GinBoy2

This is unfortunately so much more common than most folks think. I work for an airline and last year I checked in 2 young girls and 2 older guys. They claimed the girls were sisters, yet the stated DOB's were 9 months apart. Now a little known fact is that a minor, in the US at least doesn't need any ID to check in for a flight. The tickets had been paid for in cash, and weirdly the two guys, who claimed to be Dad and Uncle, and who looked ethnically very different to the girls requested seats two rows behind the girls. I checked them in, as I'm supposed to, then I contacted United Airlines Security to report my suspicions. They were met in Denver by law enforcement, and sure enough the girls were being trafficked. What amazed me was how little effort the traffickers had made to hide it, almost like they'd done it many times before and they just assumed they would get away with it. We all watch the TV crime shows with girls in shipping containers, but I think more of it just happens in plain sight. Hideous business, yet I fear more common than any of us want to believe

My one and only Christmas tradition will be watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation Cousin Eddie is a national treasure

I think I'm experiencing PTSD just thinking about the next couple of months

I work at an airport, and the bastards played the first Christmas song on the musak loop the other day. November 1st they'll start the all out 'Holiday' music loop through January 1st. 20 tracks repeated over and over. I swear if I ever meet Rudolf that deer is gonna get a bullet to the head!

Well this is where it all gets a little murky. Our son was born in Singapore, so environmentally he was exposed to English (Singlish) and Mandarin. At home, my wife only talked directly to him in Thai and Lao, me English and Mandarin. The reason I spoke in Mandarin was because we thought in later life that would be more useful than my native Spanish, which in his career has proven true. Now when not talking directly to him, we usually conversed in English, my wife was raised in Chicago as a teenager so her English is native, but we'd also watch Thai language movies at home, and when mad at me my wife reverts to Lao or Thai, so the whole experience for a small child is very immersive. Now I have now clue how the infant brain figures out all these inputs, but somehow it does. Language sticks, accents can (not always) change. When in Singapore my son spoke with a Singapore accent through middle school, yet today he sounds like any other young man in Denver

It's slightly different for us. 1. She can even travel to Thailand on an expired passport 2. Thai passports can be renewed and received within a couple of days, my wife has done in many times 3. The OP's wife entered the US on a K1 visa which is a single entry visa, so the existing passport is irrelevant 4. They will have applied for an adjustment of status to get her the permanent green card 5. Travel before receiving the green card always fills me with terror 6. They have applied for advance parole, which allows a person with an ongoing adjustment of status to travel prior to receiving the green card 7, She will travel with her new passport and that piece of paper saying she still has right of entry to the US. Thats the bit that would always terrify me, some check in person trying to decipher a piece of USCIS paperwork.

Most of us who are polyglots don't need a PhD to tell us how to do this. It's kinda makes me laugh a little bit. For ever multi lingual families have been doing this, but suddenly we need a Proff in 'Bilingual Language Acquisition' to tell us how to do it? I think we got this figured out just fine

Good luck with that. I'm sure there were a bunch of parents in the UK trying drum out of their kids local idioms and speak like the folks on the BBC in the 40/50/60's. Language evolves, and as someone who speaks multiple of them, one of the marvels of English its ability to change, add, innovate and borrow. It maybe 'like' today, but the kids will move on and it'll be something else tomorrow. I like letting then experiment with language

I should add something about accents. So my son, he's in his 20's spoken all these languages most of his life. He speaks Lao and Thai just like his mother as a native. His English is just like me as Californian. His Mandarin is like mine. It's fluent but any native mandarin speaker knows it's a North American version. His newly learned Spanish is interesting. Because he didn't learn it from me, I can't quite define the accent. I know it's not mine, his Mexican cousins don't either, so maybe he's developing his own unique accent

Language development is fascinating to me. I grew up bilingual. At home we only spoke Spanish, but I was immersed in English at school, TV friends etc. Thoughts in my head can swirl in English and Spanish all at the same time. I think growing up like that made my ability to pick up other languages easier, so Mandarin, Thai and Lao came fairly easily. That being said, I don't 'think' in them like I do in English and Spanish. When our son was born we did the one parent language thing. We actually did one parent two language. My wife Thai/Lao, me English/Mandarin. Result he speaks all four fluently. I wanted to add Spanish to it, but I couldn't keep my head together around speaking three languages all at the same time. Subsequently back in the US he learned Spanish, and like me he found picking up another language fairly easy. Language and the human brain is a wonderful piece of evolution

So back on the original topic. Prices are definitely cooling. Went down to Denver on Friday to check out my eldest daughters new house. Clever girl. She sold her old place back in July to real estate investor, then rented it from him month to month. Her new place originally listed for $660K, she closed at $545K. Consortium of flippers that bought it at $480K and must have poured at least $100K into it, brand new appliances, new kitchen, bathroom, siding, the place is great. They bought just at the wrong time, their loss, her gain. Thats how real estate works

I love San Diego, probably the best climate in the US. I lived there for years. But going back there now, so expensive, and OMG the traffic, don't miss that for a second. I joke that here in Rapid City 5 cars at a stop light turns google maps red, in San Diego thats 10 miles of stopped traffic

