CrunchWrapSupreme

22 hours ago, AgentSmith said:

Not extended their contract probably.

Yup. This is how teaching for foreigners works in Thailand. They're rarely sacked on the spot, rather they're told their contract won't be renewed. A face saving measure. To sack them would be to admit the school also did something wrong, in hiring the wrong person, or more likely, not giving them the proper support to produce whatever their desired results.

I've been paying around 1000-1200 baht for 90 days of unlimited 4mbps on TrueMove. Data only, you have to keep a little extra money in your balance for voice calls, which I rarely use.

You access the plans by going to topping.truemoveh.com on your phone. They vary from time to time. Sometimes the price goes up or down, sometimes you can get 10mbps instead of 4mbps. Good luck ever hitting any of those advertised speeds tho haha. But for me they've been good enough for HD streaming, and video calls for my online teaching.

21 minutes ago, RandiRona said:

A violent man has no nationality, race or creed. He is just one dumb violent men who is hell bent on meeting his maker sooner than later!

About 4 years ago, a certain European man living in Issan came home stinking drunk, demanding sex from his lovely wife, sleeping on the floor. When she refused, he proceeded to kick her to death.

He was put in the local prison, where they apparently weren't willing to wait for the court proceedings. He had somehow made it to the roof, where he somehow fell off, "trying to escape". The end.

6 hours ago, Isaan sailor said:

Isaan has one of the world’s highest per capita small pickup truck ownership rates. And almost all of them run on diesel

Another busy day at the talad.

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

My Missus has never stopped net-working for her small shop/salon, she goes to all local weddings, all birthday parties

Same here. We've got a small BBQ and drink shop in the local market. My missus just causally mentions it whenever we go out. I think that's the real trick, not to be pushy and obvious about it. Nobody likes the hard sell. "Oh, it's been busy at the shop" or "I've gotta pick up more sausages for the shop...", then they go, oh you got a shop? Where? Then they drop by.

This sort of networking is how Issan's been run since like forever. It's how one finds a good guy to clean the aircon, or fix a leak, or has the deal on several kilos of pork. Just word of mouth, somebody knows somebody. If they're good, word is passed on, and it isn't if they're aren't. It's also how I got my current job. Don't waste your time with job searches, just let the missus do her talking.

Rubbing elbows with BKK hi-sos. Uh-huh. I had my fill of it at a disgustingly snooty, superficial BKK private school, and similarly from the pretentious US state I had escaped from. No thanks.

Tough times man. Since the start of the pandemic I've been hit up by several former colleagues. As they've faced salary cuts or lost jobs completely, they've invited me into business ventures, or have since become YouTubers, wanting me to help promote their channels.

10 minutes ago, n00dle said:

but teaching is a mugs game. you can easily make 3 to four times that with a a bit of effort as a freelancer with a decent skillset.

As you said 34 baht to the buck certainly doesn't hurt right now either.

He's the IT freelancer, I assume he's making good money with it. His wife wants to be the teacher. She'll get a visa for being a teacher, he'll get a visa for being married to her, and can continue his freelance work, so long as he keeps quiet about it.

IHMO, 40-45k is the best baht to BS ratio you're going to get for teaching. Many other schools still only pay 30k. Thai universities carry prestige and like high degrees, but they don't offer much higher salaries. Intl and private schools pay around 100k and up, but as I said, not worth their headaches. Especially if he can already bring it in by freelancing.

On 4/21/2022 at 10:08 AM, KhunLA said:

Along with many not bothering, simply because they don't have enough guests to justify. 

Indeed. I just spent a long weekend at a hotel near Bang Chak. Their restaurant's been closed for months. I crossed paths with only 2 other guests the time I was there.

He'd do well to do as I did, take the BTS to Phrom Phong, and Bangkok's Finest Pub.

I thought we were restarting tourism. Why was this beautiful display of Thai culture not celebrated?

Indeed, if your wife gets a Non-B (work) visa for being a teacher, you can also get a visa to stay as being married to a Non-B holder. Some of my former colleagues who brought wives with them did exactly this.

Freelance work... It's online, right? And you already get the clients, from abroad? Hmm, someone I know might be doing this as we speak...messaging some of his Japanese students about business idioms. You can take that to the bank. ???????? Hmm, yes indeed. I heard he just did a transfer, and is now getting 34 baht to the buck. Maybe it'll afford him an extra beer this weekend. Just don't go blabbing about it too much.

Contrary to popular belief, there's work to be found teaching out here in Issan (the Northeast) for 40-45k baht a month. She will need to leverage her education and experience. Foreign teachers are in high demand given many still aren't coming to Thailand due to Covid, and even less out here as they're mostly attracted to the BKK area. Yeah, we don't have the excitement of the big city, but advantages are a lower cost of living, less traffic, less headaches getting around, and your school will be much more appreciative of you being here, given the few foreigners who cross their paths.

