Peterw42

Yes, that is always the best approach, go to the immi office and ask the latest requirements. A lot of offices will have a list that they are happy to give you.

Yes, but that's probably no different to young kids buying their first place in western countries, one wage services the mortgage.

not sure of deposit, repayments are around 8k a month

Everyone goes initially to the same desk at the entrance, where you say your business' and get a ticket and directed what desk to go to.

Sounds like a problem with the device/cable/plug rather than a problem with explorer. Not sure what you would achieve by blocking explorer (even if you could) then you cant see anything, file system, drives, network.

Why are you helping Thai people, on normal Thai wages ? Does it make you think you are special ? They are only low wages if compared to the west. Thais live comfortable lives earning Thai wages and spending them in a Thai economy. My neighbors in Jomtien, young guy and girl both work in 7/11 and have just got a mortgage and bought the condo next door, they didn't need a foreign benefactor.

GDP of a region doesn't always equate to wages/salary of a region. A rice paddy in issan contributes to the GDP/exports, but the wage would be 3-4 people on 300 baht a day, Alternatively, 10 gov employees in Bangkok aren't producing anything

So lets put this into perspective, the low end of your ridiculous figures are higher than average wage in US, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan etc. Can only presume you mean yearly, not monthly, or you happen to hang out with CEOs of large companies, and brain surgeons.

OP, what are your definitions of lower middle and upper class ?? Home ownership, mortgage, big screen TV ??? The regional thing seems a bit vague as well, a bank manager, teacher, gov employee would get the same amount no matter what their location.

How did the chinese tourists get out of China to come here ?

What bike were you on that had gears ? aren't they all auto scooters ?

OP, you have been misinformed there has been no increase in the 220b ATM fee for foreign card withdrawals. (or articles discussing it) No extra 750 baht, its not still the case, it was never the case. A serious case of misinformation.

Topping up the gas isn't always a scam. Air-conns can have slow leaks. I have a car that needs a top-up once a year and no amount of testing shows a leak (pink dye in the system etc). Same with houses, I had a place that needed a top-up after a couple of years, extensive testing didn't show any leaks, but over time there was a slow leak. Air-con tech put it down to high temps or rapid heating cooling etc can cause otherwise good seals to fail momentarily under certain rare conditions. Probably not much different to car tyres, which otherwise have no apparent (or repairable) leaks, but do need air from time to time.

OP, how could you possibly know the occupancy of the block, and what does that even mean ? The condos maybe owned and not occupied for any number of reasons, they are holiday houses, impacted by covid, the owners may not have returned post covid. A more relevant question would be how many are sold and how many the developer still owns. Power outages after rain would be more to do with the electricity company than the condo block. Ask the seller to show you the accounts and minutes from the last AGM, that information will probably answer all your questions. Condo blocks can be demolished if all the owners agree, this would only happen if there wasb a major stucural problem or a natural disaster etc, in which case you would retain a share of the land equal to the condo share in the block.

I presume you are talking about a long term rental/stay, in which case you may want to look at the short term rental situation in both blocks. Some of these blocks (city garden) are Airbnb ghettos, nothing but short term rentals, ie: people party for 2 weeks, monopolize the gym/pool etc

There is no real place that stands out from any other place that sells TVs, they all have similar stock, similar prices, will deliver etc. And, they all regularly have promotions and sales. The only thing that may be of any consequence is if the store will pick up for a warranty repair etc, but that is usually between you and the manufacturer. Work out your budget, brand , size. model you want, and keep an eye out for it. on sale. Ideally with a free toaster oven. .

There is already a pay to stay visa, The Thai elite Visa, works out to 10,000 baht a month. You can go to them and say, "I want to stay for 5 years" viola. Probably an option to pay for it via a QR code as well

booking.com, airbnb have options to search for apartments/whole houses. Otherwise, local facebook marketplace/groups. But reality is, 99% of apartments/houses are only available for long term rent.

Proof that there is a god.

Not all of Pattaya is the red light area, you can live your life here and not have much to do with the sexpat areas or lifestyle. Outside of the central sex tourist areas, its a big city with lots of lifestyle choices and options, a couple of ks from the city centre its just normal Thailand.

OP, maybe ask one question, "can I find a serious GF in Pattaya" OR "is the water cleaner in Hua Hin" Otherwise you will get a mixed bag of responses to do with water quality in Pattaya or online dating in Hua Hin. It is pretty easy to find a normal serious GF in Pattaya, just stay away from the sexpat/sex tourism lifestyle. Online dating is a good start, so long as you use it as intended and filter out the bargirls, approach it with honest intentions. Look for hookers and you will find hookers, send dick pics and ask for nude photos and you wont be meeting any nice girls.

There is a lot of information on the kerry website, you can search for closest drop off point on a map

OP, if you are in Pattaya, I can put you in touch with a girl I have used a couple of times. Help both parties get all the documents in order and do the land office. charges 5-10 k

sorry, I asked the question wrong way round. why are they being treated as anything other than tourists, if they are not here in an official capacity as journalists

Who said anything about them being on tourist visa's ?