technoronin

The UK has free speech and anyone who disagrees will be jailed.

I am not happy about the US getting involved in this war. It looks like yet another case of Israel going "why don't you and him fight". I am hoping that the US will not try to occupy Iran, but I am okay with the US reducing their offensive capability to next to nothing. I'm not thrilled with it, but targeted strikes on all the missile launchers will reduce the amount of damage they can do to anyone in the area. I think it is unfortunate that the US is the only country involved with the surveillance capability as well as the munitions stockpiles to be able to do it. The reality is that the only times in the past couple of thousand years that that region has been peaceful was when an external empire took over the entire region. If westerners think that the Middle East is like our countries, they would be very, very wrong. I hope this is over soon.

I agree. My main complaint with most rentals is that the furnishings are "okay" but don't even rise to the level of "good". My priorities are different from the average renter.

Since I can't have a bank account without a retirement visa and getting a retirement visa requires 800,000 baht in my account, this isn't much help for me.

The problem with UBI is that the government always takes in a lot more money (at gunpoint) than it hands out. It is extremely inefficient. Before people were forced to pay for Welfare, there were lots of charities and people took care of one another. Now it people demand that the government give them things because it is their right to have the money I worked hard for,

You are very wrong. Social Security isn't the dole. I was forced to pay into the system for 50 years. I earned what I am getting back. I would get back a lot more if I had been able to invest.

Thai immigration and the government in general has made things so much of a hassle that I am looking for somewhere else to retire.

It's the legacy media. They lie. They lie all the time. They make William Randolph Hearst look like an amateur. The US Government isn't saying this. The general US population isn't saying this. It's an organization that evidently has an axe to grind with Thailand.

Sounds good in theory, but everyone I have spoken with says it isn't accepted by Immigration. I would consider that if it was an option.

If you can get it. I tried in 2023 and kept going around and around with the differences between what they asked for and what they actually wanted. I finally came in on a 30 day exemption.

To do that I would have to pull $30K out of my retirement account, which has tax consequences here in the US.

What do you mean I'm not a tourist if I want to spend 4 months in Thailand? I'm retired and slow traveling.

I was planning to move to Thailand but over the past year the bureaucrats have increased the hassle factor of living in Thailand to the point that I have no interest in dealing with it. I'm an old man who wants a peaceful life and doing paperwork, usually more than once, every few months is not the life I want. Maybe the new government will ease off, but I doubt it.

The whole "climate change" is nothing but a hoax intended to line the pockets of the people in charge. Every single prediction the experts, who were paid with tax dollars, have made has failed. I'm still waiting for the glaciers in Oklahoma that the experts were predicting 50 years ago. It's a grift and an excuse for the government to grab more power like they did during the scamdemic.

The baht being strong is a negative for me to move to Thailand. 800,000 baht being closer to US$25K instead of $23K is a noticeable mount of money. Combined with all of the other negatives I am waiting to see what changes.