FarAngMoh

That’s right, and his mom was Canadian, not American… so he’s out of luck.

TBH, my fervent hope is for a third candidate to win the next presidency. Maybe Musk will run as a Libertarian.

I haven’t examined all of the evidence, but on the surface it does appear that Trump might have at least indirectly been involved in provoking the riot. If true, it was 100% wrong of him to do so, even if the election was stolen - and I’m not totally convinced it wasn’t. I saw clear irregularities that have never been explained in the voting data from cities like Philadelphia, Detroit and Milwaukee. If true, that would be 100% wrong as well. That said, why must it be like choosing the least worst candidate? Many liberals really didn’t want Biden, but they’d take him over Trump. Many conservatives didn’t really want Trump, but they’d take him over Biden. Both candidates actually lean moderate, and neither uphold their party’s ideals in many ways (although Biden now seems to just be in “where do I sign” mode, and agrees to anything his party wants). There plenty not to like on both sides — I don’t see how people can have so much zeal for either side.

Funny thing, as soon as Pelosi landed in Taiwan, my first thought was — she must be about to retire.

Not a Trump fan, but I haven’t seen any hard evidence of racism, only media spin.

If you want quiet/suburban living, try Subic Bay Freeport Zone, well connected to Angeles City and Manila via expressway. If you want simple/rural living, try Valencia near Dumaguete. It’s just a bit of a pain to get there from Cebu.

I have followed several expat YouTubers from the Philippines for last 5-6 years, but haven’t been there in person since 2003. Having lived in Southeast Asia since 1996, I enjoyed taking a break from Asian food — the Philippines has the most authentic Western food (for the price) compared to anywhere in Asia. The only local food I found to my liking was chicken cordon bleu… an adapted/adopted local dish and a wonderful one at that. I used to fly into Manila at night and it seriously reminded me of Blade Runner. After just a few days I was blowing black stuff out of my nose. I did manage to visit Puerto Gelara with some friends and stayed on White Beach - very rustic. I also visited Cebu, stayed on Mactan, took the fast ferry to Tagbilaran and went to Panglao, did some snorkeling off Alona Beach. Good times. But it wasn’t without some craziness too.

The island of Borneo (Kalimantan) is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Indonesia has a retirement program for 55 and up, but it’s a lot of paperwork; I wouldn’t call it easy. Indonesia taxes your worldwide income once you stay beyond 6 months and become a tax resident, so it’s not easy in that sense either. An argument could be made for the Malaysian (Northern) part of the island, and specifically the state of Sarawak because they still have the old MM2H program with the lower financial requirements. You can now even work in Sarawak with this visa (a rule change they made recently). So maybe that is what your friend is talking about. It’s almost like a poor man’s LTR. But let’s be honest, the Philippines is still easier. Brunei only occupies a tiny fraction of the island — it is an oil rich but highly conservative Muslim state. If you lived on the island, about the only reason you’d go there is to visit your embassy.

Thailand is ready to welcome these tax refugees.

What has Malaysia abolished? It has a territorial tax system, the same as Singapore… it doesn’t matter what visa you are on, your overseas income is not subject to tax. Vietnam had the DT visa which is good for an entire 12 months (for US passport holders) with no visa runs. Most US retirees there use that one. Although it is technically a business visa, even exploring business opportunities is sufficient. For the Philippines, I don’t deny that it is less safe than many other parts of Asia, but it is mostly petty stuff. Like many parts of the US, the usual precautions apply, plus some extra awareness and prep.

Both sides are bad in their own way, and neither side is innocent of fear mongering. Democrats are not going to turn the nation into a socialist state, and Republicans are not going to cut social security, that would be political suicide.

You are right - that really is a unique and major differentiator, for those who can take advantage of it. Plenty of other countries offer zero tax on overseas income… Malaysia, Philippines (for non-Filipinos) and Vietnam (for certain types of investment income), so that feature is not so special. AFAIK, the only major country in Southeast Asia where a foreign retiree’s overseas investment income is subject to tax is Indonesia, but even there, tax treaty might eliminate some or all of it.

Anyone can cherry pick a few things can make it seem like a threat. Fox News does it all the time.

I said a portion of the income requirement, not the entire income requirement! $8m would be nice though!

One thing I noticed on my monthly TD Ameritrade statement, it shows a total estimated annual income based on the current dividend yield of my equity holdings. I would think such a document should be usable as for a portion of income proof.

Not sure which Bloomberg article you are referring to, but this Bloomberg opinion piece picked up on the “all too convenient” timing… https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-09-01/republicans-need-to-get-serious-about-social-security

Is it not obvious just by the sheer timing of this “news” that it is spin by the left to increase votes for the midterm? It is the same dirty tricks they played to win the Georgia runoff, except that time it was over stimulus checks. It doesn’t take much digging to discover that this “news” is not what it appears to be.

In my experience, the supervisor/manager is an even BIGGER stickler. The idea that they will crumble out of fear of losing your future business… good luck with that. They could care less. Most of the time they follow their policies, to a fault. I’ve flown hundreds of flights all over the world. Sure, you might get lucky once in a while, but once the airline staff think they are right, they won’t easily back off… even when they are wrong!

If you want an age gap relationship, you’ll have better luck in the Philippines.

The LTR does seem best suited to a narrow demographic — those who are about to retire., are 100% set on Thailand and making $80k the last 2 years. All stars must align. I know an American guy who retired last year from a US company Singapore. He had lived in Asia for decades and was a Singapore PR. He had the option to keep it but was also considering Thailand. He earned many multiples over $80k. But, last I heard he moved back to the states. And let’s face it, is what most (without a connection here) end up doing, even expats.

Isn’t it usually the airline that is more of a stickler about having the onward/return ticket, unless you have a residency type of visa?

The last time I flew into SG there were a whole bunch of lemmings who didn’t have the electronic arrival card filled out and caused a big mess at the immigration line. Trust me, you will be glad you did it prior to arrival.

LTR should differentiate financial requirements by passport — these kinds of sky high financial requirements seem to be targeted at China (and it might make sense for that purpose), but for Western passports — who is that desperate? Even for those who can afford it, who would put substantial chunks of their wealth at risk by sinking it into Thai assets… just for the sake of having this LTR visa? You’ve either got to be so wealthy that the risk becomes meaningless, or so foolish that you might not be wealthy for long (how does that saying go… a fool and his money are soon departed).