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jpeezy
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Posts posted by jpeezy
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Just curious as to how to go about getting a certified english translation of my fiance's documents that are in Thai that meets the US Embassy's requirements. Is there a particular agency they prefer or just any translation company will do? Recommendations are welcome.
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8 hours ago, bwpage3 said:
And you like the crime rate, politics, pollution, of Thailand?
Well, I haven't been living in Thailand to experience problems with the politics. My intention of this thread was to get some further insight on the negativity I have observed and I have seen a lot of good points made and taken all into consideration.
Pollution is an obvious problem in Thailand. Is it the worse I have seen? Burn pits in Iraq were pretty nasty, the foggy haze from the factories in South Korea weren't too good either. Not taking away the fact that there is a pollution in Thailand of course, I haven't been to any areas where I felt I couldn't breath, but I haven't been all over the country either.
Crime rate? My limited observation is that there isn't a lot of violent crime, at least compared to the US. I don't feel like I have the need to look over my shoulder constantly, unless I am in an obviously shady area/dark alley at 3 am or something. Is this me being ignorant and that crime is more prevalent than I realized? I can handle petty theft etc, pretty much any 3rd world or developing country has those problems.
Side note: At one point in my life I wanted to eventually live in Costa Rica, but I just really enjoy being in Asia and fell in love with Thailand. But maybe that is just me being relatively "new" and that will wear off after doing a longer stay.
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18 hours ago, AussieBob18 said:
Thais are not as racist as much as some people say. But definitely their default setting is to not trust any foreigners - from anywhere in the world. But once you get to know them, and them you, they are usually fine - as individuals.
You mean more like Xenophobia? I know when I was in Korea, similar thinking and attitude. Basically, if a crime occurred, there was an attitude that it had to be foreigner who did this until proven otherwise, for example. Although in their defense it is a very strict culture and the crime rate is extremely low.
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1 hour ago, Fex Bluse said:If you are half Thai, then surely you know more about Thailand and the frequent gripes than you are letting on, no? ????
Indeed, you should be acutely aware of how racism plagues the country, for example.
Thailand is a country where it's nice only if you never look too closely. The whole society's dealings with the outside, non-Thai world is modeled on superficiality and tourism type of exchanges.
If you never look past the many plastic smiles, and as long as you are paying (transacting), everything is fine. But, outsiders will never find true Thai friendship or interest in them.
I've lived and worked on and off in Thailand for 30 years. And, I know only a tiny number of foreigners who ever have true Thai friends. These are all types of foreigners - guys working in government, guys earning 1MM THB a month leading multinational companies, guys in religious missions, profesional teachers at top universities here, others.
Mostly very nice guys, unlike me. But, like me, almost not a single Thai friendship among them.
Why?
It's a transactional country with attractive people. That's it.
Spend months observing how many genuine expat/Thai interactions (not sexual ones) you see, and ask why so few. I've not been to a single other country anywhere in the world where this lack of true exchange is so apparent. Although, Saudi comes close.
Yes, I am half, but my first visit to Thailand was in 2013 at 36, so culturally not Thai at all. I don't speak Thai yet and have really only viewed the country through a tourist's lens.
My gf is Thai and when I do visit Thailand I am usually surrounded by what I consider Thai friends, meaning we still speak and check on each other throughout the year. I am an outgoing person and I do try to mingle with the locals whatever country I go to.
But, I do see what you mean by transactional, as there a few Thais I know that only seem to hang out cause they think I will buy them a drink or treat dinner when going out. After a few visits it is painfully obvious which are which.
I did live in Korea 3 times, for a total of 5 years and there was a similar observation about not seeing too many Americans have Korean friends, but I always attributed it to the cultural difference and language barrier.
I am not aware of the racism, are you speaking of towards any foreigner or a particular groups(s)? I may not have noticed it as they all think I am Thai until they try to speak to me and I give them that deer in the headlights look lol
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22 minutes ago, RedPill said:
No, it's not that bad ... but it's day to day life which get's discussed, and changing climates, reality ... etc. etc. etc. It can't always all be roses.
Why always these questions and remarks about complaining?
We all come here, get fascinated at first ... and love it. Then we settle down.
But it's not always everything 100% super sunshine and hunky dory, day in day out ...
... where to go to and talk to likewise people in similar situations? Discuss the good, the bad and the ugly?
To the local Thai market at 4am in the morning and vent it out with all the Thai grannies?
... or on a forum with Farangs?
