QuantumQuandry

Man goes on social media to complain about how stupid social media is...

Because 25 year old Thai girls are going to have significantly more in common, to talk about? lol

Place sucks. Lots of people complain. They pick one guy to pin all their bad reviews on. Always post anonymously in Thailand, people.

If I may ask, what hospital was it?

I would think...just as easy to carry a credit card as an insurance card. Maybe better as they don't need to call and get pre-authorization for anything?

Not at all. It's just not the guaranteed safety net some people make it out to be.

It may or may not be cheaper for you. It's definitely cheaper for me, by a good bit. Because there are asymmetries in which things are more expensive or less expensive, it can be argued, either way, if one has a pre-disposition. I can imagine that someone who only eats Thai food and lives in a very low end room and only gets the cheapest hookers (or none at all) might find Pattaya cheaper, for example. On the flipside, there are guys in AC that just go for freebie girls all the time (which is much easier in AC). I can't compare on some of what you said since we have different spending habits in some areas. I spend more like 300-400 baht for my meals in Pattaya (and 300-500 peso in AC, which is roughly 200-325 baht). Baht bus is 10 baht, jeepney is 10 php (so like 6.5 baht). Bolt/Grab is roughly the same numerical price but because of the conversion rate, it's about 50% more in Pattaya. Before I could get a retirement visa, the cost of staying in Pattaya was exponentially higher but after getting a retirement visa, it's cheaper in Pattaya. So, again, it depends. Super geeky, make fun of me now...but I did a pizza spreadsheet to compare all the pizza places I liked, based on the price per square inch. I was mostly curious which places cost more per sq inch since they had different sq inch on each size. My favorite places in Pattaya (such as New York Pizza House) are a bit more than double the cost of my favorites in AC (Zarf's, for example).

Source for these statistics?

Angeles City, for me, was significantly cheaper than Pattaya. As an expat, I spend about 50% more in Pattaya than AC. People will have different experiences with this because the prices are not uniform and some things are cheaper there and some things more expensive. So it will depend on your lifestyle but in my experience... Angeles City More expensive: Hotels by a good bit. Condos/houses similar or maybe a little more (but better to own, imo, since it's not overbuilt). Think electricity was a bit more, too. Less expensive: Visa, potentially by a lot if you need any kind of special visa for Thailand (you don't ever have to get a visa in the Philippines, at any age). Anything that is primarily labor is going to be cheaper in AC. Hookers, medical consults, maids, laundry, drivers, guards, etc. Western restaurants and groceries are a bit cheaper, ime.

Actually, if you have money and a lawyer, you can effectively get divorced. They just call it annulment, rather than divorce. Also, if it's not actually registered in your home country, separation is more likely to affect her (in that she can't remarry) than it is you. As long as you don't go putting a house in her name or something like that...

You certainly do not speak for the expats that live there. I live in Thailand at the moment but lived in PI for more than a decade and quite miss it. There's a lot of pros and cons to both places. Your negativity is misplaced.

Did someone say heat waves? 😅

Agree. For me, I just don't want to have to put it on my list of <deleted> to follow up on. COD works for me. But w/e works for someone else is fine. Crazy how aggressive people get over people making different choices then them! It's ok, people. No-one is threatening your way of life lol

Some people certainly are confident (over confident?) that they know exactly what will happen... I am certainly not one of them. Wake me up when there's real action. Until then, I am staying mobile and investing nothing in Thailand.

I am sure many people don't remember every doctor visit they have had in the last ten years. Negotiation might work. Also might not. That's all I am saying. Imo, there is absolutely no guarantee that insurance will be there for you. There are probabilities. Maybe a high probability. But people who think it's a guarantee are in denial, imo.

Yeah, Americans might get hosed on that one, though. I am American but I do have, as you put it, an escape route for anything that is a) prohibitively expensive and b) non-emergency/can fly with. Sadly, that isn't really very many things...cancer, kidney/liver disease maybe...

You are the one that keeps saying it's a condition, you tell me. I said 'doctor visit'. Haven't you ever had a doctor visit that didn't end in a conclusive diagnosis of a condition? I have.

Kind of a funny sentence. It cost 600-700k...but we billed him for 857,208. Looked it up, for anyone wondering. Definitely a private hospital. Thank you for the data point. Trying to figure out the health thing, myself 🙂

Negative. In the first scenario, he has a doctor visit, not a condition. In the second, he technically has one but for the practical purposes of this question, did not.

I don't think it is unrelated. You asked why they would deny without a pre-existing condition. One reason is that he didn't have a pre-existing condition but he had some doctor visit he forgot about or he didn't think was relevant that they dug up. So in this case, he doesn't have a pre-existing condition, as you stated, and may still get denied. Two is that he has a pre-existing condition he isn't aware of. While technically, you put in a clause about him not having one at all, the practical question is that he signs up, unaware of any pre-existing condition and then gets denied anyway.

Are those numbers for a top notch private hospital? I imagine that if I have a heart attack or am incapacitated, I won't necessarily end up in BKK-Pattaya but may end up in the closest government hospital, which would be a lot cheaper.

Potentially any hospital visit he has ever had and did not disclose. Also, one may have a pre-existing condition and not be aware of it. Not saying every insurance company will be that strict. But the potential is there.

tldr; "Trump bad". Yawn, stop watching stupid YouTubes that only agree or disagree with your already-formed-opinion and offer no new information.

When you say your UK bank doesn't send money to PI, I am assuming you mean wiring. Foreign ATM should still work, no? That said, I would recommend having as many ways of getting money as possible so it might be worth getting a credit card before you come and also keeping cash. One of the best options for Americans is the Schwab card as they rebate all foreign ATM fees. Seems like I recall brits had a similar card but I don't recall the name of it. You don't want to change banks but it might be worth having a second bank to keep 'transfer money' in. That's what I do. Just EFT money from my main bank to Schwab and send enough for normal living expenses.

Was tongue in cheek, no need for the soapbox or condescension.