Mike Teavee

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

I find that a "fun" thing to do with such lists is consider what to me is the highest priority -- do they offer formal retirement status and do I personally qualify financially? Of course the results will vary based on the individual but I never understand why such lists include countries that have no formal program.

 

So for me:

 

Portugal NOT qualified

Panama QUALIFIED

Costa Rica QUALIFIED

Mexico QUALIFIED (show money method)

Colombia QUALIFIED (for now, will not if proposed changes are passed)

Ecuador QUALIFIED

Malaysia NOT qualified

Spain NOT qualified

France NOT qualified

Vietnam NO SUCH VISA STATUS OFFERED!

Being from the UK, I'm (currently) qualified for the EU countries, need to make a big decision (soon) about whether to capitalise on that while I still can & Portugal would be my favourite...

Top places to retire in 2020... 

1. Portugal
2. Panama
3. Costa Rica
4. Mexico
5. Colombia
6. Ecuador
7. Malaysia
8. Spain
9. France
10. Vietnam

https://www.asiaone.com/lifestyle/portugal-ranked-best-place-retire-2020 

LATAM scores 5 out of the top 6 spots, IIRC Thailand came in at 17th but I can't find that link now... 

On 1/5/2020 at 9:19 AM, Shot said:

La Jolla, San Diego. The first pic that is.

Great find... https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.unsplash.com%2Fphoto-1464095718138-d9c47312eac5%3Fixlib%3Drb-1.2.1%26ixid%3DeyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9%26w%3D1000%26q%3D80&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Funsplash.com%2Fs%2Fphotos%2Fla-jolla%2C-san-diego%2C-united-states&docid=c1OMv0WH54Vc7M&tbnid=5m_tCxWuloeJTM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwj1vJ3hnvTmAhVX7HMBHT9QCG0QMwhxKAAwAA..i&w=1000&h=668&bih=633&biw=1163&q=La Jolla%2C San Diego images&ved=0ahUKEwj1vJ3hnvTmAhVX7HMBHT9QCG0QMwhxKAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8

On 1/5/2020 at 2:15 AM, Cryingdick said:

 

That's funny. Anybody know this place and can identify it is in Thailand? Where is that wall?

Seems to be a pretty stock photo used by a lot of different sites, 1st occurance I can find on Tineye is 1st August 2016... https://tineye.com/search/487d86ccea03ae8a4891df3c10bd334eb126c3e2?page=1&sort=crawl_date&order=asc

If that link doesn't work, click on this guys Stock Photo site... https://unsplash.com/goian

Manifest S2 E1 is out now

Just finished watching the Messiah & enjoyed it (Make sure you have subs on as 30-40% of it is in Arabic & Hebrew), hope there's a series 2 to wrap up some of the outstanding questions, but wouldn't be surprised if that was the intent and it's a 1 series show.

Also caught up on S2 of Top Boy (Be careful if you watch it on Netflix as they list S2 as S1 & S1 as S2 but it doesn't really matter as S2 is watchable in it's own right but there are a couple of scenes that make more sense when you know the backstory from S1 - Ironically one of them not being why Dushane was in Jamaica at the start of S2) 

FWIW I also enjoyed the Christmas Carol 2019 & latest Dracula 

Now watching Our Godfather... https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10095336/ 

Belated Happy New Year to everybody & here's to some great new TV/Movies this year (We had some crackers in 2019, including a few from the Beeb that despite being too PC where thoroughly entertaining). 

23 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

All very nice for the US maybe. But  the rest of the world?

We're screwed ???? 

Actually, UK gets most of its oil from Norway but any slow down in the oil coming out of the Middle East will obviously make this more expensive (basic supply & demand) so price of goods/Inflation will go up (on top of any increases caused by uncertainties around Brexit), which would force the BOE to raise interest rates so GBP may even rise. 

16 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Let's cross our fingers and pray this won't weaken the dollar. Otherwise some American expats living in Thailand are going to feel it.

