bikerlou47

The cost of living is going up for sure, especially when you consider the dollar vs the baht.

That is not to say you can not live cheaply here..but if you were here 5 years ago and you are trying to maintain the same standard of living it is costing you much more now!

That is just a simple fact!

I am sure you are not serious!

No one could be that stupid!

Everyone should hold the Red Shirt organizers responsible for the losses. I think it would be a good class action Lawsuit for all the business adversely affected by their illegal action of closing the area

Why I live Here

Many of the readers of this web site have asked the question why make the move to Thailand, and that question has forced me to take a look at my reasons. As a result I have attempted to put my reasons down to paper.

I am sure I have not covered everything because let me say there is something in the air here that makes life exciting. Every day there are things that pop up that make me laugh I cannot really explain it but there is a sense of freedom everywhere in this country.

While in the USA I feel oppressed and hurried, but again I apologies for not being able to really express my feelings properly.

I know that some of you who live here may disagree with some of the things I have stated but I am giving you my personal experiences and feelings.

Let me say at the outset that these are my reasons. Your life in your home country may differ from mine so some of these reasons may not be a reason for you to make a move to Thailand. So let me tell you a little about me to help you make a comparison.

My home country is USA.

I have never been convicted of a crime as a result I have never had a problem of entering any of the 30 countries I have visited.

I am single.

I enjoy “married type” life.

I am disgusted with western women

I am retired but under 65.

I have very little respect for American Police and the laws that they enforce especially traffic laws

I have very little respect for the American court system even though I respect the Law in general

I have no minor children.

I am a morning person.

I have no serious health problems.

If the above describes you then Thailand maybe a good move for you. I will explain in detail in the information below.

Women

First of all let me say there are good and bad women in every country what I am really trying to express here is that in my opinion that women here and in much of Asia have different priorities. Their first priority is their husband and they truly appreciate you and what you do for them and their family. Even after 5 years my girl still thanks me for my slightest effort to make her day more pleasant.

One of the biggest problems I found with American women is they put their children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren and pets ahead of their husband on their priority list.

This is especially true if you are remarried and her children are not your children.

There also is also age discrimination. Here if you have a clean appearance and a smile many girls will turn their eye toward you, even if you don’t act on this attention it is certainly nice to experience it.

In the States it is totally different; your age will automatically eliminate you from having a relationship with a younger woman unless you can provide big dollars. Take a walk in a mall in America and see how many heads of young ladies you can turn!

My girl is 26 years younger than I, but that age difference goes by each day without either one of us taking notice.

I don’t need to tell you how good it makes you feel that you can have a relationship with a young beautiful woman and truly know that you make her happy.

I have put women here as my first priority because that is what attracted me to Thailand initially, after moving here I discovered many other advantages.

There are other reasons that I could place in this category but my mother may read this! LOL

Health Care and Health Insurance

America health care system is pretty good but the expense is ridiculous, not only for the health care itself but for the insurance. When I left the USA my premium for non first dollar coverage was over 300 USD a month. Now I pay about a 1000 USD a year for better coverage

Bangkok has one of the best hospitals in the world, not only is the care first class but the cost is far less than anything you will find in the states.

Medications for the most part can be bought over the counter and in many cases for a fraction of the cost in the USA.

When I turn 65 this advantage will virtually disappear as I will have Medicare, I think!

The biggest disadvantage here is there is no 911 service. I live in the mountains if I have a serious injury or health problem I will most likely die!

I know that and still live here which goes a long way to tell you how much I love everyday int his country.

I would rather live a shorter life here in Thailand than suffer a longer life everyday in the USA.

But the good thing is I take better care of myself I know I eat better foods and I get a complete physical every year.

Lack of Enforced Oppressive laws

There is a sense of freedom here. There is no a constant police presence and laws that cause you to restrict you daily behavior. When I visit the USA I get this feeling of constant pressure to make sure that I am following many of these ridiculous laws. Many of these laws exists in Thailand many do not but the difference is that if you happen to get caught for not following a law in Thailand you don’t have to take out a mortgage to pay the fine or spend time in jail. I am not saying you can never go to jail here but for the most part for minor offenses there will just be a small fine.

