pepsi666

Does Britain allow medical when you are permanently overseas?

Canada, I have heard, requires residency for 6 months plus a day of each year.

With a Thai wife and daughter it would be easier for me to get visa, and we were thinking of living there for a year, or a few, but the loss of the free medical we are all on is kind of a road block.

[it would probably SAVE the stupid government money if they 'encouraged' retirees to move to other countries and let them keep their medical.

Nope, but you can get emergency treatment, most times you gotta pay, we got enough scroungers over here from various EU countries getting handouts

Beats me why you want to come to the UK, it's over crowded, cold, dark,dirty, not very hospitable to anyone with a brown skin, too expensive, rents for rooms/hotels very expensive, people dont speak or smile at strangers

Things can get violent if you support the wrong football team and your in the wrong place at the wrong time

I see a lot of people in my job who come to the UK and I dont think they are impressed when they arrive, it can cost over £100 to get a taxi to London, and thats using a regular black cab, the pirate cabs will rip you off even more

Good luck to you if you are thinking of coming to the UK, you will need it and a deep wallet, you will leave a lot poorer

I'd like to thank EVERYONE who has posted replies here, there are a lot of usefull replies

I'll probably give it a try, but just rent for 6 months or so, as you say, its worth a try (and I'll have a bolt hole iof it goes belly up)

I (my wife as well) have been pretty much all over Thailand and I was there as a squaddie in the 60's 70's

I'll also be looking at the Malaysian option as well, the missus said we'll go over and have a shufti when my leave comes up

So thanks everyone

Malaysia is offering a easy way to settle, especially for U.K. residents. You can own property there, the food can be good, climate great, stays lighter a little longer in the evenings, and they do actually like and respect the British. Cost factor is about the same as Thailand...check it out....you could then just have a quick trip to Thailand for regular holidays...

Have you any more info ?

Never thought of Malaysia, I got leave coming up soon, I could check things out while I am there

Any recomendations for places to stay, go to and see, please

I was there but as a squaddie years ago and only got to see the Ulu, then it was a flight in and out, never got to see anything

Only got to see a few villages,

Pepsi666, there must be reasons for you to want to leave your home country.Just getting to expensive to live here, especially on a fixed income(a pension)

How much of those reasons weigh up to the inconvenience you will have elsewhere?

I know, not being a REAL citizen somewhere and everything what comes with that ( reporting and such) is a pain in the ass, and doesn't ` feel` right.

But how would you feel in Panama or Costa Rica, even though the reporting wouldn't be such a thing there? Would you really be, or feel like a citizen there? never even thought of those places

Would you really know if the local currency wouldn't go all over the place there?

Overpricing or getting ripped of because you are a `rich` gringo would be an everyday thing there too.

It is the problem with a lot of countries. You are white, and therefor you are rich, so you can pay more. End of story. It also depends a lot on your own behaviour.

It is up to you, to deal with that, and to find a way of compromising/ handling it, so it is acceptable to you. Not easy at first, but you will get the hang of it.

My advise to you would be to just go, but for a year and not give up on the foothold in the home country.

Don't buy anything but rent and get the feeling of the country and the people.

By renting it gives you time to look for maybe something permanent, or look at other parts of the country. I had given a lot of thought to this and renting for a year seemed sensible, and having a bolthole to return to was favourite, but I have to give it a try, no matter where I try

If it doesn't work out, you can always go back.

Yes, the language can be a problem, but in general you will be OK, and of course you can try to learn about that too. Was hoping to enrol in a school of some kind, when I was there, give me something to do

C

Any recommendations for a decent estate agent ?

I have been to most parts in Thailand, but find myself returning to places that I enjoy the Thai peple (Pattay, Chang Mai, Hua Hin) I have never had any problems there, and tried speaking to Thais and have a few people I know (sort of) that I have had meals and nights out with and still stay in touch with (via Emails)

Looks like you're more the kinda Brit who should settle down in Benidorm, with your own soaps, beer, footballshirt and your English wife.

