newnative

I chose Nitan because it is different from any other coffee shop I have been to in Pattaya. I should add that my spouse and I don't go to coffee shops that often. We will sometimes grab coffee on the run at 7-11, Amazon, or small counter coffee places at the mall, etc., but we don't normally seek out a coffee shop to hang out at. What makes Nitan different is, first, it's huge. The free-standing building is quite large and the coffee shop covers two floors, with a large open air double height space in the center. There's a space for live musical entertainment. It looked like a lot of thought went into the design. A variety of beverages and food available, including bakery and dessert items. Nitan would, in my opinion, rank as a destination spot--a place offering something so different from the ordinary that you specifically choose to go there. A not-very-good photo showing just part of the large, interesting interior but it might give you some idea of why I chose it.

Nitan on Sukhumvit.

Should be deported immediately, if not sooner. On the plus side, not Pattaya.

Totally missed my point. I was referring to large numbers of people believing Trump's lies, especially his Big Lie that the 2020 election was 'stolen' from him, rather than accepting the truth.

How would you know it's the highest? With the horrible smog it likely disappeared after a few feet.

Lived 30 years too long. Good riddance. How any thinking person could ever think he was innocent of the double murders is beyond me. Seeing the same thing with Trump.

Good. One less noisy holiday family ruining a residential neighborhood.

A good caning needed for these idiots.

My brother and I built our skateboards the exact same way with old rollerskates and a wood plank--this was the mid-60s and we were living in Anniston, Alabama for a couple years. Army brats. There was a sloping street next to our house with little in the way of traffic and we used it to skateboard down it. I don't think we ever actually owned a store bought regular skateboard--by the time they were popular we had moved on--both to other interests and to a different location--Okinawa.

Seeing 'Thai quota' would not necessarily tell you the nationality of the seller of the condo. As I said in an earlier post, it's not a precise term as it does not specify whether the condo is under Thai name or company name. The company name seller could be any nationality. Using the term is a short way to convey that foreign quota is not available.

I often see something along the lines of 'Thai or company name', which I feel is both short and the most accurate in conveying the ownership choices currently available with the condo. That is what I would use. But, I do see Thai quota used, too.

Agree. As Maya Angelou famously said, 'When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.' As for Trump's mental state, I think it's generally understood that his mental state is best described as stark raving mad.

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I find 'Thai quota' incorrect because, first, there is no such thing. And, second, if you use the term, it's not precise in the way that you use it. '...could be thai name or thai company', you say. Well, which is it? That's something I would want to know definitively as a buyer interested in a particular condo, not could be this, could be that.

Not really. 'Thai name' would be a better descriptive of the two and the same number of words if you're looking for ease of communication. But, both neglect company name, another condo buying option. 'Thai quota' is both inaccurate and confusing since there is no Thai quota.

This is going to be the ugliest election in US history because of Trump, and the people who support him. Proud to be a zero on the Trumper scale.

Sad and disturbing any way you look at it. But, I guess not that surprising when you look at the large number of idiots who believe Trump's Big Lie. People these day want to believe what they believe whether it's true or not.

Yes, honor him already and lock him up.

And not a thing being done about it. Oh, wait, free face masks.

The 787 is my least favorite widebody. Sometime ago I flew a 787 to Tokyo from BKK and then a couple hours later got on a 777 to the US. With back to back flights it was easy to see the difference in space between the two planes--I had so much more elbow room on the 777. With that experience I would avoid it when I can unless it is Japan Airlines, which I think is one of the few airlines that doesn't cram an extra seat to each row in Economy with its 787s.

Bend with the bamboo.

They can get rid of a political party but they can't get rid of the political party's ideas or its supporters. FFP to MFP. MFP to . . . maybe PMF or PFF. Whatever the arrangement of letters, the movement will continue to grow.

At this point in time everyone knows, or should know, about the big problems that Airbnb and the like cause with some condo projects. I say 'some' condo projects because it is not a big problem for every project. Those that seem to have the most problems are: #1. new or newer projects. #2. large projects with 500 units or more. And #3, the trifecta: new or newer large projects in popular tourist areas with most of the units in the 30 to 35 sqm range. Someone doing illegal daily rentals will love #3. A new project in a tourist area with a large number of small units will allow this type of investor to easily purchase multiple new units all at one time, to maximize profits and staff economics. And, the popular tourist area will, hopefully, provide a steady stream of illegal short-term tourist renters. The small units now being built are cheaper to buy than larger units and work well as illegal hotel rooms. Speaking from experience, I owned condos at three different, new at the time, large projects in Pattaya in prime tourist areas. All three projects had around 1000 units or more, with most of the units in the 30 to 35 sqm range. All three projects became plagued with illegal short-term rentals. I no longer own any of the condos. On the plus side, the projects were popular and I was able to sell all at a profit--I just didn't want to live long-term at any of them. When I finally smartened up, the last condo I owned before moving to a house was at an older condo project with less than 100 units, with the smallest unit size at 64 sqm. Quite a difference--I felt like I was living in a residence rather than a very busy,noisy, unpleasant hotel. At this point, it's really a case of the old saying, buyer beware. Check very carefully before buying. What is the project's attitude towards illegal short-term rentals? What specific measurements are in place to deter owners from doing illegal short-term rentals? How effective are they and how is the enforcement--good or bad? Spend time observing at a project you are interested in and talk with residents and staff. Although I no longer own there, I still get the newsletter of the last condo project I owned at. Even though short-term rentals were not a big problem, the project is still being proactive by putting in facial recognition technology. Each condo is limited to 6 facial scans and to be scanned into the system you need to show either condo ownership or a rental contract of at least 6 months. This is the sort of thing to be looking for, technology that will make it more difficult to do the illegal rentals, and a project that is not ambivalent about cracking down, due to too many investment owners.

What makes no sense is your statement that 'illegal gambling will increase three folds'. Why would Thais suddenly start gambling three times as much as they do now just because they can't get into one of the new casinos, should they ever be approved?

Sales figures are for 2023. 2024 sales will be more of an indicator of the effect of the new tax laws on property sales by foreigners.

I remember years and years ago before flat screens I had a 30 inch tv, which was considered big at the time, especially since my tv in college was a 12 inch black & white. Thing was super heavy and it took 2 people to carry it. My spouse and I joke that every time we buy a new property here in Thailand, our tvs get bigger. I think we started with a 32 inch, then moved to 42, then 50, then 55, then 65, then 75. The tvs got bigger but the prices stayed the same or were less--nice when the price of something goes down rather than up. With our recent move to our second house, we bought a floor model 85 inch tv for around 28,000 baht. 85 inch might be our limit--but never say never.