I just don't get CA gas prices. We just got back from visiting my daughter in San Diego. Gas was in the $5.90 range, diesel I think was close to $7 /gal Got home and I'm still paying $3.89/gal Makes no frikkin sense

I'd have to say NO. Once they enter on a K1 which is a single entry visa, travel outside the US is a No No until they receive their green card. Now that being said, I 'think' if they have already applied for an adjustment of status, you can apply for travel authorization before the green card shows up. But my personal opinion is that international travel before they get the hard green card in hard is fraught with danger. Paper creates confusion at check in, and you'll be on on the defensive trying to prove right of entry. First thing the OP's wife needs do is get a new passport in her married name, The consulates in the US have set days when you can get it done, or a trip to DC. If they do decide to go to Thailand before getting the green card, first thing off the plane go get a new passport

I can't in any way comment on the UK as an American. But if you are focussing on your child, education is a huge downside of living in Thailand. Our son was born in Singapore and was educated there through middle school in an excellent school system When we moved to Thailand we enrolled him in supposedly the best International school in Khon Kaen. Total disaster. Ultimately he moved to the US for college and thankfully he lived with my eldest daughter who coached him through some of the serious gaps in his Thai High School education. In hindsight I would never have put him through it, and as my wife often reminds me, she wanted to move from Singapore straight to the US, for the very reason of our son's education. From everything I read the UK educational system is one of the best, so focus on your child

Oh you guys just need to be a US State, rather than living in the apartment above a meth lab! LOL

Well that just sucks. But, to put this in the perspective of the CO. Here in little old Rapid City SD, my wife has many Thai friends, She along with one other entered the US as a legal immigrant, The rest tourist visa overstays, Some have subsequently married and got legal status, the rest just skate along. I feel your pain and I also get the dilemma of the CO trying to determine if the applicant will return

Thats probably the most telling thing, 'my government hospital" You don't have to live in Thailand very long to understand that nothing is consistent. Everything from getting a yellow book, local immigration office, the list goes on. Rules policies and frankly competency is totally local. so with everything in Thailand its a cr***pshoot what you get

Well it always gets done to this. I wanted to live as an American, and honestly it was more expensive. Now I'll fess up I'm an AC junkie but our PEA bill ran in the order of ฿7k a month. In the depths of winter or summer runs about $250, so not so different. Food is the biggie. I'm sorry I was never going to buy meat from the local market with the rotating fly swatter, and buy western style food and it goes through the roof. Take out housing , and it's on a knife edge, add in health insurance and well thats a whole different ballgame

Without wanting to wade into some Brit NHS discussion, but the fact is these folks got care regardless of their ability to pay.. Even in the US with our totally <deleted>***cked up system, at 65 when medicare kicks in you are going to be taken care of. The problem for expats in Thailand is that it's a pure insurance system. The underwriter assesses the risk and the policy premium is set. And no Sh**t Sherlock surprise surprise as you advance in age the premium is on an exponential curve as the risk of you actually getting sick increases. There is a reason why older tourists, to anywhere, find it hard to even get travel insurance, let alone an aging expat in Thailand. So if you are going to live out your twilight years in Thailand, and if your home country health insurance won't cover you, make sure you, or your family has some deep pockets

Trouble is, if he had been some tourist who got into a motorbike wreak, this forum would be up in arms about the irresponsibility of not having travel insurance. ...but but he was already planning to go home next week! Well unfortunately sh%$%t happens. He probably couldn't have got insurance at his age, but it's an issue that many an aging expat pulls the wool pretty heavily over their eyes to ignore. To 'self insurance' well what does that even mean? Unless you are extremely wealthy, how long is a piece of string comes to mind when how much money you actually need to ensure you could afford serious medical expenses. Anyone in this situation should prime their family ahead of time that 'if' stuff happens they need to be prepared to write the checks. I feel sorry for him, but this for many this is a 'But for the Grace of God go I' issue

We all think we're immortal, until we're not. This forum is littered with posts about health insurance. The dirty rotten truth is that health insurance cost in Thailand is an exponential curve 60+. That gives way to those that can't afford it to play the 'I self insure' card which is total BS I'm sorry for the guy, but these are all the choices he made, and sooner or later chickens come home to roost, but don't expect strangers to pay for those chickens. If the family are so concerned, time for them to put their hands in pockets!

We all think we're immortal, until we're not. This forum is littered with posts about health insurance. The dirty rotten truth is that health insurance cost in Thailand is an exponential curve 60+. That gives way to those that can't afford it to play the 'I self insure' card which is total BS I'm sorry for the guy, but these are all the choices he made, and sooner or later chickens come home to roost, but don't expect strangers to pay for those chickens. If the family are so concerned, time for them to put their hands in pockets!

It's odd. When I lived in the Bay Area I used to drive through Richmond on my way to work, past some of the largest refineries in the country, Here in South Dakota we're hundreds of miles from the nearest refinery, yet gas is nearly $3 cheaper than in CA

Well as much as I love my home state, somethings are just insane, gas prices being one of them. Just talked to my ex, she's paying $6.09/gal in Santa Rosa (SF Bay Area) This morning I filled up for $3.59/gal Insanity!