georgegeorgia

I had a Work colleague back in 2009 (58yo)who left everything to go marry and live with his Thai GF in Thailand.

He actually got fired for taking too many "sick days"...yes he was taking weeks at a time to visit Thailand.

Anyway he came back last year and lost all his money from his house sale etc and last i heard was trying to make ends meet driving a Cab on the nightshift here in Farangland because he couldnt find any other job and was broke.

Everytime i spoke to him he would slam Thailand.."oh its a B....d of a place you know !! He would shout.

I do like the older type "shoe box" condo"s that still sell for under 600k.

Whether they are good for investment Im not sure,the rental return seems from 3,000 baht a month up to about 4500.

Yeah the F&C shop i think you refer to is Simons or was Simons...he sold itva few years ago...he didnt like Americans and once had a big fight in his shop with such a customer over a discount coupon...he was from the UK but i heard moved to Sydney Australia.

He had been selling that restaurant for over a year before he finally sold it.

On another note I was walking through the "Day Night" Area just past the Day Night hotel to see a French Restaurant for sale..the banner out the front said there was key money of 500k...not sure if that was a one off payment though or every lease time.

Yeah the F&C shop i think you refer to is Simons or was Simons...he sold itva few years ago...he didnt like Americans and once had a big fight in his shop with such a customer over a discount coupon...he was from the UK but i heard moved to Sydney Australia.

Yes depends on needs vs wants.

One thing that lets the majority yes i did say majority of farangs down is laziness.

Some of us are just too lazy to walk instead we spend money on transportation.

Some of us instead of waitimg for a bus to BKK we will pay triple for a air cond car to take us

We are a inpatient lot and we want fast quick convenient convenience service and we are prepared to psy for it.

so instead of going to say a bigger supermarket with cheaper prices we will go to a 711 because its close and convenient but on some things the prices are higher.

Look i admit when i was staying in jomtien i either used the 711 or that supermarket up the road which was in some prices dearer than the 711.

"Perfectly good and beutiful "????

I guess thats your opinion because in their minds they were "escaping" from that "perfectly good" Country .

I dont want to sound nasty or derail this topic.. but my Mum got cancer late November last year..she ate All Bran every morning,didnt drink or smoke,no sweets and she still got Cancer,just as some of the people that were sharing her hospital ward in the Oncology Ward who were younger wonen who were receiving Chemo that had in their past life been active and lived a healthy lifestyle.

What i saw in the past few months caring for my mother i started to have doubts about eating healthy foods..i saw people who has healthy lifes before now having Cancer.

Opposite my Mums bed was a woman in her 40's who had been a Aerobics instructor..I actually heard her Oncologist telling her they found Cancer markers in her Liver Ribs and Lungs ...he had the curtain pulled around her bed but i could still hear him saying they are concerned it has spread to her bones and would require aggressive treatment.

In other words and he should of just been blunt with her ...theres probsly not much hope.

Someone who had lived a healthy life was now in a bed.

SO I have stopped being concerned about healthy eating.

There was even people in there that had Lung Cancer that never smoked..!!

It just changed me i guess and please if i ever get sick with this disease i will pay someone to shoot me...i dont want to even tell you what i saw these sufferers go through.

I think the doctors do "help" you at the end though and im grateful for my mums doctor increasing her morphine at the end...i was angry with myself at first for agreeing to it but mum couldnt breathe as it spread to her lungs..dont ask me how she got it..only 3 months ago she was an active woman living alone playing bingo

This is why you need to have money behind you...when things like this hapoen either to you or a family member you"ll need the money...i dont care if you have the best heslth insurance i guarantee it wont cover every aspect of cancer treatment...have any of you checked your health insurance in Thailand for this?

Obviously you just have yo get "used" to not having Aircon on all the time..its hard I suppose but if you can do it then you save yourself probaly a few thousand a year.

CanarySun certainly lives even mire as a "Minumalist" more than my friend.

I guess as Larry said a lot of people waste money on things they dont need...for example when i stayed at his condo i washed the dishes...my usual habit was to use a quarter of a bottle in a sink per wash...Larry went berserk and told me one bottle can last him a year.

Becoming a minimalist is more than being frugal,its a lifestyle...its stop wasting things,stop buying things you dont need,stop using things you dont need,stop flying business class when you can use economy,stop using motorbike taxis when you can get a baht bus or better to walk.

