SURVEY: Do you plan on staying in Thailand permanently?

[madmitch]

On 9/10/2017 at 10:50 AM, RichardColeman said:

My plan is to wait until I get an early pension at 55, and then potentially move from my crappy old two bed ex-council house in the UK south to a 4 bed up north near my daughter and grandson. The difference in value is enough to fund the visa savings requirements for wife and child - and the second one after 2 year if we live reasonably and use weekly pension.

 

 NO way in hell will I let our daughter grow up here.

 

I think this poll is misleading as it does not reveal if you are 'having' to stay, or have nothing to go back to - stupidly selling all your assets in your home country to move to a place you could one day be kicked out of or have to leave as requirements upgraded.

 

Take a poll - who has sold all their assets in home country to live here - and who cannot return because of this and what you would do if you cannot go home or live here !.  

I'm in the position you refer to, having arrived here many years ago and foolishly deciding to sell my house in London. At the time with 6.5% interest in an offshore bank account, nearly 70 baht to the pound, a decent pension fund I'd built up, the cheap cost of living here and the house needing money spending on it, I thought I'd taken the right decision.

 

Now with a long-term Thai partner, daughter, 43 baht to the pound, interest rates of just about nothing, an increasing cost of living in Thailand, my so-called financial advisor losing me a large portion of that decent pension pot and my old UK house price tripling in value, I realise the mistake of selling up at that time, especially as my daughter is now making noises that she'd like to go to school in England.

 

Can I afford to go back? I don't know, but the prospect of living a frugal life in the UK as opposed to being reasonably well-off in Thailand must come into the equation. Would I go back if I still had my house? Yes, no doubt about it. Can I go back without it? That's a decision I need to make soon, with many factors to be taken into account: where could I afford to live? Will anyone employ me, even on a contract/freelance basis? Will I be happy in rented accommodation?Will I be happy with a diminished lifestyle?

 

Lots to think about but I want to put my daughter's education first.

[madmitch]

On 9/10/2017 at 10:50 AM, RichardColeman said:

My plan is to wait until I get an early pension at 55, and then potentially move from my crappy old two bed ex-council house in the UK south to a 4 bed up north near my daughter and grandson. The difference in value is enough to fund the visa savings requirements for wife and child - and the second one after 2 year if we live reasonably and use weekly pension.

 

 NO way in hell will I let our daughter grow up here.

 

I think this poll is misleading as it does not reveal if you are 'having' to stay, or have nothing to go back to - stupidly selling all your assets in your home country to move to a place you could one day be kicked out of or have to leave as requirements upgraded.

 

Take a poll - who has sold all their assets in home country to live here - and who cannot return because of this and what you would do if you cannot go home or live here !.  

I'm in the position you refer to, having arrived here many years ago and foolishly deciding to sell my house in London. At the time with 6.5% interest in an offshore bank account, nearly 70 baht to the pound, a decent pension fund I'd built up, the cheap cost of living here and the house needing money spending on it, I thought I'd taken the right decision.

 

Now with a long-term Thai partner, daughter, 43 baht to the pound, interest rates of just about nothing, an increasing cost of living in Thailand, my so-called financial advisor losing me a large portion of that decent pension pot and my old UK house price tripling in value, I realise the mistake of selling up at that time, especially as my daughter is now making noises that she'd like to go to school in England.

 

Can I afford to go back? I don't know, but the prospect of living a frugal life in the UK as opposed to being reasonably well-off in Thailand must come into the equation. Would I go back if I still had my house? Yes, no doubt about it. Can I go back without it? That's a decision I need to make soon, with many factors to be taken into account: where could I afford to live? Will anyone employ me, even on a contract/freelance basis? Will I be happy in rented accommodation?Will I be happy with a diminished lifestyle?

 

Lots to think about but I want to put my daughter's education first.

