smooth expat

I'm trying to apply for disability benefits here from Thailand. Anybody successfully done it before over the internet??

Ummm. Costs a bit too much for lays there. The only real reason to live in Pattaya is to save on mongering costs. I know we can't discuss *that* sort of thing on TV but it is a fact of life and needs to be considered as part of a man's overall budget.

It's called rain.

That's good news. Americans are finally treating other human beings as they should be. The problem is they are holding these opinions for the WRONG reasons. I think they are okay with gays in 2013 and not 1983 is because being gay is "cool" now and the flavor of the month. Notice that nobody is promoting incest rights or zoophile rights because they have no support or popularity. Humans are the same bigots in 2013 as they were in 1983.

Gonna cost him a lot more than 400 baht to get out of this one.

There have been a lot of demographic changes in Pattaya since I first came here 7 years ago. Walking Street now seems like Russia Street (especially the southern end), next to this there appears to be a mini Istanbul. Write Europeans, Americans, Australians are indeed a minority. I have a friend who goes there regularly, who refuses to accept what has happened, very strange indeed.

I have no problem being around different nationalities. I have met so many Russians and people from different countries here. I often find myself surrounded by very different nationalities although they hardly know I'm just an American. I just learn to live with it. Pattaya is a very diverse place.

Here is the problem with minimum wage and unions.

You might say, that it is only a small sum, but consider a factory hiring 500 employees, it adds up. Or consider the fact that many around the minimum wage do jobs for people that aren't strictly nessecary but adds to quality of life such as cleaning etc.

At some point, which is different for everyone, you're not going to pay someone to clean, but do it yourself instead. Not because 100 baht more will break your budget, but because other price increases all together makes you cut back.

The time you spent on cleaning can't be spent on working, so you take money out of the economy or if you didn't work, you can't spend while you're cleaning. Plus the cleaning lady won't get any money. The net result is a negative on the economy.

Now with a minimum wage, some people are not going to be worth that minimum wage. It is that simple. If you can't earn back what you pay someone in wages of course you're not going to hire them.

Eventually the growing number of unemployed will lead to demands for more welfare and jobless payments. And then my friends, is the country on the downwards spiral into populist socialist dictatorship as we have it in Europe.

Unions are little more than mafia enterprises on labor these days. They made sense 100 years ago when security was absent in the workplace, but today, they're useless parasites on productive people.

Absolute rubbish. There is no proof that minimum wages causes unemployment. It will only cause inflation for the rich, who are overpaid anyways.

The Baht is already falling. It will keep on falling because the inflation rate is too high here.

I feel your "pain". I am sick of the traffic and overcrowding too. I wish Pattaya would return to the way it was 5-10 years ago but that is probably not going to happen again in our lifetimes.

That being said, I would rather not return to the US. I STILL DO NOT miss the winters there even though I've never seen a snowflake in 5 years.

I'm not quite sure why these journalists keep smearing this place with these blantant lies. But I speculate that deep down they are anti-sex and this is their way of "getting" us.

Have only been there once and that was many years ago. It used to be a bit more diverse. Now it's gone all Arab/Indian. What you posted doesn't surprise me.

Head to the nearest 7-11 or Panasonic factory. Too many girls to handle! But you will still need to give her a little money. Women aren't free anywhere.

Interesting post. This point strikes me the most, too: the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.

Upon returning to the U.S., in comparison to SEA (and places like Haiti) I'd be extremely hard pressed to let someone tell me they live in poverty. But then there's that term 'socially acceptable'. In this case, poverty can be seen as directly linked with dignity. If others around are without material comforts, then one doesn't feel impoverished.

Paradoxically then, as Thailand develops, it will also become increasingly impoverished -- as poor Thais will see more and more often the things with which they go without.

I think you haven't been around much. There are lots of people living out of their cars in the USA these days(!). And a significant part of the population have no health care. Try finding a Thai who can't find affordable housing. Or gets turned away at the hospital due to lack of health care coverage. I think there is less poverty in Thailand than the USA.

Now it's your turn to whine. Haha. We'll see a lot less Aussies here when it hits 20 to the A$.