northernjohn

If you can get a gig in the home country and get assigned to Thailand, that would be the best possible scenario. However, getting harder and harer to do. Most places are just hiring locals because (1) it's cheaper (2) lot of locals well qualified (educated in West)

Trying to earn money while living in Thailand...that's hard part. I think most are retired, have funds from the West. Then you have the other expats who work in boiler rooms, "investment schemes", and other dubious stuff...

You forgot the trust fund babies. We have quite a few of them. Also not familiar with the ways and means but a lot of missionaries.

I work for a Thai company, and not with an expat package. I do OK with it. I also publish books and am doing more than OK with them. Between the two and along with some rental property back in the US, I am doing fine, and my retirement kicks in in 3.5 years.

Does your work permit cover the book publishing?

Correct me if I am wrong...but have not the Chinese (foreigners) broken some ground on land ownership in Thailand, recently?

Does make it look like some back door politics going on....lobbying...and such.

To the preference of Chinese over Westerners

Any one can own property here in Thailand if they have a business and meet a lot of other requirements. Besides that the Chinese might have relatives here already who are Thai citizens. They stick together and it would not be a problem for them.

If Thai's are allowed to own real estate in any foreign country then foreigners from that country should be allowed to own property here in Thailand.

This will never happen because Thai's fear that foreigners want to own & control their Country.

So in the United States of America they invade countries on bogus reasons.

Do you believe if they do it we should do it?

In Canada they send their soldiers into countries to keep peace.

Do you believe we should do it?

I believe that what my home country does has nothing to do with what Thailand should do. If it was such a big deal to me to own the lot my house is on I would find a country where I could own it. How ever I am not that insecure. I refuse to own any thing I can not just wash my hands of and walk away from. I realize and understand that people raising families do not have that freedom but I am not raising a family any more. I flat out refuse to let any thing own me.

Last Sunday walking street was packed with Chinese tourists, I mean really packed ! You could hardly walk. The bars however along the street were nearly empty. Even the bars that have chairs facing the street where you can sit and watch the people go by were empty. These seats are always full ! I was a little shocked by the sharp contrast between the street and the bars and the number of people. If this is any indication of the future times will be getting ruff....

do you want to seat on this chair and be guffed by a hord of Chinese like they look to monkeys in a Zoo ??

will you in such a situation enjoy your beer ??

Yes for the bar owners. But not for the people geared up for tourists. It will be good times for them.

Is going to be an interesting year. No rioting or demonstrations where people are getting killed Martial Law is gone. Not that it was a bother in the first place. My son was here for a month of it and didn't know it until I mentioned it to him. The one thing I see holding it back in the future for the westerners is the Chinese If they have been among them they might not want to come back to Thailand. The majority of Chinese can and are self centered and rude.

We went down to have lunch just south of that big ugly hotel Ambassador city Jomtein and I counted 10 tour buses in a line heading into Pattaya.

Tourist of a different kind and Pattaya will need to adapt. Time to build that casino.

Are you sure they were not just passing through?

I would never consider moving to Thailand if my existence here had to rely on a job and being only one pay cheque away from disaster if I lost that job.

On average a farang should be looking at earning between 40000 and 60000 baht per month. Jobs opportunities for farangs wanting to work legally in Thailand are extremely limited, unless they have special skills, such as high grade engineers, technology specialists, teachers or here representing companies from abroad, as I did for many years.

Many farangs are working or running companies illegally in the country and over the years I have learned to never ask farangs what they do in Thailand. But for me I would not want to be here in those circumstances..

My advice is; do some research and apply for jobs in Thailand from the home country, and if successful, do not give up everything in the home country and only consider a job here as an adventure and not as a long term career prospect or a secure means for being able to stay long term in Thailand.

also Thailand has a fair amount of trust fund babies who need never work.

In Khanom my wife tells so many farangs are here......I don't believe it.....A few days later a Thai friend need a hotel and everything is full. I think there is a shift in the destinations. The overdeveloped loose. Or don't increase at the same rate at the room numbers.

But I might be wrong.....

If memory serves me rite and it might not. There is only one hotel in Khanom and some resorts. Nice beach great for a quiet get away. It has been a while 6 years and things may have changed. I remember the owner of one more beer telling me at the time there was about 25 farongs living in the area.

