Audragon

I am very happy to pay for the vaccine of my choice, definitely NOT Chinese or a local clone, but i am not happy to pay an extortionate, inflated "farang" price.

Is it just me, or does this look like a glass marble? I thought real pearls were slightly odd shaped. 

Goodbye to Thailand, hello to Thaichina. ????

Phuket Walking Street Market was very busy last night, with lots of food stalls, shops and craft stands doing good business. Mostly locals I suspect, and it was Loi Krathong, but nice to see some activity in the old city. I am visiting from CM  and most museums and many stores and shopping malls are open, but doing a quiet trade. 

Russia is rated No 4 worst in the world. 1.4 million active cases. 15,000 new cases today. Much worse than China and the rest of Asia. It sure makes sense to allow them in! ????????????

19 hours ago, Brunolem said:

Already too late for that.

 

More generally, people are misinterpreting what mostly amounts to cluelessness.

 

The guys in charge are not devising some complex schemes to get rid of X and replace them with Y.

 

If that was the plan, then there wouldn't be a new plan every other day.

 

The simple fact is that they don't know how to reopen the country's borders, and probably neither do most of us.

 

No (significant) country is fully open.

 

Most are still under lockdown, partial or not, awaiting the arrival of winter and a second wave.

 

They, in Bangkok, have been watching what has happened in other countries.

 

And for the time being, Thailand is probably better off the way it is than, for example, emulating Australia's Victoria totalitarian nightmare...

Dear Brunolem, Did you just arrive? Or have you forgotten that we had a curfew, lockdown and most businesses in CM were closed. And we handled all this it happily and gratefully knowing it helped and all the time we wore a mask. The morons in Victoria who are breaking curfew, resisting the Govt, not wearing a mask  and being spoiled children, should be jailed!!!

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

In looking at these numbers, don't forget that Thailand only 'officially' records deaths at the scene of an accident. Anyone who dies subsequently in a hospital is NOT recorded as an official road accident statistic. Estimates of ALL deaths on Thai roads is likely twice the official figure, closer to 50,000.

I am considering buying a second hand, two storey modern concrete Thai style house in Chiang Mai in a project. Has anyone ever lined their interior rooms from protruding concrete pillar to concrete pillar with aerated bricks then a thin layer of render? I guess I'm looking for good insulation and a smooth flat interior wall. Any other suggestions (from first-hand experience) gratefully accepted. Thanks.

6 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

I'm not sure you should expect to have the same or better experience with the Thai Apple Store.

I think you are better to be cautiously hopeful.

Thais don't do customer service well and they don't do lateral thinking or problem solving well, generally.

Before you judge me, I work with some of the top engineering and other technical talent in Thailand -- 30 years.

Hi Flex, I understand exactly what you are saying and I do agree. Have had work experiences along these lines before in Thailand, which has proven very frustrating. I guess my excitement is about being linked into the worldwide network of Apple stores, guarantees etc, with the hope this might improve service, lateral thinking and problem-solving skills. At least a product bought in Thailand may soon have a wider support reach. I guess time will tell.

Apple in Australia is absolutely brilliant! Their products are modern, sleek and work well. Despite their initial higher pricing, their guarantee is excellent and their genius bar is just that - genius! Their Support team is available online, by chat, email or phone 24/7 and they are really helpful and patient. The Apple store has free classes, and I have done their photography and photo class, their video class and their beginner and intermediate MacBook Pro classes. Store staff are super friendly and helpful. My first MBP developed a black screen and the whole unit was replaced - no questions, no repairs - a brand new device on the table. As I will be moving to Thailand soon, the opening of this store will ensure my custom. And for all your doubters, I got my first MBP when I retired at 65 and just love it. What do they say? An Apple a day...! ????????????

Who?

Goodbye deposit! ? My Thai partner has said many times, farang cannot own land. They can own the house that sits on the land, but not the land.

On 8/6/2018 at 1:59 PM, 4MyEgo said:

Hey mate, I believe it applies to everyone who has moved overseas and is a non resident for tax purposes.

 

The best advice I can give you is to make contact with your accountant to clarify after you have read the link below, that said, if you are an Australian resident, I do not believe it applies to you, again, best to always check with your accountant as I know of a mate who just returned to Thailand after having sold his house, now to give you an idea, he is a non resident and has been living here since 2000, yes he will be up for capital gains tax on the sale, but he wasn't going to hold onto it after 1 July 2019 because he worked out that his capital gains tax was going to be a hell of lot more than what he has to pay pre 1 July 2019.

 

Sorry to be the barer of bad news, but sometimes it can work in your favour if you get out earlier.

