soi3eddie

Having spent a few months visiting/living in Hua Hin (2019/20) and many months in Pattaya/Jomtien over the last few years, "retirement" better at Hua Hin in my opinion. You've still got bars and nightlife if that's your thing. Plenty of places catering to westerners too with malls and coffess shops. Train to BKK faster now. The beaches at Hua Hin and Khao Tao are great for morning/afternoon walks but there is no promenade so you'll be walking on sand. More sedate in Hua Hin and I'd prefer that for retirement. As @Hummin states, Soi 88 or 94 have some good options. Might look at Soi 100 and 102 also.

If you're going to spend some time in Thailand as a "tourist", clearly you are not just here for 2-3 weeks either, then learn some Thai. Or even just learn how to use Google Translate. You'll save yourself (and others) a whole lot of stress and make your own life more enjoyable and much easier.

@JimTripper Spot on correct! My Thai wife (now ex), used to rent our Bangkok condo on TripAdvisor (Flipkey) from 2011 to 2015. Early days there was only about 100 Bangkok rentals on the platform. Then AirBnB exploded along with mass construction of cheap condo units. We listed with AirBnB and they even sent photographers for pictures of the listing. We never really rented with AirBnB (only 2 bookings IIRC) because their suggested rates were so much lower. It seemed like a race to the bottom, even though our property was large and super well appointed. By the time costs such as cleaning, laundry and electricity (some clients nailed the three A/Cs to 16c and left them on all day) we figured it just wansn't worth it anymore. Probably even worse these days. Bad as an invesment. Get a job or invest elsewhere would be more worthwhile.

If you can upgrade to 8GB of RAM memory (or more) and an SSD drive (size of your choice) then reinstall Windows 10, you'll get a new computer experience for sure. Should cost from just 80 USD (depends on RAM and SSD capacity) and a bit of time to do so. This is what I do to extend life of laptops I seem to acquire.

Looking at the timeline in the chart above, should also consider the effects of Covid-19, inflation and susequent interest rate rises. If people felt better off economically, I doubt that many of the questions would have been answered as they were. Was Brexit to blame for the economical effects, or was it Covid, or some of both?

Seen the issues with China and would not invest anything Chinese right now. As a contra, I saw the potential in India. Since starting dripping monthly into an ETF of Indian stocks in November 2022 up a solid 22%. Hardly stellar, but good for the long term. Waiting for Bitcoin ETF in January and will invest there for longer term once Bitcoin spot has fallen back to $32,000 after all the noise has died down.

5 minutes enough?

So sad to read this. Her children should be ashamed, no matter what occured through life. No way to treat a senior lady. I hope that the organisations (Sai Mai Must Survive team and officials from the ministry of Social Development and Human Security) can assist and give comfort in some small way.

Checkpoints are easily avoided as most locals know the areas and roads they will be located. Not just for drink driving, but also for speeding, helmet and licence checks.

It seems that the penny (or rather cents) is starting to drop onto the minds of the TAT. Without a doubt, travellers from the USA must rank in the top 3 of global travel spenders. They expect service and convenience for their dollars. We work with mostly more senior, baby boomer U.S travellers to the UK in the summer season. Many of our clients are willing to spend $500-$1000 per night on a quality hotel in London and also pay top daily rates for our transport and tour services. They also spend big on dining too. What would be a problem, is getting Americans to Thailand on a long flight (many coming to London complain about 7-9 hour flights), hot humid weather and language barriers and just being so far away from home. Another factor for many Americans is the limited 2 weeks annual vacation time that many typically get. I did, about 20 years ago, have friends and former clients, come from the U.S. to Thailand and took them travelling around southern islands and northern hills. They absolutley loved it! Canadians on the other hand, in our experience, whilst being nice, are not such big spenders.

I've heard that cheaper airfares is one reason to use a VPN. Care to share the name of the country where fares might be lower? Are fares priced in local currency, US Dollars or other? I started using NORD VPN last month. Very happy as it is needed to be able to login to a business site I must access, and also BBC iPlayer, Prime etc. from the UK.

You need to get divorced where you got married. If you ignore her request then divorce unlikely. Not sure of any financial responsibilities you might have if getting divorced or staying married. If the relationship is over then move on and get a divorce.

I'd suggest that he is just as much risk of being caught at home as travelling anywhere. "Concerned citizens" dobbing him in, or a random visit to the "foreigner" in the village, town, condo or moo ban, could happen just as easily. I would be sure to obtain a travel document (new passport) immediately if needed, and then either stay and take the risk of deportation (being sure to have cash funds for fine and flight) or depart immediately (having cash funds for fine and fllght). The only downside at this stage of being caught in country is the trip to the IDC. He just needs the someone to help him out with fine and flight payment/logistics if he gets carted off to the IDC.

Or learn to speak, read and understand Russian?

Although I am dissapointed in the UK government for selling off the prestigious Bangkok embassy land, I cannot agree with your statement. I visited the consular office in Silom/Sathorn in early November 2022 to get an affirmation of residence for Thai driving licence renewal (they since stopped offering these afirmations of residence as a service). The building is a modern and clean office building connected to the BTS by a skybridge walkway, the security staff very helpful and polite. The consular staff efficient (at least in the very little of service that they provide/d.

