Chalky0w

Is there a correct answer? Everybody is different so do what makes sense. My partner works. She enjoys it, I like having a bit of space and means she has some independence. I don’t mind paying for big ticket items but she can go to the market, buy clothes, makeup or whatever without asking and without me giving her an allowance. I can certainly see the benefit of a partner not working eg Have children to look after You want to travel a lot and they can’t find flexible work You’re retired / live in a remote location and want company You found her in a bar / massage parlour and don’t want to share her any more 😝

She has you exactly where she wants you - infatuated and with enough “threat” of other men to get whatever she wants. Five years from now: The house in Isaan will be built She will have ballooned in weight because objective achieved and no need to maintain looks so will be eating all day Sex with you will have dried up because objective achieved although a “Little brother” will be hanging around a lot Car will have been repossessed to pay for gambling debts of her or family Embrace your destiny Cameroni! I look forward to reading about it on page 2670 of the thread.

Welcome back Cam! Thought this thread was in a death spiral for a while. You should absolutely move to Phuket! You are the first person ever to give up your settled life in one location to follow a p4p princess. I’m sure it will demonstrate your true love and both live happily ever after.

But that's 95% of the relationships in Thailand. That might be 95% of the relationships in your circle but it isn’t my experience. Do you live in Phuket / Pattaya and mix with bar girls? Most Thai-Thai partners seem roughly equal in my social group. Both are normally degree educated, both working and both providing for their families. There are exceptions where the wife gave up work to have a family but I also know exceptions where the wife supports a “deadbeat” husband. What makes this thread ridiculous is Cameroni nailed the profile for a prostitute (20 years younger, no job / education, from Isaan but lives in a tourist enclave, lies…) but adamant that it is true love.

You should definitely do that. Sure to win her back if you buy her some land

Wow, is this still going? Some of the posts are very comical so thank you for the chuckles! Look on the bright side Cameroni, at least she left before you invested in a hair salon, coffee shop or any other (loss making) business to try and make her seem respectable

Just stumbled on this. Won’t pretend to have read it all but in summary I believe: Boy meets New girl Boy decides he loves New girl Boy likes playing games so invites Old girl to visit New girl upset and disappears If New girl had any sense she’d have stayed gone but she’s a gold digger / prostitute so takes Boy back (at least until something better comes along) Boy will only be with (pay) New Girl if he can snoop on her phone and control her movements What a healthy relationship! Wish you both well! 🤣

The “Rachel from accounts” thing isn’t misogyny, it’s just people taking the p*ss because she exaggerated her experience as an economist on her CV / LinkedIn. It is the same / opposite of people taking the p*ss out of Farage for his “man of the people” act.

I’m on a DTV and agree! 5 years for remote work is ok but with minimum income. I’d say at least equivalent of 65k per month (same as retirement) but 130k would be better - younger people should be doing more! Soft power should be separate. Maybe 1 year renewable if reason ongoing. Hope they don’t throw the baby out with the bath water and cancel it completely.

Wasn’t being particularly serious but there is a note of truth in there. A few expats / tourists in an area is fine but when that area becomes geared towards them then the locals become jaded and less welcoming, prices for everything go up, scammers and gold diggers circle looking for victims, restaurants look for a quick buck rather than repeat business so quality goes down and you generally lose the things that made them attractive in the first place This isn’t just a Thailand thing but happens in lots of tourist hotspots worldwide.

Stay away from all of Phuket, all of Pattaya, lower Sukhimvit in Bangkok and at least Nimman area of Chiang Mai and you might enjoy your time more

Before it got derailed by the hunting patterns of some of the forum’s predators, this is an interesting thread! My partner puts toothpaste on my brush in hotels when she wants to pack before check-out but not day to day. Peels prawns 100% of the time. I’m not incapable of this, she just does it automatically. Gets upset if I do things she considers her job e.g. washing plates, ironing shirts and even cutting my own finger / toe nails (which I do far quicker than she does). Wasn’t looking for a domestic helper / maid when I met her and don’t need one - she’s degree educated, works full time and great company but just has an in-built “duty” to take care of me.

