newnative

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.

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.