It is for this reason that I started transferring £400 per month (about 17k THB) direct from my UK bank account to my GF's Bangkok Bank account about 9 months before applying for a UK visit visa in April 2023. This, in addition to other funds from my Thai bank account. Key factor of evidence is that we provided a full 12 months of bank statements of my UK account, my Thai account and GF's Thai account. This showed each funding, and could be cross referenced, with each account. I also provided my UK saving's statements showing deposits. Including this we also uploaded a total of 47 files (a few hundred pages) of PDF documents. This included a covering letter about our relationship and intentions. My strong ties with Thailand (retirement extension and my 2nd home), her strong ties (and her annual visa extension for Thailand), her 14yr old Thai son's school info and bills, son's Thai birth certificate and ID card, my Thai condo ownership documents including chanote, yellow book and pink ID card, Thai driving licences for both of us, lots of pictures of us together with my family in Thailand on a visit. Pictures of us with her family - son and her parents, my UK business documents, my UK tax return, a full LINE App download of our daily correspondence since meeting in 2020 (350 pages of text), her Thai condo rental contract, full copies of all pages of both our current and previous passports, travel boarding cards from recent trips to other countries together. All Thai language only docements were translated to English by an approved translation service. All of the above took me about one full day of collation and scanning to PDF before uploading to the VFS website. I should add the my GF is not Thai, she is Cambodian on a Cambodian passport. The visa was granted in about 2 weeks. She is now on her second UK visit in 6 months and we are currently in the UK and will return together to Thailand in January. On arrival at the UK border 2 weeks ago we went together through the "family channel". The only questions asked were "do I live in Thailand permanently?". Which I don't as only in Thailand 5 months a year. Also, asked return date and asked to see copy of GF's return ticket. That was all. We'll make a new application next year. Hopefully it will go well as no circumstances changed and many documents already prepared. In my opinion, it is best to send every possible document you have showing clear evidence of finances, relationship and need to return to Thailand.

Getting an answer to this is difficult. How is unemployment counted? Simply those claiming unemployment welfare benefits? That won't show the true number as there is massive "underemployment". One crazy situation is people working limited hours so that they can claim welfare. They are in work (albeit only half time) but still receive welfare and housing payments but counted as employed and not unemployed and paying no income taxes either. One thing often heard is; "I can't work longer as I'll lose my benefits". There are also many younger people neither employed or unemployed, simply living at home with family (Not in Employement, Education or Training and sometimes referred to as NEETS). At the same time the government come out with figures saying that there have never been higher numbers in employment in the UK. Well yes, that is likely correct as immigration has swelled the population in recent years. Though, in work benefits, are handed out liberally to young families earning at the lower end of the scale. It's a sad situation for the UK economy and often desperate times for those in these situations. From Euro news: Economic inactivity -- those who are unemployed and not seeking work -- went up by 0.1% to 21.1% as of the end of July.12 Sept 2023 Mortgage rates are now down to 4% at the lowest end for those with large downpayments. Typically 5% plus is the norm and these are usually 2, 3 or 5 year deals that would revert to variable rate (or Adjustable Rate Mortgages - ARMs) and then borrowers must either re-finance or pay the higher rate. One problem in the UK at present is that many homeowners are coming to the end of short term fixed rates at less than 2% only to have to refinance at 5% or more. That's if they still qualify. This is causing large amounts of disposable income to dissapear from the economy at the same time as other bills, such as energy and insurance, have risen dramatically. Many parts of "main street" in UK towns are decimated with boarded up shops and closed businesses.

Have you spoken with the owner whom you have the contract with? What about Condo Juristic Person (building manager), as they will know if condo ownership has been transferred. If heavies and/or police turn up to evict you (whether you have a contract or not) then there's really not a lot you can do other than to leave.

If the Thai ex-GF overstayed and was caught, it could affect any future visa sponsorship you might attempt for another lady. Sounds like you're unlikely to as you have a British GF now.

I chatted with Vernon Unsworth MBE on a flight from London to Bangkok in November 2021. He was the gent who mapped the cave and offered guidance to the rescue divers. I would not pay inflated fees to visit the depths of the cave though. Seeing the movie was plenty enough. So sad for the young lad Promthep (Dom) of the "Wild Boars" who passed away earlier this year.

1/4 ounce of lead is the best and most instant solution to the incessant barking.

Agreed, however, if the tenant goes to immigration without the owner's ID and Blue book, what will happen? Will the I/O file TM30 or will they fine the tenant? I'd hope that the I/O would file the TM30. Maybe others here can comment on their experience?

Anyone renting a property would be well advised to get a copy of the owner's ID card and Blue book BEFORE paying anything or signing a lease.

Not sure if there is a bus direct from DMK to Pattaya. There is a bus from DMK to BKK from where you could then get a bus to Pattaya. As @jvs says above, minivans are a lot better than some years ago. My experience with minivans in the last 4 years, to/from Bangkok, is that they drive a lot more conservatively and considerately. Taxi at 1,700 Baht door-to-door with meet and greet is very fair value assuming it includes the tolls and parking.

It sounds like the law of common sense prevailed for the benefit of business owners and their customers. One old grump should not be allowed to affect a large number of others.