newnative

His 'ailment' is aversion to being treated just like any other normal prisoner.

While we're at it, have they also stopped the Asean Now Daily News feeds sent to our email? I've stopped getting them for several days now.

No worries. China will have it's half of the rail line built and up and running in 6 months, while Thailand will, in 6 months, just be announcing, with much fan fair, and likely a catchy acronym, its intention to form an informal committee to study which ministries, and other interested parties, should be named to the formal, official committee to study the matter and report back, at an unspecified future date, to the main decision-making committee, tasked with giving a go or no go to the project. Such committee also to be named at an unspecified future date, but strictly no later than the turn of the century.

Parking needs to be eliminated on most of the major roads--there's just too much traffic now. North Pattaya Road is the best example--a handful or cars parked here and there block an extra lane of traffic each way. More off-street parking lots added on side streets and public parking garages are needed. There are lots of empty lots that can be quickly turned into parking lots--with the owners earning some revenue until they decide to develop the property. Traffic fines need to be steep--500 baht is a joke. Triple it, at least--and strictly enforced. Obviously, 16 policemen devoted to enforcing the parking regulations is a total joke--I personally have never seen one in 12 years here. They need a large 'meter maid' type force, out every day, patrolling every major road, and earning a portion of the fines collected for the tickets they write, in addition to their salaries, which should be funded by the fines collected. All pipe dreams, of course.

Right. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Thanks, appreciate your comment. I agree that people like JT will never be satisfied. I think that partly it is because they can't even decide what they want to be satisfied, or unsatisfied with, to begin with. Readers will remember that some months ago JT was all gung-ho about buying a very run-down looking small studio at Nirun. Was planning to fix it up to live in. That went nowhere--first he was satisfied, then unsatisfied. This week he makes disparaging comments regarding View Talay projects, saying: 'look up and you see balconies all the same' and, 'every room is nearly the same.' In a later post, he called them 'prison cells'--never mind that there is a 3 bedroom, 260 sqm, oceanfront 'prison cell' for sale at VT7 for 35MB. So, based on no more than standing outside and 'looking up', he's made his decision on View Talays. Not for him--but Nirun was perfectly ok, until it also wasn't. As I stated in a response to his post, nothing could be further from the truth regarding 'every room is nearly the same'. The exact opposite, to be exact--which he would know if he actually did any research consisting of more than 'looking up'. And, not all the units are studios--there are huge corner units and also large double units of around 100 sqm. Having been in some truly stunning, one-of-a-kind condos at various VT projects, with stunning ocean views as the cherry on top, I can say they are lightyears from Nirun. There's no denying that VT3-8 sit on some of the best oceanfront property in Jomtien. The outsides are indeed rather plain, the amenities usually only a pool, but you have a great location, an economical condo fee, and a variety of blank canvas condo sizes to put your personal stamp on. I do find myself puzzled that the same-looking Nirun balconies were ok for JT, but the same-looking VT balconies, bad. In reality, not all the VT balconies are the same--some are curved, some are much longer near the stairwells, and some are huge, wrap-around corner balconies on the end units--not that one should be judging a condo project, as JT apparently does, solely on the look of its balconies. Having lived in VT 3, 5C, 5D, and 7, I can also attest that I was not living in projects 'packed' with people, as he also claims. Yes, they are big projects--but they also have many absentee and part-time owners, and also some unsold units--the back wings of VT 7 are almost empty. When we lived at VT3, which is split into 2 buildings, I think there were only 3 or 4 other occupied condos on our floor. It never felt crowded, although VT5C was busier, in those years before the condo construction boom, and it could have used several more elevators during high season.

My reaction exactly! Another member for the Brokeback Mountain Club. In this case, he 'never goes to the dump' but still 'just can't quit' Pattaya.

Okey dokey

And why, pray tell, are you addressing your response specifically to me, and not to the OP, who asked the question in the first place and was seeking responses, or to others who also answered no? I don't own a motorcycle, I could care less where you park your car, I don't take steroids, I am not huge, I am not tattooed, heavily or otherwise, I don't run a resort with the name PARADISE in it, and, finally, I am not named Matt.

No, nor in Bangkok, or anywhere else I have been in Thailand.