Haven’t done it myself but have heard reports that if you apply for an in-country extension you need to show bank balance again (and other docs). I’ve never been asked to show bank balance or other details upon re-entry and I’ve come in multiple times at different airports.

To counterbalance the negativity in the supporting extended family thread, how about some examples of the generosity of Thais and / or Thais being nice? Personally, Neighbours regularly drop off food they’ve cooked Stayed at the houses of various members of my partner’s family all over the country Been given gifts when friends / partner’s family have been abroad Picked up / dropped off at airports, taken on tours to local attractions, etc. I’ve had a Thai friend pay for my hotel when they invited me to visit them in their home province Sometimes this is to return a good deed by me or my partner but sometimes unprompted and maybe done to gain face or just be nice.

Thanks Brandon. Your experience seems to back up what I’ve been seeing when looking myself - most of the hotels seem to be a bit poor and couldn’t even find one with a swimming pool. The Chinese casino doesn’t interest me - wanted to eat Laos food, drink Lao beer and enjoy Laos scenery for a few days.

Only sharing my experience with airlines I’ve used. Not saying they were right or wrong to not bother checking the visa. Immigration is different obviously. Always give visa, passport, TDAC printout and boarding pass at immigration without being asked.

I’ve been in and out lots of times on my DTV and normally don’t have a return / onward ticket. Most recently at the start of August. I guess you could fake a visa and get away with it. A lot of airlines don’t even ask to see the visa once I say I’ve got one. Only bothered about onward ticket for visa exempt.

Thanks Brandon. Anyone have recommendations for where to go / stay on the Laos side? I’m looking for a change of scenery rather than purely a border bounce. Anything nice in immediate area or further in at that part of Laos? I’ve done the slow boat trip before and liked the food / scenery in Laos but not the boat ride itself.

Hi, I’m on a DTV visa. Not anywhere near my 180 days being up but was thinking of having a night or two in Laos from Chiang Mai. I was wondering: - Any restrictions on bouncing out / back at Chiang Saen or Chiang Khong? I seem to recall seeing something about staying out a minimum number of nights but maybe that was just for visa exempt? - Any recommendations for hotels / restaurants on the Laos side? I like Beer Laos and Thai / Laos food but not on a backpacker budget which seems to be the target of the hotels I’ve seen. My budget is up to about 5k baht a night for hotel. Quite happy on plastic seats for a restaurant if food is good. Not interested in going to the Chinese casino / enclave.

Think you would still be able to draw a defined benefits pension (such as an MP gets!) but the government don’t want people on a defined contribution (with their own pot) to run out of money so put a restriction on when you can draw it.

Worst part of this for me is that you can’t draw your private pension until 10 years before the state pension. I knew state pension would be worth FA so made my own arrangements but won’t be happy if I can’t get at my own money until I’m 70!

Ahh, ok. I can’t comment on the OP’s employment contract and was just talking generally / about my own experience. I think the wording in my contract / job description called me ‘decentralised’ so not office-based or home-based (those did exist at the same company) but I was a bit more of a gypsy and bounced around between different offices, home and other locations.

Agree and disagree. I don’t think all companies require you to work from ‘home’ when working remotely. It may vary by company policy or position / seniority as well as the company’s tax / insurance situation. I own my own company now but used to work for a large employer before that and was in a remote or semi-remote role for about 15 years so long before Covid and DTV but quite often wintered in Thailand or elsewhere. Agree that my contract never mentioned details but had full consent from leadership to work here and knew other people that worked from different places than their home countries. Not sure if HR was consulted but direct boss knew and they used to time my assignments with Japanese, South Korean and Australian companies for when I was here. Normally saved the company / their department money because they didn’t have to pay long haul flights from UK when I needed to go onsite for a visit.

It mystifies me but people do it. The wages on ajarn.com are significantly under a McD’s employee or at least one in UK and a teacher is a “legitimate” job with WP. There are lots with less qualifications or just looking to escape a war

I think the purpose of “seasoning” is to prevent people borrowing the money (and then working illegally). I maintain that 500k for 3 months is a very low bar for a 5 year visa.