mario299

Jezz while I wish ozzyfan269 and his wife success with their business I believe you will miss out on a huge percentage of buyers relying on internet advertising alone.

I base this on my wifes close family and their dealings over the past 5 or so years. Over a dozen properties have been purchased ranging from rubber plantations to commercial buildings. I should add they've looked at many more in their searches.

All were found through word of mouth. While some are internet savy most aren't and the internet savy ones weren't interested in searching for property online.

Over the past 2 months there's been an increase in the number of random inquiries by potential investors for vacant land they own. People drive past a plot, decide they like it, make a few inquiries through neighbors then show up on the doorstep with an offer.

Best of luck with your sale.

Couldn't agree with this more!. Word of mouth in these parts in the absolute best way to sell land, and if you don't believe in the power of this method then just do some small thing wrong that embarrasses you, and see how long it takes to get all around.

and why does he keep changing his Avatar?? Because I know how to. Not like you, whos command of English is somewhat restricted.

Excuse me, Mr. Sinbin, Sir, but what word in the English language is "whos" ?

Did you mean "whose", as in belongs to, or "who's", as a contraction for "who is".?

Time to change your Avatar again, still able to spot you. Can you do one of the ugly girls again, they so fit you.

Not a pleasant thing, though. Have a nice day.

My wife just got out of Thailand this year. How long would you think it takes to begin shining?

As her level of opportunity has now increased and level of repression has dropped, that is now dependant on her level of desire and your level of support.

And how hard you polish her

She's Polish? I thought he said Thai wife...?

and why does he keep changing his Avatar??

Does he think he won't be recognized?

I know a guy from an Isaan village who thought his way to a PhD from a major UK university. He now teaches material science at Khon Kaen University. I know another guy from Isaan who thought his way to a PhD in the US followed by a job at NASA. He now teaches at Suranaree University of Technology in Korat.

My wife thought her self all the way to the US, thought her self to a Green card and is now working on becoming a US citizen,Thought her self though owning her own business in the US, and property in Thailand.

I have never saved as much money in my whole life as since when I meet her, all due to her thinking.I wish I had met her twenty years ago, maybe she could have saved my from my forward western thinking.

Best Post so far!!

PLUS ++

I have purchased many items and had them sent here. never been taxed with charges.

And I have been hit with extra customs/duty many times. It's a crap-shoot, but proper labeling and pricing can help. If you order a Kindle through Amazon, for example, they will charge you an extra duty up front, but it almost never exceeds the actual duty charged by Customs. If you buy on eBay, you will probably be OK, but never a positive OK in Thailand...

I purchased some Cesar Millan "Dog Whisperer" DVDs in the States and had them mailed here...already looked at and "used". Yup...600 baht Duty/Customs. Go figure...

I have seen some very good posts here. I think it comes down to 2 things, Have a trusted builder like Alan the Builder build your house and not have to worry about if things are done correct or if corners are cut OR go with a builder where you need to be at the site everyday or every couple days to make sure things are done corectly (you will need some basic building skills). I had my house build 4 years ago (before I knew of Alan the Builder) so I was at my building site almost every day. I brought the workers food and drinks (non alcoholic) whenever I visited. My wife said they called me "jai dee" (good heart) and seem to get inspired to build us a great house. I think they went the extra mile in some cases especially the finish work. Excluding the land price I have 1.6 million baht invested which includes a western kitchen.

Here is a pic of our house in Korat. I am very happy with the finished product. The only thing I would have done different was put in aluminum windows instead of wood as the wood expands and needs to be planed form time to time in order to close correctly. Good luck on whichever way you decide to go.

rokit

Nice house!