It's really whatever floats your boat, no matter whether you own it or rent it. It's that simple. Mind you, your boat, not my boat--or that guy's boat over there. Everybody's boat is different. What's perfect for you, I might hate, and vice-versa. Speaking of boats, you've probably been reading the stories about the latest trend, retirees buying a small stateroom of 35 to 50 sqm or so on a ship and spending their retirement years floating on the sea from port to port. Some claim it's cheaper, for them, than living on land. Others, instead of buying, book cruise after cruise after cruise so they also spend their retirement years in a small ship cabin, going from ship to ship, year after year. Again, whatever floats your boat. There are now entire ships devoted to living full-time on a cruise ship--I just saw a story yesterday about a new ship for this purpose getting started. Small inner cabins, without even a window, start at $100,000. If you want one with a window, add $49,000. Sounds fairly reasonable, I guess, but monthly fees for 2 are steep: $3500! Yikes! $100,000 (3.6MB) could easily get me a condo in Pattaya--with both a balcony and windows--and a much smaller monthly maintenance fee. Both the ship's staterooms, and many of the new condos being built, are small, with 1 bedrooms generally around 35 sqm, give or take. To compensate, the ships, and the condo projects, are packed with amenities to get you out of your small homes--everything from pools to gyms to yoga rooms to sky lounges to golf simulators to snooker to ping pong to libraries to theaters to jogging tracks to . . . You name it. Despite all the amenities, many could not live in a condo so small. But, there are many that can, and do, live in small spaces--note, the 'tiny house' movement. The two condos I mentioned, and showed photos of in a previous post, both have all the things you typically need and want for 2 to live comfortably--they just provide it in an efficient way, in a smaller footprint. At various times, when our finances were smaller, my partner and I resided in several View Talay studios--and lived to tell the tale. Neither of us felt we were deprived at all at the time. It was what we could afford, and we made it work. Having lived 30-some years of cold, gray, depressing, miserable, interminable winters, we welcomed our large balcony, our beautiful ocean view, and the year-round nice weather. We felt lucky to be living here. And, if for some reason, we find ourselves back living in a VT studio, we'd make it our home, and make it work for us once again. And, still count ourselves lucky to be living here

VT2 studios are generally smaller, around 37sqm vs. 48sqm for the newer projects. The extra 11 square meters were applied to making the newer rooms a true rectangle, while expanding the balcony. VT2 rooms were angled by the balcony window wall to make space for a small balcony. Lucky owners snagged units next to the fire escape stairways, which have much bigger balconies. Those extra square meters made for quite the difference. The rectangle interior room was much easier to work with than a room with an awkward angle. The truly generous balcony became a whole extra room, with space for both outdoor dining and a couple of lounge chairs to enjoy the nice year-round weather. As I mentioned to another poster, big balconies or not, we are still dealing in very small spaces, at both the VT studios and all the many new condo projects that have 1 bedrooms at around 35 sqm. The new projects mostly do have a lot of nice amenities, to help take the sting out of living in a space so small. I think large numbers of these small condos are used as weekend getaway places. Perhaps some will remember that The Base was originally marketed to Bangkokers as a getaway place at the beach--tagline in the brochures was, 'It's the Weekend!. Getaway places could be small units of 29 and 35 sqm, ideal for a weekend at the beach. Others have small condos here to escape the harsh winters in their countries. We have friends who do just that, live in a small space over the winter months but spend the rest of the year elsewhere--in larger quarters. Whatever one ends up in, It all boils down to personal preferences, personal lifestyle, and what one's budget can afford.

Yes, as I said in my post, some are ok with small, some want much larger spaces. Fortunately, Pattaya has a wide variety of both. How I wish the town where I lived in the US had offered such choice. and such reasonable rents.

Yes, rents are such a bargain here, especially compared to where I am from, the US.

