Stevemercer

I think one would have to be incredibly lucky to see a tiger in the wild in Thailand, but good luck. I read somewhere that each incremental population of 500 tigers/lions inevitably equals about 1 human death per year (most through human intrusions on big cats and their cubs).

I've just been reading about the recovery of lions in Gir National Park in India (from 50 to about 500). The lions kill one or two people every year, but the surrounding village lands where the lions are increasingly encroaching are very supportive. They say they are more scared of elephants than the lions which are more predictable and wary of humans.

I always assumed it was an urban myth that there were still wild tigers in Thailand. If there were, surely there would be a human fatality reported every now and then. I can't recall any such reports. I think it is just tourist propaganda that wild tigers still exist. I'm happy to be proved wrong.

We are near Mahasarakham and so far the town water reticulated network has held up. We put in an additional 5 inch bore to 60 metre for 25,000 Baht including the submerged pump (50 litres per minute). I hope the water table holds up. So far nobody else much seems to be using bore water which is good quality in our area.

Part of the problem for central Thailand and Bangkok is that the government changed the water rules for the dams following the 2011 floods (where there was criticism that the dams were maintained too high and could not absorb the flood waters). In subsequent years the dams were managed to keep the water levels closer to 60% (rather than 90%) so as to retain capacity if there were floods. Of course, this backfired when we started going into drought in 2015.

The usual trend in a prolonged drought (3 years plus) is for the surface water to go by the end of the second year. The government (and those who can afford it) put in bores which are sustainable for another 2 years before the water table drops and they become unreliable. Five years of drought would permanently bugger most dryland cropping in Isan and cause huge rural dislocation and social problems for Thailand. But I reckon we will get some decent rain this wet season (or the 2017 wet season as the last chance). 3 or 4 years of drought would be unprecedented in Thailand.

Bangkok's problems can easily be solved by a desalination plant, if needed, although there is at least an 18 month construction period.

I guess your wife is OK with you paying 20k.

But what if it were her paying 20k?

And, what CH says, pay monthly after the work is done.

And, no point getting angry, just don't pay.

After being here more than 10 years and married to her for the last 5 years, I honestly doubt her response would be any different if she were the one paying.

I recently started charging my wife 50% for some of these sort of charges (taking it out of her weekly 'salary') and it has made an amazing difference. Now that she has to pay some of the costs out of her 'own' money she is the biggest proponent in getting value for money or negotiating the price down or even to zero in many cases. If it is me paying she never wants to make a fuss, but that has all changed now.

Work out the average for all these costs and increase any allowances accordingly. But tell her she will have to pay half for a number of costs (e.g. utilities, care and wear, family etc.). Your wife will be happy to get an increase (e.g. typical short term thinking) and will fight tooth or nail against having to pay out the extras (and therefore negotiate a better price because it is in her direct interest). You certainly won't hear about any requests from the family for money if your wife believes she will have to pay half.

I use to get onto my wife about unnecessary use of the air conditioner, but she hardly uses it now that she has to pay half the electricity bill.

Looks like 27 years is the record, or at least the most anyone is willing to admit to.

I am just curious as to what the record might be? I'm sure there are many people with 10 plus years. Is their anyone with over 20 years worth of yearly extensions?

I doubt Thailand will go the high tech very fast train route (>200 km/hr). It will just be a fast train (up to 150 km/hr) which is achievable with quite modest technology. It just needs a straight, well constructed double track, proper management of rail traffic and tilt trains.

In my view, Isan woman are the loveliest and friendliest. Second best by a slight margin is every other region in Thailand. But, as another poster said, if you want to a hi-so lifestyle, marry a Thai/Chinese from a wealthy family in Bangkok.

Part of the charm of Thailand is that older people aren't shunned or thrown in the dustbin. Back in Australia an old pensioner like me can't expect much respect or deference because Australia belongs to the young. Here in Thailand, particularly living away for a tourist area, older people are treated with respect and you are made to feel special (as an older farang). The bureaucracy can be challenging, but it's the same in Australia. Everything else in Thailand, the cheaper cost of living, the women etc., is a bonus

I think also that Thai people work best in groups or pairs where they can talk and jolly each other on. Work is more fun that way. Once an employee gets it in their minds that their job is not 'fun' anymore, they fast loose motivation. For a single employee they want to feel like they are part of the family. I think it is very hard for a farang to achieve this because of the language/cultural gulf. Of course, there are many exceptions to the rule.

