Kurtf

Although there are many reasons why one could get stuck in Thailand I think mine might be typical. My father in law got I’ll so since my Thai wife owned some land in Thailand and even though she is an American citizen as am I, we decided to move to Thailand and take care of the old man. We came and built a house in the north away from Bangkok where her dad lived and then moved him up north to live with us. We hired a nurse to help take care of him and 9 months later he died. And for 7 years we have been trying to sell the house and land where all my entire wealth is tied up. Without selling this house there is no way we can afford to return to the USA. Moral of the story.....RENT. Never buy unless you want to buy my house 40 km north of Chiang Mai. 

I think it is a bad idea in a country where the natives have no idea or concept of what a lane is for.A road in Thailand with two lanes is IMMEDIATELY turned into a three lane road or a one lane road with some <deleted> straddling the lane line.

Thailand is ruled by a dictatorship irrespective of what they try to sell you as a democracy. VN is a communist country. So take your pick. If I had a choice I think I’d pick VN where my money would go farther. Thailand has made it painfully obvious to the most casual observer that they do not want farangs and I don’t want to live where I am not wanted or appreciated for how much I contribute to the society.

I think you have got the picture. We are not wanted. If we were wanted they would be doing everything in their power to make it less onerous and difficult. They would be greasing the wheels of bureaucracy but they have been doing the exact opposite. So it is painfully obvious to the most casual observer, farangs are being discouraged about retiring in the land of smiles.

There is a device offered for sale that I have seen advertised on Thai Visa. A new invention invented by the Japanese that will allow you to converse with anyone in more than 40 different languages. Sounded wonderful so I bought one for $89 US dollars. It took four weeks t get it and I was really excited when it finally arrived. I downloaded the instruction manual and followed the directions step by step. You have to download a program on your cell phone and then pair it with the device. I did that and then tried it out. It didn’t work. Several times I got a message saying it couldn’t hear me even though I was talking directly into the microphone. Then one or two times it spouted out a single word that had nothing to do with what I had said.

     Rather a long story to just tell everyone, let my lesson on stupidity and gullibility be a lesson to you. Don’t fall for that device and the slick advertisement they show.

What kind of freakin idiot travels without enough money or allows himself to be completely broke when far from home in a foreign country? Hard to have sympathy for anyone that stupid.

My advice would be to rent. I made the mistake of buying and then building a house. Now 7 years later I am finding it almost impossible to sell without taking a huge loss. Others may disagree but that is my experience.

I too am completely fed up with the moving goal posts. I feel unwelcome here now. After living here 7 years I am ready to return to my home country. But the problem is with the declining economy in Thailand, I am finding it almost impossible to sell the house I built and without that happening, I am financially STUCK here.

I’m 9 years older than you and I have decided to live forever. So far...so good.

actually it sounds to me you are afraid of dying. What’s to fear? It happens to everyone sooner or later and when it happens, your worries are over. Be grateful you have had a relatively healthy life and quitcherbitchin.

What the h___ difference does it make where you croak? Here or GB. In either case you are going to be dead. If you are too sick to travel, you probably aren't long for this world anyway.

42 minutes ago, malibukid said:

went to the hospital for my semi-annual check up.  what a  wake up call.  LDL out of control.  the food here can literally kill you if the pollution does not get you first.   the Thai's love their palm oil.  back to salmon and steamed veggies. 

Hahaha. Before you jump onto that diet I suggest you do a little investigation into that salmon you think is so great. 99% of the salmon sold in Thailand is farm raised and contains unbelievable amounts of toxins. Soaking your veggies in a dilute solution of white vinegar will help clean off some of the pesticides used on the farms.