Never been to Benidorm, Hate football AND hate soaps, only have a beer when I fancy it, and dont get drunk any more, I like to stay in control of my senses

I try and stay away from Brits when I'm on holiday (they can be an embarassment) no matter what country I'm holidaying in

1 wife is enough, no matter what nationality she is

there can be plenty to find fault with - being long-term in Thailand - though that can be said about other places. It depends on the person and their outlook. I've resided in Thailand 10 years. The first few years, I'd find fault with many things, and though I couched it in attempts at wit, others got tired of hearing it - especially Thai girl friends.

I also found fault in countries I lived in earlier - all of which is a reflection of my somewhat cynical personality and outlook.

More recently, in Thailand, I've chosen to accentuate the positive. Walk on the 'sunny side of the street' so to speak - though still being true to my nature. I've become a bit more Thai, in that I find ways to tolerate annoyances. Luckily, I reside in the countryside where there are less drawbacks than in the city - and my neighbors have come to grudgingly accept my complaints - insofar as the neighborhood is a bit less noisy and trash-strewn because of my earlier complaints - so now I have less compulsion to complain to them.

From what the OP described, it sounds like Thailand would become hard for him and his wife to adjust to comfortably. Farang aren't going to change Thais - so unless a visiting/residing farang can find ways to 'go with the flow' of Thai idiosyncrasies (letting their dogs bark all night, very loud pop music at all malls and within all buses, tossing trash in public parks, driving like maniacs, etc) - such things are going to gnaw away of that farang's peace of mind - and cause regret for choosing to reside here.

I try and go with the flow (so to speak) I doubt I could change the Thai way of thinking, I cant even change the way Brits think

There are a lot of things that annoy me in the UK, a lot less annoy me in Thailand (after all its their country)

I live in a street with most of the UN in it, they got all the idiocrancies of their own culture, but hey ho, they get on with it, once my door is shut, I live my own life

As for dogs barking, I got a cockeral that has no idea of time and foxes that love distrubuting the local bin bags everywhere and boy racers with their souped up Clios charging about

I think I would have more problems with understanding the BIB and the Thai definition of law

with my ENGLISH wife, (not a Thai wife or any other import, unless you include Liverpool in that )

My wife is Thai and this is Thailand so I'm the import, not my wife!

As I'm still in the UK, IF I had a Thai wife, she would be the import, but I have no requirements for a Thai bride of any age

If you don't want to worry about currency fluctuations and putting your money in a bank in Thailand you can apply for a non immigrant OA visa. See the following lisk for info but note that #3 has a reference to immigration in Bangkok that is incorrect. You can only apply for this visa outside Thailand.

Link: http://www.mfa.go.th/web/2482.php?id=2493

Also you can earn interest on deposits that you make in a Thai bank.

Yes there is double pricing. But one way to get around that is to get a Thai drivers license( Do I need a residense address for that ? which can be used when going to certain tourist attractions.

The 90 day reports are a pain but not that much and can even be done by mail. They are only to report you are still here along with your current address.

Use some of your free time and go to school and learn some basic Thai. (not a problem, but how manu dialects do I have to pick up ?) It's not that hard to learn.

Your stay here will only be as good as you make it. With the right attitude you will love it and the people will be more friendly than any where in the world. Just show them some respect and they will give in it return. (I always try and give as much respect as I can, even though its not always reciprocated)

Thanks

But I think I'm going to end up like a second class citizen

Based on your post, I say you should consider other more welcoming retirement destinations. Some you can even become a permanent resident over time.

any recommendations ?

Just somewhere thats warm, friendly, currency thats not all over the place, and I dont have to be kept tabs on, just see my time out

Sorry you feel that way.

You posted on the wrong forum so a mod will be moving it shortly.

oops apologies

Just wanted a few replies and maybe advice

Is it still a viable thing to contemplate ?

I was really contemplating moving to Thailand for my retirement in 18 months time, but now I'm wondering if its going to be worth it

I have to have 800.000 bht in a bank which dont pay any interest

I can only buy a condo, asuming its a majority of Thais who own it

I will face a 2 teir system of pricing (Thai and Farang)

I have to contend with a Bht that is all over the place with exchange rates

I have to report every 90 days to immigration to prove I'm still capable of staying

I dont mind getting all the paperwork (like a retirement visa)

But I think I'm going to end up like a second class citizen

All I wanted to do is live out my time in relative comfort, with my ENGLISH wife, (not a Thai wife or any other import, unless you include Liverpool in that )

As much as I like and enjoy the Thai people, I dont like being laughed and spoken about in a language I know very little of (as I have read in the forums here

Are Farangs actually wanted here in Thailand ? (either as tourists or retirees ?)