Don’t fell like cutting your grass you don’t have to worry about the home owners association knocking on your door. If you would like to have a garage door don’t worry about putting in the door retraction system. With some care here you can find recreational drugs here and not have to worry about prison, you may need to have some money to get you out of jail but the beauty of this society is 99 times out of a 100 a small amount of money will get you out of trouble and there will no permanent stigma attached to you.

Traffic Laws

I like to drive and I like to have an open road which means many times I am driving over the speed limit It’s not driving fast I like, it is just the fact I don’t like to be in traffic, I feel unsafe following cars. Of course this means many speeding tickets in the USA and much money and time going to driving class. I have been driving for over 35 years with no accidents I believe that I drive very safe, fast does not mean reckless.

In Thailand I get stopped many times, my girl will give the cop the equivalent of 3 USD and we are on our way. How nice is that?

I also like to have drinks sometime when I am go out, here you don’t have to worry about a DUI if you get stopped pay your money and go. I don’t drive drunk but sometimes I do drive buzzed!

During my most recent visit my girl and I got stopped by a real asshol_e cop and he gave me a ticket for not moving over a lane? What kind of bullshit is that 220 USD!? He also threw in a seat belt ticket for 116 USD. Seat belt laws how foolish to make people wear seat belts, I can drive my motorcycle without a helmet in Florida but if I am surrounded by 5000 lbs of metal I have to wear a seat belt.

How about all those kids riding school buses, where are those seat belts? It is just another way for communities to raise money it has nothing to do with anyone watching out for you. Watch out for yourself and your family. I don’t need the government interfering in my personal life and preferences!

It is more dangerous to drive in Thailand that is for sure, so it becomes important to take safety measures while on the road. The most important being whenever possible DO NOT DRIVE AT NIGHT Thai’s feel as though driving with lights on is optional!

Non-Litigious Society

I really do enjoy law and the history of how our laws have been developing for many centuries. I appreciate and respect laws that are born from common sense and safety for others. I am totally disgusted with what has happened in the USA. Law suits are common practice the lawyer commercials continue all day long as they look for new reasons to sue a doctor, a hospital, pharmaceutical company or anyone for that matter. Sometimes you need a lawyer here but for the most part you can live everyday without having to interact with an attorney.

Thai Food

Great spicy food which meets my taste perfectly, always have loved food with a kick here I can get it everywhere and cheap!

From my travels I think Thai food is growing in popularity all over the world!

Geographic Location

Thailand is closer to the equator which means about 12 hours of sunlight 12 hours of darkness all year long. Don’t have to deal with long nights or long days.

Also no daylight savings time so it’s dark when you go to sleep and light when you wake up. As I said I am a morning person so I love the fact that the sun comes up around 6am and I love to see it set about 18:00 especially during those hot months.

I never really understood daylight savings time and now USA has extended those hours to include additional weeks, during my last visit my grandkids bedtime was 8 PM sun still high in the sky, they would get up around 7 am and of course it was dark! Don’t understand it never will and I don’t like it!

This may seem like a minor point but this has much to do with your internal clock and your whole attitude during the day.

Weather

I don’t like cold weather or snow so I don’t care how hot it gets I can always find some shade and a cold drink to cool off.

Infra Structure

The infrastructure here is weak and that is a fact, but it is weak because there are no property taxes. Personally since I have no young children here I don’t care about the quality of schools, or the proliferation of parks, tennis courts, baseball fields etc.

By the way the USA has been throwing money at the school systems for decades and with each passing year the education system continues to decline.

So no property taxes suits me just fine I put up with a few inconveniences due to the weak infrastructure but considering the money I save each year by not paying high property taxes it is a small price to pay.

Location to Bangkok

I really enjoy living two hours away from one of the biggest cities in the world. There are many services available including an International airport. If I were to live two hours from NYC the price of housing would be sky high.

