witold

The business should be low risk and should be such that can be monitored form my home country India (4 hr flight form BKk). Of course I am willing to travel once every three months to Thailand and send a month at the business - meaning that presently - I can spend 4 months in a year in Thailand.

Bangkok could use a tailor shop.  Have you considered that? 

What is your reason for attempting to do this?  There are plenty of cheap and expensive 125cc scooters for sale in the US.  Is your heart really set on Honda Wave or something?  

As a legal matter, anything over 50cc is considered a motorcycle in the US and will be treated as such.  You will need a license endorsement, registration, insurance, etc.  As a practical matter, you don't need anything because it looks like a scooter and you will be given a pass unless you stand out and speeding too fast.  

What is it with people and living by the ocean ? I just don't get it.

What do you think people think of when someone mentions Thailand in USA or EU?  It's one of the best things Thailand offers to the world.  Cheap cost of living can be found in many less developed countries, and so can generally pleasant and safe living environment.  

Nobody cares about your personal stuff and photos - unless you're a really hot girl.  No one cares about your bank account screen shots either.  And you shouldn't be keeping important things like bank passwords on your desktop. 

In other words, don't be so worried.  Or alternatively if you want to be paranoid just keep some folders under password.  

Krabi is more of a rundown town for locals, and Ao Nang is more of a resort area for tourists.

I liked Ao Nang, but I will have to agree with FarangCravings. If you want to eat at beach side restaurants, you will find it to be one of the most expensive areas in LOS. Sure, if you want to go somewhere more inland you can get things cheaper.. but what is the point of going to Ao Nang if you're going to hang out away from the main attractions? You might as well move further inland and save yourself money and trouble. Personally, I would look for a house with ocean view north of Ao Nang. I think there might be some deals left in that region.

They want 2 bedroom with good ocean views, and probably new-ish and nice place close to city center. 40K rent is not that far off the mark for 2 bedroom.

As others mentioned, transportation on Phuket is going to be expensive. You really should get a car if traveling around Thailand is something you want to do. I would consider Krabi area as an alternative - again, with a car. You can take some decent road trips from Krabi. It will be easier than starting in Phuket.

If your plan is to spend 10 years here, then it doesn't really matter where you go. Everything will be pretty good at first. Then as you discover new places and solidify your lifestyle preferences, you can move to different areas. You will be able to do this on 110K/month very comfortably as long as you don't let luxury items and trips get out of hand.

Which begs the question, why do you want this high performance tire anyway? There are no twisty roads where these tires will really shine in LOS, and at Bira you can source many different tires. I would recommend BT-003s, cheaper and easier to get. Very similar feel. I'm in the States right now, where I usually get 2CTs or BT-003s depending on what is on sale at the moment of purchase.

Since you mention that price is a consideration, the most important thing I would think about is cost and time for servicing and maintaining the bike. You accidentally tip over the bike or have a small low side. How long and expensive is that going to be? I can't imagine what a pain it must be to get replacement rearsets, clip ons, or plastics for these bikes in Thailand, but I may be wrong. This is the most important consideration if you actually plan to ride the bike. It seems a lot of these bikes in LOS are 'poser bikes' with minimal mileage and probably no 'quality' miles.

Body size has no bearing on the 600/1k decision. Modern 600 and 1K bikes are almost exactly the same size. 1-2 inches in bike length and 15lbs will not be something you notice.

Your issues with Ninja 650R are completely valid. The bike has pretty lousy nonadjustable suspension, especially the forks. It will be night and day difference jumping to any modern sport bike. For a practical comparison, when I rode this bike around Pai/Mae Hong Son, I could not drag knee because of stability issues. Even older sport bikes will feel a lot better in the curves than 650R. It comes down to suspension adjustability.

Submaniac has it summed up correctly. The big practical advantage of 1Ks is that you have the power available in every gear all the time. You don't need to downshift. I have a 600. Some people I ride with have 1Ks exactly for this reason. After all day riding, they are almost always in 3rd - sometimes 4th. In contrast, I am all over the place to keep up with them. That said, this is a very quick ride that I don't think is possible anywhere in Thailand, even MHS. BUT... it is a matter of preference. One is not better than the other. I like doing the shifts and revving the heck out of the 600, whereas my friends just don't get to rev the heck out of their 1Ks nearly as often.

