jaideeguy

There is some sense in covenants and zoning laws in that a pig farm, karaoke or welding shop won't move next door as is often the case here in LOS.

Regarding dues for the upkeep of the development, I would rather have maintained roads and community improvements than letting the roads deteriorate to 4 WD as happened in a development I lived in Hawaii that had no association as most developments in Puna are still.

homeowners' association, rules, and a board...............It all depends on who runs the show.

Hawaii is #1 on my list and I'm actively checking on affordable real estate, but finding that the RE prices are maybe 5X what they are here and once you're there, the food prices are up to 10X higher than here...........forget eating out, as even McDonalds is 2X Thai prices.

Altho once settled and you have a little soil, you can grow your own [whatever], as the climate and soil are so fertile.

10 years in the jungles there taught me that. And if you still have any marketable skills, then the wages are 10X what you would get here. I'm hoping that I can survive there!!

Sorry for my little rant and will try my best to stay on topic JT...........it's just been another super hot day and that is my #1 reason for looking for an alternative while I can still survive the stress of moving my family to a place where they would feel sabai and be able to breath clean air, get a decent education and I can get affordable [hopefully free] new generation medical for my condition. And, I'm one of the 99% that can't afford a house on the beach.

LOS has been good to me for the last 13+ years but at 67 years of age my rose tint has faded from my glasses and I am thinking that Thailand is not a country for old men both before, during and after death.

"There are lots of places in Thailand that have no pollution, no blazing heat or corruption and no immigration BS."............

Really?? Where in LOS can you live without blatant corruption on every level, immigration BS??

I'll accept that there are a few less polluted places in LOS than northern Thailand and the heat is relative.

I'm not Thai bashing, but can anyone say that the corruption is not there and that immigration BS is fun??

'If I had the same problems as you I'd go home in a minute.'

I'm working on that, but I've dug a deep hole here with my Thai family, real estate, animals etc. and it's not that easy to just fly away from it.

Enjoy your pork tenderloin sandwich.......

agree totally Aaron. when it comes to immigration

and other official matters, it's best to follow the rules, especially when the whole world is connected/controlled by computers.

So, is this 10-15 month wait 'written in stone'?? Seems that i read somewhere on the official site that the process could be expedited by a medical emergency, but they didn't say who's medical emergency.

I DO have a [documented and real] medical emergency for treatment of HCV and the sooner I deal with it, the better off I will be. The new meds for clearance are not available here in LOS yet.

If you go the DCF route (which you qualify for) there's no way it's going to take 10-15 months. More like 2-3, may be 5 on the outside. If you were living in the U.S, then yes, you would be looking at 10-15 months.

That's good news.......daboyz

when you say 'DCF route (which you qualify for)', are you referring to my medical emergency/situation?? or just a normal situation??

I think that happens everywhere.......in Hawaii, my old home, the locals speak a kind of 'pigeon English' and the newcomers will try to speak it and it shows immediately that they just got off the plane. I spoke pigeon fluently when I was in high school in Hawaii, as a defense tactic, but dropped it when I came into contact with decent English speakers.

agree totally Aaron. when it comes to immigration

and other official matters, it's best to follow the rules, especially when the whole world is connected/controlled by computers.

So, is this 10-15 month wait 'written in stone'?? Seems that i read somewhere on the official site that the process could be expedited by a medical emergency, but they didn't say who's medical emergency.

I DO have a [documented and real] medical emergency for treatment of HCV and the sooner I deal with it, the better off I will be. The new meds for clearance are not available here in LOS yet.

The beginning of the rainy season??

Lana, your suggestion is a bit conflicting to Mac's post #13 above..........not to say that either of you guys are right or wrong, but different approach.

BTW, after more than 25 years in Asia, I've pretty much severed most of my business ties and it's hard to start all over again @67 years of age. I will be pursuing a VA claim from square 1 and hope that it will yield enough to get me out of the official 'poverty level' of income back there.

Also, I was hoping to get her a green card asap to support me and the kids [for a change]. Can a person on a visitor's visa get a green card easily??

Thanks daboyz...........sorry I didn't mention before, but I did finally access visajourney.com by going thru Google directly and can see a lot of useful info for my situation.

Just to update my journey to immigration of my Thai family to the US [for anyone interested]. After realizing that adoption in Thailand was like opening a can of worms, we went to our local Amphor office with a form that confirmed that the deadbeat father was never in the picture after birth as is so common here. Easy process getting the form stamped that gives my wife and freedom from any future problems or objections from him.

Now, we are ready to apply for passports for all 3 and will do that next week. Have heard that is the easiest part of the process.

Next step will be applying for the IR1 and IR2 visas?? Any tips or suggestions for that step??

Looking at my bank calender, I see that the 13th is a red bank holiday and that the 9th is a lightly shaded blue. We need to go to city hall and would like to know for sure if it is open on the 9th or the 12th as it's a long drive for nothing if closed. Does anyone know for sure what the holiday schedule is this upcoming weekend??

Thanks in advance.........

The Horn-bills paid us a visit a couple of years ago in Doi Saket and hung out for almost a year , on and off, but no recent sightings. I thought that they migrated between India and Thailand, but according to that youtube video, they migrate north, which makes more sense.

