monk213

If this kills, I am a walking dead

I know I feel lucky too, it can kill but alcohol and valium together isn't that dangerous, add some opiates like tramadol in the mix and things get dangerous 10 fold at least. I did have this video where I took 30mg of xanax because someone was telling me it would kill me, and at that time my tolerance was sky high so I knew I would be fine and I didn't even blackout. Benzos by themselves are pretty much suicide proof, you could take a bottle of valium and you probably would be fine after you eventually woke up.

OMG, now what will peole do?? the world will come to an END

Yesterday the asteroid missed the earth, no doomsday. Hooray!

And now have it quicker than expected

That is nothing, 2027 there is one coming within a 12th of the distance we are from the moon! It is suppose to be safe though, but damn that is close

Um, well kind of. I had never been to Laos before and I hate capital cities, so what did I have to go by apart from pictures on the internet? Things are very different IRL quite often.

But the best thing about Laos, imo, is the people. Often a local Thai smile means they want money, there in Laos they often genuinely are smiling.

So far it looks like 52% of voters are moving home.

You lot think lifes really bad in Thailand for expats??

Give me a break.

Like I said above, why move home? I would rather move to some sketchy place like Istanbul or Mexico than home. But the best option would be parts of Laos, the language is pretty similar so if you can speak Thai you would be able to get by, and it is kind of like Thailand was some years back. Forget going home imo

I like the forget going home bit!

I've heard Laos is lovely and also much cheaper than Thailand. Looking forward to getting there sooner than later.

Can westerners own land there?

Like rgs stated yes Laos is beautiful, landlocked so no beaches but the forests and waterfalls, villages and jungles are amazing to explore. When I went to Vientiane which is the capital, I didn't have high hopes because I hate capital cities and like a slower pace of life. I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly the locals are there and how it was A LOT more relaxed than London or Bangkok, just generally a great place. They speak fairly good English but I speak Thai so I was just speaking Thai with them, they also accept kip, baht and dollar in most places as well which is good. Beer Lao so much better than any generic beer here and the food was amazing. Damn, ok I am going to Laos for an indefinite time I think You can get a 2 month tourist visa and keep leaving and returning as long as you like I think.

This surely didn't surprise you at all........did it?

I should have been dead years ago if that mix kills . . . . .

Same, I have been hospitalized and I still take valium actually, medically speaking for severe anxiety disorder. But I was taking 400mg, yes 400mg not 40 with whiskey, tramadol, oral morphine, clonazepam, xanax, all kinds of stuff. Lucky I had a tolerance, unfortunately I don't think she did, RIP and it is a reminder how easy it is to lose your inhibitions when drinking.

So far it looks like 52% of voters are moving home.

You lot think lifes really bad in Thailand for expats??

Give me a break.

Like I said above, why move home? I would rather move to some sketchy place like Istanbul or Mexico than home. But the best option would be parts of Laos, the language is pretty similar so if you can speak Thai you would be able to get by, and it is kind of like Thailand was some years back. Forget going home imo

I like the forget going home bit!

I've heard Laos is lovely and also much cheaper than Thailand. Looking forward to getting there sooner than later.

Can westerners own land there?

Like rgs stated yes Laos is beautiful, landlocked so no beaches but the forests and waterfalls, villages and jungles are amazing to explore. When I went to Vientiane which is the capital, I didn't have high hopes because I hate capital cities and like a slower pace of life. I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly the locals are there and how it was A LOT more relaxed than London or Bangkok, just generally a great place. They speak fairly good English but I speak Thai so I was just speaking Thai with them, they also accept kip, baht and dollar in most places as well which is good. Beer Lao so much better than any generic beer here and the food was amazing. Damn, ok I am going to Laos for an indefinite time I think You can get a 2 month tourist visa and keep leaving and returning as long as you like I think.

Pattaya

That is where you are going wrong imo

In December I did my annual extension of stay at Jomtien in under 10 minutes from the time I walked in the door at Jomtien, so I wouldn't blame Pattaya when compared to other places.

And as others have said, it could be much worse if he had attempted to do an extension at other offices. For visa exempt and tourist visas entry extensions, keep in mind this is still the high season for tourists. If he found a queue extending out to the street that suggests it's the quantity of people that's the issue.

Personally I wouldn't go in on a Monday or Friday or a day following a holiday and I would go in mid morning or early afternoon, not when the office first opens.

I blame Pattaya for a lot, just a personal opinion. I went to HH immigration this month on a Monday and it was pretty swift, as long as you get there around the time it is due to open you should be fine.

I thought the General was going to personally rewrite the soap opera scripts.