[bkk6060]

28 minutes ago, madmitch said:

I'm in the position you refer to, having arrived here many years ago and foolishly deciding to sell my house in London. At the time with 6.5% interest in an offshore bank account, nearly 70 baht to the pound, a decent pension fund I'd built up, the cheap cost of living here and the house needing money spending on it, I thought I'd taken the right decision.

 

Now with a long-term Thai partner, daughter, 43 baht to the pound, interest rates of just about nothing, an increasing cost of living in Thailand, my so-called financial advisor losing me a large portion of that decent pension pot and my old UK house price tripling in value, I realise the mistake of selling up at that time, especially as my daughter is now making noises that she'd like to go to school in England.

 

Can I afford to go back? I don't know, but the prospect of living a frugal life in the UK as opposed to being reasonably well-off in Thailand must come into the equation. Would I go back if I still had my house? Yes, no doubt about it. Can I go back without it? That's a decision I need to make soon, with many factors to be taken into account: where could I afford to live? Will anyone employ me, even on a contract/freelance basis? Will I be happy in rented accommodation?Will I be happy with a diminished lifestyle?

 

Lots to think about but I want to put my daughter's education first.

Then do what is best for her and be done with it.

We cannot change the past seems you are dwelling on some poor decisions that many of us have probably made.

Move on and be positive.   At least you are not living in some hut in a village in Laos or Cambodia.......

[xylophone]

41 minutes ago, madmitch said:

I'm in the position you refer to, having arrived here many years ago and foolishly deciding to sell my house in London. At the time with 6.5% interest in an offshore bank account, nearly 70 baht to the pound, a decent pension fund I'd built up, the cheap cost of living here and the house needing money spending on it, I thought I'd taken the right decision.

 

Now with a long-term Thai partner, daughter, 43 baht to the pound, interest rates of just about nothing, an increasing cost of living in Thailand, my so-called financial advisor losing me a large portion of that decent pension pot and my old UK house price tripling in value, I realise the mistake of selling up at that time, especially as my daughter is now making noises that she'd like to go to school in England.

 

Can I afford to go back? I don't know, but the prospect of living a frugal life in the UK as opposed to being reasonably well-off in Thailand must come into the equation. Would I go back if I still had my house? Yes, no doubt about it. Can I go back without it? That's a decision I need to make soon, with many factors to be taken into account: where could I afford to live? Will anyone employ me, even on a contract/freelance basis? Will I be happy in rented accommodation?Will I be happy with a diminished lifestyle?

 

Lots to think about but I want to put my daughter's education first.

I sympathise with you and the predicament you find yourself in mm as I did something similar with regards to selling my house in NZ, although I have never regretted it because it helped set me up with a pot of money to be able to fund my lifestyle here.

 

To be honest I never really thought about the future and whether I would live here full time or not, because it just seemed in the "too hard basket" at that particular time, and anyway I always thought that I could move elsewhere if I didn't like it here and try that!

 

What I was sure of was that I did not want to be a pensioner in New Zealand wandering around the place looking for something to do, in addition to which the only people who would want to speak to a 70-year-old (my age now) would be those folk of similar ages and I had seen little groups of pensioners like me huddled together in teashops, desperate for company and something to fill the hours of the day.

 

Whereas here, there always seems to be something to do, somewhere to go and someone to talk to, whether they be farang or Thai and even less than half my age, and in addition to which I can partake of the nightlife which I always find vibrant.

 

I could probably afford to go back, but to what? And anyway, for me there are other places I can explore, even in Thailand.

 

You do mention that your daughters education is of paramount importance and is it not possible for her to get a good education here, even if it means moving to somewhere else in Thailand to live, because you could move there as a family and it would have to be cheaper then moving back to the UK, surely?

 

For what it's worth, my adopted daughter goes to a good school in Phuket town and actually stays on her own in a room (more like a dormitory) near her school and seems to enjoy that. Furthermore we have discussed her future education and she says that she would like to study as a pharmacist at university and I have agreed to fund that, and according to her there is a university which has a great reputation in Phitsanulok, so she has discussed moving there later on – – and she is only 16 but seems determined to make a go of it herself.

