ExpatJ

I strongly suggest you follow Warren Buffets advice below: (im trying to do similar my self, over lastyear, but i ended up slicing and dicing and buying a few US stock ETFs - i would have made more if i had just bought the S +P index fund!- But i aim to keep them for 10 years plus and all my new cash will go into an  S+ P Index fund - i recommned  the VOO ETF) , so lets see)) 

"My advice could not be more simple: Put 10% of the cash in short-term government bonds ETF and 90% in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund. (I suggest Vanguard's.) I believe the trust's long-term results from this policy will be superior to those attained by most investors – whether pension funds, institutions or individuals – who employ high-fee managers."

Best steak in Bangkok for us-  and the sides are Delicious /well done too (the free home made liquor shots at the end also a nice touch).  Atmosphere is great- often restaurants that charge 6-8 K for a two person meal are quiet and stuffy- this place, especially the Asoke branch is laid back , always  packed, and buzzing. Its the only place i buy a steak now (once every 3-4 months). 

 
Hey Alzack
 
Really warming post and of course I wish you and the family all the very best and hope things work out after a 25 year absence for the UK. 
 
Not wanting to come across as being negative in the slightest, I will however provide you with my point of view on were I think you may have bitten off more than you could chew, suffice to say this is a forum for open discussion and hope you don't take this the wrong way.
 
I moved here almost a year ago, after planning it for 10 years, so I am a newbie to Thailand, but I believe I have done enough research and have enough knowledge on how to survive here for the rest of my retired life.
 
I purchased land here 9 years ago, (yes wife's name), filled it, soil has firmed in that time, recently finished building our house, and purchased the car.
 
I am however too young to obtain a pension and decided that I was in a comfortable enough position to sell up and get out of the rat race back in Oz, 10 years early as opposed to waiting for the old age pension, and working myself to the ground in the process.
 
This is were I think you went wrong, In my opinion, too many people place too much emphasis on education for their kid/s and spending $'s they don't have, or borrow to give their kids the best education, suffice to say they forget that they too have to survive as well, the 200,000 baht per year could have kept you here, and your son could have attended another school for much less.
 
What I am saying is, as I never had a formal education when I went to school, if you can call the old school certificate (level 10) an education, I survived, and I worked as an apprentice mechanic and various jobs with that piece of paper, although I did go to TAFE, or college much later in life to study for a further 6 years to get 2 pieces of paper that opened doors further for me in the field that I was working in, this didn't cost my parents anything, and I personally would not of wanted my parents to pay big $'s for my education, as life was tough

Our kids go to semi-private schools that also teaches English, they are all doing well, we also put in our 2 bobs worth when needed, the cost is about 40,000 baht in total for the 4 kids per year, I can afford to pay 200,000 per head per year for an international school, but that would be putting our lifestyle backwards, and we didn't have 4 kids to go backwards, they will get their education, they will survive, but at the end of the day, it will also be up to them to put in their best performances in along the way, because money can't buy life's experiences, and what is left for them in monetary terms, with our knowledge and teachings, will hopefully be beneficial for their lives.

On 9/13/2016 at 6:18 AM, bwpage3 said:

My son went to one of those 500,000 baht a year schools and when he got the USA, he was a grade behind in every subject. No matter the price, there is NO school in Thailand that will prepare your kid for a western education. I for one am extremely happy we moved back to the USA and my son is getting a world class education. My friends wife (age 38) has a law degree from Thammasart Uni and cannot even pass the USA written drivers test. That should tell you something right there. 

 From what i have seen the opposite is true- -graduates from the top 3 -4 international school in Bangkok actually find US/UK universities too easy in the first year since the IB courses in Bangkok international schools for 16-18 year olds is far more rigorous than standard, that is to say non-IB,  US/UK high schools. 

Updated: I was just reading the back threads- ok you are talking about Prem International school in CM- comparing that to the top international schools in Bangkok is apples v oranges so to speak. So yes, i get your point. 

Woke up this morning to see we had brought in Valencia, who im not familiar with so i got excited as a googled him imaging that he is the number 1 or 2 striker from a top Spanish, French or Italian league team.....and turns out he is  West Ham' United 3rd or possibly 4th choice striker.

And that was it, Everton's deadline day transfer window - net spend under our new billionaire owner, was +2 million given the stones money (so he actually made a nice little profit, which probably explains why he is a billionaire in first place) . 

