wym

it would be off topic to post them here, but google William Cohen, defense secretary testimony to congress on "weather weapons"

Never stopped anyone before.

First five pages of results nothing but wacko conspiracy sites and blogs and forums, mostly re-re-re-posts, nothing the least bit credible and mostly on the HAARP BS not chemtrails.

Not saying we haven't tried, CIA did tons of mind-control and PSI research, including mega-dosing unsuspecting straight citizens on LSD without their consent.

Doesn't mean anything significant came of it.

They generally don't bother going after A peanuts B people that are ignorant/lazy without bad intent.

While this may be accurate - I have no way of knowing - but if the OP is facing a significant event in the future, which may be prompting his return to the U.S., and if this future event encompasses income/estate issues, then past lack of filing might incur additional scrutiny resulting in a potentially bigger tax bite?

Yes if you anticipate being a "big fish" upon return, better to start getting legit in advance. But otherwise I'd say just start the process there in person.

Why not just change your home address to Thailand on your passport?

State taxes are based on where you're actually living or working, not on any forms much less passport??

Although owning property or a business could be a factor for some states, how much time spent on "visits" home.

In my case none, and no more than a month or two in any year, so pretty straightforward.

Yes, especially in a poorer neighborhood.

In a wealthier one these days might need to offer more if you dont' get many responses within a week, maybe B2000 obviously well worth it.

Flyers are a great idea, but I could absolutely see some problems. Even in my own country, I can imagine someone arguing about the terms of the reward, going on about how they referred me to a good place and it's not their fault I chose not to rent it.

Nope, just clearly state to be paid if you choose the place they put you on to.

Believe me they set it up so they take you in person to meet the landlord, quite possibly getting something off them as well.

Sure lots of landlords ask for a crazy number seeing a farang's involved, but it's a numbers game, if you've got twenty to look at you start at the lower end.

Didn't have any problem using my usual number, maybe a dozen calls in the couple weeks after asking if I'd found a place yet.

And of course I was famous in the neighborhood, but in a very pleasant way, no problems finding a maid, handyman when I need one, even potential GFs used to be introduced until they all found out I've got that end sorted. . .

We tried with alcohol, how did that work out?

Trend is very much the other way, quite rightly.

Just tax the he11 out of it

There are people in my American Wat who are both Christians and Buddhists. They are also Thai and American.

One of them was talking to me about Buddhists he had met while visiting a temple in Europe. He told me that the European Buddhists got angry with him, "Like I had stolen something from them." I know from traveling around with the monks from our wat that American Christians will go out of their way to meet and talk to the monks. I frequently have to peel the monks away because we have to leave.

I have never encountered the hostility that some people attribute to Christians. I don't doubt that it exists but it is not nearly as common as it is often portrayed.

I've met lots of Christians who see the devil or at least lesser demons in any "pagan" beliefs, including completely secular yoga practices.

Try telling them the Church co-opted holidays like Christmas and most old saints from pre-Christian beliefs, built the cathedrals on pagan sites etc and they get very indignant.

Yes many see Buddhism as a competing "religion". . .

not if they (pretend they) are democracies

usually sarcastic

land o' scams

Seen 'em around lots of places but no interest to me so don't recall where, just think it'd be a sure thing there. . .

Cheaper to try MBK & Discovery, even JJ market first of course. . .

Don't even THINK about any major step much less marriage until you've lived together full time, IMO 2-3 years.

Of course she's been playing the field, how much you've been sending is irrelevant.

And so is that fact, you should forgive and forget anyway - IMO she owes you no monogamy until you tie the knot.

But I'd want to know why you'd even want that, open marriage is much better.

That whole genre is crap from a literary POV, but SL's better than many of the others.

College educated, has a bachelors degree...

Did your friend gain a B.A. from college?

they are all university colleges

Yes, ALL the tertiary institutions in Thailand started "upgrading" to university status years ago, even the vocational tech/trade schools have now jumped on the bandwagon.

In the states probably a lot more four-year colleges that are not (yet) universities award the B.A., and as many have pointed out, everyone says "going to college" there, "going to uni" is a British/commonwealth expression.

Back home that gets you 1 hour, and most likely mostly done by the paralegal.

Just go with a cheaper "agency" rather than a lawyer with all those expensive marketing costs to recoup.

Of even better just do it yourself, everything's spelled out 123ABC.

Compensation/promotions for the auditors/collections people (revenue officers) are based on numbers just like salespeople working on commission.

They generally don't bother going after A peanuts B people that are ignorant/lazy without bad intent.

Obviously there are random exceptions, but in this kind of scenario, come clean without hiring any professionals and you're very likely to get off 100% scott free.

And of course from then on should make sure to file every year, with software these days really not that hard.

As far as the charge of gold digging women is concerned ... exactly who is it that flew thousand of miles in the hopes of being able to exploit whom? If your appearance and personality make it a certainty that no sane woman in your own country would have anything to do with you unless some major cash changed hands and you thought you'd find some attractive, sexy women in Thailand thrilled to see you, you really are delusional. The only thing you may have going for you is money if you are that much of a turn off. Once again, the majority of farang who have Thai partners probably are quite content and have no complaints, but the small number who manage to get separated from their money with nothing to show for it have no one to blame but themselves.