 

https://www.bdo.com.au/en-au/insights/tax/articles/foreign-residents-and-cgt

 

Best of luck

Hi again 4ME,

Have followed your advice and having another meeting with my accountant next week. You are right about the possible new law in July 2019, not yet legislated, but possible. Thanks for the alert.

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

The first thing I would do is talk to a qualified tax accountant and or look at how your country will tax you and your property, I am not familiar with the US tax system but in Australia it goes something like this:

 

Once you are out of the country for more than 183 days your residency status changes to a non resident, although your citizenship does not, so this means that as you are no longer a resident of Australia, you are no longer taxed as an Australian resident, therefore you would fall into the non resident tax category, meaning whatever tax threshold there was for you as an Australian resident, i.e. ($18,200) before you paid any tax, it no longer would apply and you would therefore be taxed 32.5c in every dollar you earn from Australia, plus CGT Capital Gains Tax would be applied to your property at the same rate, i.e. any increase from the date you left would be taxed at 32.5%, and that is all changing come 1 July 2019 to full CGT.

 

If the above applied in the US, would suggest you sell, as I know for non residents of Australia if you invested in their stock market, there is no tax applicable on fully franked shares, or capital gains tax CGT, therefore making it worth while selling property and investing in the market.

 

Apart from the above I would look at getting a good health insurance for Thailand.

 

Enjoy your retirement.

Hi I FME, Does this apply to Australians of pension age over 65.5 years? My accountant said I had a 2 year window to live in Thailand, rent my house without penalty tax being applied. I would have no other income apart from the rent. Thanks for your help.

I'm planning to move to Chiang Mai in November and I just wanted to add a couple of comments to the discussion. I plan to rent initially and assuming all is well, I plan to buy after a couple of years with my Thai partner. I agree with much of the advice above, especially LukKrueng and khunPer.  

As background, I have been looking at Thai house prices for several years. I currently have 14 local CM real estate agents and 1 bank bookmarked, and I research every day. I compare prices, locations, house styles,  projects, sales, etc. and even compare the same houses listed on different websites. It's actually quite enjoyable and very informative. I usually inspect 4-5 house on each visit from Australia, just to stay informed.

Many times I find house prices the same across different agents, but I believe I get a better deal (service, local knowledge, a range of prices) with Thai agents rather than western agents. I have never found language an issue, and in most cases, I have found Thai agents more "respectful" and able to talk with the owner more easily.

My general observation over the past 5 years is that Thai houses are usually 30% overpriced on agent websites and I wouldn't consider an offer for more than that. (That is the asking price LESS 30%.) Recently I have seen many house prices fall significantly in CM.

Even in Australia, my Thai friends seem to use their word-of-mouth network when buying property, and friends just recently flew to Thailand and bought land and a house in the north following a recommendation. However, this can also be a trap for farang, as friends/family try and help friends/family, even if the property is not perfect.

So Trevor, do your homework thoroughly.

Hi there,

It's so nice not to have to battle the adblocker adblocker to be able to say I also thoroughly recommend Mon Cham (Jam) and the Temple nearby. I took my partner's Thai family there recently and they loved it, especially the avocados 3kg for 100baht which they seemed to like more than the Four Seasons afternoon tea. A wonderful day!

I also noticed there absence this morning. And good riddance too. Dirty filthy, feral, flying rats. Let's hope they have gone for good as they are not native to Thailand and therefore require permanent removal. Congratulations to whoever is responsible! 

Here's a tip I have been dpung for years. I keep 1cm of baby oil in a stainless jar near the shower and place my razor in that. Blades actually don't dull, the very sharp razor edge oxidises in the air (rusts) which coats and clogs the edge. Baby oil slows the rusting process and also helps lubricate and moisturise your skin. I usually get 5-6 weeks per blade which is about 8 or so blades a year. I use Gilette and agree about how expensive they are. We are being totally ripped off. Haven't tried this with disposables but would be interested in experiences.

Audragon. 

Thanks  pgrahmm and everyone, I bought the expensive ones today. Perfect. 

AuDragon. 

Thank you. Great suggestions and I will check out today. [emoji2]


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I have a friend who is travelling and is clearly having mobility issues. Does anybody in Chiang Mai know if you can buy adjustable hiking sticks?? Have tried all the usual sports stores with no success.

many thanks. 

AuDragon. 

Seriously? You would go around stealing religious items from a Buddhist Temple? What sort of moron are you? Not only is that illegal, but incredibly disrespectful. Damaged Buddhas are regularly returned to temples by Thai people, never thrown out. I've even carried a damaged image back to Thailand to be safely enshrined in a Wat in Chiang Mai. I hope the police are onto you and I hope the monks give you a sound thrashing if caught! I'd even join in! Stay in your own country and go desecrate a church and see how far you get!

Our even more important: "I love hew long, long time."