Thai Massage

This may seem like a minor thing but not for me I get a massage everyday and it has become part of my daily life. I play tennis almost every day and I am old! That massage feels so good.

If anyone would like to see some pictures and additional experiences I have had in Thailand please visit

www.lifeofriley.org.

Also feel free to drop me an email [email protected]

Thank you

Lou Rossi

Some of the replies made on this topic just shows how ignorant and or drunk the members of this forum can be!

I went to our local Swensens Ice Creme and asked them where they were buying dry ice.

I bought in Khao Yai four years ago...I paid for land and house in a development named "Wood Park" about 7 km before you arrive at the park entrance.

At this time they are getting 6 million per rai.

But this is a totally developed Home Park including pool and several water gardens.

Khao Yai and this home park is a true paradise.

Here is what I have done in the past, taking a totally different approach.

Call the Visa number (assuming visa) on the back of the card and report the card lost Visa will issue a new card and hand deliver it to you at no cost.

I realize that this may not be possible for you to do at this point.

The bottom line is BOA is not issuing the card VISA is doing all the work.

My last card was issued in France.

There is no guarantee that you can enter the USA even if you have a visa.

If you read the conditions of your visa this fact is clearly stated.

The final approval is by the immigration officer when you arrive in the USA.

This differs from every other country that I have entered, but it is a fact!

Now the reality of the situation is the chances of being turned back after your USA arrival is slim to none!

This is what I can tell you.

**PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, PLEASE SEEK THE ASSISTANCE OF A QUALIFIED IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY**

If you are bringing your Thai Citizen Girlfriend to the US of A you need to know a few things.

Bringing Thai Citizen GF to US on B1/B2 Visa

- this visa is only a visitor visa.

- look at ths USCIS website for the requirements to obtain this visa for the US

- I will have to tell you one thing though, processing can take a while in Bangkok, and the majority of Thais applying for such visa usually get denied, unless they are able to show some proof of ties back to Thailand, and unless they have money and a job in Thailand, otherwise, good luck, Thailand is somewhat "blacklisted", and applications for visas to the US are near impossible to most Thai people to obtain.

- if you do succeed in obtaining the B1/B2 visa, keep in mind that she is still not guaranteed entry into the US, the B1/B2 visa is merely something that says the Embassy approved travel, it is up to CBP to determine if she will be able to enter the US. For entry to the US, you will need to bring documents proving ties back to Thailand, and a return ticket. If no return ticket, and no definite amount of time is stated to the CBP officer, she will likely be denied entry to the US and will be sent back to Thailand on the next flight out.

- Any documents that you have prove nothing, essentially all that matters to US officials are HER documents, since you're not married or engaged, they really won't be looking into your story. Also keep in mind, if she brings anything that suggests that she may try to apply for a job in the US, she will also be denied and barred entry to the US.

- if she does enter the US under her B1/B2 visa and you decide to get engaged, DO NOT immediately apply for permanent residence (green card) immediately. Allow about 2 months or more to pass since she entered the US to apply. If you apply immediately, you will be subject to investigation and your marriage/engagement will be categorized as a fraud. Since the intention of your girlfriend entering the US was to be a visitor with no immigration intent, applying for a greed card immediately will be see as a fraud.

- If you do wait and then apply after 2 months of so, I would contact an immigration attorney to help your case. She will either be able to apply under the K1 (fiance category) or if you are married, then apply for adjustment of status (I-130 and I-485 concurrently filed).

* from my observation, although I would need some more facts, my determination is that you will unlikely succeed in obtaining a visitor visa for your girlfriend, since you've been able to visit her in the past, what reason is she going to have to visit you, unless you're married?

If you get engaged, apply for a K1 visa, if you're married, apply for an immigrant visa at the US embassy, file the I-130 and I-485 at the embassy and wait about a year. Wait times for visa processing can take anywhere from 3 -12 months. If you do get engaged/married, you will need to prove this with plenty of supporting documents to an immigration official at the embassy during your interview. Keep in mind that regardless of whether you get a visa, it doesn't guarantee entry into the US, unless you have applied for a green card.