I agree on the window information, we decided on aluminum because I was familiar with the product (as well as PVC) and we wanted bigger sizes for better circulation and air flow throughout the house. Also the bug-eating problems with wood. We also treated our workers to soda-pop, water and ice in the mornings, and soda-pop, 2 beers and one small lao khao at the end of the day. We had six workers per day, seven days a week so it wasn't too much, nor was it a bad influence on them. They appreciated it a lot. We have had several other things done by the same guys on other projects we have needed and they are always willing and happy to help us. I wish I could have had crews like these guys on my jobs in the States!

Thank you so much for all the wonderful advice and PM's I have recieved. Please, please keep posting replies even if you think your advice or information will not be of any use because so far most that has been posted is of some use.

I too am about to start the process of buiding a house in Isaan - Maha Sarakham province. Been quoted 2 million for approx 172 square meters. I have visited a house they are just completing in Korat and was pretty impressed with wokmanship etc. Obviously there will be a few plus plusses along the way but we intend to be there during the whole build so hope to keep some control.

As a matter of interest has anyone else come across the FACT that after Songkraan it will be very bad luck to buid a house for the next 4 years. Get your building going now!!!!

Can you ask that person for a lucky lottery number for me, then?

Just kidding, but something you will come across a lot...

At lot of extras have been done after, and I guess the house will never be "finished"

The workers and management considered - I'm satisfied with the "end" result.

Bergen

Very nice, and as you should be, you seem quite happy. I have found ours will never really be "finished", but that's really very okay with me, too.

Enjoy!

^^^^^,

we have a winner, give the man a cigar.

Cardholder, your sanity is worth a lot more than 300k.

Have seen too many farang try to do things on the cheap, because someone in the village can do it.

What they fail to mention is he was driving a tuk tuk in Bkk last week, and what he knows about house building can be written on the back of a fag packet.

People who cant even read simple plans, decide to put things where it suits them, bathroom floors angled the wrong way so the water flows in instead of out, doors opening outwards instead of inwards.

Electrical sockets on the wall at a height of 60 cm where a counter top at a height of 90 cm will be placed. Why bother going on, we all know and have seen the horror stories.

A wise choice there CH.

All of the above posts are correct, and the cigar should go to Cardholder without doubt!

I was fortunate to have had the time and the building experience to make sure mine was done how we wanted it..BUT,,,communication through the wife to our builder was very difficult because she spoke Thai and English, but not Thai and House Building, while I spoke English and House Building, but not Thai.

We found a plan in a book that we liked after a lot of searching, then made some adjustments to make it how we wanted. Our Contractor was very experienced, as was his crew. Yes, there were some problems, but I was there to oversee and that is a MUST. We hired the contractor for a fixed amount of labor, then we purchased the materials we wanted. If you can do this, it can work, as we are very pleased with our results.

HOWEVER....if you cannot do this because you either don't have the time or the experience (or both) I would definitely, REPEAT DEFINITELY, contact someone as good and experienced as Alan the Builder for his advice. The ability to communicate is the most important thing about a project like this.

There is a lot of very good information in the different sub-forums on this site, take a good look around, take your time, and go slow. Regarding the land title question, I told my wife we wouldn't put a nickel into anything until she had Chanote in her name. Long, difficult process, but the ONLY way to go. All things can be done, go slow....

Good luck!

Big C, Tesco and Makro should have them in the candy sections, at least they have had for the past few years. Not sure what stock will be after the flood problem/shipping problem, and 10,000 of them??? Really, 10,000???

Good luck!

nice video mario but lets see some more of that lovely creature,is it pepper?

Yes, he's a pretty boy alright, but not much help to the OP.

Glad you like Pepper, though

:rolleyes:

Ours was done a couple tears ago, but you might enjoy the YouTubes I made. We are near Prasat. Send me a PM for specifics if you like.

:rolleyes:mario299

Enjoy!!

I live in a village up Burirum way, when not away working, and enjoy all those aspects of village life that others have mentioned in this thread but one big drawback is now starting to emerge and I am not sure how to deal with it.

