icare999

Happy families, as someone said a few days ago Thai will not steal from family.

why is it even news happens all time all over the world

when red shirts start voicing there anger at pheu-thai and thaksin.you know its getting bad...i feel a coup coming on....the wife said she was speaking to some redshirts in bkk yesterday they are seriously pissed off...totally betrayed and lied too..over and over again.... i so understand people on here saying they deserve what they voted for,and i was one of them ...but voting in good faith and being sold a lie..well.......poor buggers.they dont deserve this treatment....

they deserve all they get and more and in the end they will be the ones who suffer most - silly foolish people many willing to sell their vote and many happy to accept money to protest. A few have some conviction but the vast majority are nothing more than cowardly sheep. They will also suffer even more if their hero is brought back and deserve that as well. I live amongst Taksins most ardent admirers and believe me they simply follow the herd and do exactly what head of village says who has been paid handsomely. A very feudal system which wont change much for some time.

when red shirts start voicing there anger at pheu-thai and thaksin.you know its getting bad...i feel a coup coming on....the wife said she was speaking to some redshirts in bkk yesterday they are seriously pissed off...totally betrayed and lied too..over and over again.... i so understand people on here saying they deserve what they voted for,and i was one of them ...but voting in good faith and being sold a lie..well.......poor buggers.they dont deserve this treatment....

they deserve all they get and more and in the end they will be the ones who suffer most - silly foolish people many willing to sell their vote and many happy to accept money to protest. A few have some conviction but the vast majority are nothing more than cowardly sheep. They will also suffer even more if their hero is brought back and deserve that as well. I live amongst Taksins most ardent admirers and believe me they simply follow the herd and do exactly what head of village says who has been paid handsomely. A very feudal system which wont change much for some time.

Good job PTP ! You have managed to turn the 'entire' population against you for the sake of one. Congratulations !

no the idiots will just keep voting for him as long as they get their 500 or 1000 baht or head of village having been paid tells them to.

"The source also said Thaksin felt the relatives of those killed in 2010 had already received Bt7.5 million each and some red-shirt co-leaders had become MPs or been appointed to other government positions."

In thaksin speak translates as, "you've got yours, now let me get mine".

i hope thats all hes after. I can live with that and dont give a fig since its idiots who voted for him who will suffer most and serves them right. But if as i think hes after total and complete absolute megalomaniac power then I do worry and unless something or someone stops him within 10 years Thailand will be a Zimbabwe.

The Nation, fanning the flames, as usual.

wait and see who is right. If Taksin is not stopped you will see another mugabwie or gaddafi. Hopefully a Gaddafi or saddam since they did not totally ruin their countries.

The Preah Vihear case will be in favour of Cambodia. That writing has been on the wall for a long time the same as the white washing of the Dubai fugitive criminal. Very interseting times ahead for Thailand. Either violence will erupt or the country will sink under the Shinawatra mafia control and in short time be the same basket case as Cambodia.

+1 but it will take time. If you study rise of other dictators such as Mugabwie, Saddam, Idi Amin, hitler and the rest it will be a slow steady path to same result or something or someone will put this megalomaniac away for good. Sensible and careful people will make plans in case others will as usual in history leave it to late and continue to hope for the best while things inch by inch get worse and worse. This is simply the beginning of a crossroad and no one knows which way it will go. I still hope for a better outcome but prepare for the worst. The day Taksin returns is the day i will have to start putting those plans into action but I think ive got 5-10 years before he is able to take total control.

Me thinks a coup is coming

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

nonsense their will be no coup unless he returns and I doubt hell come back. Next step is get the money he stole back. Im not even sure anymore Taksin has it in him to be a dictator and hopefully is just a robber baron. im not bothered if he and his clan bleed people dry since they deserve it and it will be his own supporters who will loos the most. Like taking candy from a baby. Evil as I believe he is you have to admit hes very clever. If he has it in him to do what he really wants and have total control and hes not stopped then watch out for real fireworks and the end of Thailand as we know it. Lets hope if that seems the case as it was back in 2006 the army step in again to save the country but this time put him, his clan and his red thugs down for good.

only if she has worked and paid ni.stamps will she qualify for some of the full pension,if she hasnt paid any she will only get a bereavement payment i think it is £2,000 and this might be phased out.my wf.worked for 20yrs in the uk.and doesnt get f-all if i go [other than what i state] and her pension not till 2032. she did pay the full plus extra into the pot so from 2009 when she left the uk.that sum in the bank would make a tidy sum of interest over 23yrs.i dont even think she can claim on your ni.contributions anymore exspecially if she's living in thailand.