Good luck, it is near impossible to bring a Thai GF to the US unless she's got a bank account with deep pockets. My fiancee's parents have deep pockets and come from the upper echelon of Thai society, it was very easy for her to get into the US. Sorry but the US is allowed to discriminate against people if they don't think they are fit to enter the US, plus why would you want to live in the US anyways, it's miserable there. I'm American and I hate it there, but I've got 3 citizenships.

Where do you get your facts from? I have helped in getting U.S. visas for my inlaws, agreed need to show ties to Thailand, which in this case I think she has, what I don't understand is the part about no guarantee for entry even with the visa, first of all if there is no guarantee of entry the airlines would not let her on the plane, my inlaws have traveled twice with my wife and I to the U.S. the only thing immigration at the border had control of was the length of stay, there comment was, to many requests for six months stay would raise an alert, as they would be considered trying to live in the U.S. without a green card, but never have they suggested they would not be allowed to visit.

The crowd is beginning to mass not much going on many police at the Lotus across the highway...only one police check point as far as I can tall about half way between Khorat and Pak Chong.....very quiet at 2 PM

You got to love these guys that just say open a Thai bank account and the ATM withdrawal is free.

Of course the point is to get the money in your Thai bank account it has to come from an overseas account or else you would not have encountered a 150 baht fee!

The other point is that the withdrawal from your Thai bank is only free if you are withdrawing from the same province that you opened the account.

Take you ATM card into a bank along with your passport and you get access your foriegn funds with no fee.

Not all banks are set up for this type of withdrawal so you have to locate one in your area.

I also disagree with the few that are recommending Kasikorn I got rid of them 4 years ago becuase they could not figure out on line banking.

During the interview her job will be to convince the interviewer that she will return to Thailand...

DO NOT mention the word marriage in the interview she is just going on holiday and will return to Thailand

It would help if you live here.

Yes they Suck BIG TIME!

Your girl has been to the USA already so you should have no problem getting another tourist visa for your gf, my girl has gone twice! When she went for her 2nd tourist visa she was told that the next time she applies she will get a multiple year visa.

When your girl applies for her 2nd visa she can tell the embassy that she would like to go for 5 months. the determination of the lenght of stay will be determined when she arrives on US soil but it should be no problem to get 5 months we have only stayed 3 months but they give us 6 months everytime.

Not really sure about her child but should be no problem because she ahs demonstrated that she will return, BUT it is possible they may look at her situation a little different because she is taking her kid.

Marriage is whole different story the one thing you dont want to do is for your girl to get a tourist visa and then try to stay permanently in the USA.

Mine is about 5000 a year I have a stand alone house,,,,,have had it for 4 years never used it dont know if its worth the paper it is written on but for 5000 I give it a chance!

My home insurance is about 13k a year. Covered for most things. That is with trafalgar insurance company. I live in a town house in a moo ban out bang-na way.

Insurance is pretty cheap over here and important to have.

So I am finally ready to part with BIG bucks to buy a flat screen 40 or 42 inch!

90% of the time I am watching TV from my Slingbox in USA and we all know abou tthe quality of the Internet here in Thailand!

I never watch DVD's but who knows maybe in the future I will.

So what do you guys think?

Plasma or LCD?

A particular brand over another?

Does it make a difference where the speakers are located? Side or bottom?

Should I get an external stereo to hook up to the TV?

At this time my computer does not have a HDMI connection but I do have a VGA connection.

Can I hook it up to a USB port?

Thanks for your help.

You can not chain wifi routers to increase your range.

It is the custom here in Thailand to run away from an accident, it is done almost everyday.

Bus drivers do it!

Truck drivers do it!

Everyone does it!

Was the guy who got killed drunk?

Do you think it would make a difference if he was?

Did he just decide to step out into the road in a drunken stupor at 2 in the morning?