Like many others, my wife had a child from time before and he is now 15. He knows everything as we all did at 15, and takes no notice of requests, does nothing on the farm, and of course there is no discipline applied and whilst I am tempted from time to time to step in, I stay out of it though have many times tried to influence him postitively.

Now the problem is he is mixing with others in the village that I consider not the best models and he is becoming more difficult to deal with. I am worried that he will end up off the rails.

The solution may be to relocate but it is not practical really.

So whilst life in the village can be great for those of us looking to escape city life, for a young person it can be the pits and become a pit for them, and this in turn attacks the serenity of village life.

It's another perspective on village life.

Any advice based on similar experience most welcomed.

Kiwijack

A tough situation, but one that parents have been faced with since time immemorial. I am lucky (?), mine is a 15 year old step-daughter, so all I really need is a big club to keep the boys away...right?? Wrong.!

I am lucky that we got off to a great start and I lived in the village full-time, but I really think that if you can substitute your son's time with the bad influence people and give him positive things to do with you as his friend (step-father), maybe the positive will be better than the negative. Ask your parents how they did it...just kidding.

Best of luck...

I know you can do the 90 day report by mail ( enclose SAE for receipt ). Anyone do this or would you recommend attending immigration office in person ?

There have been many threads about reporting by mail, and it seems the answer usually comes out as "up to them". Some people have been successful (they say), some people haven't (they say).

It is up to the particular Thai Immigration office to either allow it or not. I have found it best and easiest to follow the dates on the Mobile Unit's monthly visits and either go to Surin or Chong Chom depending on the date, as both places are equi-distant to my home. I am more comfortable with a personal visit, still don't trust the mail.

Both of those choices are far closer than the drive to Korat and back.

Good luck!

I use a dongle with 12 Call.. About 375 Baht for 100 hours for 30 day's. Works ok but at times very very slow. Cannot look at videos as it take forever to download. If there is something faster out there I would like to now as well....

There have been several threads about this, you might look at Internet/computers forum as well.

I tried all the options I could come up with, satellite with TOT through Ipstar was very unreliable in bad weather, AIS aircards were excruciatingly slow. Depending on where you are, you can get CAT and a pretty good connection (look for the threads on that), but I got very lucky with TOT about a year ago.

They came to our village and offered to erect a wireless tower if 16 customers would commit. We have several Thai teachers around here (near Prasat) that wanted internet, so that wasn't a problem. TOT put up the tower about 1 1/2 years ago, ran an ADSL line to our house and I get great, almost perfect internet service with download speeds usually exceeding 500-600 Kbps. WOW!!! what a difference.

Internet in Thailand has been a problem for a long time, but it is improving. Make some calls to TOT, check CAT for towers you can see, and look through some of the different forums. It can be found.

Good luck

I think this is the one you refer to,

http://www.thaivisa....erable-for-you/

Dont think the poor guy made it, believe he left a while back, Thailand aint for everyone.

YES, that is the one. Thanks a lot rgs...:jap:

Expat O.W.

Just drifted by this post and wanted to say how much fun it is to read over the many posts that were made on the older post you were searching for.. The goods and the bads...all are good comments.

I'm currently in the US on some personal business, after having been in the "village" for two straight years and I have to say I miss it a lot. I like the pooyai and the speakers, but I'm an early riser and it doesn't bother me. I like the nosy neighbors because I keep our space separate. I like the noise, usually, because it means things are happening...never bored. I don't like the smoke and the smells, but what can you do? These people have been doing this for 3000 years, can we change them now? Should we change them now? Will they change now?

I'm not sure why you asked to re-do that thread, perhaps you want to live the village life? You've gotten some very good advice and opinions, so think it through. It's not the same as anything else you might have experienced, and that's a good thing for most people. The original poster, Lopburi99, had some problems with the noise and the boredom. Here in the good old USA today I've got some problems because it's really quiet and really boring and I really miss my family.