Our flock was approx 200 birds.......hard to count as they are shy and take flight with any disturbance and hard to sneak up on them for close up photos. Beautiful birds, especially in flight where they soar so gracefully.

Didn't feel much more than a 4.5 here in Doi Saket, but if centered somewhere distant, it will be much larger. I remember the 'big one' in Indonesia and we felt it all the way up here and it did feel stronger from more than 3,000k away.

Thanks for the tips guys........I feel a lot more confident in which direction to go now.

Re: visajourney.com..............my antivirus threw up a warning and I ignored it and never got connected with them. Any typos or mistakes on the address??

Just returned from the Adoption office in the CM city hall and, yes, you were correct Mac in that we all would have to go down to the main office in BKK with a financial statement from my consulate/embassy to apply, then long wait [unless we greased some palms?] and no guarantees.

Luckily the passport office was in the same building and altho a super long queue, we wiggled our way up to the front [Thai style] and found out that the passport would be a simple matter after getting a form signed by our local amphor for the boy [who has the absentee deadbeat father]...........heard from the info girl that CM and other provincial offices are overloaded because that idiot Suthep is still occupying the offices in BKK.

I haven't found any reference on the immigration website to the kids having 'derivative status'.................it's a long winded website that is not easy to navigate, so if anyone has a link to that, please share.

And, now I'm wondering if we should just go for a non immigrant visa and apply for their citizenship there?? Wife can apply for green card upon arrival??

Any suggestions for that tactic?? or should we proceed with the immigrant visa??

for what it's worth................If the V was done recently with the newer technique, then it's an easy procedure and good success rate, but if it was done a while ago, then more expensive/costly and lower success rate.

Thais have very poor financial management skills

THAT'S NEWS??

Somehow I get the impression that most of the posters are single without families and that can make a real difference in your options.........schools, Asian community, temperature/climate etc as well as the much larger expense. Also you have to be reasonably sure that the place you're aiming at will suit your family, where if you're single, just pack your bags and try another place.

Well, count me in as a family man and having lived in Hawaii for more than 2 decades and still have friends, brother and know my way around, my choices are limited and despite the cost of living there, you can live comfortably [on a budget] once you get settled and get your garden growing.

If I were single, I would aim at Ecuador, where there is an easy path to citizenship and costs are on par with Chiang Mai, but without the smog and blazing sun.

Would appreciate hearing from other expats with families that are thinking of moving back.............

Thanks Mac..................I was hoping to go the DCF route and I think that I can start the process at our Chiang Mai US Consulate. Will check more on the adoption issue. Wife says that both adoption and passport can be done at the CM city hall. sure would be a lot easier for us as we are just outside CM and BKK is a long way.

There's no need to adopt the kids in order to get visas for them. They get derivative status from the mother. I doubt you'll be able to do anything at the consulate in Chiang Mai either. They don't do anything with immigrant visas. Those are all taken care of in Bangkok.

Meaning that I have to go to BKK embassy?? or do I have to drag the whole family down?? and that's just for the initial application. Then, there is the interview as the last step, where the wife gets 'grilled' ..................another trip??

Good to hear about the derivative status from the mother.

Thanks.

Yeah, eating out in the US and most places is always much more expensive and electricity is a factor too, but to be honest, I prefer eating at home from my garden and electricity costs can be lowered even to the point where it can be a source of income if you invest in solar cells. My friend in Hawaii just invested $20K and got tax rebate and in 2 years will pay off his investment and be selling his juice back to the company and making a profit as well as getting free juice.

It's funny that this topic has come up at this time, when I'm considering a move back @ 67years mostly because of the heat and 13 years as a 2nd class citizen with less rites than a paroled felon.

If I were single, I would seriously consider getting a mid sized Air stream and see all the places mentioned. Call me 'trailer trash', but I have spent a year doing that in the Pacific northwest and it was a cool way to travel and live.

Or maybe if I was a little more adventurious a move to South or Central America as there are lots of countries that are much cheaper, have easier paths to permanent residency and some even offer citizenship. Ecuador is top of my list in South America as the cost and quality of living is on par with Chiang Mai and it is very expat friendly with many choices of climates from the warm coast line to the high Andes...............lots to choose from.

A great resource for anyone wanting to compare places abroad go to http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Thailand&country2=Ecuador

But, for better [and worse], I'm not single and have to think of places that my Thai family would be easy to adjust to and I've gone full circle and now aiming at Hawaii [big Island] where I spent 25 years before becoming an Asian Addict. Yeah, most costs are higher, but at my age it's more about quality of life and Hawaii has probably the cleanest environment and choice of weather of any places mentioned in the OP.

Yeah, it's too bad that only the rich can afford a cure and that the cost will prevent most others from getting the cure, causing more spread of Hepatitis C.

Makes me wonder if it is covered by medicare/Medicaid or Obamacare. If so, then maybe worth a trip back to the states??

Yes, it's Sovaldi...........................sorry for not mentioning the name in my OP. Hopefully there will be a generic version available soon as the cost is $1,000 per day from what I read.