GuestHouse

Get yourself a copy of this Money Still Number One - A Single Man's Guide to Thailand Read it and Believe it... Believe every single bit of it.

okay, Mr. Bright man

I'm not convinced you'd know what bright is, given your failing to spot the email address gathering scam.

What I feel I need is what are the pitfalls and common mistakes.

Well a few things to avoid.... (Try to avoid, you'll get caught by at least a couple of these nomatter how many times you are warned)...

• Getting into relationships before you know the ground
  
• Forgetting that beauty is not an idication of goodness
  
• Getting hooked in with someone who controls where you go, who you meet, what you see, what you hear and where you spend your money (usually the new found love of one's life)
  
• Believing that someone who does everything for you, is actually good for you in the long run
  
• Getting ripped off (varying degrees) in the belief that you are helping someone out of fix
  
• Lieing to yourself - Convincing yourself to switch off your common sense
  
• Buying property/cars in other peoples names (Usually the new found love of one's life)
  
• Putting money in other people's accounts (usually the new found love of one's life)
  
• Bringing to Thailand money you can't afford to loose - and then loosing it
  
• Burining the bridges back home so that you can't go back again if things don't work out.
  
• Forgetting that a 30 year old woman has a 30 year old woman's ambitions for life
  
• Getting robbed by a fellow expat
  
• Not having health insurance
  
• Paying too much for bank charges
  

If you get past most of that lot you'll be doing reasonably well.

Good advice from Jdiasia.

I'd add you need to sort your divorce out first and then take stock of where you after the dust has settled.

I'd also caution that post divorce and particularly post divorce at your age you are extremely vulnerable to the Honey Trap.

If you can afford not to, do not sell your cottage, hang on to it as a base that you can return to.

I personally think that in the imediate period post divorce (two to three years depending on the person) you should be looking to stabalize your life and emotions. I do not think Thailand is the ideal place to do that.

Take your time.

Not bright enough to understand the IQ Test you took (and the link you posted) is little more than an Email Address Gathering Scam.

Malaysian Airlines are on the list of my employer's banned carriers on account of some pretty dodgy safety and security issues.

I think Emirites have great service and probably one of the best in the price bracket.

My wife refuses to fly Thai Airways on the grounds the service is garbage, the aircarft old and rickety and the facilities onboard ancient.

I'm inclined to agree with her and have just booked with Singapore Airlines for our next visit.

The simple rule is to accept that when you retire you no longer have the ability to go back and earn more money for your retirement fund - It's a one shot chance.

So retirement investment needs to be first and foremost 'SECURE'. That's usually bonds or equivelent.

If you need to make your retirement investment grow in order to continue in retirement, then you don't have enough to retire.

The logic behind this is that an insufficient fund will run out as time passes and as time passes going back to work is less of an option.

So it's all about protecting your income and not at all about earning more retirement fund. The time to earn more retirement fund is when you are working.

If the purpose of her visa application is to go overseas as a student, then I don't see what a letter from a Fiance would do, other than cloud the reasons for the visa.

As for an overseas MBA. I think she might be best advised to first look into how an overseas MBA is going to be accepted in Thailand. I know from personal experience that Thais who return with overseas qualifications often do not get the recognition they deserve - The exception being those who graduate from internationally "recognized" schools 'Imperial College, LSE, Columbia etc'.

I should clarify that 'personal experience'. I have recommended Thais for positions and promotions and have attended reviews of Thais with overseas qualifications. I have been told on more than one occassion that 'Candidate A' is better than 'Candidate B' becase 'A' studdied in Thailand whereas 'B studdied overseas.

In my world, the man is the bread winner. If the man can't make a helluva lot more cash than the lady, then he is a weakling in my book. He is a mouse not a man. And if he allows her to pay when he's sitting on the mound of cash, then he is not worthy.

I guess you moved to Thailand when you got fed up of eating old chease back home.

If you can't earn more than the women around you, move to somewhere where the women are poorer.

This horse just won't run ..... too complicated .. covering way too many variables ...

Or is it that you would rather it did not run, just incase it comes in ahead?

Once again I see we have what I call the “Blank Sheet of Paper Syndrome”

Place a blank sheet of paper on a table in front of a group of people and they will stare at it all day long without comment.

Put an idea on the paper and the same group of people will spend hours knocking holes in it.

_____

But we have some Aye Sayers and that's a start.

Are you trying to start your own vigilante group or are you just interested in statistics for the sake of looking at a page full of useless numbers?

Let me make this clear - I have NO INTEREST IN FORMING ANY VIGILANTE GROUP I HAVE NO INTEREST IN VIGILANTE ACTION.

Statistics aren't "tucked away out of site (sic) and out of mind," they are compiled for use by proper authorities. Farang ex-pats hardly qualify as Thailand's proper authorities

No they are not, but they (we) are perhaps a little more interested in the statistics than the police are.

For example: Let us say (for arguments sake) that the statistics gathered by foreigners indicated a very low rate of crime against foreigners, a very high clear-up rate and a no year on year escalation of crime against foreigners. That might very well be used as ammunition in the frequent discussions we have on the subject "Is Thailand/Pattaya Safe" for farangs?"

