4MyEgo

Choose your flavour. For what it's worth, I suffered from a lot of lower back pain, stiff neck, Sciatica type symptoms coming and going for decades and could never work out why. Some of us are thicker than others, then I recalled one day when I was about 6 on a school trip playing football, I got tackled and my neck hit the post as I slid and scored. was knocked out for a little while, neck was stiff for days, then again a diving board accident, the dipstick behind me didn't give me time to clear and landed her a$$ on my head as I was surfacing. I totally forgot about these accidents until recently, so I went and got an X-ray, C5 & C6 in my neck are pretty warn, suffice to say, pain travels, my neck has never been the issue, always the lower back and buttocks area every now and again, suffice to say, sitting for long periods can bring it on, so I invested in a good pair of walking sports shoes (cushioned) and notice the difference straight away, i.e. the pain in my legs, knees, back would go as I tried to get used to these new walking sports shoes, I also stretch a little and lay down when I feel a little tense in the middle back area, a few cracks (manually) to take away some pressure and good as gold. Your problem could be stemming from a different area, have a good read below, keep searching and hopefully find where your issue is stemming from. https://www.healthline.com/health/pain-in-left-arm

I don't feel that way, I feel like a King, no money issues, do how I please, go where I please, and play by their rules, same as I would back in the Nanny State, and when I look down, if I have to, I see ants at my feet that don't bother me. Remember, it is what it is, and it's all about how you look at things, so don't allow ants to bother you.

Try working in the industry through all levels, Property Management, Property Sales and last but not least Valuation industry. What I learned in my 35 career was that regardless of the 6 figure salary you make, after studying and completing 2 degrees, once the tax is paid out, Medicare levy, mortgage repayment, Council rates, Water rates, food, electricity, gas, car insurance, maintenance, petrol, etc etc, your left with enough for an overseas holiday, so sacrificing that and purchasing property at the right time, does help you retire earlier in life as the market does climb, leaving you with enough money to see you through till your 101 when you also sell at the right time.......

Just in case you're not aware, pressing the Quote button will copy the post to your page and then you can type below it.

I don't believe they treat us like criminals, fact of the matter if you ask me is that there could be jealousy as we farang are supposedly rich, pulling tens of thousands of dollars out of ATM machines, building Thai g/f's & wives castles, where the average Somchai can't. It is what it is, they have a system in place, we don't have to like it, but have to abide by it, as we do back home. Don't get your nickers in a knot, as Australia has a treaty with Thailand to minimise us paying taxes to them, if any. Wait & see approach, frankly I believe it won't effect us at all. We all have to have a plan B in place, any yes Australia does provide those things, but don't forget there are waiting periods and it is a very expensive country to live in Vs here, and last time I recall, I did refer to it as a Nanny State, so no where is perfect, you just have to weigh up which one is more suitable to your needs, deal with the BS and don't let it get to you, Australia isn't for me, hence the reason I am here, bureaucracy and all, which I believe is a worldwide phenomenon, i.e. there is no perfect where there is governments', they are corporations.

