newnative

Yes, and thank goodness for that! Biden, knowing the election is a race, wisely encouraged voters to start the race early and vote in advance by mail, which they did in record numbers. And, yes, your 'same person'--Biden--received the majority of the votes cast by mail. Dumb as a doorknob Trump, against the sound advice of the Republican Party, repeatedly and loudly encouraged his voters to hold their votes and not start the race until Election Day--which they did. So, intelligence-challenged Trump handed Biden a vast head start in the race to get voters to cast their votes. Biden had months to find his voters and get their votes mailed in, Trump had just the hours of Election Day. A case could be made that had Trump also early and strongly embraced mail-in voting he might have been able to get enough extra votes to win some of the close states he lost and secure an electoral win through the cursed Electoral College, even though he would have lost the popular vote badly, as he did in 2016.

Per today's news I'm looking forward to his 'perp walk'. Hope he puts his suit jacket over his head to cover his face like all the scum do. Lock him up already.

Whether there is or isn't a vague and unspecified 'glut of empty properties', it does not determine what an individual property will sell for. A 'glut' of something is only useful information if it is specific. If there is a glut of unsold Chevy Malibus, that is useful information if one is in the market for a Malibu. Not useful at all if one is shopping for a Corvette and there is a 6-month waiting list. With real estate, the important question is this: Is there a glut of the type of property you are selling or buying, in the location where you are selling or buying? If there is an oversupply of X, at location Y, and not enough buyers of X, at location Y, then prices are not going to rise and there will be none of your 'fleecing'. Supply and demand. Also no fleecing with the reverse. A buyer willingly buying something he or she wants at the price on offer is not being fleeced. My partner and I like a certain suv model but we feel it is hugely over-priced in Thailand and we will buy something else when it's time to trade our suv. If there are multiple selections on offer, the buyer has the choice to not buy a certain product. This morning on Facebook an agent posted for sale a 67 sqm 1 bedroom seaview foreign quota condo at Northpoint in Wong Amat for 9MB. Someone commented that no buyer could be 'this stupid' to pay that much. He pointed out that a smaller 1 bedroom at Cetus in Jomtien could be had for less. The problem with his argument is Cetus is in Jomtien. Not to mention other things that come into play, such as 1 bedroom unit sizes available and project amenities. The main factor is a buyer looking for a large 1 bedroom seaview foreign quota condo in Wong Amat at a high-end project is likely not interested in what is for sale in Jomtien--or anywhere else. The buyer will be dealing with supply and demand for that specific condo type--seaview 1 bedroom of a minimum size in foreign quota in a high-end project-- in that specific area, Wong Amat. I could never get Leaver to understand this. The Facebook poster criticizing the Northpoint price needs to educate himself on what the supply and demand is for seaview foreign quota 1 bedroom condos in Wong Amat in high-end projects. He will find that supply is limited and demand is increasing now that Thailand has opened up again.

Exactly.

As others have said, all of them, but especially the very noisy ones and those driven by tourists, who too often have no experience and don't know what the heck they are doing.

We've come to the same conclusion--go in early before the hordes start arriving.

We drove into town yesterday, too, in the early afternoon and the Motorway was backed up a long ways to turn right onto Sukhumvit. Luckily we were turning left to do some shopping at Index and Home Pro. Traffic is getting busier and busier but especially on weekends.

Getting to Big CX we just have the traffic light turning right off the Motorway and then we go the back way in using the road that goes behind Boonthavorn and Home Pro--don't know the name.

I don't know about getting to Villa but I live next to Lake Mabprachan and I can be at Big C South Pattaya in 15 minutes. Hop on the Motorway by Miniera, no toll, and there's not even a traffic light till I get to Big C. Index, Home Pro, Boonthavorn, Bangkok Hospital, etc. are all 15 minutes or so by car.

Scary what is happening in America. Recently there was another case of a well-respected and liked Florida college professor being fired after just a single complaint from a parent who objected to his curriculum, which he had been using for many years. Spineless administration.

What arrogance. The HK tourist did not 'damage' Thai tourism. No, that was the deeply embarrassing, luckily not fatal, accident that did the damage. And, no, the cord was, obviously, not 'ok'. Nor, no doubt, was the 'inspection'.

