Nickelbeer

I’ve used the monthly income method for nearly seven years with the assistance of an agent. Those who think that parking 400 to 800 thousand baht in a Thai bank is a mere annoyance, are in a fortunate position. For many of us, it is simply impossible.

Rentals seem to be much more affordable here than the USA. I rent a studio condo for 10 thousand baht a month in Pattaya. It would cost me at least twice that in Alabama and probably four times that amount in Los Angeles or New York.

2 hours ago, wombat said:

If they do that to Cambodians why are the farang beg-packers allowed to get away with it?

I am not without my share of mistakes.  I refuse to judge the “begpackers”.  It is very easy to get in trouble here. I would prefer to err on the side of compassion.

20 hours ago, CANSIAM said:

They should be reducing that 800k to say 500k at least for the non-married..........

They should be doing a lot of things, but they aren’t.  Law unto themselves.

17 hours ago, loveushorttime said:

Sorry how does getting a visa agent change what you need in a bank account here ?

If you have the required 65 thousand baht a month in ANY bank, the rules can be waived by using an

agent. Some on this forum insist that this is illegal, but it is done every day. I have done this for the last five years and there have been no problems. I only keep about a thousand baht in my Bangkok Bank account. My agent charges 14 thousand baht each year for an extension of stay. Obviously, a part of that money goes to Immigration.  Nearly ALL of my money stays in my American credit union.

On 8/10/2022 at 10:00 PM, Kinnock said:

I tried 'the Old Weed Man' cafe in walking street.  I tried the drinks and the brownies, but I guess they are at 'legal' levels as I felt no effects whatsoever.

 

There was a hand made sign offering joints, but I don't smoke, so wanted to try the edible options.

I expect there will be a lot of fakes before they go out of business for not providing what was expected.

6 hours ago, steven100 said:

he shot the wrong person .......   the wife was cheating,  as such you cannot blame Yuthaphan Phuangnuam.

they are so dumb.

 

 

 

Both should have taken a bullet. No tolerance for cheaters.

What are the prospects of Cambodian-style “Happy Pizza” being sold in Thailand?  Edibles seem to work best for me

since I just don’t enjoy inhaling anything but air. Comments welcome.

I don’t want him anywhere NEAR Immigration, ever again. The so-called “culture of tips” is the only way I can continue to stay here.  The last thing Thailand needs is western-style “clean” policing.

55 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

So lets take out the Chinese, the CCP is still clinging to its zero Covid policy, so they ain't traveling for a least another year.

If everything I read is true, the Brits and Europeans are looking forward to a winter of soaring energy prices just to heat their homes. I wonder how many of them are planing to vacation in Thailand rather than heat their homes?

For North Americans just based on the travel time it's always been a bit of a secondary vacation destination.

 

For we're back to the Indians! 

 

Good Luck with that to boost revenues

Unlike the Chinese, Indians are pleasant enough but they don’t throw around a lot of cash.

On 9/1/2022 at 7:28 AM, RichardColeman said:

Seriously, what did they expect ? 2 years of closure and using your savings up, world in recession, utility bills and gas up 80%, expensive flights, fear of Thailand yoyo'ing and getting stuck far from home, crazy high baht, some airlines still not flying direct to Thailand yet. The Thai government themselves caused more pain than the disease.

 

If Thailand seriously wanted more tourists they could start offering discounted rooms more, sub the national carrier to drop flight costs, try to get the baht weaker, loads more they could do, but they still think Thailand as some golden tourist hotspot that tourists will flock to - they are now finding out, people still wont come and those that come wont spend much , simply as they dont have much !

This attitude is an offshoot of the old Thai, custom of “when business is bad, raise prices”.  As usual, those who are least qualified to solve problems are the ones appointed to deal with them. There’s also the “blame the farang” mentality, which is a variation on a theme that has worked very well for a certain American politician. Find a scapegoat and the public will flock to your door.

3 minutes ago, stoner said:

i think the point about 3 on the bike is valid regardless of the foreigner being guilty or not. 

 

fact remains had those 3 girls not illegally been on the bike in the first place... would that accident ever of happened ? 

 

 

 

 

And, of course, if the farang had not been in Thailand, the incident would never have happened.

Guess it’s time for another wave of “farang bashing” and “anti-Caucasian” hysteria.

Sometimes, it takes a case like this to remind expats that “free speech” does not exist in Thailand.

It is the simplest thing in the world to ignore politics.

Just now, richard_smith237 said:

Agreed....  but while Thailand makes the announcements that it is struggling for tourists the Optics of such policies are pretty hideous as it tells ‘potential tourists’ we don’t value you, just your money. 

 

At least they are honest - but ‘demanding money’ rather than ‘earning’ money is part of this which is has a whiffy stench of greed... 

They don’t care what I think or what YOU think or what ANYBODY thinks. They see themselves as the only option, which is not quite true. Trying to apply logic to Thai law or statutes is an exercise in futility. It’s the same principle as the Thai propensity to raise prices when revenue is low.

A “non-problem” unless you are incredibly cheap. 300 baht is not going to bankrupt me.

5 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Open up another account with the bank ; Basic account and supersaver account or whatever and have a different  ATM card for each account , then get online banking and you can move money from one account to the other online.

   Keep one card at home and use the other card to make cash withdrawals over the counter , not using a ATM

It’s a credit union. None of the services you suggest exist with them. Changing banks is out of the question unless I am present in the United States. No intention of going back. Most likely, I will end up in the Philippines.

On 8/28/2022 at 1:36 PM, Gaccha said:

The drought of complaints about the 90 days notice on this thread is just remarkable. The Immigration Police appear to have finally hired professional IT staff... 

 

I will donate to my Wat to ensure the continuance of this unique feat. 

I suspect that “professional IT staff” was the problem all along. Best to outsource to the pros.

12 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Never a good idea to have just one plastic/debit/ATM card , always a good idea to have a back up card just in case something happens to the first card .

   And if you do have just one ATM card, never , NEVER put it into a ATM machine , as they sometimes do not give the card back 

Maybe you can explain to me how to get a “backup” debit card from the same bank. I already checked, can’t be done. I cannot afford two separate bank accounts. I can’t have all my money here because Bangkok Bank will not set up an automatic payment schedule for my credit cards.

Getting money from my credit cards is another “circus of horrors”.

The information given thus far is preposterous. I just had a card retained by a Krungsri ATM. Had my girlfriend talk to them and explain. GF left and the bank calls me back and says they cannot release my card because my bank has an “order” against releasing cards. This was a lie. My bank is closed at this hour because of the 12 hour time difference. Besides, they have released cards before with proper ID.  They simply do not want to help you if you don’t bank with them. I have bills that need to be paid immediately and a replacement card will take at least ten days to arrive. Even getting money sent to my Bangkok Bank account takes two days and costs 30 dollars.  The problems caused by “retaining” debit cards are insurmountable and the banks are a law unto themselves.

My only concern about Anutin is the hostility he has displayed toward “Caucasians”.  His attempt to blame Covid on “white people” is just shameful and devious. This is the kind of ploy that we see from people like Donald Trump. Find a scapegoat and blame everything on them.

Most of us came here because there was no requirement to speak Thai.  Such a requirement is a deal-killer.  No interest in learning their language, I am only interested in low cost of living.