GinBoy2

Well set aside the old guy young woman dynamic thats just a money thing. Apart from that there is just an attraction thing Walk down any street in San Francisco and I'd bet 50% of the young couples holding hands are young white guy and some version of asian female Same thing when it comes to white females and black guys. Thats nature we all have certain things that attract us But Thailand, that really does have a different dynamic which I'm not sure is attraction but more money focused

She's pretty much right. Now I'm married to Thai woman, pretty much same age as me so lets get that off the table, Oh and we met at work in Singapore not in a bar! But lets get real, how many couples do you see slopping around the mall, a guy with a girl half his age and a couple of rugrats in tow? Maybe in Bangkok real expats (not old guys on retirement visa extensions) have real girlfriends but for the majority it's paid for sex Now is it 'sad'? Now that's up for debate. Probably both are in it for different reasons. The woman if half his age is in it for money and some security The guy, twice her age is in it for sex that he can't get at home with women his own age So if that transactional relationship works, go for it. Problem often happens when that transactional relationship go's back to the home country Thats when the ridicule starts!

Yeah you might be right there. Eligible and enrolled are two different things

Hmmm interesting question to ask. Unless you are in a 'transactional' relationship I think most couples would say, whatever it takes. Me and MrsG are similar ages, 50/60's so who knows what happens in the future, health risks increase exponentially as we get into middle and old age, unfortunately to say So in our blended family, Thai son, American daughters would sure as sh**t hold both our feet to the fire to take care of each other if, and we wouldn't, step up to care for one another. The kids are all in their 20/30's brother and sisters, aunts and uncle to the grandkids, so we're a pretty tight family. So the idea of any of us abandoning anyone is unthinkable, so I guess we are 'all in' Now if you're shacked up with a bar girl, she'll probably dump you after a bad cold, or an ATM 'insufficient funds'

EV's are kinda OK depending on where you live. Small dense countries, it kinda makes sense I guess distances are short. For me driving to see our kids in Denver is 360 miles, through basically Wyoming nothingness. Now I can do it on a tank of gas, and refueling takes me less than 5 minutes when I do reach civilization. Now if I run out of charge in said middle of nothingness, not sure that AAA can bring me a 'tank' of electricity to get me on my way. I never believed EV's are the long term future, much more inclined to believe Hydrogen fuel cells are the real green solution to climate change for transportation

Yes and No. What I did was I signed up for B in the three months ahead of my birthday., A happens automatically you don't have to do anything I'd been researching all the options for additional coverage so I knew who I was going with. I contacted Wellmark (or whoever you choose) to tell them I was enrolled in B, they do some online check with Medicare and within 10 mins I was signed up. I filed away my Medicare card and just carry the Wellmark card. After my initial confusion of the baffling array of options, the actual sign up was curiously rather easy. If you then go back to the Medicare website and look at your account it shows you are signed up with an outside provider

Well thats a little bit alarmist. That why most people add Medigap or Advantage policies. I pay Part B and an additional $64/month for the gold plated Advantage. Gives me medical, dental, vision, medication(Part D) and hearing. The dental and vision coverage is actually better than I had at work My maximum out of pocket is $3800 So here are main points of my plan, make of it what you will. But those of you who make annual trips home something to thing about. I do the enhanced PPO for $64

So this is the telehealth option I was talking about. Might be great option to talk to your US Doctor via zoom for free

$500k was a typo, yes $50K so is a fix you up and get you home. I was just reading through my Advantage info book, something occurred to me My plan pays for Telehealth Virtual visits with zero copay. That might be much more usual for expats than it would be for me

Well, I'm happily married to a Thai lady for over 25 years. I would certainly say we don't do it like the rabbit's we were back then, but we maintain a pretty decent sex life, but it changes, you need to accept that. Mrs G is a little, well a lot menopausal so hormones are all over the place. I'm just not quite the horn dog I was 10, 20 years ago. But strangely now when we do it it turns out more like a fine wine, I think I can live with that

I'd say send them to the US. I'm pretty sure our prisons are Hell on Earth compared to anything in Europe. They will either get the sh**it scared outta them or die They might come back as better people

