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ELVIS123456

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Posts posted by ELVIS123456

  1. 10 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

    Singapore, or if really really have money central Tokyo

    Winner!!   Singapore by a mile.   Japan is great, but there is very little 'farang' options and the culture is very 'singular' - best place to visit, but not best to live without a Japanese wife/GF.

     

    There aint no better option in Asia when it comes to a high standard of living, law and order, banking system, medical system, food (being OK to eat), restaurants, transport (including the roads and airports themselves), entertainment, building construction, weather,  legal rights, land and property ownership is similar to Thailand but you can get residency in a few years and citizenship is possible (dual citizenship allowed), and I could go on and on.

     

    English is the official language of Singapore.  Plus, it is a genuine 'hub' for airline transport and from there you can go anywhere in asia in a short time. 

  2. Making America Great again - yeehaa !!  As someone that worked in IT for many eyars, I can assure you the ONLY reason they all moved to China, Taiwan etc etc was that the swamp let them. It was all about profits for the rich and the shareholders - not a thought about all the jobs lost.  The same thing why call centres all went to India etc.  Profits. And all fully supported by those mentioned before, who had 'created' the term Global Economy.  Meanwhile slave labour in China was abused and nil working conditions or rights were allowed.  And China also manipulated its currency to keep it low and make its exports cheaper.  Trump is correcting what was not only bad for the American workers, but was bad for Chinese workers, and was (and still is) a deliberate manipulation of the currency system.

      

    • Haha 1
  3. On 9/4/2018 at 8:46 PM, faranglopburi said:

    Sorry to change the subject but I'm curious what do expats do for medical coverage while on a spouse visa? I don't suppose farangs can join the Thai "gold card" scheme, so I'm assuming you take out some sort of insurance? Is it a policy from a company based in Thailand or Aus?

    Travel Insurance provides emergency medical coverage, and can include medical repatriation back to Aus if required.  I use it for both wife and myself when visiting Thailand. You can get the policy for a few weeks or up to 18 months (depending on the company).  I always get the level with bugger all travel related things, like baggage and cancelled flights etc., but the level that covers serious medical (inc repatriation), and liability insurance (in case you are sued for damaging something/someone).  It is a 'once off' deal for things like car accidents etc. and it does not cover minor issues - hospital admisions only.

     

    Many companies provide it in Aust and they are all covered under Aust laws, so get it from a reputable Aust company as soon as you have booked your flights.  If you are going to do it every year, then I suggest you use the same company each time and become a regular 'valued' customer.  I pay about $200 for 1-2 months each visit.  I use Woolworths Travel Insurance.

     

    Only downside that I have heard about travel insurance is that some hospitals in Thailand might not accept the insurance company as valid and may require you to pay - because the company isnt a recognised medical insurance organisation. I have never had to use it so I am not certain if that is the case.  I have enough in savings back in Aus, so if it was required that I pay first and then get refund when back in Aus, then I am OK. 

     

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  4. Lived in CM for nearly 4 years - I found the smoke/smog much worse than the food - never got true 'poisoning' and only a couple of 'runs'.

     

    Good advice given by others. I would add never eat seafood or any fish type food from a stall/market, and never eat in a restaurant that is empty - only go where there are lots of people and look for places where there are other 'farangs' (who are not tourists).  Never drink/use tap water and only buy your water from shops like 7/11 or Makro - and never let them put ice in your beer (it is standard - they dont know).  Try to make sure any meats in stalls are very well cooked, and anything boiled in hot water is good (except seafoods).  Be very careful of under cooked meat in many places - ask them to cook it for a bit longer and they will no problem. When you are first there I suggest you take it easy with the Thai food and eat it slowly - no big or too spicy Thai meals - let your system get used to it for a few months.

     

     

  5. 9 hours ago, Old Croc said:

    I guess Morrison will say anything over the next few months in an attempt to win the unwinnable. It remains to be seen what his actual policies would be if the impossible happens and he wins office. 

    In opposition, his mates, Abbott and Hockey, also made big promises to sway the vote. Promises thrown by the wayside in their first budget which was designed to reward their backers on the big side of town and put the little man down.

    How soon people forget the "Budget from Hell" from the same cartel.

    'Snowflake in Hell' I would say for the chances of Libs winning.  But stranger things have happened - Keating somehow got re-elected :) 

     

    Big issue that Pollies say one thing to get elected, and then dont do what they said (except Trump).  I can remember many years ago after Howard's 'core and non'core' change of heart, discussing whether a High Court challenge challenge could be successful based on false and misleading statements under the Electoral Laws of Australia.  Consensus was that you would have to be able to show that they deliberately lied in order to get elected, knowing that they would never implement the policies being 'advertised'.  Still, after many years of Pollie lies and doing one thing in election mode, and another in Govt mode, it could be claimed that past history shows this to be now a standard practice, and the onus should be on the Govt to prove they could not implement their promises, and showing that the reasons why they chose not to were valid.  Wish I knew a retired QC like Daryl did (The Castle).

     

     

     

     

     

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  6. Whenever you are first at a green light, look both ways (particularly right) before proceeding.

    I started doing this in Aus many years ago and a couple of times I was glad I did.

    Doing it in Thailand I was very glad I did it, many many times.

