We retiring in Thailand next year, what should we do?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

4.  Sell electric items in US.  Buy here.  You do not want to use transformers (waste of money/safety/space/and sure to be misused) and clocks will probably not work or motors run slow and overheat (50Hz here).

 

 

I liked and agreed with most all of your advice offered above, Lopburi, but I'd go a different road on the electrical appliances,  at least partly.

 

When I moved, I brought with me a couple different step down transformers because I knew I had and was going to use some appliances from the U.S. that I wanted to keep.  One at the time was a desktop PC and monitor that was not dual voltage. Another was a kitchen food processor, which are hard to find here and/or very expensive for not so great quality. And some other things.

 

But in short, I still have and am using the same set of transformers many years later, never had one fail and never had any appliance fail from use with them. But over time, the number of electrical items I use with them has declined (the PC got replaced with a dual voltage model, etc.). But still use for the food processor, and a very good air purifier from the U.S. that can't be bought here, and a few other things.

 

It all depends on the person moving, and what they have, what they value, and whether those things can easily/affordably be replaced in Thailand. Some things can. Some cannot.

 

Edited July 14, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[NancyL]

1 minute ago, BobTH said:

One question TallGuy, ... ok, I have used my smaller bank in the US in the past few years on more than one occasion, to make a larger transfer of funds to my account here using the NYC branch of Bangkok Bank. My question is... Does that mean that my small bank would have an existing ACH link with Bangkok Bank, and that I am still able at this time to do transfers for the time being? Sorry but I wasn't sure if that is what you meant in your previous referrals to existing ACH links. Thanks in advance.

Yes, that's exactly what he's saying.  But, I find it hard to believe that Bangkok Bank would shut down existing ACH links.  I used mine a couple weeks ago with no problems when discussion about this problem first started on ThaiVisa.

 

Just today, I set up a new link from my U.S. credit union to someone else's Bangkok Bank account as a test.  We'll see what happens.

[NancyL]

I see where the OP mentions he and his Thai bride have been married since 1976 and she plans to bring ALL their possessions here.  Really?  Hubby and I also married in 1976 and the last thing we wanted to do was bring 30 years of stuff with us when we came here 10 years ago.  The furniture would have looked stupid and dated in a Thai home or condo.  In retrospect, I wish we could have brought the Corningware and Pyrex cookware items.  They don't make it like that any more, but we didn't have the luxury of duty-free importing.  But, seriously, EVERY possession?  Part of the fun of getting settled is buying new stuff.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 hours ago, Kerryd said:

Buy items online and having them shipped to Thailand can be an expensive proposition as well. In addition to the shipping costs, you could get hit with a lot of Duties/Tariffs (and that was before Trump) so expect to pay more. (Along the lines of 30+ % more in many cases, depending on the total value of the goods you order in a shipment.)

(In some cases it may be better to have items delivered to a friend/family member and have them send it over using the Registered Mail System.)

 

 

The problem with high shipping costs and Thai customs duties is pretty easy to avoid.

 

Never send packages from the U.S., or have them sent by the retailer, via any of the private couriers like FedEx or DHL, because that will be expensive and you most likely will get nicked for customs duty, which can be very high for things like clothes and shoes, in particular.

 

The alternative is to take out an account with a U.S. reshipper like Shipito.com or Planet Express (both based in the L.A. area, who each will give you a U.S. address for receiving packages from retailers like Amazon (with its free domestic shipping for Prime members), and then they'll follow your online instructions to send those packages onto you in Thailand by either USPS or their own low-cost generic air mail services.  Going those routes, for anything under $50 and 4.5 lbs, you can expect to pay $8-10 a pound for shipping and no customs at all.

 

Or, if you have family/relations back in the U.S. even after you depart, they can receive the items for you and then drop them off at the Post Office for sending to Thailand by USPS Priority Mail. Although, the inhouse economy airmail rates offered by the reshippers are actually lower than the USPS rates.

 

Edited July 14, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Not for everyone - money in account would be in your name only and might not available if you are not available and for some entails extra annual paperwork for home country reporting.  Using income is a simple process for many.