Get the bus to Bkk instead of a taxi.

Things like this can be inconvenient but beung a minimalist is a lifestyle not necessarily being a scrooge.

Stop buying biscuits,sweets,soft drinks.

Stop over using dish washing liquids,fabric softeners,cleaning products toothpaste,why waste money on mouthwash.

Stop buying ornaments etc that you dont really need...thai statues etc,

Clean up the clutter and get rid of clutter in your house/room.

Larry's studio was spotless ,no cleaning chemicals either just water and some dishwashing liquid...all the cans of tuna etc was displayed neatly in his cupboard...clothes were folded up neatly etc...toilet was spotlessly clean all without no cleaning chemicals.

No mosquitos as he had some citronella candles burning...his clothes always smelt nice because he used some lavender soap.

Turn off the lights,granted some studios are dark and i also have a habit of turning on lights because i think i can see properly..but if your not using a room turn off electrcity by the powerpoint when your going to bed or leaving.

He had cans of tuna..bread..lettuce..bananas which he bought a bunch of for 20 baht,I know because I went with him,he knew the woman at the market stall well.

Tea ,milk,bread,tuna,bananas,marmalade was what i saw.But he didnt overeat...nor did he eat sweets such as biscuits.

Just wondering what poster CANARYSUN eats on 80 baht a day..i imagine it can still be nutritious and not big meals.

Another thing too,having lived with him at jomtien and also with the girl at Flybird condo both didnt have Aircon, sone dsys the fans worked well and a breeze came on from the open balcony...other days it was hot air blowing,i just need Aircon,not sure if it puts a big expense on your monthly bill or not??

Love all your posts CanarySun...I spent a lot on motorbike taxis,apart from being lazy,the heat and no foothpaths was a reason...a lot of places its just too hard to walk.I suppose if you live here you either buy a motorbike and pay fuel or buy a cycle bike as you have done...or better try to get used to walking.

I just dont trust myself riding a motorbike,my friend Larry walked or got the bus.

As for you living on 80 baht a day grocery bill for food..i dont know how you do it, I imagine a lot of self discilpline?

What about coffee in the morning ?

Do you buy dishwashing liquid etc?

What about laundry expenses

GREAT stuff Benmart !!Love your philosphy of life.

On another note I think I could live minimally in Pattaya too...the only thing is im addicted to coffee and I found that expensive in supermarkets..but if your a pensioner in a bad/crime ridden area in the West just as my friend was then I think Pattaya is more preferable.

The only thing is i must say having lived at my friends condo building and a girls Flybird condo i found the neighbours didnt care about noise in those buildings....constant slamming of doors ...lighting smokey fires outside etc etc

I dont think the air was very healthy somehow either.

I think if it was me i probaly would get a house with a small back garden to sit in rather than a small condo.

But yes I think easily you can live on 20k a month,my friend saves nearly 20k from his 35/38k pension each month.

Granted no rent but still budgets for strata fees which i think was 300 baht per quarter ...cable TV ,sorry i didnt ask him much that was.

Then he has electricity which was very low as he very rarely turned lights on,he had water to pay ,then food bill.

Look I went to my favourite place the Punch and Judy pub for my favourite bangers and mash 190 baht,my friend Larry was right when he said do you do this everyday in Farangland and the answer is no of course not...so you wouldnt go out everynight in Pattaya either.

One place I loved was having breakfast at Simple Simons 120 b in Jomtien..i thought you cant get better value than that even making it yourself..but as my friend Larry said you would get sick of this every morning if you lived here in Pattaya...probaly...but i do doubt you can make such a breakfast at home for 120b.

I guess another Pattaya Forum where likeminded individuals may be able to help you...I cant give the link but it has the words "Pattaya" and " addicts" in its name.

Yes I agree,I think when most of us get tonover 70yo we would go for that "minimalist" lifestyle if we are still single.

Of course people such as my friend choose to be single rather than have a partner because they are "independent", I was going to say "loners" but that would be the wrong word to describe him/them.

He hated anyone doing anything for him and didnt like to rely on other peo0le,well thats what he kept telling me not to rely on others,not even sure what that means but yes he is too independent.

Im not I need other people around me,I cant live by myself,I wonder how many others live independently and prefer it that way ?