    No excuse for the truck driver as he is an idiot/a''ole, but if you assume that this will happen at every intersection, then you are ready to stop when you spot one.

    I can remember once hitting the brakes for a kid on a scooter going way over the limit - feels good to have 'saved' someone's life - probably not for long though.

     

    • Like 1
  7. Search posts on TV - there are many covering each of your questions and they all have been answered already.

     

    Visa - get that sorted before you do anything.

     

    Dont buy until you get old and decide to settle someone forever - always rent as that allows you to move easily (many reasons - all in the posts).

     

    Search, Research and Read.

     

  8. 33 minutes ago, candide said:

    So in the same reply you criticize rethorical arguments and make yourself a purely rethorical statement. Lol.

    A few facts:

    - First, it depends on the country of origin:

    "According to estimates by the German Agency for Labor from early 2016, less than half of the current refugees from Afghanistan, for instance, had more than elementary education, 27 percent did not have any form of formal schooling at all......Refugees from Syria are, by comparison, much better educated. More than 50 percent of Syrian refugees had at least secondary schooling, and 27 percent had some form of tertiary education, if not necessarily a degree."

    - On average the level of education is not bad:

    "In general, about one fifth of all current refugees from the top sending countries are estimated to have attended a higher education institution, and approximately two thirds have attended secondary school"

    https://wenr.wes.org/2017/05/lessons-germanys-refugee-crisis-integration-costs-benefits

    I have a new title for this 'liberal consultant' report:  "My unicorn and why it is a good thing".

     

    May17_RefGerm_GDPgrowth.png

     

    Looks good until you read this:  "Much of these projected benefits will depend on the speed and success of integration efforts, and more work is needed."

    That is Liberal speak for:  'My unicorn needs more food, so give me more money to feed it.  LOL ?

     

    As usual the whole report is not a document based on factual and impartial analysis, it is all about defining what benefits one can have from owning a unicorn.

    That unicorns do not exist, and there is no factual evidence to give rise to that claim, is always excluded by liberals in their pursuit of their ideal utopian outcome.

     

    This was noted in the report (no analysis of why of course): "While it is unlikely that Germany will close its doors to refugees anytime soon, the open-door policy of 2015 was a historical exception that has given way to a more cautionary approach." 

     

     

    • Like 1
  9. Of all the mass muders committed in the USA, not one was committed by an NRA member.

    More proof that responsible gun owners and their guns are not the problem.

     

    And in answer to all those who use a fish as a yardstick to measure a piece of wood.

    UK and England have not had gun ownership rights for over 200 years.

    Simply changing the laws (like in Aus and UK) will not solve the problem.

    Otherwise there would be no shootings/killings in Chicago or Mexico - guns are illegal in both those places (and many others).

     

    Pandora's box was opened in the USA many years ago - closing it now wont change things.

    The horse has bolted

    The milk has been spilt

    That ship has sailed

    You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube

    The cat's out of the bag

    You can't put the genie back in the bottle

     

    The 'solution' is to reduce the rights to ownership.

    Calling for a total removal of the right to own a gun in USA is 'failing to see the forest'.

    And it wont remove the 265+ million guns in civilian hands already.

     

  10. Funny isnt it. Someone kills an animal and they are 'bad. But when someone kills someone else the gun is 'bad'.  Progressive hypocrisy.

    Terrorist attacks killing many people with trucks has not resulted in the calling for trucks to be banned.  

     

    The reality is that the problem is not guns, it is the mental state of some people and their ability to get a gun. 

     

    There needs to be a far greater and a proactive assessment of people with mental problems.  If I think someone is a 'nutter' then how can I report them for assessment, like it was done up until the 60s/70s.  The answer is that I cannot, and to do so is 'discrimination' and a breach of their ''human rights.  Progressives in the 80s changed the system and got rid of the ability for society to protect itself from mentally damaged people who might kill others (with gun or whatever).  Sure, there were some that were unfairly locked up.  That is the price for being a safer society.  

     

    And that is the main reason for so many gun attacks nowadays. Period. The other is terrorism - seperate issue.

     

    The persons that do it are always mentally 'damaged', but if other people knew it, they couldnt do a thing about it. 

    Switzerland has very open gun laws, but that is 'backed' by very strict mental health laws - very very few such killings occur there.

    And the UN says the Swiss laws are a breach of a persons' human rights, because you cant prove that they will kill other people.

    Which is true, so the Swiss lock up/detain anyone that might kill other people - and monitor them if/when released - and ignore the liberals in UN.

    And they ban anyone who may be mewntally damaged from owning a gun, and they severely punish anyone who sells or gives such a person a gun - and charges them with manslaughter if they do  kill someone.

     

    The problem is some people being able to get a gun, not every person and not every gun.   

     

  11. Morrison probably wont call an early election - he knows the mood is to change.  He might even convince Turnbull (he is an ally) to not resign until the next election, so that he can take the time to try and build up his stocks with the people. But then again, with Abbott waiting in the wings like a vulture ready to pounce and destabilise him, maybe he will try to clear the air by calling an election early.  Either way the Aussie dollar is crashing again and the ASX will take a hit if Labor is elected - tough times ahead for expats.

     

    • Like 1
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