 

On the issue of bank deposits vs consulate income affidavit for retirement or marriage extensions, having 800K in the bank for retirement extension for Americans is going to trigger the federal government's FBAR financial reporting requirements to the U.S. federal government, which arises whenever someone has more than $10K U.S. in foreign banks at any point during a calendar year.

 

Some folks find the online FBAR reporting that's required relatively easy and painless to do. Other folks who have the choice prefer to avoid triggering FBAR entirely, make sure they never keep more than $10K in foreign banks (including Thailand) and handle their retirement extension financial requirement via the consulate income letter.

 

But if you DO ever have more than $10K U.S. in foreign bank accounts in your name during a calendar year, you absolutely DO need to read up on the FBAR issue and make sure to not miss a required filing deadline, as the potential penalties for non-compliance can be unpleasant.

 

BTW, that reminds me of federal income tax filing. It seems pretty hard to find a good U.S. tax returns person here in Thailand, and so a person relocating either needs to plan on doing their own, rely on some tax professional back in the U.S. who has knowledge about expat issues, or get to know and use one of the various online tax prep services like Turbo Tax, TaxAct and similar. There also are some online-based tax consulting services that do U.S. tax returns for expats. Quite a few different approaches available when it comes to handling federal tax returns as an expat.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

26 minutes ago, NancyL said:

I see where the OP mentions he and his Thai bride have been married since 1976 and she plans to bring ALL their possessions here.  Really?  Hubby and I also married in 1976 and the last thing we wanted to do was bring 30 years of stuff with us when we came here 10 years ago.  The furniture would have looked stupid and dated in a Thai home or condo.  In retrospect, I wish we could have brought the Corningware and Pyrex cookware items.  They don't make it like that any more, but we didn't have the luxury of duty-free importing.  But, seriously, EVERY possession?  Part of the fun of getting settled is buying new stuff.

 

As I mentioned above, that's a BIG consideration in relocating, what to bring and what to leave behind, and what to do with the things you leave behind.

 

In my case, I didn't have any home after I left the U.S., but I had a lot of possessions. So I rented a storage unit to keep a lot of my excess stuff for the first year, to give me time to decide and have experience in Thailand with how things were going.

 

I did a second shipment the year after I moved with additional stuff that I didn't take on my original relocation. Then later, I made a trip or two back to retrieve things that I could carry via airplane luggage and to discard/donate other things till finally everything was either moved or gone.  But in the OP's case, it sounds like he want to make one big move/relocation trip and then be done with it.

 

I don't think I've ever known anyone from the U.S. who moved to Thailand and took EVERYTHING on the move.

 

 

Edited July 14, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Boon Mee]

Let's discuss. 

What problems can you envision? 

The principle account holder dies w/out a will? 

That might be a problem down the road but what we're talking about here is the most expeditions method of renewing the Retirement Visa. 

[Happyman58]

yeah u can buy a house next to me I am tired of the cranky neighbors I got  Especially the french guy

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

35 minutes ago, NancyL said:

Yes, that's exactly what he's saying.  But, I find it hard to believe that Bangkok Bank would shut down existing ACH links.  I used mine a couple weeks ago with no problems when discussion about this problem first started on ThaiVisa.

 

Just today, I set up a new link from my U.S. credit union to someone else's Bangkok Bank account as a test.  We'll see what happens.

 

•  

41 minutes ago, BobTH said:

One question TallGuy, ... ok, I have used my smaller bank in the US in the past few years on more than one occasion, to make a larger transfer of funds to my account here using the NYC branch of Bangkok Bank. My question is... Does that mean that my small bank would have an existing ACH link with Bangkok Bank, and that I am still able at this time to do transfers for the time being? Sorry but I wasn't sure if that is what you meant in your previous referrals to existing ACH links. Thanks in advance.