Hasn't he got 'round to it yet?

So more guns and shooting I would assume?

This could be an ISIS hack and I am not even joking because yesterday I think they hacked Malaysia Airlines and the same error message was popping up. Not saying it is them but it could be..

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-26/malaysia-air-website-hacked-with-phrase-isis-will-prevail-.html

I am not exactly a fan of TV anymore, in fact I only watch Aljazeera if I do but I just use the internet to watch things. But, of course the other half does like to sit and watch these soaps when she comes home from work, also considering one of her sons has been an extra in quite a lot of the 'shoot em ups'

So far it looks like 52% of voters are moving home.

You lot think lifes really bad in Thailand for expats??

Give me a break.

Like I said above, why move home? I would rather move to some sketchy place like Istanbul or Mexico than home. But the best option would be parts of Laos, the language is pretty similar so if you can speak Thai you would be able to get by, and it is kind of like Thailand was some years back. Forget going home imo

10 years is too short of a time IMO. To me, it seems pretty much the same.

25 years ago the whole sex industry was much wilder and much cheaper, but foreign food was absolutely terrible and there was very little access to many books, films, TV series and music from overseas that are all common now.

I agree.

The nightlife and adults entertainment scenes have become completely commercialised over the last 20 years and although Europeanised foods are now widely available it can be rather expensive, even more so than in our home countries. As regards the more availability of books, films, TV series, music and movies, this is because that most of it is available on the Internet, whereas 20 years plus ago virtually no one had Internet in Thailand. I can remember the only main sources of news from abroad was buying week old additions of over priced foreign newspapers in the town at selected stores, the Bangkok Post and listening to the BBC on a short wave radio. Back in those days the standard waiting list for a landline phone was 4 years or quicker if willing to pay an under the counter exorbitant price.

I could not vote in the survey because I think opinions must vary according to how long living in Thailand, which areas we live, age and circumstances. But going back 20 years, 25 years and 30 years, although the lifestyles were basic, I still preferred those times when everything was rough and ready, it was cheap and we seemed to have more fun. Many people have told me that I only feel this way because I have got older, but I don`t believe that because in Thailand over the years life has become much more commercialised, more expensive, fast and furious. Also what we used to take for granted as regular social and nights out, such as adult entertainments, has now become overpriced and an expensive luxury. I could no where near afford to let my hair down and have a night out on the town as often as I could in the past.

So for me I am not enjoying my lifestyle in Thailand as much I as did 10 and more years ago.

Move to Laos

• Bangkok schools too .

Yeah Bangkok, Phuket and sometimes Pattaya are a bad choice to live if you are going for ED I would suggest. Luckily I despise all 3 locations so...

Anyway my school has not said a word with regards to OP's statement, it is still 4 hours a week and 1 year according to them, and they have been very clued up for the past 4 years.

Pattaya
That is where you are going wrong imo

Another reason added to the long long list of reasons not to visit Bangkok or live there, I still do not understand why people choose to live there when there is an entire wonderful country outside of the dirty, chaotic and Westernized mess that is called the city of angels. In a couple of decades it will be under water anyway because sea levels are rising (if you want to say we are at fault or not doesn't matter, they are rising is the important thing), and Bangkok is low lying land, and gets flooded annually as it is, so in the near future it will essentially be F#*!ed.

The Thai police need more $$$ or baht whatever due to the reform and scraping out some of the corruption thanks to the Junta, so these traffic cops and low ranking officers will resort to things such as random stop and searches on foreigners, I would even suggest that some may plant something if desperate enough for money for their double life, but that will be a rarity, however it has been done before and so it shall be done again.

Bangkok, I only ever see you when I need to go to the airport and that is too much for me. It is too big, too busy, too dirty, too expensive, too shabby and now the police are too hands on. Sounds like a great place to settle down, better invest in a boat though..

You still don't understand, why people choose to live in Bangkok?

Let me help you: 3 letters...people do it, so they have money to make a living...starts with a J...

Well that goes for mainly Thais yes, around 1/4 of the entire Thai populous lives in Bangkok mainly for work. I was referring to (and should have mentioned) why do farang choose to live there... It is beyond my personal comprehension, there are a zillion better places to live in this country, Pattaya and Patong Beach are not on my list by the way.

Force of habit. Place of work. More artistically enriching. Plenty of reasons.

