rickudon

Doesn't mean you have to get more rain overall - Just more likely to get more in one go - that is what causes the problems. In some areas. e.g. Isaan, trend seems to be less rain, although this year has been an exception so far

Gus is still going strong. Only 4 of us left. Ray (Indian born chap, you should remember him from the night market meet ups) not so much, currently in ICU.

Lets cut all the bull<deleted>. Are a lot of Thai drivers bad drivers? Yes. Full stop. I routinely have to avoid drivers driving the wrong way up roads, undertaking on the left then turning right (often without indication), driving straight out of side roads and only THEN looking to see where vehicles are, not stopping at Zebra crossings; should i continue? Lack of driver education and zero law enforcement are major contributing factors. Fortunately i expect most drivers actually want to die/kill me and drive accordingly. 15 years driving in Thailand and have never caused an accident. Otherwise everything else @kwilco posts are the typical caricatures of Expats in Thailand. Some truth there, And about as accurate as all Nigerians are scammers.

Unlikely that i will leave, except if health issues become unaffordable if staying in Thailand ( i have one chronic issue which will likely require me to make that assessment in about 3-5 years). Debanking? I do not require a Thai bank account apart for my 400,000 baht visa extension. I have UK credit and debit cards for most needs. Income tax? Under current Thai income tax rules, as a pensioner I wouldn't have any taxable income. Jingoism? Thank god i am not a Yank. Trump doing his best to make you become the most loathed nationality in the World! Visa issues? well if they did make dramatic changes , myself and many others might have to leave. But it would make a lot of Thai wives mad at that government. I at least have relatives back in the UK War? Fortunately not close to the Cambodian border. If China was going to physically invade Thailand, not sure anywhere in the world would be safe, as probably would go global to some degree. UK would likely be nuked by Russia in that case.

Well, i have lived in Udon Thani for 15 years. It was the first place i ever visited in Thailand (not counting passing through Bangkok) and have never felt any desire to live anywhere else, although i do like Hua Hin for holidays. Pattaya? Dirty beach, overbuilt, polluted and only fit for sexpats and alcoholics. Chiang Mai? unliveable for 3 or more months a year. Bangkok? too big, too smelly and everyone trying to rip you off (especially taxi drivers). In Udon you have a city big enough to have all the infrastructure you need, plenty of shopping choices, people are far more accepting of Farangs and if you had too, can walk anywhere in the city in an hour or two. Immigration not much of a hassle. I live in a house 5 km from the city centre, can get anywhere by car in 30 minutes. Have a large garden where i grow vegetables and a bit of fruit, and a small farm with fishing ponds (i am an angler), easy to relax. Although monitors say pollution levels are moderate outside of wet season, those monitors are on main roads - i am one kilometre from the ring road and in the last 10 years have only needed to turn on my air purifier about 10 times. Play cards once a week (Bridge). Never lack for something to do. Have wife and daughter (there are reasonable, affordable school options). Airport only 10 km by car. The pace of change up here is tremendous, compared to 15 years ago, totally modernised - roads are often better than the UK! 15 years ago no internet in the village, now have fibre and Netflix. Gripes - a bit to hot.

If there is enough water in summer.....

Sensationalised reporting doesn't help the climate issue, just gives ammunition to deniers. Yes, sea level is rising (currently at about 3 mm per year). This rise is not uniform, there are many factors which affect local sea level, from crustal movements (which can be up or down), thermal expansion and changes to ocean currents. The real problems are that a small increase in sea level means an increase in coastal erosion, especially where the coast line is not hard rock - hence the temple now surrounded by the sea. For Bangkok, the issue currently is more to do with flood water - heavier rainfall and the slowly rising sea level means that drainage is an ever increasing issue.

Rye multigrain at my Go wholesale is only 59 baht and every day many bakery products half price after lunch. Have to stop going because the freezer is full!

