thaibreaker

Are you for real?? That is just an insane statement. Are you not following this war at all?

Why do you think Finland and Sweden joined NATO? Why do you think the Baltic countries joined NATO? Russia did that. Their threat is real. I know, I'm Norwegian, we have lived with their threats for decades.

In English, please.

Time changes, but the Pattaya we have today, isn't that bad. It's been a shift to become a more retirement friendly and family friendly place. At least the latter is their goal. I love it here, but I don't frequently hang out at bars and such, and have already found my partner. Pattaya and the Jomtien area have so much more to offer than girls, soi 6 and walking street. And now it's far from crowded here either, low season or not.

I won't disagree with that, but we all do mistakes. Mine was my blind trust to my gf, and not having enough backup funds.

It can be numerous reason why and how you will find yourself on overstay. I overstayed a few months more than a decade ago, was arrested outside a shopping mall in Bangkok, and ended up at IDC. Spent 2 weeks there before I could buy my own ticket home. I even wrote about it on this forum, and got a lot of comments. My reason was that I was scammed by my ex girlfriend, and found myself almost without money during these months. While I was getting more money sent to me from Europe for my ticket, I was arrested before I could leave on my own. These things could happen to anyone. Don't judge the book by its cover. Not all of us has backup, and some of us might use some time to recover from whatever happened to us. Laziness, or overstaying on purpose, is a complete different thing, and I don't understand that at all. Some also shouldn't be here if they don't have enough money for it in the first place.

Norway, NOK. And Sweden, SEK, our neighbors, has had the same strengthening. Denmark is bound to the Euro, and follow that instead.

Funny, but you don't seem to get my point either. You Americans are viewing this through your USD and your eyes only, and only comparing it to Thai Baht. I am speaking for those who actually benefit on this.

The USD has decreased 15% to MY valuta since Trump took over. That is expected to rise to around 20% before it stabilizes. According to valuta experts in my country. That means for me personally that the Thai Baht has been adjusting accordingly, but not as much (which is why this thread mention a stronger baht, not weaker) . It means for us retirees from Nordic countries, who have retired here in Thailand, we benefit from the dollar fall, because the Thai Baht has become weaker for us. The difference with your comparison, is that our valuta used to follow that stream. This time, WE DON'T. Our valuta has clearly been strengthening compared to USD. You see the difference? We will see if this continues to be the case, or if it's only temporary, and our valuta will catch up to the ups and downs of the USD. Our experts think not, they are expecting an even weaker dollar.

Yup, and America won't miss me either 😂

Not talking about that at all. I'm only talking about my (our) baht (vs our own valuta) value in Thailand. I have no intention on ever visiting the US, nor am I importing or buying American products. The dollar fall is only to my (and others in my situation's) benefit.

The best outcome for Euro, NOK, SEK, DK and more, has been Trump at the wheel in the US. The USD has lost a significant value compared to these valutas, and we cannot say anything else than thank you, Trump. I personally get 8 percent more for my money in Thailand now, after the dollar fall, and baht adjusting to it.

100 % true. The Baht has even weakened a lot against for instance Norwegian and Swedish Kroner. Those two valutas alone have strengthened around 15 percent to the USD the last few months, and 7-8 percent against Baht. It's the Trump policy that has weakened the Dollar, and it is expected to continue doing so. It was 11.50 Norwegian Kroner agains the USD a short while ago, now it's around 10.05, and is expected to plummet even more, to somewhere at the 9 kroner mark. Thai Baht was 3.02 / 3.05 compared to Norwegian and Swedish Kroner a few months back. Now it's 3.23 / 3.26. Baht has lost to several valutas the last months, because they pretty much adjust their valuta to the USD.

100.000 bath average? I think you are way off here. Closer to 50k I would say.

Good points, and I agree completely. I love what Thailand and their Buddhism has to offer, compared to what I experienced in The Philippines.

I can't agree with that. The Philippines has worse infrastructure, internet, and of course food. And that by far. More crime as well. The women and the beaches are pretty much the same. Most retirees go the other way, moving from The Philippines to Thailand, because of the above. Thailand will still be my retirement destination, at least for the next decade or so. It's pretty darn easy to extend my retirement visa each year. There are no plans to make that harder, as far as I know.

Wait, what? Is METV no longer available either? When did that happen? Just curious. Doesn't matter for me, but I just recommended one for a buddy of mine for a stay up to 9 months.

This fact needs to be clarified. If you live more than half a year in another country over two years or more (or more than 12 months from day one), you are required, according to Norwegian law, to change your address, and thereby pay taxes to the country which you live. You won't be double taxed, but Thailand is in fact required to tax you, if so. And Norway won't of course. I know many Norwegians don't apply to this, by keeping their address in Norway, paying taxes there, but the above is the law.

Sucks, but what can we do. At least Eide gave a year to sort this out. The problem is that many Norwegians are winter birds. Maybe staying the summer in Norway, and won't put 65k in a Thai bank all year. For some, this might change, or limit the months in Thailand. There are still visa exemption and tourist visa possibilities, so around 6 months or so (or 9 months with an METV) a year in Thailand should be fine.

I'm not grumpy at all. What gave you that idea? On the contrary. I'm always a happy camper. I love Malaysia as well, I recommend a visit there. Open your eyes, widen your horizon. Songkran isn't for everyone.

If you say so 🙂

This is the time of year when I escape Thailand too. Been watching too many accidents, where motorbike drivers were trying to avoid getting soaked. Traffic-wise it's just a dangerous time of year. One year my phone was drowning as well. Malaysia use to get a few extra bucks from me in April. Worth discovering.

What amazes me, is all the comments under the hundreds of youtube videos, supporting this madman, and this madness of a tariff war. I'm lost for words when I read them. And here I actually thought most Americans were among the smart people in the classroom. How did we even get here? How could this administration come to rule the most powerful country in the world? How on earth did you Americans let them come to power? Again? It's not that there weren't any signs on the wall.. You were warned.

Say thank you!! 😉

Not from the EU, but from The World Trade Organization, WTO (for 2023): https://www.thejournal.ie/eu-tariffs-united-states-donald-trump-factcheck-6668226-Apr2025/ The World Trade Organization (WTO) said in a tariff profile that the EU’s trade-weighted average tariff rate in 2023 was 2.7%. And furthermore: The European Commission has said that the action rate of European tariffs is closer to 1%. I'm not making up numbers, but 2.7% is obviously an estimate of average percentage from the WTO. But as you see, the European Commission operates with an even lower percentage.