PingRoundTheWorld

Owning your own condo isn't cost-less. You are still paying in the way that instead of making a return on that money you are getting nothing, so if market rent for your property would be 20k a month you should factor that in (at least) the monthly cost. Either way you'd have to compromise on where to eat and drink to keep a budget of 35k/mo. Probably cheaper bars and such? I'd be happy to understand how this math works honestly. So in other words - don't do anything fun and like can be very cheap? Even if you "just" date "normal" girls dates cost money, women cost money. You pay for it either way - just maybe not as much and not as transactional. Unless of course you're dating sugar mamas who aren't blessed in the visual department but willing to compensate for that by sharing the costs... (I'm not joking, I have a friend who used to date older/fatter women because they paid for his condo etc. I think he stopped that by now.. hope at least)

While I agree with your previous points, and most who don't spend much do so because they don't have that much to spend - these points are individual choices. I could easily afford a car if I wanted to - but what would I do with it?? I don't go anywhere during the day, everything I need is within walking distance, grab, or a few minutes by taxi, and when I go out at nighttime I better not take a car and drive drunk. The only realistic use I might have for it is for the occasional trip between Bangkok and Pattaya, for which I'm more than happy to pay ~1500 to have someone else drive. As far as rent vs buy: Thailand ROI in buying is extremely poor compared to what else you could do with your money. My apartment in Japan gives me 8% ROI, why would I buy a Thai condo when I can rent it for around 3-4% of what the purchase amount? and that's not even counting common fees and other expenses you have to pay when you own. Appreciation is very little to none and in many condos negative due to poor maintenance and oversupply. Maybe the market will change in the future, but at least at this point I have better uses for my money than putting it in the walls.

I think he is determined to prove himself worse PM than his predecessor - as hard as that task might be. Almost every plan he pushes is populist and bad for the country.

It's quite sad when someone on a proper visa (METV was designed specifically for long stays) is worried about being let in. I don't know if things have changed since then, but back in 2019 I had two back-to-back METV visas - never any issues or questions just stamped right in. I did make sure to stay a few weeks out between every entry though - not just a short visa run. A week is probably ok but if you made it 2 or 3 it would "look" better. I'm sure they look at how long you're out of the country between each entry and a genuine tourist pattern is preferable.

Probably should've mentioned this is a Thai-British couple and not "Cumbria couple" that implies they're British and opens up a lot of questions that could've been easily answered with that one bit of information (how can they own land, how can they farm commercially). Leaving it to our best armchair detectives to investigate these important questions - while maybe satisfying - is poor reporting. I only hope for Ben they never break up, because if they do he's screwed. Heartbroken, homeless and alone in Thailand would be the title of that YouTube video.

You forgot to mention one of the best benefits of the lying flat movement: less Chinese spending money outside China and driving prices artificially high in other countries. Seriously though, China is in deep trouble between lying flat combined with a rapidly aging population without young workers to support retirees, real estate market on the brink of collapse, stock market down 21% since 2021, and a government unwilling to take steps necessary to fix all of this. The pre-Covid China that TAT has wet dreams about doesn't exist anymore, and it's only going to get worse.

Bingo. Ladyboys are a favorite of many Muslim tourists as they can, uh, touch them without committing a sin. The less religous ones may go for alcohol and real ladies. As far as families and more religious tourists - why would they travel to Thailand of all places during Ramadan of all times. If anything they'll go to Mecca or some other holy site. Actually funny just how unrealistic this is.

If you stick to the recommended dose and you're generally healthy you should be fine. Adverse effects usually come for people who already have a low blood pressure or take medicine to lower blood pressure, and/or heart disease. Combined with a larger than recommended dose and it can get fatal. Not to be confused with someone falling in the shower because they were dizzy - that's not an overdose - it's a side effect gone very wrong. I've been taking kamagra to help wake him up while drunk (zero chance of it working otherwise), does the job within 30 minutes and lasts about a day or two. I did experience some side effects like fatigue and a rapid heart beat before - but at the time I used to intake a lot of sugary mints so I suspect that was the cause. Once I switched to a sugar-free version and reduced quantity the side effects went away.

