Expat Brad

As a prime minister it does matter what your family is doing. Wasn't this not the biggest reason why YL was overthrown for. (Because of her brother)..

Anyway it sounds quite strange..and this all after the inheritance tax tax is on the way. And a company which has been formed and immediately took over the land.

Don't know but I think that you are spot on here.......So is he & or his family possibly avoiding the payment of a tax that his own government is about to introduce.............Freakin priceless !!!!

My Thai wife & I are considering moving to rural Thailand somewhere around Chiangmai but I have concerns about her safety more than my own. The reason being that we would be in a new area with no friends or family networks locally combined with her not being a local & also married to a farang could she be a target. A Target being that some & I say some Thai's see Thai women that are with farang........As I'll say it whores!!!

I lived close to Chiang Mai with Thai women who were hookers and women who were not hookers. Thai people can spot a hooker a mile away so I wouldn't worry about that. No problems either way. The smoke got to me and as I'll say it quirky!!! expats.

They speak a different language so the people will be able to tell where your wife is from if she is not from the area and some get a bit uppity about that or skin color but like I said I never had any problems.

Looking back on my experience I had a lot of fun with my hooker partners in Chiang Mai as there are some interesting clubs there. You can go by yourself or take a partner but I always found it more interesting with a partner. Not for everybody but the guys with ex bar ladies as wives seem to have more fun in Chiang Mai.

My Thai wife & I are considering moving to rural Thailand somewhere around Chiangmai but I have concerns about her safety more than my own. The reason being that we would be in a new area with no friends or family networks locally combined with her not being a local & also married to a farang could she be a target. A Target being that some & I say some Thai's see Thai women that are with farang........As I'll say it whores!!!

The officer did what is not being done in any country anymore & that is giving them a bloody old fashioned hiding. Shit this idiot could have killed a child. All he'll receive is a fine......next day drunk again!!!

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All youngsters before they come to Thailand should be made aware of the Thai code of conduct and dress. Some might say that the way young European girls dress in

public places could be seen to be an open 'invitation'. Cover up not only when visiting Temples here. Thailand is not Sweden or Ibiza.

Thailand is very safe compared to 99% of the rest of the world, so don't hesitate to come here.

I totally agree with you here.........Thailand is very safe compared to many or maybe most western countries. People need to just keep their wits about them meaning that having sex on a beach particularly where a lot of drugs & alcohol have been consumed would not be a good idea in any country. There are bad people in every country Thailand is no different.

As an ex prison officer of over ten years from Australia is concerned.........I feel safer in Thailand than I would in Australia. Please don't label Thailand as dangerous when your own countries are far from safe.........

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Maybe insensitive but he has a point. There is no bikinis or even swimming suits worn by locals at local beaches and only a few westernized thais wear them at tourist places and then much bigger than western bikinis. Unfortunately.

The only thais you will see wearing western bikinis are pros looking for a custumer or already with one.

Told this years ago by the wife saying girls in bikinis are putting themselves in danger. Most loso thai men have little respect for women and just see women as meat.

The shorts under skirts are worn for a reason.

That's still backwards-thinking. Doesn't matter if it comes from your wife. Its sexism against men in that it implies they can't control themselves.

Sorry but in this case the man or men could not control themselves..........could not keep their desires to themselves.

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If he has been employed for 6 or 7 years, then they are going to have to pay him a suitable severence, it would certainly be more than one month salary.

No offence to the person in question but he is not entitled to severance simply because he, like all teachers are contracted annually.

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Discipline ane motivation is needed. I hope it will work.

These qualities are not realities that can be found in too many educators here. Another problem with regards to teaching English is simply this, many, many Thai teachers do not have sufficient english skills to be effective with the new technology.............so no improvements.

The articles says that the teachers would have to produce lessons as per the handbook. Will the class be conducted using a teacher say in BKK or would the existing teachers merely use a screen instead of a book meaning that at the beginning of the lesson it is turned on & turned off at the end.

Maintenance is a biggie.............I teach at a large school near CM & it is not just a battle to get our audio/visual aids to work for us, it is futile to even try to have things seen to.

Learning really isn't in the program anyway.........My school says sorry no money in the budget but they recently bought a new mini van & a 3 tonne truck that they customised into a bloody big songtao. I estimate the cost of both to be about 4 million baht. So that is why there's no cash to fix a few computer & projector cables.

If this could be made to work effectively then excellent for Thai kids.

Also it could fix the paper shortage issue too. During this first term we had no paper & no copying service, this lasted for one month. When we raised our concerns with the director, he simply said "No problem, just talk to them or something" then laughed & walked away.

