SpokaneAl

I'm curious why you get a new visa yearly when you can get almost two years out of each visa?

Forgive me being a dim-bulb but are there advantages or disadvantages to an O-A visa issued overseas versus a retirement extension obtained here?

Why do you get one every year?
If done right, you can get almost 2 years from a Non O-A.

You don’t mention which state you reside in. Each year I obtain a non imm o-a multi entry visa via the LA Thai Consulate and get the necessary police report via the Washington State Patrol - my state. I make the request for a notarized report via their internet site and it shows up in my mail box in a week or so.

I found this interesting . . . https://moneywise.com/a/ch-a/americas-worst-states-to-retire-in?utm_source=fbk_rbn&utm_medium=mobi&utm_campaign=rbn_worstretire2&utm_content=rbn_worstretire2_pubaa_mobi_v05


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For your USA plan, what happens when you stop paying the monthly to AT&T when you're in Thailand?
 
Do you have to pay a partial fee?
 
Do you risk having them disable your sim for the future or risk losing your phone number?

Is it possible to buy a locked phone & expensive plan in the US, come home, get the phone unlocked at MBK, and ditch the plan?

 
Agreed.
 
One possibility (depends of the level of security bank by bank for internet banking) is to have only 1 account in your internet banking folio which has an ATM* card. Plus of course regularly change your internet banking password.
 
Then use internet banking (usually quite easy and fast) to transfer just enough funds for a few days, known expenses etc., to the account with the ATM card.
 
In other words, never have large amounts in the account with the ATM card.
 
*I have no idea about the USA but some Thai banks try to tell new customers that it's now a regulation of the Bank of Thailand that new accounts have to have an ATM card. Not true at all, there is no such BOT regulation.
 
In the USA?
 
 

While the use of ATMs in Thailand is huge vs credit card usage, when I am back in the US I never use ATMs. They are much more risky than using a credit card.

When you withdraw via an ATM you have basically opened the door to your account for the bad guys, while a credit card charge only puts the amount you charge at risk and can be easily disputed, if in error.

With an ATM withdrawal your entire associated bank account can be drained, and while it is true that the bank will usually work to fix, you still could face an empty account until that happens.


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Banking is a competitive business. Some charge ATM fees, some do not. Some charge various levels of others, others do not. Rather than complain, compare all the fees between banks before deciding where to leave your money. As a consumer, vote with your pocketbook. 

I forgot to mention this. Where is HOME on your phone, US or Thailand ? Calls from HOME in US inside Thailand are long distance calls. My understanding is you live in Thailand and you are going to the USA for 6 weeks, am I correct ? If so, I would get the phone in Thailand and use Thai internet, phone carriers, and hotspot. The phone is not sold separate in the USA. They want to tie you into expensive phone plans and very expensive internet. I pay 620.26 Baht for internet at home only, then I pay 500 Baht a month to AIS for phone time.  My estimate is 1,200 Baht a month for phone and internet. Do not get caught in a USA plan when you live in Thailand. I paid 17,000 for my One Plus 3 phone two years ago. Total cost for 2 years is 29,000 baht; ( $922.00 in 2 years), very cheap. That plus $500.00-$1000.00 more with a US phone carrier for the first year. Then a good phone will cost you $300.00 and up from the US carrier with a 1-2 year or more contract. Get it in the Land of Smiles, and smile when you leave the phone store.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Returning back to the US each year I let my True Account expire, and swap sims again, and go back on the month to month no contract plan. 

This last October, just prior to returning to Thailand I bought an unlocked iPhone 8 direct from Apple and again followed the process.  

We just arrived back in the US and repeated. It is easy and not a big deal.  

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There are plenty of lower end phone for purchase in Thailand and they tend to come with crappy screens and cameras. If all you want is a phone, buy one of those. But if you truly want to surf the internet and take nice photos, your eyes will thank you for paying more for a nicer quality phone, and for that I would buy in the US.

If you are looking for a tablet, compare prices between Thailand and the US - again the higher quality stuff will be cheaper in the US. The low end tablets will have crappy graphics, be short on memory and just be of lesser quality.

And if you plan on doing a lot of book reading on your tablet, you may want to also consider a Kindle reader. The screen quality is terrific and the battery life, which tends to last weeks instead of hours, is fantastic.

You get what you pay for.