I think that might be it - she knows one day the money will stop, so she's milking as much as she can while she can. I wouldn't be surprised if she has a few hundred thousand in a savings account, while whining to me daily that "money finished". That's the only possible explanation unless she or someone mooching from her is gambling it away.

Why does this weird stuff and kidnappings only happen (allegedly) with Chinese? Her story sounds very weird and makes no sense - why would they want to kidnap them if they didn't steal anything nor rape her? Where is the brother in all of this? Why were they hitchhiking in the middle of nowhere?? Unless the article is missing some critical information, it sounds like she made the whole story up. Maybe another "influencer" trying to gain followers by pretending her life is more exciting than it is? These days it wouldn't be surprising.

I've actually paid (separately) for some housing projects (new kitchen, new outdoor roof, etc) on top of the monthly budget, so not counting one-offs for this. Their electricity bill is around 1.5-2k, they don't run the AC much (only have in one room). That's what baffles me - they live like Thais, not westerners, her mom owns the house so no rent, they even own some land aside from it - yet her level of spending is off the roof. Yesterday she asked for 500 more (no reason given) - I ignored it. Today she asked for 4000 more for some yearly insurance bill - ignoring that too. The whole point of setting up a daily transfer of 1500 was so she doesn't keep asking me for money, but I don't think she understands the concept despite repeatedly trying to explain that to her. I even canceled it one time when I got pissed off - she took a flight and showed up at my doorstep 5 hours later. She's coming tomorrow. Not sure how I'll break it to her but I'm done paying. If she wants go back to Phuket and find a new ATM. I'll give her a couple of months "severance" because I'm too nice, but I'm done with this bs. I have other girls I like and there's no reason to pay for one I don't even want or see anymore.

That's kind of the whole point of an air purifier - suck in all the bad stuff and trap it in the filters, and release clean air to the room. It's best to replace filters rather than clean them IMO.

Got a link to those? sounds like it might help with my Imarflex unit (that doesn't have a charcoal filter).

My experience has been every 6 months running them 24/7. Also keep in mind that charcoal filters need to be replaced every 1-2 months to actually be effective - but no one replaces that often. If PM2.5 is your main concern every 6 months would work. As for Hatari- I bought one which arrived DOA. Turned on for about 5 seconds before burning out. Trashed it and got the exact same purifier, but from Imarflex - which works. I think eventually I'll go back to Xiaomi as they're more effective depending on the noise level.

Doesn't matter which brand you buy- make sure of a few things: 1. It has at minimum both a HEPA filter (for dust etc) and an active charcoal filter. (for smells, smoke, etc). I recently bought an Imarflex IF-067R, and was surprised to learn after-the-fact that it doesn't have a carbon filter. It does double as a fan which is a nice feature that oddly most manufacturers lack. 2. Size does matter - choose the right size for the room(s) - there's plenty of generic ones on lazada that are very cheap but are actually desktop size and don't really do much except look pretty. 3. Xiaomi is a bit pricier but it does work very well provided the fan is set to a high enough level. On low mode it's pretty silent but doesn't do much - on high mode it filters great but sounds like a vacuum cleaner. Probably best to alternate the two depending on whether you're in the room. 4. If you do choose Xiaomi, the air comes out on top which is kind of inconvenient - they do have accessories to redirect the air so you can actually point it where you want but you have to buy that separately.

So to rephrase: useless vlogger working illegally in Thailand. Vlogging is work if she's making money out of it (and she is), and being a hairstylist is of course illegal. Given that she's broadcasting this to the world it's doubtful how long she'll be able to stay here without getting deported. Next vlog probably a sob story about how she got arrested and deported, and the sad thing is some NPCs will sympathize and donate - apparently some already have. It's really quite sad how social media has devolved into voyeurs paying to watch how others live. And TikTok. And OF. An entire generation who's aspirations are to be internet-famous doing nothing special. Sure- there's money in that if you actually produce quality content and get millions of followers, but probably 99% don't make it and don't make much.