Have you checked out Craigslist/Thailand? Plenty of teacher jobs advertised including up to 40,000 Baht.

Polite (# 1), friendly and smiling (#2), not stingy (#3), average height/weight/slim (#4), wealthy (#5), minimal body hair (#6).

Many rural Thai women are a bit scared of farang who are big/tall.

Looks like a good building site. You might want to look at digging a pond when the excavators are on your site. You can use the dirt as fill in other parts of the site. A pond gives you options to stock a few fish and put in some water plants etc.

I'm sure your payments are fine, maybe there is just an error in the online record. If there was a tax problem the dispute would be with that department. There is no way your Super payments can be held up without your knowledge. A tax dispute would take some time to sort out.

The amount of water wasted during Songkran in Thailand might total enough to irrigate a few hundred hectares of rice (out of the millions of hectares still being grown even now). It's drop a drop in the bucket and won't make an iota of difference in the overall drought situation. Thailand has plenty of water, it is just a matter of managing it properly and getting it to the right place at the right time.

Not sure why this is even on Thaivisa, as it doesn't really affect Western expats.

Anything that reduces waiting times at Immigration Offices will be of benefit.

Can I clarify one thing? I am under the assumption if I live in Thailand for the next 8 years (non resident) turn 60, I can withdraw all or some of my super tax free? Is that correct? I turn 60 I can direct my super company to transfer all of my funds to my bank account no tax no restrictions?

Yes, others might clarify, but where you live is irrelevant for access to Super. As you know, there are taxable and non-taxable components and you might have to pay a little tax. But whether you are an Australia 'resident' or 'non resident' for tax purposes makes no difference. The super company will make whatever funds transfer that you require to any Australian bank account. They might also transfer to an overseas account, but you will not want to do this because of possible losses through bank fees and exchange rates.

I'm just suggesting that you look at transferring some of the Super funds to an allocated pension fund account. The money can still be invested conservatively and and the earnings will be similar to a Super fund. But the great advantage is that the earnings are tax free and the pension stream that is paid out to you monthly or fortnightly is also tax free. It is probably a better investment, and more certain income stream, than spending the same on money on buying/renting out a house or starting a business in Thailand. Anyway, you are still some years away from all this.

'mydee' seems to know what he is talking abut so it might be worthwhile getting Super advice from him. You won't be able to access any of your Super until your preservation age and then you will have several options. Earnings and pensions paid out from an allocated pension or transition to retirement fund are tax free provided the fund has been set up from your Super account. Given you are 8 years away from accessing your Super, and that the Government is bound to change the rules, you have plenty of time to consider your options to minimise taxation.

But, I would say, do maintain an Australian address. It is easier when maintaining an Australian bank account, filing tax returns etc. You can do most things online, including through the Australian 'MyGov' website once you have managed to establish yourself and link to Medicare and Tax. However, you will still occasionally need 'hard copy' letters or tax assessments proving your home address. It's just about keeping all your options open.

The Tax Department, as a matter of policy, will not run checks against immigration databases to check Australian residencies. However, you can always run afoul for other reasons.

In my circumstances, I was in the fortunate position of being able to retire and access my Super at age 55. I took some as an indexed pension, some as a lump sum to set myself up in Thailand and some as an allocated pension to provide an additional pension stream and to have the capital accessible in case I really needed it. I don't have any assets in Australia due to a recent divorce so I just have my Super (though I lost 30% of that too).

The flat 33% tax rate for 'non residents' (no tax free threshold and no over 60s offset) is punitive if your Super pension is relatively low (<50,000). It's a very regressive tax because the lower your income the worse off you will be (because you are not eligible for the 18,000 tax free threshold). However, it is a good deal if you are a politician, high level public servant or other high income earner on 75,000 plus because you will pay less tax. Similarly, if you deal in shares there are tax concessions. So the 'non resident' tax rules are good for the wealthy, but bad for the average pers

Sorry about the rant. I feel a little annoyed that, despite working hard all my life to earn an early retirement (and not needing an old age pension when I'm old enough), in the worst case tax scenario I could end up getting less than the old age pension by living in Thailand.

