Alk

1 hour ago, HuskerDo said:

Well said Alk but $3000 seems like an awful lot to be spending over there. With a wife, maybe, but single? You must have REALLY been enjoying life. Good for you!!

You can definitely do it for less....just like in Thailand...that happened to be how much I had to spend, and that included 365 days my first year in very decent hotels.  Once I settled down with one woman and living in a condo, I was usually saving about $1000 a month from that budget, while still living a very comfortable life.

This has probably been covered before. I'm traveling with a friend who wants to get some plastic surgery done. If money was no object, what clinic/hospital would you go to for a complete facelift and other procedures ?

Thanks in advance for your help.

A quick search online mentioned a few potential problems in getting tourist visas at the Thai Embassy in Manila. A few questions I have for anyone who has went through the process are:

1. How long will it take to get the visa? (I read on one site that it takes 2 days to do so)

2. I also read that I need bank statements for both me and my girlfriend showing we have at least $500 in the bank in order to secure the visas...is that the case? (all the money is in my name right now).

3. Will i need a return ticket to the Philippines in order to get the visa?

4. Are there any issues with Filpinas getting at 2 month (plus 1 month extension) tourist visa?

5. Would it be easier just to go to Thailand on a normal 30 day visa and get a 2+1 tourist visa in Vientianne (or another nearby country) after it expires? Can I get a visa there in a single day?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Good advice Gojdthai.... thank you.

I looked at over a dozen condos and one was head and shoulders above the others, but there is always something nice to had with a bit of looking.

Thanks for all the great advice. My only major concern about the whole visa thing is signing a 1 year lease on a fairly nice condo and then being denied a tourist visa extension once I leave the country on a visa run. It sounds like the possibility of that happening is slim. I'll probably go ahead and trust my luck as to getting at least a year's worth of tourist visas, and then if things go well, bite the bullet, marry my girlfriend, and get a retirement Visa there.

As far as the Thailand vs Philippines debate, there really are good things to be said about the Philippines. Visas are a non-issue. People are very friendly. Costs are relatively low. For single men, I think the availability of sweet, attractive English speaking women is unsurpassed anywhere in the world. The only issues are that it is much more of a 3rd world country than Thailand and has a great great deal more poverty. It cannot compare from an infrastructure standpoint to Thailand. I could easily stay in the Philippines and be happy there. I just want to try the LOS as a change of pace and make a comparison as to which location I would be happiest in. I could very well be back in the Philippines in a year.

i understand that getting a retirement visa and getting married is probably the best option, I'm at least a year away from wanting to consider that, so am looking for other alternatives.

A "marriage of convenience" is not something I would be able to sell my girlfriend on either. Filipinas take the sacrament of marriage very seriously as a rule.

I just spent a month with my girlfriend traveling in Thailand and we've decided to relocate in the Chiang Mai area if we can work out visa issues. We are currently back in the Philippines, where I have lived for the last 1+ years.

We have decided on the condo we want to rent, but are unsure of how long we will be able to stay and hence how long to make the lease.

I believe that coming from the Philippines, the best visa we can get is a two-month tourist visa with a one month extension. It is my understanding that by flying out of the Thailand after the first 3 months, we will be able to get another 2+1 tourist visa without a problem. Is this correct?

My next question is that after we go through the two consecutive tourist visas (6 months), what options do we have for staying longer? Can we simply fly out of the country again and get another 2+1 visa?

Down the road, I might return to the USA for a 6 month visa or 1 year retirement visa, but that still will not resolve my girlfriend's issues, unless she gets some sort of work or educational visa which would probably present a whole other set of issues.

Any replies/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I've just spent a very enjoyable month checking out Thailand as a place to live. Previously, I had spent the last year living in the Philippines (mainly Cebu). Although I enjoyed living in Cebu, I've decided to move to Thailand (Chiang Mai) for at least the next 6 months to a year...providing I can work out Visa issues.

I have a couple of questions that hopefully some of you can help me with:

1) I am American. I want to get either the new 6 month Visa, or the one year retirement Visa. Can I get either of these from the Thai Embassy/Consulate here in the Philippines, or do i have to go back to the USA for these?

