tom_a

Someone mentioned that houses are less expensive to rent..is that right? What kind of rentals and how close to CM are they? Are there alot of house rentals within resonable monthly payments, safety, and such??

That's the problem with detached houses, they are nice and relatively less expensive, the problem is security, every time I hear about a break in , it was in a detached house. Condos are less appealing, but for me and my computers, which are leterally my whole life, a condo with surv.cameras and security is a must.

Anyway I'm sure you can find a gated house with these features, expect to pay more though.

In my experience the best way to find a nice house is going around with a motorbike, write down the tel numbers and let a thai friend make the calls, you can find real bargains that way. No Thai friends? Then you are screwed hehe. Take a tour around the two main rings ( the roads , you know..).

Ah, and search here, I remember, lots of posts about the subject, and people who can express themselves, in a much better English than me.

It's a few more months before I make the move myself, but I'll search this and the other forums as the time gets closer. I appreciate the feedback also. Thanks

Tom

http://www.freighter-cruises.com/ is one of a few sites that can assist you in freighter travel. The average cost can vary, but in most circumstances they usually quote arount 90us per day and possible some port fees of up to 200us at most. I've actually looked into this too because that's how I'm going to get to Thailand from the U.S. I've flown umpteen times, and always hated (feared) flying for some reason. I flew to the UK last summer on a military aircraft....a tanker, and I was able to go back and watch them refill fighter aircraft in-flight.....that was nice and the view was unmatched by anything I've seen before, but, I still can't get over my fear. So, as I said, I've researched freighter travel, and many of them take a small amount of passengers...no frills, but excellent food, larger quarters(much larger than a cruise ship), and basic entertainment such as dvd movies and whatever you bring to read. A Gentleman named Hamish Jamieson handles a great deal of passenger requests on freighters. His email is [email protected] . I hope this will be helpful for you.

Tom

Someone mentioned that houses are less expensive to rent..is that right? What kind of rentals and how close to CM are they? Are there alot of house rentals within resonable monthly payments, safety, and such??

Is this a yearly thing? How long does it last?

Thanks for the feedback. Basically,it sounds pretty much likea guessing game on the subject, but nothing wrong with of guessing. It's pretty safe to say the Province is growing pretty rapidly, hopefully with good representatives from each country.

Tom

Has anyone done a rough census of how many expats live in Chiang Rai province, or estimates of expats and countries of origin? I'm guessing there have been a variety of attempts to have gatherings of expats and their families...how good is the turn out on these or do you folks just basically run into each other around town or at a local watering hole?

Thanks,

Tom

Thank you for your replies. My wife will be pleased to hear there are other western women inthe area.

Sincerely,

Tom

Hi All,

My aussie wife and Iplan to relocate to Chiang Mai, or rather on the outskirts of the city. My wife was wondering if there are other western women living in the region. We realize that most of the expats have found the love of their life, which more often than not would be a Thai lady. So, just out of curiosity, we wondered about the number of women from Australia, Canada, or the U.S.? Any replies, as always, is appreciated.

Sincerely,

Tom

Maybe put your clothes in heavy duty plastic trashbags and suck the air out with a vacuum cleaner and tape it shut?

I guess I can switch it up abit in my circumstances and tell you what is drawing me to Thailand. My son is graduating from High School in June, and we are putting our home on the markey (cross our fingers it will sell quickly). We hope it sells fairly soon after we list it simply because of the location being just down the street from the hospital and the High Schhol at the end of our short street. There isn't anything really fancy about our home but we just want to simply sell it and pack up a few things, our dogs and cats and rock n rollover to Thailand or the Philippines. Both countries have their perks. The Philippines seems to have a lower cost of living and the cost of maid service is significantly less cost. On Thialands side of the coin, the Scenery attracts and interests me, train travel to other destinations, fishing, from what I've read the Thai people are generally sincere and pleasant, and the cost of living is also fairly low. The interaction between expats in both countries seems positive, but then again, positive attitude in any location makes things seem much better. So, my Australian wife, and my American butt will land on the shores of Thailand the end of this summer under the retirement visa program, and I truly hope to meet some of you and hopefully get to kick back and watch some American Football with you folks too. The worst we could see happening is that we aren't as happy as we think we should be and pack up our marbles and move over the Phillipines and try that out for awhile. To us, just moving around and exploring as much as possible is an opportunity very few really can do, and I'm glad and grateful that we here in this forum are some of the few who can do this journey.

