StayinThailand2much

Most of the towns in those 'second-tier provinces' look the same to me. Okay, there is one, or the other national park, waterfall, or 'different' temple, but for individual travellers, going there is too troublesome (not to mention the highly inflated prices for foreign tourists in regards to sights, local transportation, etc.) And I doubt that Chinese bus tourists would enjoy such long journeys. When I travel to/in Thailand, I want to see beaches, not recently built Wats in Nakhon Nowhere, 500km inland...

So, you're renting a new apartment back home (for only 6 months) every time, or are you paying for two apartments while in Thailand? Would never work in my home country, as it is close to impossible nowadays to find apartments for rent in the big cities.

Thailand - The Hub for the Oldest Rice in the World (You're welcome, TAT... 😆)

Glad to hear that he got a work permit for this kind of work.

Not the same. Correct me, if I'm wrong, but New Zealanders can work (in any job) in Australia. And there are many vacancies (with higher salaries) there, and living costs are, in fact, lower. (Esp. if you come from a small town, where the only local supermarket is a Four Square. - NZ milk and other dairy products are actually way cheaper in China than they are in New Zealand.)

Lots of videos on YouTube now how "cheap" Thailand is. People back home watch it, and believe everything. However, these are mostly single guys in the clips, possibly with enough savings, but without a family to support, childcare to pay, or hospital bills for their kids. I wish her good luck, but also would be surprised if she was still around in a year from now. And yes, 'hanging around in the tropics for a year' will look good on her CV once she returns home. I remember meeting a woman like her, from France, with a son, more than 20 years ago, travelling around Malaysia. She had her dole transferred to her from Paris, and the authorities actually had encouraged her to move abroad, as they could pay her lower unemployment benefits that way. Does Britain pay dole to people overseas?

At least you can get a job or be on the dole. In Thailand, as a foreigner, without cash, you will end up like the homeless guy on Sukhumvit near Asoke.

Hope, they really love hot weather then, cause what they save in heating costs, they will easily pay for air-conditioning.

More retired rich people who can afford moving to developing countries... No, wait! 😆

I was still fined (Chaengwattana) in mid 2023, cause my landlady didn't do the TM30. Even though, I did it online, it was not accepted. Telling the IO that my landlady refused to do it, the IOs reaction was 'meh'. After all, I was an easier target, as I had to do my TM47 there.

Puppets copying their puppet masters, trying to establish a ruling family dynasty too...

She might be more qualified than he is soon...

Maybe that's why they have so many employees, to 'Wai', and count many times, wasting so much time. In other countries such banks would be bankrupt by now. How they manage to stay profitable like this, I will never know...

Nobody knows... Went to an SCB branch in Bangkok a few years ago. Branch manager helped me to do a deposit at one of the counters to pay a bill. - I hand him the money. He gives it to the cashier. Cashier counting the money 4-5 times, then counting my change 4-5 times. Branch manager counting the change 4-5 times too, before handing it to me... Change incorrect! (On the plus-side, in addition to not being able to count, they also weren't able to speak English.)

Ambitious indeed! In unrelated news, I'd like to announce that I plan to be a billionaire by 2038. (Still looking for generous Nigerian sponsors for that goal.)

What happened to the Elite Visa? - Oh, that's right... 😆

I don't know about others, but my interest in Thai salads is exactly 0%.

Maybe these foreign vendors understand English, and what tourists want to buy... Just saying.

Cheap airfare to Japan is a big reason for this I think. A trip to Tokyo from BKK is $300 vs $1200 to get to Hamburg. Thai people can afford that? If they got 100k Thais per year I would be impressed. I don't think this would be a problem. Just look at the eye-watering amounts of cash South Asians and Africans pay to people-smugglers to be taken to Europe. They sometimes have to work years to pay the borrowed money back to relatives and others.

Most European governments and media are up in arms about the British solution, but sooner or later the EU will have to resort to the British, or Australian way...

Not only Thais. The Aussies gave Malaysians the same easy visa option as Westerners. Guess what, after that they had about 10,500 overstaying Malaysians working illegally... Just imagine, what would happen if it became true. There would be a serious labour shortage in Thailand within days...

Probably mostly one-way, consumer goods and food exported to Europe, and tax-free submarines imported to Thailand...

Otherwise it would be a Catch-22; no bank account, no long-term visa extension, and vice versa, with, perhaps, fewer expats in the future.

You don't know that. Some banks may actually go beyond that by refusing to open bank accounts for foreigners in the future, just in case...

Guess, they will particularly target foreigners again. It might be easier to swim in clean water at Pattaya Beach in the future than opening a bank account...