 

Bob, if you've used your small U.S. bank to send ACH transfers in the past to BKK Bank NY, then somewhere in the past, you would have had to link those two together, in other words, create a recipient profile in your online banking for BKKB NY, using their U.S. 9-digit ABA/routing number and then your Thailand BKKB account number. Those two details get the money sent and arriving to your Thailand account.

 

If you have that in place now, then any ACH transfer you might try to send from your U.S. bank right now SHOULD go thru to Thailand just fine, at least for the several couple months for sure. Beyond that, no guarantees.  What probably would NOT work right now was if you did NOT have an existing online banking link to BKKB NY in your U.S. bank's online banking profile. If you were trying to create that kind of link NEW today, AFAIK, it would be rejected by BKKB and you could not create such a new link anymore.

 

Nancy, please do post back here, and in the other thread on BKKB NY and their ACHs, on what happens with your attempt to do a new link to BKKB NY.  If the information we have is correct, it will be rejected and you won't be able to complete it.  But no harm in trying, and let's see what results.

 

It seems pretty clear that BKKB's existing/current ACH system IS going to be discontinued at some point in the coming months because of their need to comply with tougher U.S. regulations on international fund transfers. Ideally, they're trying to find an alternative to put in place before they have to shut down the existing system. But whether they'll be able to find a replacement alternative, and just how that might work, remain pretty much up in the air right now. Not only do we not know, but BKKB NY apparently doesn't know either at least at present.

 

 

 

[Boon Mee]

Point is folks is after all the BS you read, the Retirement Extension based on 800k in the bank is the absolute best way to go. 

Don't get sidetracked like who wants to tie up the money in a Thai Bank? 

If you are going to retire here and you don't have the funds to deposit? 

Maybe Costa Rica is a good idea? 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

14 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Let's discuss. 

What problems can you envision? 

The principle account holder dies w/out a will? 

That might be a problem down the road but what we're talking about here is the most expeditions method of renewing the Retirement Visa. 

 

Wills!!!!

 

I think the general prevailing advice is to have one U.S. will executed in your U.S. state of residence before you leave that covers all your U.S. accounts and assets. And then, once in Thailand, have a Thai will drawn up that complies with Thailand's own different legal requirements for wills, and have the Thailand will cover all your Thailand accounts/assets.

 

Make sure to specify in each that each only covers assets in that respective country, so there's no potential conflict issues between what might exist in either document. They need to co-exist side by side, each covering a different country of stuff.

 

[Pib]

1 hour ago, NancyL said:

Just today, I set up a new link from my U.S. credit union to someone else's Bangkok Bank account as a test.  We'll see what happens.

Did the setup method use trial deposits?  Repeat, did the setup method use trial deposits?  

 

 If so, the trial deposits will probably be rejected back to your credit union by Bangkok Bank.

 

But if your credit union does "not" use the trial deposit method, then the transfer link should setup no problem only because Bangkok Bank was never put in the loop on the setup. Only your credit union probably did some double checking to confirm the routing number is valid and wait X-business days to send an email to the ibanking account owner (that is, you in this case) notifying you an ibanking transfer link has just been initiated...if it was not you then contact us ASAP otherwise the link will go active in X days.

 

Edit: about two weeks ago the wife setup a new USAA ibanking transfer link to her Bangkok Bank Direct Deposit account however, she did not select the trial deposit method which really means normally you would be allowed to Deposit & Withdrawal using that link.   Instead she used the other method offered by USAA which is the Send Only method which means you can only Send to the account...and this method does not use any trial deposits...3 business days later the link went active....but remember, Bangkok Bank was never in the loop on this link setup as no trial deposits flowed to them to be rejected.   And just because the link is now active to use does not mean it will work to actually transfer funds "when/if Bangkok Bank starts rejecting actual ACH transfers"....like a person sending $1000 to his/her Bangkok Bank account.   For now only new ibanking transfer links using the "trial deposits" setup method are being rejected.  

 

Edited July 14, 2018 by Pib

[Boon Mee]

2 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Wills!!!!

