MichelBangkok

Live in the LOS (sic) for more than 25 years, at the beginning on work, and then on retirement; two years ago my country lost my old passport during the renewal process, so when back with the new passport without any visas, was granted a visitor's visa and had to restart the retirement visa extension from scratch; thanks to the gods I speak fluently (read as well) Thai, so the process was relatively painless although some run around to banks, spouse and others to get all the seemingly never-ending list of required documents; the whole day started at 8:30h AM (first to come in - Nonthaburi Immigration) and ended just prior to closing time... Except for this "experience", usually the yearly visa extension is a breeze, naturally if you come early, before the long Q's start to build up. Nonthaburi is a small office, and the assigned personnel tend to remain on duty many years, so developing some "personal" contacts through small talk has proven to be useful over the years to smooth out potential hurdles...

On 8/13/2016 at 6:57 AM, Ronuk said:

Unless the law has changed, as a non Thai, I am pretty certain the electricity Bill can never be in your name?

The electricity bill is under my name, as I am the owner of our house; only the land is owned by the lovely Thai wife !  And this for the last 14 years...  The previous 10 years, house and land were under the Thai spouse name, as well as all bills attached...

Of course my OP assumed that you had a Thai partner

As for not speaking Thai because we are not migrants, (unlike the subjects of the German TV programme in my OP link); whilst most of us are not 'migrants' in the sense of having acquired Thai citizenship, many of us are migrants in all but name, if it is our intention to live permanently in Thailand.

I do not have Thai citizenship (can't tick all the application boxes...), but I consider myself a migrant because this is now my permanent home and I have a long-stay visa.

You can't be a migrant in all but name, you either are, have a new passport, and can stay forever, or you aren't.

You long stay visa means jack, the Junta will have you out tomorrow, if they feel like it.

What you consider (in some delusional universe of your own) means nothing to the government of Thailand.

You have a temporary residence in Thailand.

And it's gonna get harder for you to stay in it.

Someone's paranoid.

Or very, very, very insecure...

As for the original question 100% in Thai only, never using another language (we speak three fluently)... And not just with spouse, extended family but everyone in the Kingdom, unless they are foreigners...

I drove one a few times. My impression. Ok but ride was not fantastic despite no leaf springs. Rear storage area compromised by those fold seats. Would I take one over a crv? Yes because of the diesel engine option.

We removed the folding two back seats, no need to transport 7 people, so we have all the required storage department. CRV is lower driving, almost like a regular car, Fortuner is pick-up height level, so you see the road from way farther away. Would buy again, but this one (2012) is scheduled to last forever... Diesel engine running smoothly, consumption not terrific especially if you drive faster, but what a great vehicle !

1.

24 years.

Songhua you beat me by one year although we know each other for 25 years !

Yes 1....only !

My wife keeps warning me about this sort of thing.

She, a Thai, describes it as:

"The Bantam Rooster Syndrome" in Thailand, where lots of "LITTLE MEN" carry Big Guns in a forlorn attempt, to compensate for.....

certain other, short-comings.

My wife keeps telling me the same. A recent incident in Pattaya that could have easily escalated was when a watch seller dug me in the ribs with the corner of his wooden box of watches, to get my attention because I had my back to him and was deep in thought talking to a mate of mine. I'm sure it was deliberate, it just wasn't a touch. I stood up and confronted him and he started screaming something about "Thailand was still his country". I think that I am pretty street smart after 34 years in the Kingdom, but I was just about to go ballistic when my wife stepped between us and spoke something quietly in Thai to which he walked off grumbling. I told my wife not to do that again but quite rightly she pointed out that he almost certainly would have been carrying a knife.

Funny the mamas-an of this bar on Soi 13/1 was sitting almost next to us, she saw and heard everything and did not say a word. The watch seller had no concern, no fear, that she was sitting there. Get yourself in trouble and you could be all alone. No one gives a shit.

