start an online PGCE, and/or get some international school in am easier market such as Turkey or somewhere first, then apply from there to schools in Thailand.

Good luck, follow your dreams and don't listen to naysayers.

My understanding of this all is that the futures exchange as an organization is simply helping the government organize an auction of their physical rice.

If the government wanted to hedge their exposure to their physical stockpile they could sell futures contracts (although with such a large position they would likely send the price down and speculators would jump on the trend and further depress prices. They still would need to find physical buyers to unload the stuff though, the futures gains from the short position would just offset (partially only in reality) the loss they would face from the fact they need to sell at rock bottom prices.

In terms of rice trading at different prices on different exchanges, other than differences based on quality, arbitrage opportunities will keep the prices pretty much in line. Basically what this means is that if the prices of the two contracts start to diverge, some guy at Goldman Sachs with a billion dollar position limit will sell the more expensive contract while simultaneously buying the cheaper contract for a risk free profit. This activity brings the prices back in line..

Noise,

The one exception to needing PR prior to applying for citizenship is marriage to and/or supporting Thai citizen (birth children).

I am planning to apply this year and the way it has been explained to me by multiple lawyers is that your reason for annual visa extension must match the reason for the citizenship application. What this means in plain terms is you need to have a work permit and have been paying taxes for three years, but during that time you should not have been using the work permit to get your extensions. You need to have three years of marriage extensions since that will be the reason for lodging the citizenship application.

The cost of PR is very high, but direct citizenship isn't.

That is my understanding anyways. I will let you all know how it goes in due course..

"so why they call them Russian loan sharks ??? if one is Ukrainian ...."

Maybe he is from Crimea

"Section 113 of the Criminal Code deals with actions deemed intended to abolish or change the Constitution, topple the legislative, executive and judicial powers under the constitution, or separate the land or take over the administration of it. A violator is liable to life imprisonment or death.

You tell me which side that sounds like to you"

To me it sounds exactly like both sides. It amazes me how many farang have chosen a side and believe their sides political spin of the day (it's all BS based on whatever advances their own position on any given day) It reminds me of how closed minded Americans are if they become too brainwashed by either the democratic or Republican party line.

The truth is that the world over, all any politician cares about is staying in power and that will never change. Regardless of who "wins" this conflict of power bases the sad truth is the Thai people are the only real losers either way. I just hope Thailand gets past this current mess without any more murdered children or other senseless losses.

Cool, next weekend actually works better. I may try and round up a few guys from Sisaket. Hopefully the beer being kept cold isn't a problem with the weather we have been having.

When is the hash in Ubon normally held? I read it was the first Saturday of each month. Your site isn't seeming to work but by my calculations that's tomorrow. Any hash there this weekend?

I go to the beach mostly every single day, often multiple times. I often bring my work there, but also like to watch the sun rise from my surfboard or just watch the sun go down while drinking a beer.

You don't need to worry about jellyfish in Phuket. They may get you from time to time but usually it just stings a tiny bit. The big pink ones which are the most common don't sting at all I believe, but if they are around there are usually these small clear ones that do. Box jellies are so rare here that if they find one on a beach it is a big story for the next month..

Out of curiosity, is it illegal to collect bits of totally dead coral that you find on the beach? I remember seeing that they arrested a Thai guy selling bracelets or something with tiny bits of them. I had thought about bringing a few pieces home once from a local beach for decoration but am scared it would be asking for trouble....

Sorry, my first time quoting something, apparently I didn't do it right.

That is one of the best posts I have ever seen on Thaivisa... Gotta love a crack smoking Chris Farley look alike mayor..

I used to be a professional trader, but have been out of the game for some years now so things have likely changed. However Interactive Brokers used to be one of the most popular for international independent traders. If you are really trading, as in high frequency scalping, or day trading, the underlying companies don't really matter that much. All you need is volume and volatility, so I would think you could find some decent trading vehicles on the Thai exchange. Just an idea..

Thanks everyone!

I really appreciate all the different viewpoints and it seems we are likely paying market rates. The wife says my father in law will pay 300 plus lunch or 50 Baht. They apparently know what they are doing and we buy all materials. It seems reasonable to me. So far it has been pay as you go and it is amazing how cost effectively you can build in Isaan.

Great discussion, thanks everyone!

:-)

While I think it is naive to think farang don't get stitched up from time to time, I think the reality is that it is more rare than people fear. A friend of mine who has had a business renting big bikes in Phuket (Arguably one of the more corrupt places here), for almost a decade now, told me that in all of his experiences with his customers crashing the police were always fair. He said that contrary to popular belief, if the Thai was at fault they or their insurance always ended up paying. He said he has never seen his customers squeezed even when there were no witnesses. I was obviously surprised because I have heard horror stories similar to above, but it is always "a friend of a friend"

Hi everyone,

My father in law is going to hire some workers to help him put a roof on our house. Obviously everyone within a few villages knows his son in law is a farang and as he has no experience hiring workers I worry they will try to ask too much.