Well....yes one big hotel in the German Bunker design and the others which I wrongly called hotels are resorts with bungalows, guest houses, etc.. Now there are many.....I think even need your second hand when counting them

To be serious: there are many new one, but still very few considering the size of the beach......And mostly small resorts. But it is picking up. My wife told she saw on one day 20 Farangs......Even I believe the number is exaggerated, if half is true it is a lot.

I wonder if the town it's self has gone the way of Pai. Pai used to have one 7/11 now they have 5.

It is a great area to just get away in for some peace and relaxation. We really enjoyed it. The wife's daughter and her family lived in Nakhon Si Thammarat. We would always spend a week in Khanom and the daughter and her family would spend the weekend. They now live here in Chiang Mai so we don't get down there any more.

Edit

I just read the other day where Thailand has had 1,000,000 tourists in the first part of May.

I've been here nine years this October and have already purchased my ticket for Mexico. I could be perfectly happy for the rest of my life in Thailand if it weren't for the present government. My little inner voice is saying "get the heck outta Dodge," this man is not playing with a full deck of cards and that will eventually trickle down to all facets of life. It's already bad enough - as a musician it is illegal for me to play UNPAID in public, but the harassment from the BIB in Bangkok described by an earlier post can get worse as they grow bolder when the PM gets cemented into his position. And there are other circumstances we can't even mention on this forum that are going to cause a great upheaval. I don't want to be around for ANY of that. I arrived when Thaksin was ousted, and not a THING was noticed by me or my friends. THIS PM is making serious waves felt by all!

Not trying to be a wise guy, and for sure I haven't been here long enough (year and a half) to compare nowadays with the good ol' days, but what (generally or specifically) are you alluding to in your final sentence above? I understand about the music in public issue, but...

I don't read much about Thai politics or Thai-farang relations, it's true. I am aware that there are tons (literally, LOL) of Chinese here in Chiang Mai, but they seem to add color to the place, especially the beautiful females, and there can be no doubt that they're helping the economy. I have a fair amount of farang friends, and I don't notice them complaining much about the current political situation.

So please, relieve me of my ignorance. I'm naive, yes, I admit it, but I'm open to new ideas and facts.

(I realize this thread has probably peaked, and I probably won't get an answer. So be it).

His last sentence means things are changing in Thailand. It is becoming more honest. Laws are starting to be enforced. Like it or not Thailand is getting better. I have a 10 year old and a 15 year old granddaughters. Now for school they are using a computer not a cheap knock of pad with useless programs in it. It is a real one that they have to think in order to use. The reality is that Thailand is moving ahead now. The poster was probably getting away with a lot of things he was not supposed to do but the government turned a blind eye to. As for musicians just jamming in a public business we had two stopped here in Chiang Mai one had a member who was all over face book about not having a visa and making lots of money in other projects. The other was a group with one member who was wanted by the police.

Now if he had said he would rather not be here if the King dies I could understand his fear. Mods if you see fit to remove that bit feel free to do so.

That should prove interesting to see how they promote that. I imagine people going to Pattaya will be putting a little bit of a different spin on it.

I saw many closed shops on Jomtien beach today , all for sale things are certainly slowing even my land lord agrees.

I thought that Russia was the main foreign contributor to tourists in Pattaya. their economy has severely limited the tourist industry.

In Khanom my wife tells so many farangs are here......I don't believe it.....A few days later a Thai friend need a hotel and everything is full. I think there is a shift in the destinations. The overdeveloped loose. Or don't increase at the same rate at the room numbers.

But I might be wrong.....

If memory serves me rite and it might not. There is only one hotel in Khanom and some resorts. Nice beach great for a quiet get away. It has been a while 6 years and things may have changed. I remember the owner of one more beer telling me at the time there was about 25 farongs living in the area.

I've worked and lived in more than a few countries and they all have good and bad. What I have observed is that countries with a heavy reliance on tourism tend to be the places where the locals dislike expats the most (with the exception of Brasil). As an expat the thing that concerns me with Thailand is instability. We had a great business going which was started in 2004 and last year's protests and subsequent coup slaughtered us. We had to lay locals off and mothball the company. My partner is on about restarting again but I'm just thinking, why? Reinvest, restart and a couple of years on and another coup or the demise of HRH The King and it all goes west again. Challenging to say the least.

Well you certainly have some valid points here. I was wondering why the 2010 red shirt armed attempted coup did not bother you.

On the other hand as for the future. I don't think the future will be the same as the past. Thailand is happy with the coup leaders and they feel free. Of course there are the ones who stand to loose power and money who will quite naturally carry on as if the future will be the same as the past. But from all indications that will not happen. Most of the red shirt rank and file are happy with the peace they were tired of the constant urging to over throw.

