dmerchent

Also FATCA is based on participating countries, not all of them participate. So as one poster mentioned... maybe the OP, can't remember..FATCA is not Worldwide.

Tina Turner is swiss... What about that?

How about that she is married to a Swiss, that may account for it. The US and Swiss recognize dual citizenship, so she most likely is a dual citizen.

I've heard from American friends that the tax issue comes down to which state you live in. I think many were relocating to Colorado because of the lower taxes there. Denver seems popular. Some of the state taxes in the likes of California seemed quite potty.

So perhaps renounce your state and not your citizenship.

Seven states in the US have no State Tax, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas and Washington State.

But you will never get away from Federal Tax. Like Benjamin Franklin said “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.”

I would never give up my US citizenship (even though the Government and IRS pisses me of a lot of times) lol...

But even besides clearing out all of your US assets.

Having your taxes up to date, you will definitely be seriously audited!

Losing any Social Security, government or military retirement benefits, (you have given up all rights as a US citizen) no matter that you served your country or payed into the system.

I have heard that they make it very difficult for you to return to the US on your new foreign Visa, your become sort of a person non grata. Payback lets say.

So if you have any family at all, be prepared to have to meet them outside the US.

Also when looking up fee's for renewing my US passport I saw the fee for "Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship" a charge of 450.00, that's pretty funny.

You definitely need to have a private detective on her tail for this Sat. night outing!! Get the evidence against her!!

You should definitely check out FV Hospital in HCMC, we have used them before and they are a very professional and provide quality health care. They have an office here in Phnom Penh that you could go speak to and find out more information to see if they would be a fit for your friend. Very good English also. Here is a link to there homepage, they even have a daily bus that goes from Phnom Penh to the hospital. FV Hospital Best of luck to you and your friend.

"Take heart, millions of Mexicans come here and work all day long, pay no taxes and pretty much do as they please, so far as I am concerned your Thai family can do what they want here. Seriously.

That's totally baloney... the USA has NAFTA agreements with Canada and Mexico, Canadians and Mexicans can enter the US under a TN visa to work and apply for temporary Social Security #'s and they do pay taxes. Your Thai family member can not come to the US and work legally unless they are sponsored by a US company...that takes a lot of advance paperwork, set conditions and time.

How about taking the train? I've done it a couple times and it's perfectly fine. I's only about 50 something baht. At Aranyaprathet it's only 40 baht to the Poipet border. Don't let the tuk tuk driver stop before getting to the border to take care of your Visa it's a scam. The train leaves Bangkok at 1300 and arrives arount 1730. I think you could find a cheap guest house in Poipet no problem. I've only been there in the daytime but it seemed like a normal Thai town, not dodgy or dangerous.

During the last coup...Sept. 06 we lived in Chiang Mai..on an early morning trip to the airport, they had mobilized

the tanks around the airport...the monks were doing their morning walk/blessing thing and..we saw two soldiers

kneeling, getting their blessing in front of a tank..if only we had our camera with us, what a great photo opportunity!

Rats!! It would have made world wide i-report or more, I think..

With the tanks mobilized in Bangkok it might be a good time for an early bird photographer in Bangkok to scope out the areas something like that could easily happen again.

D

Is the trip to the clinic going to cost you a lot?

Hi,

Well, My gf has just returned to thailand after three months here, during which time we got engaged. Just before she left we strongly suspected that she was pregnant, a test here came back negative, but she has since tested agian and it was positive. She was showing so many signs we are 100% certain.

Anyway, This is quite a shock to both of us, as we are not ready to have chilren yet, and whilst we were over here we discussed abortion and agreed this was the way to go. We both felt that our relationship and living arrangements were not solid enough to have a child.

So, she is now back in thailand and last night called me to say she wants to finish with me, keep the baby, go back to school, and move to live with family in Europe. She says she just wants to look after the child on her own. She was very emotional, crying, telling me that she loved me and misses me and needs to be with me, but cannot bear to spend the next 6 weeks apart (she has to spend 6weeks in thailand before I visit and the plan was to bring her backover for a year). She is mainly complaining that she has no money and cannot spend how she used to...unfortunately my car has just blown up and needs serious repairs, rendering me pennyless for a few weeks.

Now, firstly I am shit scared of becoming a dad, but as we are engaged, I still plan to marry her. I think her hormones are playing a big part in this, and she is confused, scared, feeling alone etc. She says she just wants things to be back to how they were before.

Any advice to help smooth this out???

Do as the thai, be suprised of what you cause by yourself, and now it comes to responsibility !

Not necessarily which shop, but which area. I bought last year 3 shirts, 2 sets of pants, 3 ties, 1 jacket, all tailored for 6000-7000 baht in Pattaya. I don't want to go much over that, is Chiang Mai comparable price wise or are the best suit for your $$$'s in BKK?

