Where can I go?

[madmen]

22 minutes ago, Thailand Outcast said:

But those 20 posters represent the circumstances of 1000's of people. Correct? 

Your minds made up so pointless debating it. You have to go you got no choice so better get back to hunting for a home 

[madmen]

On 2/17/2019 at 8:53 PM, BritManToo said:

There is no law about being deported if caught with a hooker.

But you will be deported if you are working as a hooker.

Entry into the Philippines will be denied for those believed to arriving for the purpose of getting prostitutes or showing "disrespect" to any government official or employee. 

Edited February 22, 2019 by blackcab
Formatting removed

[SteveK]

On 2/17/2019 at 9:12 PM, madmen said:

Entry into the Philippines will be denied for those believed to arriving for the purpose of getting prostitutes or showing "disrespect" to any government official or employee. 

So don't turn up with a suitcase full of rubber jonnies and viagra then.

[WyrldTraveler]

2 minutes ago, pr9spk said:

It's disheartening to hear of so many people leaving, either because they can't deposit the money or they just don't agree with it in principle. Do you think that the government (or military, whatever) is doing this purposefully to get foreigners to leave, or are they just doing it to protect the country and it's citizens, by keeping 'undesirables' out?

 

If the motive for complicating visa issues for long-stay foreigners is xenophobia, that could be extremely concerning.

In any large bureaucracy, some policy is poorly thought-out and shoved down the throats of underlings, who must enforce something at the expense of their careers.  It happens everywhere, not just in LOS.

 

Some people have made poor lifestyle and investment choices.  Others are looking for an excuse (any excuse) to leave and this is convenient for them.  If one really wants to stay, they will find a way.  The rest are simply not motivated.

 

As far as xenophobia is concerned, there may be a hidden agenda; perhaps this is a ploy to drive out those who are eyesores and irritants to local Thais.  Maybe this is a strategy to motivate SOME expats to leave.  It could be designed to get people all flustered about immigration while they really only want to throw a proverbial bone to the banks.  It might have nothing to do with you at all.

[madmen]

5 minutes ago, pr9spk said:

So don't turn up with a suitcase full of rubber jonnies and viagra then.

Am I missing something here ? why ELSE would anyone go there lol

[Thailand Outcast]

27 minutes ago, brokenbone said:

Nha Trang in vietnam for me, 0.5 million big at the beach,

i just need to recover some more to make the trip

What does 0.5 million big at the beach mean?

[Thailand Outcast]

25 minutes ago, WyrldTraveler said:

Your home country would be happy to have you back; they will make all of your decisions for you.  And take all of your resources in exchange.  "Narrow... for me please", really?

 

There are specialized search engines that work well, but aren't Gooogle.  PM for details.

I do not have to return to my country.  I am financially comfortable and in good health.  Some of my investments are offshore in low tax environments.  My country gets some property taxes from me, but that is about all. 

 

I just chose not to have the Thai immigration department dictate to me what I must do with my finances.  I know Agoda and all of those websites.  I was looking for long term rental apartments outside of the tourist and hotel areas.  That is the narrowing that would help me, if you can. No need to be private PM.    

[kuma]

On 2/16/2019 at 12:17 PM, Olmate said:

Laos and  Myanmar are rarely mentioned?

Very much enjoyed Yangon, but its been about five years - and Vientianne over a decade.

Not sure why they are not mentioned - do they have restrictive Visa rules...

[Thailand Outcast]

1 hour ago, pr9spk said:

It's disheartening to hear of so many people leaving, either because they can't deposit the money or they just don't agree with it in principle. Do you think that the government (or military, whatever) is doing this purposefully to get foreigners to leave, or are they just doing it to protect the country and it's citizens, by keeping 'undesirables' out?

 

If the motive for complicating visa issues for long-stay foreigners is xenophobia, that could be extremely concerning.

For those remaining, In some cases it it will be disheartening when some businesses close down. I am one of the people choosing to leave on principle.  I think it is concerning that some people will be going into debt to raise the money, or being forced into making bad financial decisions, just to get the visa.  

 

I don't think it's about keeping undesirables out because an undesirable can buy an Elite Card tomorrow.  I think it's all about capitalizing the banks and boosting the Thai economy prior to an election, and making it look like they are tough on bad foreigners.  It could back fire causing a huge spike in over stayers who then just live here for free with no obligations to meet.  They have nothing to lose. If they get caught, they just go to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines or other places, like they were being forced to anyway. 

Edited February 17, 2019 by Thailand Outcast

[Thailand Outcast]

51 minutes ago, madmen said:

Your minds made up so pointless debating it. You have to go you got no choice so better get back to hunting for a home 

Yes, my mind is made up.  I will not pay the visa ransom money demanded of me.  That is what this thread is about.  Getting some suggestions for relocation.  Maybe the realization has not hit for many, and they are still trying to find ways around things, and probably selling things in their country, or borrowing money.  At some stage they will have to face the inevitable.  They will have to leave. 

 

Easier I plan my exit,  I sell my motorbike and other larger items, and give to some poor people the rest, and leave to start again in a new country.  I will come back to Thailand on tourist visas in the future, if they do not stop people like me doing that.   

