newnative

76.6 million and counting. And Harris currently at 74 million and counting. Trump was originally over 5 million votes ahead immediately after the election. That has shrunk to about half. He has also dropped to under 50% of the popular vote so, if that holds, in all 3 presidential elections he has been unable to get 50% of the voters to support him.

Terrible decision.

Thank you for making my point. In the same set of stories, there was one about a foreign tourist falling to their death at a Korat mall. That was buried way down in the list of stories while, of course, the very minor Pattaya story about a drunk tourist was the top story of the day. You are correct that Pattaya residents were left out this time. Possibly because we were still 'shocked' and in a 'panic' regarding the minor condo fire the day before.

Stop the presses!

Thank you! My on-line has been working well, too. I can't remember the last time I did one in person.

Thank you. Another poster said he was able to do his on-line so perhaps depends on the Immigration office.

Great to know! Thanks!

Because I am a rational, sane person with a thinking brain. As such, I have many considerations when I am choosing where to move to as a place to live. It's a sizeable list of boxes to check off of things I would like to have in the place I select. While it would be nice if the place I select to move to had majority vote for presidential elections, it would not be on my list of boxes to check off. Fun fact. While no place ever checks all the boxes, Pattaya comes closest for me in Thailand.

I just did mine on-line for Jomtien. Submitted it yesterday, Sunday, and got the email with the new slip to download today. That's fast. Super easy--when it works. Traveling out of the country in December so I am keeping fingers crossed that the next one I submit on-line will go thru--although posters have indicated you have to go in person after going abroad. We'll see--maybe that will be fixed by then.

Nonsense.

I believe it was 92%, not 82%. Whichever, like you, I have no idea where you might have pulled that ludicrous Pattaya crime figure from, although I could probably take a guess.

Saw the headline and thought maybe I'd just awakened from a 'long, national nightmare' and it was January 1, 2029.

I prefer popular vote, like all are elected other than the president. Easy to see which candidate the majority of the voters wanted as president. In 2016 it was Clinton. In 2020 it was Biden. In 2024 it was Trump. Simple.

Nonsense. The small population states are already well-protected by having the same number of senators as a big state like California. Plus representative(s) in the House based on state population.

I will be 73 next month. I will be paying $700 a month this coming year for hospitalization only, with April International Insurance based in Paris, France. (Not to be confused with Paris, Texas. Ha Ha.) I switched to just hospitalization coverage a couple years ago when having outpatient and hospitalization became too expensive. This year I am paying $605 a month so it will be increasing $95 a month. My COLA increases next year with my SS and pension will likely just about cover the $95. But, of course, some other things have also increased in price so I am losing ground with my budget.

This is one of the things I hate about the Electoral College. You look at that map, almost all red, and, if you had to guess you might think that Trump won 90% of the vote. My goodness, RED everywhere! The reality is, you win a county or a state by 1 vote and you get red on the map. He won the popular vote decisively, just as Clinton did in 2016 and Biden did in 2020. But, you look at the EC map and, as I said, you'd think the vote was 90% to 10% when in reality it was 48% to 51%.

And, 'I can almost guarantee' that whatever the "happening" is, it will be blown way out of proportion, as this story was, by AN, and likely the Pattaya residents will be collectively described as 'shocked', 'outraged', 'terrorized', or some such other ridiculous, inappropriate moniker. Some will think it's all harmless but I believe it was you who posted that 92% of the crime in Thailand was committed in Pattaya. When I called you on it, you then stated that it was your 'impression' based on reading AN. So, with you, and likely others, your very negative and also false 'impression' of Pattaya, and its amount of crime, directly relates to how AN covers Pattaya "happenings". Pattaya is a big city, and has been in the top 20 of most visited cities in the world. It hosts huge numbers of tourists. Of course there will be "happenings", just as there are in Phuket, Bangkok, and other tourist destinations with large numbers of visitors. I think I can 'almost guarantee' that if there are "happenings" on the same day in Bangkok, Phuket, and Pattaya, the one in Pattaya will get top billing. Gotta maintain your 'impression' that 92% of the crime in Thailand occurs in Pattaya.

