7 minutes ago, soistalker said:

I used to drive my 944 to Malibu all the time. Good memories.

Add to what the OP wrote is that Thais get greedier, more aggressive, and unkind every year constantly since 2000 when I first stating coming. 

I live in Pattaya. I used to go up to Bangkok for a few days, but now, everyone is overcharging, hotels in the upper mid-range have rude staff and poor facilities, and taking a tuktuk means that you have to negotiate hard, and then you get the driver talking shit to you in thai the whole trip.

It's not really the Land of Smiles anymore, is it?

 

I think 'Land of Smiles' was a great marketing ploy, but very far from reality.

 

That event with the gal and the chinese tourist bus kinda said it all!

1 hour ago, justin case said:

any EUROPEAN country

I do love a broad brush in the morning.

31 minutes ago, soistalker said:

I used to drive my 944 to Malibu all the time. Good memories.

Add to what the OP wrote is that Thais get greedier, more aggressive, and unkind every year constantly since 2000 when I first stating coming. 

I live in Pattaya. I used to go up to Bangkok for a few days, but now, everyone is overcharging, hotels in the upper mid-range have rude staff and poor facilities, and taking a tuktuk means that you have to negotiate hard, and then you get the driver talking shit to you in thai the whole trip.

It's not really the Land of Smiles anymore, is it?

 

Certainly isn't for you any more.

27 minutes ago, Pravda said:

Lol at comparing London with some hellhole shack in isaan

...with covered parking for my Porche.

 

Go on... eat your (bitter) heart out.

19 hours ago, Pravda said:

Visa issues even if you are married.  Yes, I am talking about the hassle of even 1 year marriage extension.

You say the above as if it would be natural to expect the process to be easier if you are married....while it is commonly accepted that is a "lot more" hassle getting it that way than the 800,000 Bt. way.

   You say you have lots (money), why not just do it the latter way?

4 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

You say you have lots (money), why not just do it the latter way?

Because he's...

19 hours ago, Pravda said:

Not at the age of retirement yet.

 

5 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

You say the above as if it would be natural to expect the process to be easier if you are married....while it is commonly accepted that is a "lot more" hassle getting it that way than the 800,000 Bt. way.

   You say you have lots (money), why not just do it the latter way?

 

I'm 45

19 hours ago, Pravda said:

Thailand - just a bad value for money overall.

hmmmm, that is an interesting point of view .....
any suggestions where we should go instead ?
 

Looking at the OP's gripes in descending order of importance, he has plenty of money and an unhelpful, possibly ungrateful spouse. All the subsequent whining about the cost of living, food, climate, etc., is his way of ignoring the fact that that he is solely responsible for his life choices and as far as we can tell, nobody ever held or is still holding a gun to his head about pitching his tent in LOS.

1 minute ago, NanLaew said:

Looking at the OP's gripes in descending order of importance, he has plenty of money and an unhelpful, possibly ungrateful spouse. All the subsequent whining about the cost of living, food, climate, etc., is his way of ignoring the fact that that he is solely responsible for his life choices and as far as we can tell, nobody ever held or is still holding a gun to his head about pitching his tent in LOS.

 

 

My spouse is not ungrateful. Because she doesn't want to go to immigration with me? She has a very important job at the international company and even 1 missed day could cause a lot of issues for her and others.

 

I feel like I'm kinda stuck in Thailand because there would be no same opportunity for her back home.

The major problem you have is that you think Bangkok represents the rest of Thailand.  

1 minute ago, kensisaket said:

The major problem you have is that you think Bangkok represents the rest of Thailand.  

That simply must be the most diplomatic way I have ever seen anyone on TV suggesting that someone 'needs to get out more.'

I can't agree that 'Thailand is bad value for money overall', which is the OP's summary/conclusion to the post. Yes, it's more expensive pro rata than 20 years ago, but for many there is still plenty of value.

The 'I made a load of cash' in a relatively short amount of time, I would hope , on reflection; the OP will appreciate that this approach rubs many up the wrong way and is counterintuitive.

Shame really.....

20 hours ago, Pravda said:

Healthcare is a crapshoot and is definitely overpriced for what you get. This, I assume doesn't apply to Americans, but not everyone is unlucky here to be born there,

Huh... 

4 minutes ago, Pravda said:

 

 

My spouse is not ungrateful. Because she doesn't want to go to immigration with me? She has a very important job at the international company and even 1 missed day could cause a lot of issues for her and others.

 

I feel like I'm kinda stuck in Thailand because there would be no same opportunity for her back home.

OK, she's simply being unhelpful.

 

If she doesn't see any personal, relational importance or significance in finding a mutually agreeable and viable workaround that allows just one day away from her very important job to accommodate the needs of her obviously not so very important foreign husband... she's ungrateful.

 

Maybe you're a Trophy farang? I've been told they do exist.

17 hours ago, Pravda said:

 

No visa issues for retirees? Kinda hard to swallow that one (forgive the pun) as there is a whinging thread every day about retirement visa hassles. You have 800k? You are hassled every year. You want to stay? Report your behind every 3 months. You want to use your friends toilet in another city? Please report yourself to the nearest police station.