Sometimes it's different things for different people, I hope you can reach your balance and make a choice that fits you.

Thanks very much for taking me back to that thread, I recall it very well as I was deciding my future at the time.

mario299

I remember picking up a copy of a newspaper for Ubon a few times but I have not seen it around for ages.

Are you referring to a "printed" newspaper?

There is an online for Buriram area at

http://www.burirampost.com/

:jap:

Might be easier to just unlink your Thaivisa account with your Facebook, go to My Settings next to your user name - click profile - click manage Facebook account and unlink it from there.

You can delete your facebook account by going to facebook, logging in and then go to

http://www.facebook....=delete_account

Thanks sbk, and my question is...when you "unfriend" someone, are they notified? Potential for embarrassment, or they just go away?

Thanks!

Depends on your definition of good.......... Good beer in America - is it Canadian?

Most Canadian beer is garbage too. Aside from the newer West Coast and Maritime breweries, it's mostly tasteless fizz that only tastes good when compared to the worst of the American beers.

Go to Vancouver Island or Nova Scotia for the good stuff.

Totally agree. Lived in the Pacific Northwest for 30+ years and those microbrew boys have really started to get it together.

Have good friends that just moved back to Srisaket area, he must have good internet for his income. They used to have ADSL there, pretty good internet...now very bad, too many people using. They are trying TT&T satellite, say it's very unreliable.

Has been suggested they try IPSTAR satellite, my experience with IPSTAR in Prasat area two years ago was terrible...down during stormy weather, no reliable repair...ever!

So.... what are the choices for them in that area. Does anyone have experience with CAT or something similar. In our Prasat area we got lucky with TOT and they erected a wireless tower and ran an ADSL line to our house. Our internet now very good. Does anyone know anything to help them in the Srisaket area???

Much thanks to any good help, trying to help a friend.

Mods, if this should be in Issan forum, please move, I wasn't sure where best.

""

And I learned to simply ignore him, he has nothing to add to anything except argumentative BS. It wasn't easy ignoring him at first, but each day it got a little easier, until finally...he just simply disappeared from my thoughts.

I like most of the rest of you though!

Hypocrite, if you 'simple ignore' me then why are you still reading my posts and remarking about them ? Duuuuuur

"I like most of the rest of you though! ", sorry Mario299 I didn't realise English wasn't your first language.

Nothing wrong with either my written or spoken English. I do like your newest avatar, imagine it looks just like you. Now, once again, please go away you keep proving you have nothing positive to add and are just looking for an argument.

Bye-Bye

Good info folks. Thanks.

So I am deducing that 5,000 to 7,000 per month probably covers about 80% of the young adult factory workers - out of which they've got to pay for food and personal transport (80-100THB/day), rent & electric (1000-2000 per month), and other miscellaneous essentials. so they have a maximum of 1000 to 2000 baht per month "spare" cash (5000 to 7000 minus 4000 to 5000 living costs).

I think you're very close on your figures. My wife worked as a seamstress at a factory that emphasized piece-work...do more, get paid more...but her average income was about 8000bt a month for 12-15 hour days. rent with electric cost her about 2000 on average, food for her and one child was usually less than 100/day, transportation was a biggie so she walked a long way every day to save money.

Thankfully that ended for her 5 years ago, but she still works very hard.

Hi

We've had three Toshiba units in our home for more than three years now, and are very happy with them.

I do not consider them noisy but that, I guess, must be in the ear of the beholder.

Take a look at some that are in actual operation and decide if they are too noisy, I guess. We have had no problems with function, like them a lot but only use them at night when it gets too hot.

Best of luck.

I am convinced that SinBin could be Korat Kurt.

I am convinced that none of comments have any credibility.

And I learned to simply ignore him, he has nothing to add to anything except argumentative BS. It wasn't easy ignoring him at first, but each day it got a little easier, until finally...he just simply disappeared from my thoughts.

I like most of the rest of you though!