 

My point in bringing that up is that maybe your situation could resolve itself in a similar fashion, this when your daughter perhaps gets a little older?

 

Whatever you do, I wish you all the very best in your endeavours.

[madmitch]

36 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Then do what is best for her and be done with it.

We cannot change the past seems you are dwelling on some poor decisions that many of us have probably made.

Move on and be positive.   At least you are not living in some hut in a village in Laos or Cambodia.......

You are right. I was feeling quite down about this situation a while back but I am now taking a much more positive approach. I'm going back in a couple of weeks for a few days to assess a number of issues. I need to be 100% sure I'm doing the right thing for the entire family.

 

14 minutes ago, xylophone said:

I sympathise with you and the predicament you find yourself in mm as I did something similar with regards to selling my house in NZ, although I have never regretted it because it helped set me up with a pot of money to be able to fund my lifestyle here.

 

To be honest I never really thought about the future and whether I would live here full time or not, because it just seemed in the "too hard basket" at that particular time, and anyway I always thought that I could move elsewhere if I didn't like it here and try that!

 

What I was sure of was that I did not want to be a pensioner in New Zealand wandering around the place looking for something to do, in addition to which the only people who would want to speak to a 70-year-old (my age now) would be those folk of similar ages and I had seen little groups of pensioners like me huddled together in teashops, desperate for company and something to fill the hours of the day.

 

Whereas here, there always seems to be something to do, somewhere to go and someone to talk to, whether they be farang or Thai and even less than half my age, and in addition to which I can partake of the nightlife which I always find vibrant.

 

I could probably afford to go back, but to what? And anyway, for me there are other places I can explore, even in Thailand.

 

You do mention that your daughters education is of paramount importance and is it not possible for her to get a good education here, even if it means moving to somewhere else in Thailand to live, because you could move there as a family and it would have to be cheaper then moving back to the UK, surely?

 

For what it's worth, my adopted daughter goes to a good school in Phuket town and actually stays on her own in a room (more like a dormitory) near her school and seems to enjoy that. Furthermore we have discussed her future education and she says that she would like to study as a pharmacist at university and I have agreed to fund that, and according to her there is a university which has a great reputation in Phitsanulok, so she has discussed moving there later on – – and she is only 16 but seems determined to make a go of it herself.

 

My point in bringing that up is that maybe your situation could resolve itself in a similar fashion, this when your daughter perhaps gets a little older?

 

Whatever you do, I wish you all the very best in your endeavours.

She's at a good school in Phuket, but UK University has always been the aim. You never know, her current desire may be a passing fad but there's no harm in fully investigating all my options.

[ELVIS123456]

15 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

3 speeding fines - 1km over, 4 km over, and 7 km over - over $500 AUD and 5 points

 

Was that over and above the 10% you get so 40 would be 45 for a nick which is fair enough keep your eye on the speedo mate Aus ain't Thailand you know road rules get enforced like most other countries.

 

One shock you will get is when illness does start it never seems to stop.

 

Keep well and stay healthy.

Each one was reduced 3kms for 'mobile camera error' and all on a 60ks road.   And they are all in VIC where the bastards can legally park in plain vehicles just about anywhere and point their camera through their windscreen at you. And their 'hiding spots' are always placed at the bottom of hills on roads that should be 80 or 90ks (and used to be). I now use the speed limiter all the time - annoying.

 

You are right about never stopping, and it is often an 'event' that starts it. My Mother fell and broke her hip and it all started after that.  My Father had a mild stroke and has been getting worse ever since.  I just hope that I dont have something happen that is too serious, so I can then go back for the Medicare freebies. And at that age, I would be able to drive at over 60ks anyway.