I'm an Australian, aged 57, living in Kosum Phisai, about 40 km east of Khon Kaen. Like you, I am retired and sometimes get a little nervous about the prospects of living on a fixed income for the rest of my life, and at the mercy of the Australian government's taxation policy, poor exchange rates and uncertain stock markets.

I've tried the teaching gig, but couldn't really handle going back to full time work in Thailand. The extra money came in handy, but I didn't plan on retiring just to work full time again. I can still pick up the odd casual job teaching at a hospital, or elsewhere, for half a day here or there. But the money is not much.

To be honest, I think you are better off thinking about how to enjoy your time, while minimising how much you need to spend each month (e.g. budgeting). If you can find some hobbies you enjoy then the time passes quickly. I wouldn't focus too much on helping the wife start a small business. She (like my wife) is unlikely to work hard enough at it to make it a success. It can be done, but she'll have to work a good 10 hours a day and make sacrifices in her own personal social life. It's not going to happen because you already have a comfortable income.

For me, I wanted to get away from working in the office for 30 years and so built a house and have a bit of a hobby farm. It is not an investment given we would be unlikely to make a profit if we sold. But this is what I want to do with the next 10 years or so of my life. As a kid I used to dream about having my own land, dams, fish, exotic pets, living off the land and so on. Well now I can do it.

It's probably all in the mental attitude whether you retire in Thailand or Australia. This is the next phase in life and you are entitled to slow down life a bit and take it easy. Find a routine to keep your mind and body fit. That is your new job and new life. Make sure you have a decent computer/internet connection and you can torrent all those Aussie series you might miss. Make an effort to find and visit the farangs around your immediate neighbourhood in case their is someone you click with.

My life would become difficult if my superannuation stream was taxed at the overseas resident rate. All you can do is maintain an Australian mailing address and hope for the best. As suggested by someone else, an allocated pension is the way to go when your Super becomes available. You must withdraw a minimum 4% a year income stream, but it is all tax free. You can also withdraw any part of the capital at any time if you want.

I took most of my Super as a fixed indexed pension and put about 25% into an allocated pension. In retrospect, I should have transferred all of it into an allocated pension. That would of given me a 30% higher income (no tax and no need to put in a yearly tax return) and no financial worries about living overseas. The only drawback is that the allocated pension is dependent upon the stock market for its returns , however, you are pretty safe if you look at it as a long term investment.

Anyway, best wishes.

In my humble opinion, the OP has handled the situation quite well. He is being realistic in understanding that most of the money has probably already been spent, but still giving his wife the chance to redeem herself by returning half the money. Obviously she and her family will loose out financially if the OP seeks to cut her off (e.g. no more annual gifts or monthly payments for the car). If she has been a good wife for 12 years, and you love her, I think she deserves the chance to make good.

Since you are both in the UK you have the upper hand. It would be a different story if you were both in Thailand (you would have everything to loose).

Those who do not know or learn from their history are doomed to repeat the mistakes from the past over and over. Sound familiar? The great thing about a good education is that we can collectively learn from the mistakes of many, and not just our own experiences.

Yes, I think you would need something like that for 800 trees. Just spraying my 250 or so takes over an hour and carrying 20 L on my back with my pump sprayer is a bit of an effort. If I don't spray the new growth is just decimated. Since I started spraying about 12 months ago everything has shot up and the leaf mass has probably increased 10 fold or more.

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.

Thanks very much for your advice. I wasn't sure of the name of the beetles (they are about 1.5 cm long with a vivid emerald carapace), but they probably are harlequin beetles.

I would prefer not to use insecticides and let things reach a natural balance. However, I am trying to re-establish trees and forest on filled land so the soil and drainage is not the best. I think I just need to help the saplings along for the first 1 - 3 years until they are tall and robust enough to look after themselves. The beetles previously left the mango trees alone, but for the first time are now decimating the new growth.