newnative

As you said in your earlier post, the popular vote likely would not have changed much, with or without the EC. I doubt a change of tactics would have gained Trump 2.5 million more votes in 2016 or 7 million more votes in 2020. 'Best' is subjective but In 2000 and 2016, the voters, themselves, did choose the candidate that they preferred to be president of the choices running, and that preferred candidate did win the popular vote in both of the elections. In both cases, that 'best candidate' was not Bush or Trump.

Absolutely--especially if the GOP nominee is Trump.

Yes, likely a 'non-issue'--for Republicans. George W. Bush and Trump both lost the popular vote. Trump by over 2.5 million in 2016 and 7 million in 2020. If he is the GOP nominee in 2024 he will in all likelyhood lose the popular vote once again, but could win the cursed EC. The voters could, as in 2016 and 2000, once again be denied their choice for president. The Republicans love the cursed EC.

Unfotunately, America does not let 'the voters elect'. If that were the case, Trump would have lost not just the 2020 election but also the 2016 election. He would have never been president and the long nightmare of his presidency would never have happened. The 'voters' in 2016 wanted Clinton by over 2.5 million votes. The cursed Electoral College, however, wanted Trump, and Trump we got.

It started years ago. One of my sister's used to work as an accountant for Hershey. The Hershey company did special orders for Trump from time to time. She told me it was always a huge struggle to get Trump to pay his bill, often taking months and months.and usually with some sort of dispute involved, to boot. Nothing seems to have changed.

'Move forward stands at the brink of dissolution' . . . to be reborn, if that happens, just as Future Forward was. They'll find they can't kill a movement.

Indeed. Here he is, writing his spy thrilers, and then, out of the blue, comes Pillars. Quite the change of pace! I've enjoyed all the books in the series.

Retirement in Thailand has been wonderful. I won't say I'm never bored but it's rare. There's always plenty to do and I like to keep busy. Two days a week we have a morning at a gym in town. Evenings, it's usually Netflix and reading when we are at home, after an evening swim in our pool and a walk. I like a project to work on and my spouse and I are in the beginnings of another house build, which should keep us busy and entertained for at least the first half of this year. Life is good.

Another day, another tourist suffering a devastating injury in a motorcycle accident. Another preventable tragedy, simply by banning tourists from renting motorcycles.

Thank you! And, a bit of good news to pass along. Spouse found 5 baht under one of the sofa cushions so we're now up to 17,500 baht saved for the rental nut! Nice round figure after being stuck at 17,495 for what seemed like forever. Onward! Something to share at today's PBA meeting. (What I won't share is I sneaked a peek at a seaview condo I noticed for sale on Facebook this morning. In a good project, just needs a little work. Tempting. My bad. Well, two steps forward and one step back, as they say.)

You absolutely nailed it! '...those who buy just can't afford to rent.' Were truer words ever spoken since man learned to talk? I think not. Bravo, you. Eight golden words that say it all--and certainly hit home in a painful way, with me. Maybe more on that later. Gosh, I've lost count of the number of 'simple folk' I've met who have 3MB or 5MB or 10MB to buy a property but they just can't crack what I call the 'rental nut' and get themselves into a nice rental. Just. Can't. Crack. It. No way, Jose. The rental nut, for the uninitiated, is the vast sum that is required to initially rent a property. You have the first month's rent, sometimes the last month's rent, and often not one but two month's rent for the security deposit. On a monthly rental of 20,000 baht, one could end up having to come up with as much as 80,000 baht all at once. 'All at once' is really the key to the whole, awful conundrum. Who has that kind of money just lying around eating bon bons and watching Netflix? For so many, that huge rental nut required is, 'simply', a bridge too far. Sad, innit? So, unable to crack the rental nut, they make, as you say, the 'simple decision' and just buy a property instead. Not only 'simple' but taking the easy way out, really, when you think about it. Instead of buckling down and forcing themselves to save the money for the rental nut, off they merrily go to plunk down their 3MB, 5MB, or whatever, and buy a property without even breaking a sweat. How hard is that, I ask you? Where's the mighty struggle, day after day, that will make that first rental so, so satisfying when you finally get it, knowing that you did it! Yes, I can save 80,000 baht, all at once! Yes, I can crack the rental nut! Sometimes, I almost believe it's better that these 'simple folk' be satisfied with their lot in life and remain 'simple' property owners, rather than striving to enter the world of renters, which, perhaps, they really don't belong in, harsh as that may sound. And, let's be honest, for way too many, it can only end badly. Very badly. Think about it. If they can't manage to save 80,000 baht for the rental nut, how in the world are they ever going to come up with 20,000 baht in rent, month after month after month? Seriously, it could be years we are talking about! Boggles the mind. Much better for these 'simple folk' to only have utilities and maintenance fees each month--many, surprisingly, are able to manage these small fees. If it ain't broke . . . And now, as alluded to earlier, a reluctant confession. I, too, am one of the 'simple folk'. There, I've said it. Phew! A bit of a relief, I must say. Just put it out there, come what may. It started in the US and has continued here in Thailand. Buy a property, sell it, make some money, and then buy another. Over and over, never learning my lesson. Why in the world couldn't I have, at some point, managed to save that 80,000 baht and cracked the rental nut--which could have landed me what might have been the rental of my dreams? Why, indeed. What is it they say about making the same mistake over and over again and expecting a different outcome--that's me, with a lot of help from my spouse, who is not blameless in this whole sorry mess, let me tell you. Being a glass half-full guy, I'd like to end this sad lament on a positve note, if I may. I'm happy to report that my spouse and I have joined the local chapter of Property Buyers Anonymous, or PBA, for short. We've been faithfully attending meetings for about a year now and, not to toot our horn too loudly, we are making what I would call mostly steady progress. Although we did have that one time when we fell off the wagon and bought the house on the Darkside. BUT, that one small, teeny tiny lapse aside, we have really put our noses to the grindstone and, as of today, we have 17, 495 baht saved up towards a Pattaya rental! One baht at a time and we are on track to earn our first 20,000 baht PBA chip sometime this year! Yaa us! And a big pat on the back! Good job! (PBA encourages you to give yourself frequent praise, as it is such a difficult struggle, cracking that rental nut.) For those 'simple' Pattaya property buyers who might be interested in kicking the filthy habit of buying rather than renting, PBA meetings are held weekly at a different property enticingly available for rent in Pattaya. Brilliant, I think, to give PBA attendees a weekly dose of encouragement in cracking the rental nut. Next week's meeting, a lovely unit in Nirun!