 

 

[idman]

Unless I suddenly fall ill to the point that leaving Thailand is impossible or I drop dead I have no intention of dying in this God forsaken place. I will leave here happily and return to the land of birth and hopefully spend the last days of my life looking back over a long and interesting life. Thailand is just a place to hang my hat these day.

[maeab101]

On 9/10/2017 at 10:13 PM, amvet said:

I have been getting visas for 20 years no problems.  Business no problems.  They like luk khuns better than 100% Thais (turn on the TV).  What does every Thai woman use?  Whitening cream and wishes for bigger nose and chest. They like that better than their own.  No more needs to be said ask any plastic surgeon about how many long noses he does 555.

They dont like half thais in thailand. only 100% Thais. are accepted. ask anyone.

[mogandave]

And the Thai students least interested in studying English (other than the soft majors like dance / music etc) are the engineering students, possibly because they consider themselves as gods gift to the world. 

Why all the hate dude?

I think it's safe to assume your degree is in a field somewhat less rigorous...

[RichardColeman]

4 hours ago, madmitch said:

I'm in the position you refer to, having arrived here many years ago and foolishly deciding to sell my house in London. At the time with 6.5% interest in an offshore bank account, nearly 70 baht to the pound, a decent pension fund I'd built up, the cheap cost of living here and the house needing money spending on it, I thought I'd taken the right decision.

 

Now with a long-term Thai partner, daughter, 43 baht to the pound, interest rates of just about nothing, an increasing cost of living in Thailand, my so-called financial advisor losing me a large portion of that decent pension pot and my old UK house price tripling in value, I realise the mistake of selling up at that time, especially as my daughter is now making noises that she'd like to go to school in England.

 

Can I afford to go back? I don't know, but the prospect of living a frugal life in the UK as opposed to being reasonably well-off in Thailand must come into the equation. Would I go back if I still had my house? Yes, no doubt about it. Can I go back without it? That's a decision I need to make soon, with many factors to be taken into account: where could I afford to live? Will anyone employ me, even on a contract/freelance basis? Will I be happy in rented accommodation?Will I be happy with a diminished lifestyle?

 

Lots to think about but I want to put my daughter's education first.

My worry for you would be how would you fund the family moving to the UK  - where would they live ? Do you have 72k in the bank for the visa show or 22,5oo odd for the monthly income route ? Best of luck though

[JLCrab]

Well, at least for today, as far as living back in Florida goes, I am glad I am here and not there.

[observer90210]

15 hours ago, thaifoodruns said:

I'm 36, and been a thailand elite member for 6 months now, been coming on and off to BBK for the past 5 years.

 

Cost of living is cheaper than back home, I bought a car and will be renting as long as I'm here.

 

I have a good portfolio and will be living off about 100k a month (including rent), just like I would back home.

 

I would like to stay here for the next 20 years, if it doesn't work out its very easy for me to pick up and move else where

 

 

For a 50+ age is it worth the trip?

 

Do you need to do visa runs and say you want to stay for 6 months per year, do you need to make extentions during the 6 month stay? If yes, is it every 60 or 90 days and how does the concierge assist you to extend the stay, what documents do they ask for and what does it cost? Thanks for any other information.

[Jingthing]

Deleted.

Edited September 12, 2017 by Jingthing

[Artisi]

2 hours ago, mogandave said:

 

Why all the hate dude?

I think it's safe to assume your degree is in a field somewhat less rigorous...

 

Hate, what the hell you talking about, I was stating a fact from my experience, that engineering students can be some of the most difficult students to teach English and they are one of the education streams who most need it. 

And what does my education have to do with the discussion. 

Edited September 12, 2017 by Artisi

[alzack]

Thailand a pile of shit now, I returned to UK a year back, pension up, loads of help for my son, for 8 years I lost massive  tax breaks for him in Thailand. free schools, free bus, free health, was getting poorer and poorer in the Land of Army Smiles. Thailand is NOT CHEAP ANY MORE When I came on  Baht 70- 74 £. If you wait the Army/Royalists fanatics will get you out in the end,

But it is hard returning , believe me but worth it

[wow64]

10 minutes ago, Artisi said:

Hate, what the hell you talking about, I was stating a fact from my experience, that engineering students can be some of the most difficult students to teach English and they are one of the education streams who most need it. 