 

I think the general prevailing advice is to have one U.S. will executed in your U.S. state of residence before you leave that covers all your U.S. accounts and assets. And then, once in Thailand, have a Thai will drawn up that complies with Thailand's own different legal requirements for wills, and have the Thailand will cover all your Thailand accounts/assets.

 

Make sure to specify in each that each only covers assets in that respective country, so there's no potential conflict issues between what might exist in either document. They need to co-exist side by side, each covering a different country of stuff.

 

Are you kidding? 

Have you any idea of how many US expats have shifted here and no longer have a USA address? 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Are you kidding? 

Have you any idea of how many US expats have shifted here and no longer have a USA address? 

 

What's that got to do with having a U.S. will in place BEFORE one relocates to Thailand? Nothing AFAIK.

 

But, regarding wills, from what I understand from lawyers, if one has ALREADY relocated abroad and wants to execute a U.S. will because you didn't already have one, you would do so based on the laws of the state where you last lived prior to relocating.

 

For a will, you don't need a current specific address. You just need to have your will comply with the state law where one's current address is or where you last U.S. address was.

 

But on the broader point, there are LOTS of reasons for an expat to keep some kind of residence address back in the home country, even if it's only a mail address.

[Boon Mee]

Please enumerate why an expat needs a foreign address. 

Does not make any sense to do so. 

[yankyoakum]

Thanks to everyone for the responses, I will move the recommended links to the retire Thailand folder.

Glad I had the courage to finally ask. 

Right now only question in the front of que is should I maintain a presence in US, IE transfer drivers license to sons house and keep a PO box for snail mail? I'm on the fence on US PO box, that could be waste as 99.9% of what we get are all junk mail. But would keep family from having to deal with it.

Schwab guy said to keep a Texas address or I would have to change to different international account.

I will research and see but any thoughts on direction are appreciated.

 

Regards

yankee

 

[Pib]

22 minutes ago, yankyoakum said:

Thanks to everyone for the responses, I will move the recommended links to the retire Thailand folder.

Glad I had the courage to finally ask. 

Right now only question in the front of que is should I maintain a presence in US, IE transfer drivers license to sons house and keep a PO box for snail mail? I'm on the fence on US PO box, that could be waste as 99.9% of what we get are all junk mail. But would keep family from having to deal with it.

Schwab guy said to keep a Texas address or I would have to change to different international account.

I will research and see but any thoughts on direction are appreciated.

 

Regards

yankee

 

Yes, keep a U.S. presence/address also!   And try to avoid a P.O. box address because for new financial account openings P.O. boxes are usually not acceptable as a "residential address," which is critical for financial account opening.  But a P.O. box will be accepted as a "mailing address" on the account.  A residential address needs to be a street/building address which does not use P.O. box...people don't physically live in a P.O. box...they live at an actual residential address such as 123 Elm St.

Edited July 14, 2018 by Pib

[lopburi3]

28 minutes ago, yankyoakum said:

Thanks to everyone for the responses, I will move the recommended links to the retire Thailand folder.

Glad I had the courage to finally ask. 

Right now only question in the front of que is should I maintain a presence in US, IE transfer drivers license to sons house and keep a PO box for snail mail? I'm on the fence on US PO box, that could be waste as 99.9% of what we get are all junk mail. But would keep family from having to deal with it.

Schwab guy said to keep a Texas address or I would have to change to different international account.

I will research and see but any thoughts on direction are appreciated.

 

Regards

yankee

 

Keep your DL and change address to son would be my advice.  Most junk mail will disappear once you leave and they can easily sort bank cards or the like and send onward to you.

[Boon Mee]

7 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Keep your DL and change address to son would be my advice.  Most junk mail will disappear once you leave and they can easily sort bank cards or the like and send onward to you.

Junk mail seldom follows you to a foreign address. 

[Pib]

35 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Please enumerate why an expat needs a foreign address. 

Does not make any sense to do so. 

If you are going to live in Thailand you are going to have a foreign address...and that foreign address is going to be used for any Thai bank accounts you open, Thai drivers license, etc....your home country address is not going to be used.  No, you do not have to tell anyone back in the home country that foreign address like your home country bank, but you are going to need a foreign address for various things if living in that foreign country.

