mania

This is a really tough nut I think for most above the age of 65. For the OP it is almost surprising at 72 a Thai company is even talking to you. Also tough for many is that even if they don't drink or smoke & are a good weight & exercise that is no guarantee of passing any physical required especially a coronary calcium scan. Because even though as I said a person may be a healthy adult many were raised thru the 50's & 60's when diets like the American diet were in reality quite terrible. I know many including myself who went for the scan just out of curiosity & was surprised at the results. Not that the scan is really definitive as it does not say really if the calcium is inside or out etc etc (aka: need more testing angiogram etc) Then that shows a number & suddenly what was an ok cholesterol level is now deemed too high example 99 LDL oh no we need that under 70 now as your at risk due to recent cac score.....Statins or PSK9 Inhibitor etc etc needed. Its a really tangled web for retired folks & really I think only nation provided insurance like Medicare or UK NHS etc is there for the retired Because as many now see getting insured after 65 or remaining insured in a foreign country after 65 is a crap shoot. If they don't purposely price you out of the policy they may find a reason to deny coverage Yep tough nut

And yet who is it that is actually perpetrating this violence? Which side? Jan 6th? That was a storm in a teacup compared to what happened in the streets when Trump was elected. Who was that committing all those crimes on private property? Yeah this narrative of being divided is getting really old. This is the same types pulling the SOS when things aren't going their way. Then cry about democratic process yada yada yada

IMHO this is the best post in the thread because it is the voice of reason about something that is inescapable for 99.9% of the folks here Back when my wife & I lived in Chiang Mai I remember being at Immigration doing my yearly renewal & a van pulled up & unloaded 4-5 foreign retirees in wheelchairs. I remember thinking I was not sure I wanted that for my future. Also that in fact these guys were lucky they had someone some retirement home to take them or remind them of these tasks that you will need to do forever just to be allowed to stay. As JT said it is real & the potential is unlimited for change etc. Most do not think that far ahead.

Look at this video of Secret Service shooting the sniper. The two of them seem to see the sniper even before he fires (turn on sound) But once he does fire he seems to also see them as they duck for cover too so I would guess they had a few wizzers In any case a 148yd shot in both directions

They know who did it & it will likely turn out to be a political zealot. One who probably took Joe Biden's words & acted on them literally President Joe Biden drew criticism from conservatives for his comment on a call with donors earlier this week that “it’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.”

Well I do not know your age but a mid 60's person who chose not to insure flight would be $270 for four months/123 days of $100k medical coverage & 500k Evac thru their iTravelInsured Travel Lite plan If you wanted say $250k medical coverage it would be roughly $600 on their iTravelInsured Travel SE plan This is to insure US citizen but not while in US & using Thailand as main destination

I always use https://www.imglobal.com/ Good prices & coverage plus you can opt out of trip reimburse which lowers the medical price a lot. I have never had to make a claim so cannot speak to that but IMG is well known

Thank you it was really sad to see my wife's mother suffering so badly in the end. I kept asking isn't there anything they can give her & they said no. That was 10 years ago...But last year when our BIL was in final stages as I said he was treated so much better with morphine injections at the local village hospital then allowed to go home.

Yes my BIL also got morphine in a village hospital in his final stages of liver cancer. He was the cancer victims I saw die with pain killers. It was not as bad for him as my MIL who did not have anything in those years

That is kind of a big one isn't it? I have seen folks die with cancer treated (pain killers etc) & untreated I would not wish the untreated pain on anyone So as long as things like morphine are purchasable then yes staying is likely option If not I can imagine why some joined the flying clubs

Good night! That back operation was a scary thought I bet! Your right it is a minefield out there. I will also admit that I am sure it often happens elsewhere in the world too. But yes at the end of the day it is good if we are conscious & have a choice as you & I both did. But that scenario of "what if" that I wondered about always haunts me a bit. Especially now that I am older (67) & would likely have to self insure in Thailand

That is good news but also what really scared me a few years ago I also went to a major hospital chain at Chiang Mai branch for a abdominal cramping I had been having. Had a ultrasound 5k baht & was told no problem but you do have kidney stones & need a CT scan with dye 13k baht Ok did agree to that 13k but like you or even worse when laying on table & getting IV put in for dye a nurse comes & asks me to sign something. I asked why & what was it about. She said doctor would also like some "other tests". I could see in the print it was another 23k I refused & actually wanted to bolt as you did but went ahead with CT as I was connected to machine already. Later doctor again confirmed same info as 5k ultrasound 3 too large to pass stones. Claimed I needed surgery asap & also possible a second procedure due to a narrowing of UPJ operation would be 150-200k baht Well I had a 2nd opinion from another well known CM Thai Kidney specialist & he seeing report agreed & I needed to do this. I still felt uneasy & returned to the USA where I was basically laughed at 🙄 They said yes you have stones & many folks do. If it ever causes problems we can review then a course of action but at that time there was no need to go further Eight + years later here I sit without problems Sorry for the long story but that upselling at major hospitals kind of was like a kick in the gut for me because after living many years in Thailand, speaking Thai well etc I felt I knew about Thailand. Yes I knew of corruption etc everywhere from police to monks & expected it but never in my wildest dreams did I expect such behavior at a major hospital regarding my health or pushing needless operations as all operations carry risk. It scared me to think "what if" I was admitted unconscious for something? "What if" my wife was told by some upselling doctor I needed this & that or the worse could happen? Of course my wife would willingly spend every last baht if she thought my life was at risk. But yes this really made me wonder & continues to do so today as we still have a home in Thailand & visit 3 months a year always wondering about moving back permanently

