Hanuman2547

5 hours ago, bbko said:

 

And during my 2 year stay in USA, I only ate Thai restaurant food twice, both times I couldn't believe I was paying so much money for a meal that wasn't as good as I could get here for a fraction of the price.  When I spoke with the Thai workers about their food, they agreed it's not the same as what's served in Thailand, mainly because they couldn't get the same ingredients at a reasonable price.

Yes, Thai restaurants in the US have had a lot of price increases the last couple of years.  It used to be rather inexpensive to eat out at a Thai restaurant.  That has changed.  Of course it also depends on the location.  Eat in the downtown area of a large city and it will cost quite a bit more than in a smaller town or suburban area.  Salaries, utilities, and rent pay a very big part of this.

On the hand food in a US Thai restaurant is much healthier than in Thailand.  This has more to do with the amount of pesticides and other chemicals that are used to produce vegetables in Thailand.  In the US it is better regulated and safer.  The same can be said for chicken, beef, and pork.  In the US less steroids and other weight gaining products are injected or fed to animals than in the US.  Another area is that the soil, air, and water in Thailand is less healthy due to worse pollution in Thailand on average than in the US.  

When my two luk krueng sons were in the USA attending university they each got part time jobs as servers at Thai restaurants prior to their freshman year.  It worked out pretty well for them and they learned a lot about hard work and working with at times, difficult people.  

Since I don't drink coffee, and have never been a coffee drinker, I can easily give up coffee and keep my beer!

1 hour ago, sallecc said:

The only way to make correct decision (and not to regret later) is to visit Phuket and to stay for a month or two in few different areas, and decide what is best for yourself (nice condo short-term deals are available and cheap). I visited all parts of Thailand and I like Phuket most, simply because I love tropical island and beaches, and Samui seemed too small and had less infrastructure, it was just my personal experience & opinion and I would choose the same now. You said you like the beaches, if I'm you I'd stay and check out 3 areas: South (Rawai, NaiHarn), SouthWest (Karon, Kata, KataNoi), West (Kamala, Surin, Patong), and visit Samui island too, done ????

 

 

One guy even posted that "closest thing to Italian he had in Phuket was Pizza Hut", that's just ridiculous... Even now during Covid when most of the places are closed, you definitely can find good authentic Italian food in Phuket, and Indian too... We had both this weekend ????

Good advice here.  Rent a place for a month at a time in different locations to get a real feel for the area you are in.  Then you will know if that area is right for you.  There are lots of places that rent rooms by the day/week/month.  Obviously a one month rent will be a lot cheaper.  

On 7/14/2021 at 7:54 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Soon there is a new park on the end of Soi 4 which used to be the Tabaco Monopoly. I am sure that will attract people to that area.

A friend used to live in Saranja in Soi 6 until about 10 years ago. At that time already the place looked run down. I.e. they used only lights on every 2nd floor and when one of those was broken there were 3 floors in a row with no lights. In theory the open floors (exposed to nature) could be nice. But it doesn't feel nice. If that place didn't improve significantly in the last 10 years then better avoid it.

Which would make renting a good way to go especially if the rent is only 11,000 baht.  Might get a bit of a discount off of that too.  

Visiting Thailand for a 2 week vacation and living here are two very different scenarios.  Most of the concerns you have can easily be sorted out.  Your biggest hurdle will be obtaining a visa to stay in the country legally.  Being that you are not employed by a company rules out that option.  You are under the age of 50 so cannot qualify for a retirement visa.  This makes it a bit more difficult to reside in the country legally.  Thailand doesn't quite know what to make of "digital nomads" and certainly has the officials stumped as to what to do with them.  (Technically they don't exist in the world of Thai immigration) 

Good luck in your move!

13 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

 

I learned from the true masters of the scene, Bernard Trink and Stickman, but both gone AWOL.

 

Bernard Trink passed away last October at the age of 90.  He was a Bangkok institution.  Stick on the other hand has fled back to Kiwi land.  Whether he ever resumes writing the Stickman site remains to be seen.

The New York Jets, led by quarterback Joe Namath, rocked the sports world and the USA on Jan. 12, 1969, by becoming the first American Football League team to defeat an NFL team with their 16-7 Super Bowl III victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts at Miami's Orange Bowl.  I wanted New York to win even though no one gave them a chance against Baltimore and the QB Johnny Unitas.

Call me a pessimist, but I just don't think this is going to work out so well.  

If the boat journey doesn't work out or you feel like it might be too cramped, a guy called Ray McDonald did a TV program travelling from Bangkok to Brighton UK by train. He travelled From Bangkok to Vientiane by train, then bus to Hanoi, bus to China, then by train through China, Russia, eastern Europe, Germany, and France. Ray, despite his name, is a luk krung Thai TV and movie star.  The videos are on youtube.  Most of it is in Thai but once he gets to China there is more English spoken.  

2 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

It is now anyway....

True that!

On 7/10/2021 at 11:45 PM, BE88 said:

Thanks for the photo where it is clear that the security guard has not a gun but a rifle and this is what I initially found on all the security guards in Makati, the richest neighborhood in Manila.

Actually it is not a rifle.  It is a shotgun with a pistol grip.  

Not really a country I would want to visit or even think about living in.

On 7/10/2021 at 1:38 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Depends if her money or his money

He stated that it was her money.  Lucky him!

Another reason why I don't go to Phuket.  

I avoid Tuk-Tuks and never take them.  I use taxis, Grab, Skytrain, and the MRT.

Your wife is entitled to both a US and Thai passport.  Both countries recognize dual citizenship.  She also needs to get her Thai ID card as she will need that in doing a whole host of things in Thailand.

16 hours ago, BadBouy said:

That's it?  Why I've spotted those in Bangkok along Sukhumvit Road.

On 6/27/2021 at 5:16 AM, Chris.B said:

 

Ohh you poor thing, it must have been terrible for you. Still, you managed to get a mention of the wife in again with her masters.  ????????????

 

I'm sorry my post seems to upset you so much.  Are you having a bad day?

17 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

The vast majority of my friends in Thailand (Thai and Western) are married to a Thai lady with at least a degree. Many have a Masters. Those women do not hang about in bars and in general they are not interested in guys twice their age who hang around in bars. 

 

 

 

 

That has been my experience as well.  

17 hours ago, Chris.B said:

 

Hmmm, a lot of guys on ThaiVisa seem to have married Thai ladies with PhDs. Funny that. ???? ???????? 

Maybe, I don't know.  I do know that it was no fun doing the editing of both her master's thesis and her doctoral dissertation.  It was a royal pain in the a$$

On 6/25/2021 at 5:38 AM, ExpatOilWorker said:

 

You hear people say that things are closed in Pattaya but when you actually see photos/videos of it actually being closed like this one it's really different. 

I'm assuming that the command centre will be set up on Bangla Road and perhaps a few other mobile units on other similar types of sois and roads.

My situation is a bit different than most.  First of all my Thai wife is older than me but looks younger.  My Thai wife and I were already married in the US where we had met when she was a graduate student.  After she finished her PhD we moved to Thailand for what was to be two years.  It ended up being much longer than that.  Our two kids were quite young when we moved to Bangkok but they adapted quickly.  Her parents were elated that we were returning.  My parents were supportive just missed having the grandkids.  They came to visit about every other year.