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Figure out what phone, memory etc you want and compare prices. You won’t have any problem finding an unlocked phone in the US.  Virtually every company now offers unlocked versions.

I would stay away from the used stuff, especially from phone companies such as Verizon. Those phone may be unlocked and may not be.

I am an Apple user and bought a couple of unlocked iPhones in the US. We split our time between the US and Thailand and I just swap sims each time we change locations and have had zero problems.

It sounds like you also mentioned an iPad. Again, look at the different models/brands and compare prices. Apple has just come out with a much cheaper iPad recently, if that is what you want.

We are big iPad users and my wife and I each have one. We buy them with WiFi only, since they never leave the house unless we travel and stay in a hotel where we can use the free WiFi.

I much prefer prefer surfing the net with an iPad vs a phone - phone screens are just to small for me.

We have a Fortuner and are very happy with it. As a long time owner of Toyota vehicles, the choice was an easy one for us.

We went with a two wheel drive. After three years of ownership I have yet to see any necessity for a four wheel drive.

My only issue is that I wish it had more of the safety features that are pretty much standard in the US - proximity, rear view mirror, and lane wandering warnings, auto braking and a cruise control that automatically maintains a safe distance with the vehicle in front of us.

I don't see any Thai Consulate (including Washington DC embassy) issuing Non 'O' based on retirement in the US. Washington embassy told me only Non O for people over 50 with 800K fund (or monthly income 65K) is Non-OA long stay ME visa valid for one year that can be extended for legally staying in Thailand indefinitely in an immigration office inside Thailand.

The non imm o-a multi entry visa is a one year visa. Each time you leave the country and re-enter, prior to the enter before date stamped on the visa you will receive a one year extension. This means that if you time the last exit and re-entry to just prior to the enter before date, you will essentially get a second year off that one year visa. Your visa is now dead and done and you will need to obtain an extension of stay or a visa for you remain in Thailand after that point. There is no indefinite extension of the non imm o-a multi entry visa.

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I'm not taking any chances.
 
One of the things I like about cycling is that you can go places.
Running doesn't take you very far.
 
My brother in law prefers running, because cycling takes so long to burn  calories

Join a gym and use a treadmill or bike etc . Your joints will love you and you will burn exactly the same number of calories in air condition comfort

By the way I did try some Vibram five fingers shoes which are a minimalist type of shoe, but it just didn't feel as good as running completely barefoot.  It felt like my feet were kind of slapping the ground rather than gripping it.  Your toes don't fit inside the openings either, your big toe and second toe probably will but after that maybe not; I think the shoe is designed to accommodate every type of foot and that just means it doesn't properly accommodate any type of foot.

 

I would consider trying some other kind of minimalist shoe but without the 'fingers'.

I have a number of friends who swear by these, and race up to and including 100 milers and more. https://lunasandals.com

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1 hour ago, zaZa9 said:

Exactly.

 

You have to report  89 days after the day you fly back in.

Just dont be away on 'Visa/Extension' due date.

 

The thing is , Im still not sure if you must report to Immigration with a completed TM30 within 24 hours of return to Thailand. You had to here if you went to the Patong Office ( which now has a sign saying so ) , same as CM  , but not if you went to Phuket Town Immigration . Now some are saying you must report to either  office within 24 hours....

 

Yes, you should plan on reporting within 24 hours of returning into the country. This will also serve for you to validate with your immigration office that you are indeed restarting the 90 day clock.

Perhaps, but without them who would feed America, or build its roads or homes or fight its wars? I find a certain nobility in self sufficiency. To be a conservative person does not always translate into being conservative politically.

Sometimes it does translate and sometimes it doesn’t - either way to classify an entire group of people as ignorant seems a bit . . . ignorant?

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yeah...that's pretty much what the voting demographic illustrates, ie, educated folks against the ignorant rednecks but you can't blame them much as they were there first with the ranches and the loggin'...
 
I just hate the possible scenario of stopping for a cup of coffee outside of town and then
 
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and that's even west of the Cascades...them loggin' towns on the coast ain't none too friendly neither...
 
in the bar after work in Mapleton just east of Florence: 'I heard that yer a goddam brazilian n****r toe...' 'well, it's true that my mom is from Bolivia in south america...' 'it don't matter, son...I also heard that yer a good riggin' man so yer OK...'
 
 
the folks there have got a harsh life so ye can't blame them too much I reckon...