Sincerely,

Tom

I want to thank everyone who took the time to answer my post. I always enjoy reading this section of the forum simply because of the active involvement by you folks and the replies are usually mature, pleasant, informative, and civil.

Sincerely,

Tom

Thanks for those that have shared. Is there no one else that would like to share?

Sincerely,

Tom

As I was looking into moving to Thailand towards the end of this summer, I found out along the planning stages that the Foreign Medical Program underthe Veterans Administration for the U.S. doesn't pay for medications for non service connected disabilities. So, I will need to buy my own cholesterol medication. My question is, does anyone here currently buy these types of medications and what kind of costs am I looking at? I also take a few other meds but forthe most part, the cholesterol meds are the most important. I really appreciate any help you can offer.

Sincerely,

Tom

Thanks forthe replies back. I was really just looking for people who have actually used the foreign medical programand how well the program worked for them. I knew about the V.A. site, but I still appreciated you taking the time to answer the post. Again, thank you folks.

Tom

Thank you to the people who have answered so far. Very nice posts.

Tom

Would anyone like to discuss what brought them to decide on living in northern Thailand and how life has been for them? I've looked at the pictures and seen just how beautiful it is in Chiang Rai and consider each of you very fortunate to be able to wake up to such sights. What are the bonuses and drawbacks for an expat living in Chiang Rai? Is housing costs as reasonable there as the rest of Thailand? What is the daily interaction like for expats? Are the costs of foods and things reasonable? Do you plan on staying there for the rest of your life?

Thanks

Tom

Are there any veterans on this site who use the V.A. foreign medical program? I qualify and have the form to fill out but my concern is how good the program is...I'm an above knee amputee and occasionally need repairs, replacement parts, etc., etc., and also take medication for phantom pains. So, obviously, I think I would benefit from talking with anyone who has actual experience with the program. I'd like to thank anyone in advance for any help they can provide.

Sincerely,

Tom

Hi Jet,

Thanks for the reply. I was just wondering how good the VA was with this particular program before I dive in to Thailand. I think I'll post the same message in another area of the forum, I think maybe in the Chiang Mai forum because that's the location my wife and I are interested in. Again, thanks.

Tom

Are there any veterans on this site who use the V.A. foreign medical program? I qualify and have the form to fill out but my concern is how good the program is...I'm an above knee amputee and occasionally need repairs, replacement parts, etc., etc., and also take medication for phantom pains. So, obviously, I think I would benefit from talking with anyone who has actual experience with the program. I'd like to thank anyone in advance for any help they can provide.

Sincerely,

Tom

I'm sorry. While reading the replies to my inquire, I realized I have forgotten to put down my country of origin. My wife is a citizen of Australia and I'm a citizen of the U.S. I've looked at the Thai Embassy sites and just wasn't sure if the staff have updated their site as changes take place. It seems pretty straight forward for the retirement visa. We have bounced around between Thailand and the Philippines for retirement and always come back to Thailand and feel that the changes that have taken place does not affect retirees as much as other types of visa holders. With the 800,000b, do you actually need that in the bank or will they still take a letter confirming that you have a minimum of 65,000b monthly income in place of the 800,000b?

Sincerely,

Tom

Since the new government has made several changes in laws, I was wondering if anyone could provide a concise outline as to retirement visa laws now, or if any changes have taken place. Could someone provide the cost of the application, the amount of funds required to be put in the bank (I've read that you have to have 800,000b in a Thai bank for 3 months...but is that for an intial application), and any other important information. Basically, if someone could type out a walkt hrough from the begining retirement visa process all the way to the end of the process, I'd appreciate it, and hope that's not too much to ask?

Sincerely,

Tom

Im trying to get an idea of how much its cost to live in Chiang Rai, if you have a free minute, please click on one of the options

Be very careful with these type of questions...the folks in Chiang Rai have problems with these kind of questions from what I've read in their part of their forum.

Care to explain to a numbskull like me what a solar flare has to do with a software upgrade ?

I thought maybe the solar flare that occured disrupted the satellite signals like the larger solar flares often do, and thatmight have caused people to need to resetthe codes....or maybe I'm just way off base.

Tom

There was a solar flare that caused some problems on that date.

Tom

You guys do know that there was a significant solar flare that caused all this don't you?

Tom