All these activities that are now hitting the schools, OMG some of us have not seen our students for up to four weeks..........so very little learning is going on at the moment & that is in every subject I might add. Very disheartening indeed.

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I do understand why Thailand is one of the most welcome countries for retirees.

They only ask me to have 800K Baht in my account that I can't touch and present myself every 90 days to the immigration office.

What else could I ask for?

Your information about the bank account rules is incorrect.

The 800K bank method can be spent down to zero during the year, if you so wish.

There has never been any requirement not to touch the account during the year, except that it must be seasoned for three months (two the first time) before each annual extension application.

Other methods are to show income of 65K baht monthly or a combo of bank and income totally at least 800K.

Yes there are limitations in the Thai welcome.

No long term path towards more stable residence is offered by Thailand and that is a weakness compared to some of the competition like Ecuador.

Of course the 90 day report thing is an annoyance and let's us know who be DA BOSS.

Agree that there are certain limitations as compared to other countries particularly with regards to home ownership. Many retirees don't want to be stuck in a condo, they would prefer to live in a house to really enjoy there surrounds etc. I think that they could say change this rule & allow a person to own & live in one property. I'm sure that the amount of purchasers would not upset the mix re. Thai investors.

Been here eleven years from the USA. I consider myself as outgoing and a friendly person. But I don't have many friends. I put this down to my age (72) and having essentially quit drinking and whoring. These are boring pastimes to me after eleven years. Everyone I meet at least gets a nod if not a 'hello'. I will engage in conversation with just about anyone but don't find many conversations lead to a friendship. I have given up offering advice unless asked. Even then I know that most will not listen anyway. That bar they want to invest in will be a winner and the bar girl girlfriend is not like all the rest. OK, fine. Experience is the best teacher. I have plenty of experience! I am semi retired with a wonderful part time job to supplement my modest pension. My need for social interaction is largely met through my job and my lady friend. I get along great with my neighbors both Thai and expats. I have a lovely thai girlfriend who is closer to my age than not. 53. I feel the 'expat divide' as I usually have not the same interests as the people I meet. Sometimes it is the language barrier, the culture barrier or the age difference but mostly it is lack of similar interests. My only regret is not learning the Thai language better. I can get by but I consider it a failing. Otherwise I have never been happier than I am in Thailand even though I have few expat friends and don't necessarily want or need any.

I am 51 and have now been in Thailand for the last 5 years.........best thing that I've ever done. I feel cranky with myself for not speaking more Thai than I do but I find it very difficult to retain & dealing with the tones aaarrgh, it just comes out wrong. On the up side of that is that when socialising, mostly with Thais I can just quietly sit, drink my beer & not have to be part of the conversation, just chill out.

I have a pet peeve about expats, those who have lived here for five years or more and speak a total of 100 words using poor grammar. These tend to be but not exclusively the same people who say; "they come here to my country and can't speak any English"

yes right, I learnt an additional two languages plus a difficult dialect in my youth, no problem. I went to a foreign country and learnt. At the age of 66 after three years of work I am beginning to understand how the Thai alphabet works and have a vocab of about five hundred words, mostly to do with plants and animals. With respect I find your peeve is a bit arrogant if you don't mind me bloody well SAYING SO.

Hey, PJcm! Why would you have a "pet" peeve about another expat, who doesn't impact the reality of your expat life (in the Land of Smiles), to begin with? Huh . I am probably beyond this point, but I believe in letting my money, do my talking for me, especially in Thailand. I definitely enjoy the life that I have made for myself in Thailand, but I do not delude myself into believing that a real (western-style) 50/50 relationship, with any Thai person (wife included), will ever be achievable. You (together w/ any children you may foolishly produce, w/ a Thai woman) will always be the "farang(s)", in the eyes of the Thai/Sino-Thai people. Even if you learned spoke fluent Thai (for some unfathomable) reason, you will always be nothing more, than a "tolerated" guest in Thailand, as long as you keep your ATM card, sufficiently topped-up, w/ "farang" cash available! Just the facts. Absolutely, enjoy your expat life in Thailand, but live the reality, not the "smoke & mirrors" presented fantasy. Cheers.

Sorry but &lt;deleted&gt; a real 50/50 western style relationship. After my divorce settlement in Australia it was more like 85/15 plus child support & contents of the house. My Thai wife of now 4 years asks for very little financially from me in fact I am the one that over spends. She does everything in the house & I don't have to lift a finger unlike my ex wife who was the laziest creature to ever work this earth. So maybe you need to blow the smoke away from your eyes because you can't see.

I like the divide, and keep mostly to myself. This in no way stops me from saying hello, being sociable, and having an impromptu chat with a perfect stranger and his wife.