Does anyone know what a fair day rate at this time would be? I obviously don't want to be a total cheapskate, but also hate finding out later we overpaid due to a lack of having done some homework ahead of time.

Thanks in advance everyone.

Dave

You should not start a proper "pension" if you are not receiving tax benefits in my opinion (or being matched by your employer), as you are forever after told by some government how much of YOUR money you can access, what kind of investments you can make with YOUR money, etc. To start with, open a new bank account separate from your others, and start contributing monthly to this. Label this account "pension" mentally and don't touch it. When it gets sizeable enough that you would like to invest some of it, then you can consider the appropriate vehicle for investment management at that point in time. This way you maintain total control, but it requires more discipline to protect you from yourself. Given the decisions otherwise sane people make when at 60 they suddenly fall in love with a beautiful young lady, the restrictions on drawing your pension down have no doubt saved a few guys out here from themselves..

I heard that he came down with some rare genetic degenerative disease of some sort, so my guess is that there is nothing you can to do prevent something similar. Of course I heard this through the grapevine in Phuket (admittedly not so reliable) so if my source is in error feel free to correct me. I think this demonstrates that while we may not be able to prevent the inevitable, we can stay healthy and fit enough to enjoy our lives until fairly close to the end. I only spoke briefly with Richard when I would be in his shop buying raw power bars or be standing next to him on the wall at naiharn checking the waves, but he was always friendly and seemed to be living what he preached. RIP Dr. Cracknell.

In my opinion it is usually between 100-200k where it begins to make sense to transfer but it does depend on other issues such as additional income in the UK.

Where QROPS really begins to offer huge savings is when the transfer value approaches 500k to 1m plus. In these scenarios the tax savings can run into the hundreds of thousands.

With regards to LM, it is sickening that they were paying out such high soft commissions. I generally opt not to take a soft commission from funds unless the client is alright with a back end load and then we rebate it back to the client.

Not all small firms run the business model mentioned by the American, and in fact the bigger firms are generally even more sales orientated. One major bank that begins with H and ends with C had their wealth management business basically chucked out of Singapore because of the large number of complaints.

I chose to work for a small firm because I have more flexibility to use my own judgement and because I believe the partners do in fact want to do a good job for the clients. Generally the bigger the firm the closer they are to rotten core, and the corporate culture is money worship at the expense of all else.

The truth is that big or small, it is never wise to blindly trust an IFA. You should educate yourself enough to understand the risks of each investment you make. Every investment has risk and may cause you to lose money. There is no IFA on the planet who can guarantee you a positive return, and you should run very fast if one tries to.

I see alot of misguided opinions on this thread, but I am not going to address them all.

I am an IFA and based in Thailand. I have an undergraduate degree as well as a top ten European MBA in finance. I have worked onshore in a highly regulated market and offshore as well.

First, I agree that 95% of IFAs in this country are cowboys who have never studied finance in their lives. However, the onshore and frankly global financial services industry is so rotten to the core that onshore advice generally is just as bad. My brother is a prosecutor for the SEC in the states and the crap that goes on there is just as bad.

QROPS can save you a ton of money in taxes, far outweighing any costs associated. However it needs to be a fairly large pension for this to be true.

There are a range of charging structures out there and if chosen correctly a QROPS can actually cost less than a SIPP over the life of the pension in some instances.

The thing most people don't understand about these pensions is that there are two unrelated issues in play. First is the decision to transfer, which is a tax and estate planning decision. Next is the ongoing investment management, which is where relying on your average Devere type Thailand based IFA could get you into trouble.

People who have had a rotten experience with the returns on their investments often regret transferring to a QROPS, yet many people in SIPPs have also lost money in this low interest rate environment.

I have never used LM but they are a perfect example of the kind of fund people are using simply because they can no longer get a safe 5-6% return with a mix of fixed deposits, money markets, and bond funds. In the quest for a safe fixed income, funds like LM will come in with a nice story to tell and IFAs and their end clients alike buy into the concept.

My advice is usually to transfer into a QROPS and keep most of the money in fixed deposits until rates overshoot their historical averages, which is the inevitable end result of all the money being printed at the moment.

I am down at Naiharn everyday and generally the lifeguards do a great job and pull tons of people out of the water. Unfortunately due to being landlocked the Russians mostly have absolutely no idea about water safety. They swim in the rips or right in the breaks while people are surfing, with their backs to the ocean. Add to that the many Thais leaving leaving their kids in the lagoon while they go get their chicken and som tam (not a stereotype or dig at Thais, there literally is a vendor area right next to the lagoon that sells excellent chicken and som tam) and the lifeguards really have their work cut out for them.

I say well done on this rescue and all of the other ones which go unreported so often at Naiharn..

Thanks everyone.

I am still mulling over the options.

I hope you all have a merry Christmas!