Faltu

Planning to get an LTR Visa using US SS pension. As the payment at FRA is exceeding 3K USD/month for many people (mine will be $3600 in 2026 without COLA) in the USA, what are the prospects of getting an LTR visa? It still requires a health insurance or 100K USD in a bank, I assume. What are forum members thoughts on this visa? Is it better to get an LTR or the traditional Non-O retirement? My plan is 50/50 in Thailand and USA from 2026. Right now I stay 50/50 in the USA/Thailand using an agent assisted (12.5K THB/year) Non-O. The only benefits I see for me is the ability to work legally (which I do right now anyway as a remote worker) and to avoid 90-day reporting (which costs me 100 baht now). Hence, I don't see great benefits using an LTR for retirement. Any thoughts and other benefits? Pros and cons? Thank you all.

Reminder to others who would come after him. He is not the last one.

By rice do you mean Thai foods? Thai foods in some restaurant in Pattaya is the same price as in many Western foods. Just the other day I saw a guy posted 225 baht for a plate of cashew chicken in a restaurant. That means it will cost at least 300 baht including drinks, I would guess. Thai street foods are cheap which I cannot eat. Tried a few times I simply don't like it. My food expenses are never more than 15K baht/month, except breakfast that I make my own. And order lunch and dinner. They are mostly Javanese, Korean, Indian, Mediterranean Burgers, etc. Occasionally pork, or lamb chops. Rice in most lunches. I don't eat steak but sometimes eat carved beef. I like Thai lemon steamed fish and Tom Yum kung.

I have already told her that if you want to borrow money, you can borrow money from me at 0% interest. So, please don't borrow from anybody else and lose your house. So far she has not borrowed anything from me. She has a Thai restaurant near the port and that generates enough income for her expenses. I pay all school expenses for my daughter. I have also opened a 300K baht mai tai dai account in her name and I keep checking it from time to time. So far she has spent only 32K baht from that account in the last 10 years. I will top it up to at least a million once I start my SS at 67. I also have a condo in Pattaya and transfer the condo to my daughter's name or her mother's name once I start my SS because I will be getting $3,500/month (at today's estimate that will increase based on US inflation) and that will be enough for me. I also have another house in the US. If she is stupid enough to borrow and by putting her house as collateral and she would be inviting poverty. And I won't be responsible for that. In five years when I will be 67, my daughter will be left with two more years for her graduation from a University.

The solution is already mentioned. Buy an insurance that cover evacuation also.

May be there is some restrictions for buying in a minor child's name when the guardian is a farang? I wanted to buy a house in my daughter's name but eventually bought it in her mother's name. I thought eventually no mother will deprive her own daughter from staying in her house and it will be in her name eventually anyway.

I built a Intel NUC with i5, all parts bought from Lazada during the Covid two years I was kind of stuck in Thailand. It may be $100 more expensive than doing it in the USA.

No embassies provide evacuation services. There is insurance for that.

Basically one can't get out of their place during the day unless inside a car.

One can still find a decent hotel for less than $100 in Thailand. Good luck finding one in the USA. In a crime infested dump is going to cost $150/day, including all taxes. Flight prices to Bangkok from London will be similar to Florida.

I doubt it. Pattaya does great services to retired foreigners. This case is all about avoiding Chinese mafia taking a strong foot hold in Thailand and I applaud them for it. Pattaya's agent related bribing cases involve mostly foreign retirees who are unwilling/unable to keep 800K baht in Thai banks. It has nothing to do with trying a set up a mafia network for nefarious activities.

I used Baht bus but I don't use them often unless I do up and down on the Jomtien beach. I like bolt now and my monthly Bolt expenses were never more than 3K but most months are less than that.

Thanks, I have Mee Tae dai account. So, there is no need for changing account.

Hmm. What a convoluted plan. Hope you succeed buddy in your endeavor.

I used to buy ice from a guy named Peter, he was from Nigeria. He used to deliver me at Thonglo BTS mostly but will hang around in Soi 3. I used to live close to Thonglo BTS. It was 2011. Once I was caught near Nana, walking erratically and very high. Have to pay 10K to get out after siting all night in Lumpini police station. Police wanted to know who was my supplier. I kept telling them I bought it from a Nana girl and I don't know her phone number or whereabouts.