Totally missed my point. You got a blank slate to work with, when you bought the View Talay shells. You got a big, empty space with no interior walls. Only the bathroom was done. You could put interior walls wherever you wanted them, and make them any shape you wanted --which my partner and I did--as did everyone else who also bought an empty shell. Every buyer had total freedom to do what they wanted within the 4 walls--how does that relate to a 'prison cell'? If you are equating it to size, most new 1 bedrooms are around 35 sqm, vs 48 sqm for most VT 3 to VT7 studios. With a VT shell, you had much more flexibility to make a space unique than you have today. When you purchase in one of the new condo projects--it's already all been done for you. Your unit, in most cases, looks exactly like the one next door, with all the interior walls already in place, and difficult, or impossible, to change at that point. I'm wondering what makes a 35 sqm unit at, say, The Base, live less like a 'prison cell' than a 48 sqm unit at a VT project. Maybe you can enlighten me. If nothing else, the VT projects, from VT3 on, all have much bigger balconies than most new projects, so you can spend more time outside, rather than in your supposed 'prison cell'. Maybe some photos will better illustrate my point. The first set is a 1 bedroom, 35 sqm unit at The Base. All the 1 bedroom condos at The Base came with the exact same bed, same 2-seat dining set, same kitchen, same bath, same coffee table, same 1-arm, small gray loveseat, same tv wall unit in the living room, and same armoire in the bedroom. Given everything was the same, unit to unit, there wasn't a whole lot we could do to make our unit stand out from the one next door. We added custom artwork, accessories, changed the cooktop to induction, had a clothes washer cabinet with storage built for the balcony, did custom curtains, new bathroom vanity added below the wall-hung sink, and that was about it. This was a 35 sqm unit, which had a longer, but still very narrow, balcony. We were able to squeeze 2 lounge chairs on it if we sat them sort of sideways. Second set of photos show a View Talay 48 sqm studio, which started as a large, empty shell. We divided the space with a wall and a sliding door, to create a separate, private bedroom area. All the built-in furniture is custom, to fit the space and use every inch. Unlike The Base bedroom, the VT bedroom has room for a useful desk area, in addition to plenty of storage in the armoire and tv cabinet. The kitchen is also custom, and includes a hidden washing machine in the first cabinet. (Doing the project today, we would have a washer/dryer stack combo.) And, much bigger tvs! Instead of a small, 2 person loveseat, the VT condo has a big, sprawling corner sofa that could seat 4 in a pinch. Having sat on both the sofa and the small loveseat, it's no contest which was more comfortable. Same for the condos; having spent time in both, the VT had the edge, mainly due to how the spaces worked and the larger balcony, which was really another room, with dining and lounge areas. You seem to be laser-focused, and not for the first time, on unimportant things--such as look-alike balconies (also found on many other condo buildings), faucets, and wallpaper, of all things. Changing a faucet or wallpaper is a breeze, not so moving a wall, or making a way-too-small balcony, bigger. In any case, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to condos--it's all personal preference. Some can be happy in a cozy 'shoebox', others must, absolutely, have ample space to swing their cats with wild abandon. Both illustrated condos are different takes on very space-challenged small condos--with neither big enough for much cat swinging. I'm still failing to see how one comes across as more of a prison cell. t

I think we all remember reading similar posts during covid. Buyers will dry up, and expect prices to steeply drop. There are too many condos for sale and there will be bargains galore, take your pick. During covid, my partner and I sold 2 condos and a house, all at a profit. We did not notice a lack of buyers, which did sort of surprise us. All 3 sales were to people living in Thailand; 2 were foreign buyers with Thai wives, the house buyer was Thai. Anyway, with some money in our pockets, we eagerly awaited picking up some covid bargains--maybe at your '40%' off. Lovely to snap up a nice seaview condo, at a quality project, for a song. Well, of course, it never happened. Never saw any terrific 40% off bargains in any projects we would have been interested in buying into. Not to say there weren't some bargains--there are always some bargains to be found in good times and bad--but nothing we would have wanted to own--quality seaview condos in good locations in good projects. We'll see what happens with the proposed tax changes, though I think my partner and I are pretty content with the new home we are just finishing--although we've said that before.

Actually, although the majority of the studios are a pretty similar 48 sqm in VT3 thru 7, with front door at one end and large balcony at the other end, what happens in between those two points can be, and usually is, completely different from condo to condo. That's because all these studios--and the larger units as well, came as empty shells, without even a finished floor. Buyers were free to do whatever they wanted within those walls and they all had a blank canvas to work with. So, they chose their floor tiles, ceiling designs and lighting, what furniture they wanted, and whatever size and style of kitchen they wanted to have built--from basic to well-equipped. Unlike later condo projects, many of which truly were 'cookie cutter', with the exact same kitchens, the exact same furniture, the exact same lighting, and, in some cases, even the exact same wallpaper and art on the walls, you never know what you will find when you open a View Talay door--which makes things interesting. My partner and I did 6 or so of these View Talay shells--often living in the finished project for awhile--and we definitely had our own take on what we thought worked best with the space. We liked working with a blank slate but many buyers want a finished condo that allows them to just move in and everything is done and ready for them--even if it looks exactly like the one next door.

