doppa

hi rich, could you please tell me again the alternative school to prem, the one you said was recieving some good reports. ta....happy new year.

with the oil price at its lowest for a long time you would think there would be a reflection of the price at the pump, as of yet the uk price has not changed.

by the way unless you've got money to burn, i would never buy a new car again, just my opinion.

with regards to nhs, education, and general cost of living between the two countries, it just about breaks even believe it or not, and that includes private health insurance and paying prem. school prices, sounds nuts doesn't it, so what's stopping us, well that's another story for another day, and about 15 months wait.

lots to consider.

for fuel to fill a ford fiesta in newcastle yesterday, robbing buggers, cost me half that in chiangmai.

Merry Xmas Doppa, how's the hip?

holding up nicely, be time for a new one soon.

Greetings Doppa! Great result last weekend

its the panto season, anything can happen at nufc.

thats just terrible x

Greetings Doppa! Great result last weekend

as experience has shown me over the last 45yrs, you can never plan for the next episode of life at nufc, it is coming unto the pant season so watch this space. merry christmas

Hi Doppa, Yes the Internet is quiet a bit better,i have 25/3 on TOT

fiber,its just when you venture out into the world it slows a lot,at

the CAT gateway.

I bet its cold over there now,expect a white Christmas.

Its a change to see the Toon doing a lot better,just need them

to give the Mackems a good seeing to next.

take care,regards Worgeordie

jees just had the first flurry of snow today, winter for me is like a prison sentence, good to hear from you, the toon are looking upwards, for the moment, as always nobody knows what'll be the next crisis. be good and have a merry xmas.

Merry Xmas Doppa, how's the hip?

its much better than when I left the uk nearly 7 years ago. a lot faster, though slower on international. still some outages and slower daily periods. how's the boys golf?

hello ian, how the devil are you, still there then...obviously, juniors golf onward and upward, most of the time, waste of space during the winter though, seriously considering coming back, wont happen for a while, as a matter of interest do you health cover, if so how much and who, nice to hear from you.

not sure how many remain on this forum since we left chiangmai, its been 2.5 yrs since the move to the uk, [no nearer settled], which is worrying, next year however we'll be able to re-asses our situation and then we'll take it from there i guess, with a return to chiangmai as an option

quick question for all, has the internet connectivity improved, declined or just stood still generally, it may to some sound like a meagre question considering the major ones we'll face soon, however there is a real reason for asking.

thanks.

A pizza without cheese is like a day without sunshine.

plenty of those where i am!

my wish......is to come back.

self hurt,the last time we lifted any major trophy, the FA cup 1955!

Doppa, It seems that Obummer has chosen to go the way of the UK as far as healthcare is concerned.

He has been heading us down the Socialism path since being elected. (Not by me)

The Honarable Mrs. Thatcher once said, "The trouble with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other peoples money to give to those on the dole."

Obummer has us with a 14 trillion dollar national debt. If you add all the ex-Presidents deficits from Wahington to Bush Jr.,

It doesn't equal 14 trillion.

As far as HR is concerned, the telephone or Skype interview seems to be the first step with job hunting nowadays.

My son had 2 phone interviews and finally made a fact to face and was hired. He was on The Deans list 3 of 4 years and had

A great CV.

I hope that one day we can get back to personal responsibility. Noone minds helping the truly needy and the disabled,

But welfare money, housing assistance, food stamps, medicaid,and other giveaways is why we are in the financial state we are

In.

I worked 47 years for my healthcare and pension and paid taxes on it then, but Obummer wants to tax me intonthe grave.

If he taxes my manhood, he want get muc there!

Chulai 6768

well take a hard good look at our NHS figure out the good from bad and start from there.

personal responsibility will never make a comeback in my lifetime, i guess that's one of the major misses of thailand, but inevitability this will also change,so those who can enjoy it before it does.

Remember, don't go along to the Doctor with a shopping list. I did that the first time I went to the Doctor in the UK.

After the first item, he may as well pulled a glass door between us.

I insisted in asking him other questions, as was my want, but it didn't do me much good.

I think he labelled me as a troublesome Aussie as the next week I got a letter allocating me to a different doctor in the practice, which I must say was a real achievement as the new Doc & I got on famously.

So much for living on the right side of a street meaning you MUST see doctor A.

Troublesome Aussie

I repeat what kind of quality care medically speaking are you going to get in 10 minutes?

That is not even enough time to figure out if the doctor even has a degree.

I understand not having enough doctors to serve every one in a timely fashion as in Canada they lack enough doctors to do a proper job. But they do give you more time if it is needed. It is not uncommon to show up on time for an appointment only to find out the doctor has not been able to pump them out every 10 minutes and you wind up in a first come first serve situation.

But they are not afraid to prescribe medication if needed.