 

Many expats who leave the home country do not have family or friends who may let them use their address....or own/rent property in the home country which they could use as an address after they leave....and maintaining a commercial mail address/mail drop (i.e., gives you a street address although it's nothing more than a building a company operates its mail drop business out of) cost money....and such mail drop street addresses are sometimes discovered during new U.S. financial account opening attempts which stops/delays the account opening until you can prove your address.   Some expats just end-up no longer having a prove-able home country address and only have their foreign address.

 

 

[BobTH]

A mail drop is one thing but potentially a driving license could be a problem. At least in my home state you have to be a resident to have one technically. And it could be tied to them saying if you have a driving license and claim you are a resident, why are you not paying state or local income taxes. Another is Obama care and also jury duty. Just a few things to think about, thinking out loud. I believe it was stated earlier that the OP is from a state that does not have state taxes, but for other thread readers it could come into play. With the present health care set up in the US, if you live in a foreign country you have to state how many months a year you live abroad and can be penalized for the months you don't, if you do not have a US policy of some sort. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

59 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Keep your DL and change address to son would be my advice.  Most junk mail will disappear once you leave and they can easily sort bank cards or the like and send onward to you.

 

Definitely keep a U.S. address. How you handle the mail depends on whether you think your son can and would handle any needed forwarding for you, or, get a mail forwarding service like USA2Me in Houston instead if you want to absolve him of that task.

 

Just as an example, with USA2Me, you can pay them $10 a month and they'll give you a Houston address that's a real street address, not a PO Box. Perfectly acceptable for all banking and financial purposes, tax returns, etc etc. With that address, you also get a log-in to their website, which will notify you by email any time any letter arrives addressed to you.

 

From their website, you'll get a photo of the front of the envelope showing you the addressee and sender info on the outside of the envelope. You can then choose, via the website, to have them trash it for you or keep it in your inbox with them awaiting a future mailing.  They'll also scan the contents of any letter and email you with a PDF file of the scanned contents for $3 per envelope

 

And/or, later at a time of your choosing, you go back to the website, select whatever items have accumulated that you want forwarded, and they'll put them all into a single envelope and mail them to you in Thailand. And for each mailing, you'll have several choices of different mail delivery methods and couriers like FedEx, DHL, etc.  Usually for my mail forwarding, the grouped envelope of maybe 10-15 letters costs about $35 to send via their service, typically the best deal and price being FedEx 3-4 day international economy.

 

There are a number of other companies that provide comparable remailing services for expats. But I'm mentioning USA2Me because they're very reliable and provide good service, I've used them for years and am very familiar with them, and they're located in Houston, so your address with them I'm assuming would be the same area and city as where you currently live.

 

As for the need, lots of bank statements and such these days can be had via online banking and printing out PDF files. But I find the things I actually use the remailing service for are: getting new and replacement bank credit and debit cards, getting original copies of my pension benefit statement that I use with Thai Immigration as backup for my pension income affidavit, renewals of my US DL every few years, things family members/relatives want to send me via mail, so they dont have to mess with international mailing themselves, and so on...

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

44 minutes ago, BobTH said:

A mail drop is one thing but potentially a driving license could be a problem. At least in my home state you have to be a resident to have one technically. And it could be tied to them saying if you have a driving license and claim you are a resident, why are you not paying state or local income taxes. Another is Obama care and also jury duty. Just a few things to think about, thinking out loud. I believe it was stated earlier that the OP is from a state that does not have state taxes, but for other thread readers it could come into play. With the present health care set up in the US, if you live in a foreign country you have to state how many months a year you live abroad and can be penalized for the months you don't, if you do not have a US policy of some sort. 

 

For the OP, he's said he lives in Texas, which has no state income tax. So that should be non issue for the OP.

 

As a result of my TX address, I've been summoned for jury duty in the past once in many years. I called the phone number on the jury summons, explained I was out of the state at present, and they cancelled the summons, and I haven't heard from them since.