So does mine ! It seems that being hot tempered increases the probability of encountering troubles, irrelevant if this particular incident is a premeditated effort, the result of road rage, or something else. After driving in this country for 25 years, I still am tempted to respond to perceived aggressive conduct in kind, and this is when the Lovely Half jumps in to remind me that something bad can result. I will certainly try to keep cool when the next occurrence will happen...

14 years of study to learn the trick from the specialists here and than get busted on overstay....

Cheating is considered a profession in Thailand, so not a crime ;-)

So True !

My daughter is British/Thai cabin crew for Emirates. To the guy who said what's the world coming to when you can't touch up a 'hostie', please allow me to touch up your 'daughter', 'wife', 'grand daughter', etc etc .... I am sure it is fine.

To the guy who called cabin crew 'hostie' .... they are cabin crew !!

To the guy who said some of the female cabin crew need a shave .... you obviously haven't a clue about the selection process Emirates have in place for their recruitment of cabin crew. I am sure you are god's gift to women and are perfectly groomed.

And to anyone who doesn't rate Emirates, you are really in the minority. They are one of the world's best airlines, with the most investment in aircraft and staff. They have the biggest fleet of A380's, with new aircraft constantly on order. The person who said the economy section is cramped .... do you know the seat width of Emirates aircraft compared to other airlines ??? Really !!!

No passenger is allowed to consume their own alcohol on any airline, so this has nothing to do with airline or where the plane is flying to. Perhaps the problem here is the type of people on the plane, but that you cannot help if you are using Dubai as a hub.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Excellent perspective, including pointing to some posts to where they belong - the trashcan ! Incredible that so many TV "members" post so much nonsense.

Completely agree with Romeland - Rule #1 : don't get drunk; Rule #2 : don't grope anyone, anywhere, anytime; Rule #3 If you miss out on Rule #1, pay double attention to Rule #2. Period !

Does that allow all the pro independence PQ members do it to themselves?

There is always someone with an ill-thought remark ready to push on the "add reply" button on TV, just to add a silly statement to the list, and increase his (her) number of posts. Somtamnication being the first example. What does the independence of French speaking Quebec from the rest of English speaking Canada has to do with this topic being "assisted suicide" in the province ?

Not funny and Hopeless...

I walked away from the US after Bush was elected. Never looked back.

And me from Canada for very similar reasons...and also never looked back (25 years and counting !)

Why such a title with so little content ? Just to have us click on the topic ?

Working in Thailand... yes if you don't have all your mental faculties. It's the same as buying property here; only those with no brains would engage in such an act.

Sadly for TV forums, insulting others seems a favorite pastime of some "commentators". We own property, me the house, the spouse the land. I have worked legally at numerous occasions in the LOS, for lengthy periods over the last 24 years, although now happy enjoying retirement... Working in Europe, Australia or North America is also not that easy if you are a foreigner, so no issue with the local Work Permit requirements. This topic is a different issue than the double standards that are openly practiced by the locals, either covering work permits, double pricing at various locations government-managed or not, etc...

"We own property, me the house, the spouse the land." - I would be interested in how you would retain "your house" in the event your relationship broke down, and that is a serious question.

Easy to respond ! The spouse will get the house as a "separation" settlement if she prefers or we sell both assets and she keeps the proceedings. Then, I would relocate and keep most of all of our other assets abroad which are under my name. Just be careful, as many foreigners experienced very challenging times in this country in relation to investments or relationships. On a sarcastic tone, the spouse once told me : "if we ever separate, take your house with you, I will keep the land". This was 10 years ago... But legally, as a foreigner in this country, your are entitled to own a building, but not the land.

Working in Thailand... yes if you don't have all your mental faculties. It's the same as buying property here; only those with no brains would engage in such an act.

Sadly for TV forums, insulting others seems a favorite pastime of some "commentators". We own property, me the house, the spouse the land. I have worked legally at numerous occasions in the LOS, for lengthy periods over the last 24 years, although now happy enjoying retirement... Working in Europe, Australia or North America is also not that easy if you are a foreigner, so no issue with the local Work Permit requirements. This topic is a different issue than the double standards that are openly practiced by the locals, either covering work permits, double pricing at various locations government-managed or not, etc...