It's not complaining ... it's a forum ... by nature, a lot of negative sounding things come up.
I would say it's more venting ... sometimes ranting ... what's wrong with that?
After living for a few years here, I start to get "most fed-up with Farangs" who perceive every little thing against Thailand and living here as complaining. And often get into a state of denial defending everything Thai.
It get's a bit boring to say the least.
Fair enough, I do realize the need to vent and discuss issues on the forum, I wasn't trying to be offensive by any means.
But, it was just my observation that there seemed to be more negative sentiments than positive from what I have seen. Now, I can't say I have read every post so it is all anecdotal.
Another poster stated that the negativity may be on other forums for other countries, which I admittedly haven't really looked into.
What would be an alternative country to keep an eye on in SEA? Vietnam?
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10 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:
Who can predict what any country will be like in 10 years?
That is just ridiculous.
Thailand is still the third world anyway you look at it.
Politicians get into politics to control budgets to make themselves rich. Therefore the country never moves forward. Ever!
Depending on who is in charge of the govt, the policies can either favor or hinder expats.
Right now the policies seem to be anti-expat
Currency? No one that retired to Thailand predicted the currency would depreciate so much and are now forced to live with it.
Who knows what the currency will do in 10 years? Might be more expensive than your home country?
The big question is HOW many people would have moved to Thailand in the first place if NOT for the cheap and easily available women, who will marry almost anyone?
Thailand is overcrowded, pollution is getting worse ever year, traffic is already at nightmare levels, flooding, monsoons, heat and humidity, mosquitoes, etc. What exactly is the big attraction about living in all that?
I really think if people had the money required to retire in comfort in their own countries, they would have never picked Thailand. Go to Thailand a month or 2 to play around, sure, but move there and have no bridge to get back? No Thanks.
However, if you want to rent a 1 room flat in your golden years and chase bar girls, this is probably the place for you.
The government can pass any policy they want, increase financial requirements to stay, mandatory insurance, you name it. Their country, their rules.
Thailand has taken such a dive the past 2 years, cannot even image 10 years from now?
Of course I wasn't expecting for someone to predict what it would be like in 10 years, that would be silly. Just trying to track the trend, whether up or down. I like to plan things out and set goals, I don't like doing things on a whim as it could be costly.
I would assume my experience would be different if I get my Thai passport (being half-Thai) and all that, correct?
My experience has been only as a tourist, maybe been to Thailand about 20 times since 2013. The food and accommodation is cheap from that experience. But I can definitely empathize with the changing of rules for persons on retirement visas.
My home country is the USA, although there are some good things about it, I just don't really like living there. Crime rate, politics and costs are just not to my taste. Mind you, I was living out of the US from 2007 until 2019, and when I came back to work there it was like a totally different country to me. Maybe the whole world is going downhill lol
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2 minutes ago, IvorLott said:Sanemax is bang on the money here.
What makes it worse is that many can remember the 'good old days' when all you needed to do to be legal in the country was hop on the train to Penang and return a few days later with a nice shiny METV (or whatever) for a few hundred baht and the only hassle was getting a cab to Ferenghi Beach to use its meter.
Now they have to 'check in' even if they just pop down to see a pal in another town for a few nights.
I've not yet been back under these 'new conditions' but will have to soon. For the first time in my long (30 yr) working history in Thailand, I'm not looking forward to going back too much. Were it not for the fact that I'm 'tied' to Thailand, I'd certainly be looking elsewhere in SEA but as our only other regional office is in SIngapore or Jakarta. In fact I'm not too sure the new rules apply to me on a non immi B/Work Permit but that doesn't alter the fact the new rules are stringent, not to mention ridiculous.
I can understand why so many feel like they've been let down. for years they have lived legally in Thailand, made lives for themselves only to be made to jump through increasingly difficult hoops, seemingly at the ever changing whims of the powers that be.
Ok, that makes more sense now. I can see why that would upset a lot of folks.
I say semi-retire, but my intent is to be able to pick and go to another place if it turns out to be a terrible move. For example, I don't plan on buying property to keep me tied down to Thailand per se. I love coming there as tourist, but I guess i will prepare for the novelty of living there to wear off if it turns out to be a mistake.
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6 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:
Yep, nobody likes that.
If i have a friend sleeping in the house, i am supposed to report that. And the opposite.
Mind boggling if you ask me.
Wow, I was not aware of that. How is that enforced?