There are 2 elements to the OP.

Pensions for wives - forget about "Thai" wives, it applies to wives in the UK as well. Until now, a widow could claim a pension based on her husband's NIC payments. That is clearly ludicrous and under the revised system you will only get payments based on your own contributions.

Somebody referred to a 50% reduction for younger wives - that only applies to company pension schemes. In my case my wife would be entitled to 45% because of a 5% reduction due to age difference.

Bereavement payment - yes, £2,000 now if legally married, changing in 2016.

There is also a Bereavement Allowances and a Widowed Parents Allowance (very handy if your young Thai wife has a child under 18 - doesn't have to be yours - could get up to 5,000 baht a week.

You might be able to claim Bereavement Allowance if you’re a widow, widower or surviving civil partner between 45 and State Pension age.

It is paid to you for up to 52 weeks from the date of death of your husband, wife or civil partner.

If you’re widowed below State Pension age and have at least one dependent child you could claim Widowed Parent’s Allowance.

You may also claim if you’re pregnant and your husband has died, or you’re pregnant after fertility treatment and your civil partner has died.

for anyone whose interested it seems you only get Widowed Parents Allowance if you receive child benefit. We dont get child benefit and as far as I know but please someone correct me cant since we are both non resident and also non domiciled from the UK.

only if she has worked and paid ni.stamps will she qualify for some of the full pension,if she hasnt paid any she will only get a bereavement payment i think it is £2,000 and this might be phased out.my wf.worked for 20yrs in the uk.and doesnt get f-all if i go [other than what i state] and her pension not till 2032. she did pay the full plus extra into the pot so from 2009 when she left the uk.that sum in the bank would make a tidy sum of interest over 23yrs.i dont even think she can claim on your ni.contributions anymore exspecially if she's living in thailand.

There are 2 elements to the OP.

Pensions for wives - forget about "Thai" wives, it applies to wives in the UK as well. Until now, a widow could claim a pension based on her husband's NIC payments. That is clearly ludicrous and under the revised system you will only get payments based on your own contributions.

Somebody referred to a 50% reduction for younger wives - that only applies to company pension schemes. In my case my wife would be entitled to 45% because of a 5% reduction due to age difference.

Bereavement payment - yes, £2,000 now if legally married, changing in 2016.

There is also a Bereavement Allowances and a Widowed Parents Allowance (very handy if your young Thai wife has a child under 18 - doesn't have to be yours - could get up to 5,000 baht a week.

You might be able to claim Bereavement Allowance if you’re a widow, widower or surviving civil partner between 45 and State Pension age.

It is paid to you for up to 52 weeks from the date of death of your husband, wife or civil partner.

If you’re widowed below State Pension age and have at least one dependent child you could claim Widowed Parent’s Allowance.

You may also claim if you’re pregnant and your husband has died, or you’re pregnant after fertility treatment and your civil partner has died.

Thank you very useful information especially about Bereavement allowance since we have 2 children still well under 18 and so if anything happens to me that would be useful. I knew about 2000 gbp but am still confused about whats changing in 2016. If its wifes entitlement to a Uk pension baed on my contributions then as someone pointed out in 25 years time it almost certainly wont be worth a bean since its probably based on any frozen pension. In fact I doubt my own pension will be worth much within a few years since I fully expect a huge dose of inflation and have no intention of ever returning to live in the UK. I feel sorry for those who need to rely on a UK government pension or need it for anything more than loose change especially those who have been here a long time with pensions frozen many years ago.

Look how much things have changed in the last few years, and your wondering about 25yrs time????......geeez

Be lucky if there is any economy or" hand outs" to be had anywhere by then.

im not worried and if you read my post youll see I said if its only payable when she reaches UK retirement age its not worth bothering with. I did see a post a while back saying UK citizens with a Thai wife could get and addition to their pension. In fact I find it silly if thats the case but having paid over 1 million GBP in UK taxes for little back ill grab what I can. The Pension people in UK did confirm up to 2010 you could get and addition to your pension.

