mfd101

15 minutes ago, gearbox said:

Why it wouldn't work, the Aussie passports are one of the most expensive in the world, the cost is more than twice the British passport. I have the "frequent traveller" passport, which they discontinued in 2017, and paid for it $382, almost the same type British passport is 85 pounds.

So the cost of an Aussie passport is VFS's fault?

I think not. Just the Oz governments of the last 10 years or so working, perfectly sensibly, on a 'user pays' basis. (Why should non-travelling citizens have to pay for your travels & travails?)

If the economy works as it should (a big IF in Thailand), a declining workforce should mean significant & continuing increases in real wages for the 30 million Thais who currently aren't paid enough to bother getting out of bed in the morning.

But I guess, given current levels of productivity, they'll just increase outputs per worker and replace others with robots.

22 minutes ago, Tounge Thaied said:

I am only 51 years old on a "Thai Marriage" Visa. If your not interested in that for reasons of keeping a lower monthly or lower bank amount, I would say stick with your current 65K per month bank statement Non-Immigrant O. Keep your cash liquid, or invested elsewhere in my opinion. I consider the Thai Elite as a last minute go to in the event all the VISAs (in the future) require insurance and then I cannot qualify and I am invested fully in Thailand, girl, house, retired life etc. Keep your pacific cross at a high deductible essentially a "catastrophic" policy so that you are paying a lower premium... since you remain healthy. Pay out of pocket for the simple doc visits. 

Yes, good thinking.

It's not always easy working one's way thru the thickets of information, disinformation, opinions sensible & opinions off the planet ... but thinking aloud is useful, both for oneself and others, if it provokes everyone including the writer to think more clearly.

Thanks for your input.

I'm weighing up the various possibilities for my next retirement renewal of stay next October [OA visa dating from Oct 2015]. Last October I used the 65K monthly method using TW without hiccup, but I must admit that the monthly moving of cash is a small source of anxiety each time, and of course organizing it cuts across other things one might be wanting to do (travel, other spends with a different timetable or rhythm ... ).

I'm not wildly enthusiastic about the 800K alternative - too messy for my taste (x months before, y months after, 90-day check yawn sigh).

So I've begun looking at Elite visa AND/OR Pacific Cross insurance. At this stage I could go either way, and sticking with the 65K monthly if not Elite. One thing that strikes me is that there's an element of risk involved in paying for a 5-year service up front, not to say a 20-year service! - putting that in a Thai cultural & political context ... [nuff said]. Plus I gather from readings on this site some time ago that there was an earlier version of Elite that went bust some years ago, with predictable results for its customers. And some of the comments above about permission to stay vs Elite membership are not exactly encouraging.

I shall keep my options open for the meantime (hoping that reason might come thru and the whole health insurance nonsense might just go away) but I'm beginning to think that a rational course for me might be, for a trial 1 year at any rate, to stick with 65K monthly + take out the appropriate Pacific Cross cover with smallish deductible. At 70 and healthy, even reasonably fit, I think I have room to manoeuvre a bit for another year after this October. During that time I would keep a close eye on others' Elite experience. I have a cousin who has just retired to Thailand and has taken the 20-year deal so will observe his experience too.

Yes, waiting and doing little or nothing is what international relations are mostly about.

But there is also what may be (if he could think clearly enough) Trump's motto: Disorder = Risk + Opportunity.

A useful way forward would be for the cowardly 'Western' and allied countries to, once again, recognize the reality that Taiwan is an independent country, NOT part of mainland China (PRC). To achieve that, Taiwan would need to stop calling itself the 'Republic of China' and give itself a new, even revolutionary, name like, say, 'Republic of Taiwan'.

Death might us part before then however ...

1 hour ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Is that to said in a very posh upper class  voice? ????

Preferably

1 hour ago, Mike Teavee said:

I read that article differently in that the paragraph... 

“We’re not into full negotiating mode and we will have to see what the UK aspires to, but noting that work rights and movement of people in the UK has been a big part of the European Union debate, I would be surprised if complete liberalisation around migration and labour rights was on their agenda,” .

 

Suggests more that he cannot see the UK offering free movement than Australia "Poo-Pooing" it. 

 

 

 

Reads to me like a delicate (for an Aussie) way of poopooing the idea. What's in it for Oz?

Either way, it's hard to see it happening.