Still waiting for the 'shocking' part.

I'm betting the 'confused' emoji is from bokningar.

If Thailand prohibited tourists from renting motorbikes accidents like this one could be prevented. No sympathy for the victim--he had no business being on a motorcycle, and certainly not without a helmet. Absolutely correct for the insurance company to deny coverage.

I was living in northern Virginia, in the 'new town' of Reston. Working at a community college library but also buying condos, fixing them up while living in them, and then selling them. By then I was probably on my 6th flip. In the next year I would retire but continue to work part-time at the same library, while also doing a few flips, for another 5 years and then move to Thailand in 2010 with my Thai partner, now spouse. Life has been good for us in Pattaya and it was a good decision to move here.

Absolutely. They can play Whac-A-Mole all they want but MFP will just keep coming back. And, every time stronger, whatever the new name.

I've been on it a couple times recently and it looks like the whole site has been revised--for the worse. Not only is the graph missing but you used to be able to search low price to high and vice versa. This feature was useful because lots of condos for sale are listed by more than one agency so the duplicates would all group together, easy to skip the ones you already looked at and also easy to check them all for different photos of a property you might be interested in. Now, it seems to be just a jumble with the listings. Also, you used to see name of the realtor with the listing on the main listing screen. Now, each listing just has a 'contact' box to click. I couldn't find the listing agent anywhere. Knowing the agency name was useful to check the property again on the agency website--perhaps there would be a video. It's a shame because the old site worked really well. If anybody know's if the old site is still available to access, or, as you say, different versions, I'd appreciate knowing. Or, if the features I mentioned are still on the new site but I am searching incorrectly. Thanks!

Once again, it needn't be an 'either or' deal. Nothing preventing someone from owning property and also having other investments. Many people, including myself, prefer to own the space they live in, rather than renting someone else's space and renting someone else's taste in furnishings, art, etc. Trite, perhaps, but true--you do only go around once in life. I will be living in and enjoying my own space, with all my own possessions, on my go around.

Could not agree more. Thank goodness my spouse and I bought condos in the US and then did the same thing when we came here. 8 in the US and even more than that here. Never lost a penny on any of them, here or in the US. Instead of living like semi-paupers on my small state pension and SS, we now have a comfortable lifestyle--all because of real estate investments. For the OP, forget the naysayers. I would say take your time looking and pick a place that's in a location you like and looks like a fun place to get away to for short visits. I think a lot of projects in the area you like will have some short-term renters--that's pretty much par for the course for the area and the price point. Since you, yourself, will be sort of a short-term resident from time to time, as well, it might not bother you as much as it would a full-time resident. My spouse and I live in a house on the Darkside. If we were buying a Pattaya condo to getaway to now and then, I think we would pick something like Riviera Jomtien--which has terrific amenities and it would feel like going to a nice resort every time we stayed there. The View Talays have very reasonable condo fees but not much in the way of amenities. We liked VT3 as it was not as big as the other projects. VT6, already mentioned, could possibly be another choice, along with Centric Sea. I think they have cracked down somewhat on short-term renters at Centric but likely will still have some. 3 pools, 3 gyms, 2 sky lounges and a good location to come into town for events like the annual fireworks. Markland might be another choice on Beach Road--an older project but holding its value well as there aren't many condos in that area offering seaviews. We always bought seaview condos so I don't know much about the lowrise Pattaya condos scattered around the area you are interested in. Hopefully, some other posters will be able to give you some recommendations for those projects. Good luck to you!

Cue the miraculous return to good health.

I'm an American and I think there was never a need for the EC, and certainly not now. I'm with you--count the votes and the person who gets the most, wins. Yes, as you say, it really is that simple! Losing by 7 million votes would certainly have prevented Trump from using his ridiculous Big Lie that the election was 'stolen' from him.

Yes, 'millions of people want him back in the White House' but, take heart. It's never been 50% of the voters in his two presidential runs. He lost by 2 million in 2016 and it got worse in 2020, losing by 7 million, even running as the incumbent president, a horrible, embarrassing showing. How must it feel to know that the other guy was picked over you by 7 million voters? You, in your mind, the best president ever? They soundly rejected, 'best president'. Loser in both races. The wild card, of course, is the cursed Electoral College, with the possibility of a relative handful of electors going against the will of the voters, as was done in 2016. I have no doubt that Biden will once again win the popular vote but a smart VP pick by Trump could possibly swing the cursed Electoral College once again his way. Scary any way you look at it and, as you say, sad, as well. And, if any more proof is needed regarding the perversity of the cursed EC, look no further than VP choices sometimes picked, not for their experience and ability to take over as president, but, rather, for their hoped for ability to carry a state and its electoral votes in the election.

Good decision--and really the only decision. Now, lock him up already.

They lost my respect when they stopped the recount and handed the 2000 election to Bush. Mostly downhill since then except for gay marriage.

Good. Keep at it.