newnative

Oh, dear. Now Pattaya is 'teetering on the edge of chaos'. Wasn't it just the other day that Pattaya residents were in a 'panic' about something or other. And, before that something had 'shocked' all the residents, only after having just gotten over being 'terrorized' by something else I can't remember it was so forgettable. I suspect we hardy residents will survive living on 'the edge of chaos', as well. Meanwhile, enjoyed a good laugh with the article, especially the part about the venders just setting up shop again when the coppers leave. Hmm. Maybe don't leave then. Establishing a regular police presence in such a popular tourist area could be just the ticket, and might even prevent us going over 'the edge of chaos'. By the way, just thinking that The Edge of Chaos sounds like a good movie title for one of those cheesy disaster flicks.

Incorrect. In reality, European and USA tourism to Thailand was not on the decline, pre-covid. That includes every European country tracked. Only Australia declined slightly in the period from 2015 to 2019. Asian tourism, especially from China and India, increased much more during that period but western tourism did not decline, and is starting to recover since international travel has reopened. Seeing more Asian and Indian tourists everywhere perhaps left the impression that there were less western tourists but that was not actually the case, except for slightly fewer Australians. The whole debate of 'quality' vs. 'quantity is totally ludicrous, anyway. France, about the size of Thailand, attracts 60 million international visitors a year, double what Thailand will host this year. Like Thailand, those 60 million are a mix economically. That's the way it needs to be when you are a big country with a big tourism industry to support. And, that's the way it absolutely needs to be with a huge number of hotel rooms to fill each day, and the majority not 5-star but a mix from budget hostels to super-expensive and everything in-between. Neither France nor Thailand is tiny Monaco when it comes to tourism. TAT can give lip service to attracting 'quality' tourists but that's all it is--talk. A diverse economic tourist mix is always needed with a tourism industry as huge as Thailand's. This was shown not long ago when there were several articles from Thai tourism folk complaining that Thailand was getting enough high-end tourists but not enough lower-end tourists to fill those types of hotel rooms--which was certainly a switch from what you might have expected. Plenty of high-end but not enough low-end. Who'd have thunk it.

It's a huge market, and always has been. Lots of wealthy gays with no kids to tie them down and plenty of time for travel. Thailand should definitely benefit by being seen as now being even more gay friendly with marriage rights. With covid shutting international travel down for a couple of years, many, not just gays, are ready to make up those lost travel years.

We love our pool and use it about every day, weather permitting. Sometimes twice a day. Our pool is 3m x 9m and salt water, which we really like. 3 x 9 is a good size for us--not too big or too small--and it fits on our lot well. We pay 1500 baht a month for our pool guy, plus the cost of supplies, and he comes 3 times a week and pretty much does everything. Bargain. We have mostly palms near the pool to cut down on the number of leaves blowing into the pool and the pool stays very clean. The pool guy has a front gate key and lets himself in to do the cleaning so we don't need to be home. If we go away traveling he will water our outdoor plants as needed. We keep a small hand net that we use now and then if something gets in the pool between the pool guy's visits but that is about it for our work. A pool is a big asset in Thailand that I think it worth keeping and maintaining.

Get a job. Be responsible. Don't travel if you can't afford it.

Looking forward to it, also. The first two seasons were great. Terrific the third season is set in Thailand.

Boo hoo.

The guard rail did its job. Driver would have likely survived had he been wearing a seatbelt.

Methinks you protest too much. Relax and have another Guenther Steiner burrito.

I'm not wrong that you can get a burrito for less than $28 in LA, and most other places in the US. Not sure what else remains to be wrong about. There's no question that prices are high in the US. Your post, and the other guy's with the 2 breakfasts for $60 and 2 hamburgers and 1 beer for $62, both left the impression that if you want a burrito, hamburger, or breakfast in the US, that's what it will cost you these days. You can pay that much, and much more, but you aren't forced to. Luckily, restaurants are one area where you have some control on prices, unlike gas, water and electric rates, trash collection fees, Netflix, etc. If a Guenther Steiner limited edition burrito for $28 seems too pricey for your budget, there are other restaurants offering more reasonably priced choices where you can take your business, and easy to find them on Google.

Got it. You chose the exclusive, only available for a limited time 'Guenther Steiner Burrito'. Nothing wrong with that. But, then you complain to us that you had to pay $28 for a burrito and call the US prices 'crazy'. That's a bit like choosing a $5,000 Rolex over a $50 Timex and then complaining about the high price of watches. I think even in pricey LA one can find a burrito for less than $28. Did a Google search and it looked like there were a number of LA restaurants with burritos in the $10 range.

Take a look at the Electoral College map that a member posted early in the thread. Most red states also have blue areas, including all of the warmer southern states. So, you could pick a blue area in, say, Florida or one of the other warm weather states. The problem with the EC is it leaves a very damaging false impression. A state can lose the presidential election by one vote and, suddenly, it is either a blue or a red state. Do I move if my once blue state is now red in this election, or vice versa? Not me. Other far more important considerations would determine where I would choose to live in the US, if I still lived there. Recently saw some stats that showed Dems and Reps made up around 32% to 33% of the voters and Independents/No answer were around 35%. So, in most states, you're not going to be overrun by either Dems or Reps. There will be a mix of both, plus lots of Independents.