 

Of course it's a hassle. Even the Elite visa doesn't spare you from this.

 

EDIT:

 

Let's not forget the income verification fiasco which saw half of Thai Visa posters move to Cambodia.????

For the Love of God, just go then !!!

Hmmm..... Thailand has never represented value for money. Only people thinking with the little head believe this to be true.

Well if yiu don't like pack up and move....  I don’t like Bangkok

or for that fact o don’t like most big cities,....that’s why I’m in

the countryside....

 

if you stayed in Thailand would anything make you happy? If nothing get up and go.

Not sure $500K puts one in a bracket where the options broaden out that much. Even half-a-mill requires careful husbandry in Thailand. Where does the OP have in mind?

19 hours ago, Skallywag said:

I want to know how you turned 100K into 500K in 5 years.  That is the TV post I want to read about.  ????????????

 

 

First, you have to have the $100k.

1 hour ago, justin case said:

1 hour ago, ThaiBunny said:

For which country?

any EUROPEAN country

Fastest options to establish residency in the EU that I know of are :
 E-Estonia and Cyprus (remember how many investors lost (one of) their shirts when Cyprus confiscated their deposits ?) 

E-Estonia: a couple of months and subject to security and criminal background checks.

Estonia E-Residency
As of June 2018, over 41,000 people from over 160 countries have applied for e-Residency - and over 39,000 of them have already received their digital ID cards. A whopping 3,977 of them have established a new company in Estonia, and there are more than 5,900 Estonian companies in total that have at least one e-Resident owner or board member.
the small print:   your Estonian e-Residency card is not a physical ID card, and it can't be used as a travel document. It also doesn't grant you citizenship, tax residency, residence permit of rights, or entry into Estonia or the rest of the European Union.

 

But for people that want to live somewhere :: 

(1) Estonia
Non-EU/EEA citizens

You can apply for a long-term residence permit if you have resided in Estonia for 5 yearsvon the basis of temporary residence permit directly before submitting an application for long-term residence permit.

(2) Spain:

To start of, as usual, we need to distinguish between EU and non-EU citizens. As a brief overview:

• Non-EU citizens: Once you have legally lived in Spain for five uninterrupted years, non-EU nationals can apply for an ‘EU long-term residence permit’. A long-term residence permit allows you to stay in Spain indefinitely, working or otherwise, under the same conditions as Spanish citizens.
• 
  (3) Netherlands

You can apply for a permanent residence permit or Dutch citizenship after five years of uninterrupted legal stay in the Netherlands based on EU law or national law.

(4) Cyprus
Non-EU nationals
The most direct route for obtaining permanent residency status for non-EU nationals is investment in Cyprus. Since 2009, non-EU citizens can be eligible for permanent residency if they buy property worth no less than €300,000 and have an annual income not under €30,000. This has attracted quite a bit of Chinese investment and interest in the last year or so, as we have reported.
Businesspeople can also be eligible for resident status and citizenship by investing a specified sum in entrepreneurial activities or existing companies. It is worth mentioning that in this instance, the amounts involved would stretch into the millions, so it isn’t a viable option for everyone.



 

15 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

OK, she's simply being unhelpful.

 

If she doesn't see any personal, relational importance or significance in finding a mutually agreeable and viable workaround that allows just one day away from her very important job to accommodate the needs of her obviously not so very important foreign husband... she's ungrateful.

 

Maybe you're a Trophy farang? I've been told they do exist.

 

It's really not a big deal to me. There are other things annoying about her, but her realizing that Thai immigration is stuck in the middle ages where they expect women to feed cows and take pictures in front of the bed is not bothering me at all. Good on her, I say. 

So LEAVE if you so miserable in Thailand.

Sincere advice......best you go home and whinge about pricing, standards, food , medical etc there.

20 hours ago, Skallywag said:

I want to know how you turned 100K into 500K in 5 years.  That is the TV post I want to read about.  ????????????

 

 

Misprint.   It really was turned 100m into 500k in 5 years .   Now that many here can relate to (if not admit)

"Bangkok is very dirty. Sure, this is a hot climate, but very little effort is made to keep the city clean."

 

Nonsense. Im on lower sukhumvit and you wont even see a cigarette but

43 minutes ago, bbbbooboo said:

Hmmm..... Thailand has never represented value for money. Only people thinking with the little head believe this to be true.

Many here would disagree.   But you are entitled to your opinion.  I am very pleased with my lifestyle which is probably 5 times cheaper than if I was in the US.  

1 hour ago, GinBoy2 said:

I think 'Land of Smiles' was a great marketing ploy, but very far from reality.

and the trip from Pattaya to Bkk is a far cry from the reality of what is Thailand

Piss funny is this thread, thanks OP for being a dart board.

1 hour ago, Pravda said:

 

 

My spouse is not ungrateful. Because she doesn't want to go to immigration with me? She has a very important job at the international company and even 1 missed day could cause a lot of issues for her and others.

 

I feel like I'm kinda stuck in Thailand because there would be no same opportunity for her back home.

sounds like you're stuck between a  lock and a hard prace