Basically a British idea being pushed by Brits fearful of having noone to trade with post-Brexit: "Oh, what about those you know ex-colonies of ours? the ones that still speak English? Haven't seen much of them for over 40 years but I'm sure they'll be grateful to be able to trade with us again, you know?"

Several comments: (1) As SoalBundy suggests, GDP (as measured!) increases after a major disaster as rebuilding takes place. This was the experience of the NZ economy in the 2 years following the Christchurch earthquake in 2009 or thereabouts. The point is that 'GDP' measures activity (eg drugs trafficking), not useful outputs. The notion that GDP will 'suffer' as a result of the fires is misguided (2) There is consensus in Oz, except of course with the Greens, that this particular inferno, with multiple separate fires joining up, is a result of buildup of ground materials over years as State governments, hounded by Greens & the usual State government incompetence, have failed to do the cold weather backburns (rubbish clearance) that are necessary in the Oz climate if major fires are to be avoided (3) Some 190 people have so far been arrested and charged with lighting fires (mostly deliberately, all male, some from sheer stupidity) in total fire-ban weather (4) People have criticized the Federal government for slowness to act, but the Feds are hamstrung in doing much until State governments ask for assistance, rural firefighting being a State & Territory function. Calling out the ADF is a complex process, surrounded by legal & constitutional safeguards, and again requiring State government request. In the case of NSW, the State government continues for reasons unknown (at least by me) to refuse federal assistance (5) A major problem for many years has been the steady emptying-out of rural Oz as young people leave for the Big Smoke. Eucalypt forest fires need to be controlled very quickly before they move along and become uncontrollable. This requires people with relevant experience living not too far away. Such people are now increasingly rare.

1 hour ago, SiSePuede419 said:

100,000 quid is pretty expensive !!

Nothing cheap about lexus 

Over 15 years net salary for most Thais.....at least!! 

 

 

Most Thais make as little as 150 to 300 Baht a day.

 

But even here in Chiang Rai, I see Mercedes and BMWs almost every day.  Doubt they are part of the Big 5 Richest Families in Thailand.

 

So, there is a huge gap in income inequality here, one of the highest in the world.

 

Second only to Russia, where Putin and his Oligarch cronies are robbing the Russian people blind.

 

Literally.  Most Russians believe only Putin can fix the corruption.

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Batista's Cuba. I dream of 1958.

5 hours ago, colinneil said:

What nonsense, saying maybe an attempt on his life, when he was in a knocking shop at the time of the shooting.

It was a warning to him, keep your mouth shut.

Knock! Knock! Who dere?

15 hours ago, CGW said:

Why what difference will that make?

Probably no practical difference, but symbolism is important in politics and in national life. To ban all Songkran water activities nationwide would be a sign of everyone - people & government - actually getting serious for once.

Reminds me of some other countries too ...

Did my 90-day reporting at Kap Choeng (Surin) this morning. They didn't want to see the TM47 form I had beautifully filled out. Sob! sob!

Modern computing beginning to penetrate the remotest provinces ...

On 12/26/2019 at 5:02 AM, rabang said:

How many foreigners are there in Thailand? I found a figure of about 2.5 million or less than 4 percent. Most come from poorer neighbouring countries or China anyway. Some Western countries may have 10 percent or more and these people have access to welfare and low paying jobs too. Not comparable.

30% of Australians were born in other countries. Higher even than Canada (around 27%) and far higher than Usofa (around 21%).

Jim's report suggests quite a lot that is good about Germany, and an awful lot that is awful about the UK.

Just now, Bundooman said:

They could start by demanding that China releases the billions of tons of water from upstream of the Mekong.

And you would expect this to be a practical solution (ie will achieve a positive outcome)?

It may be of course that China is suffering drought in the relevant parts of its SW provinces ...

So, if the top 2/3 of the country is suffering long-term & continuing drought, what actually doable solutions would people on this site like to suggest to the government of this fair land?

13 hours ago, MyTHaiMyKe said:

People not only use plastic bags for groceries, but for garbage. What are we supposed to put our garbage in when we throw it out? There will be garbage everywhere on the streets now blowing around. What about paper bags? What about plastic bottles? What about the food at stands, that is all put in bags? Another Thai brilliant idea without thinking about the consequences.

The Western world seems to have managed the transition quite well, some years ago ...