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Maybe I have a skewed view, I been living outside the USA for the past 11 years from places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and South Korea. I have only been to Thailand as a visitor so I haven't dealt with the residency headaches etc. That being said, I think some of the countries I have mentioned are way more like an "open jail".
To be honest, and not to offend anyone here, but a lot of it sounds to me like the grumpy get off my lawn type complaints, if that makes sense.
Is it possibly because it could be so much better but very frustrating that it isn't?
Also, me being half Thai, would that make a difference quality-of-life wise, when I go through the process to gain residency/citizenship?
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So, I been lurking on these forums for while. One thing I have noticed is the general discontent of being in Thailand from some forum users. I do plan on semi-retiring in Thailand sometime in the next 10 or so years, but sometimes I get second thoughts from reading the posts here. Part of me thinks it is just maybe some who are forgetting how home really is, although I will acknowledge there are problems in Thailand as there are everywhere. So, is it really that bad? Or is it just the case of people complaining cause they have nothing else to complain about?
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5 hours ago, NCC1701A said:
good morning Yinn,
I am 64 years old and for as long as I can remember in the City of Los Angeles, California, USA there has been trash pick up. One day a week as a kid I would put the trash bin out on the street the night before and in the morning the trash would be gone. As early as the late 70's we began recycling, with two different bins. Later the city began using a new type of truck that could pick the bin up with a robotic type arm.
My point is, in my lifetime, in my neighborhood there is no trash piled up. anywhere. ever.
not on street corners. not in empty lots. ZERO.
Thailand on the other hand is a huge garage dump everywhere you look. And Thais are responsible for it.
Need to see LA now, trash epidemic...
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On 9/10/2019 at 3:37 PM, FredGallaher said:
I did for both my daughter and son. I had to get US birth certificate verified by the California dept of state easy, fill out the application and attach photos. They kept the US Birth Certificate but mailed it back with the Thai Birth Certificate. We turned in the papers at a roving consular event in California, but you can also do it by mail or at the consulate. Make sure the form is filled out correctly. The staff at the roving consular event was super nice. Get a large priority mail envelop and stamps (~$20)
My children will probably not live in Thailand and my son is past the Thai military age. However when we pass on we want things to go to our children, including house and property, plus a couple of farms. We don't want a family fight and let our children decide if they want to give things away. I have an American friend whose wife away and everything went to the wife's daughter. Lucky for him she will let him stay in the house and keep the car, but he could be in trouble if she wasn't so nice.
Thank you for that information, that sounds relatively easy then. I wish I would of known earlier on in my life I could do this, but better late than never. Being from Florida I will do everything via mail, just got to get certified copies of those documents from my parents as required. How long did it take to get the Thai birth certificate?
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OP, I am in a very similar situation to you, 41 with Thai mother who hasn't been to Thailand since she came to the US some 44 years ago. I am also about to start the process, once I am back home and can gather the correct documents. Looking at the Thai Embassy website it looks really straight-forward, as long as all the documents are accounted for.
Have you ran into any issues I need to be aware of that are not mentioned about the process?
Good luck to you and I hope it all works out.
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I work in Korea and I am about to go meet my girlfriend in Thailand and we will be coming to Korea together. I am not sure if I should be concerned or not about her coming into country if I am with her. Will she need to have her own cash on hand to enter Korea or me vouching for her at immigration with my money is sufficient? How much money are they looking for, if she visits for month? I imagine me having a work visa holds more weight than a tourist but who knows nowadays?
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Thanks! I just found this out so I don't know too much, I appreciate the quick response.
BTW, is there an english version of that .pdf?
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So, I didn't realize until recently that I could get Thai citizenship since my mother is a Thai.
I did some research here and this is what I found that I need for a Thai birth certificate:
- Completed application form
- Copy of my US passport accompanied by original.
- Copy of my US birth certificate accompanied by original.
- Copy of my parents marriage certificate accompanied by original.
- Copy of mom's Thai ID card accompanied by original.
- Copy of my mom's US passport and original
I was wondering if this is still all the documentation required, as I gathered it from an older post, if there maybe anything additional?
Also, how would I go about this if my mother doesn't have her Thai ID? Will her Thai passport be ok? She hasn't been in Thailand for over 40 years-ish.
I am also currently in South Korea, so I am assuming I can do this at the Thai embassy in Seoul or do I need to travel back to the states or Thailand?
Getting certified English translation for US embassy
in Visas and migration to other countries
Posted
Thanks!