 

As for ACA, maintaining a U.S. mailing address doesn't have any correlation to the periods of time during a calendar year when you PHYSICALLY are or aren't in the U.S.  Someone living full-time in Thailand would have zero issues meeting the physical presence outside the U.S. test to avoid any ACA penalty, regardless of whether or not they maintained a U.S. mailing address.

 

As for DL, obviously, the best thing for the OP is if he could arrange to have as many years remaining on his TX DL as possible at the time he relocates. I don't know if they'll allow early renewals or what happens, let's say, if he was changing his address or maybe lost his physical DL card.

 

But either/anyway, as best as I recall, TX should allow at least one renewal for someone with an existing DL without having to physically show up at the TX DMV.  But the OP should be more knowledgeable about those kinds of details than me, especially re TX DL renewals.

 

Edited July 14, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

BTW, another thing to consider depending on what kind of med insurance the OP and his wife have back in the U.S.

 

Is, if he thinks such things will be covered by the couple's U.S. insurance in the U.S., is to schedule a doctor visit with their GP doctors and check their medical records to make sure they're up to date on all appropriate necessary vaccinations, like smallpox, tetanus, diptheria, I think Hep A and B, etc, there are a handful of standard things that need to be updated every few years.  Also for senior citizens, consideration of the vaccine against shingles.

 

If possible, better to get all those done in the U.S. under U.S. health insurance vs. coming to Thailand and paying out of pocket, either because they're not having local health insurance (not advised), or because they have a Thai policy that almost certainly will not cover routine checkups and vaccinations.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, yankyoakum said:

Right now only question in the front of que is should I maintain a presence in US, IE transfer drivers license to sons house and keep a PO box for snail mail? I'm on the fence on US PO box, that could be waste as 99.9% of what we get are all junk mail. But would keep family from having to deal with it.
 

Schwab guy said to keep a Texas address or I would have to change to different international account.

 

 

Ideally, if possible, you want to have the address on your U.S. driver's license match the address you're using for any U.S. financial activities.  If you ever need to open any new U.S. accounts, they're often going to ask you to provide your address AND your DL number, so they should match.  BTW, AFAIK, once you already have a TX DL, you ought to be able to do an address change on the DL either to your son's home OR to an address provided by USA2Me.

 

[yankyoakum]

7 hours ago, NancyL said:

I see where the OP mentions he and his Thai bride have been married since 1976 and she plans to bring ALL their possessions here.  Really?  Hubby and I also married in 1976 and the last thing we wanted to do was bring 30 years of stuff with us when we came here 10 years ago.  The furniture would have looked stupid and dated in a Thai home or condo.  In retrospect, I wish we could have brought the Corningware and Pyrex cookware items.  They don't make it like that any more, but we didn't have the luxury of duty-free importing.  But, seriously, EVERY possession?  Part of the fun of getting settled is buying new stuff.

Sorry misspoke ALL her possessions,  in 1983 during water festival we purchased a full set of hand carved teakwood furniture, 4 chairs, couch, coffee table, end tables and an elephant chair I demanded we buy. All had the correct documents to export to USA... legal teak. Got this in Chiang Mai, 1000USD and 1700 more to send it home.  Here boys don't want it and not giving it away...Singapore 1996 she finally got the dining room set she dreamed of, and by god its coming!!!.....Daddies tools and ladders, 3 bedrooms and an electric disability scooter that will have 4 wheel drive. Cast iron outdoor furniture, my egg BBQ pit. Gas Grill she wants to keep. We can fight about clothes, hundreds of dresses that fit a 90 lb pu-ying that don't fit a 125 lb pu-ying. And I bet some of the kitchen stuff as well as assorted antiques will make the container. Does Chiang Mai have a U-Store -It place thats secure??? I understand the voltage deal and also know they have a 220V store here that sells major appliances. I will get a transformer and thanks about the food processor comment there Tall one. It will make the trip as well as her mixer.

And I am still reading and making notes.... appreciate everyones time and feedback..

