JimTripper

That interaction does not benefit me in any way. I'm not interested in making friends of condo staff and am looking for no favors so what good does it do to waste my time and energy chit chatting? The boring job is in no way my problem. As an update to my post, I found that avoiding eye contact makes a huge difference. I just don't eyeball them coming off the elevator, so have not had the problem much even without the sunglasses. I think by eyeballing them it made them feel like they had to greet or whatever each time. Kind of like what a superior would do to staff giving a critical stare expecting a greeting first (something along those lines).

I have never been asked about my visa, but I have noticed many more people asking if I live in Thailand or just visiting, and for how long. As chance would have it, just today in Pattaya some well dressed Thai guy at the restaurant asked if I live around here or just visiting. Strange. I just gave him a thumbs up and a smile. He kept going on and on about doing some demographic research on foreigners who live in town as part of his job, how it impacts the area and businesses, etc. etc. I just smiled until he shut up as he was a couple tables over. He was friendly, but you never want to give people you don't know your personal info or plans unless it benefits you in some way. Anything else is a Thai problem.

I do. I never go around topless unless I'm at the pool or dressing inappropriately in public. I think it's because I don't want the attention. I don't like people staring or unduly noticing me. I'm a grey man type and want to blend in and be left alone most of the time.

i saw a fat guy in the restaurant the other day. he had the shirt open intentionally. he was very overweight and did it on purpose. some guys like looking out of shape. i'm not sure why. to tell other people they don't care i guess, or maybe that they are retired so don't have to be well kept like when they were working. it's not an accident though, they do it intentionally.

It's all financial.

Spot on. A lot of guys did not grow up with that type of schoolyard horseplay. It's more of a girl mentality where they get hurt feelings. Maybe it is a cultural thing. I know the Usa, South America and the Uk takes the piss.

That's another odd thing. It looks like there's not many people in the bars or restaurants or even along the sidewalk, yet the street is jammed with vehicles rushing from one place to another. Where are all the people going?? The noodle shop I mentioned with the 30 minute wait was not that crowded, it was backed up orders from grab and such. The other night I was eating across the street from a bar who had zero customers the entire time around, yet the street was packed with cars. Maybe people partying in soapies, hotel rooms or the chinese buffets, or hanging out in places I don't normally go??

I understand the vacation home concept. This is different. It would be like having a primary residence and getting a vacation home for Disneyland, but not wanting it too close to Disneyland. Does not really make sense. Most people would want to live as close to the theme park as possible, especially if it was a holiday property and they had a main property further away.

I feel you're conflicted about it. Most people would want to live in a location they enjoyed. You are saying that you like a place enough to buy a property there, but don't want to live there. It just feels odd somehow.

say nothing

Why don't you move into a nice place in a nice area? Try wongamat. You may find you never really enjoyed soi buakhow anyhow. You're going to be having too much fun in a quieter place in a nicer area of town.

Long term renters can make noise too. Loud people is about the area. Op wants near Soi Baukow so they are going to be around gritty people and loud people and people who are drinking, unless they find some exceptional situation, but those are very rare. The way to solve that problem is to live in a place like wongamat and baht bus into the central area.

I figures he likes to run and it's not all about the money.

Pattaya is getting too crowded for my taste. The traffic pretty bad as well. Not just because of holidays, but it seems to be ongoing. Hua Hin may be a better option for some long timers. One noodle shop had a 30 minute wait. That's never happened to me before in Thailand.

You really know how to make a sad situation sound great.

I enjoy putting people down with a nice jab every now and again. Why? It's just gives a laugh and seems funny at the time. I'm seeing someone come up short for some reason. I grew up on 'Benny Hill' and the comedy of slighting others, giving that old guy a slap on the head and what have you. It's a way of male bonding with other guys. If I know a guy who can't take a good retort, insult, jab or put down casually, that's probably a guy with a pretty thin skin I would want to know. I also take jabs and put downs in good humor and find it funny, especially if there is some truth to it.

I agree. My 50% polyester/50% cotton shirts are much cooler in Thailand. It's very thin, almost a see through. They stay away from my body. Cotton sticks to my body in the humidity. That's why a lot of the second hand stuff from the Usa does not work well here. I think cotton is good for hot climates, but not hot climates with humidity. For example, cotton works great in Mexico because there is not the same kind of constant sweating or somewhere like Chiang Mai where it is cooler. You can't beat the 100% thai silk shirts though, it's like wearing nothing. The silk does not conceal at all however, so if you have nothing to brag about you're leaving nothing to the imagination.

It's easy to miss things when you are distracted by a real estate agent. Rarely happens, but one if the best things you can do when buying or renting a property is ask the agent to wait outside for 15 minutes and leave you in the unit alone.

Does she speak Greek?

It is not illegal to look or record if you are standing on public property, or if you are standing on your own private property. It's where you are physically standing that matters, not where the act is taking place. You can't stop people from looking out their window.

Not if it's a public setting. People have the right to record.

Probably not if he likes attention and is an exhibitionist. The only possible solution would be to either completely ignore him or laugh and point or joke about it so he can see you. Anything else then the shocked or disgusted response most people would give that he may be feeding off or that got him excited in the past by doing that behavior.

I used to live in a condo in the usa where some bloke would open the shades and train his monkey in full view. As luck would have it, he had floor to ceiling windows and lived right over the pool. Nobody could do anything, including the police, because he was on private property. All he had to do is just not answer his door.

I know one way to find out.

Is it an allowed occupation for foreigners? I would be surprised if bike repair & maintenance is. If not, the owner would just be supervising employees. It probably falls under 'manual work' which is prohibited.