Had to sell my dream home in UK because the nagging ex-wife ran up substantial debts, Couldn't imagine spending my declining years being screamed at half the time, or god forbid live in some sheltered housing for the over 50's wondering if the kids would ever come to visit. Never got to own my own fishing lake. So I came to Thailand, had half a dozen 30 year olds eager to please me ( not from the bars) and one had a house and family fish ponds. Problem solved!

Of all the farang people who i met 15 years ago who ran businesses here in Isaan, all but one are either dead or fled.

Ok England. You have left out maintenance costs, that is why most students now end up with debts of 50,000 GBP. Medical students can double that; it will take most of them 20-30 years to pay off so actual repayments will be up to double that. Jobs are not easy. Warwick is only middle rated. My son did a masters at Cambridge, most of his friends from there do jobs with little relevance to their degree. My son is now earning more than the national average, but still cannot afford a house in London (where his job is). He is in his 30's. HGV driver has a house.... USA universities are not necessarily expensive; if you go in state, average is $9,750 a year. In the UK, 20 years ago going to University was a no brainer. Now, it is a choice with consequences, you need to be successful to come out ahead. A little sum for you:- assuming a 50 year working life (47 or less for graduates), we get Graduate - 47 x average salary of 35,000 GBP a year = 1.645 million GBP - say 100,00 gbp for student debt repayments, = 1.545 million GBP. No university - 50 x average salary of 30,000 GBP a year + 1.5 million. So a graduate needs to earn about 5.000 GBP a year more than a non graduate to be fractionally better off..... with so many graduates most white collar wages are no longer that superior. e.g., HGV drivers, train drivers earn more!

State schools are free in the UK, University isn't. To send a child to University costs about 50,000 GBP, and student loan interest rates are not cheap. The days of good jobs for University graduates has gone. It typically takes an average of 6 months to get anything other than a menial job, most will not find a job relevant to their degree and many Graduates will not earn more than non-graduates when you take into account the cost of University student debt and 3 years of lost work. In Thailand, state schools may not accept free non-Thai students, there is a language issue and they may not be allowed to get Thai qualifications. What jobs will the parents be able to get (teachers are meant to have a degree). HGV driving is not an allowed occupation. Getting a decent Thai pension is hard. The only working Farangs i have met in Thailand have either been teachers or run bars, restaurants or hotels (and usually had a Thai partner). Most didn't last long. Visas, health and many bureaucratic hurdles will also arise. He already owns a house in the UK, something out of reach for many in the UK. He cannot in Thailand. I think he is mad to move to Thailand with his family and no real plan. To live in Thailand, you either need a real job offer, a pension or a million GBP in the bank if not working..

Last time i was up there, it was another Thai Watsadu. Still hardly any customers!

Trumps tariffs are too high, even for friendly countries. In the short term, USA will make money on the tariffs, but all the exporting countries are now looking for new markets. Soon the USA will be adrift alone on global trade, with the rest of the world imposing high tariffs on USA goods. None of the trade 'deals' has come into effect yet - there is a hell of a lot of details to thrash out before the actual deals are signed.; anyway can you trust Trump not to cancel a deal at the slightest disagreement, either political or trade related. Meanwhile, prices in the USA will be rising - consumers, both domestic and business will actually be paying them. Rest of the world will see there export volumes fall which will hit growth. China knows what to do - they are busy negotiating zero tariff deals with African countries - all those raw materials will go to China. I am actually pro tariff - at sensible levels. It is in every countries interest to be self reliant in their production, both agricultural and industrial. Zero tariffs only on those things you cannot make yourself. Countries have to protect themselves from dumping destroying their own production. Getting flooded by cheap corn and soya, destroying your own agricultural system is not good for your economy and employment.

My go to place for white goods is Makro in Udon Thani (the old store, not the new one on the ring road).First, because it is a regular place to shop so easy to browse the electrical stuff while you are there; secondly, because prices are usually good. Also will sometimes browse other places (BigC, Dohome. Homepro) but usually cheaper at Makro. Probably bought 75% of all our kitchen electrical stuff there. Also Fans, TV.