I have to agree with you on the above, however, from where I'm coming from, it helps to not react to their behind the times rules, as a mate always used to say to me when I would get peed off with work chopping and changing things when they worked just fine, he said, m8, it is what it is, and it took a long time for it to sink in because of my frustration with the situation, i.e. not accepting that it was what it was, so what he was saying to me was, getting all worked up about it isn't going to change it, so just take it on the chin, that said, I know where your coming from. For me, I do the annual marriage extension, very organised, most things saved on my laptop so just print them off and take the originals, yes a lot of paperwork, but I don't do it all in one day, I pace myself, a little today, a little tomorrow and so on and so forth, then we have the bank visit for the letter, so I do the picture place at the same time a few doors up and the Amphur for the, yes were still married piece of paper. Things could be so simplified, but you have to understand the culture, i.e. if someone comes up with an idea and takes it to their boss, they will be frowned upon, because their boss would see it as saying, I'm smarter than you, instead of great idea, promotion. The 90 days on line is so easy now that they have a new system, even get a reminder to complete it, however I don't rely on it, that said, depending on the office, some still want you to report when you go to another province, and yes the re-entry visa is a little tiring. That said, I live about an 1 hour 20 from the immigration department and twice I returned to get my stamp on the due date and they said, no have, so wasted my time/petrol only to return a couple of days later after calling them 1st to make sure it was there, you'd think after 45 days they'd have it wouldn't you. I now call before I go, F them. Also had to pay a 500 baht fee which should be free to get my stamps transferred to my new passport, yes it's a dogs breakfast, "but it is, what it is" :) I just let go and my wife agrees that Thai's are dumb F's, as she spend a decade with me in Oz and saw how things work smoothly. Amen to that, my wife and kids also have Australian Citizenships, so if they want to tax me, then they will also be 1 million baht down a year from my contribution to their economy. I hear you loud and clear, same here, I started off with private health cover, but after 4 years and no claims, it doubled, while it was also increasing every year, mine and the families separate one, so I cancelled them and also self insure, built up a nice nest egg in the 4 years as I put 250,000 baht aside a year vs paying that to them, I also have my savings to dip into if need be, and outside of an emergency, it's pretty cheap in my experience at private hospitals. Try not to let others spoil it for you, just play the game, know what to expect, and duck and weave, but never throw a punch, so to speak as we must control the ball that they throw at us, e.g. incoming, catch it, and drop it, not playing your game :)

I have found Makro prices fluctuating on a variety of products, they go up and they go down. When they go up, if more than 10%, I say they can keep it, sure enough, next time I go, the price is back to normal or less. Demand is key, if people let the product go, they will reduce the price, it's called people power.

I missed ASEANNOW, so welcome back ASEANNOW, one and all. It was weird not being able to surf through the posts, read, comment, submit a topic and put up with the usual ones that annoy us here at times, it was a bit like not having my car to go somewhere. Hope the speed picks up in due course after the cyber attack.

Just interested to start a fresh topic if it already hasn't been covered. Why did you leave Australia ? What year did you arrive here ? Any regrets ? How has it turned out in the time you have been here ? Are you on the age pension or self fund your retirement ? Do you go back for a holiday/break ? Would you ever return ? For me, I am content here. I left Australia because I was sick and tired of all the BS with government departments, the over the top policing of speed on the roads, all types of cameras, seat belt and mobile phone infringements, etc etc. The taxes that I paid going to scumbags who rort the system, and politicians being able to also rort the system, for the good of the country. 2015 No regrets Perfect, a few ups and downs trying to adjust, but have learned to let go with trivial things and just do as the Thai's do. Self funded I go back every 2-3 years for a short trip with the family to see family and friends, albeit it I only see a select close tribe of friends as I also like to travel around and see the places I used to see when I was younger. No, But if I won the lottery and could afford to have a place there, I would return for a holiday at my choosing, e.g. once, twice a year for a month max. Lets stay on topic, otherwise move along please.

What this tells me is those with mortgages who have had over a dozen rate increase in the past 18 months are going nowhere. Those with money will travel and those with no mortgages living at home with mum and dad will travel. Can't see a change until interest rates come down down down.

I got mine lasered off almost 2 decades ago, one on each arms (visible), had them since I was 14. In 2007 when in Phuket, decided to get 2 on my chest, no regrets. Would I add more now in my 60's, if I was up for it, but not up for it at the moment, who knows what tomorrow brings. Age to me has got nothing to do with nothing, it's about ones choice, so let's not discriminate or judge what people want to do with their bodies.

GeorgeGeorge, KhunHieneken, Simple1, and a couple of others that don't come to mind. All aside, anything about Australia, aged pension, Thailand general, and the Pub forum.

But not before injecting beeswax into his member, videoing it and posting it on social media, and while at it, all the perpetrators as well, that should even the score.

I think you'll be safe in Pattaya, it's a family tourist destination, just avoid McDonalds in the early hours of the morning.