As I stated it is a personal opinion, I hate the place. On the topic of being artistic there are many places outside of Bangkok hat have a great influence, BannSillipin in Hua Hin AKA the Artist Village for example, really quite notorious now and my gf works there. Anyway back to Bangkok, it will have major water problems in 2 decades

Another reason added to the long long list of reasons not to visit Bangkok or live there, I still do not understand why people choose to live there when there is an entire wonderful country outside of the dirty, chaotic and Westernized mess that is called the city of angels. In a couple of decades it will be under water anyway because sea levels are rising (if you want to say we are at fault or not doesn't matter, they are rising is the important thing), and Bangkok is low lying land, and gets flooded annually as it is, so in the near future it will essentially be F#*!ed.

The Thai police need more $$$ or baht whatever due to the reform and scraping out some of the corruption thanks to the Junta, so these traffic cops and low ranking officers will resort to things such as random stop and searches on foreigners, I would even suggest that some may plant something if desperate enough for money for their double life, but that will be a rarity, however it has been done before and so it shall be done again.

Bangkok, I only ever see you when I need to go to the airport and that is too much for me. It is too big, too busy, too dirty, too expensive, too shabby and now the police are too hands on. Sounds like a great place to settle down, better invest in a boat though..

You still don't understand, why people choose to live in Bangkok?

Let me help you: 3 letters...people do it, so they have money to make a living...starts with a J...

Well that goes for mainly Thais yes, around 1/4 of the entire Thai populous lives in Bangkok mainly for work. I was referring to (and should have mentioned) why do farang choose to live there... It is beyond my personal comprehension, there are a zillion better places to live in this country, Pattaya and Patong Beach are not on my list by the way.

...

The Thai police need more $$$ or baht whatever due to the reform and scraping out some of the corruption thanks to the Junta, so these traffic cops and low ranking officers will resort to things such as random stop and searches on foreigners, I would even suggest that some may plant something if desperate enough for money for their double life, but that will be a rarity, however it has been done before and so it shall be done again.

...

Wait, the Thai police are becoming MORE corrupt because the Junta has made them LESS corrupt?

You obviously and clearly have little to no understanding of how the system works, do you. Well the corruption has been targeted at the top tier officers mainly and this has left the lower tier officers in a situation where they cannot conduct their normal ways, so as Thais do they come up with a new way to resolve the problem (their problem) and this is it. Get booked up sunny Jim

hmmm, Next year for my 5th year of studying I may hop over to Aussi, always wanted to see what is cracking down there. The places that everyone normally go to are so full and it takes a long time for this reason, so I guess if you go and make your ED visa somewhere that most people would not consider it would be less hassle.. Thanks for your post OP, I will consider it next year, if I am still around that is

Another reason added to the long long list of reasons not to visit Bangkok or live there, I still do not understand why people choose to live there when there is an entire wonderful country outside of the dirty, chaotic and Westernized mess that is called the city of angels. In a couple of decades it will be under water anyway because sea levels are rising (if you want to say we are at fault or not doesn't matter, they are rising is the important thing), and Bangkok is low lying land, and gets flooded annually as it is, so in the near future it will essentially be F#*!ed.

The Thai police need more $$$ or baht whatever due to the reform and scraping out some of the corruption thanks to the Junta, so these traffic cops and low ranking officers will resort to things such as random stop and searches on foreigners, I would even suggest that some may plant something if desperate enough for money for their double life, but that will be a rarity, however it has been done before and so it shall be done again.

Bangkok, I only ever see you when I need to go to the airport and that is too much for me. It is too big, too busy, too dirty, too expensive, too shabby and now the police are too hands on. Sounds like a great place to settle down, better invest in a boat though..

Without having read all the thread it all depends on your situation.

IF repeat IF you have access to funds I believe it is a better option to self insure.

Why?

Insurance co running costs/inefficiency/profit

Hospital charging according to insurance or not

Insurance fraudulently taken by people who have problems

Add to this

You can (usually) shop around for treatment whereas an insured person may just take the most expensive possible.

(I got rabies shots for 1300 baht and 300 baht last year same shot small example but makes my point)

An insured person will take the bag with ALL the meds offered at hospital prices unlike me who checks the meds and often buys from his favourite pharmacist.

Another factor against insurance as most treatment isn't urgent.......

for the NHS and returning home to get payback for all the taxes you paid through your healthy young life.......if you happen to be British I believe it has already been deemed unfair it is all change and we CAN or shortly WILL BE able to return for treatment it's all been discussed and was due to be fully enacted anytime soon.

Well I have been in South East Asia for nearly 5 years now and without any health or travel insurance, like I have mentioned I have probably racked up around 200k baht in hospital visits in all of that time. I do have funds but it is limited and I am not exactly well off, I am mid 20s fyi. So I have been self funding and it is time to change and the last accident which is going to take AT LEAST 4 months to rectify has sent the message home hard, I need some insurance. there will be legit policies out there and it seems BUPA is the way to go.