Alternatively

Let us say (for arguments sake) that the statistics gathered by foreigners indicated, a high number of foreigners being attacked in Pattaya, a low clear-up rate and an year on year increase.

That might form the basis of a letter to the Authorities/Press (Politely) enquiring if more needs to done to protect a section (our section) of the local community.

Meanwhile.

I'm still curious as to why a number of TV members are so hostile to a suggestion that aims to quantify Crime against foreigners - What reason might they have for not wanting such an index to be made?

My wife and I both work, we have a joint account, everything is paid from the joint account.

Any enquiry into statistics is as far away as a computer terminal.

I don't see the logic in farangs setting up their own statistical base for these matters.

The problem is - Who's computer terminal?

In which case the logic is that statistics gathered by the community are available to the community.

Not tucked away out of site and out of mind.

It depends to some extent on your own nationality status.

If you, the British Parent, were born in the UK then YOU hold the Nationality status of "British Other Than By Descent" and your child would inherit the nationality Status of 'British By Descent".

If you were born out side of Britain to one or more parents who were born inside Britain then YOU would hold the nationality status of "British By Descent" and WOULD NOT pass your nationality to your child.

Your child receives Thai nationality from it's mother and can maintain this, together with its British Nationality throught life.

However, if there are any questions at all regarding the nationality status of the mother, then you may need to consider going back to the UK for your wife to give birth.

Example: If YOU are British By Descent, and your wife is from one of the ethnic minorities in Thailadnd you might want to consider the risk of your child becoming stateless.

I think the recording levels need to be consistant with the data that is openly reported.

ie

Robbery with a weapon

Robbery by drugging

Injury by gun attack

Injury by knife attack

Injury by other attack

Death by shooting attack

Death by knife attack

Death by other attack

Rape

Rape and murder

This removes errors that occur because a lot of attempted crime does not get reported.

GH, was you considering a 'reporting thread' here or keeping a private DB and publishing a report here or what?

I hadn't considered how yet, but I on first thoughts I think a Database with defined entry rules and a two part check (Person entering data and person checking entry)

Perhaps:

Name of Victim

Alternative Name 1, (Necessary due to spelling errors in press)

Gender of Victim

Age of Victim

Nationality of Victim

Alternative Nationality of Victim (Necessary due to dual nationals and reporting errors)

Description of Attack (Defined Attack Types)

Date of Attack

Location of Attack

Nationality of Attacker

Gender of Attacker

Arrest Made

Conviction Secured

That sort of thing.

What's the point? To what end? Where's the benefit and to whom? Paranoid?

To remove irrationality might be one positive thing.

I think you will find that GuestHouse is incorrect in saying you must be out for a full tax year to be non resident for tax.

I assure you I am correct in what I have said. I took tax advice in July 2005, when I moved to Italy and have just this month started my clock for the purposes of measuring my tax residence. I shall become tax free from the UK in April 2007. This is very recent advice and I have just written to the tax office to confirm I am still out of the country at the start of this tax year.

The allowance to be in the country not more than 90 days still stands, but you can't claim those as the first 90 days of the tax year. You need to be out of the UK on April 5th.. then the clock starts.

It is not just as simple as being out of the country, you also need to break a number of financial ties too.

My advice is speak to a tax advisor now.

The rules regarding this full tax year issue changed less than two years ago.

Any reason in your arguments seems to be lost in your use of abusive language.

One point of reason that is not hidden by your profanity is the basis of the argument you make: That it is the victims of these crimes have somehow brought the crimes on themselves.

They may have, they may not have. Without statistics to demonstrate this to be the case you are back where I say we all are, expressing an unfounded belief - albeit with recourse to the language of the gutter.

Why do you need any record ? It's not your country, it's not your homeland, so, if you don't feel well here you can emigrate ?

Since I take it you are not Thai, why do you object to my suggestion?

What benefit might this have?

Well firstly to put a scale on the attacks, seconly to determine trends.

No. I was not suggesting English Speaking Caucasians, I was suggesting foreigners.

I am sure I am not the only person who 'Believes' serious crime against foreigners is on the increase [Murder/Rape/Muggings/Beatings].

The thing is, there are no records, we hear of these things, they get reported here and elsewhere, then the trail goes cold and the numbers merge into a 'Feeling' or a 'Belief' that these attacks are getting more prevelant, but no hard numbers exist.

So. Perhaps it's time an online record where kept.

Any thoughts?

Off shore accounts, Jersey IoM are now charging 5% tax added to which the interest rates are lower to start with.

Keep your ISAs and submit an application for non residence. You will not become non resident until you have spent ONE FULL TAX YEAR out of the country.

That is April 5th ~ April 4th, so you've missed it this year. If you leave the UK next month, you will start the run of your full tax year on April 5th 2007 and become indendent of the UK Tax man on April 4th 2008.

But it's not all bad news. You can still claim your tax allowance on your interest income, and you can still put more money in ISAs all through this year.

Let it go and chalk it up to experience.

A Thai who owes you money that you will never see is an annoyance. A Thai who is p1ssed off with you for ruinging his good name might well be extremely dangerous.