KhunLA

There's 2 solar farms (that I know of & visited), a natural gas electric generated power station (few kms from house) and electric is brought in from Myanmar where I live.

I do all my own research & calculating.

So true. Still a 3rd world country. Most 4 or 5 star accommodations here are anything but. People that think otherwise have never been to a 4 or 5 star resort. A pool & buffet brekkie is not 5* ???? Nothing new with their 'quality over quantity' marketing, but has failed, as everything they touch.

No & No. The ACA is joke, and doesn't cover much until a silly total deductible is reached. The month premiums & co-payments when needing treatment are silly. I couldn't spend that much on healthcare here. It real is a farce to call it universal healthcare. Social Security Medicare / caid is also a joke. Of course if you're an illegal alien, free healthcare ... ???? If you're in the 'system', then free healthcare at public hospitals. Long Qs for anything non emergency, and forget elective.

Have to agree with OP, as only A-holes I've encountered were farangs. After first couple years here, learned to simply avoid them like the plague. Safety on the road, never an issue, as self drive, whether scooter or cars. Defensive driving & much slower than in the past, has kept me alive. Male, so feel very safe here.

Yikes ... that sucks. So much for the young getting married, as that's just stupid. USA has the marriage tax, which puts many off marriage. Joined incomes at higher tax rate. When I hit 40, had a vasectomy, knowing not wanting kids that late or financial responsibility of, if any surprises later on.

????

But only if, played by "a trans gender, wheelchair-bound, PTSD suffering" acting-person. Don't know the PC gender neutral term for 'actor / actress'

Should be able to live anywhere with 82k baht. Assuming you own home & car, free & clear of mortgage & loans. Would think, most retiring, own their home and easy enough to sell and buy or rent something that wouldn't necessitate using your income / pension to pay for renting or owning in one's retirement. That equity / savings already done while working those 40 yrs, unless failed economics 101. Pensions are for living / everyday, monthly expenses. After working 40 ish years, you should have plenty of equity (home) built up. Pretty much the reason I chose Thailand to retire than USA (home country), as no RE Taxes here, and affordable healthcare. 2 big monthly expenses I avoid by living here. My 'pensions' supply more than enough living expense. Equity supplies new homes & cars, with nice oops fund.

Those wanting unlimited daytime (slow & short distance) e-bike ... DIY is the way to go ????

Yea, major issue, as closest one to our house, is 70 km N or 170 kms S of us ???? We're at PKK municipality (A. Muaang) MG EP would get us to Krung Thep with no problem. MG ZS EV, maybe ???? One scooter I'm looking at, maybe 150 km range, if driving 35 kph, maybe. So would make it to Hua Hin no problem (100 kms), though wouldn't want to be on a scooter that long, even if able to do 90 kph. Very impractical for long distances at present, if on the move. Maybe OK if hop scotching around with a bit a planning...no thanks. But my usual, once to the park in the AM, and to the surf, early evening every day, e-scooter fits my needs perfectly. @ 50 kph, at most, I'll be recharging every 2 or 3 days, at home via solar. If I stayed local, the MG EP would work also. Even out & about, with lots of planning. Though would probably limit NE & N country exploring, since a bit wider. South being 'thin', so no problem. Rarely explore higher than Krung Thep anyway. Of course you could always take a 'spare' with you. EcoFlow Delta e-generator, or larger ESS. Larger - they have a 48v5.3kw battery pack, though wouldn't be a fast charge using a basic inverter to plug into. But you wouldn't be stranded.

Wonder if the gov't is heavily subsidizing that route, as HH airport & airlines that served the routes were never profitable, and always pulled out after a very short period.

Already getting established ... as I posted earlier on pg 2 of thread. Not too many valid arguments not to go solar or EV, especially if only driving locally, within 300-400 kms. Less if utilizing an inexpensive scooter (100kms) or tinker toy car ????

I did that with my anticipated scooter purchase, and EV much cheaper, and less hassle of constant maintenance. Same with EV car, if priced right. MG EP for instance would be good. The added premium price (500k) for MG ZS EV @ 1.2M, not so good vs petrol price @ 700k. I wouldn't want to just break even for that price, as out & about too much be worry about any Qs at the charging station when EVs become more popular. Saw the Qs when N/LPG was the big thing....damn silly, Q'd up overnight.

