Jingthing

They are a good organization to support but you can get entry into SDFCU much cheaper. I used a US consumer organization. 5 or 10 bucks.

Yes.

I haven't needed OTPs. I think they have a program if you choose to do that. No, I've only done direct SWIFT and it's been very fast. I did determine that if it's over 10K USD they will probably call you and ask some annoying questions.

It's a credit union. Not a bank. You need to join something initial. Like a consumer organization. I think it cost me 5 or 10 bucks one time. They are somewhat quirky and very security minded but officially accept expats. But you could still be rejected for other reasons. It's easier to open initially with a US address and driver's license and change the record later but you can open with a passport. I use them to direct deposit my social security check so YES on that! Online SWIFT wires are 25 dollars. Federal Credit Union in DC, VA, & SC | SDFCU

The question is clear. It may be interesting to know the percentage of boosted expats compared to the percentage of boosted Thais and other regions / countries. I recently read the boosted rates in Europe are about 50 percent and in the US 27 percent. So how do the expats here size up?

Not answering your specific question, but can address how banks know (or begin to suspect and then investigate) that a customer is living abroad. EXPAT ADMITTING IT! Logging in all the time from abroad Trying to contact with your U.S. phone number and it not working See a VOIP US number could raise a red flag Customer using a mail forwarding service as their main address Customer unable to do 2FA (no US cell phone in their name) Mail sent to the US address on record sent back. Mail sent to the US address requiring response not responded to Issues with activating a new ATM card Some financial institutions are more aggressive about this than others, but the trend is not good. If you've already moved abroad, opening a new U.S. based account is very difficult and impossible with many firms. Future expats should open many accounts where they move because over time they will lose some (or all) of them. Open a backup expat friendly account at SDFCU There is no perfect answer anyone can give you! This is a moving target. Policies change (generally getting less expat friendly). The U.S. financial system never promised expats a rose garden.

Who knew? https://www.cnet.com/news/why-wordle-had-two-different-answers-in-one-day/ Why Wordle Had Two Different Answers in One Day Fans of Wordle took to social media Tuesday to express frustration and confusion about the game's latest move. The problem? Wordle, which was acquired by The New York Times in late January, was showing two different answers to Tuesday's word riddle, Wordle 241.

Happily for gay men, this is a straight men's problem. But I will pipe in. Why not ask them?

Many or even most US banks don't want expats if you're honest with them. This has been an issue for many years especially after the Know your customer rules arrived. I suggest opening with SDFCU which will deal with expats at least as a backup. https://www.sdfcu.org/ For other accounts I fake it. US phone number US address Logins online showing US not Thailand But now more and more banks are requiring two factor authentification with a US cell phone in your name! Acceptance of voip numbers / google voice on the way out. This can be a major PITA.

Today I had a food delivery driver. Without going into detail, she was wildly incompetent, and when I eventually got my food (her fault) it was well cold. But then I saw her and talked to her for a moment. I realized she was very much not OK. Perhaps mentally limited or however people say that these days. So instead of giving her a piece of my mind, giving her a one star rating, complaining about her to the company, I just shut my pie hole. But I did NOT tip her as I generally do for even basically OK service. So I'm definitely no saint. Thinking about this afterwards, I guess I didn't want to encourage her to do a job she clearly can't do. But perhaps that was her only option, so then that makes me an unfeeling A-hole. How do you respond to pitiful people that haven't done the job for you? This isn't necessarily about food delivery service but it can be. Pick the choice close to your own truth about how you think you would respond in a similar situation.

This NOT a POLITICAL discussion topic. This is NOT the place to express pro Russian or pro Ukraine / NATO / Western feelings. This is NOT the place to make predictions about what will happen there, as in war or no war. etc. The idea of this topic is that a war in Ukraine would represent the most significant war in Europe since WW2. So what are your concerns/predictions about the impact on your life here as expats in Thailand (if any) IF this happens?

Restaurants demanding a recent Covid antigen test that is. Have you heard the local expat radio ad saying if they don't ask, you walk? In general I'm in favor of Covid mitigation measures but this I find ridiculous and the ad seriously grating and goody two shoes. What do you think? On a similar note a local restaurant is running an ad claiming they are Covid free. They can't possibly know that. https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/pattaya-restaurants-ignoring-health-tests-on-entry-388546 Pattaya “restaurants” ignoring health tests on entry BY BARRY KENYON Thai law is explicit. When you enter an eatery, whether one serving hearty meals or a booze bar offering stale nuts, you should prove you have had an antigen test within the last 72 hours or submit to one at the entrance administered by staff. In the optimistic words of the government-friendly Pattaya radio ad, “If they don’t ask, you walk.”

I just "discovered" it yesterday. I love it. Wordle: What is it, and how do you play? : NPR

I'm all for representation of LGBTQ people in all kinds of entertainment media, but when I heard the news of bisexual Superman, it occurred to me that this isn't good for the gays. Superman Bisexual: Jon Kent Comes Out - Variety Superman is an international icon. Why is he bisexual, and not just gay? If you're going to go there, why the ambiguity? Sure bisexuals exist but in homophobic societies declaring yourself as bi is a transparent hedge. I remember as a kid when Elton John came out as bi and it was a very big deal, yeah sure, he's bi, that's the ticket. What about the international backlash? It's already started in anti-gay / anti western propaganda media coming from Russia, which represents a lot of other countries that are going backwards with LGBTQ civil rights issues. Superman as bisexual is surely good for getting free publicity, but is it really good for actual LGBTQ people in most of the world? I think it's the opposite. So thanks but no thanks.