If he was driving a car and he was drunk and he was involved in an accident in which he was killed and the other guy walked away unscathed how would you feel about that?

Food for thought....

BTW Just in case some of you get the worong idea I am very sorry that anybody has to die in any way. May he RIP

Do you still have the ticket?

Guys, I've bought the ticket for my friend but he changed plans so he can't go. Anybody wants to but one more ticket?

If you live in the USA there is no chance

You live here you have chance

I did it when is was 52...

Traveled around the world several times...

settled in Thailand 4 years later and now after 5 years here I am the happiest I have ever been.

If you are lucky like me you will kick yourself for not making the move earlier.

My travels can be viewed at www.lifeofriley.org

Of course!

Just bought 4 boxes at Villa!

Grape Nuts is an American breakfast cereal, nothing to do with the fruit called grapes. You put about 100 kernels in a bowl and add cold milk. Then it takes about an hour to chew all the grains of cereal. Delicious, better than khaow paht gai.

I got some new wheels and tires and these guys really knew what they were doing so impressed because at first I was not satisfied but they corrected the problem with a smile. A great bunch of people.

I have spent exactly ywo nights in jail on two different occasions for unbelievably stupid reasons. In both cases the charges were dropped.

As I said in my post I really do like the Law, and I have spent time in Law school so it was quite easy to explain to the judge that the police were in error,

The US has 1 per cent of its people in prison the highest percentage of any country in the world.

The reason for this is simple!

Too many stupid laws like the drug laws especially pertaining to pot. As a result jails are full and we end up giving release to felons who get out and continue to commit offenses.

The most disgusting of these are child molesters.

Interesting post Lou, I'm not going to cover the ground which many others have already addressed such as the drink driving etc, however I was interested in this statement you made;

"I have never been convicted of a crime".

So does that mean you've been locked up a few times, charged and have beaten those charges at court for whatever reason?

I've met alot of people in my time that have expressed opinions regarding laws, similar to yours and I'm wondering what has influenced your opinions on these types of things?

Glad you enjoy living in Thailand, I hope you have many more wonderful years of enjoyment.

I understand what you are saying and maybe that is the reason why initially a girl will look your way, but there a love of the individual can and in my case really did develop.

Without a doubt I know my girl loves me and my family as I have taken her to USA on numerpus occasions and spent much time with my sons ( all older than she) and my parents.

Also I think in any country there are reasons why people get together so big deal if it is for money I dont care.

When I visit my girls parents they show me the utmost respect and they are truly grateful for all that I do for them.

Her two children could not love me more jsut last weekend the 9 yr old cried in my arms because I was leaving.

The remaining fact is I dont have a money issue and if my money can make her family happy it makes me happy.

So bottom line is I dont care if I am her meal ticket because she is my ticket to paradise on Earth!

Thank you and good luck to you.

so you're 26 years older than your pretty young girlfriend from a poorer country AND YOU DON'T THINK THAT YOU'RE HER MEAL TICKET???

THAT'S PRECISELY THE REASON WHY I CAN NEVER LIVE IN THAILAND OR PHILIPPINES!!

in the developed countries of the west, your partner matches the way you are, in terms of looks and age. how can these old guys with younger girls not think there are other motives other than love? i can see it, my mates can see it, my parents can see it, but these old guys cant see it!! very strange.

anyway, am happy for you, thailand is an awesome place.

I guess some of you have a problem understanding English where do I ever say that I like to drive DRUNK?

I say I like to have some drinks some times when I go out....my girl is Always with me and she does not drink so I have a designated driver for those few occasions that I do get drunk.

Maybe you dont realize it but the western world is moving toward ZERO TOLERANCE do i need to explain that to you also?

I should probably stop posting on this site there are too many guys like this one who have no life and get on this site and talk pure rubbish!

Then I say it is safer to walk drunk than drive drunk.....which is a statistical fact!

Some of you guys are amazing you guys get drunk and start posting crap!

Do us a favour and go back to the states and take your theories on DUI with you.