Onward through the weeds an bushes......

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Another item that, surprisingly, I don't think has yet been mentioned here -- keeping access to a U.S. phone and phone number in Thailand.

 

Why is that something you would need?  Many reasons, among them:

 

1. These days, a lot of banks and other financial institutions require second factor authentication for account log-ins online that often will involve them sending a code or making a voice call to your U.S. mobile number, because, they assume all U.S. account holders these days are going to have a U.S. mobile phone (though sometimes an emailed code also is available, but not always).

 

2. For any activities you might be conducting where you WANT to be seen as being in the U.S., having a U.S. phone number to give as your contact point is valuable.

 

3. If you have family/friends in the U.S. who may want to contact you, or you want to contact them, being able to make a U.S. to U.S. call these days is almost always going to be a free call, as opposed to using a Thai mobile or landline to make the U.S. call where it's going to be considerably more expensive.

 

So how to accomplish this? Well, for most folks who have relocated full time to Thailand, it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to pay $30-$50 a month to keep a traditional postpaid U.S. mobile phone service, and then still have to deal with international roaming charges and other stuff. But there are better alternatives.

 

1. One of my favorites right now is an Android app called TextNow, which is 100% free once you set it up online and gives you a real U.S. phone number that can make and receive pretty much unlimited voice calls, and make and receive SMS messages to/from other U.S. numbers. In my experience, it also works for receiving bank SMS codes. All you need to use it is an Android phone and some kind of local data connection, wifi or mobile data. TextNow also has apps for Apple and Windows PC use.

 

2. There's a service called MagicJack where, for an annual fee of about $35, they'll provide you with a real U.S. phone number and access to their mobile apps for Android or IOS/Apple that also can send and receive SMS messages. Again, pretty much unlimited calling to and from the U.S.  As part of their service, you need to make a one time $35-$40 purchase of a dongle (that includes either a few months or one year of their service) that either connects to your wifi router or a USB plug on your PC and then allows you to plug in any regular house phone that will then work with the MJ service. Just like your house phone in Texas, except, the call data is going over the Internet. As I said, the annual service renewals after the initial dongle purchase and service period are about $35-$38 per year. The house phone you plug into the MJ dongle can make and receive U.S. phone calls only. But the MagicJack app on your smartphone can make and receive calls AND send and receive SMS messages, all for free with no minute or per SMS fees.

 

3. If you're tech inclined at all, using the free Google Voice app on your Android phone is another great free way to receive U.S. SMS messages in Thailand, including from most banks, although a few don't seem to work with GV such as Wells Fargo. To set up GV initially, you do have to link it to some kind of U.S. mobile number to receive an authentication code, but after that, you probably don't need that mobile number anymore for GV purposes. And I'm pretty sure either a TextNow or MagicJack number would suffice for using to set up a GV account, though that's something you'd definitely want to do while still in the U.S., because GV I believe technically is supposed to be only a U.S. accounts service. It also is possible to also make U.S. phone calls with Google Voice, but that's a bit more complicated.

 

4. FreedomPop is another option, which is a small mobile provider in the U.S. that offers free mobile service over AT&T's GSM network. Now, you can't actually use mobile data in Thailand with FP because they don't have any roaming in TH. But, once you have their SIM in an Android phone, you can use their mobile app and your house wifi under their FREE/Basic plan that provides 200 minutes of U.S. calling and 500 U.S. text messages per month. They also have a free add-on option that enables 100 minutes of foreign calling within Thailand per month.

 

The downside with FP,  and why you'd see online that they get a lot of bad review, is they have pretty horrible customer service AND when you set up an account online with them, they're doing various things to try to upsell you for extra PAID services they offer. But if you pay attention, just stick to the Basic/Free Plan and cancel any free trials of paid services they offer, it's an almost free mobile phone service on an ongoing basis, again with your own real U.S. number that you can select at setup. The only reason I say almost is you need to keep a small balance of a few dollars on your account, which you should never have to spent, and then periodically, FP will charge 1 cent against your debit card just to verify that it's still a valid payment method should you ever incur charges.

