QuantumQuandry

The only thing I would really like it to be is...more stable. Changing tax laws, changing weed laws, changing immigration laws...I never feel comfortable laying down long term roots and I don't really trust the government not to do something radical that will make me choose to leave.

InB4 thread lock!

Which issue? I can google whatever issue is scaring you. Or I can google how to make snickerdoodles at home. Either way, it's the internet and you can find whatever info you want out there. Here, I googled something relevant and hopefully helpful (sincerely) for you: https://www.alysonmstone.com/staying-centered-in-a-crazy-world/

No, you are commenting on how you see them. Which is apparently...scary. And you want to share your fears with everyone else. Which is...scaremongering.

Good thing you don't want to be a scaremonger...

My place is around 100 sqm. I run aircon in half of it at 19, at night, when I sleep. During the day, I run aircon in the other half at 23 for half the night and use fans the other half. Computer and TV always on, girl cooks at home every day. Bill is a bit over 4k. There's a lot of factors, though. Like how old and <deleted>ty your aircon is. How much cooking you do (that eats up more than computer, in my experience). Whether you get good airflow and what kind of sun you get. Remember, it's not just what temp you keep your aircon at, it's how hard your aircon has to work to get it there.

Dinner parties are for people who live in climates where you can't just do a beach BBQ.

List seems pretty suspect. Jackson at 21? Pfft. Biden above Wilson? Wut? Forget about Trump, hard to have a rational conversation about him these days. But Biden at 14? I mean, I don't even hate Biden. I just think he's "meh". One of those presidents you forget.

Feels like OP is not satisfied with his life and projecting it on to everyone else.

Turn it down to 19, make it a meat locker, sleep with a sheet and a blanket around just my feet and lower legs. It's how I sleep best and I am more than willing to chuck an extra 1k at the power bill for it.

But...if you never fight anyone, how will you fare when it comes to self defence?

If you don't mind me asking, how did you get immigration on the phone with the bank? Did you just go to immigration and ask? They always seem super busy and unwilling to even have a conversation, to me.

Can you expand on that?

But...those places "aren't Thailand", either...

Priced this option out in Pattaya. Didn't use this option but just for general info, the cost from a well known agency at that time was 39k baht total (for 6 months non-ED plus dependent visa). Know someone who did use the option and hasn't had a problem with it, or renewing it. However, their spouse never left Thailand came back through airport immigration, which seems to be the real acid test for...'creative' agency solutions.

I believe you can find a lot of good info in the topic that I started here, when I was getting married to my foreign wife:

I have not been on this forum all that long so I can't compare it to how it was before. That said, I came here for some specific marriage and visa advice and I got some really great, in depth, advice. And the 2 or 3 times I requested other information, I got a lot of responses. Some great, some not so great...but all were pretty well intended. And getting just one helpful response is fantastic and should never be taken for granted. And no-one has entered one of my sincere topics and started an internet mud slinging fight with me. That said, I have been in a couple of internet mud slinging fights on the forum. But it always happens when I see someone post something really silly (imo) and dare to disagree with it. It would probably be wiser if I would ignore the occasional silly posts and concentrate on helping people (or getting help from people) where I can. Basically, I find social media (and this forum) good for getting answers and giving answers. But not so good for general discourse or musing over nuanced topics. And ignoring the silly people is easier than disagreeing with them.

Also worth noting that some of the smaller figures you see might be travel insurance, rather than full health insurance. Travel insurance will cover some things, like accidents, but usually not the chronic, big ticket items, like cancer.

That last word ("unnecessarily") is key. You have stated "If your assessable income is over 120,000 baht per year, you must file a Thai tax return between 1 January and 31 March.". So you are clearly saying that a lot of foreigners must (necessarily) file tax returns. But, for others who think that the necessity of that is ambiguous, filing tax returns (for expats not earning money in Thailand) are, at this time, at least potentially "unnecessary".

I think I may have erroneously lumped it in with the other open air gyms that were being suggested but looking it up now, I see that it's not. Thank you very much for bringing it back to my attention, I will check that one out, as well. 👍

That sounds like a great lead. Thank you. I will see if I can find it. Is it this one? Koni fitness?

You sure do lean on cliches and metaphors, rather than solid arguments, a lot. Every one of these is a straw man argument. I already stated that there are concerns and extra risk, due to their financials. I just pointed out that it's part of the gamble that you take for a lower payment and that there is a spectrum of risk with every company (or even self insuring). To which you, of course, replied with an incorrect metaphor. This is the sole, single sentence you offered that was actually relevant to what *I* said. Good job. Except...it doesn't address the actual question, about their reviews *in comparison* to others, does it? So I googled some of the other major names to do this for you and I am not seeing reviews for most of them. So it's hard to do a comparison, relying on Google reviews. Trustpilot has them, though (https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.wrlife.net), which I think you, yourself, mentioned previously(?). WRLife is 3.8 out of 5. For comparison, Blue Cross/Blue Shield is 1.8. Bupa is 4.1. Allianz is 4.1 or 4.4(?). Cigna is 4.1. I have also gone out and read actual people reviewing them, in depth, on forums and reddit. Pretty much everything I could find (and there isn't a lot so any comparison is probably low confidence, anyway). Ignoring people, like yourself, that are negative because of theory, rather than actual experience, there absolutely are a small number of people who said they didn't get their claims paid and several who said they did. It seemed very much in line with what I read from Pacific Cross, except with less overall reviews. Which makes sense since they are a smaller and newer company. And, again, every agent in Pattaya I found that does NOT sell WRLife (i.e. they are a competitor) said that WRLife was paying legit claims. And to be fair, they, like you, are skeptical that they are too good to be true. However, they, unlike you, are not being disingenuous about it. I think it's totally reasonable to have some skepticism and evaluate it as a higher risk. But some people seem to want to just push a 'good/bad' opinion, rather than actually evaluate it. Either way, throw some more cliches at us, I won't argue with you, anymore. I came for some evaluation and analysis (and it's good to hear about the financials, thank you to those who analyzed that part). But arguing with you, in particular, is not educational.

Might just be your worst enemy until you figure out how to use it better. From what I can see, their reviews are on par with other health insurance companies. Most, but not all, of the negatives are from people speculating, like yourself, rather than actual experiences.

First off, thank you for all the replies! Some clarifications: She gets cardio exercise. She does 30-60 minutes at home most nights and I take her out on beach walks a few times a week. I think that resistance training has additional benefits, though: 1. For depression/anxiety, resistance training has showed a profound effect. 2. Getting out of the house has benefits. 3. Having a routine she can do with a friend. She is anxious about people looking at her. Any outdoor areas is going to be worse than just going to an indoor gym, I think. She doesn't even want ME looking at her when she does cardio at home. Says it 'makes her weak'. Yes, a ladies gym, if not too busy, would probably be ok. And that location would be great, too! Any idea what it's called? I haven't seen one like that but that would be spot on. She does YouTube cardio, already, and I take her out on long walks. That's what I am trying to do! :) She's Filipina. She's pretty fit (and knows how to weight train, as well, if we find an appropriate gym). Don't want to derail my own thread but let's just say, it's definitely psychological and we are trying to address it, both with meds and behavioral changes (like finding a gym she can handle). I will probably give up my nice apartment in 6 months, when my lease ends, if I have to, just to get her a condo gym. Would be better if we can find something before then. But it is what it is. Thanks again for the assistance.

They aren't protected if defamation is proved, I agree. But many (even most) lies actually are protected under the 1st amendment. https://www.freedomforum.org/is-lying-protected-first-amendment/