US is in the fortunate position where it can protect itself from too much increase in the price of oil as it produces the majority (>80%) of oil consumed internally & it's largest imports come from Canada/Mexico where it obviously has a lot of political clout it can use to help keep things stable.

A quick search for stats on Imports Vs Exports shows... 

In the third quarter of 2018, the U.S. imported roughly 10.2 million barrels of petroleum per day,3 with the largest amounts coming from Canada (41%) and Saudi Arabia (10%).4

In the third quarter of 2018, the U.S. exported roughly 7.5 million barrels of petroleum per day.3 The largest markets for U.S. petroleum exports are Mexico and Canada, but the U.S. exports petroleum to 180 countries.5

Edit to add link: https://www.americangeosciences.org/critical-issues/faq/how-much-oil-does-us-export-and-import

P.S. the USA is a single country so only has 1 capital... Wall Street ???? 

Also following with interest as I plan on getting a policy next month 

From other threads on here, Pacific Cross seem to come highly recommended 

On 12/24/2019 at 5:06 PM, ChasingTheSun said:

How many tattoos does she have, how big are they, and where are they located?

 

when you say she works in a bar, do you mean she is a pole dancer, a dishwasher, or bartender or what?

 

is the bar actually on beach road, or where exactly? 

More important question is How old are you & how old is she... 

If you're > 60+ and she's < 23 then RUN...  If you're significantly younger & she's 33+ then she might be genuine, worth taking a chance... 

F'me dude £920 to fly from UK (am assuming so as you quoted £GBP), you need to shop around a bit, tell us your departure airport (mine is Manchester) & rough Idea of dates and we'll see what we can find... anything for true love ????

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

So the question that I asked but you did not answer is.

"If you pose the question "I wonder what my next thought will be " wouldn't then that be your next thought? "

Surely that would be your current thought....

Your next thought may be something mundane or might completely change your whole life...

E.g. 2 months ago I had a thought that questioned why was I still working, it just didn't make any sense as I wasn't happy & I didn't really need the money (OK we can all do with a little more of that) so the thought came to me "Why not retire", before I had that thought I was just going through the routine day-by-day, meeting-by-meeting, meaningless bollax-by-meaningless bollax... After that 1 thought I took steps and 1 month later was retired. 

It only takes that one thought to spark you into changing your life... 

• Maybe you'll decide to quit your job or come up with a radical idea that gets you a huge promotion
• Maybe you'll decide to leave the wife or marry the girlfriend
• Maybe you'll invent the "Next Big Thing" or maybe you'll decide to top yourself
• ... Or just maybe you'll decide to have  a slap up tea at Mrs Miggins Pie shop [Blackadder]

Anyway you think about it, your next thought is just that... YOURS... and that's free will 

9 hours ago, AussieBob18 said:

It is a mute point for me as I now have a Thai wife - and never regretted it except for the dumbass Thais running the country and the wealthy exploiting it.  But having said that - if I had the money back before I chose Thailand,  I would have retired to Singapore - and from there I would have travelled to and enjoyed all SEAsia has to offer.  Plus I would have kept a place back home in Aust for visits and the 'end game' (near very good medical services).

I've very recently (as in 3 weeks ago) retired after spending the past 12 years working in Singapore, haven't quite fully left there yet as I need to go back to exit my condo/cancel Singtel, work out what to do with my bank account etc.. but I've formally exited the country after Tax clearance...

My friends asked me if I regret not getting PR during my time there so I could stay there after retirement & my answer is simply "No".... As much as I love the country (it is an awesome place to live & it's very easy to see why Changi Airport gets voted Best Airport in the world on a regular basis), I could never live there unless I was working & if I was working the company I would work for would get me an EP (Employment Pass).

It is funny how I could imagine myself (dream of) retiring to Australia & spending a few years exploring your country, but for you guys who are from there, it's all a bit "Blah" & you're off to explore other countries ???? 