Daughter just finished Uni. Went to private school (Thai) before Uni (Thammasat), which she had her choice of. English was the only language allowed in the house, along with watching English language movies, so she was fluent in English, even winning English competitions at school, inter-province competitions also. Thai fluent, simply from school & friend, along with Isan from family, and English (American version), from myself & movies. Thinking English would be a priority for working for an international company. I was thinking tourism / travel industry (pre-covid of course) would be an easy in and advancement with international chain, better pay & opportunities. Thankfully she dissed that suggestion, and went into marketing. Interned at Lazada. Offered job at LAZ & Shopee, but passed to start her own business. Point of post, one thing she regrets, is not learning Chinese, as the better paying jobs at LAZ offered were for those fluent in Chinese. So if any marketing or international business in her future, I'd stick with a good Thai private school, as long as she gets her English elsewhere, and have Chinese as an extra learning opportunity, if headed into any international (better paying) businesses after Uni.

72" ... damn, only got 55" ... I'll have to sit closer.

As a foreigner, I believe you would be taken to a 'private hospital', not public or field hosp if available, whether symptomatic or not needing treatment. One reason I haven't returned to Phuket, since they require a test to enter if not vax'd. NO THANKS ... don't need 2 ish weeks expensive accommodations just for a pos test.

Depends on system, on or off grid, for just day use or night or both. If working couple, then daytime use would be minimal, along with night time use (less AC), but expensive battery storage. Use system daytime to charge battery for night, along with weekend usage. Might be hard to justify the initial investment. ROI eventually worth it, but as stated, may take a while, and if not staying in home long term, maybe not. We're home 24/7 w/18 hrs of AC going, unless out & about. I calculated our ROI at about 5.5 yrs, if really abusive, to 9 yrs, if not so abusive. I like just not paying PEA's silly rate, almost for spite .... PRICELESS

I didn't use them, but pretty sure my installer gets the components from them. Use this site also, better component descriptions, and for some ballpark pricing, not much different than local vendor or Aussie pricing. A bit cheaper than OZ pricing as China closer & less import tax. https://www.solaxpower.com/

Since opted out of EV (car) didn't get that far into researching. Scooter will be charged at home on solar, so irrelevant how long or how much, and slow charging is always better. Advert for 1 scooter I'm thinking about, 72v50Ah battery states about ฿5 for full charge. What a full charge is, not sure, but I'd only go from 20% back up to 80%, for better longevity of battery. Think some cars advertise they can fast charge 30-60 minutes, and haven't a clue how much at a charging station. Would think it varies depending who owns.

Msg sent, I'm located PKK province

Only need 33 m2 for the actual panels, (40 m2 of actually roof more than enough) that's for 6.3kw of 455kw (14) panels, and should provide more than enough for average person's daytime use. We'll probably add 3 more panel, on the original 14 planned. We're actually going with a Hybrid Inverter (7.5kw system) w/5.8kw ESS for overnight. Basically 'off grid', but still connected, and hopefully just paying the 41 baht a month PEA access charge ???? Have no desire to give them one more baht for electric, now that battery systems are getting priced more realistically, almost. Until the next wave of new tech is mass produced. Our PEA bills now, for rental townhouse, poor construction / insulation, is about 650kw (฿3000) , on average a month. That's only 1 AC unit. Our old house, had 3 running, 12-18 hrs, and we hit 1200 @ ฿5000 more than a few times. New house will have 2 inverter units, with only 1 running at a time, and wee one is done Uni and living in another province. Old house we ran at least 2, sometimes 3 AC units 12-18 hrs a day. So should be able to keep electric down to < 1000 a month, hopefully. Although with solar, I really won't care any more. The more we use it, the quicker the ROI ????

Yes, that would be my choice if can get in/out comfortably. Wasn't available when we bought the MG ZS last year. The ZS EV has a ฿500k premium price to it, which I thought was a bit silly, ฿700 vs ฿1.2 M. EP has 100 km more range also ???? We're out & about quite a bit, that and the premium price kept us from the ZS EV. Now, past year or so, they've been expanding the charging station network. Not sure how that works, but being out & about wouldn't seem to be a problem now.

Solar is now 'cheap enough' here in Thailand for the homeowner to have. ROI is 5-10 yrs, depending how abusive you are with your AC. New house build will have solar, and done the end of this year. Already got my scooter choices down to 2 manufactures, just need to sit on them to decide which one to purchase, possibly this month. Next car will be EV. No reason for homeowners not to have solar, or people not to have E-scooters. Had I known the house would be solar, I may have bought the EV version of our car last year.

http://www.xn--12cr4azdi4c6a5bd8f.com/