And what does my education have to do with the discussion. 

Jumping in at the end but I think your education has a lot to do with the issues you are having teaching. 

[alzack]

what are you on about

 

[Artisi]

31 minutes ago, wow64 said:

Jumping in at the end but I think your education has a lot to do with the issues you are having teaching. 

Just to finish the discussion, I have no problems with Pharmacy, medical, dental students so your comment re issues is a non flyer. I should also point out, that I come from an engineering background and speak the language of the Eng. students. 

[Genghis Khant]

Please share the name of the eutopia that is your nanny state and is going "uphill" .?

And in which way.

Grass is Greener syndrome is pretty big over here. End of the day the change will be exciting but your still taking you with you and the feelings of dispair will resurface eventually where ever you are [emoji22]

It's only being so cheerful that keeps me going lol[emoji23]


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[alzack]

You tend to feel a lot better once you have given up all hope 

[Luckysilk]

1 hour ago, alzack said:

Thailand a pile of shit now, I returned to UK a year back, pension up, loads of help for my son, for 8 years I lost massive  tax breaks for him in Thailand. free schools, free bus, free health, was getting poorer and poorer in the Land of Army Smiles. Thailand is NOT CHEAP ANY MORE When I came on  Baht 70- 74 £. If you wait the Army/Royalists fanatics will get you out in the end,

But it is hard returning , believe me but worth it

We brought the family here to deal with the inlaws business wrap up, short term 2-3 years MAX was the plan and it's not been as enjoyable as I imagined, in fact it's been hell.

 

In that time the kids have grown to hate the place, the wife seldom goes out and the family has turned on her as she's vocal, we are out of here shortly. The kids will most likely never return, Wife has a Thai, Canadian and EU passport, kids all EU passports.

 

For me I've never ever liked the place.

 

 

 

 

 

[JLCrab]

Sorry to hear of your misadventures.

I have no wife. No kids (officially anyway) No in-laws. No business. No job. No property. No house. No car. No investments.

Maybe that's why I enjoy the place.

Edited September 12, 2017 by JLCrab

[bkk6060]

7 minutes ago, JLCrab said:

Sorry to hear of your misadventures.

I have no wife. No kids (officially anyway) No in-laws. No business. No job. No property. No house. No car. No investments.

Maybe that's why I enjoy the place.

HA.  Yes me too.  My life is in a small box someplace else with a friend.  Sold everything no ties or BS and cleared my head very happy.  I own nothing now and never will.  OMG what a relief it is and yes I love this place......

 

[brewsterbudgen]

I'm in the position you refer to, having arrived here many years ago and foolishly deciding to sell my house in London. At the time with 6.5% interest in an offshore bank account, nearly 70 baht to the pound, a decent pension fund I'd built up, the cheap cost of living here and the house needing money spending on it, I thought I'd taken the right decision.
 
Now with a long-term Thai partner, daughter, 43 baht to the pound, interest rates of just about nothing, an increasing cost of living in Thailand, my so-called financial advisor losing me a large portion of that decent pension pot and my old UK house price tripling in value, I realise the mistake of selling up at that time, especially as my daughter is now making noises that she'd like to go to school in England.
 
Can I afford to go back? I don't know, but the prospect of living a frugal life in the UK as opposed to being reasonably well-off in Thailand must come into the equation. Would I go back if I still had my house? Yes, no doubt about it. Can I go back without it? That's a decision I need to make soon, with many factors to be taken into account: where could I afford to live? Will anyone employ me, even on a contract/freelance basis? Will I be happy in rented accommodation?Will I be happy with a diminished lifestyle?
 
Lots to think about but I want to put my daughter's education first.

