dimitriv

>> The number of foreign tourists arriving in Thailand rose 5.59% in August from a year earlier, with Chinese visitor numbers rebounding strongly, the tourism ministry said on Tuesday.

This is contrary to what is written in this article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-05/bali-beaches-bangkok-temples-go-quiet-as-chinese-stay-at-home

“The slump in Chinese arrivals and tourism spending is being felt throughout the region,” said Kampon Adireksombat, Bangkok-based head of economic and financial market research at Siam Commercial Bank Pcl. 

Who is right ?  The tourism ministry or Siam Bank ?

3 hours ago, yellowboat said:

1. Rule of thumb being is to make 10% back a year on renting out a flat.  Can you get that in Bangkok?  Full recuperation on investment in 10 years.

 

 10% is a lot. And not only in Thailand. I am sure that even in Europe you will not get 10%. Half of that is more realistic.

And that is still not bad. If you have your investment back in 20 years and the value of your property also increased you still make a nice profit. After 20 years all rent you will get is 100% profit.

Interest rates at banks are 0% now, and they even expect a negative interest rate which means that you will have to pay to keep money at a bank. 

But I have my doubts about the build quality of condo's in Thailand.  I don't believe that the average condo will survive much more than 20 years.

It was easy...  But you needed a 1 hour video to explain what and how you did it ?  Seems complicated to me.

31 minutes ago, thedivezone said:

Understood all that, you can open transferwise accounts in US$, GB£ , €

 

I love Transferwise. But you have to keep in mind that Transferwise is not a bank. And your money is not guaranteed. It is ok for a couple of thousands. But I would not keep all my money there.

Quote:

The main difference with the protection offered by TransferWise in comparison with a bank is that, because TransferWise is an Electronic Money Institution and not an official deposit taking Banking Institution, your money is not guaranteed by Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). 

This means that in the event that the bank itself where we store the funds were to become insolvent, you may not be guaranteed the return of your funds, whereas you are normally guaranteed up to a value of 75-85k GBP with FSCS.

56 minutes ago, jphasia said:

I don't know Transferwise. Will have a look but to make it clear:
I am getting paid by a foreign company in USD to any account in Thailand. To avoid having the USD automaticaly converted and credited in THB in Thailand, I am looking for FCD account.
Example: they send 1,000USD, i will get 1,000USD credited (minus fees of course), not 30,000 THB (or as per exchange rate).
This is to keep USD in Thailand.
 

>> 0.25% fees for deposit by wire transfer, 1% fee for cash deposit, free transfer online (mobile) from FCD to THB saving, debit card available if required.

Fees fees & fees... 

The credit card will allow you to get Bahts at Krungsri ATM's with a bad exchange rate. That is the only thing you can do with that debit card. You cannot use it abroad. You cannot use it online. You cannot get USD. Only baht with a bad exchange rate. When you transfer USD to your Baht account you will pay. Not with fees but again with a bad exchange rate. You want to save money by receiving it on a USD account and not converting it to Baht? But at the end you will have to do that anyway.

I investigated the same idea and made the conclusion that every bank account abroad is better than any Thai FCD account to save your money.

I am also afraid for what can happen after a while. What if you want to leave?  Taking money out of Thailand is already not easy. And they can change that in any way they want.

33 minutes ago, billbenbob said:

Ok if I will say it another way what is the cheapest way to transfer money from the uk to Thailand all these companies that transfer money give you a bhat rate and maybe £2 £3 £4 fee they do not say anything about fees once the money has left there hands I mean intermediate banks like I lost in the HSBC transaction £35 All you expats out there must be able to give an answer please
 

To Transfer money from the UK to a Thai bank account you can use Transferwise.com

1 hour ago, Stubby said:

timed-exposures, taken on a tripod in dark spaces without flash. So, tripod mount, exposure manipulation, that sort of thing?

 

If you look at photography as a hobby you will not be happy with only the camera on your phone. The things you mention above you will not do with a phone. Better to look for a nice compact camera or a SLR. 

