DEKEM

On 5/10/2025 at 4:59 PM, SMIAI said:

There is no such thing as a 32" 4K TV for 5k. Just...no.

 

Most likely not even Full HD, but HD 720p.

just buy used.  here in japan they have these places called recycle shops.  another word for second hand shop.  I purchased a used 21 inch tv that had 720p HD.  good enough for me to use for playing computer games and watching netflix.  tv had hdmi connection.  hooked up with my mini pc.  works like a charm.  cost of the used 21 inch tv... 20 dollars.

guys:  here is my 2 cents...  why do you even bother with picking one place to live in?  do what I do.  bounce around to several different countries each year.  to me, that is the best way to deal with the issues that come with living long term in any one place presents you.

thailand has 60 day visa free travel at least twice a year.  japan has 90 day visa free travel twice a year.  you can even do it back to back by leaving japan for one day.  if you do that, it eliminates the need for you to get a residence card or the mandatory insurance that you are required to get if you stay longer then 3 consecutive months.  you can stay in the PI for less then 250 usa dollars extensive fees each year.  in vietnam you can get a 2 year multiple reentry visa for about 155 usa dollars.  come and go as you please.  every other country in asean has 30 day visa free.

and when all it costs to bounce from one country to the next is like 100 usa dollars round trip if you book in advance, what's the problem?

next year, I plan on splitting my time between thailand, japan, the PI and vietnam by just bouncing around.  thailand will be my home base where I receive my mail and where I designate where I live with ss.  get a international charles schwab account (requires minimum 25k usa dollars to start), get the schwab debit card and you are set.  when you need money go to an atm.  schwab atm card has no fee use on both sides of the transaction.

buy a magicjack for calls back home.  on sale, 5 years for 150 usa dollars.  get a pill box back home for forwarding mail, etc.  about 120 usa dollars a year.

since my place in thailand is about 140 usa dollars a month, I keep it indefinitely so that I can store my things there.  open a bangkok bank account with some money in it to pay the rent each month online.  that easy.

6 months thailand, 4 months japan.  1 month vietnam.  1 month PI.  by doing this bouncing around, I eliminate the need to adhere to the financial requirements that living long term requires you to deal with.

I am flexible.  if I end up not liking  one country, I have a number of other countries to choose in asean to select from.  they are all the same.  can live on less than 1000 usa dollars a month.  my ss each month covers it all and more.  in fact, I save about half my ss each month by living overseas in asean.

in japan now.  loving it.  not hot now.  weather is like san francisco in the spring time.  got a share house room that is about 400 usa dollars a month including utilties and fast 200 mbs internet.  eating cheap at matsuya, sukiya, etc and buying the discount bento boxes from the supermarkets that get discounted after 6pm.  we're looking at 3 usa dollars a meal if you eat out.  cook at home cheap.  bowl of cereal with milk and banana 50 cents.

living the dream.

what do I do with my spare time?  netflix, play computer games, gym, exploring.  hang out at the beach with friends over 1 or 2 beers.

I like spam.  back when I lived in the usa, it cost me about 1 to 2 usa dollars a can.  here in thailand a can of spam costs almost 10 usa dollars.  so, I don't buy it.  if spam sold in thailand for around 2 usa dollars a can, I would eat it frequently.  I love grilled spam with steamed rice.  it's delicious.

On 4/9/2025 at 11:24 AM, CallumWK said:

 

I don't hate America, that is again another flame from you.

 

It is your MAGA leader that turns the whole world away from the US

it's not trump that is turning the rest of the world away from the usa.  it's the corruption from the rest of the world that is turning the usa away from them.  remember.  all these countries had tariffs on the usa to begin with.  talk about corruption.

On 4/8/2025 at 4:53 PM, JJ-Thailand said:

Inspection of 6,900 buildings across Bangkok and the provinces, that was quick, very quick.

essentially all you need is a list of buildings that used steel coming from that stupid chinese company.  that's basically it.  how hard to get the list?  they probably have a list of all buildings constructed in the last 30+ years in the government somewhere.  that easy.

21 hours ago, black tabby12345 said:

 

Wide range of choice from the Hard Currencies.

To pick one from the above that suits own need.

Some prefer EUR, some might GBP, AUD etc (certainly not Russian Rouble, N/Korean Won).

In foreign exchange dynamics, when one major currency falls, others(in other economic region) often rise).

Strength of the money depends on the level of trust that issuing country gains from the outside world.

Factors: Trade and current account balance, political/social stability, unemployment rate, GDP-Debt ratio etc.

Even though it sometimes moves in the way defying economic fundamentals (by the influx of speculative fund).

 

 

 

I have all my money in treasuries in the usa.  if you advocate the EU, you need to understand that only 5 countries in the EU actually support the euro financially.  there are 27 countries in the union.  if one more of the 5 leave the union, the euro is history.  if you advocate investing your money in the chinese yuan, consider this..  the CCP might not be around in the not too distant future because they are going through a depression as we speak.  same with russia.  what does that mean for BRICS you ask?  it means BRICS is history too.  google youtube china observer and china decoded for more info on china.