Edited February 17, 2019 by Thailand Outcast

[brokenbone]

42 minutes ago, Thailand Outcast said:

What does 0.5 million big at the beach mean?

the city is 0.5 million, so not too hard to navigate,

but large enough to hopefully ensure good food of various kinds. being located at sea means more even temperature, -no spikes either way

Edited February 17, 2019 by brokenbone

[geisha]

If you re in a hurry, just go to Siem Reap, cambodia, or Vietnam for a few months and see how it goes. Even Bali, a  cheap condo with   a nice pool ? Then you have time to check it out, and see if you like it. How can you tell before hand if you don’t try ? 

[SteveK]

47 minutes ago, Thailand Outcast said:

 I think it is concerning that some people will be going into debt to raise the money.

 

Any ex-pats who cannot even get hold of 800k, quite frankly should not be retired and need to go back to work. Maybe they have the funds but they are tied up in investments? I don't know. But by Western standards we are not talking about a huge sum of money. If you are retired and going into debt to meet the financial requirements of what is basically a third-world country, then I hate to say this but you did not plan your retirement properly, if at all.

 

I fully understand why people may object to it on principle and want to leave. For me, I would be concerned that this is only the first in a series of changes that could take place over the next few years to make things harder and harder for ex-pats because of xenophobia.

 

Jumping through so many hoops to live in a country which is doing everything it can to get rid of you seems a bit weird, but I can fully understand that people who have family here and can't find that kind of money must be in a really difficult situation. I'm sure there are lots of ex-pats bringing a huge amount of money into the country, particularly those who may be supporting their wife's family etc, so it may be a case of the country cutting off their nose to spite their face.

Edited February 17, 2019 by pr9spk

[Thailand Outcast]

9 minutes ago, geisha said:

If you re in a hurry, just go to Siem Reap, cambodia, or Vietnam for a few months and see how it goes. Even Bali, a  cheap condo with   a nice pool ? Then you have time to check it out, and see if you like it. How can you tell before hand if you don’t try ? 

I am not in hurry.  This is to my advantage.  I have time to analyse the new rules and I can see right through them. I made a decision not to comply with the new rules. 

 

I can plan my exit without any hurry.  I feel sorry for those people given very short notice.  I will leave Thailand with all affairs in order and I am now getting excited about exploring some new destinations. 

[madmen]

1 hour ago, Thailand Outcast said:

I thought engaging with a prostitute was a criminal offense in Thailand, and if you were caught, you were charged, and when charged, you were found guilty, and then because you have criminal record in Thailand, you were deported.  

 

I could sell off some things and make it happen, but no way I would sell off any of the property attached to the portfolio, just for this.  I just don't want to be forced into injecting cash into the Thai banking system, and that's what they are doing.  Using foreigners to capitalize their banks.  I say now to be clear.  I am not complaining I have to leave.  I am prepared to leave and will not bend to their demands. I do not stand on any moral or ethical high ground with this way.  Everyone is different.  I just don't like how they are trying to manipulate my personal finances.

 

To be funny, I have a credit card with a limit more than 800k.   I could even deposit the 800k with my credit card.  I don't say this to tell everyone I am rich.  I say this because not everyone choosing to leave is poor or can't afford to live here anymore. Of course, many will leave because of money problems.

 

One person talked about the property market.  Another thing will be be overstaying people.  They will probably go up 500%.  That's a lot of resources used up catching them, or the numbers are so big they give up. Then those people live here under no rules, and should they ever get caught, they get deported and go to a country they were being forced to go to anyway.  

"To be funny, I have a credit card with a limit more than 800k.   I could even deposit the 800k with my credit card.  I don't say this to tell everyone I am rich."

 

Nobody's listening to you. Its an anonymous forum so talking wealth up is meaningless and thats why nobody does it

 

 so far most are saying "I have the the 800k but Im leaving anyway" And they say only thais like to save face ????

[lamyai3]

16 hours ago, White Christmas13 said:

Thanks for pointing that out I knew that that's why I attached about religion in Bali

Similar signs to this one are at temples all over India, it just underscores that it's predominantly Hindu. Bali is quite tolerant about many things, and as a tourist destination, nightlife is typically much more liberated than you'd find in India. Certain things (like drugs) though are a definite no-no there. 

[lamyai3]

14 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Saint Tropez

Used to be cheap, before it got popularised by Brigitte Bardot and the other riff-raff back in the 1950s. 

[lamyai3]

9 hours ago, BritManToo said:

But you will be deported if you are working as a hooker.

Thanks for the heads up, no more turning tricks for me. 

[BritManToo]

9 hours ago, madmen said:

Entry into the Philippines will be denied for those believed to arriving for the purpose of getting prostitutes or showing "disrespect" to any government official or employee. 

That wasn't what was written, try quoting the original text.

[Olmate]

11 hours ago, madmen said:

Entry into the Philippines will be denied for those believed to arriving for the purpose of getting prostitutes or showing "disrespect" to any government official or employee. 