Can't disagree with you on that. You hit the nail on the head, degrees in my opinion mean absolutely sweet FA, I hold two, and I can tell you, 90% of people that I worked with, had no F idea, it amazes me that because someone holds a degree, all of a sudden people think that person is smart, smart perhaps in putting the time in to complete the degree/s, but personalities and their outlook on reality is someone skewed. You are 100% correct that the Australian way of life/culture has gone to the dogs, I once remember when you could speak your mind, these days, you'll get arrested, suffice to say, not understanding the lingo here and not seeing any other race here, as mentioned, apart from expats that I see here and there, suites me down to the ground, it reminds me of Australia in the 70's/80's/90's, laid back.

Firstly, I am not taking offence of any kind on behalf of my wife, just sick and tired of this "bargirls" this, "bargirls" that, it starts to sound like a broken record player is you follow all the comments here on "bargirls", ok, I can see how I read it the wrong way and chill pills don't work on me, I'm like a bull, wave the rad flag and it's straight to it, maybe a Vigra will help. That or I read it, as you say, 'arse about' which got my nickers in a knot. That makes better sense now. Ah yes, we've all been there done that and have put it all behind us, because life is just perfect here for me with my "bargirl" wife, AKA village sl-t as I refer to her every now and again (playfully of course). Didn't mean to go at yah so hard, as I mentioned, it just urks me that "bargirls" get a bad rant here, I have met hundreds and put a few in the sack, can't fault any of them, in my opinion, they are just girls, can't say women, because mentally, they really haven't developed, not criticising them, just my observations from conversations with them over the many years. As I also said, not defending my "bargirl" wife in any way, she had a job, she had a need, it paid her bills, she didn't rip anyone off, she met a farang and has had a life now for the past 17 years that she would not otherwise could have ever imagined, I don't put "bargirls" down, because of their profession, be it short time, long time or whatever, those that do, have a gripe with them and they own it until they let it go, takes two to Tango, only one to be stupid enough to part with his life savings to a female, regardless of profession.

Who cares. So they will deport all those who incite hatred because of their religious beliefs will they, give me a break and wake up to reality. Of course I have sufficient funds for health care here, however if it is going to run into millions of baht, if and when the day comes, then of course I will return to the nanny state to get treatment, which is my legal right, I know how to play the system, not the system me. I am free in Thailand, whether you like it or not, now get back to work and pay your mortgage.

I wouldn't worry about either until we hear that they have been passed both into legislation (law). Now from my workings, if you are deemed a non resident for tax purposes, and they tax your pension, once you register for SAPTO, you can reduce your tax payable by about about $120 per week off the tax payable on your pension, suffice to say if you are all good as a single and get your pension made portable, then you will end up with about 45,500 baht per month after tax and SAPTO, end of story. https://www.ato.gov.au/Calculators-and-tools/Beneficiary-tax-offset-and-seniors-and-pensioner-tax-offset-calculator/ Now to go back for 45 days to retain your residency for $120 a week, you have to work out the cost of remaining there for 45 days, flight tickets, taxi's hotels, food etc, in other words hardly worth it, so being a non resident for tax purposes won't be that bad, albeit there is someone a particular person on here scaremongering people, he doesn't do the math or offer alternatives if they ever came to fruition, like SAPTO which reduces your tax liability and you don't have to be a resident to qualify. Now if Thailand does bring in this remittance regulation, i.e. if it's passed, then they can't tax you if you have already paid tax on your pension now can they as there is a tax treaty with Australia. I believe the word is SLAMDUNK