I once taught in a BKK private school with the exact opposite situation. Terrible, hi-so attitudes, you're expendible as they've always got fresh farangs lined up, no appreciation for filling in all their meaningless paperwork, having nothing to do with the little brats and their cushy jobs already lined up, and terrible 1-2 hour commutes each way, between moto taxis, BTS, and bus. Never again.

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I've told this story a few times, here it is again. In my village there had been a returned bargirl from BKK. Years of that life had spoiled her, a total princess prancing around.

She hooked up with a Thai BF and was planning a royal wedding. The sin sod number we heard thrown around was 50k. As such she wasn't lifting a finger around the house, nor helping to sell at the roadside market as others were doing. She even had the nerve to bum a few baht here and there off her 70+ grandparents, in lieu of work, as they were out cutting the sugar cane during harvest time, promising them the big money was coming.

Well, as you can imagine the BF and his fam could only take so much of this attitude, and called the wedding off. She then spent the next few weeks stomping around the village and scowling. Then one night as she had her usual dinner with the grandparents, we heard a plastic plate tossed across their front yard, smacking into a wall. Oh dear, some family conflict is afoot. The next day she was gone.

Grandpa also finally had enough and gave her the boot. There had actually been work waiting for her in the nearby town that she was refusing. All their shops have converted to online shopping and can't get enough people to pack. Now the pompous princess product packer is getting a pertinent attitude adjustment. I'm sure there are many such cases. Better job, less dangerous, less demeaning, better for her personal development and future. A much needed change for the better, thanks to Covid.

I just finished paying off my Yamaha Grand Filano, 2600 baht a month for 3 years. Yes, this ended up being a bit more than the cash price, but to me it was worth it. I unfortunately don't usually have 60k baht laying around.

2600 baht was a small price to pay for good, reliable transportation each month. Consider how much taxis and songthaews add up each day. Then me and my wife actually completed several 400 km trips on it across the country.

I'm a teacher and had initially been living in BKK, where I didn't need a scooter. Then I moved out to the provinces for work. "You got a bike?" was the question then hurled at me by many farangs, coworkers and those at the local watering holes. They of course all had extra bikes they wanted to rent, older, beat up models. They all kept asking for 3k a month, plus silly things like a security deposit and charges for repairs. It sounded like a good deal until my wife let me know, are they kidding? You can get a new one for cheaper. She was right, and I'm glad I did.

21 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

They really need to turn their anger towards the people that actually caused their problems.  (Obviously this is precisely why foreigners are blamed for covid.)

Indeed. Around my Issan village I've been noticing several new constructions, fancy houses on large plots of land. Someone sure is cleaning up on all the fire sales, taking advantage of others' misery and desperation. From what I can tell they're Thai people with the cash, not farangs. Given the situation fewer farangs have been coming, and many in fact have left.

20 hours ago, scorecard said:

- Yes there should be a 15 yr age gap but that can be adjusted if there's a valid reason.

- At the time the younger Thai man was 20 yo and was a uni student. The farang in his early 50s

- Two parties must have known each other for at least 2 years, must be evidence of this, can be by sworn written statements from other parties not related to either person. 

Wow, thanks so much. My wife and I are interested in this. Her niece lives with us, her sister's daughter. She's like a daughter to us. She's 18 and is now off to uni. In the next year or so I'll be getting the IR-1 visa for my wife to come back with me to the States. It has the option, IR-2, to bring over children, but they must be my wife's own children. So we're thinking about adoption to qualify her for it.

On 3/31/2022 at 10:03 AM, spidermike007 said:

in my opinion. I lost all respect for him. 

I lost all respect for him upon getting his son into Hollywood, passing him off as having any sort of acting ability, in that two hour waste of time space flick showcasing his blank staring and whining. Thank God it killed any hopes of a career he had. Denzel's son in Tenet, on the other hand, now there's a guy off to a good start.

I'd say the de facto min wage in America has been raised to $15/hr, as that's what many places are now offering and still can't get workers. Walmart is offering this, Amazon starts at this and higher in their warehouses, Target is starting some at $20. I'll be bringing over my wife in about a year and won't accept lower than $20, given her BKK hospitality experience, and the hassle involved.

We're avoiding the Songkran madness, booked 4 nights in a Sukhumvit hotel on the 20th, only 750 baht a night. Decent place with large rooms, views, fitness, and a pool. Walking distance to BTS. We shall imbibe heavily in my favourite Sukhumvit pubs. Oh yes. Cheers mates. ????????