2. My girlfriend is a Filipina. She accompanied me on my trip to Thailand and will live with me there. I have no plans to marry her immediately. What are her best options for a Visa? I believe she can get a 3 month ASEAN Tourist Visa. Are there any other options available? We will also look into a 1 year work visa as well. She has a college degree and has taught ESL for several years here in the Philippines.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Also @OP

Your fiance will likely find that she'll earn somewhere between 15,000 - 20,000, possibly more if she's really good. But there is a lot of competition for jobs, for example, I advertised a position about 2 years ago, and left the door open for non native English speakers to apply, if they had IELTS 8.0 or IELTS 7.0 & a degree related to maths/science. I was absolutely flooded by applications from Filipinos & African non Native speakers, over 150 in just 3 days that the advertisement was posted (I asked them to take down the ad after that, as it filled up my inbox). Funny part was though, that none of them actually met the requirements (A Pakistani did, although 2x exceptional NES candidates applied, so she didn't end up getting the job anyway).

Your fiance will likely be better than most of the other non NES applicants, since she practices her English with you every day, so get her to do an IELTS test (Or similar) which can then be included in her application, and assuming that she gets a good score, can be used as the basis of why she's better than all of the other non NES applicants.

Thank you Sly,

Great information. Much appreciated. It is not a must that my fiance works. I think I have a good idea now what the going rates are.

She is the one pressuring me to let her work. If I decide to not let her, then I will send a few thousand pesos a month to her sister going to college however.

What else do you 'let' her do?

Is she allowed out of the house?

Can she have friends?

Lucky girl to have such an understanding guy.......

You are taking one sentence out of my reply and then using it to flame me. Typical of boards like this, but disappointing..

Taken as a whole my reply meant that although she wants to work to support her family, if I don't think it makes sense for her to do so (due to low salaries/long hours), I will take over the responsibility of doing so.

The idea behind us moving to Thailand is for us to travel and experience everything the country has to offer. We can't do that if she is working 12 months a year. It may not make sense for us to be tied down by her job. We don't need her to work to get by financially. If the pay is too low or hours too long, there are far better things we can be doing with our time. I would much rather her be with me than working for about $15 a day.

Have a great day.

Read your posts again. There is more than one,

Cheers..

My God you are dense. I'm really tired of dealing with jerks on message boards, but I guess they are unavoidable. it is why boards have ignore user options (which I will use immediately).

Read your post above. You definitely did quote one sentence and use it to flame me, since i said i might decide not let me girlfriend work at a bad job, and instead to use my own money to send her sister through school.

You are welcome to list the others examples which you seem to claim you read..but if you do so, try to have enough intellect to grasp the context of my reply..which was responding to someone who was insisting that since my girlfriend was a Filipina, that I would automatically be required to send money to my girlfriend's family, which was a racist generalization that I was refuting.

Two times in the somewhat distant past, I rented Jeeps on Phuket and drove to a village on the water near where the main Phang Nga Bay tours begin. It was very simple to rent a boat and guide there and take a personal tour of the bay. It was not too expensive, although I can't remember the price. I did this once with one friend, and once with two friends. I had a great time on both occasions.

I'm sure you can still do something like that. You might want to rent a motorbike, drive down there on your own, and see what you can find.

What is the reason you choose Chiang Mai and not a place in the Philipines?

BTW In the US and Europe we drive at the "right" side of the road. So the other side is obviously wrong

I haven't chosen Chiang Mai or Thailand yet. I'm still working through my decision. I'm actually spending the first 10 days of my trip in Phuket, so will check that out too. I'd be looking at that more as somewhere I'd spend smokey seasons in however.

It really comes down to infrastructure. If you haven't spent a lot of time in the Philippines, you probably don't understand how it is different than Thailand. It just isn't as developed here.

Although you can live very cheaply in the Philippines, to live a middle-class western lifestyle here is expensive, and not that easy to do. There are relatively few places to live in comfort and safety. There are relatively few places with really good medical care. There are safety issues as well although they are not huge. When I was young, I could and did live in one room huts with no electricity (my Peace Corps days). Now that I am approaching old age, creature comforts are becoming more important to me.

The Philippines is a beautiful place, and I've had a great last year, but it is much more of a third world country than Thailand is.

I've been to both countries several times, and I decided a long time ago that probably the best compromise for me would be to have a Fiipina girlfriend/wife (similar culture and language) but to live in Thailand where we could have a better quality of life than we could in the Philippines.

We'll see how things end up...

Thanks to all for your replies. They are about what I expected.

She was teacher of the year in her school with 130 faculty members, and could teach rings around me or almost anyone else I know, but i understand how racism works.

Any Filipina with a 4-year degree who is fluent in English can have her pick of dozens of call center jobs paying 17,000-22,000p in the Philippines. She will make more with bonuses and as she gets experience. That equates to about 15,000B, so there may not be a benefit of her working in Thailand as opposed to in her home country once visa costs and travel expenses are added to the equation.

