sipi

Don't over tighten them. Those cement tiles can form hairline cracks which will also leak. Then the tiles will need to be replaced.

^ everyone's free choice

Every 90 days we leave the country (regional airport is only 50 mins drive away) for a mini (nah sometimes longer) holiday, we just came back (escape Song Kran) from 2 weeks Singapore and in July we are going for a 4-5 day trip to HKG.

I was on an extension of stay (based on marriage) but as said not anymore, now on ME NON-O

We have a great garden, with fish pounds (fish is not for sale, just a hobby) and it gives us enough things to do. Live is relaxed here (for us that is).

The food you mention, is readily available (tomorrow will send you a link via PM what is available here) for home delivery at a small premium.

Went to China.....

Got back & hobby fish - gone.....24 hour grounds keeper or day house keeper - no idea what happened.....

About 2 years of nice big fish gone....

Blame the inlaws....

There are some "guide books" about Thai women that are misguiding.

Hey Davo, aren't you glad you asked?

Apparently...

Your house will get trashed.

It is too hot.

It is too cold.

You won't be able to buy pickles or mushy peas.

Your front door will get burnt down.

The inlaws will eat all your food.

There is no water.

You will get diseases.

You will need to learn Isaan.

There will be 4 barking dogs.

Your tv will be on full volume all night.

They will bleed you dry.

You will have to build another better house for the inlaws.

Motorbikes will keep you awake all night.

The smell of cooking will drive you mad.

Iceland.

Seeing the inlaws is the only reason we built a house in Thailand. Otherwise we would have a second home in New Zealand.

If kids aren't in the plans, I wouldn't want to spend my leisure years in a typical Isaan village. Perhaps if your western life had you deep in the noisy bustle of city life a quiet country life may seem quaint. Takes time to build an immunity to their way. Neighbors don't call before coming over, 6am with 2 stroke motorbike outside house yelling for someone, treatment of dogs took me some getting used to, I'm in the thick of Isaan life, plans are to move to a more metropolitan area for better schools and if truth be told also for myself. It won't be deep in tourist area but will be close to beaches. In the states I can buy a place in the country even cheaper than Thailand, so money wasn't the reason for settling down in Isaan. At first it seemed neat, you know like an adventure. but as day to day life settles in, it can get on your nerves. They are good people, no complaints like that. But come on....you work hard all your life, there has to be more in life than an Isaan village.

A rural Issan village is no place for children with a future.

No schools, no work, no health care, plenty of dangers and diseases you never encounter in the city.

Great posts from Nanlaew, he would live there ........ but doesn't.

I agree with him, sounds idyllic, but no sane western person would actually do it.

Yep. We built s house next to the inlaws and it is ideal for two months during Winter. I really like the village and the family but the heat is too much. We spend another two months travelling and the rest of the year in Australia. Good balance and everyone is happy. I can't see it changing for a long time.

The OP just needs to decide if a little house near the inlaws could be a part of his retirement plans. For us it sure beats staying under the same roof for a few months a year (as we did previously).

Good idea. As your wifes parents get older she will want to spend more time with them and it will help if you are both nearby.

Thereby limiting the amount of time she has for you possibly causing issues in your own relationship,if you wish to play second fiddle to her family go for it.

Do let us know how it pans out though.

14 years and panning out well, Who wants to be stuck in a box with their partner 24 hours s day? We both enjoy having family around. This is actually quite common worldwide believe it or not.

To be fair, you advised that you're only there (next door) 2 months of the year.

That's totally different than being there 24/7, 12 months of the year.

Two months a year could be considered "holiday" time.

Yes it's nice for the wife to be close to her family, but living next door is a bit too close IMO.

I wouldn't build 100 km away but would look at renting.

And if the wife isn't hanging out with the family who is she hanging out with? The OP seems smart enough to weigh it up. As for resale value of a house next to the parents, forget it. And in our case "next door" is a hundred metres of forest between us.

Good idea. As your wifes parents get older she will want to spend more time with them and it will help if you are both nearby.

Thereby limiting the amount of time she has for you possibly causing issues in your own relationship,if you wish to play second fiddle to her family go for it.

Do let us know how it pans out though.

14 years and panning out well, Who wants to be stuck in a box with their partner 24 hours s day? We both enjoy having family around. This is actually quite common worldwide believe it or not.

Yes that's why all these expat men live in Thailand,they are so close to their remaining family in their birth countries most live 7,000 miles away and never go back.

Do you jet back to your home country to visit your relatives every 3 months ?

I trust your really close to your relatives are you or just your extended Thai family,the love that some expats have for their Thai families is quite astonishing given most have abandoned blood relatives in favour of said Thais.

I suppose for some of them it's all they have to resemble what they once failed at back home maybe.

We have 4 generations of family living close by here in Australia.