I use magicjack.  if you are calling to the usa or canada, it works.  I have used magicjack for over 15 years.  occasionally, they have sales where you can get 5 years for 150 usa dollars.  that is what I do.  I keep 2 separate phone numbers active.  one with area code in california and one with area code in nevada.  I use the one in california all the time for contacting banks and other financial institutions I have connections to in the usa.  I keep the one in nevada active even though I don't use it because I plan to live in nevada when I return to the usa someday.  having 2 magicjack accounts also allows me to test connections using 2 phones.  just google magicjack for the website.  if you sign up, they will send you a toggle device that you can use when you want to call using magicjack.  but I don't use that toggle device anymore. I just install their magicjack android app on my phones that you gain access to when you sign up and pay for their service.  you cannot access the android app on google playstore.

if tariffs are so bad, then why does every country have them on the usa?  and why is it... all these countries have trade surpluses with the usa?

why would someone who is british have someone who is russian as his roommate?

are you guys aware of the current situation in china?  google youtube china observer and china decoded for more details.  in brief, china is in the midst of entering a major depression the likes that haven't been seen since 1929 in the usa.  their real estate market has crashed.  their stock market is in disarray.  millons of people are out of work because most foreign companies have left china.  those that haven't already left are in the process of doing so.  there is even talk that the CCP might not be around in the near future.

decided that after this coming year, I will stop maintaining 800k baht in a bank.  I like thailand a lot.  but you know, there are many other places in the world where you can live on less than 1000 usa dollars a month.  PI, vietnam, cambodia, malaysia, indonesia, etc.  EVEN japan if you don't mind living in a share house.   after this coming year, I will just stay in thailand on their 60 day visa free option.  I hear you can even do them back to back at least twice a year with no issues.  lots of my friends do this.  come to thailand twice each year.  if you do it 3 times, thats 6 months. japan has 90 days visa free which you can do twice each year.  back to back too.  in PI you can stay an entire year by just paying 250 usa dollars each year in extension fees.

30 minutes ago, Gandtee said:

My biggest regret is not learning the language. It becomes very important when you reach old age.

not hard to learn how to speak a language.  it's reading and writing that I have a problem. when learning a new language, don't try to learn everything at once.  break it into pieces.  learn 500 phrases.  once you reach that point, those 500 phrases will enable you to learn the other stuff.  with 500 phrases, you should be able to carry on a simple conversation.  hello. how are you.  where you from.  excuse me.  how old are you. where's the toilet.  I love you.  etc. etc. etc.

2 minutes ago, bob smith said:

I speak Thai.

 

bob.

I get along with people.  so, I don't know what to say to you.  maybe you have some physical issue like you smell.  or have a grumpy look?  I travel the world.  meet people everywhere.  there will always be people who simply don't like the way you look.  get over it.  and do the numbers game.

I'm currently living in thailand on a thai retirement visa extension.  I did the numbers.  it's a tossup for me on whether I go with DTV or continue with thai retirement visa extension.  on the other hand, this DTV visa will bring in large numbers of foreigners simply because the age limit is 20 years old.  I wonder if thai immigration realizes how many people will come?  population of thailand is around 70 million.  can thailand accommodate 10+ million MORE?  people from russia and china alone who are running away from their countries will overrun thailand.  that's my guess.  china has population of 1.4B.  india same.  russia 90M.  it will become scary here if they all come.  I think thailand should reconsider this DTV visa.  my 2 cents.

I'm currently living in thailand on a thai retirement visa extension.  I did the numbers.  it's a tossup for me on whether I go with DTV or continue with thai retirement visa extension.  on the other hand, this DTV visa will bring in large numbers of foreigners simply because the age limit is 20 years old.  I wonder if thai immigration realizes how many people will come?  population of thailand is around 70 million.  can thailand accommodate 10+ million MORE?  people from russia and china alone who are running away from their countries will overrun thailand.  that's my guess.  china has population of 1.4B.  india same.  russia 90M.  it will become scary here if they all come.  I think thailand should reconsider this DTV visa.  my 2 cents.

On 8/23/2021 at 7:28 PM, mtls2005 said:

 

Please be aware that...

 

Channels FOX Movies, FOX Action Movies, FOX Family Movies, FOX Life, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, FOX Sports 3, National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, Baby TV, Star Chinese Movies will be discontinued till 1st October, 2021. No clue what that means exactly. Unavailable now, but will be as ov 1-10-21, or available now until 30-9-21?

 

https://www.ais.th/play/en/package.html

 

 

And an hour after you get the optimal set-up it'll require another week of re-tuning.

 

I'd make a list of the exact channels, streaming sources and specialized content you want, then start cobbling together solution(s).

 

AIS does offer Disney + Hotstar, their AIS Play offer may be losing channels soon, not sure about replacement. But check it out via your SIM for a month, cast to Chromecast.

 

TrueVisions does offer some American football, and F1 and golf/tennis majors.

 

For American football sign up for the free version of NFL GamePass International (no live regular season games - well maybe a few on NFL Network, but the do offer recaps, , or the full package at $199.99.

 

And look at the IPTV offers, and consider a more sophisticated Android streaming device/box.

 

And search through the sub-forums: Audio Visual, IT (this one) where you will find a lot of great detail from other members.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

if you have a AIS phone number, you can get disney hotstar+ for 35 baht a month.

On 8/26/2021 at 9:55 PM, allane said:

A friend needs it for personal knowledge.

I saw this little pharmacy on sukhumvit soi 15.  across from the closed down hooters.  one of those green places.  5 self test in a pack for about 1300 baht.  you can buy one self-test for about 200 baht.

I've been to most places in southeast asia.  after many years of exploring I chose thailand.  it's a personal thing.  that said, everybody is different.  if you are really serious about coming over and retiring over here somewhere, I suggest you spend some time in each place to find out which place is right for you.  I've been living overseas now for close to 24 years. happy.

On 8/27/2021 at 11:32 AM, Andrew Dwyer said:

Do you mean thailandintervac ?

yes.  https://thailandintervac.com/