Like you, I may have burnt my bridges! Selling my London flat for a £200,000 profit felt like the right decision in 2007 but I wish I'd held onto it. Having a kid and getting married wasn't part of my plan back then.

While I still have savings, enough to more than meet the financial requirements for a Settlement visa, I doubt I could get a job easily and I know I can never get back on the property ladder. But returning to the UK when my boy is 5/6 is still something I'd like to do, even though it's possibly unrealistic.

[mogandave]

Just to finish the discussion, I have no problems with Pharmacy, medical, dental students so your comment re issues is a non flyer. I should also point out, that I come from an engineering background and speak the language of the Eng. students. 

So what is your primary language?

[Wilsonandson]

Not at the moment. This place is still living in the dark ages. With Hurricane Irma beating it's path through Florida, I watched most of it live streamed by amateur storm chasers. Did there wifi go down? No, there was slight interference but that was it.

Last night we had a thunderstorm about 7pm. The lightning hit the Tesco Lotus near where I live in Pathum Thani. It knocked out 150 wifi's and still they haven't fixed it. 24 hours later.

I'm using my AIS account on my phone now. It's paid up for 4G. It says 4G but you can't play youtube videos.

As you know Pathum Thani is in Bangkok not Isaan. So do I want to stay in Thailand. Ummm, not with it's low quality tech. Cambodia I'm told has better Technology.

Argh! Come on Thailand, tech up.

[ELVIS123456]

10 minutes ago, Wilsonandson said:

Not at the moment. This place is still living in the dark ages. With Hurricane Irma beating it's path through Florida, I watched most of it live streamed by amateur storm chasers. Did there wifi go down? No, there was slight interference but that was it.

Last night we had a thunderstorm about 7pm. The lightning hit the Tesco Lotus near where I live in Pathum Thani. It knocked out 150 wifi's and still they haven't fixed it. 24 hours later.

I'm using my AIS account on my phone now. It's paid up for 4G. It says 4G but you can't play youtube videos.

As you know Pathum Thani is in Bangkok not Isaan. So do I want to stay in Thailand. Ummm, not with it's low quality tech. Cambodia I'm told has better Technology.

Argh! Come on Thailand, tech up.

I cant argue about the sudden outages, but back here in 'penance land' in Aus I am paying the equivalent of 1820 baht per month for (max) 25Mbps which averages about 20Mbps (VDSL). I was paying 900 baht and getting 100Mbps (Fibre) in Thailand when it worked, which was most of the time.  And it Thailand it was installed and working in one day, and here it took nearly a month. 

 

[Naam]

20 minutes ago, Wilsonandson said:

Not at the moment. This place is still living in the dark ages. With Hurricane Irma beating it's path through Florida, I watched most of it live streamed by amateur storm chasers. Did there wifi go down? No, there was slight interference but that was it.

yada yada!

more than 6 million homes in Florida are without power, no landline phone, no internet, no wifi! that's even in my former neighbourhood in Florida between Orlando and Daytona beach (Volusia County) which was not in Irma's path. FPL-Florida Power and Light claims in some areas it will take weeks to restore power.

[Jingthing]

yada yada!
more than 6 million homes in Florida are without power, no landline phone, no internet, no wifi! that's even in my former neighbourhood in Florida between Orlando and Daytona beach (Volusia County) which was not in Irma's path. FPL-Florida Power and Light claims in some areas it will take weeks to restore power.

The new normal.

[thaifoodruns]

For a 50+ age is it worth the trip?
 
Do you need to do visa runs and say you want to stay for 6 months per year, do you need to make extentions during the 6 month stay? If yes, is it every 60 or 90 days and how does the concierge assist you to extend the stay, what documents do they ask for and what does it cost? Thanks for any other information.

All the answers are here

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/935504-thailand-elite-card-is-pleased-to-announce-the-release-of-four-new-membership-programs/

And on their website

Drop them an email they are very helpful and can answer all your questions




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