5 minutes ago, Beggar said:

I know a Bangkok Bank branch here in Pattaya. If you open an account you normally are asked for a residence certificate. But if you make the accident insurance then there is no need for this they said to my surprise. A friend of mine made the insurance but the whole contract that he showed to me afterwards was in Thai only.

And somewhere else I read that someone visited BKK bank, and he was only allowed to open an account when he bought insurance. No other way.

1 hour ago, chingmai331 said:

Why shouldn't Americans go back home for medical treatment if costs here are too high?

Your comment, dimitriv, is very inaccurate.  

Because in the US medical costs are higher. But if I compare Thai prices (I looked mainly at dental work) with prices in Europe it is better to go home for me.

Why is that inaccurate ?

I know people who make a nice living after a 2 week course Facebook advertising. Of course with some background and knowledge of the language of their clients, the market the clients are in etc.

>> 1. English, 2. Microsoft Office User Training (Word, Excel and just a bit of Power Point), 3. Driving license. 4. Typing skills.

That seems like a very nice start!

41 minutes ago, HullyGully said:

So, it may be cheaper going to a private hospital

I saw the prices. Unless you are from the US it is often better to go back home.

You pay for an international school.

And at age 5 your son is already so much behind that he needs extra private lessons for writing ?

This is not what I would expect. How much writing skills does a 5 year old child need? 

Where I come from they play games at school at that age.

1 hour ago, cooked said:

There was recently a court case that proved that the actual sum was in excess of that. Where's the lie? 

The slogan doesn't say that ALL of it would be spent on the NHS either.

Maybe this helps:  https://www.richardcorbett.org.uk/eu-membership-costs-us-a-fortune/

On 9/6/2019 at 10:19 AM, robblok said:

But to expect them to be at the same level as the UK and Netherlands for instance is crazy.

 

In some ways Thai banks are years ahead of Dutch banks.

In the Netherlands: If Friday is a banking holiday and Monday too the money you transfer from a bank account to another bank account on Thursday will arrive the next week on Tuesday.

In Thailand this is instantly.

And in the Netherlands they are talking about fixing this already for years, but in most cases it still doesn't work.

>> The plan is bring back 5KG in my suitcase and 5 in hers.All frozen.

You don't have to freeze cheese. Cheese will be ok for some time outside the refrigerator. In my country they even sell cheese in the supermarket outside the refrigerator.

And on the plane in the luggage compartment it is already very cold.

3 hours ago, riclag said:

Total cost for a year just to be able to get  txt codes from  financial institution that will only recognize USA phone numbers is around $200.

 

https://www.callcentric.com/  has US phone numbers for $1 a month, for $1 month extra you can get text messages also.

8 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Yes, at the beginning of this year the air quality was bad. But that was a big exception.

I don't remember bad air quality like that for years in Sukhumvit, Bangkok.

 

When I arrived here in 1995 traffic air quality was definitely worse than now. Lots of busses with black smoke, etc.

Obviously now it's still far away from good. But definitely better than years ago.

I am sure the not existing 2-stroke motorcycles make also a big difference. 20 years ago basically all bikes were 2-stroke which burn oil. Now, since many years, all new bikes have 4-stroke engines now with electronic fuel injection.

Most bikes I see in Bangkok are more than 20 years old, so probably still the old ones ????

I don't know how it was 20 years ago. But for me the bad air quality this year is enough reason to disqualify Bangkok as a place to live permanently. It was not only the beginning of this year, it was also the months before and the months after. I am in Bangkok only for a year, and the bad air quality is the first thing I mention when people ask about Bangkok. It's terrible.  Bangkok is only livable after rain.

46 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Air quality..................much worsr……………………. no, at least in Bangkok it's better now

 

In the beginning of this year schools were closed in Bangkok because going out on the street was dangerous for children. Was air quality even more bad in the past ?  

Why is the Thai Immigration Bureau involved in this ?  He is Thai...  

11 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Are you working here?

 

You need to be working to get PR obviously,  like most countries in the world.

He is married with a Thai wife. Usually if you are married for a couple of years you will get permanent residency or even a passport, also without a job. I think Thailand is the only country that requires you to have a job also.