Wow, so "bargirls" deserve those stereo types you are referring to because "bargirls" are bad. Sounds like you got throw off a horse. From my experience with women, I have found ALL Thai women to be good, haven't come a cross a bad "bargirl" yet, do you know why, because I don't judge people, especially because of their profession, by choice or other, they provide a service and I enjoy it, no need to put them all in the one basket (bad) because they spread eagle, after all, most men use their services and then trash them, did I say men, I meant boys. The above said I have been with scores of women, mostly westerners in my life, but the yellow fever hit me badly when I arrived on these shores back in 2006 and have to say that I haven't come across a bad one yet, luck, no, just a guy who knows women, and how to treat them, frankly their pretty playful and if they know you treat them with respect as opposed to judge them for their profession, as mentioned, by choice or other, they will show you a good time and not look at taking you out, so to speak, on the other hand, if you don't know how women work and hang your heart on your sleeve and allow others (women) to handle your finances, or are one who easily listens to them with regards to investing your money into building a house without fully understanding the complexities of Thai law and are prepared to lose it, then you can't cry over spoilt milk, which most do because they invested everything, all because of that emotion (love) which allowed them to be blinded. I build a house here, purchased a new car, everything is in the "bargirl" wife's name, however I only invested as much as I am prepared to lose, and even though I know my "bargirl" wife like the back of my hand, I say that because she hasn't changed one iota in 17 years, if we ever did split, then she deserves to keep the 10% that I invested in her life, suffice to say, she couldn't have earned this much working in the short time most work in their profession, in the hope of meeting a nice farang to take care of them and visa a versa. I know scores of guys married to "bargirls" and they are all happy, sure some have fallen by the roadside, but the same applies to marrying western women, fact of the matter is, most western marriages cost farangs more than what marrying a Thai would cost when the marriage goes south. So the bar girl should behave and should be good to him, ah yes, I guess that does happen, doesn't it, but what about western women ? I suppose you could say that with all women, couldn't you, I mean what is the divorce rate worldwide at the moment, and how many men have been taken to the cleaners because of certain laws regarding marriage and children ? I know a guy who married a western women, they were married for 3 years, she dropped 2 kids and he ended up paying her $750k AUS, plus $2,000 a month in child support, I could go on with others, but you get my drift. Really, no link to support what your saying. I would agree that it's a dog eat dog industry and the fittest of the fittest will survive, suffice to say, that game is called LOVE, not specific to "bargirls" only and don't forget many Thai "bargirls" get burnt with false promises as well as men of non Thai descent. Lol, that could be said for any female. Is that a bit like a shopping list, height, weight, teets etc etc ? Each to their own, when I met my Thai "bargirl" wife, now of 17 very very very happy years, she had a couple of youngens who wouldn't remember their father as she left him when they were so young. The youngens are now adults and it gave me a real pleasure to see them grow as if they were my own. We all have choices, you choose to be either selfless of selfish, and yes taking on your partners kids is a responsibility, but can also be a real reward to see what you did was give them a leg up in life, one purpose in life one could say ? You can chose to be selective and not want any kids, like I said, each to their own, but to me, life without kids has no real purpose, just my opinion. I am not one for trying to educate people who have their mindset, however you could try and get in close with "bargirls" rather than fear them and enjoy the ride, I have.

Yeh, pretty much same areas, Marrickville, sounds like you went to Punchbowl Boys High ? My late brother lived in Greenacre so I know what your on about. Yeh can't knock Thailand, warts and all, you don't see that s-c-u-m here. the way I like it.