And what floor, what view, what condition, etc.

Agree.

That's my take, too. You're certainly 'mostly inflation covered' for what is usually the biggest monthly expense--keeping a roof over your head. No matter what inflation does, your paid-off condo ownership doesn't change. You don't have to find more money each month for an adjustable-rate mortgage that just adjusted up. Or, find more money for an annual rent increase. Of course, you do have condo maintenance fees, which are very reasonable here, and utilities to pay--which renters also have--no getting around either--but, nice to have a big monthly budget expense about as in control as possible.

I don't know how the Chinese couple will be paying for their house. There is also a single, female Chinese buyer who is also buying in the project. Perhaps their funds are already here--but that doesn't answer how they got them here.

No reason you can't always look presentable, and still be comfortable. When I am out, always a neat, collared, short-sleeve shirt, in a lightweight, wrinkle-free cotton or cotton blend, in a variety of colors and patterns. Walking shorts, solid color (no plaid shorts and striped shirts) coordinating with the shirt colors, with the pant legs of the shorts stopping just above the knee. No baggy, below the knee, multi-pocket cargo shorts, ever. Comfortable, athletic/walking-type sport shoes with white cotton socks. Lightweight, small-scale shoulder bag with all the stuff one needs to carry these days. Good to go.

I'm curious to hear your thinking as to why someone would be, in your words, 'roadkill as inflation goes up', if they, as you say, 'bought property in the last few years'. My spouse and I are in that category. In the last few years, we bought a condo and two houses. Sold the last of the three just this past Monday, as I mentioned in another post. Made a profit on each of the sales and we are now scheduled to go to closing, by the end of the month, to buy a house we have been building most of this year to live in. The house has already increased in value as the year has gone on and we could sell right now and make a profit, should we choose. We don't. So, we will have a nice roof over our heads we own free and clear, plus a chunk of cash already here in Thailand, from our 3 property sales, to draw upon. What, pray tell, makes us 'roadkill' in that scenario? By the way, if the price of a loaf of bread doubles due to inflation, it makes no difference if you're sitting in a rental condo or one you own--you'll be paying the higher price either way if you want that loaf of bread. The baker doesn't care a fig if you own or rent The guy who owns, though, might have some extra cash in his pocket to handle the price increase, since he didn't have to shell out what might be a fairly sizeable amount of his monthly income to pay the rent. And, yes, to be fair, on the flip side, the rental guy might have gotten a nice monthly dividend check, because he invested his money in stocks or other investments, rather than buying a condo. So, he can also have extra money in his pocket and afford the price increase on the bread, if his investment picks have panned out. Neither one 'roadkill', in my book. That might be the guy who did nothing, and just watched his money steadily fritter away.

Correct--and, no matter how many times this fact is posted, it's just ignored as it does not fit what they want to believe. Also true, and also ignored, in 2019 the majority of Chinese tourists were not in tour groups, budget or otherwise. Instead, over 60% were traveling independently that year.

I think you've hit it. Certainly it would seem ridiculous to slap a big tax on large sums of money coming in to buy a condo, a buy which helps so many interconnected businesses and industries that are such important components in the Thai economy. Not just ridiculous but madness, in my opinion. There will always be some Thai buyers for any condo project. But, will there be enough for each project built to buy the 49% of the units that foreigners often buy in a project? In many cases, I think not. There's been such a poor job so far of, as you say, 'clearly defining what it means...', that we have 100+ pages of fear, panic, and uncertainty on the original tax proposal thread trying to puzzle it all out. And, as everyone knows, fear, panic, and uncertainty are not positives when the subject is the state of the economy. I've decided to nickname the new prime minister PM Sansiri. And, I hope he will soon be getting an earful from Mr. Supalai, Mr. Lumpini, Mr. Raimon, Mr. SC Asset, Mr. Noble, and all the other big hitters in the housing industry. Maybe they can knock some sense into him.