I've not quite got what Messianic attraction this man has over folks I'm one of those odd ones nowadays and have voted for both Democrats and Republicans, Arnold Schwarzenegger may have been a mistake I must admit, although I still like the guy! But this guy I just don't get it. As as an individual he's just a vile human being, the idea that the 'Christian' right support him baffles belief. The narcissist he his thinks nothing about anyone but himself, yet the acolytes don't see that. Multiple marriages, screwing contractors out of money, bankruptcies, porn star sex, puss****y grabbing and they still seem to be mesmerized him. Hopefully this cycle he will lose and the RNC will awaken from this Trump hypnotic state and return to a rational party

I went to one after HS, but after that I was done. Lots of folks either bragging or justifying their life choices I keep in contact with 2, who I would consider close friends, but going to some shindig with folks I probably barely knew or actively disliked, I don't think so! Now my college buddies, we don't do a formal thing , but we do a zoom thing every now and again . We're scatted across the globe. But those tortuous days back in Berkeley studying in to the middle of the night still seems to bond us together And at our age nobody has anything to prove. We've done our stuff and it's done

I did have to chuckle about the health insurance versus Medicare. I've had Thai private insurance. It's a true insurance market, not like Medicare where you pay what you pay until you finally depart this world. I'd ask this guy when he's 70 how those premiums are looking, if he can even get anyone to insure him!. Then you get to exclusions. Never get sick because from that point whatever ailed you it's excluded from your policy. Years back my wife had a ruptured fallopian tube which required surgery. not uncommon in women From that day forward, now Cigna excluded any and all gyno issues from the policy. Women have gyno issues, thats what I thought insurance was for. So think of it like your US car insurance policy, make a claim, and just watch next years renewal invoice!

Yeah those of us in the 20+ years it's a whole different thing. We're in our 50's 60's, kids are all grown up and we're just 'comfortable' with each other. Nothing to prove, we just live a generally happy life, kids and grandkids. I certainly don't understand how the older guys figure it out with a gf half their age, I'd be exhausted. So me and my old bird, we potter around, go to work, go out for dinner day trips to the kids. Must sound pretty boring for some, but for us, it's just back to that 'comfortable' thing

Me and Mrs G almost never hold hands. I'm old she's old we'd look stupid pretending to be love struck teenagers

I'd give it a 50:50 chance Been through three of them and this looks pretty much the same

The thing to remember about Thai insurance, is it's a true insurance system. The policy will increase exponentially every year because of your age, because the older you get the likelihood of you you needed insurance increases. Thats why Medicare in the US exists, it eliminates that exponential increase and caps it it regardless of how old you are So then you back to the thorny question. Do I continue to pay ever escalating insurance policies in Thailand, if you can even find anyone to insure you, or throw the dice and hope for the best Very few of us actually get through end of life without having some serious medical intervention

My point about having an Advantage plan, is generally they have emergency overseas coverage, which Part B doesn't, to get you fixed up enough to get home. As for Doctors not accepting Medicare, thats a nonsense. Most Dr accept Medicare patients, it's easy guaranteed money for them

Totally agree with this. The green card option is the objective one, tick the boxes and your wife will get a green card guaranteed The B1/B2 is subjective and you cross your fingers and hope for the best But if you don't really want to live in the US for the majority of the time, go down the green card option it's a limited time option. They will let it slide for a few years then the green card will be revoked

He kinda makes some valid points, and I think he probably validates why keeping an Advantage policy in the US probably makes sense. Stuff happens and in an emergency most Advantage policies will pay to at least fix you up enough to get you back home and utilize that Medicare Part B Interesting thing that he talks about Philippine Hospitals holding you hostage. I think any of us that have been in a Thai Hospital recognize the being walked to the ATM to get the cash before you can be discharged!. I have never been to in Thai Hospital, but my wife has for emergency surgery. Before she was discharged I was literally frogmarched to the hospital ATM and then to the cashier before she could be released

It is interesting, but the proposed legislation is simply defined at Philippines

So maybe Medicare should learn from Tricare where it appears there is no problems paying for vets healthcare overseas! Never have quite understood what the difference is, both government funded (subsidized) healthcare under a different name

That was actually a pretty informative video. I think it looks like Advantage overseas is pretty doable, and for your initial post JT, I think he pretty succinctly laid out why you shouldn't cancel Part B!

Like all insurance it's a crap shoot, you don't need it until you need it! The problem with health insurance is that dirty rotten truth is that the older we get the risk sorta rises exponentially every year that you are going to need that insurance. Roll the dice and hope for the best might be option, but I'm a little too cautious to go down the 'GoFundme' route. If you have Part B, keep it, it's the backstop if the sh***it hits the fan