donniereadit

<Sigh> Another non-related thread hijacked by the same old dog haters...

If you have problems with small social animals one-fifth your size, then you probably need to take a closer look at your own life.

Sounds like natural selection. Weak people deserve to get bitten and die of rabies???

Hard to do psychoanalysis when a dog is attacking you, but I suppose you could try hypnosis. Freud could probably do it. May even cure the dog of aggression.

don't stay in a cheap guesthouse. you will get lots of sex tourists and prostitutes there that your kids might not enjoy wondering about. especially when gramps is walking around with his new 'daughter'.

Not A fan of that city.I was bored my 3rd day there.Ok place to visit .I wouldn't want to live there.

Bored, I cannot understand the younger generation,all my life (so far),

I never once have been bored,just wish I had a little time to be bored !

regards Worgeordie

Lived in Chiang Mai a couple years and it does get boring going to the same places day after day after you have done all the tourist stuff. It's a small city and there is not an unlimited amount of activities, people or things to do if you need a lot of stimulation like me.

But I guess you can find paradise anywhere if you try hard enough (like the poster above has). Monks can find it in a cave, some old farts can find it playing marbles every day, who knows?

Asking whether to break a IRS rule is nuts. Read the instructions and if in doubt get a tax advisor to do your taxes. It's actually not that costly to have them done.

You also many not know that Obamacare will cause anyone filing a US tax return in 2014 to pay a penalty if they do not show current US health care coverage

Under certain circumstances, you won’t have to make the individual responsibility payment. This is called an “exemption.”

You qualify for an exemption if:

• You are outside the USA for more than 330 days that year, or
• You’re uninsured for less than 3 months of the year, or
• You have Medicare, Medicaid, or some VA coverages, or
• You have such low annual income that you are not required to file with the IRS

You can live anywhere on $500 a month. Depends on what your used to, if your hard (don't need to get off) and whether you can walk a mile a day.

It's all subjective, that's what makes these questions so meaningless every time. Easy answer, yes.

It's the Japanese I am having difficulty with. These di@ks will walk right over you standing in line. I just started standing firm and not moving to see what would happen. It becomes a shoving match using body weight. Good thing they are almost always half my size! Always followed by just saying nothing.

The Chinese, no problem with them. They stay in organized groups and are passive for the most part.

That's a good question. Let's reflect on your problems, while I work out!

I'm going out on a limb here and possible exposing my identity. Which I don't normally do.

Interesting. I live in a similar development, but with no creek.

Me and my neighbor have both smelled an odd chemically, sewery odor which manifests in only certain sections of the house. Theories include something died under the house, glue curing from construction (but unlikely as it would have occured several months ago). The best theroy is that it is simply a plumbing problem or sewage backing up into the pipes in specific areas and leaking out under the house somewhere. Dying termites or decaying flesh from poison being put out is another one.

Either way, it's a chemically, sewery, odorly. My neighbor brought a girl over and he said she said forget it and left due to the "sewery, chemically, odory" smell.

Of course, it could also be dirty laundry!

From what I gather it is much more difficult for Thais in general to integrate into the US, then it is for foreigners to transition to living in Thailand.

Perhaps because Thais are so social, and the US cities are not that friendly at all, with crime and not being trustful of strangers and what have you (Especially large cities like NY or LA).

Your location would need to match the person to have a go at it. Most Thais I meet think it's funny how foreigners want to live here, or can't manage some little things. But I can tell you they would not probably not last more then a month in the US on their own. Seems to be a lot of pride in country as well that is masking some sort of insecurity.

These pissers call themselves men.

Paying expenses when your living together if she hath not the means is one thing, handing over cash is quite another.

You got's to draw the line somewhere, or you might as well go to the local bar for take-out.

And take the piss.

There's a string of places right under Nana Skytrain stop that has a sign about custom leather shoes made to order. There are a bunch of Indian places huddled together that do the usual suits there also. The touts stand outside.

I may do this shoe deal since I wear a 50 EU (15.5-16 US) and can't find my size anywhere. I'm hesitant about fit however, since it's pretty rare to find a good fit even when your trying on your size. Maybe they solve this when they measure it out??? I don't know if I would be expected to pay if they were made and I was unsatisfied. Seems like these guys are just desperate for any sale, dealing with them if there was a problem would be a nightmare (guy stands there screaming in Pakistani holding a shoe to my head).

Not ridiculous, top-notch advice for 99% of those reading it here.

And I think others will confirm it's not the only thing I say, but I will continue to do so when an obvious bit of further evidence of it's validity arises.

Noise or other craziness from the neighbors, house falling apart, excessive smoke or other pollution, vicious dogs, wife doesn't like me anymore or just bored with the place, all these become very very minor problems when you're free to pack your bags and move on. People that have a lot invested in where they live find coming up with solutions a lot more difficult.

Not ridiculous at all.

Not really. To get a decent place at a good price you generally have to sign a 6-month or 1-year lease. That means by just leaving you would forfeit one or two months rent.

As a MAN you never encroach on another MAN'S space unless you are invited to do so.

Negative emotions are let out in different ways. Little by little in small spites, jeering, taunting, everyday slights, overcahrging by small amounts like 5 baht, snide remarks behind your back etc. Sometimes rage, if it's not handled right.

What you mention is actually termed 'pretty easy to deal with' in 95% of cases. In the west you would have people being much more aggressive and causing problems on a daily basis.