Can anyone just give me a 'heads up' on this ?

Not a slagging off or a slating, just helpfull advice, please

IS IT worth it ?

dunno how that works out, they're about a quid a tab in London, cheaper if you buy in bulk (+5 or more)

And they are sold quite openly around Regent street, Oxford Circus, Soho, but when the plod appear so do the sellers, but sellers are quite commenly seen

Mainly sellers stick to the clubs, though

Some sel;lers were caught flogging asprin with the E stamped on them, they got away with flogging E's though, but got budsted for not holding a pharmacists licence, punishment............................ 100 hours community service

I have been looking for a subject like this (and after trolling through 50 odd pages, I thought I'd ask in this one, aplogies)

Does anyone have any recommendations for other 'cosmetic' or plastic surgery, for....................

Breast enhancement, tummy tucks, eye surgery, face lifts, ('bags' under the eyes, removal)

My wife asked me to post it in here, so here we are, she isnt a Thai, just a scouse who wants to beat the years, so any advice I can pass on to her about recommendations and prices,

In Pattaya, dont really want to keep traipsing to BKK

they have got to have cosmetic surgery, how would all the LB's get their stuff done, I diont know that they do them for ladies or females though, maybe others here do know (and how much and where?)

I hod lacer sergury ond it worj vewy welk.

also explains the blisters on the right hand

Odd topic title for a post regarding medical services?

Not really any different from asking about anything else, I have seen even stranger requests in the forums and even stranger replies

I was hoping to find someone in here who had actually had any of these treatments and what they thought of them, didnt really know what to put as a title topic, so I just used the hotel name that I stayed at and hoped some people who had the treatments may respond

i had mine done over 5 years ago at BPH.

i have been very happy with the results

Was that the lasik or laser eye surgery ?

Can you pm with cost, hospital care and after service, please ? (unless you dont mind posting here?)

Odd topic title for a post regarding medical services?

Not really any different from asking about anything else, I have seen even stranger requests in the forums and even stranger replies

I was hoping to find someone in here who had actually had any of these treatments and what they thought of them, didnt really know what to put as a title topic, so I just used the hotel name that I stayed at and hoped some people who had the treatments may respond

I stayed at the Areca Lodge recently and I saw lots of people wqearing what looked like safety glasses, it turned out that they had laser surgery on their eyes

Was anyone in these forums among them ?

I'm trying to find out if these laser (or Lasik) eye surgery proceedures are any good, if they were succesful and if they were any cheaper than the UK

Has anyone else ever had it done ?

Has anyone had any other surgery done ? Like tooth implants ? What was the cost and were they any good ?

Are the hospitals any better than the UK ?

Are the surgeons any good, whats the after care like in these hospitals ?

I'm thinking of getting both done, but the cost in the UK is horrendously high, and then there is this MRSA thing (why dont other hospitals outside suffer from this ?)

Any helpful replies would be appreciated

No worries at all mate.

Sounds like you do, sorry if touched a nerve mate.?

Just for your info a ladyboy has a dick and balls so its male.

NOT all the LB's have a full set of meat and two veg, some have spent a lot of money having a 'cut and tuck'

We had a police sargeant and a Airport duty manager who had a 'cut and tuck'

I knew them before they had the full op, it cost them an awful lot of money, but then again it made them happy,

The airport manager used to be a Chelsea boot boy in his younger days, went to every match, had a lot of tatoos, even had CHELSEA inside hgis bottom lip, was always up for a scrap, then he changed, told everyone to call him Karen, and went away for a year and came back as a female, it didnt affect his/her work and didnt stop anyone talking to him/her (but there was an awful lot of piss taking behind his/her back )

He/her told me it had cost 30 grand and was really painful having his beard removed (one hair at a time) and when he had his adams apple shave, he/she couldnt speak for 2 months, but he/she was happy with the results (I can think of something better to do with 30 grand)