600s are also easier to control in the twisties. On 1Ks, you really need a *very* steady throttle hand. You have a lot more guys spinning out the rear and lowsiding on 1Ks. This is also why 600s are the preferred track day machines. 600s are just as quick in the twisties, and have more room for error. Up to about 100mph, you will not be losing ground to a litre bike in the twisties. It's only at higher speeds that litre bikes really shine and come into their element.

In terms of speed, 600s will 'cruise' comfortably around 90-100mph. 1000 will 'cruise' comfortably around 110-120mph. There are very few places in LOS where I would feel comfortable going these 'cruising' speeds since there is no such thing as limited-access highways. And top speeds? Forget it. At least in the West, you have places where you can top out your 1K without the thought of dying. In LOS, there is no such place.

If price was no object, I would get the best bike out there - BMW 1000RR and do my best posing on it. If you're more practical, I would look for a 04+ 600cc because I think 600s are more fun to ride.

One last thing, disregard all these random thoughts if you like to stunt. For stunting, 1000s are much better bikes.

What if you can't sell your condo after 3 years and what if you sell or rent it in Thai Baht won't you lose money afterall because of the exchange rate Baht to Euro or any other currency ?

You can sell almost every condo and house in a matter of days. It comes down to price. The reason why some of the farang owned stuff is sitting on the market for years and years is because they are delusional in thinking they can get their stated price. If you price it reasonably, it will sell. If you price is attractively, it will get multiple offers and sell in a week.

Is a house better than a condo? Of course! But it comes down to prices again. If you compare the same locations, condos are a lot cheaper. Stop comparing inner moat condo to some almost-rural house 25km outside CM. Instead, compare that inner moat condo to inner moat house.

There really is no such thing as 'fattening' food. Every food will fatten you just the same. It primarily comes down to quantity/calories.

I think what you will find is that the 'perfect' locations to retire are always temporary.  

Undeveloped country is a bad choice and then it starts to develop and becomes great value.  

Then, depending on how quickly it develops, prices get out of hand, the country doesn't need you any more, incentives start to disappear, and stringent rules appear.  Eventually, all these things make it a bad choice as inexpensive retirement location.  

Great city.  Very livable.  It has a little bit of everything.  It it was close to some tropical ocean beach it would be perfect.  

LOL at the comparison with some 2br house 20km from town.

The key for secondary markets like CM is to make sure you are in the best location possible. When you are in the entertainment and business center of the city, people will always want to rent and buy there. The smaller the market, the more important it becomes to be in the best area.

I agree with the sentiment that Thai management fees are too low and condo buildings have a tendency to fall into disrepair. This may be one good reason to buy into something established so you can see how they have been taking care of the property. You need to remember that when you buy a condo, you buy into a building. It is critically important to see how this building has been managed in the past, what sort of problems it has, what sort of expenses may be coming up, what other neighbors complain about, etc. In other words, you need to look beyond your 4 walls to see if it makes sense to buy there. That said, low condo fees also mean low carrying costs. This is a huge advantage of Thai property over US condos, for example...

In general, Thailand's economy is doing great and it will only do better. Each year, more and more people move there. There will be more and more tourists and more and more expats. Baht will slowly get stronger and stronger. CM will not benefit from these macro trends as much as primary markets like BKK, Phuket, etc, but it will benefit some. Whether 3 years is enough or whether it will benefit enough, who knows... Baht is very strong right now.

How did you come up with the 25K rental estimate? CM is slow during off season. Is 25K average for the whole year? Do you see comparable rental properties being rented for this amount right now when you look at recent and current listings?

It's just a silly game and it's just a silly song. It's up to you to attach as much blind nationalism to it as you like, but don't expect others to follow your 'rules of demeanor'. Most people could care less, and you shouldn't take it as any sort of affront towards you.

Wow, 10 million Baht for a series of cooking shows with Martha Stewart is an ABSOLUTE STEAL. She must be getting something else out of this?

She is hugely popular in the US among a certain segment of viewers. Not on the same level as Oprah, but probably second in line.

Ok, so the lowly counter lady told you she won't give you a BS answer just to amuse you? (Would you rather hear a lot of BS?)

Then you call the hotline and get no answer?