Here, if your solid, you can pretty much ignore problems and they will deflect off you and backfire on others. If it's you that's the problem you will likely find it harder to get support from others to deal with it.

Earplugs do work and once your asleep you will not notice them. If your awake closing the windows and turning on the music or tv works, no biggie.

Looked at some units here a couple years back when first settling in. It was like a scene from hell that I still recall vividly.

Arrived by car and some guy with a bum leg hobbling around the carpark, security I think. Enter and electricity is down, wandering through dark passageways with wires hanging etc. Whole surreal scene overshadowed by noise from a huge construction site next door (looked like new condos). The room itself sucked. I remember thinking that I would do anything to not grow old and die in such a place. Glances all around like 'what on earth is HE doing here?). Asked the agent what he thought once back in car we both laughed 'no comment'. Would go for a run down thai place anyday over a room here.

You must be nuts to want to purchase here, you have never seen the place, or it's been remodeled since I saw it.

I saw a recent ad in the Chiangmai Mai classifieds of TV. A guy is selling 5 condo units for 7 million bt. The monthly rental is 50,000. Problem solved you get the returns of more then what you want.

Defo the best way for passive, least hassles income here methinks. I mean, why go through all the anguish of mixing about with a business and dodgy locals if one wanted to sit back and smell the roses? I know a chap who has three units at a smidge over a mil each in a newer apartment out of town, spruced them up and rents for 10-12k a piece... 12.5% tax I think it is.

Op is not interested in ROI, but if you have the capital, it makes sense as bricks & mortar has generally always been a winner and you will have something to fall back on (likely extra) when you cash out.

There are not many other sure-fire options in today's fast-moving world, and especially for us lot in this land. You can legally own condos and other than a lawyer for contracts, you won't need to be messed around with people day to day. In 20 years time, many many businesses will have failed, but your condo will (should) still be standing.

While they are pulling in easy baht, you could build a site, perhaps targetting consultancy or blogs on computer repair & whatnot. With the likes of Joomla and Wordpress (wysiwyg editors) coming as standard with hosting packages, a basic site can be knocked up in a few hours by just about anyone without knowledge of HTML coding.

what if :

the unit is not rented for months, you still will pay the monthly fee and that can be also a few thousands

the renter DOES NOT PAY you, is THAI and connected to the police....

the renter does destoy your condo and / or steals furniture, tv, airco ...

still no worries at end of each month ????

add in that if your looking for that sort of profit your probably renting to a foreigner. hard to get long term tenants that stay in on place for a long time. they tend to move around. that eaves you with several months rent paid and a month or two empty, cuts out on the profits. no to mention having to use a broker network or agents and pay commission each time a new tenant is needed.

Where I come from (farangland) you don't usually chat up strangers with every encounter. Politeness yes, but is that what you are really looking for? One reason I can put a finger on is that as an expat I get tired of answering the same personal questions about job, income, what am I doing here, where are you from etc etc from complete strangers I'm meeting for the first time. It's none of their business and if people can't talk about enjoying life and culture then they are just rambling off the same questions to everyone they meet and uttering the same BS. I have heard dialog and knew where it was going before it even started.

Expectations here between expats are OVERLY friendly in my opinion. It has something to do with being in a foreign culture where people from the same places have a need to band together more then they would in their home countries. It's like animals banding together to ward of threats or danger in strange territory enemies will turn to friends with a change in environment as a survival response, same principal applies to humans.

A MAN has had difficulties with neighbors at houses way off that need to come by and BOND. Some of us are here to get away from this sort of thing and like the novelty and strangeness of discovering who we are in a strange challenging environment. We don't WANT to hear the same BS that we did back home. So if someone is not receptive to your OVERTURES it's YOUR PROBLEM. Make contact, then leave them alone if it's going nowhere. And it's their right to not have to CODDLE YOU and get involved. Another point is don't come onto THEIR TERRITORY with your BS. Wait until they are in a common or public area.

Had a nest here under a teak floor in the living room. I noticed dust coming out of the seams around the walls and planks. Had to sweep every day. It was termite wings. Huge nest under there. It rained and the came out and were everywhere. Swarms of them flying all over. Had to pull up the wood floor and install large blocks instead. Forget about spraying, the chemicals will likely kill you before they get rid of the insects. Kill the nest and more move in the next day. It's a numbers game, millions against one person. Your body can't take living with a fresh spray all the time and breathing the vapors from it. Labor is so cheap here it's better to just let them have their way, and rebuild. That's how you win.

Your making excuses not to come. Not sure why.

Do they allow prisoners to work out at any of the locations you know of?

How much would you have had to pay to get free?

Who set the price to pay the judge, or was it decided between lawyers, or the victim?

Could you pay at any time, or once the offer was refused in court that was it and you had to do your time?

Aircards are geared towards mobile business customers who take their current data plans with them and are not concerned with cost. Setting up cellular service when you do a lot of international travel is a hassle and time consuming.

I wonder why anyone would call sex a problem.

I don't think sex is the problem the poster has here, it's showcasing.

This is a valid point as I have found after several years here that showcasing is a big issue. So are exhibitionists, and voyers who adore them.

This is a main reason I got disgusted with most of the expat nightlife scene where the show usually turned to having to watch old fat men grinding with sexy slim brown beauties, not for their own pleasure but so others had to watch. They do it in regular public places too. A lot of it is old prunes trying to prove to others that they still doing it. The vibe almost turns gay occassionally, that is to say it becomes more about the guys then the girls. It's not limited to the nightlife scene.