Do not let Neramit Tailor in Chiang Mai make you anything! I had a suite and three silk shirts made by him. Of course what he didn't know that I was not a tourist and that I would be around to make sure no one else got ripped off by his sloppy work. It was a total disaster. Course some of the fault was mine, because I was going to a wedding and did not take the time to check everything....just trusted that he would do the right thing and make me a suite that fit and was of good quality. Nothing fit, and the shirts fell apart after the first couple of cleanings. The crotch did not fit at all (first sigh on good tailoring is a good crotch fit).............the material was not what I had agreed on in the first place........again my fault for just picking up the suite and taking it blindly. My biggest mistake was letting him know that I was going somewhere in a hurry........yep,,,,,that was a big one!!!

Any hoo................don't go there.........I have heard of lots of great stories of folks who have gotten excellent suites from Thai tailors so just get a good referral from someone you trust.

Cheers,

Bill

Floral Condo has a very nice pool, well maintained, they also have a small gym, it has free weights, 2 stationary bikes, 2 ellipse machines, 2 treadmills and 2 of those circuit training things..don't know what they are called, you can do pull downs leg lifts etc.

That was about a year and a half ago anyway when we lived there. There was generally no one using the gym. They also have a room with a nice pool table and snooker table for use. The cost of rent there was 26,000 for a 2 bedroom..it's probably less now.

We have a sudden need to store quite a lot of goods in Chiang Mai in a few weeks, probably for one year. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thank you.

You could contact Bob McCormack he is in Hangdong...his phone # is 053-427-233 or 053-427-236

He has a large packing and shipping company and also is a buying agent..he handled our move from

Chiang Mai to Phnom Penh beautifully...I think with the size of his warehouse he may be able to store

but you'll have to check with him.

McCormick

I'm putting in a link, can't remember if that is allowed but if not just google

mccormack packing and shipping chiangmai

Why does the type of business have to be a secret? Are you worried someone will steal your idea?

If I was looking for info on anything around Mae Hong Song I would contact John Spies who owns the

Cave Lodge resort...he had been in in the area for over 20 something years and is an expert on the caves

in the area..I'm sure he would know all about the locations of flora and fauna in the area. Here is a link to

his web site..

Cave Lodge

We saw huge bamboo, on the visits we have made to the lodge, not sure if it was that big though..

The river scenes were filmed in Chiang Mai on the Mae Ping...my husband and I were extras in

the opening "snake pit" scenes as tourists...we didn't get any face time on the finished cut but

it was fun doing it for a few days!

Hi, I am trying to loose weight also...I have lost 15 lbs...one workout program I found that really helps for beginners is called the 8 minute workout it's old from 1994 I think... but it is great...there are 5 total 8 minute work outs... Stretching...Abs...Arms...Buns...Legs for a total 45 min workout at home so that could help you get some exercise at home without having to leave your baby...it can be downloaded off the internet...

As for food I eat only two meals...a nice bowl of rice soup in the morning after my workout and then

for dinner only a portion of meat chicken or fish...a vegetable..and some fruit. I'm not an expert and

don't know if that's the best advise, but it's working for me.. Best of Luck!!

Well we are up for our 1.5 year countdown....time to move on.... BC (Before Children) we moved from place to place... WC (With Children) we settled down in one spot for 20 years... now we are ready to hit the road again and we have some things we think add too much to our over all cubit meter limit for our move from Chiangmai to Cambodia. Here is a list w/pictures..PM us if you see something you might be interested in!

Moving_Sale.doc

We are looking for a local shipper to handle a small household move from Chiangmai to

Phnom Penh. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Skype does have Cordless phones...no computer required...also WiFi phones...no computer required..they have cordless handsets...headsets...speakerphones...they have skype Voicemail and also great products and options for businesses now.

Like p1p said SkypeIn is super with a local phone that friends...customers can dial to save them on long distance...and SkypeOut for calls to landlines is amazingly cheap, I can call the US and talk for close to an hour for less than a couple of dollars, it's the way to go I think!

Does Tokyo Optical have fair prices for lenses and frames?

Did you ask your NYC Thai Embassy for a one year Non-Imm 0 Visa? I am from a western state that does not have a Thai Embassy or Consulate...I used to make Visa runs or went to a neighboring country to get a Tourist Visa...but while I was back in the US this last December I sent off my Passport to a neighboring western state that had an Honorary Thai consulate...I downloaded the application off of the internet sent it along with a MO for 125.00 for a multiple entry visa and a pre-filled out and paid US Airmail Express Overnight Envelope...it arrived at their office on Jan 2nd I received it back with the multiple entry visa stamp on Jan. 5th...no other documentation required...for the explanation of why I was applying I put "Considering Retirement Options" I think that if you were under 50 and put Considering Investment and Business Opportunities it would not have been a problem either...if you need any other info PM me.

I've heard there is a free bus from the airport to the Eckamai Bus station but can't find any

other info... is there one? Would I find it on the First level of the domestic area? How often

does it run...if no free one, anyone know which bus # to take to Eckamai Station? Thanks!

Hi,

We want to get rid of the True/UBC Cable...hoping not to have to make two trips...or any if possible

Does anyone know the procedure? Can I call and tell them I want to cx and they come out and pick up

the box and remote or do I need to take the box etc. back into them?

Can someone help with directions...it's been about 8 months and I can't remember where the office was...

Thanks!