When I say indications I am not saying the job is done I am saying they have started on it and made progress. They have also made some mistakes and rather than deny them and continue on with them they have dropped them. I like that in a government. Honesty is a rare commodity. They still have a long way to go to overcome 14 years of Shinawatra but they are working on it.

So your wifes sister got a loan secured on the land, you don't say otherwise so I'm going to presume that this land contains the house, is that correct ?

If this is correct I think this is the point where your wife lost her inheritance.

I heard of something very similar happening in the family of someone I know. The uncle got a secured loan by taking the old woman who controls the land to get a massive mortgage which the bank seemed to have no problem handing over even though she has severe dementia and zero income. She has no idea what she's done and the uncle has all the money. When she dies there will be nothing but debt left over.

That is a definite possibility. Having a Thai wife I understand the dilemma. It is not like back many western countries where you just stick the old people in an old home and live life the way you want to. Here if you have a Thai wife particularly not the young and upcoming westernized to the point where they are merchandize orientated you have to figure the wife's family in to the picture.

There is a certain amount of give you must make. How ever given the physical condition you are in your wants should be taken into consideration also. Perhaps some friends of your Mother and Father in Law could explain it to them. I don't know your finances but push come to pull maybe you could cut your losses and build close to them so your wife could visit every day or two. I know there is hardly a day that goes by that my wife does not spend a couple of hours with her mother. By the same token her grown up daughter and son in law try to help her as much as they can in regards to transportation.

Only in Thailand

Where else can you find such a thrilling exposing poll.

I have been thinking the same. Yet to do this my wife gets emotionally hurt. We have paid for the construction and all equipment and new tile and ceiling and water tanks and everything. We lose all.

If you don't move out it sounds to me like you have lost it all any way and am stuck with people who are just using you.

If your wife thinks in your condition you should have to put up with this you might want to consider a talk with her about where you fit in.

Is this survey really necessary?

And does it have any purpose?

I agree.

I have no deterrent to living here. I can give you a list of what I would like to see different. I can also give you a list of things I would like to see different every place I have lived. I liked them all right now and for the past 8 years I have preferred Thailand and can not really see that changing.

to be honest if some of the nay Sayers are honest in what they say I wonder if they have tried mental health services. There is absolutely no way I would live here if those conditions existed for me.

Truth is it would be nice if all the ex pats and Thai's learned to drive on the right side of the road.

OP. Please remember that we who have been selected to be in the group "Advanced Members" have earned our wings so to speak. We have worked hard to get where we are on Thaivisa. We are an elite unit, not unlike the Navy Seals or Green Berets. We command an enormous amount of respect due to our membership in that group. Learn from us. If you work hard, perhaps some day you, too, can proudly wear the badge of Advanced Member.

Mesquite, I understand Advanced Members have earned respect and I will respect Advanced Members, but when they give bad advice or "You can't always get what you want", I took that offensive. What I would like to know, as I am a little confused, is how did you take that comment and how did some of the other Advanced Members, in this post, take that comment from an Advanced Member?

Click on your name, click on manage Ignore Prefs, add those blokes to your list - that way the system will not show you their comments (automatic ignore - perfect). Takes a while but eventually you only get comments from those who are not the whingers and whackos - nothing they say is worth the paper its written on - and you wont miss much

I never put any one on block. People who do that have been attacked by several people here yet I read their posts as they some times have the information I need or am just plain interested in. I am surer I am on a couple and that is OK with me their loss. Some times I post wrong information not intentionally as some do. Some times I post good material and some times I just post snotty remarks to arrogant people like you and the OP. Put me on ignore. I just might have the answer you need but not the one you want.

Why these ridiculous countries (USA included) cannot understand that death penalty does not stop any crime ?

Ok, lets say that I am open mind and that I accept it for crimes against persons, but how can any country still use death penalty for drugs ? These Asia countries make me throw out..

Wrong the death penalty has never once in thousands of years failed to stop a repeat offender.

there is a school of thought that premeditated murders if given life in prison will cause people to reconsider. Many of them prefer death to life in Prison.

Mind you that theory kind of falls apart in the states where the death penalty can take up to 18 years.

I actually went for my annual visa extension only a couple of months ago and was not asked to produce copies of the blank pages in my passport. But thank you for the tip off CMBob. Just to be on the safe side I will take copies of every page from my passport next time I go for my visa extension and probably advisable that everyone else does the same because we all know that dealing with Immigration is like a lottery, so best to bring everything and have done with it.