He’s referring to Thai

[neeray]

On ‎2‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 6:58 AM, gusincebu said:

 

 

Are you sure you were in Bali ?
Although Indonesia is the largest Muslim populated country in the world ... Bali is predominantly ( almost totally ) Hindu .

Though, that Balinese music ( not Muslim ) that you hear at temples and cultural events etc ..is excruciatingly awful !

Sent from my SM-T535 using Tapatalk
 

 

Haha ..... I don't drink or do drugs. I am positive it was Bali, LOL.

But I stand corrected. Muslim music, Hindu music. All sounds the same to me. Excruciating !

 

[AAArdvark]

18 hours ago, yobosayo said:

In the Philippines Baguio city is in the mountains. Cool in the summer and very nice in the winter

And truly horrible traffic.

[AAArdvark]

11 hours ago, pr9spk said:

Any ex-pats who cannot even get hold of 800k, quite frankly should not be retired and need to go back to work. Maybe they have the funds but they are tied up in investments? I don't know. But by Western standards we are not talking about a huge sum of money. If you are retired and going into debt to meet the financial requirements of what is basically a third-world country, then I hate to say this but you did not plan your retirement properly, if at all.

 

I fully understand why people may object to it on principle and want to leave. For me, I would be concerned that this is only the first in a series of changes that could take place over the next few years to make things harder and harder for ex-pats because of xenophobia.

 

Jumping through so many hoops to live in a country which is doing everything it can to get rid of you seems a bit weird, but I can fully understand that people who have family here and can't find that kind of money must be in a really difficult situation. I'm sure there are lots of ex-pats bringing a huge amount of money into the country, particularly those who may be supporting their wife's family etc, so it may be a case of the country cutting off their nose to spite their face.

Don't forget that many of the people who are now at risk came to Thailand like 20 years ago.  So they are living on 20 year old pensions which they may have planed for but the exchange rate is half of what it was then and that would have been difficult to pan for.

[White Christmas13]

59 minutes ago, neeray said:

Haha ..... I don't drink or do drugs. I am positive it was Bali, LOL.

But I stand corrected. Muslim music, Hindu music. All sounds the same to me. Excruciating !

 

But Thai music is beautiful is it ?

[neeray]

2 minutes ago, White Christmas13 said:

But Thai music is beautiful is it ?

I wasn't talking about Thai music.

 

But now that you mention it, I have heard some Thai music that I enjoyed very much. Can't say the same about Hindu or Muslim.

[White Christmas13]

26 minutes ago, neeray said:

I wasn't talking about Thai music.

 

But now that you mention it, I have heard some Thai music that I enjoyed very much. Can't say the same about Hindu or Muslim.

I am not saying Thai music is bad it's just not my taste I prefer Chinese music

 

 

[lamyai3]

1 hour ago, White Christmas13 said:

I am not saying Thai music is bad it's just not my taste I prefer Chinese music

 

That's not Chinese music. Traditional instruments perhaps, but the girls are Singaporean and doing an instrumental cover of a western pop song. If you want to know if you like Chinese music, better to go and sit through a Peking opera. 

[White Christmas13]

3 minutes ago, lamyai3 said:

That's not Chinese music. Traditional instruments perhaps, but the girls are Singaporean and doing an instrumental cover of a western pop song. If you want to know if you like Chinese music, better to go and sit through a Peking opera. 

I have

[Thailand Outcast]

21 hours ago, madmen said:

"To be funny, I have a credit card with a limit more than 800k.   I could even deposit the 800k with my credit card.  I don't say this to tell everyone I am rich."

 

Nobody's listening to you. Its an anonymous forum so talking wealth up is meaningless and thats why nobody does it

 

 so far most are saying "I have the the 800k but Im leaving anyway" And they say only thais like to save face ????

Save face is Thai excuse to do crime.  Usually kill someone. 

 

I do not consider myself rich but say I can easily pay, but I chose not to.  I control my life, not Thai Immigration.  

 

If nobody is listening to me, what makes you think they are listening to you?  ????

[Thailand Outcast]

22 hours ago, WyrldTraveler said:

In any large bureaucracy, some policy is poorly thought-out and shoved down the throats of underlings, who must enforce something at the expense of their careers.  It happens everywhere, not just in LOS.

 

Some people have made poor lifestyle and investment choices.  Others are looking for an excuse (any excuse) to leave and this is convenient for them.  If one really wants to stay, they will find a way.  The rest are simply not motivated.

 

As far as xenophobia is concerned, there may be a hidden agenda; perhaps this is a ploy to drive out those who are eyesores and irritants to local Thais.  Maybe this is a strategy to motivate SOME expats to leave.  It could be designed to get people all flustered about immigration while they really only want to throw a proverbial bone to the banks.  It might have nothing to do with you at all.

This is the thing.  They do not say I am a poor man, a bad man, doing crime, working illegally, scamming people, overstaying.  No.  They simply say you must bring lump sum money and deposit into Thailand and let Thai bank system uses it for 5 months.  You are correct.  Nothing to do with me, and everything do do with propping up Thai bank system and Thai economy.  And the more Thai ecomomy sinks, the more they will look to foreigners to inject cash into the economy.