KhunLA

And yet, all the complexes are full with waiting list ... go figure.

Better to buy a condo (or townhouse, if possible) within walking distance, or shuttle service to a university. Not sure about monthly profit, but if bought outright or good financing, you get a free living unit in 10-15-20 years. Always a shortage of accommodations near uni s here.

That would depend on the complex and rules of. Some may allow shorter term rentals within the law, and condo rules. Other's strictly against the rules. Live with your choices. A tourist or few, may be better neighbors than the owner being there year round.

Which compulsive liar are you referring to; Trump or Biden They're politicians, it's a job requirement.

Something like that. Was talking to a bud from Udon Thani and we got on subject of forums, as we enjoyed the UT ones for a while. Like myself, he didn't realize AN was TV, and took a peek and decided it was a gay forum ... Said he peeked at the first 10 ish pages of new content, and what stood out, was posts about penises (sizes, wood in the AM.etc etc), ladyboys, homosexuals movies, gender rights, pride parades, and same sex marriage, drag queen hour at schools, libraries, diversity this & that. Hard to argue with his assumption ... Must of peeked when all the gays & bi s were posting. Too funny. When I told him it was rebranded TV, it sunk in, as he also pointed out the non alphabet threads were full of grumpy folks endlessly arguing.

So you didn't read, just attacking the source. We could do that all day. Politico ... another joke wiki ... even funnier at times Have a nice day.

Seriously ... you didn't just say that. source

'strict ID laws' ... describe strict. Need ID, need to be registered ... not strict. You got anything else ?

Just meeting wouldn't set off alarm bells. But repeated trips to 'the island' would definitely be a bit suspect. Or any pleasure penthouses, if having. Have to plead ignorance about the whole epstein thingy as pedo or pimps' lifestyles don't interest me.

So those that don't legally qualify to vote, can't vote. How is that suppression. You have, or get an ID, you register to vote ... .you vote. Couldn't get an easier. If I returned to the USA, I don't think I could vote, as not registered anywhere. Is that suppression, NO, that's me not preparing & following the law. Law abiding USA citizens and not restricted from voting ... anywhere in the USA. Must have missed this part ... "Please enlighten me, and not illegal immigrants, or those that can't provide ID of who they are or where they live. What country allows that?"

False narrative. No USA citizen is disqualified from voting without justification, such as a felon, in some circumstance, if even still a thing. Please enlighten me, and not illegal immigrants, or those that can't provide ID of who they are or where they live. What country allows that?

Peeked at that option, and not a fan. They aren't inexpensive for what you get. If any wood in the construction, the termites will have at it, not matter what anyone tells you. Location dependent, but land isn't cheap to buy or rent. If knowing where you want to be, simply buy a condo if available, or rent. Rent giving you all the options if not satisfied with any aspect of living in that location. Of course, it depends on age, relationship, if having, available liquid funds. I'm a thrifty shopper, and didn't see the financial advantage to them. Retiring early (45), and RE savvy, buying made sense for me, but has many pitfalls for the inexperienced. Buying (building) will always be financially better, if staying put for 5 yrs or more. Does take a very trusting partner/relationship though. If I came here at retirement age (65/66) Then no, I would have rented, instead of building, and maybe a condo if I found an area I liked. Which hasn't happened, and no condos in the areas I prefer to live. Rent is very inexpensive though ... location dependent. Rule #1 ... never invest more than you can walk away from.

Big surprise, and guess the same amount believe the same about Trump in 2016. Any guess what the demographics of that survey would be. Sore losers on both sides. Same as the lottery, better luck next time

Traffic yesterday on hwy #4 as very heavy. I forgot they had 1 holiday over the weekend. Didn't realize that many folks drove that much further south of Hua Hin for a long weekend. Probably Ban Krut, Thung Wua Laen beaches, or over to Samui. Phuket is too easy to fly to. Highlights how much they don't care for Chonburi & eastward beaches, or just been there, done that mode. I can relate

Honey is easy to tell if fake or not, YT can show you. Or just buy the 2 bottle pack of Makro. Since honey never goes bad, not a problem. Thai Olive oil ... Just get Sambrosa or other name brand, again, we shop at Makro. We get one extra virgin, (1 liter ฿525) for non cooking use, and just replenished the cooking one yesterday, 5 L @ ฿1859, as we use olive & peanut oil exclusively.

Can't remember last time I read so many ignorant experts (OK, I'm being kind, as almost every thread) ... but yea, how do you leave out the cheese. Maybe since the most expensive ingredient per kg. With YT, cooking doesn't get any easier, and plenty of variations for minor adjustments to taste. But you still need the basics if going to call it something. Pizza & pastas being 2 of the easiest to replicate at home. Many might be better off just buying a can of Spaghetti O's at Villa Markets

$20 an hour ... nice. If you live away from the metro areas. A couple, working at McDs could have a household income of $83k a year. That's mind boggling. My best salaried job (23 yrs ago), never broke 50k a year, base salary <$45k. Topped out between $22-23 an hour. Sad part is, they went belly up, got taken over, and almost 20 yrs later, they were still making the same salary, due to earlier concessions to keep working. Fed law minimum wage is $7.25 ... "The federal minimum wage will remain at $7.25 an hour next year, the same rate that it's been since 2009." Fed govt employees, and contracted companies have to pay $15 an hour, I think I read somewhere. Over 20 states are jacking up their minimum wage for 2024

That would be all fine & dandy if you were retiring within the next few months, but 5 years away from it, wouldn't work for me. I've been in a long distance relationship, in country, USA, worked for an airlines, and it still sucked. Basically a 2 week rotation at locations, and flew basically free. Couldn't get any easier and still was hard. How often can you realistic visit the next 5 years ? I guess she'll be expecting 5 yrs of some sort of financial support, little extra for kids, especially if near Uni age. If all goes tits up before you retired, you wasted a lot of time & money. Do you really want to help raise another family after doing once already. Limits your play funds, and time to enjoy your retirement. Leaving one grind to another. Lastly, since never been here, TH is not for everyone. Weather might seem like a nice break from damn & cold, but it gets brutally hot & humid here, and wears on you at times. Definitely not for everyone. Half the country has horrendous air pollution 4-6 months a year, from Hua Hin and northward. There's quite a lot to consider.

Shy a few provinces (bottom 3), but been to most, and slept in the majority of them. As the chart shows, most live detached homes or townhouses, even at the few large metro areas. Udon Thani, 5th or 6th largest, depending what chart looking at, didn't have any condos complexes till Nov. 2014, and remember when they broke ground & opened. You drive less than 1 kms off the ring rd at UT, and it turns into rural TH real fast. Mind boggling what people think they know.

Old stats, but really can't image much has changed; 2013 study @Lee65

HEY ... I'm on #4 Stupid would have been staying married with #1 - 2 or 3. Two years, one year, 6 months respectfully, was long enough. Guess I'm less patient as I age

Ditto with the Mazda 2. Luckily the wife never needed a car, as previous ones were in my name. A bit eye opening, as having that much & more taxes on a domestic made car. That tax alone about 20% of MSRP, on entry level version.

I was in my daughter's car last week, (our Mazda 2 she inherited), and it still runs fine. Only 180k kms on it. Good for her knocking around the city, as doesn't do many O&As. But ride wise, when we were on highway, and getting in & out, what a POS. Embarrassed I owned it for about 7 yrs. And that was a step up from our previous Vios (now Yaris). When I test drove the ZS (2020 ICE) within 100 meters I thought, WTF have I been doing with Toyota & Mazda. Knew immediately there was no need to look at any other cars, and almost the exact same price as both, Vios & Mazda 2.