Pattaya Versus DaNang and the winner is?

[LongTimeLurker]

14 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

Very rarely. Pattaya is one of the driest parts of Thailand.

Wouldn't know it from all the flooding!

[LongTimeLurker]

14 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Who invaded the USA ?

Christopher Columbus?

 

The British?

 

The Mexicans?

 

ha ha. I meant before the US got involved!

Edited May 12, 2019 by LongTimeLurker

[KittenKong]

1 minute ago, LongTimeLurker said:

Wouldn't know it from all the flooding!

When it does rain here it can be torrential, and that produces flooding in some areas (the area around my condo never floods). But Pattaya is unlike many other parts of Thailand where frequent lighter rain can be quite common.

[LongTimeLurker]

22 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

If you want one. Even if you take it the total cost is below 6000B for an entire year of coming and going as you wish, and with the whole thing done in one visit to immigration at the beginning of the year. This seems pretty cheap and convenient to me compared to other countries.

You need one as you said you travel a lot.

 

Quote

 

No. Not interested in living with anyone at all regardless of what benefits it might bring me.

Then it probably makes sense for you, but at $10 for a 5 year visa for VN, it's much cheaper than Thailand for me!

Edited May 12, 2019 by LongTimeLurker

[LongTimeLurker]

1 minute ago, KittenKong said:

When it does rain here it can be torrential, and that produces flooding in some areas (the area around my condo never floods). But Pattaya is unlike many other parts of Thailand where frequent lighter rain can be quite common.

You're lucky that you don't have to leave your condo, but when the main arteries of Pattaya are under water and no traffic is going anywhere it can be really inconvenient for the hours it takes the flood waters to drain because of the inefficient infrastructure.

[KittenKong]

8 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:

You need one as you said you travel a lot.

Some years I have one. Some years I just do them one by one. At least Thailand gives me the option. I know some people who never leave and they pay only 1900B per year.

They can be done at the airport as you leave also.

I like the idea of having a choice though I do wish that they would streamline the re-entry permit process so that it can be done as an optional extra on the retirement extension form.

 

The 90-day reporting is the most tedious thing here as far as I'm concerned, and even that hardly takes me any time at all in Jomtien (usually well under 5 minutes, and I walk past the office several times every week). I could also do it online, apparently.

Edited May 12, 2019 by KittenKong

[LongTimeLurker]

3 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

Some years I have one. Some years I just do them one by one. At least Thailand gives me the option.

There's no option in VN.

 

You just don't need one. Or a TM30!

 

And no 90 day reporting either!

Edited May 12, 2019 by LongTimeLurker

[scubascuba3]

When it does rain here it can be torrential, and that produces flooding in some areas (the area around my condo never floods). But Pattaya is unlike many other parts of Thailand where frequent lighter rain can be quite common.

Last year low wet season it clouded over most afternoons around 2pm, wind came in and it rained heavy for 30-60 mins, this year nothing hence the increased heat/humidity

[KhunHeineken]

3 hours ago, LongTimeLurker said:

I renewed mine last year for $10.

 

Before that they were free.

Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.  But don't you need to have at least 400k in a local bank and prove a monthly income, and submit a photo of you and your wife in the bedroom?  ????????

 

I'm not married to a Vietnamese National, but I have many friends who are.  The last guy I asked said $50USD for 5 years, but he probably got an agent to do it.     

[KhunHeineken]

3 hours ago, KittenKong said:

If you want one. Even if you take it the total cost is below 6000B for an entire year of coming and going as you wish, and with the whole thing done in one visit to immigration at the beginning of the year. This seems pretty cheap and convenient to me compared to other countries.

 

No. Not interested in living with anyone at all regardless of what benefits it might bring me.

If you are on the 800k/400k method, the REAL cost is in the loss of earnings that money could be making elsewhere.  It's not about the 1900 baht. 

 

And what's with not allowing you to use 400k of your own money?  Just crazy. 

Edited May 12, 2019 by KhunHeineken

[KittenKong]

1 minute ago, KhunHeineken said:

If you are on the 800k/400k method, the REAL cost is in the loss of earnings that money could be making elsewhere.  It's not about the 1900 baht.

If my 800kB wasnt on deposit here earning 2.5% tax-free it would be on deposit somewhere else earning about the same, also tax-free.

 

For me it is entirely about the 1900B and the ease of getting the extension. YMMV.

[KittenKong]

2 hours ago, LongTimeLurker said:

There's no option in VN.

You just don't need one. Or a TM30!

And no 90 day reporting either!

And no one-year extension either, from what I understand.

 

I want one stamp in my passport that ensures me at least a year.

[KhunHeineken]

6 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

If my 800kB wasnt on deposit here earning 2.5% tax-free it would be on deposit somewhere else earning about the same, also tax-free.

 

For me it is entirely about the 1900B and the ease of getting the extension. YMMV.