Why is that such a big fear in England?

as i discovered only recently, the doctor is responsible for the medication and at what level, if there are problems later, the doc is accountable.

Remember, don't go along to the Doctor with a shopping list. I did that the first time I went to the Doctor in the UK.

After the first item, he may as well pulled a glass door between us.

I insisted in asking him other questions, as was my want, but it didn't do me much good.

I think he labelled me as a troublesome Aussie as the next week I got a letter allocating me to a different doctor in the practice, which I must say was a real achievement as the new Doc & I got on famously.

So much for living on the right side of a street meaning you MUST see doctor A.

Troublesome Aussie

I repeat what kind of quality care medically speaking are you going to get in 10 minutes?

That is not even enough time to figure out if the doctor even has a degree.

I understand not having enough doctors to serve every one in a timely fashion as in Canada they lack enough doctors to do a proper job. But they do give you more time if it is needed. It is not uncommon to show up on time for an appointment only to find out the doctor has not been able to pump them out every 10 minutes and you wind up in a first come first serve situation.

But they are not afraid to prescribe medication if needed.

Why is that such a big fear in England?

When visiting a doctor in the UK you will get as long as you need, in practise it doesn't take that long for a patient to tell a doctor what the problem is and for the doctor to figure out next steps - have you ever timed how long your visit to a doctor in Thailand takes (cutting out any of the associated cr*p of, how are you, war stories etc etc)?

And the time taken to write a prescription is under one minute, if it needs to be prescribed it will be, end of!

sorry that's not true, at my medical centre a patient is allocated 10mins, if you need more time you have to book a double appointment, which if it's a specific doctor that you want, well it could take a couple of weeks.

my last appointment was scheduled in at 9.40, i actually got to see him at 10.25.

Its a worry for a lot of Expats having to go back. Your boy is your life as you say and he will make it all worth while. Yours is a common view held by many ecpats who do actually love living in Thailand.. I would miss the freedom I have here. The weather and still how cheap it can be if you avoid the excess of beer and lady drinkies.. I have been here 11 years and hopefully will stay to the end! But not 100% sure I will be able to.

Hi George - Thrush here - you are right mate stay there as long as you can. It's hard after a while to appreciate the freedom you have in LOS unless you return here and are battered by political correctness everywhere. Had to come back for the sake of the little one, and the fact that in LOS they put my health insurance premiums up by 300+ %.

The worst thing here is the cold. It gets into your bones and then life can be pretty miserable. Still I get lots of laughs on this forum reading the comments on most topics - the best comedy forum on the internet!!

In spite of the whinging,everyone knows when it's time to go home and get some free treatment,on that terrible NHS Service!

i hope your not suggesting this was my intention.

well the interesting fact was that when OUR document was complete, it measured exactly 4.25" in depth. the visa is a 'following partner' which lasts initially for 2.5yrs, after that my partner has to sit a 'living [life] in the uk' test, plus we have to supply a further new set of financial records,if all is in order we have to wait for another 2.5years, only then can we apply for citizenship.

heheh not unlike the USA

I think when my wife did hers it was equally large & expensive too.

Took about the same amount of time too. 2 Year temp residence then your 10 year

which after having at least 1 year you can apply for citizenship more $$$$$ to pay

Funny thing is a few days after she got her US citizenship we moved to Thailand permanently

Did you ever say in this thread why you moved back?

Was it mainly for your son's upbringing?

(If I may ask?)

no problem at all, couple of reasons, one which was a financial one which will 'right' itself in 2.9yrs, although i'm not ticking off the days am i!

secondly, we do have a rather gifted son, as in a golfer, if you'd care to take a look on you tube type in 'young patrick junior at golf' you should find 4 videos, one from when he was a baby, the most recent last year.

in the first 6 weeks of being back in the uk, we were playing golf up at a nearby course, they have a lovely 9 hole par 3 course, great for kids, this guy wanders over and says to me 'i couldn't help notice your young lad playing golf, i'm the northern region england under 16's coach, would you care to join us' needless to me and my son were delighted to, a few days later this same guy rang me to let me know that ' he is now firmly recognized within the whole english golf union as one for the future'.

since then, with various coaching days etc, ive come to realize that there's an awful lot of support for us, which if my youngun keeps going at the same pace and keeps loving it, theres all the back up there available to utilize.

i'm not sure i we would have achieved this in thailand, we'll never know of course, but there's certainly more opportunity here.

Firstly presuming you have a Settlement Visa for your wife,what copious amounts of paperwork are you talking about? Normally there are no forms to fill out once your wife has a Visa,and you do not need to check in to Immigration or the Police for the whole 2 years and 3 months Visa,and it's normal to have no contact at all with the UKBA,would you prefer 30, 60, or 90 day check ins?