Sure there are times when I mow my brothers lawn or have to drive my Mother to the doctors but that is life. My wife enjoys having them around,and in spite of being the only Thai in a population of 4000 she has never been refered to as a "blow in".

Of course we Westerners are far superior to these juvenile Thais....apparently.

Good idea. As your wifes parents get older she will want to spend more time with them and it will help if you are both nearby.

Thereby limiting the amount of time she has for you possibly causing issues in your own relationship,if you wish to play second fiddle to her family go for it.

Do let us know how it pans out though.

So which of the three Thai girls went home with you after that episode?

I am an old Australian living in the tropics. This 40 degree Australian heat and 90% humidity doesn't bother me.

In Thailand I feel like I am dying 10 months of the year.

I wouldn't do it, but if you must why not build a very cheap house there and buy house to retire in somewhere else, then you always have a house to live in when you and the Mrs want to go back.

Emphasize "very cheap" because if typical, the house will be trashed while you are away.

I do agree with Tonrays post to build something cheap (but not for that reason).

Just do something simple for now, and if things don't work out you haven't lost a fortune. The traditional Thai building method makes it very easy to extend or "add on" later if you are happy. And plan to escape occasionally (with the wife) for some "us" time.

Edit. It is normal for a Thai daughter to want to be close to her parents as they get older. I would never deny my wife that. You need to do the sums and work out what is best. Live far away and spend more time apart and money on traveling, or live nearby?

No matter where you live, you are going to have neighbors (unless you are literally in a rice paddy). All neighbors can cause trouble.

Better the devil you know?

The other thing I find an advantage of having the family very close by is that the wife spends a lot of time with them. It gives me a break (and gives her a break from me).

Anyway back to Davos original post. We built next door to the inlaws but for now it is only a holiday house. It sits vacant 10 months a year until I retire. In the meantime the inlaws look after it, otherwise (if it wasn't next door to the inlaws) it would possibly get broken into.

Presently we are only there two months a year. Frankly I couldn't think of anything worse than being in Thailand and not being around my family. But they are very honest and fun folk.

I am sure the likes of Charlie have good reason for changing their mind and I look forward to hearing why.

I wouldn't do it, but if you must why not build a very cheap house there and buy house to retire in somewhere else, then you always have a house to live in when you and the Mrs want to go back.

Emphasize "very cheap" because if typical, the house will be trashed while you are away.

Really? Can you provide some photos? None of the houses in our village have been trashed.

I applaud you for finding a great village that maintains their properties...but everywhere I have been in country....and that includes Bangkok...the homes are a mess because zero maintenance is done, rubbish is disposed of by throwing it out in the alley between houses or right out front if that becomes too much work. if you build a house that stands vacant for any length of time in Thailand, odds are it will be a wreck in no time. Not just my opinion...when I travel again I will get some photographic evidence but I also implore you to take off the rose colored glasses when you are out and about,.

We built next door to the inlaws and they look after our house when we are away. Same with my neighbour. A lick of paint, grass trimmed etc.

I wouldn't do it, but if you must why not build a very cheap house there and buy house to retire in somewhere else, then you always have a house to live in when you and the Mrs want to go back.

Emphasize "very cheap" because if typical, the house will be trashed while you are away.

Good idea. As your wifes parents get older she will want to spend more time with them and it will help if you are both nearby.

I failed....fortunately.

I found true love in a small village when I least expected it. It was just my lucky day.

From my experience Thai air-conditioning tradesmen aren't as dumb as TVF experts pretend they are.

Trust your local technician, he is trying to help.

You misunderstand me, I'm not implying that the technician who came to my house is dumb! I was dumb giving the measurements to the store, rather than working it out for myself.

He told me that I needed a 70,000 BTU aircon to cover the entire open plan area and also suggested that I install another aircon in the living room. When I got round to googling BTU based on area, he was absolutely right - even more so now that I've read another poster's comments who pointed out that cold air will not go upstairs, so another similar sized unit fitted in the living room would work pretty well downstairs (his recommendation).

But I don't need to cool the entire downstairs area - which is why I'm still wondering whether its better to have one unit that keeps the small area in which I'm interested, cool (but is working flat out for hours), or whether its more economical to use an air con unit(s) that cost more per hour, but won't be working flat out all the time.

The aircon in the bedroom at nights already adds 1,500 bht p.m. (approx) to my elec bill, and my normal elec bill is close to 4,000 p.m. - which is why I'm concerned about the most economical option for when I need to use downstairs aircon during the day.

Yes Dick, I agree.

What I meant to say was, from my experience it is best to consult a technician on-site and take his advice. They are trained to help.

From my experience Thai air-conditioning tradesmen aren't as dumb as TVF experts pretend they are.

Trust your local technician, he is trying to help.

I prefer cleavage. But it is easier to get caught.