33 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

if you're a Brit, you can buy a rundown farm in France for 10,000 Euros, then sign up for PR and their health system anytime before the end of 2020. Hardly any hoops, just opening a bank account and filling out a few government forms.

 

I might do it in April 2020, seen plenty of farms for sale in the 10k-20k Euro range.

Have been looking in the region between Lyon and Limoges, lots of National parks.

Why bother buying & why France not Portugal?

On 12/27/2019 at 9:48 AM, AussieBob18 said:

Back then it was easier to retire and live in Indonesia (Bali), Malaysia, Phillipines, Singapore, India, than it was in Thailand - but it was not a lot more difficult, and IMO it was the best option.  Since then all those other countries, and now Vietnam and Laos, have remained easier than Thailand

If it's easy for you to retire in Singapore, you can retire almost anywhere on the planet as the only option available as a non-PR/Citizen would be the Investment route which is a minimum investment of s$2.5 Million ((> 55 Million THB).

You could buy UK citizenship cheaper (IIRC it's £1 Million, approx 40 Million THB) 

On 12/27/2019 at 6:46 PM, dcnx said:

If you have money you have options. If you have options you’re a fool for choosing Thailand unless you have to be here for work purposes or you married a local. 

A few people have expressed the same view, but nobody ever says where they would be if they "Had Money".

So where would you go if you had an indexed linked, guaranteed monthly income of... 

• <=50,000 THB
• 50-100,000 THB
• 100-150,000 THB
• 150-250,000 THB
• > 250,000  

14 hours ago, katana said:

There were several Facebook posts updating the situation on the original story in the OP.
Apparently he was taken away yesterday morning by the Thai equivalent of social services and is no longer at the police station.
There were also many posts by concerned Thais unhappy at his plight and the lack of action, phoning up the police station to enquire about him, with several posting they were going down to the station to donate food and clothes and to wash him etc.

This is more the reaction I would expect from the average Thai as there is much more respect/care here for older people than in the "1st World"

16 minutes ago, Sunmaster said:

I'm curious...are you saying that "salvation" is there for anyone, but if they don't take it, they are damned?

[Apologies a bit OT but speaking of "Salvation"]

Has everybody seen the 2019 BBC update to Christmas Carol?

Really enjoyed it, definitely worth a watch if you're able to get it...  

12 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Oh my Buddha! Don't you have a birthday party to attend soon or something? 

Was Jesus born on this day or has this date been assigned to counter the pagan winter solstice celebrations that used to happen in those times... 

"Although most Christians celebrate December 25 as the birthday of Jesus Christ, few in the first two Christian centuries claimed any knowledge of the exact day or year in which he was born. The oldest existing record of a Christmas celebration is found in a Roman almanac that tells of a Christ’s Nativity festival led by the church of Rome in 336 A.D. The precise reason why Christmas came to be celebrated on December 25 remains obscure, but most researchers believe that Christmas originated as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice".

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/christ-is-born

I do recall reading somewhere that the person who was most likely to be Jesus was actually born in March, but I can't find any references to back that up anywhere. 

57 minutes ago, ericthai said:

You guys says this all the time when PR and Citizenship it not impossible to get. I have several friends that have received both PR and Citizenship. The last one got his citizenship in 2017 so it's still possible even under this govt!

I'm willing to bet that most (if not all) of these friends are working/have worked in Thailand so the strong THB has much less of an impact on them than somebody who's income comes from UK, US, AU, EU, etc... 

The people who seem to be (considering) bailing are much more likely to be "Retirees", majority of which probably moved to Thailand after earning their money working elsewhere so have very (zero) chance of being able to meet the 3-Tax Year return requirement.

I'd be very interested to learn of anybody who got PR without having to show 3 years Thai Tax returns & how they went about doing it. 

PS. I'm strongly urging my friend who works in Thailand to apply for PR, but he tells me it costs approx 150-200,000 THB to apply for with no guarantees that you'll get it, that alone would put a lot of people off, especially given the low numbers that are granted each year (100?) 