It still might be a good idea if she can find a 20,000B teaching position, and if it keeps her busy and will prevent me from having to send money home to help out her family.

Best of luck for your relationship and I hope that you're the only one who's sending money to "help her parents."

No offense just happened to a good friend of mine. It turned out that she's got three kids and a love ,when he wasn't there.

Why can't you live together? Just curious, the distance relationships seem to be very difficult to handle.

Thanks for your reply. We're getting way off topic, but let me say:

First, I don't send a single peso to her parents now, nor have I. I have not been asked to.

My GF and I live together half the time. She teaches at an international school over an hour south of where I live in the middle of Cebu City. Where she teaches is not in an ideal area for me to live, so we decided last spring that she would keep the current place she lives in, and just spend weekends and Wednesday nights with me to limit the killer commute. We also go on monthly vacations as well. That works out fine for both of us, but will end in January when she will quit her job, travel with me to Thailand, and we will be together full time.

....If she can successfully cheat on me on the 3 nights (Mon,Tues,Thurs) we are not together while teaching all day and video chatting with me every night, more power to her.

Next...there are tons of horror stories like the one you state above regarding your friend. They almost all revolve around a guy living in a foreign country having long distance relationship with a Filipina GF in the Philippines (I'd be lying if I was to say I didn't have one of my own). There are probably just as many or more stories regarding Thai girls and expats. However, if you belong to any Philippine expat message boards, you'll see there are also thousands of expats who are completely happy with their wives and lives in the Philippines. The same is true regarding many ex-pats in Thailand with their Thai wives.

Any man living in the Philippines, like I do, has all the cards in his favor. Much more so than a man my age in Thailand. If you are even a half-way decent looking guy with a little money and a bit of personality, there will literally be 100 other Filipinas waiting to take the place of a current girlfriend. I'm talking about nice attractive girls, usually with jobs, who speak English extremely well. Any girl dumb enough to cheat on a coveted foreign boyfriend will get dumped in a heartbeat, with the man enjoying a new date with an attractive young female on daily basis until he finds someone he likes well enough to have a relationship with. That's the reality here.

My first two weeks would be to get a feel for the city and whether I want to live there. If it looks promising, I'll come back after the smokey season, rent a serviced apartment for a month or so, and leisurely look for the best place to live.

30 years is indeed a long time ago. Chiang Mai was very sleepy back then. Very few cars and very little night life. I remember the Bangkok travel agent I booked my hotel at only had about 3 options. I ended up at a place called the Pornping for a week. Not sure if it is still around or not. Now Agoda has 933 options.

I'm certainly not expecting things to be the same. I've been throughout the rest of Thailand 6-7 times since then as well as Laos and Cambodia, but more recently have been living in the Philippines, which definitely is not terrible, but does have infrastructure issues once you get out of the biggest 2-3 overcrowded cities. Availability of healthier food choices and quality medical care are concerns of mine moving forward.

I don't think there is one perfect place to live....I'm looking for someplace I can live comfortably and happily on a moderate (~100k) budget, and CM seems to be a place that allows me to check off more boxes than almost anywhere else.

Thanks again for all the replies.

As the prime minister has just requested an increase in Filipino teachers to come here I do not think she will have any problem finding work. I have been teaching and running a school here for over 20 years and fully agree with the comments about low salaries and discrimination. I wish you both well.

I appreciate your reply and your kind words. It is not a must that she needs to work. If the employment opportunities in Thailand are not worth pursing, we can always lay on beaches, go to coffee houses, eat good food, and travel.

She is the one pressuring me to let her work. If I decide to not let her, then I will send a few thousand pesos a month to her sister going to college however.

What else do you 'let' her do?

Is she allowed out of the house?

Can she have friends?

Lucky girl to have such an understanding guy.......

You are taking one sentence out of my reply and then using it to flame me. Typical of boards like this, but disappointing..

Taken as a whole my reply meant that although she wants to work to support her family, if I don't think it makes sense for her to do so (due to low salaries/long hours), I will take over the responsibility of doing so.

The idea behind us moving to Thailand is for us to travel and experience everything the country has to offer. We can't do that if she is working 12 months a year. It may not make sense for us to be tied down by her job. We don't need her to work to get by financially. If the pay is too low or hours too long, there are far better things we can be doing with our time. I would much rather her be with me than working for about $15 a day.

Have a great day.