Many have heard of the various recent extreme policy changes in Xi's China, such as a crackdown on tutoring services impacting countless western English teachers. So now it's effeminate men in media. China bans 'sissy men' from TV in new crackdown - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) No, I'm not saying that all or most effeminate men are gay or not, but this new policy is clearly extremely homophobic. China is the inevitable top power in the world. Will this kind of thing spread to other countries under China's influence? (Such as Thailand.)

I assume most Americans have been following this. Massive price spikes in real estate in the U.S. for pretty much any place that you might want to live. If you already own something even marginally decent there, you're probably happy about an unexpected windfall. But what if you don't? For most expats, the first backup is repatriation. No visa needed. But some kind of housing is needed! To underline this situation, here's the flip side of this historic price spike: Real estate investors from across the U.S. are buying homes in Peoria, Ill., sight unseen - Washington Post

Why did it take so long for this topic to happen? Can be weird and wonderful, guilty pleasures, or serious stuff too. To tell us, I suggest that you include a sample video of the channel instead of linking to the channel's summary page. More fun, no?

Look I fully realize I'm coming from Old Fogeylandia with this and that many people have made boatloads of "money" with bitcoin and treat it almost as a religion. But looking at history, how can this NOT end badly? Or maybe history is passe, huh?

The question has come up about the rough percentage of expats living in Thailand that have a Thai I.D. card (including when obtained from a yellow book). Driver's license is not a Thai I.D. card! So if that's all you've got then the answer is no. So I'm doing this poll. I guess that expats that have become citizens or permanent residences all do have a Thai I.D. so I'll add that as a separate category.

I don't think there is any doubt that the Thai-English google translator is shockingly poor. I wonder why exactly. I can compare it to Spanish-English which I would expect to be better, but not so MUCH better. I assume a large part of the problem is the nature of the Thai language. Is that the only reason? Is google's tool not as good as other automatic Thai-English translation tools?

This is a new concept in restaurant review threads. I hope y'all enjoy it and participate. Pattaya I think is a better food city than many people know or think. Time to spread the word, in a short and sweet way. Suggested Guidelines: Make it short! (and sweet) Emphasis on reasonably priced restaurants! (most of us are not made of money) Emphasis on less than famous restaurants! (most of have heard of the Sizzler) Emphasis on new "discoveries" to you, not necessarily new restaurants! (if its new to you, it may be new to us too) Emphasis on places with at least some good dishes! (seeking pleasure here, not pain) Emphasis on places that offer something a little bit "different"! (green curry isn't different) Include a link if you like! (this is the internet after all) Try to indicate location! (location, location) So the idea here is a running thread with perhaps "twitter-like" quick HIT and RUN reviews on a variety of places you've experienced and would like to share. As opposed to threads about one restaurant, or threads on one food type like pizza. I will start with THREE of my own Hit and Run mentions to illustrate the concept. I think in general doing ONE at a time (one post, one mini "hit and run" review) is probably better but I wanted to get the ball rolling with three. *************** Ons Moeder Dutch Restaurant, Jomtien Menu is in Dutch. Daily three course meal -- 280 baht Many classic Dutch dishes. Try the super thick pea soup! Some say the best Dutch food in Thailand, I wouldn't be surprised! Dutch hangout, you might not feel that you fit in if not Dutch but its worth going for the food. Near the inner Jomtien beach police box area http://www.ons-moede...aya.nl/map.html http://www.tripadvis...i_Province.html **************** "The Place" Israeli Restaurant Menu in English and Hebrew and maybe Thai (I forget) Hard to find Israeli specialties: Shakshuka served with bread (this is very similar to Mexican Huevos Rancheros I kid you not!), Hummus with spicy meat, Hummus with organ meats, Baba ghanoush, Full platter dinner meals, Homemade soups such as chicken or lentil I think probably the best Israeli "place" in town and yes of course an Israeli tourist hangout Soi Boukaow, not too far from Pattaya Tai https://foursquare.c...a52fadb3461eb25 ****************** Umanchu Okinawa Food Also has Thai food. Okinawa food has different dishes than standard Japanese. Featured Okinawa dishes: Bitter gourd with pork and egg stir fry / Okinawa soba with pork belly style pork (both offered in small sets 200 baht) Prices moderate, portions on the small side. Good clean flavors. Only a few tables and they are outside! Across the street from the Montien Hotel, 2nd Road http://en.wikipedia....kinawan_cuisine http://www.foodpanda...anchu-(Pattaya) _________________ The idea NOW is for you to add YOUR own hit and run snippets about places YOU would like to mention and share. My "vision" for this thread is just a bunch of posts only with these mini hit and run restaurant mentions, but I understand people are probably going to want to COMMENT on the restaurants other people have mentioned. I guess we'll see how it goes (if it goes at all).