1 hour ago, Kaitangsou said:

Just astonishing the number of people into self torture and masochism in Thailand, I mean <deleted>!! I spent a bit of time in Thailand in the 90s...wasn't too bad, ut it got progressively worse each time I would go back...around 2002 and 2003 was still tolerable...just, couple years later, 3 dead friends, and I had a gun in my face twice, Thailand was clearly losing any appeal, specially factoring in the total arrogance and contempt the majority of Thais treat the dumb Farang, occasionally with the veneer of a smirk...About ten years ago, I re-discovered Philippines after a period of visits in the mid 90s...The new Phils, under Prez Duterte really appeals to many Foreigners, as the economy is booming and Phils is easily the easiest and cheapest country to live with the friendliest people in Asia, this is a fact...anyway you want to dice or slice it...Visas are real easy, 6 months at a time for tourist visas, extended to 3 years, then u leave for a day and reset again...there are various long term visas available, at a fraction of cost of a total scam gov like Thailand...and health care is as simple and straightforward as it can get...so <deleted> get stuck in a hole like Thailand...how dumb, ignorant and plain lazy anyone has to be...jeez...thn again, it stops this country from getting flooded by those types...

Whereabouts in PI are you living?

I personally think Manila is a horrible place, but do like the VIsayas (Davao, Cebu, Bohol etc...) & Palawan (especially Coron).

2 hours ago, pennine said:

Talking about Malaysia, the MM2H scheme gives a 10 year renewable visa; you can buy and own a house; medical insurance law waived if cannot obtain and most people speak English. Just a pity everything closes at 7 pm!!

pennine

If you can't afford the financial limits for a Thai "Retirement" Visa, then you're not going to be able to afford MM2H 

It is a nice touch them waiving the Medical Insurance (IIRC you need to set aside monies so effectively self insure), here's hoping Thailand will do something similar.

19 hours ago, canthai55 said:

Alpha The Right to Kill 2019

War on Drugs in the PI

(seem to be on a PI roll lately)

 

Sodom 2018

Electronic waste recycling in Africa

Having spent a lot of time in Davao when DU30 1st got in & implemented this policy, I'd love to watch this move but none of my many IPTV Apps have any streams for it, could somebody please PM me as to where I might find it.

NB I don't download, much prefer to stream, so if there is nowhere I can stream it from I'll give it a month or 2 and try again. 

Thx

Just now, Sunmaster said:

My post was directed to rumsak. I quoted your post by mistake and then removed it.

No problem... Gave me the opportunity to reflect on some of my posts & to remind myself that we're not "Having a friendly bit of banter over a few pints in the pub" but are strangers, "Chatting" over a much less informal medium, so I should temper some of the things I say, especially on a subject such as this where I risk (& possibly could have already) cause upset/offence to people, certainly not my intent. 

As an aside (Following on from the POTY comments) I can't believe we're only 8 days away from the end of 2019... Where has this year gone & is it just me or do the years seem to fly by much quicker nowadays!!! 

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all ???? 

Just now, Sunmaster said:

 

So, what exactly is your viewpoint? I can't seem to find any...

 

 

My viewpoint (I'm sure I've said this before) is that there is something out there that we do not know & I don't believe that I'll ever know in my lifetime, but I don't subscribe to the single omnipresent being theory... so tend to "Live & Live", unless somebody tries to force their "Religion" down my throat (or via it attack the people that I love), then I tend to bark back... 

I'm fascinated by everything I don't understand, from your spiritualism through to AsianatHearts explanation of DNA & how cross-species mutations aren't possible. 

Again, I don't mean to offend (Unless somebody attacks me) I just ask questions (possibly a little brashly, I need to remember we're not having a chat in the pub & typed words don't convey the subtilties of the spoken word) to further my knowledge (I'm going to change my forum name to Curious George :))