GinBoy2

Well thats really the issue. Thai's have in general, not always, a different definition of pets. As I write this our three cats are happily all playing rough n tumble with each other which never fails to make me smile. I love them almost like children. Especially rural Thai's see their animals somewhat differently. They feed them, but I never see much real affection for them, and will discard them without a second thought

We live in South Dakota, we got winter cold weather clothing down lol

Well you could well be right there. But Bob should also take a hard look at himself in the mirror! He better hope his wallet can make up for his own aging, once again pretty shallow

I think you kinda missed the point there. I just trying to say Pad Kaphrao is just as mundane as meat n potatoes, fish n chips(for the Brits) all are great in context, but nothing special or world beating

It can be 'valued' at whatever you want Trouble is what it can actually sell for is quite another matter, as many a farang punter can attest too!

Interesting thread. None of us have the body we did 20, 30 years ago, thats just life. If you married her just for the body well sorry you're going to be disappointed down the road. Its a rather shallow relationship if as the looks fade you want to dump her.

This is what always pisses me off. A farang married to a Thai jumps through hoops every year, and it's stressful Conversely a Thai married to a farang moving to farangland goes through the application stress once, then they are done. No money in the bank, no annual renewal, they are essentially a citizen without the right to vote, but everything is the same as a citizen

I count myself lucky. We had three units in Noble Remix in Bangkok which we had rented out for years. New developments were going up around us all the time They were dependable rentals, I always had Japanese expat tenants, since they liked the area When we decided to move back to the US we sold them all. We broke even, given the fees involved with selling, but I feel lucky that we did that! With hindsight it's a brave man, or woman, that looks at the Thai condo market as a way to improve asset value

Well, you're right, stuff happens in life and you just take another path. This young man is not the first athlete to have sustained some physical injury that precludes them from continuing in their sport. You just pick yourself up and do something different. All the Gofundme stuff is nonsense. By the time, if he even gets the money, surgery can correct this, he'll be way past his prime and a whole new generation of young pups will have taken his place Just go home get a decent job and move on

Don't get me wrong I love Pad Kaphrao, we eat it at least once a week. But is it some world beating culinary experience, I don't think so. It's a great weekday meal, but it's no different to a Western meat n potatoes meal, which is also great in context, but not exceptional.

I think you hit the nail on the head. We grow up with the myth that everything can be fixed. But in reality everything can't be fixed 100% and the best sometimes you can hope for is, you're not dead and the outcome leaves with a decent quality of life

You might have a point there. Maybe growing up in the UK with almost semi religious NHS leads them to just always expect it to be free, which of course in itself is a myth, nothing in this world is free, someone is always paying the bills. But often they seem almost bemused and confused when overseas and the sh*^t hits the fan that someone actually asks them to pay, and then it's always Gofundme, which is basically no different to a beggar in a Skytrain station with a begging bowl

Well that hasn't been the history of condo construction. They continue to build despite horrific vacancy rates. It defies normal economic logic, but I've long since given up trying to understand the Thai property market

ETIAS and ESTA are 'visa lite' Not really a visa, but a kinda visa. Doesn't matter how you spin it this is the 'visa free' future of travel regardless of your passport Oh and by the way to all my Brit friends, I hope you realize this applies to you too when you want that weekend in Paris!

This is who we used. I 'think' it was around $1500. https://www.thailandpetmover.com/

I think thats true for a lot of us that grew up in the 60/70's. There is a perception that it was all sex, drugs and rock n roll. That may well have been true in the urban areas, but for a lot us in rural area's society was still pretty much the same as it was in the 50's. Now I'm talking from an American perspective, but talking to Brits and other Europeans I think that was pretty much the same for them too.

Well thats a sweeping statement. A lot depends on how long you're been in Thailand and your personality. Foe many what started off as cute when you first get off the boat, can over time just irritate the sh***t out of you. From garbage in the road, noise enough to burst your eardrums, power outages, it can just overwhelm you, especially I would say if you are retired and sat at home doing nothing. Then couple in visa's and God knows what else it can 'for some' eat at the soul. I've said this before, Thailand is a great place for guys mid 40's to late 50's. It's fun and different. But get into your 60's a lot of things start to change, and that when you gotta start making hard choices, not the dirt easy ones like when you first moved to Thailand!

Thing is, $170/month times 12, and at ฿33/$ is ฿67,320 a year. Good luck trying to find health insurance for a male 65+ in Thailand for that! Always plan a bolt hole my friends

If Part B costs you 25% of your SS check, you really didn't pay much in to the system. Back to @Jingthing OP, I don't think you really need to do anything to maintain a good credit score, other than have a credit card and not have late payments. As he has said previously never rule anything out in life, the universe can have a malicious way of sending you curve balls!

Well, when I first started this I thought it was just a light hearted thread about how we end up looking in our twilight years. What I have realized there is a lot of pent up therapists couch anger towards good old dad!

So I think I'm good. We're planning a week in Iceland in December, then on to Sweden over Christmas. I don't foresee any issues with MrsG getting a visa since she's a US Green card holder, and applying at the Icelandic consulate in the US seems a slam dunk

Curiously my name is Pedro, but I've always gone by the Anglo Peter

True, but... I'm a little old fashioned when it comes to parenting. I think having both mom and dad being around as kids grow up is important. I think my girls benefited having me around, since I sorta toughened them up, you only need to ask them about me teaching them how to drive! There was tears, but they are better for it, and both of them ended up strong adult women, and no man would ever mess with them. I think I taught my son how to respect women when he was in that cocky late teen phase, and today he is a great supportive husband and father, and hopefully will pass that on to my Grandson. So just giving life to a child is a very minor part of being a father in my mind

The other thing is kids with a wide age gap relationship So some choose never to have kids, and thats fine, but we've all seen the 60 something Dad slopping around the mall with a collection of rugrats For me my children have been the love of my life, All three of them are now in their 20's and 30's, and with two grandkids I couldn't be happier I often wonder what those kids born to older Dad's miss. I've been through teenage angst, ballgames, graduations, proms, boyfriends, weddings, grandchildren. I like to think that me being a part of all that was enriching for them too. A Dad at 60 ain't gonna see or participate in a whole bunch of that, and thats sad

Isn't that called Home Hospice? I suspect employing a home carer ultimately turns out to be a lot cheaper than marrying said 'carer' who inherits everything you've got