I applaud your attention to detail--it will pay off for you. Good advance, careful planning is so important. I'm a very visual person; I'm ok with a floorplan and doing a furniture layout on paper but, for me, sometimes I need more. In a recent project, I was having a custom cabinet made to hide a very awkward load-bearing notch (jog) right in the center of the dining room wall. The notch was about 30 cm deep.. Normally, you might put a major piece of art on the wall but the deep notch prevented that. One solution might have been art on one side of the notch and custom shelves built into the notch area. I decided I wanted a floor-to-ceiling cabinet to hide the ugly notch and also provide side storage that took advantage of the deeper part of the wall. The front of the cabinet facing the dining table would house a big piece of art, slightly recessed and framed by the cabinetry, a sleek high-gloss acrylic. The deep side of the cabinet would have a hidden side door to the storage area. The tricky part was getting the cabinet dimensions just right--I didn't want it to be too shallow or too deep for the space. The dining space was not large and I wanted to make sure people could still comfortably walk around the dining table. I found the best way for me to visualize and adjust the dimensions was to make paper patterns of the dining table, chairs, and the cabinet. Laid out on the floor, I could see exactly how much space I had for the dining table and chairs. The cabinet pattern allowed me to adjust the depth for the dining space and see the approximate amount of storage I would have in the cabinet. The pattern also allowed me to make sure the built-in cabinet would be perfectly centered on the wall. The result turned out beautifully. I've used patterns in other projects, as well, including a house currently being constructed. The kitchen will have an island that drops down on one side to a dining table seating 6. The space is again tight so I made a paper pattern of the island and the table to put them in place in the space and see how the fit was and check all the spacing. When the pattern was in place, my partner and I could see that an adjustment needed to be made in the length and the positioning of the island--what looked ok on paper was not quite right when we saw it in the actual space. Good luck with your new home!

You're right, it's a disgrace--and a nightmare to drive. Meanwhile, I see little in the way of improvement. Did they plant any trees? No. Did they bury any of the overhead wires? No. Did they construct a permanent median in the middle to tame some of the madness, with designated crossings and designated turning lanes? No. It's taking forever to do, frankly, I don't know what. On the bright side, as soon as they are done, if they are ever done, they will be back shortly to tear everything up again and, perhaps, do some of the above that they forgot this go-round.

Learn to be a glass half-full guy. Rejoice that the pool is open to foreigners. Cheer that not only is it open to foreigners but the price is so reasonable. Smile that you are in Thailand, life is good, and have a nice, refreshing swim. Or, let such a very small thing like a Thai citizen getting a break on pricing ruin your day.

One of my Dad's favorite expressions was, "We're all just penciled in." None of us is inked in permanently, we can all be erased at any time, young or old. He lived to 95 and was active right till the end. The 80-year old might outlive the OP; certainly likely to outlast him at work with the OP's poor attitude and, apparently even poorer work habits, being called in to HR. I like the fact that the 80-year old is looking to the future, making future plans, and not thinking his life is over. Bravo. The OP could take a lesson.

Exactly. OP paid 15,000 baht to secure the property for himself. Seller took the property off the market, reserved it for the OP, and turned down any other offers that may have come in. OP decided not to buy; seller retains the non-refundable deposit as payment for his work, the possibly lost customers, and the wasted time he will never get back. As others have said, always take your time, don't be pressured, and have a written contract you are happy with before turning over any money.

Trump has never won anything in a 'landslide'. Lost the popular vote in 2016 and did massively worse in 2020. The majority of voting Americans did not want him in either election. Rejected by the voters, no landslide. Total loser in both elections, saved in 2016 by the cursed Electoral College.

About time. And add a new inciting a riot charge to go with the one from Jan. 6.

Finally.

I thought Leaver was.

I'll counter your two examples with two of mine. My parents lived to 95 and 101. It makes no sense to question government statistics simply because they don't fit your personal observations. In 1995 Thailand's median population age was 26.6. In 2020 it was 40.1. Thailand is considered an Aging Society by population statistics. By 2031 it's slated to join Japan as a Super-Aged Society. When my partner and I are in Bangkok we ride the subway a lot. I am usually the oldest person among those I observe; most of the Thai riders look to be in their 20s and 30s. By my personal observation, Thailand would appear to still be back in 1995 with the median age 26.6. Obviously, not the case. By the way, do you spend much time in nursing homes, retirement communities, etc.? That's likely where a lot are 'hiding'.

Plenty of newer used planes sitting around. Buy one of them.

Sloppy, especially the lousy security camera setup.

My partner and I routinely do most of 'all that' on BigStar's list. We go to the gym 3 times a week in the morning. The other mornings we enjoy our pool before getting to our day. He still works a freelance job so he attends to that and I assist when I can with the paperwork. We socialize with friends and have his extended Bangkok family visit us when they have time. We're in the process of buying a house being built by a developer so we've been involved quite a bit with that--tweaking the house design to our tastes, selecting tiles, wallpaper, drapes, cabinets, appliances, landscaping, etc. It's been an interesting and, at times, challenging project--and still early days. We spend around 5 or 6 days in Bangkok each month--nice that it's nearby. Like many other Pattaya expats, we like to travel and were in Europe in December and we likely will take several trips this year, now that travel has opened up. We both have our hobbies and interests. I like to swim and read, partner has taken up badminton. We both like the movies, the previously mentioned travel, and discovering new restaurants and interesting shops. There's a wonderful, fun, and interesting large warehouse-type store on the Darkside filled with all sorts of stuff from Japan that you'd probably like if you ventured out a bit. Sometimes when family visits we'll rent a boat and all go snorkeling. As homeowners, there are always things to do with the house, improvements and changes to be made, and so on. You may have noticed no mention of lying on the beach or hanging out in bars--nothing wrong with either but just not our thing. I think there are many Pattaya expats like us, living a nice life here and pursuing the things that interest them. Sorry you've missed running in to many of them.

I'm curious. When you are living somewhere else, what everyday activities are you doing?