It's pretty easy, loads of agents to do the bulk of the work for you. I used asiabs.com for my company setup, cost about $1500 all in.

BVI company / HK banking, which they do in addition to HK / HK is a perfectly legal and legitimate structure, and bears less admin.

You have to prepare supporting evidence regarding your planned business for banking, can simply be a CV showing your skills and experience. You also have to fly to HK to open a bank account, but I was in and out in 4 hours and have never been back - not tricky.

Thanks for the advice, cut and dry just how I like it. Are there some agents that are there waiting to screw people over? That is probably a silly question as you find that in all sectors of business pretty much.

I know I am asking a lot, but I do need the advise of someone with experience. Can you bullet point what I need to do in order if that is possible? Like I said I already have the name, brand identity designed (that was easy considering my background skills) and I know where I want to head in terms of how the company will operate.

So after all of this I will legally be allowed to work from Thailand from my house and not have to worry about any authority issues if I go down the whole HK root and keeping the money in the account for 1 year?

If the business is 100% online, aside from potential visa questions in regard to residence and the need for a business structure to support that, the optimal jurisdiction for the business is the one with the best tax structure and least amount of fees and admin that clients will be willing to submit payment to.

Point being, nowhere is tougher than anywhere else aside from tax and administration (HK and Singapore being easier and cheaper than the UK, and BVI being easier and cheaper than all 3).

OP is looking to provide services online to remote clients, not to set up a company and office somewhere in the world serving local clients (which would likely be harder for a non native in HK, Singapore and BVI than in the EU) - the demand in the local market is irrelevant.

The thing is I could technically work and set up a company using proxies and aliases and not go legit, that would be easy but I want to go legit. Obviously now Thailand has been written off as a possible location to work from because of what is required, what am I going to get those Thai nationals to do for a start, make me some tea and start my computer up on the morning and give me a foot rub? There should be a clear distinction between the person who wants to set up a bar or a restaurant and a person who can wake up, walk downstairs and have a multitude of clients at the touch of a keyboard, never needing to get dressed if they don't feel like it.

I haven't looked at neighboring countries yet, I need to because I really want to get this business going and need to find somewhere that will enable me to do that. UK is out of the question because I am not returning 'home' - I simply do not like it for a whole list of reasons, most of the EU also is probably out of the question because again I like SE Asia too much, it is like a catch 22.

Without looking back somebody suggested setting up the business in HK and going through the whole waiting for 1 year to bring the money back into Thailand, this is appealing. What would be the logistics of doing such a thing? I have the skills to work in such a field and I have a good head on my shoulders when it comes to money and business, however I am clueless about how to actually set up a business, who/where do I have to inquire, how do I register everything so it is all tax legal etc. Bah it is giving me a headache

Actually the plan is intended for migrant workers and hospitals have been instructed not to issue it to resident expats, and some which had done so, have now cancelled them, while in other places they are refusing to renew. Apparently some parts of the country have not gotten the word and still issue this but be aware that it could be rescinded at any time.

There have been many, many threads about this.

Shame, that sounded like an amazing health plan for expats

Thanks to the previous 2 posters. Yeah I am writing off the idea of setting up a business here in Thailand, for my line of the work the rules they have in place just are nit practical. See, this is another way Thailand is shooting themselves in the foot, I would not be stealing work from Thai nationals as my client base would be abroad thus money would be coming into the country and spent here, thrust into the economy. If there were better laid our rules for people like me there would be a lot more business such as the one I have in mind having a chance and subsequently Thailand getting a nice boost to their economy. The problem is they are too greedy and cannot see that those rules should not apply for every single business plan that is thought up. Their loss.

I am either going to head to Europe when the time is right but that would be plan B, maybe even c actually, my first plan is check out the rules and regulations of neighboring countries because I love South East Asia too much to just return to Europe. I studied graphic design for a total of 5 years so I know what I am doing and it is not merely a way to get money to support my life style here. I want to go legit and get a design company going, I already have designed the logo and have the brand name / identity sorted out. Ah well, thanks a lot Thailand, your greedy ways have caused you more harm than good once more. Sure one persona and his possible business is nothing, but there are many many people in a similar situation as me and if they had a new set of laws then more would come.

Utility bills are not on the list. I would recommend that you obtain a proof of residence letter from immigration. If you tell them its for UK passport renewal they will do it for you in English. Any documents that are in thai need to be translated into English by an authorised translator.

ok thanks, getting a new passport is harder than I expected, it seems so anyway.