Some how I don't think they want copy's of blank pages. My passport has 52 pages in it, 49 empty.

3 years jail or 6000 bht fine, yep that would be a difficult decision for the perps, that huge fine of 6000bht will surely deter further offenders who are raking in bags of cash

Sarcasm I love it.

Do you think they actually believe the 6,000 baht fine will make an iota of difference?

If they admit they are guilty will it be cut in half?

I think the "vacation areas" of Thailand are very nice for a vacation.

I do not think the "vacation areas" are the best places to retire or reside.

Unless you have a need to be surrounded by foreigners that are just like yourself.

I think it is better to live in and learn about Thailand.

and then visit the tourist areas when you need a break.

You are right to a point. There coes a tinme in some of are lives when we want to settle down with every thing near at hand as traveling is no longer enjoyable. Also we are really not interested in village activities.

that is one of the beautiful things abut Thailand you can have either one or a mix of both.

Well I did not move here for any of the stated reasons. I moved here because I liked the difference in cultures. I am not a live in a rut type guy.65 years of it was enough. I also enjoy the opportunity to travel around Asia relatively cheap. I found a Thai wife who I had to draw the line with in terms of things she was doing for me. Such as I can pull up my own pants up. Back home the way she treats me women would call it abuse by me. Here it is abuse if I don't let her do things for me. She is 57 and has family values that I very seldom saw back home.

I am sad to see some of them dissipating in the younger generation. Materialization moving in.

Geez, man, give it a rest. I've been around Thais long enough to know when someone is making stuff up (quite common on TV). Firstly, a darker skin Thai girl will want lighter skin just like a fat girl in the west wants to be skinnier. It's a feminine beauty thing, nothing to do with racism as we define it in the west. I know plenty of darker skinned Thais and by their title and position, they certainly do not get looked down upon. Now among friends, a Thai girl will certainly tell her friend "hey, you're getting darker. Did you hang out in the sun?" Or "hey, you've gain some weight. Maybe you need to cut down on the som tum." The MaeJo dude has an agenda, always has.

Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories while being "light or "dark" skinned is not a choice as "you" were born that way.

And "definition of racism" in the west is basicly this: if you are "white" you are a racist regardless of what you say or do. If you are anything but "white" then you are never racist regardless of what you say or do.

"Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories"

That statement alone makes anything you have to say very questionable.

Being "fat" as you call it, is very rarely, if ever a choice.

Two people can consume the exact same number of calories and one may gain weight and the other may lose weight.

Metabolism can have a lot to do do with your weight.

The causes of obesity may be genetic, medical, psychological or just a matter of a lack of control, self discipline or control.

I have never had a weight problem, but I can understand those who do.

I truly believe that most "fat" people do not choose to be fat.

Why do you think there is a multi billion dollar weight loss industry?

There may be a few, but damn few people who choose to be overweight and unhealthy.

I don't think you think....

Well said.

I did not choose to be over weight yet I am.

Part of it is I use food to ease tensions much as smokers, drinkers and drug users do.

Also it seems to run in my family. I believe part of it is the surrounding culture and the ease of obtaining not good food for us on demand at the various stores and fast food franchises.

One other thing about over weights who says what your proper weight should be. I am a large framed man and at my best operating wait would be considered about 15 Kilograms over weight by the various scales people use.

Geez, man, give it a rest. I've been around Thais long enough to know when someone is making stuff up (quite common on TV). Firstly, a darker skin Thai girl will want lighter skin just like a fat girl in the west wants to be skinnier. It's a feminine beauty thing, nothing to do with racism as we define it in the west. I know plenty of darker skinned Thais and by their title and position, they certainly do not get looked down upon. Now among friends, a Thai girl will certainly tell her friend "hey, you're getting darker. Did you hang out in the sun?" Or "hey, you've gain some weight. Maybe you need to cut down on the som tum." The MaeJo dude has an agenda, always has.

Being fat is a choice as no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to eat too many calories while being "light or "dark" skinned is not a choice as "you" were born that way.

And "definition of racism" in the west is basicly this: if you are "white" you are a racist regardless of what you say or do. If you are anything but "white" then you are never racist regardless of what you say or do.

You obviously lived in a different west than I did.

As for the color of your skin There are lots of North Americans who use lotions and tanning machines to darken their skin that is a choice. I knew one girl who it was an addiction she looked like a little old lady.