This is what you find so horrible that you won't fly them if you life depended on it? Welcome to 2010. This is standard practice at all USA airlines. My guess is that you will forget about your horrifying experience when the next ticket promotion comes out.

Hand over a paltry 200b, in order to save the hassle of a ticket.

Certainly better than the western version.

It seems many of the posters on TV want to make LOS into an Asian version of Birmingham or something. If they had it they way, they would institute most of the rules and regulations back home, which is quite amusing to me.

I can tell you that I would rather pay that 200 baht even when I am innocent then face $2500 and jail time for going 100mph on my sport bike back home in the great state of Virginia. You have no idea how good you have it - vast majority of time.

Well, you all might be jumping in on the eco-bandwagon.

Not me. I like plastic bags. And I think I know why many Thais like them as well.

First, you don't have to carry your own bag to the store! Or plan ahead how many bags to bring based on your expected purchase amount. I remember this sort of BS from living under Communist rule and it was never fun or convenient.

Second, I own a motorcycle. I do put stuff in my backpack, but I also tie stuff outside of the backpack. Try tying those cloth bags - not possible. I presume Thais would run into the same problem on their scooters.

**

BTW, I live in Washington, DC. The city recently instituted a 5 cent price for every plastic bag purchased.

After you've been riding a while, you will start noticing that there is a system to the madness and it generally makes pretty good sense.  It only looks mad from the sidewalk.  

Why doesn't your dad teach you?  Asking him seems like the perfect start.  

If you have some common sense you will be fine.  Take it slow.  Parking lot -> small road -> bigger road -> road with traffic, etc... You will slowly improve your riding skills.  Even if you're not a good rider you'll be fine if you ride slow and stay out of cars' way.  

If you're not loaded, bring everything you can think of that is expensive and not too big.  Just about everything in LOS is very overpriced. Camera, laptop, gps, all electronics, cars, are a good start.   

Thailand is cheap if you can avoid the temptations  

Sure, if you eat at the 25 baht stands and sit around at home all day, it will be cheap.  Under those circumstances, many parts of USA will probably be even cheaper.  (you can use coupons to get food for free, and housing is dirt cheap in rural areas.)

But isn't the point of coming to Thailand to actually get out there and do stuff?  All of that stuff is expensive, be it golfing, riding motorcycles, etc. 

It depends on your lifestyle needs, wants, and requirements. It also depends on your time frame.

Bangkok is fairly well developed city. Will you be happy buying a bottle at 7/11 and drinking outside for cheap? Would you rather go to a mid-range place that will run you 700 baht/night? Do you have the desire to check out some of the swanky places that charge a few hundred baht/drink? Will you be happy with 140 baht cinema tickets as opposed to vip couch seating for 700 baht? Same with housing. Do you have any hobbies? Almost every hobby will cost you a lot more to pursue in Bangkok. And if there is anything you want that needs to be imported, it will be *a lot* more expensive than in the US. My guess is that for a lot of these questions the answer is that you will be able to cut corners for a while and not worry, but eventually this will get old and you will want to at least try some of the more expensive options.

This leads us to the question of time frame. Do you want to do this for 1 year, or make a career/new life out of it? What about other life costs like health insurance? How about retirement savings? How about saving for a house, kids education, when you get married? Etc, etc...

Those land prices may seem outrageous now, but take a step back and look at what things used to cost 15 years go. Today's prices were outrageous 5-10 years ago. So while that land price may seem crazy now, ten years from now it will probably be market price. Land holding costs are very low in Thailand so land owners can just wait and wait.

Hmmm... I wonder why people are not visiting Thailand?

Red Shirts? Danger? Yeah, whatever, most people don't even know about Red Shirts in the US.

What people do know is that plane tickets from the East Coast to BKK are about $1800 right now. Why bother going to Thailand when you can take a 2 week vacation in the Carribean/etc for the amount of money it would take you to just fly to Thailand. Add the fact that both EU and US economies are in a slump and it explains lower tourism.

My first thought is that vast majority of stares are probably simple curiosity looks.  In the US, most people would stare if they saw a middle aged white adult with several young/teenage black kids at a playground or whatever.  Same in Thailand.  As a tourist in Thailand, you don't expect some old white guy with a 10 year old boy or girl so you stare.  In both cases, the people staring are not thinking you are a pedophile or anything like that... they are just curious because the image doesn't conform with what is standard.