+1

You wont earn many allies on here with that statement.

The truth is a stinger!

I see nothing objectionable nor hurtful about anything S69 wrote, pretty much self-evident if you ask me. . .

That is very bad advice,

and you are not aware of some of the tactics used recently on people here, especially if you put Tea Party on your voting card.

suggestion, you know a lot oabout Thailand,

dont give advice about the IRS,

they are not looking for compliments from the public anymore and will NOT treat the man fairly

and chemtrails are a fact, the us gov doesnt deny them anymore

I've just gone through all this in the last six months, and experienced first-hand exactly what I posted, and stand by my advice.

I don't think either the OP or myself have had any voting card for decades and certainly don't care about tea parties other than those hosted by my little girl with her dolls and stuffed animals.

And feel free to post links to government "admissions" about chemtrails and scientific reports on their efficacy in modifying the weather or whatever - no interest in conspiracy websites please, credible sources only.

Yes, I've nuzzled and kissed a lot of necks and scarring there isn't at all common.

Shoulder area from vaccinations and lower leg burns, very common, as are motocy accident scars generally.

And the self-harm light cut-marks on the arms, especially among sex workers, to a lesser extent cigarette burn and slash marks from BF or family abuse.

If I read you correctly, then most of the girls we interact with, are indeed prostitutes,

its just that some also have day jobs.

All depends how you define it. There are indeed some groups of high-flying relatively wealthy young girls who are more liberated and globalized in their thinking who will have casual sex just for fun - generally only with young & hansum (& most likely of the same jetset class) but they are a very tiny percentage of the Thai female population.

Out of the rest, if they have sex with foreigners they are pretty much all (90+%?) doing so in order to try to improve their financial security in life. Personally I would only call maybe half of them actual sex-workers, and Thais only use such words as "prostitute" for those cheaply selling themselves in the street or karaoke/gogo bars.

In any western country to accept money for sex will be considered prostitution. But in Thailand this is quite different. In Thailand its generelly not accepted for a girl to have sex with someone she isnt married to, or to have a one night stand, a short term relationship or similar. On the other hand - if the sex is payed for its much more likely accepted than if not. Thats the moral and etichs in Thailand.....

Yes, most Thais would be scandalized by a girl going out and having casual sex for the fun of it, giving it away just because she liked the guys and happened to feel horny.

But if she's making a lot of money at it, or even only a little but "needs" it for whatever reason (don't we all), then many of that group would let her off the hook, it's completely understandable.

And for those explicitly in the sex industry, acclimated to its mores, there's almost nothing more shameful than a girl who gives it away or marries a poor guy for love, she's considered a right blooming idiot.

Personally I can see these ideas as OK, just a different set of standards is all. . .

Haven't bothered reading can predict the likely tone of most replies.

My answer is:

Who cares? Nothing wrong with sex work, if it pays enough most people would say yes, just they're never offered that much.

If you personally have something against it and would deny yourself the opportunity to get to know someone just because they make that kind of choice then fine, that's your choice but don't judge her as if she's a bad person for making her own personal choices in the matter, not as if it hurts anyone.

And I have no idea why you would feel the need to even ask such advice in a public forum where everyone's got their own ideas, obviously only you can know for yourself where you stand on such an issue.

Their religion is very important to them.

Their son is very important to them, this is the rite of passage, like a bar mitzvah.

The face gained by putting on such a showy and expensive celebration is perhaps most important of all.

Now put them altogether, once in a lifetime event, more likely so than a wedding. . .

I had a guy in Chaing Mai tell me a ladyboy knocked on his door and tried to rape his roomate.

I of course said the roomate was probably already involved with the alleged raper, and he/she/it didnt want to take no for an answer that night,

is this who you want as your neighbors?

Nothing to do with cheap housing, no where in Thailand is 1/10th as dangerous as any densely populated area stateside.

First of all likely a tall tale for the wide-eyed noob. Second of all if true - very unlikely - then as you say due to WHO you hang out with not how much you spend.

Farang get themselves into these jams all the time, but by being idiots. Especially in farang-ghettos like Pattaya and Patong.

This from someone believes in chemtrails.

I've just gone through all this after fifteen years of the same, immediately before I dropped off the radar I was paying 40-70K per year for the previous ten.

Had a bit of advice from an ex-IRS auditor, convinced me everything was OK bowled up to the IRS office as described above, no drama whatsoever.

Better to file of course but if you haven't been up to anything dodgy and don't actually owe any tax, likely to not get even fined at all.

You're talking about very grey areas rather than explicit prostitution.

Anyway I'm told they've changed those rules. . .

but here is the odd thing.

I was in this hotel room late at night with two TGs and their mamasan. Then the leader took my picture, which prompted me to take their picture as well, which they really didn't like.

Taking my pic didn't seem like a good thing, but I was puzzled in general what they were up to? What do you think?

Any chance underage, blackmail scam?

Maybe she didn't trust you and wanted to be able to track you down if you stole or damaged the goods.

Or they're building a scrapbook, aide-memoire for your future trips.