Means diddly squat until it becomes legislation, so until it does, shouldn't even worry about it, just like the way I am not worrying about the Thai "proposed" changes to their overseas remittance regulations. Yes they are deemed as an income. The Age Pension forms part of your taxable income. However, if it is your only source of retirement income, you will pay no tax. If you're on the Age Pension, you also receive health benefits and reduced charges on rates, telephones, gas and electricity, car registration and public transport. The difference between the tax threshold of $18,200 for residents, which is not taxable if it's the only source of income Vs the no tax threshold for non residents on the aged pension is a mere $8,450, however this can be offset with SAPTO, and non residents can apply for this $2,230 amount which would reduce the tax payable for a non resident to $6,220 or around $120 per week. If a single pensioner was to receive $26,000 for the year as a non resident, take out his tax of $6,220 after the SAPTO offset, he would end up with $19,780 or 45,494 baht based on 23 baht to the $, which is still feasible to live on in Thailand for a single bloke, Vs trying to live in Oz on $26,000 per year + rental assistance, Energy Allowance etc etc, suffice to say last time I checked a 1960's one bedroom unit within a 15km range of Sydney CBD (south) would cost you about your pension, including electricity, if you could find one. At the end of the day, I personally don't know of any pensions living here that pay tax on their aged pensions, are they supposed to, sure, but who cares, will the ATO deduct it from their pensions in the future, who knows, and who cares, it's irrelevant, that said, I doubt that they would deduct it, it would be more than likely that Services Australia would, but again, what's the point of worrying about something that hasn't happened, worry about it when it does, it's not a matter of being right or wrong or trying to push your point across, seriously, know one cares, it's still a good earner for those retiring in Thailand, remembering that they are allowed to have a certain amount of money to counter any short falls, albeit it they will pay additional taxes via the Deeming Rate, totally different story, but hey 45,494 baht after tax is still ok as I support a family of 4 for around 60,000 baht a month and we live a good life on that amount. I do believe others have been trying to tell you to give it a rest, but you seem fixated and hell bent on wanting it to come to fruition so that you can say, see I told you so, that said, best let it rest, in other words, WE don't care.

Yeh, nah, can't upset someone because of their religious beliefs now can yah. Australia has turned into a multi-cultural soft c-ck society and everyone hates everyone's guts, but tolerate each other, they are all racists in my opinion. I often wonder how those who strongly believe in the great "Australian Dream" are going, i.e. of owing their own home, now mortgaged to the hilt with 13 interest rate rises in the past 17 months, oops, didn't see that one coming. We won't mention the rise in the cost of living, for just the basic stuff. Mate of mine was telling me today that his air conditioner stopped working, he put in a call to the air con people, Tuesday week is the earliest we can have a look at it sir, yeh ok fine, that will be $135 for the call out and $135 for the 1st hour, do you wish to pay with Visa or Mastercard before our serviceman calls out. Poor b-stard can't wait to move here, still got 4 years before he can get the age pension and asked me what was wrong with my air con about 6 months ago as he recalled that I too had a problem back then too, I said, the mouse/rat decided to bite into the wire, local air con guy rocked up, did his thing with the wires, and an hour later, ripped my left arm off at 400 baht Been here 8 years and enjoy only seeing Thai's, and of course the mix of expat farangs from time to time too, none of those other dirty ones that just made living in Australia not worth it in the long run, for those of you who live in NSW, you will know which ones I am talking about, there are about 3 races, they don't assimilate and complain about everything and feel entitled. Australia was fine when they let the Greeks, Italians, Yugo's and the like in back in the 1950's onwards, they worked, kept their gobs shut and then they let all the c-r-a-p-p-y ones in the 1970's and then the 2000's. There are so many rules and regulations that if one passed wind, he would be fined, I loath the way Australia turned out, ah the lucky country has gone to waste in my opinion. Great place for a holiday, but you can keep your million + $'s 100 square metre 3 bedder and the mortgage which will keep you working 6/th's of your life, I'll take Thailand any day and enjoy doing what I enjoy doing without the added stresses of the Nanny State thank you very much. Did I mention, the beers cheap here

Thx, as I mentioned in the reply above to hotandsticky, things must have changed since I last travelled, and I was talking from my experience and sighting of AirAsia's policy regarding documents required to board domestic flights at the time. But good to know now for future travel, which in any case I would have a passport with me, because sometimes it just isn't worth the argument.

Things may have changed from when I last flew domestically, i.e. years ago, however, here is one from Bangkok Airways that I found on Google: Foreign Passenger Passport or another identity document issued by the embassy of citizenship such as an Emergency passport or Emergency travel certificate. Non-Thai Identification Card (Alien Card) or another identity document issued under the Alien Registration Act B.E. 2493. Migrant travel documents and United Nations (UN) laissez-passers. https://www.bangkokair.com/travel-document