Personally I would need more than 3 million a year to live the same lifestyle I do now - but the grand majority of my budget goes towards alcohol and women - assuming I dial that back (which will happen for sure as I age) my core expenses are probably less than 1 mil a year. I don't understand why you're assuming 5% yearly inflation - that's more than double the average inflation in Thailand. I'd factor in 1-2% inflation, 3% if you're paranoid. But ideally you'll be investing in things that make you at least 7-8% or more a year and will still be able to draw 6% a year without depleting your nest egg and staying on top of inflation. If you wanted 3mil a year, at 6% draw you'd need 50 mil baht. Add a bit more to account for tax depending on the countries you're investing in and whether they have a DTA with Thailand. And that's assuming paying out of pocket - if you have any pension accounts and social security benefits they will reduce these requirements depending how close you are to retirement age. Bottom line: with anything above $1mil invested wisely you can retire AND have your nest egg grow beyond inflation assuming a moderate-to-nice lifestyle here.

Very helpful reply. Thank you so much.

Yeah I suspect it's someone bleeding her. Family member(s) most likely. I asked her not to give anyone other than her mom and daughters money but I'm sure she does anyway. I asked her to prepare a list of her expenses so I can understand how it's possible, we'll see how far that goes... A bit late for that, lol. She doesn't need a sob story - she's already bleeding me dry. Can't get pregnant so that angle's covered. That's what I'm thinking. They know she has a walking ATM and they're taking advantage of it. Yeah, I don't really want a girlfriend at this point and don't need anyone to take care of me, so next one will definitely be the non-paid kind (at least not directly, you always pay in some way lol).

There's no point repairing a microwave - easier to replace. Yes, it is the owner's responsibility and they will have to do it when you move out anyway. The microwave at my condo broke down, but I got tired of waiting for the fix and just bought one on Lazada, I think it was 1500 baht or so - which I would gladly pay to not have to deal with service people coming over here and waking me up - let the owner deal with that bs after I move out.

Haha. It's more of a Covid-era thing where I needed the emotional support, and it went downhill from there. I sort of view her as a lucky charm - as soon as I met her I got a 20% salary hike and another 7% soon after. I also got RSUs that are now worth enough to probably set me for life. I guess I kind of associate her in my mind with that success but really it's just dumb luck.

......yep. I know- crazy. Exactly why I'm questioning this.

I rent condos in both Bangkok and Pattaya and alternate. I like Bangkok more, but realistically nightlife is better in Pattaya.

She is also getting money from her daughter's father (ex) who lives in Australia, but he's post-accident and can barely function which is why they broke up. I don't think she has other ATMs - why would she need them when she's sucking me dry? lol. She is not western - she is Thai, and they live like Thai. Yep- that's what I thought. She doesn't even have to pay rent (her mom owns the house). I actually told her that- average person in Thailand makes maybe 15k a month, why do you need 50k and that's still not enough... no response. Because she doesn't need it. 1. She is a glorified prostitute, as most single moms are. Sad, but true. 2. Those aren't MY daughters. If their dads want to put up the money for private school and expensive vacations be my guest - not my responsibility. Yeah I've been wonder if it's this, or she's actually saving most of the money away. I suspect it's the latter though since the amounts I've been giving her cannot be spent on normal cost of living unless she's been gambling or otherwise throwing it away. That's the crazy part- one kid is full Thai so I doubt the father helps, but the other is half-Aussie so gets money from the father. What I give her is on top of that!

Nah. I have many friends and I bring home a different girl almost every morning. I'm also an introvert (when sober) so loneliness is never an issue. But agreed- pay-per-meet is the way to go.