HuaHinRay1

If I understand this correctly, one of the ringleaders of an event that featured vandalism, criminal mischief, contempt of court (there were court orders to leave the premises), extortion, large financial loses incurred by hundreds of thousands of people if not millions, was allowed to participate in a "ceremony" whereby, he and his organization temporarily withdrew from the airport?

And the Thai people wonder why every foreign country still has travel advisories in place and the civilized world watches with disgust?

Congrats for working the spin there. Vandalism? Criminal Mischief, Contempt of Court, (There was an appeal of the court order to leave --), Extortion?

None of which did they do that I can ascertain.

They did cause financial damage, not sure if it was less or more than the alternatives not to mention less or more than caused by Thaksin (the real issue here)

But it is really good spin! Some people that cannot think critically MIGHT believe it!

I agree with the 'geriatric' I would like to see what would happen to you or any other falang who piled up trolleys, erected a tent carried a home made weapon, stopped the free passageway into the airport not to mention ignoring a Court Order.

My guess is your bank balance would be minus a few 1000 THB or your ass would be a little tender from your cell mates advances!

I was really contemplating moving to Thailand for my retirement in 18 months time, but now I'm wondering if its going to be worth it

I have to have 800.000 bht in a bank which dont pay any interest

I can only buy a condo, asuming its a majority of Thais who own it

I will face a 2 teir system of pricing (Thai and Farang)

I have to contend with a Bht that is all over the place with exchange rates

I have to report every 90 days to immigration to prove I'm still capable of staying

I dont mind getting all the paperwork (like a retirement visa)

But I think I'm going to end up like a second class citizen

All I wanted to do is live out my time in relative comfort, with my ENGLISH wife, (not a Thai wife or any other import, unless you include Liverpool in that )

As much as I like and enjoy the Thai people, I dont like being laughed and spoken about in a language I know very little of (as I have read in the forums here

Are Farangs actually wanted here in Thailand ? (either as tourists or retirees ?)

Can anyone just give me a 'heads up' on this ?

Not a slagging off or a slating, just helpfull advice, please

IS IT worth it ?

Hello,

I have lived here for 4 yrs with my wife and child (also 100% falang), I will try and answer the points you have raised from my experience.

(1) Yes you do have to have that amount in a Bank that pays very little interest (Bangkok Bank are offering 3.50% on a five month fixed account at the moment). If you have a pension of more than 64,000 THB a month you do not need the 800,000 THB in the bank, or for example if your pension were 32,000 THB a month you would only need to show 400,000 THB in an account.

(2) You can own a house as well as a condo (I have owned two properties in Thailand) you need to set up a Company (about 35,000 THB) the Company then buys the property, this is the system that I have used and it has worked with no real problems. The Company will however have Thai share holders who will between them hold 51% shares you will hold the 49%. I think I am right in saying that the law has recently changed and if you were to be the only falang director of the Company then it would only require two Thai diectors one holding 26% shares the other 25% as you can see you would be the majority share holder.

(3) Absolutly true you WILL pay well over the odds for anything you buy, including 'back-handers' to Government Officilas to 'make problems go away' these problems can be anything from Immigration trying to find something wrong with your visa applications to not wearing a seat belt:(, just sold my car had to get a form from the local police confirming my address he tried to charge me 500 THB I know for a fact that a Thai would only be expected to pay 20-30 THB in the end I had to cough up 200 THB:angry:. I did ask for a receipt when he picked himself up from the floor laughing I did not bother persuing the matter.

However I have found that when you get stopped (for what ever reason) it normally stumps them if you are in possession of an International Driving License or better still a Thai License, if they still try to get money from you insist that you want the ticket and you will go to the police station and pay there! That often promotes a snide remark and a gesture to go away! (without paying).

Thailand has the best police force money can buy

(4) I have lived here on a retirement visa and have not found the 90 day reporting restriction too much of a hassle other than attempts to over charge me:(

(5) Getting the first retirement visa is a little bit of hassle but after that (keep a copy of everything for your reference) you just copy the original paperwork, a word of advice I have found it an advantage to get the paperwork checked out at the Immigration a few weeks before it is due as they tend to move the goal posts, my experience was I was told by immigration that the original letter from the British Embassy confirming that I was in receipt of a pension could be used again the following year, guess what? It could'nt and I had insufficient time in which to obtain a new letter from the Embassy, so I had to pay to 'make the problem go away'

(6) It is not so much being made to feel a second class citizen, I have found/felt that a lot of Thai's really do not want me here, they want my money, but not me:(

(7) I do speak a little Thai and you are right there is some 'mocking' but I really think the onus is on you to learn the language if you intend to stay here for any length of time!

There was a lot of advice given to me when we first arrived and two pieces stick in my mind, "Never invest more than you can afford to lose here" and "Money number one"

We have been lucky enough to have sold our house/Company and to be quite frank cant wait to get out of here, there are in my opinion far better places to retire to, countries with better beaches, food, infrastructure and customer service which I have not found anywhere in Thailand:(

My advice to you would be to 'give it a go' it is not the best place in the world but it is not the worst, just rent for a year and make your own mind up! the property market is knackered and I do not think it will change from being a buyers market for some time to come particularly after the events at the airports!

See the post on Malaysia, well worth a look at!

I hope this has been of some assistance to you.