1. Medical insurance is a rip off.

2. Even a 1 million baht in saving will cover almost everything.

3. I had a major procedure done at Sirina Karin Hospital Khon Kaen 90,000bt plus 40,000 for sterilized

instruments sent sealed from Johnson and Johnson. 5 day stay private suite.

The main reason I came here from the USA is because health insurance costs were out of control.

Fully agree with prvtdetdave !

We maintained BUPA full coverage for 12 years, for both my spouse and myself, and then we realized that their coverage is good, as long as you do not need it; read the small prints: for example, after the first year of a cancer-type problem, they may stop paying on that particular disease...and their maximum coverage during a given year is usually not that high !

So, for the last 10 years, we did put the equivalent of the very expensive premium BUPA was requesting for the both of us (not that young anymore) in our Bank, pay for our medical bills ourselves and hope for the best. So far we have accumulated a very large sum saved over these ten years...and still counting. A medical insurance provided by a company is certainly a product offered by this company intended to make money; it is a not a governmental scheme to protect citizens.

Why do Thai shopowners have such bad attitudes?

Because most of them are Chinese!!

Strangely (or not) enough, Soi41 may be onto something more serious than he (or she) may have thought initially with such a comment. Many Mom-Pop operated shops are 'managed', whatsoever it means, by older folks, many of them from Chinese ancestry; when you see the little red ancestor's mini-shrines in a corner of the store, you know for sure. And sadly, Chinese global reputation for kindness, politeness, or lack of it - worldwide, not just in China or Thailand - is not matched by their Thai counterparts... In the meantime, Thai or Chinese, a lousy shopowner remains a shopowner to avoid, so vote with you feet...

What would need to happen to have you questioning whether to continue living here?

47.98% total income tax on worldwide income plus enforced 19% VAT on goods and services like in my home country Germany

Same, same for income tax in my home country Canada, only VAT is 14%, but wait for property taxes, school taxes, and all the others !

Get a Yandex email account for free ! Based in Russia, better be spied by the russkies ( no offence intented - spaciba ) !

Sadly, the entire business ethics of Thailand, with its monopolies, cartels, isolationism and screwing any foreign partner, just doesn't fit in with the concept of free-trade and fair competition. The idea of a "level playing field" is just beyond their comprehension.

So True ! All of it...

NomadJoe has an excellent review and appreciation (ouch !) of the current 3G offers in this country. Thank's for summarizing the situation with such great clarity. Sadly, there is not much hope that the situation may improve given the trio-poly, yes three times a monopoly, as all three organizations are competing to keep/increase their respective market shares with their "new" offerings.

In the mean time, we will certainly monitor creative marketing strategies being implemented by each telco, but rapidly copied by the others, while pricing will not be one of the positive developments, if any. Just trying to get a clear picture of the real coverage of the three 3G networks in the country is a major undertaking. Yes, each provider produces its own mapping in beautiful colors, but it is extremely difficult, for example, to discover if you will have access to 3G or EDGE (or nothing at all) when in the Mae Rim mountains, north of Chiang Mai, unless you bring your equipment up there and give it a try. By the way, the results for this particular example were DTAC and AIS, no coverage or sometimes EDGE, and True Move some 3G, some of the times...

Very few countries are offering real unlimited 3G at full speed, their concern being network and cells capacity not being able to sustain so many simultaneous users at such speeds....for the time being !

"Integration" is a word that cannot be translated in Thai, as each separate agency or department works in an absolute "stand-alone" mode, so better not dream of a location that will be user-friendly with easy access to local transportation. Just look at the Suvarnabhumi express link that ends downtown in the middle of nowhere.

Give the muslims their due, at least they respect their religious bans.

After working in the Middle East for over 30 years I'll take that with a large pinch of salt

A very very very very large pinch of salt, indeed - I lived in Muslim countries also for a very long time !

My thoughts when I read your post was the "Little Britian" sketches about the the only gay in village..