Plenty of Thais own condos in my Bangkok condo project. The fact that many Bangkok condo projects still have foreign quota available after the project has sold out or almost sold out points to many of the units being purchased by Thais, in Thai name, leaving foreign quota still available for what is left or for when something comes up for resale. If there wasn't a market, these projects would not get built. And, when a market slows for one type of housing, developers will shift to other types, such as single family homes, which you are seeing with some of the developers. And, not just Bangkok. Supalai built a condo project in Pattaya some years ago but has recently been doing townhouses. Not all Thais are being forced out of housing. There are plenty of Thais with money. My Thai brother-in-law recently bought a home in a Bangkok suburb. Single family 2-story 3 bedroom house in a nice gated project by one of the big Bangkok developers. 6.5MB, unfurnished. Driving through the project a number of times, we saw mostly Thais, including two Thai families that had also just bought across the street from my brother-in-law, the last units left in the large housing project. Also almost all Thai owners in my sister-in-law's upper middle class housing project. Contrary to the wisdom of some Asean Now posters, not all farangs are poor and not all Thais are poor, either. Of course, there are Thais who have been priced out of owning in expensive center city areas and others who have to make longer commutes to afford something to rent or buy. And, plenty who would like to own a mansion--including me--but can only afford something smaller--also including me. That is certainly not unique to Thailand. It was exactly the same where I lived in the US. Welcome to the real world.

It's an older project, but well-maintained. It's desirable for location, location, location and for not having much in the way of competition in that very wanted, for some, area of Pattaya. Other factors are not a huge number of units, less than 200, with the smallest unit 64 sqm. In many new projects the largest units would run around that size. The second building in the project offers very large units, 1 per floor, of around 270 sqm.

Nobody is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to buy or rent a 'ridiculously expensive' condo, here or anywhere else. I certainly do agree with you that there are condo projects, and also not just here, that are ridiculously expensive. As dear old Dad used to say, 'Too rich for my blood'. That holds true, by the way, for many other things, from women's pocketbooks to automobiles. There are lots of watches that are ridiculously expensive, for example. But, no requirement to buy one. I could spend $5,000 for a watch but I don't want to. Watches don't interest me that much. I'm happy with my inexpensive sports watch that counts my steps and tells me I've been sitting too long. I'd rather put my money towards another property, or stocks. That's me. Others covet owning expensive timepieces or jewelry or cars and more power to them. As always, whatever floats your boat. As far as Bangkok condos go, should you want to rent or buy, there is a huge choice. You're not limited to Sinhorn Lumpini, 98 Wireless, The Embassy, or any other super high-priced project. There's likely a condo to fit your budget, whether you are renting or buying. Spouse and I have a condo in a nice project steps away from the Phetchaburi MRT station. 1 bedrooms that are 48 to 52 sqm rent for around 25,000 baht a month. About $714. Wonder what something like that would rent for in a nice center city doorman project in New York City. I think you will find that your 'huge number' of condos built has kept prices affordable, rather than driven them up. Especially true for rentals.

We didn't buy 20 properties at once. They were bought one at a time, starting in December 2009. Thai spouse and I fixed each one up, usually while we lived in it, sold it at a profit, and then used the money we made to buy the next one, usually a little bigger. We started with a studio condo as that was all we could afford when we moved to Thailand. Although our finances are much better than when we arrived and I suppose we could move somewhere else, we still find Thailand a great place to live. We especially like Pattaya, which has a huge variety of housing on offer, both in condos and houses, at all price points. There's also the big and diverse year-round expat community and we have made some nice friends. Pattaya has changed tremendously since we first arrived in 2010, and we find it checks the most of our wants and needs boxes in a place to live year-round than anywhere else in Thailand.

Yes, and for the exact reason you state--they really, really want to be in that building. Northshore comes to mind, among others.

He certainly hasn't helped my stock portfolio the last few days.

Add a clothes dryer next to the washing machine and you're set.

I doubt it. I certainly wouldn't be interested in it at all--and my Thai spouse and I have bought about 20 properties in Thailand, a mix of condos and houses.