 

5. There's also a T-Mobile prepaid option to keep a valid T-Mobile number that costs only $3 per month, but it's really only suited for people who would want to use that T-Mobile number when they're back in the U.S. for travel. It really doesn't serve any good purpose for using in Thailand because, under T-Mobile's roaming rules, calls to your TM in Thailand would cost like $2.50 per minute and they also charge some small money for each incoming our outgoing SMS. As I said, that plan is really only a kind of placeholder for people who was to reactivate a TM number once they're back in the U.S. for whatever reasons.

 

There are other options and services out there that work in similar ways. For me, over time, I've found that I like the TextNow app for unlimited U.S. voice calling -- the call and voice quality is excellent over my house wifi, and using Google Voice on my smartphone to receive U.S. SMS messages, although TextNow, MagicJack, and FreedomPop will all also work for that purpose if GV does not for some reason.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

14 minutes ago, yankyoakum said:

Sorry misspoke ALL her possessions,  in 1983 during water festival we purchased a full set of hand carved teakwood furniture, 4 chairs, couch, coffee table, end tables and an elephant chair I demanded we buy. All had the correct documents to export to USA... legal teak. Got this in Chiang Mai, 1000USD and 1700 more to send it home.  Here boys don't want it and not giving it away...Singapore 1996 she finally got the dining room set she dreamed of, and by god its coming!!!.....Daddies tools and ladders, 3 bedrooms and an electric disability scooter that will have 4 wheel drive. Cast iron outdoor furniture, my egg BBQ pit. Gas Grill she wants to keep. We can fight about clothes, hundreds of dresses that fit a 90 lb pu-ying that don't fit a 125 lb pu-ying. And I bet some of the kitchen stuff as well as assorted antiques will make the container. Does Chiang Mai have a U-Store -It place thats secure??? I understand the voltage deal and also know they have a 220V store here that sells major appliances. I will get a transformer and thanks about the food processor comment there Tall one. It will make the trip as well as her mixer.

And I am still reading and making notes.... appreciate everyones time and feedback..

Onward through the weeds an bushes......

 

 

WOW.... 

 

All I can say is, there was a thread here recently where a guy was describing the process to return household goods to Thailand after his Thai wife had been working abroad for some years. And the shippers assured him everything would be fine for their things coming back. But after reaching Thai Customs, there were all kinds of problems. And part of it had to do with a lot of very specific paperwork that had to be completed in a certain way to get Customs off their back. And apparently their UK based shipper wasn't very much in tune about what exactly was needed.

 

As best as I recall, I thought the upshot was the Thai wife had to have been WORKING abroad for a certain period in order to qualify for the Customs exemption on returning household goods. I'm not sure that same exemption was going to apply if the Thai wife was just abroad, but not working...

 

I'll try to see if I can find that thread and post a link here....

 

In my own past experience, I'll simply add that I think it can make a huge difference, especially if you're trying to return a lot of goods, WHAT shipper you choose for the job. I chose a Thai expat company in the U.S. that obviously had a ton of specialized experience in doing relocations from the U.S. to Thailand, and had their own staff on the ground in BKK to handle this end of things upon arrival.

 

In your case, I'd thinking finding an outfit that is very well versed in dealing with Thai Customs at this end would be a huge benefit.

 

 

 

Edited July 14, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Here's the UK relocation related thread I was thinking of above, that references the requirements for Thai nationals living abroad to be able to return household goods without Customs charges.

 

'

And see the OP's subsequent posts in that thread explaining just what final info he finally received from Thai Customs about just what was required to have a duty free return of goods by his Thai wife....

 

 

Edited July 14, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[JLCrab]

11 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

This is Thailand. I'd feel uncomfortable rolling into Swampy with that kind of cash on my person. And for that matter, I'd feel uncomfortable rolling into the U.S. with that kind of cash on my person.

Why would anyone suspect that you have that kind of cash on you? But it was more a note of levity. Relax.