Anyway its frozen and wont be worth much after a few more years money printing. The pension I get would not even pay by wine bill for a week but its a matter of principle give how much ive paid in and how little ive ever got back when a load of scroungers in UK pay nothing and live off my taxes which I still pay in UK.

a great wife and children and a far better life than I could ever have hoped for in the UK. I have also been able to give my wife and 2 children a far better life both spiritually and financially than I could have achieved had I stayed in the UK. As far as business is concerned I would probably have done much better staying the the UK from a financial point of view. Getting out of the grips of the nanny state the UK has become with endless regulation and rules as opposed to the freedom here is an achievement on its own.

I built a life in the UK with a good home and business and managed to do the same here when I first moved here around 20 years ago.

Best to maintain your identity in the UK as well as you can.

Many benefits to a continued UK presence, no advantage at all to being officially in Thailand.

The banks don't like it.

Financial services don't like it.

Etc.

@Elliott

Most of the benefits recipients rarely leave the UK for extended periods.

Those of us able to live overseas are usually givers, and not the takers.

Their are many many advantages of being officially outside of the UK. No CGT tax is just one of them and provided you can satisfy certain criteria no IH tax for any assets held outside the UK. Of course if you only have a pension and no significant assets then that will not effect you. By being non resident I have saved at least 200,000 GBP in CGT tax and by also being non domiciled my dependents here will save several hundred thousand more in IH tax when I go. Although I pay Uk tax on my UK property investments, my UK dividend income is tax free as a non resident and no tax is due for any non UK assets.

So you are completely wrong for people with a high level of assets or income their are great benefits. I consider the benefits I get far outweigh the loss due to my UK government pension being frozen.

You might want to take a look at this link as it relates to index-linking. If you are "officially" resident here, it appears your pension won't be indexed-linked. Thailand does not have a social security agreement with the UK(. Better to have it paid in to a UK account (or somewhere else in the EEA) and then transfer it over.

http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/state-pension-for-people-living-overseas

Why would you suggest having it paid into a UK account when someone is living in Thailand ?

It is more cost effective to have the Pension Service pay to a Thai bank account.

because like me you might still have investments in the UK and visit quite often. Its useful having cash available in UK for when you visit. Not everyone lives on measly UK pension. I also regularly transfer funds to other countries where I have bank accounts and visit regularly.

I remember reading about the possibility of getting an addition to your UK pension for a Thai wife and that this will cease in 2016. I contacted the pension service in the UK about this and was informed increase pension for dependents was stopped in 2010. I made further enquiries and they insisted the change was about Thai wives right to claim when they reached UK retirement age. I retired in 2011. Does anyone know the real situation. Since like most expats here my wife is a lot younger than me if she is only entitled to anything once she reaches UK retirement age then its not worth bothering about, given that it will be 67 years of age for both women and men when she reached retirement which would be in 26 years time and by then the retirement age will probably be 80. In any case if any pension was due to her it probably be frozen from todays rates and so by then worthless given inflation.

Usually to the condo management how arranged/paid for the electric connection. Never heard of a private electric meter in a condo that is billed directed from electric co.

plenty of private meters in condos you just need to ask for one. But you need to give a deposit to elec company of arrund 2000 bash. I own several condos in Bangkok and Chiang mai and all have private meters

forget it if you dont trust your girlfriend/wife simply dont do it. Do you really believe an untrafact will protect you if things go wrong. Your living in cloud cookoo land mate. If it goes bad and 10 of her family set up camp in the ouse what then.

illegal move on and 99% chance you'll loose i tall anyway One born each minute

just do it no one will care thats if structure will allow. Why do forang assume normal rules which apply in west apply here. Their will be no one checking or caring believe me and ive been here 25 years. Its your house do it as you want. Thats beauty of living here its called freedom. However down side is if someone wants to build an abattoir next to your house on their land you wont be able to do anything about it.