I think similarly here. To be honest the only bad attitude that I have found here in the last 5 years for me has been with falang's. The classic example is heaven forbid I made eye contact with another........they then act as if you're not there or just give a cold blank stare as to say xxxx you. It's almost to me like they see you as some kind of social threat or maybe as on my last trip back to Australia in fact that was the normal reaction to a person that catches eye contact with another. OMG that's why I live here...........a smile goes a long way!!!

They're wreaking havoc on Vichit Road with a multitude of buses stopping and blocking traffic taking these package tourists on boats. Every day these buses filled with Chinese tourists block the road, and also double park outside of whatever convenience store happens to be close. As others above have said, 7/11's, Family Mart's and others are doing great, but that's about it for these package sheep., I mean package tourists.

The same thing happened in Australia ..........wow we are getting more Chinese tourists that will spend money. Didn't happen they are on pre paid package tours Chinese owned use Chinese owned tour companies, stay in Chinese owned hotels etc. etc. NOT one dollar lands in Australia, well maybe some crumbs.

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Boy people what is the problem? put money in bank if you don't have the money you don't have the money to live here stay in home country geez. simple. Got enough cheap charlies and crooks here as it is.

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Just because the OP does not have 800,000 baht or 65,000 per month does not mean that he is either a cheap charlie or a crook. Many of us live here on way under that figure.........legally I might add.

It annoys me sometimes that here on TV many posters think that just because they have a bucket load of cash or big pensions that they are the only ones worthy of being able to stay here. We are all contributing to the Thai economy every day no matter how small or great so please get off your high horses.

How can you live here legally if you don't have 800,000 Baht or 65,000 Baht.

I have to show it to get my extension.

And NO i am not a rich man.

Obviously you are.

Yes, I work here legally...........I am not a retiree yet. That's next year for me.

It appears that my OP has been largely misinterpreted by some. All I was trying to say is that just because a person doesn't have 800,000 or 65,000 per in their bank doesn't mean that that they are bad people. They are just trying to stay in a country that they love/like whatever.........the same as you!!!

I'm sure that if something did happen to your big money/big pension or the rules you to would be looking for another way to remain here...........Would you then be happy if someone labelled you a crook or an undesirable???

Maybe the amount of money a person is required to have to live here needs to be adjusted. Personally I do not understand how it is acceptable to earn 30,000 per month as say a teacher like myself but to earn under 65,000 per month is unacceptable for a retiree. It is out of wack!!!

In answer to one member regarding being legally here with less than 65,000............ We are not all retirees. In my case I have a job, valid WP & I pay my taxes too.

As a closing note to some it is a fact that more than a few retirees have businesses under their Thai spouses names & are reaping undisclosed benefits from those enterprises.

Most of us are on the same team, people who just like being here............some of you have just forgotten that!!!

For Thailand's sake I do hope that the Chinese tourists that are to come are not the same as many tour groups that were encouraged to come to Australia. Many of these were on pre-paid holidays where they stayed in Chinese owned hotels, ate in Chinese owned restaurants, Chinese owned tour companies & so on. NOT one dollar landed in Australia.

I am not being racist here, just stating what happened at an economic level.

But apart from teenagers on a year out (not the quality tourist TAT wants I suspect) , those who have retired, or the rich. How many people can actually afford in terms of time and money to take a 2 month holiday? As far as I know most people who work have about 25 days annual holiday and i'd imagine that these folk (working people) are the mainstay of Thailand's tourist industry in terms of revenue. A 30 day or 60 day visa will make little difference if they are on a two week break?

Whilst it is a nice gesture from TAT, they seem to be targeting a very small group with this extension I doubt very sadly, that it will lead to the generation of significant revenue.

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Sorry but you are way off the mark with your comments. These young people come here at all times of the year & whilst they stay they spend all their money, mostly in the local Thai economies eg. Street sellers. market stalls, small guesthouses etc. that are operated by the majority of Thai ppl (lower income earners/businesses). These ppl spend far more money at a local level than a rich person does.

As far as retirees are concerned yeah wonderful fantastic but after they have shelled out on the house the car & so fourth many slow down on their spending considerably. because they are on a budget. Not all are on big pensions.

I will be on a retirement visa myself next year so please don't take offence. In my opinion anyone that wants to stay in this lovely country & is able to do so on whatever funds that they can do it on should be allowed to stay. I would like to finally say that the perfect visa would be an extension of stay 30 day for as long as you have funds for example 20-30,000 baht per 30 days.

Well at least the powers that be are seriously looking at a conversion to organic farming practices in Thailand. The establishment of 120 farming communities as a pilot by 2016 is a great start.

Unlike in countries such as Australia it's really only the individual farmer trying to convert to organics. The government is really only falsely interested there.