The need for the certificate is due to their laws so I would question that it is not their obligation In your situation I would have paid it & be done with it. After all it is at the end of the day less than $22 & will last you what 5 years till next license? I use to buy mine at the US Consulate just because how much I hated doing anything at Imm & it costs $50 back then don't know what it costs or if even available today etc I understand not wanting to contribute to corruption but that pandoras box has long been open & the only way to close it is to leave the country Have you set yourself up for future hassles? Who knows they fry so many fish daily it just depends on how the IO felt about it Good Luck going forward but I know you have been living in Thailand awhile now & know TIT corruption is wholly a part of that country & I see it stopping no time soon.

Excuse the Dem-mentia it is a contagious thing among some diehards even when their country is at the brink. They remain blinkered

Yes that has always been true & I did i fact have enough FET's to support what I was withdrawing but, again it seemed to prove what others told me that if transfer out of Thailand was kept under 50k USD nothing was not asked for except reason "to put on transfer" But that aside I always thought it a good idea to get them when transferring in a good amount by any means. After transferred in & within the next month I would go to Bangkok Bank & ask for a copy of that Trans /FET & they never questioned it or charged for the paper.

Well that was terribly painful to watch. Is it too much to ask the Dems to let this man retire with a shred of dignity?

I have also thought so for a long time. It does not even seem outrageous at all for a country the size of Thailand to not be willing to support all who retire there should a medical crisis occur & thus would eventually require medical coverage for anyone getting a long term visa extension But the problem is many are retirees & many with preexisting conditions so insurance may or may not even be available. I guess one thing they could do is put a full time freeze on your 800k & have you sign an agreement that in an emergency your 800k would be used by the hospital for emergency treatment should you be unable to leave Thailand for treatment in your home country. About grandfathering in this case of medical insurance I do not think so. They would be shooting themselves in the foot but..... If for instance they raise the visa funds requirement from 800k to 1 million etc then yes that I could see being grandfathered as it has in the past

But then how will the military industrial complex continue to bill $841 billion a year?

Actually I did years ago But in my case it made me a profit as I used it to reclaim interest banks were taking out of my savings when interest exceeded 30k a year They gave it all back which was nice of them 😉 But I will say it was not easy to initially get the TIN...First I was sent to wrong office where they worked on it for an hour before realizing I needed to go elsewhere 😅 Once there it took another 30minutes or so

We moved those amounts out a few years ago via Bangkok Bank back to USA no problems but we did it in a few transfers. Do not know how true it is but we were told by others that if we kept transfers under 50k USD no questions or proofs would be needed & that is what we did They asked for a reason on the trans sheet & I just said repatriation. Funnily enough it was the one time in years that my Thai wife had an albeit small problem & I did not. (because we were both doing separate transfers to speed it up) They asked her to prove her dual citizenship by showing her US Passport which of course she does not carry so had to go get it 😉 So yes we moved those amounts in a few transfers usually averaging 1.3 million baht at a time over a week or two. It would have been cheaper transfer wise to do a larger one I guess? But as told it went easily this way

I also never considered myself special & more deserving but....I will say over the years I have wondered why when a Thai man marries a Foreign bride she gets many benefits both visa & even citizenship if desired Yet if a Thai woman marries a Foreign man no such benefits.. I know... I know TIT but I still just wonder at times

That is really the most insane sentence in the story He saw him fall but couldn't see him so ran him over? 🙄

One thing I will also say is in that regard just look at Thai Coffee Cafe's. They have come so far so fast & IMO now surpass many coffee culture States in the US. The quality of the espresso & espresso based + the presentation is far better. If they were allowed to tinker with craft beer I believe the result would be similar. Same happened with Baking years ago Thailand had no real bakeries. Look now

I know this is about beer for our Thai homes but........ Just went to Portland Oregon which has a killer Craft beer scene My goodness they had a beer from Epic Brewery called Big Bad Baptist It was an incredibly delicious Stout ! There were others but that one really took the cake. Close 2nd would be Fort George Brewery MATRYOSHKA 2024