their is no visa fee for most tourists since they get a 30 day transit visa free. Many countries charge a fee (laos, Cambodia and others) so why not just make it a charge of say 2000 baht and include free entry to national parks. That way visitors will consider it a bargain. It wont deter anyone from visiting. However the real question is will money go to be used for real goos use or more likely like most things here taken by pigs in trough

in Europe not so long ago one of nordic countries still drove on the left. I cant remember when but they changed and all traffic had o stop for 1 hour at if I recall 2 am. It worked fine. Uk still drives on the left but being an island it does not seem to cause any real problems. I used to travel 3-4 times a year by car to continent from UK and back and never and still dont have a problem switching from one ot the other. I do however think since Thailand is connected by land it would be best for Thailand to change from left to the right./ One problem however is I think if I recall right (pun intended) the nordic country which drove on left had mostly right hand drive cars which is not the case in Thailand. Given Thais really bad driving it could cause huge increase in accidents.

No mystery about it.

The majority of farangs here are buying real estate illegally, ...

'The majority'

Now ... I like a good story ... any reference to back your statement?

Just references ... no observations please ... I like facts.

Fact: since a foreigner can't own land, all the methods circumventing the prohibition, are in fact illegal and unsecure. Debate on that.

Sure ... is all Real Estate a House?

Many Westeners buy Condos/Apartments ... depending on your terminology.

I have a University Degree in Property.

When you are ready to play in the Big League ... drop by and have a chat.

Till then ... back on your bike paz

To the OP ... great topic BTW ...

<deleted> are you on about or are you on meds What on earth has buying a condo which is legal if less than 49% owned got to do with illegality of any forang buying land. Take that in your pipe and smoke it. Degree in property morel like degree in crap

only way you will learn is to do it yourself. All the stuff is now free on internet and then you learn by hard knocks. You will win some loose many and in end be wise enough to know no one can teach you what works. One persons risky investment is anothers opportunity. Don't fall for any nonsense courses. Rad do your own research and then do what you think is best. Its a combination of knowledge, luck hard work and most important understanding risk analysis and even if you are good at all those you might not win. On other hand those who stick a pin in the wall do as well as so called experts.

not this again. How long is a bit of string. SIngle quite life dont drink etc yes you can live ok for 20-30,000 baht a month. I spend around 200,000 excluding trips abroad a month and ok lets have all abuse. Seriously if you want to live western lifestyle with 2 children at international school, maid, gardener, pool and rest then youll find 200,000 a month difficult and thats without paying rent. I can just see it now rubbish your lady is fiddling you and all rest of nonsense.

Quality life

quality food and house bills (cleaning bits and rest) a month including wine around 30-40,000 and i mean quality not junk most eat

school fees for 2 including trips and all extras 50,000 a month on average and thats not best school

maid 12,000 a month yes can pay less but i believe in paying what someone is worth not what you can get away with and our maid of 8 years is worth 3-4 times that

Gardener poll maintenance and rest around 15,000 a month. I know stupid but why should i be begrudge a decent hard working person of a reasonable life with is family. Go on you cheap Charlies flame me or those so tight they think its clever to pay as little as they can. Same people who supported slavery.

2 cars (not new and no debt) and 2 motorcycles cost around 20,000 a month with petrol, insurance servicing and the rest

Electricity around 10,000 a month which is about same I would pay in uk per month for gas and electric. Ok 6 air cons.

budget (strictly kept to) for myself and my wife each 20,000 a month for our own personal expenses.

medical around 10,000 a month for insurance and cash for smaller bills.

Houes maintenance 15000 a month on average. Air cons needs replacing as do water pumps house painting and rest

Rest of 200,000 on things for house and rest

and that does not even allow for cost of 2 new car every 10 years or trips abroad

Flame away and yes i can live on 30,000 a month or less and have often done so. We have no debt and would survive quite well if need be on 30,000 or less a month but our 2 children would have to leave their school, wed have no maid , no pool , no cars, no air con.

So how long is a bit of string. Its a silly question. Sensible people live within their income and no more.

Seriously what sort of prices are those it's around 2.1k USD per night. That's like what maybe around 50-60k thai per night. This has to be a big mistake.

no mistake ive stayed at the place and off season you might get a lower price room for 20,000 baht a night. You'll also find hotels in CM for 50,000 baht a nigh up and ones for 200 baht.