I'm confused. Is your fiance moving to Thailand with you or not? If she is going to stay in the Philippines and work because she could make just as much there as she could in Thailand, her accompanying you to Thailand doesn't seem to be a priority. If she does come, check out Payap University. They've been known to hire Filipinas who are proficient teachers of English. English teachers from the Philippines are paid what they are paid. Accept it or not as you choose.

Sorry if I was unclear. She will move with me to Thailand, but is saying she would still like to work. Thanks for your recommendation.

I live on the 21st floor of a big hotel next to the biggest business park in Cebu City. Every night, I look out my window and see hundreds and hundreds of call center agents in high rises right across the street from me answering phone calls from all over the world..and there are construction cranes everywhere making more high rises for more call center agents (they've completely ruined the ocean view I had when I first moved in here).

I was making the point that with the explosion of Call Center Jobs available in the Philippines, although nobody is getting rich here, there is no reason why any educated English proficient Filipina/Filipino needs to go to another country and work for rock-bottom wages. There are help wanted signs everywhere. There is a large booth in the mall next to me offering on the spot interviews and immediate hiring of call center agents promising salaries up to 30,000p (most new agents don't make that much however).

That was not the case 5 years ago here, but is the case now.

"I have not been to the city in 27 years, and will be looking to see what part of the city I will be most comfortable in."

You would be more comfortable in Santa Barbara, California or Vail, Colorado, but you're going to need a substantially bigger budget. But you will get better quality everything (except Thai food and tropical fruits).

If you love Thai food and tropical fruit more than living a quality life with relatively pollution-free air to breathe and safe roads to walk or drive on, then Chiang Mai is the place to find similar "geniuses"...

I went to college in Santa Barbara, and lived and worked there for many years afterward. I outgrew it after a while. I've been skiing in Vail, but would never want to make that my home. It's way up interstate 80 and is a long way from anywhere.

I'm still puzzled why people make replies like this.

BTW....where do you live?

If you have time and nothing better to do, you might find it worthwhile to check out some of the neighborhoods and streets on Google maps. Just about every highway, road, street, and back alley can be seen on the Streetview feature by moving the little gold-colored man from the lower right corner to the very street you want to look at. It can be time-consuming, but also fun and informative.

https://www.google.co.th/maps/@18.7897641,98.9818163,3668m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

Good advice. in fact I'm getting tons of good advice from almost everyone (except the inevitable flamer or two). My big issue is that after not being in the city since 1985, I have no idea where the Seven Hundred Year Old Stadium, Maya Mall, Loei, Huay Kaew Road, Prominada Mal...etc. I would be a good idea to better acquaint myself with the lay of the land there.

I first visited CM in 1985 and then visited again in 2009. As you can imagine it changed tremendously. Now I live here, purchased back in 2009. CM is constantly changing with expected visitors to be 2 million within the next couple of months. Many Chinese visitors and increased traffic.

From my observation and opinion I would not want to rent or own in the old city area even though I do like to visit there periodically for night life activity including eating out.

I really enjoy living near the 700 Year Statium area which is now beginning to get popular with new condo's. It's still quiet enough to enjoy the peaceful area and surrounding mountains, close to Doi Suthep area and Neiman Rd. and the new Maya shopping Mall.

The trip to the old city and Night Bazzar area only takes me 15-20 minutes with my motorbike anytime during the day or night. Taking my vehicle can take 35-40 minutes when traffic is heavy.

When so many tourist are in and around the old city area, yes it's a feeling of excitement but for me when I drive back to my home, it's a relief getting away from the congestion of people and traffic. Once you're here for awhile you will learn the back roads and short-cuts to reduce your travel times.

So if you like living near crowded areas then you shouldn't have a problem but if you like to clear you head and not have to deal with all the confusion then I would consider the area that I've already mentioned.

I also suggest renting a motorbike if you know how to ride. If you do end-up living around my area you will most likely want to consider getting your own transportation, either a vehicle and/ or a motorbike. Relying on public transportation such as a taxi or Red truck can be burdensome due to their availability. What I mean to say is that living off of Canal Road area around the 700 Year Statium you will need to call every time you need to be picked-up by taxi.

Besides, this area is really nice driving with very little traffic when compared to downtown or the old city areas.

Good luck to you and if you have any specific questions you can always private message me.

Best wishes for an enjoyably stay in Chiang Mai.