Our needs change as we get older,my friend who was 75yo going on 76 in May,lead a minimalist lifestyle ,well thats the way he described it,enjoyed watching his TV on the balcony most days,had his tuna and cucumber sandwiches for lunch every day with a cup of tea,read nearly a new book every week,went walking every morning at 630am,that was his life but didnt want to use a computer !

I remember he had a scrapbook where he wrote down everything he spent.

He was in bed most nights with a book by 10pm,and i really liked him because he still had all his marbles so to speak and hated whingers and whiners ...such as me lol.

OMG 2 years and you havent been back !!!

empty yes...i've just come back and it never looked like the high seasons of say 10 years ago.The place was practically empty,no waiting for baht buses,plenty of space,hardly any people really.

Yes smart people with an opinion are unwanted here...

He mightn't be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I would dearly love to know how Tim Ward has maintained a current visa for so many years while others have been shown the door. As for opinions, he's never short in that department - I could only shake my head when one of my Thai associates told me her brother thinks he's 'cool' after his tirade at the Pattaya cop shop.

Not the sharpest tool ? Mmmmm..i read somewhere in one Australian newspaper that he was one of the richest residents of Queensland.

Well im surprised ! He must be selling his website i would of imagine or already sold it?

Yeah he seems desperate to go.."only 1 more year " he says ...omg ..lol..some of us are counting the days to go back to Thailand .he's counting the days to leave !!

JPINX Your right about the safety net and thats what Larry the guy i boarded with for a few nights told me.

The point is this,you need money for medical care,particulary if you dont have insurance in Thailand AND not all treatment is covered by insurance,its ok saying you have health insurance in Thailand but when shit hits the fan does it cover say different types of Cancer treatments? Is Chemotherapy covered? Radiation ? Etc..what about when the Oncologist says sorry i cant do anymore for you? Is Palliative Care covered ?Is home nursing covered? Pain injections ?.if not then you either go back to your home country which in some cases certain Cancer treatment is still not free from the Govt or there is a big waiting list for hospital radiation etc then you pay out of your own pocket to get fast treatment from a private facility.

Thats when you need money behind you,not that they can do much for you anyway once you get that insideous disease but at least you have options with money.

Of course once they suggest Palliative Care treatment in which thry tell you "sorry we cant do anymore for you,you probaly have about 3 to 4 months to live you can go home from the hospital theres nothing more we can do for you here""..thats when you need money behind you to arrange home care...your better off staying in Thailand anyway to die because I can see no sense in going back to your home country where you will either go into a hospice or a nursing home to pass away, far better to have money behind you and emply home nursing in Thailand.Does your health insurance cover home nursing?

Dont think it will never happen to you.

No I have been sick the last few weeks so i wanted to be around people.

Secondly money from inheritance doesnt move that fast,it takes awhile waiting for death certificates etc.

Yes i also did stay at a girlfriends flat which was at Flybird where i got sick and left.ok.

As for saving money when your elderly...My Mother saved her money before she died recently and was very frugal.

No she didnt take it with her.

I think most elderly people are frugal.

A block of Land? Omg looks like a big swimming pool? Whoever buys that as the real estate agent said in his email.has to deal with the pond on your land.

Wow...must be hard to actually "save" any money living on 30k especially with a family...i couldnt do it !

Hard to say Paddy.The guy im talking about isnt poor he has cash saved in the bank.

But he kept telling me over and over not waste money because you never know when you might really need it someday.

I will say this,I looked up to him as a kind of father figure because he was one of those people who can look after themselves without the need of a support person,im not like that unfortunately.

I wish i could live by myself too but I cant i need people around me,my Mother was the same as Larry and lived alone and looked after herself when Dad passed away.

No I watched him most times wash his t shirts in the sink or soak them and then hang on the balcony.

On one ocassion i remember him telling me there was a washing machine downstairs I think 20 baht by memory.

Im half his age ,I admire him for his lifestyle,watching TV on his balcony,sipping tea,reading books,going out everyday other day but not spending anything other than occassionaly in a food court.

Could I do that? I dont know,I probaly would get bored,what would i do all day,maybe at his age its different?

He said its no different to his life in Australia except he prefers it in Pattaya.

Look quite frankly I would get bored,i need a job to go to or something to do but then again im not old as him.

What do you do sit in your house all day watch TV ,read books ,go out some days to meet people in a bar or food court,not really exciting but can be done if your a minimalist person .