JTXR

I'm at the age I need to start minimum distributions from IRAs, etc. When I first started getting SS, someone there told me that (for reasons I never really understood at the time) my SS payment would be reduced once I started getting these distributions. At that time I lived in the States. Now, living in Thailand, I guess I have to deal with Manila. Last year when I tried to call them, I only got put on endless hold. Is it possible to deal with them by phone. If I write, do they respond fairly quickly? Or can I try to deal with the SSA office in my home state (where I still maintain a US address as "home of record."). Thanks for any input.

Cool. Thanks.

Ha ha. Greta Thundberg "enticed" 100 experts to write...... etc. ?? She "enticed" them? Thundberg "introducing" and "rounding off" each chapter is essentially no different from Kim Kardashian introducing and rounding off each chapter. Very nice that 100 experts contributed to the book. No doubt they've written much else too. Great. If they're experts, they're worth reading. But if they are the experts, where are their names in the blurb? After all, they are the ones worth reading and listening to. This thing "created" by Greta Thundberg is just more self-promotion. "Icon" my tush.

This site I think used to have forums for discussion of home country issues: UK, USA, Australian, etc. Is this no longer the case since rebranding as ASEAN NOW? I've just searched but can't find them. Where would now be the appropriate place to post about US-specific issues (e.g. SSA)? Thanks.

Now that's funny. ???? My wife would not have been able to resist commenting the same.....

True, raising public awareness is necessary, and there are many, many people doing it better than Thundberg in ways that count. When you actually listen to Thundberg, it's surprisingly clear she really doesn't understand much about the science behind global warming or even the actual probabilities of the consequences. She basically only knows "the house is on fire" and adults stole her childhood. I understand the science, being a scientist and having read most of most IPCC reports, and yes, it would be very good indeed if emissions were reduced and global warming slowed, then reversed. But nothing of what I know about the subject did I learn from Thundberg. Again, I have nothing against her personally and would never want to "shut her down." I just feel no need to pay attention to her. More power to her for becoming famous. God knows that's what is really important in today's celebrity worshiping culture. But on the other hand I've got no particular respect for self-promoting creatures of the media who are famous for being famous in whatever sphere.

Thanks for that about the bank draft. I think for adult renewals of 10-year passports, you have to do it by mail now. Funny, on the new checklist, it asks for your return address but doesn't say anything about a self-addressed return envelope, only to NOT send a prepaid return envelope. Oh well, I'll just do what they say.....

What's the source of that 41% number?

I spent a good deal of time on the website yesterday and today. The checklist and other information on the bank draft does not say what the payee should be, thus my question.

If the US defaulted on its public debt, the fallout would very likely be catastrophic, which is one reason all the previous Republican posturing and brinkmanship and Democratic hand-wringing resulted in raising the limit at the last possible moment. Is it possible the nutcases in the so-called Freedom Caucus can actually force a default this time ("stuff it, let's see what happens...)? Well, who knows? Things have happened in the past decade no one ever thought could happen.

And all the things on the list have done very little to actually, concretely reduce carbon emissions or slow/reverse climate change. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the real world (engineers, biologists, economists, even business owners, etc.) with real knowledge and real skills about real things who are actively, concretely doing real things about climate change. Thunberg is a media creature, she and her family great in PR, but she has no education to speak of and no real knowledge or skills. Fine to have climate change celebrity, I suppose, but she's famous for being famous, not for anything truly concrete she's done about climate change. I don't dislike her at all but wonder why people pay attention to her PR antics rather than to the people who are actually doing the necessary work.

One additional question. Renewal by mail requires a 100 baht bank draft so the embassy can mail the passport back. Does such a draft require a payee to be filled in? If so, I guess it should be "US Embassy Thailand" or "US Consulate Thailand" or does it matter?

I'm in Bangkok. I'm assuming CW will transfer the re-entry permit, but if not, carrying the old passport is no problem.

No, I got the point. Just reminding folks that even understanding those factors better is not really going to help you to make the kind of predictions you so often see people making all the time (on this forum and elsewhere). There are some exceptions, of course. While I agree it is highly improbably that the Thai government or central bank is manipulating the baht, if it WERE to try to manipulate it, or some other large entity tried to manipulate it (AND you had insider knowledge of that manipulation), then you'd have a better basis for prediction.

People think they can know what the baht exchange rate will do (i.e., in the future). The only 100% sure thing anyone can say about the exchange rate of any two currencies, just like the only 100% sure thing anyone can say about the stock market, is: "It will fluctuate." Anyone who says they know what the baht exchange rate will be next month or next year (against pound, dollar, yen, whatever) -- or even if it will go up or down -- is simply full of it.

OK. So if I go to renew extension in June, the extension will be only to the following February when the passport expires. Fine. (Now I just need to see what the health insurance company will do with the necessary policy....)

Yes, of course. Thanks for the correction. I was entirely one year off for it all. Passport exprires February 2024, extension to stay June 2023. I should know not to post in the early morning.

A couple of questions: Will TI renew at the end of June my extension of permission to stay (based on original NonImm OA) for a full year if the passport will expire after 8 months (end of next February)? Renewing the passport itself before June is complicated by the fact I need to travel to the U.S. for a couple of weeks in May. If I try to renew the passport now, here in Thailand (I've heard it needs to be done by mail now?), will I need to transfer original visa and permission to stay and reentry permit to the new passport before I travel out of the country? If so, is that a fairly easy and painless process at CW? Will I need to wait until there is less than a year to go on my current passport before I can renew? Thanks for input.

Sorry, that's just completely wrong. There is a 2 dose pre-exposure vaccination for rabies. If you've had it, then the the post-exposure vaccination regime is much less onerous. https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/prevention/pre-exposure_vaccinations.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Frabies%2Fspecific_groups%2Ftravelers%2Fpre-exposure_vaccinations.html

That's what I do in the U.S. Will a used car dealer in Thailand agree to this?

So what is the truth you now know?

Actually, it's probably the best they could do, given the current realities, rather than tick off the Chinese by having requirements only for them. Making the requirements for everyone shows the Chinese they're not being singled out.

Of course buying a used car can always be potentially difficult and risky, even in one's own country. But I don't speak Thai very well and don't really know a trusted garage I can take a potential buy to before purchase (which is what I do in the U.S.). Any tips from those with experience on how best to avoid getting ripped off? I'm in Bangkok, if that matters. Thanks.

Thai Immigration has recently started to send email reminder notifications that a 90-day report is about to be due. It seems they send around 15 days before the due date, based on the date of the last online report. I just received a notification. But it does not take into account the "clock reset" that should have occurred because of a recent trip out of, then back into the country. Can I safely ignore the notification and only do the 90-day report I think is due 90 days after my recent last entry?

What is so special about 400 baht? If the price were the same for everyone -- or if Thai citizens were given a reasonable (say 25-50%) discount and signage was in several languages and the fee structure therefore transparent -- I'd consider it.