I would generally  never invest in a fund with more than @ 0.5% fee- plenty of ETFs available through etrade, schwab, fidelity that charge 0.1-0.3% fees.  I just opened a scwab international account - no problems.     I think its particularly important if your investment horizons are 5 years, 10 years (mine are @15 yrs ) 

Did anyone make any quick Brexit equity buys? When i saw Barclays fall 25% after the vote i jumped right in, unfortunately i am transferring my online brokerage from etrade to Charles schwab this week so could not trade on that. But i was able to buy with some smaller amount cash in my wife's brokerage and its up 6% since monday.

More broadly- i am going to start keeping a chunk of cash in my brokerage just for use in quick buying stocks of solid companies whose share price falls because of some bad news in the media (that is not related to the companies underlying fundamentals). Anyone else do something similar?

I just checked and it's 20000 USD min for an international account. Looks good though.

Does anyone have a hibiki 17 yr old for sale in Bangkok by any chance?

Has anyone here with a Thai Netflix account checked to determine WHERE the content is being streamed from? Have they hosted/mirrored it in country via a CDN, or, it's being pulled from abroad?

One other thing Netflix Thailand. If you have kids it's great because big selection for them.

Is anyone using HBO via a VPN? I'm thinking of sinning up for a few months for game of thrones and their back catalogue.

BBC iPlayer via a VPN u can watch bbc news. Or if u have apple TV there is a UK sky news app for free that shows live sky news (no need for vpn)

Unfortunately we have to be realistic, if you had scored as many goals as him would you want to stay at a mid-table team? I hate to think how many will come knocking at the door for him.

Yes agree. Lukaku has already talked about his interest in PSG. The only way we keep him us if we make top 4 for CL football.... That's also why I think the capital one cup is a side show and pretty irrelevant...

Good morning blues- im an evertonian based in bangkok. My worry- in the summer we sell Lukaku, and end up buying a second rate local striker from a championship or other premier league side. Given Lukaku is one of the best strikers out there right now- and still young- only way we sell him is for a Suarez type replacement, as opposed to a Ings or a Vardy.

Changing to local Netflix has produced a huge difference in picture quality. I just run a 5m HDMI cable to the TV,

I setup chromecast from my computer to TV last night (in my living room so they are about 8 meters apart) - streams Netflix perfectly in HD and no buffering at all.

If you have apple tv- the remote for that works for netflix- its great, v easy to use.

I dont want to read the entire thread so Forgive me if this was already mentioned. "Iflix" is cheaper (100 baht/month) with more content.

I'm getting a chrome cast today (friend bought if from usa) - how does quality of picture casting to TV compare - apple airplay v Google Chrome cast?

One piece of good news. The Netflix shows here in Thailand don't seemed to be censored yet..

Seems like money well spent especially if you have kids and the guards are at the gates and the kids are playing inside. In general u want ur security guards to be happy not resentful.

One thing I noticed is that the selection of shows u see on the home screen is only a fraction of the database available. Do a search by a word and a ton of movies and shows appear that are not on the main screen .

On the HD /4k issue. I will say that sometimes I find an ultra clear picture actually detracts from the show - if it's too clear it's too much like real life so to speak.

Beware of "rights restrictions" showing movies and even Netflix Originals on Netflix Asia. I have just discovered that "House of Cards US" is not available in Asia region

Seems to work both ways - Thailand Netflix has better call Saul and godfather movies for example while USA Netflix does not.

But currently USA does have more shows for the moment.

I notice people who mastered and regularly download via torrents are coming across as rather annoyed that they have invested time and energy into all this downloading and now everyone can get better quality and quicker shows via Netflix with none of the time and hassle of illegal downloads.

Be happy not resentful!

Sorry to have to say this but those who criticise downloads, calling them "dodgy versions" etc obviously dont know what theyre talking about or theyre trying to fool themselves!

Right now I have perfect copies of just about every movie likely to be nominated for Oscars, about twenty in total, and every TV show I download is absolutely perfect in quality.

I know the situation could change in the future but right now there is absolutely no point in paying for netflix and risking buffering etc when everything you want to watch is available in just a few minutes by downloading!

And for those still "holier than thou" no, you dont watch them on a computer screen you have two choices, HDMI cable from computer to TV, or download the downloads onto a memory stick which fits into most modern screen TVs !!

Netflix? No thanks, no need, !!!

Netflix u sit down and can chose what u want to watch right there then. Downloading you need to think the day before or much earlier-what do I want to watch tomorrow? it takes time to download.

Also no buffering at all for Netflix in Bangkok at least.

And finally Netflix is @300 baht per month- hardly a crippling financial burden :-)