You can always find similar food at triple or more the price from one restaurant to another restaurant--even here in Thailand. Not much of a gauge of anything. You spent $60 for 2 breakfast meals. If you were on a tighter budget, likely there were other places with cheaper breakfasts on offer. And, probably there are local Mom and Pop cafes offering breakfast choices for less than $30 each, plus the fast food chains that do breakfast. Ditto for hamburger joints. I don't know southern CA but I used to live in Reston, VA, a pricey area outside of DC. Used to eat at a popular, nice local restaurant there called the Silver Diner, built to look like an old-fashioned diner. Checked their current menu and a cheese omelet with biscuit and home fries can be had for $10.99. Their avocado toast breakfast with eggs is $13.79. Western omelet for $13.19. Burgers with your choice of toppings, also $13.19. When I last lived there in 2010 prices were about half that for those types of meals so prices at that restaurant have about doubled. Maybe not too bad for 14 years, and still not 60 bucks for 2. I think most places in America you don't necessarily have to pay $60 for 2 breakfasts, or 2 burgers and a beer.

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Absolutely true. Or, they were last here 10 or 20 years ago--I think for one recent poster it was 30 years.

Some twenty or so properties bought and sold later, thank goodness I didn't listen to this bad advice regarding buying property. Pattaya has been very good to me and my spouse. Pattaya is not a 'resort', world-class or otherwise. It is a large and diverse city by the ocean that attracts both visitors to its attractions and a large, growing population of locals and expats who make it their home. It does offer a variety of beaches, island trips, scuba and snorkeling, a number of nice family resorts such as Centara and Centre Point Space, interesting shopping such as Terminal 21, several nice water parks, Universal Studios amusement park, and other attractions such as the aquarium and Nong Nooch Gardens. It definitely has more on offer now to visitors and residents than it did when I arrived in 2010, including a number of very nice hotels that have been built, as well as a great deal of new retail, several new hospitals, and lots of new housing all over the city. And, more changes to come, with the large tract of land across from T21 being bulldozed and redeveloped. Plus, the massive Centre Point 3 resort now going up on a huge land plot in front of Cape Dara. Although Pattaya is a nice place to visit, as I've said many times it is an even better place to live year-round.

Same thing happened in 2017 when he inherited Obama's great economy--which he has been taking credit for ever since.

Plenty of blame to go around on both sides. Looking forward, there's also plenty of work to do, as well. The Dems lost ground on just about every voter demographic except educated Whites. If you're a Dem, that should be a big wake-up call. It was for me. How to win back these voters needs to be Job 1. As I mentioned in another thread, the Dems have too few solid Blue states to count on these days, while the Reps have lots of very solid Red states that give them a big Electoral College lead right from the get-go, with the Dems scrambling around trying to win 'swing' states that aren't very swingy any more. Biden won the popular vote in 2020 by 7 million votes yet he barely won the EC. Scary. Every election, the Dems lately are starting in an EC hole. And, as a poster pointed out to me, at the next Census some of the Blue states will be losing EC votes, so the Red states lead will likely increase unless the Dems can turn things around. For the Dem leadership, do some useless bickering and even more useless 'what-ifs' for a few days more, and then get to work.

I retired to Thailand in 2010 because my spouse, whom I met in the US, is Thai. We can live a much better lifestyle here. But, I would not have ended up in Thailand had my spouse not been Thai. We started in the beach area of Rayong but found it too remote and not having enough of what we wanted in a place to live so we soon moved to Pattaya. We've lived in just about every area of Pattaya--from Jomtien in the south to Wongamat in the north--and we've enjoyed them all. After a parade of about a dozen or more seaview condos all over the city, we are now on our 4th pool villa on the Darkside, and liking it, as well. We chose Pattaya because it checks more of the boxes of what we want in the place where we live than any other city in Thailand. And, Pattaya is booming because it does that for lots of other people, as well.

The new housing project of 28 homes on The Darkside where we live has three Chinese families so far, and several Russian ones. We sold our first house in the project to a Russian family after we built a second home in the project this year. We know one of the young Chinese families and they told us their main reason for living here was for a better education for their two children. I think Pattaya will continue to be a popular choice for families with its selection of private schools, wide choice of housing at all price points, good health care and shopping, and close proximity to Bangkok and two airports.

And, he's not the only one. Clueless.

Thank you! Interesting article.

Highly doubt 'Pattaya is in an uproar' over this incident. Let's watch the over-the-top hype on these stories. With every one of them, Pattaya is 'outraged, 'in an uproar', 'shocked', etc. etc. Just report the story and let us decide our reaction to it. My reaction with this story would be concerned, rather than 'in an uproar', and hoping the teacher is fired if the allegations are proved to be true.

Not me. Why would winning an elected post result in criminal charges being dropped? The cases should all continue, especially the Georgia case.

Check the graphs below. Trump took over in 2017. Note where 2017 falls on the graphs--they all maintain their unbroken trajectories started by the Obama administration. As you can see, Trump inherited a good economy from Obama with employment rising, unemployment falling, and wages increasing. All good for workers. He rode the good economy until covid hit in early 2020. In 2021, Biden inherited the economic mess Trump left him but has turned the economy around in the last couple of years--just in time for Trump to take over once again and hog all the credit if the economy continues to improve--or, blame Biden if he screws it up. Unfortunately, the Dems in this election failed to drive this economic message home to the voters. I was watching one news program before the election and a woman commented that she disliked Trump but was voting for him because she felt she was better off during his administration. Whatever her economic perception for that period was, it was thanks to Obama, not Trump.