not5150

Take the subway to Phram 9 station and then follow the signs. I believe all the electronics stuff is up on the 3rd and 4th floors.

I've pretty much made Fortune Town my favorite place to get movies, software, etc. Panthip Plaza has become WAY too pushy for me. I don't mind people shoving stuff in my face, but grabbing arms and standing in my way is where I draw the line.

I've always booked on with eva air. The travel agent might be able to find a cheaper price, but it's doubtful. However, bonafide travel agents will be able to tell you how many seats are available on a certain flight.

It's a permanent increase... for all seasons.

I stayed there last month and liked it. However, the price is getting a bit high for my blood - especially on longer stays.

The one factor you have to consider is catastrophic expenses (usually medical). If you are just getting by month to month, one catastrophic event will put you under.

I've stayed at the Dynasty Grande several times and I've never heard of any deaths.

Do you have any links to newspaper reports or posts?

In the USA (yes I know it isn't), a local news station would probably do an undercover video of the manager trying to sell a membership.

Of course we all know the local news would never do such a thing.

Always plan for worst case scenarios, then you won't be surprised.

Yes, you should probably include costs for travel. For example, you should always have enough money on hand to buy a return ticket home - or already have it bought. God forbid, you get one of those late night calls about a relative getting very sick or worse.

http://www.not5150.com/pattayaspreadsheet.zip

The above link goes to a zipped Microsoft Excel file. The numbers are for Pattaya and then converted to US Dollars at the end.

You basically plug in your numbers and the totals will autocalculate.

As with all budgets, what you consider to be a decent living will probably be different than mine. On long trips, I'm ok with going out to the bars once every two or three days. Other people feel compelled to go out every night.

You'll do just fine. In fact you'll find your costs to be much lower than expected (compared to your six-week trips).

I'm planning out the same thing for March and I've made an Excel spreadsheet to help me plan out the expenses. PM me if you want the link because I'm not sure how the mods view external links.

Your biggest expenses will be housing and entertainment. A decent condo in pattaya will be around 10-20k baht a month. Your entertainment costs will be lower than your short term trips because you will lose the urge to go out every night (like I do on my long-term trips).

I figured as much.... 24 Hour Fitness here is just horrid.

Perhaps the only pushier salespeople are the ones from Ballys.

Is California WOW related to any US health clubs like 24 Hour Fitness? Or is this a completely Thai chain?

"You come across as an insecure, jealous guy who couldn't handle a fit young man acting friendly to his incredibly beautiful girl. By your own account you're practically an invalid yet you talk about feeding this guy to the fish."

Errr isn't there something about personal attacks on this forum? You were making some good points in your previous posts in the thread, but now I'm forced to consider all your posts to be suspect.

Unlike police forces in the United States, Thai police have no standard firearm. As other people have said, it basically comes down to what you can afford.

I've seen police officers with Glocks, Smith and Wessons, Colt .45, revolvers. I've even seen a fair share with no guns... even worse, a holster with no gun inside.

Must be a nightmare if they are ever involved in a protracted gun battle. Different guns, different caliber ammunition.. yikes.

I'm getting ping times of 700 to 1200 ms. Pretty horrid and I definitely can't raid with it.

Battlegrounds are passable...

Probably doesn't help that I play on an east coast server (Medivh)

Thanks.. a very helpful thread with tons of info. Whew, looks like i have my work cut out for me.

Hello all,

I'm a 33 y/o American and I'm negotiating a new work contract with my boss. I do all my work on the Internet so I might as well move here where the cost of living is lower.

Do I need to get a Thai work permit?? Or is that if I'm working for a company inside of Thailand?

I don't expect to really stay here permanently... perhaps for a year or so.

Thanks in advance

"She was 27. Not a child."

In many parts of the world it's common to call someone a 27-year-old woman a child... don't take it literally. You've never heard of a senior citizen call a younger person a child?

But before you start getting into semantics, she was someone's child. May she rest in peace.