AlexRich

I’d guess everyone’s experience is different. If you buy a condo and get a long term tenant who looks after it and pays the rent promptly, it’s a good result. If you get problem tenants or have long time periods between tenants it becomes like a weight round your neck, more so if you are outside of Thailand. The hassle factor puts me off.

1 hour ago, StreetCowboy said:

Aye, right, you can pretend that films in colour have some credibility, but can you name one?  Can you name a song written this millenium with any meaningful content?

Let's  face it.  History has stopped, and the sooner we regress to the past, the better.
 

Not sure I understand? Are you saying that the only films of any merit were in black and white? 

49 minutes ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

What is wrong with Facebook I talk to thousands of people all over the world and my family I haven't seen in many years

it’s a double edged sword. As you state, it’s original objective was perfectly reasonable and useful. But on the other side you give up privacy and may be bombarded by views and opinions that on the surface sound reasonable but are in fact poorly researched, manipulative and agenda laden.

Views in society appear to me to be much more polarised and angry … and I don’t think that leads to good outcomes. Qanon being one such example. There are many more.

Shaved head, two weeks as a monk, sorry Khab,  job done. 
 

The kid who kicked him stole something from his hand, perhaps a ring, then handed it to the fat one. Fat boy will be singing like a canary as I write this.

6 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Revolut went down hill as soon as that happened. No one talks about them anymore

Another article in the Times today suggesting a market cap of £5 billion, which seems a little better. Apparently there is a very large addressable market? One to watch, but probably don’t dive in at float. 

4 hours ago, Genix said:

 

Interesting to know thanks. They'll just keep growing as the world gets more digital and the old banking system gets competition with modernized players like Wise. 

Just read in the Guardian. Revenues for y/e 31 March 2021 was £421m with profit before tax of £41m. They suggested the market cap would be around £9 billion, which means the P/E will be eye watering. Much will depend on expected growth prospects. 

A side topic, but for those impressed with the Wise business, they are listing on the London Stock Exchange in the near future. They claim to have been profitable since 2017, but I haven’t seen the financials yet. A Fintech may be a bit pricey, but worth a look at least.

If you feel safe in KK, and the Covid rates you quote are accurate, I don’t see any need to move to an area with more cases of Covid? 
 

Once you are vaccinated then move on. Moving to HH involves a lot more interaction with people that you do at the moment, if there is no urgent reason to move then just take your time. 
 

I want to travel again but have decided to stay in my base in the eastern Mediterranean until Covid is largely over. So I’ll be on the move in 2022, but not before. 

8 hours ago, Salerno said:

 

Bank fees can quickly add up, especially in Thailand with their 220 Baht ATM fee on top of any home bank fees. Contrary to the "cash is king" cohort (indeed it is in certain countries, but you have to get it somehow and I prefer not having a wad of cash laying around) I've been purely using ATMs while travelling for decades. I didn't really give fees a second thought until I did a 3 month trip (Asia, Europe, Middle East) a decade or so ago and noticed I was losing around AU$25 every withdrawal.

 

Look into cards available in the UK that are fee and forex free, reimbursing foreign ATM fees may also be available. For example Aussies have ING and people from the States have Charlie Swab, both cards meet the fee free and reimbursement criteria. For the UK, I think people have mentioned Halifax and Revulute (?) Also look into the fee structure on credit cards - for the first year or two after noticing the fees, my best option was actually using a credit card as my ATM card, just "pre loaded it" to avoid interest charges.

 

Depending on what country you are in (easily done in Thailand) you can make cash withdrawals in a bank to negate/minimise fees. Make sure you have multiple options available (it can be a real pain the proverbial if your card for some reason doesn't work/you lose it) my Wise borderless is purely one of my backups, let the banks know your travel plans if necessary and bump the daily withdrawal limits if appropriate (I've heard ridiculously low, talked to a guy before who said his card was £250). 