But to answer your question, yes far too many....the Thai goverment should make it harder for farangs to live here long term...increase the fees for the visa's, make the qualification for extension of stays harder, increase all the finanical requirements....

what a stupid comment , there are many expats living in every country in the world today , that's what makes it exciting to up and move to these countries . are there too many Asians in Australia ? no , they bring their culture to the country and so do every one else who lives in another countries . maybe you like the communist way of life . Thailand has visas requirements if long term you need money in the bank , many countries are not as strict as Thailand

Sorry mate, not stupid at all the comment ! Fully agree with "Soutpeel" that the requirements for long-term residents are way to easy to comply for, as this allows too many border-line individuals that would not be welcome in many countries to establish their base here. "Border-line" being defined as without appropriate resources, or with a "past" involving prison or other not-so-honest activities abroad, or running away from a very nasty past (spouses, family, work) in their home countries. Long-term residents shall pass a language test (yes - I speak Thai fluently), demonstrate a clean state of bills regarding their past, and show much more than 800,000 bahts in a local bank 3 months before the renewal of their visa extension. These measures shall diminish the quantity (topic of this thread) and augment the quality (an additional bonus) of the foreigners living here.

Simple measures : never pay a 20 baht charge with a 1000 baht bank note to avoid getting a 500 baht note in return. Always get your 1000 and 500 baht notes from a bank; check it there BEFORE leaving the bank. As for 100 baht notes and lower denominations, there is not much check on these although it has been documented that counterfeit notes are also circulating.

The Bank of Thailand entertains a section on how to check counterfeits (yes in English !):

http://www.bot.or.th/English/Banknotes/Pages/howtocheck.aspx

glad the OP has opened this thread... to be honest I thought I was the only one with an unsupportive family. all the farang I have met here have had nothing but support from there family...

I didnt speak to mother dearest for 10 years after I married wifee... right from the start she made it clear that she didnt want to know about it (the relationship)... anyway, so I decided then that if thats how you feel about it, I`ll not let you know. but i`m buggered if i`m stopping for you. your not controlling MY life lady..

BUT, evntually our child was born and I was going off to work in the middle east so I told the old dear she had a grand daughter. she hung up the phone... we didnt speak for 10 years...

... eventually I tried to patch things up with the old bag through feelings of guilt and for the sake of her grand kids but she couldn`t handle it... 'how can I tell my friends my son married a thai...' .. OMG!...

oh <deleted> off you nauseating old hag!... I did visit the women in the summers of 2011 & 2012... first time I thought she had come around to the idea but 2nd time we were just back to square one again... I got up and walked out and told her as I left that she would never see me again... and thats the end of it....

all I feel now is relief....

23 years and counting enjoying the land of not-so-eternal smiles, learned to fluently speak and read, learned the ways to do (or not to do) business here, got a master's degree in Bangkok, married a native and live here, now retired - enough credentials ! As for the main topic : at "home", friends and family initially were doubting, then jealous, then adapted. Only the old man decided that he did not agree and found ways to express it. Same "relief" as for Kristophon, as I decided that cutting the link with him was the only solution - six years ago. Very unlikely that I will ever return living "home", as home is in Thailand now...for 23 years, and counting !

Jinjoks are pests. Anyone who enjoys having jinjok shit in their silverware tray, coffee cups and plates, fresh fruits and vegetables, sugar & creamer containers, in the underware drawers and on their toothbrushes must be unaware of health hazards. Shit is shit...it goes through the body and is waste material full of bacteria. I'd bet that most of the posters here do not clean their own house. They also crawl into electronic devices and cause shorts which could lead to fire. No difference between them and a mouse. Any that enter the house are subject to the death penalty. Those that stay outside are spared.

Pretty harsh statement ! So you are for the death penalty ? Comparing jing joks to mices is like comparing my dog to Godzilla, although my dog is a fierce fighter as well... True that they have this habit of getting into the smallest locations, inclusive of air condition systems, but still prefer jing joks invasions to mosquitoes - cockroaches - ants into the same locations they inhabit so will not chase them by a bazooka...