Thanks Tony, I'll take you up on your offer and PM you. 1985...I just realized that was when my last trip was...so make it 30 years since I have been here last. I'm giving more and more thought to getting my own transportation if i decide to live there.

if you plan to live here long term, I would recommend seeing if you can stand the burning season before making long-term arrangements. Chiang Mai is only getting more crowded, less friendly, more expensive, and more polluted with each passing day. The smoking season is by far the worst part of the year for many of us, others don't mind the cancer particles and it doens't bother them symptomatically (but even if we don't feel something, that dooesn't mean it isn't staying in our lungs forever).

Thank for your message CK,

I moved up my trip to Chiang Mai so that I will leave there by the end of the first week in February, specifically so I will miss that. If I find what I am looking for; I'll return at the beginning of the rainy season. Although there is always a possibility I will decide to live full-time in Chiang Mai, paying slight more for a shorter rental period (~9 months), will give me the option of living 3 months in a place like Phuket as well.

It still might be a good idea if she can find a 20,000B teaching position, and if it keeps her busy and will prevent me from having to send money home to help out her family.

That logic never works. You will still be asked/required? to send money back to her family. Family comes first, and the emergencies never cease. It's never enough money, never.

Thai schools seem more open to hiring teachers from the Philippines. One member mentioned the accent as a pitfall, but the truth is a Thai can't tell one accent from another at the interview process, if there's even an interview, and if those conducting said interview speak English. Students however, can tell but rarely say anything negative about it to their parents or other Thai teachers. So no worries on that count.

The wage discrimination will continue to flourish but more due to the supply of Philippine applicants and their willingness to accept less money, often living five or six to a room, in order to send money back aka "Philippine Hero's". Your situation is different but I doubt your wife will get a stipend for housing outside of school property.

The supply aspect is the biggest consideration. The new sharing concept in January will just encourage more and more Philippine folks to come on over. They may even start a ferry service so I'm told, from Manila to Bangkok.

I've been going going to and living in the Philippines for many many years. I know how things work...I also know that generalities don't apply to everyone.

I'm currently not sending my girlfriend's family any money....she does that out of her salary. I see no reason why that would not continue in the future if she is working. I am not required to do anything i don't want to do. If I don't want to help her I won't. End of discussion.

She is the one pressuring me to let her work. If I decide to not let her, then I will send a few thousand pesos a month to her sister going to college however.

As I said in my post, with Call Centers more or less begging for qualified English teachers all over the Philippines, there is absolutely no reason for any filipina to go to Thailand and work for 15,000B a month. They can now earn that in the Philippines.

What is the sharing concept?

Why in the world would there be a ferry service? I just bought a ticket from Manila to Phuket for 3000B...and that includes paying extra for baggage. You can pretty much always get flights for about $100 each way if you shop a bit. A ferry service could not compete with that. Airlines are outcompeting ferries even on local island runs here in the Philippines.

"Are there any options without going back to the USA to have an extended stay in Thailand?"

• You can buy a 5 year visa for 500,000 baht.
• ​If you're over 50 you can get a 1 year extension of stay if you have 800,000 THB in the bank or 65k THB p.m. income or a combination. Renewable each year.
• Non immigrant education visa.

Thanks..since i am over 50, it would just be easier to get a normal retirement visa...which I think I have to get in my home country.

I would not let the guys ripping Cebu decide your trip for you. I've been to Thailand 7-8 times, and still decided to make Cebu my home.

Cebu is generally great place with super nice people who virtually all speak English.

Just keep in mind that it is part of the 3rd world, and don't set your expectations through the roof. I've lived in Cebu for a year with almost no complaints. Certainly the availability of attractive, well-educated, english-speaking females vastly exceeds what is available in Thailand. I could literally have a date with a different nice young woman every day if I wanted to, and none of those girls would be of the "professional" variety.

ATM's are seeminlgly every few feet in the area I'm in. The food choices are varied... Over 75 restaurants in Ayala Mall alone, many of which are American and Euro chain restaurants, although I do agree Thai food is healthier and tastier. There is a wide array of fresh fish, vegetables and fruits available at a variety of local outdoor markets and supermarkets, so it would be an easy thing to cook healthy food for yourself.

There is poverty, congestion, and crime here, but you find that mainly in the inner city. I've not experienced any crime. I did leave my computer tablet at a restaraunt. The next day, i got an email from an employee who found my tablet, accessed my email and wrote an email to me to let me know she found my table. She refused any reward when I picked it up.

Once you get outside of the major cities, the people mostly live happy, but simple lives. There are some absolutely beautiful places within a few hours by plane, bus, car, or ferry. Too many to name.

I love it here, but to each his own. I'm off to Thailand again in a couple of months to make a final determination as to where I want to spend the next few years.