Copious amounts of paperwork! could you be more specific on the nature of the forms?

12 days to see your Doctor i've never heard of such a wait,normally if you want to see a specific Dr,and he is fully booked on any one day or on holiday,then you can see another Dr in the Practice,and on the same day. Our Doctors are dedicated to their job and some of the finest in the world,to state that they are penny pinching with prescriptions as if it was their own money,is disgraceful,they do not count the cost of patients health,and their patients health is paramount,and is their only concern,and BTW patients pay £7.80 for each prescription,whether it covers the cost or not.

Form filling: every Country has that,Driving Licence,Passports,Road Tax,Insurance,NI Card,Regulations, applications,CRB checks,Background checks etc etc.

Yes the UK is more expensive to live in with the exception of Food.......Petrol,Gas,House Tax,Road Tax,TV, is more expensive,but then you get paid more in the UK to counteract it.

I have never heard of ticking the box for a Job Application over the phone!

And as for the NHS it's not perfect but is still the finest in the world,considering it has a population of around 62 Million to cater for,and as the largest employer in Europe,employs in excess of 1 Million staff, yes there are waiting lists for treatment of non urgent cases,if it was an emergency operation situation,you would get treated immediately.

Comparing the two is like comparing apples and pears.

I wish you and your wife good luck and hope you can settle back in again soon.

Well, I have just submitted the 35 page settlement visa form. As well as English certificates,3 months worth of original(not Internet print outs) bank statements passportsc(hers and mine), payslips, 6 pieces of evidence of cohabiting, I noticed just before wrapping it all up that hey wanted photocopies as well as original documents.

I also had to do this twice as the form changed in between starting my original application n sending it - 3 additional(irrelevant for us) pages and a £60 price increase.

All of us, me included who has previously got a Settlement Visa for wife (Now Citizenship) ,have had to do the same,it's not easy,and why should it be? if you want your'e Partner with you,this is what Immigration requires! have a good whinge on TV,by all means,it will not change anything,just the same as we moan about obtaining Thai Visas and the the hoops we have to jump through, same same beurocracy!

Strewth MAJIC, don't you ever pipe down? The OP mentions copious paperwork and you say otherwise and allude that it was all a walk in the park. Now you say UK Immigration processes are not easy and acting as some sort of apologist for the arcane and discriminatory UK Immigration rules as well as carrying a torch for the hugely inefficient and morally bankrupt NHS.

What colour of glasses are you wearing?

well the interesting fact was that when OUR document was complete, it measured exactly 4.25" in depth. the visa is a 'following partner' which lasts initially for 2.5yrs, after that my partner has to sit a 'living [life] in the uk' test, plus we have to supply a further new set of financial records,if all is in order we have to wait for another 2.5years, only then can we apply for citizenship.

This is a common experience. We can return to the same physical place, but never return to the same times we remember. Places are fixed but time marches on.

If you return to CM after a few years away, you will be surprised. The Greeks had a word for it " you could not step twice into the same river".

Things are never as bad as they seem , or as good !

Good luck in that beautiful corner of the UK.

you could very well be right, i think due to the 11yrs in thailand, the change to the 'style' of the uk has come as a major surprise,i guess it's upto me to get over it, mmmmmmmm!

Quote Post 46 "Why the agro, not necessary!

A couple of points on your posts however:

I was in the UK last month for about ten days and I walked into a doctors surgery and made an appointment for about two hours later that same day, this was for a skin rask so not exactly life threatening.

Also, we've/Ive applied for and recieved'a UK Settlement visa for my Thai partner two years ago, that's what we asked for and that's what they called it!"

I was back last year visiting my daughter. I'm still registered with a doctor's office. Walked in asked the receptionist if my doctor was free tonight.......yes, appointment at 5-30 pm. He said "I haven't seen you for a while". I replied "no I've been in Thailand" and asked him if he would check something for me and also put some copies of MRI and other stuff on my file......no problem. Didn't even bother with the fact I hadn't seen him for ages and I had medical stuff done in Thailand. There's still a lot of nice people in the UK and a lot of sympathetic doctors, who care about people in their later years and not big fans of the way the NHS has been handled.

That was pretty much my sceanrio also, I hadn't been to that particular doctors surgery in ten years but my records were still there on their computer system and when I explained that I was living in Thailand, nobody was concerned and the doctor was most helpful - if anyone cares to check I even posted about this event elsewhere in the forum because of the discussion I had with the doctor at the time about the differences between the UK and Thailand in treating diabetes.

on one visit to the uk, i visited my doctor who told me they couldn't treat for the very reason that i had been living in thailand for more than a year, so inconsistency rules ok.

will update you all after summer,which if todays weather is anything to go by,we've slipped straight back into autumn of next year,although there is a promise of some decent weather on it's way.

good luck to you all.