He/she is still there and still working at LHR with no problems and dont get no 500thb tricks

I've seen some of the Lady boys, I can understand the attraction after a few beers (and in some cases, BEFORE a few beers)

We watched a bloke (must have been a tourist) chatting to 2 of them, they were quite stunning, and he was chuffed to <deleted> he had pulled a couple of 'stunners' he didnt as much walk, he floated away wiiith one on each arm, we did wonder how he got on (looked like they had both had the 'cut and tuck' so no 'dangly bits'

I think the old maxim does hold true.......................who knows what a bloke likes, but another bloke

I guess they are an attraction to some, I think I rewad somewhere, that they are regarded as something special in some countries and held in high regard

Tiffany's and Alkzar seem to do pretty well from them (whatever happened to the Simon show down walking street ? they used to have show down there, its just a few beer bars now)

I dont mind them, they never done me any harm, they chatted with me and the wife when they werent working (well I think they werent woirking) BUT there are some dog ugly ones outside the Jenny bar

We watched 'Heiniken' girl on beach road (we called her Heiniken girl because of her tee shirt) she did quite a few tricks in a day, but she wasnyt any ladyboy she had hips and wore flip flops (something no lady boy would ever wear)

I dont mind people smoking, I was surprised the price hasnt gone up for them, though, they are still very cheap out there (compared to the UK/US/Europe)

What do you mean. We had an enforced 2 baht per packet tax increase earlier this year "to discourage smoking" , that coupled with the exchange rate has seen my smokes go up from around 75 pence to around 90 pence per packet in the last 6 months, or 20%. It's a disgrace

To put in perspective to those not from the UK, on a trip home last year I took a few cartons with me to ensure that I didn't pay silly UK prices, but one day got caught short and had to buy a pack in a small shop in Central London for £5-90. Ouch.

I saw people buying Marlboro at 65THB and L&H at 59THB, thats a lot cheaper than any European price, but its the beer that affects me more, prices ranged from 50THB to 80 THB for a Singha, thats what I call silly

I have just returned from Pattaya, I saw the ban in place, in all the resturants we used (and rifghtly so) if they wanted to smoke, there were smoking tables outside, but WHAT I cant understand is, the pollution levels are so high, why are the bothered about smoking, sometimes the air stinks of raw sewage (it reminds me of the sanitation block at LHR, its the place they empty the sewage from the aircraft)

All the bars we used, they enforced the ban, UNLESS you were outside the bar and it had an open area, then they just told peple to use the bottle to put their fag ends in, so it wasnt a great problem, BUT as I have said previously, I dont mind people smoking, I was surprised the price hasnt gone up for them, though, they are still very cheap out there (compared to the UK/US/Europe)

Jayman, name and shame the shop, then

I never paid a huge deposit, all I paid was 100bht, that was for 5 shirts, if I dont like them, I wont be paying for them,

why did you pay a huge deposit ?

If they want a big deposit, there must be a problem (its either that or they're worried you wont come back,)

I want to know about any child labour in the making of these siuts, trousers, shirts

If I find out that kids have been making them and they are under age (below 14) they can whistle or sue me for the rest of the money

I have been approached by god knows how many tailors while over here, I know they got to make a living, so in the end I gave in and got a shirt made

I asked who and where these were made, I wasnt very happywith the reply.............

They are made somewhere in South Pattaya and they got very cagey when I asked if kids made them, they said they were very poor people and that they needed the money and work, I'm all for getting people work, but I couldnt find out hjow much these people who make these shirts and suits get in the way of wages

Does anyone know what the conditions these people work in ?

How old are the kids working there ?

WHERE are these factories ?

I have a friend wants me to take back some old holborn or Drum tobacco.

[going back tuesday].

Any idea where I can buy some, anyone?

Thanks in advance. 4.Real

I am pretty sure Friendship on Pattaya Thai has Drum, and I think also in Best Supermarket on the corner of Pattaya Klang/ 2nd Road. Not sure about Old Holborn though.

The airport duty free shop is the cheapest, and they will have golden virginia, holborn and drum