Thanks again. I’m going to try and have at least 3 different options, as my banks have a habit of shutting me down when I withdraw money overseas, even when I’ve advised them that I am travelling. Happened in Bali and Thailand, and would have been a nightmare if I didn’t have a credit card on my possession. I’ll look into new banks like Revolut (I think that’s what it’s called), I also heard of something called Xoom, where you can send cash to a pick up point and collect it locally. 

On 6/15/2021 at 10:50 AM, JimmyJ said:

Possible 1st class troll job.

I’d normally agree with you, but you tend to see that more with newbie posts, not with someone who has made several hundred posts? 
 

Poor form not to update.

3 hours ago, Salerno said:

 

Depends on your intent.

 

I got their card as soon as it became available to me intending to transfer into Baht now and then when the interest rates where favourable, let the balance build over time and then use it for ATM withdrawals on trips. Have never used it once - I am lucky enough to have cards with far better options. 

 

If you are thinking of using it as an ATM card look into the withdrawal limits and fees https://wise.com/help/articles/2935769/how-much-does-it-cost-to-withdraw-cash

Thanks, I’m planning on travelling more 2022 and accessing cash overseas is high on my priorities. I’m just trying to work out the best method of accessing local cash without having a local bank?

7 hours ago, Excel said:

Unless you have borderless account debit card with Wise which means you can draw out local currency anywhere after firstly converting it from your home currency into whichever other currency you require.

That makes sense, thanks. That’s the best option for me.

7 hours ago, Moonlover said:

There is a very long list of countries to which you can have money sent to, but you must have an account in the country, either in your own name or that of a trusted 3rd party. It's not like Western Union, for an example, where you can collect over the counter.

Thanks, that’s what I was trying to understand. So Wise only makes sense if you already have an account in the foreign country? For a traveller it makes little sense.

8 hours ago, bojo said:

I use rationalfx which I believe is the same as Wise or thereabouts and transfer money from UK to a third party in Thailand regularly............. On rationalfx, you set up an account, complete registration and can transfer to anyone anywhere pretty much, so 'yes' you can transfer to yourself..............

Thanks for that. But I’m not understanding the mechanics.

If I transfer funds to myself in Thailand, where do I collect the cash, given that I don’t possess a Thai Bank account? 
 

That’s the part I’m not sure about.

I’ve never used this service but have a question for those who have.

Is it possible to do a Wise transfer from a UK bank account to another country that you don’t have a bank account in? For example, if you are travelling to different countries. 
 

And if it is, how does that work?

Asking for a friend? I’d be surprised if this could be done easily as the US is very tough on any immigration, particularly the unskilled variety. Could you find an American to do the same job, would be their thinking?

8 hours ago, canthai55 said:

OP - what did you do ?

Inquiring minds would like to know

Exactly, he probably has by now. So what happened?

7 hours ago, atpeace said:

 

 

Perfect description and I wish the media and doctors would just keep it simple.  

 

I do like being around fat people that are cool with being fat and enjoy its benefits.  Might not end well but it seems fat people keep getting older.  Sometimes when running by Dunkin donuts and watching fat people eat big delicious donuts and gulp down chocolate drinks, it crosses my mind that I might be the idiot.

Until you walk up the stairs, or a steep hill? There is nothing worse than losing the ability to do normal things effortlessly, something that obesity robs you of. I enjoy everything in moderation, so I don’t deny myself the odd doughnut, cake, etc … and I enjoy it far more than people who eat this stuff every day. 

3 hours ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

Theres  a pattern here,  cant  quite  put my finger on it????

falling over?

On 6/11/2021 at 8:59 AM, Surelynot said:

Daughter made me watch a video of a SA doctor who advocates eating nothing but meat and animal fat........swears blind by it.......taken to court for advocating such a diet and the authorities lost based on the evidence he presented??????

I watched an interview with a guy who spent time researching the diet and health of native Alaska tribes (Inuit?), who survived on whale blubber and fats. All of them were in excellent health … blood pressure, weight, etc. When I look at photographs of Brits in the early 1900-1950 it’s very rare to see an overweight person, yet they were less conscious of health in those days. A sedentary lifestyle combined with fast food and a tendency to eat more carbohydrate than protein does a lot of damage.