And my 800k is earning around 8%, in a safe country, that has rule of law.

[KhunHeineken]

8 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

And no one-year extension either, from what I understand.

 

I want one stamp in my passport that ensures me at least a year.

And what guarantee do you have that stamp is available to you next time, with the same requirements????

[KittenKong]

Just now, KhunHeineken said:

And what guarantee do you have that stamp is available to you next time, with the same requirements????

It has been for several decades. I see no reason why that should change. If it does I will just go somewhere else.

[KittenKong]

3 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

And my 800k is earning around 8%, in a safe country, that has rule of law.

So you say. I wonder why all the other money in the world isnt there too?

 

As I mentioned, that 800kB is not an issue to me. I have another 1MB in a current account here earning just 1.3%, and that doesn't bother me either.

[Destiny1990]

17 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

If my 800kB wasnt on deposit here earning 2.5% tax-free it would be on deposit somewhere else earning about the same, also tax-free.

 

For me it is entirely about the 1900B and the ease of getting the extension. YMMV.

No ease getting for most of us..

But glad the whole procedure turns out fair and in balance for you.

However if i compare visa offers from various nearby countries then nowadays Thailand comes out as the most complicated one!

That’s a different situation with how things were 10 years ago..

Edited May 12, 2019 by Destiny1990

[KittenKong]

5 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

However if i compare visa offers from various nearby countries then nowadays Thailand comes out as the most complicated one!

That’s a different situation with how things were 10 years ago..

That's probably true. Better make the most of it because at some point those neighbouring countries will probably become fussier also, and may start asking for the sort of financial commitment that Thailand does now.

[Destiny1990]

Just now, KittenKong said:

That's probably true. Better make the most of it because at some point those neighbouring countries will probably become fussier also, and may start asking for the sort of financial commitment that Thailand does now.

Its just over the top.

I doubt other nearby Countries anytime soon will follow that business model. 

There will always be good other alternatives Spain, Portugal etc. 

 

[NanLaew]

8 hours ago, LongTimeLurker said:

And I can qualify for a Temporary Residence Visa after living there 1 year, and then a Permanent Residence Visa after a second year.

Good to know but if you weren't married to a local lass, would you:

 

A ) Still qualify for the TR and/or PR, and

 

B ) Want to commit to those options anyway?

 

There are plenty foreigners that have gained Thai PR and even citizenship over the years, all under varying circumstances and with different motivations. With Thailand's ongoing and arguably intensifying state of flux with regard to who they want to live here long-term, I would imagine the desirability of either is much reduced.

 

With regard to the single retiree, beyond lower cost and apparently less bureaucratic rigmarole, what exactly makes Vietnam such a hot deal in this regard?

[NanLaew]

4 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Its just over the top.

I doubt other nearby Countries anytime soon will follow that business model. 

There will always be good other alternatives Spain, Portugal etc. 

 

It can't be too much over the top if after all these years one can still post endless comments on endless threads about the alternatives to living in LOS... and still put up with it.

 

Thirty years ago, as the perpetual visa-exempt enabled 'resident tourists', the only hardship that was placed upon us was the infamous 'tax certificate' where you apparently would be prevented from leaving if you didn't present one at departure immigration. It cost 200 baht, took a day to get, was absolutely worthless and totally fraudulent but a nice little earner for whoever dreamed it up. Back then, we never considered how arcane and convoluted the long-term stay enabling would become but back then, there was way, way less 'resident tourists'. Any country that experiences a significant uptake in foreign lodgers will review and revise their procedures, just like Thailand.

[Destiny1990]

27 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

It can't be too much over the top if after all these years one can still post endless comments on endless threads about the alternatives to living in LOS... and still put up with it.

 

Thirty years ago, as the perpetual visa-exempt enabled 'resident tourists', the only hardship that was placed upon us was the infamous 'tax certificate' where you apparently would be prevented from leaving if you didn't present one at departure immigration. It cost 200 baht, took a day to get, was absolutely worthless and totally fraudulent but a nice little earner for whoever dreamed it up. Back then, we never considered how arcane and convoluted the long-term stay enabling would become but back then, there was way, way less 'resident tourists'. Any country that experiences a significant uptake in foreign lodgers will review and revise their procedures, just like Thailand.

That’s fine and that’s why i review and revise my next destination options here and no hard feelings either.

 

Edited May 12, 2019 by Destiny1990

[NanLaew]

20 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

That’s fine and that’s why i review and revise my next destination options here and no hard feelings either.

 

Yes, your thread has been very good in that regard with precise points of comparison versus the more typical Thailand versus Otherland thread where the variables are just too disparate. Good subject matter and I have gleaned a whole lot in addition to my own experiences in various other parts of Vietnam over the years.

 

Are your planning a Danang visit any time soon?

[Destiny1990]

23 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Yes, your thread has been very good in that regard with precise points of comparison versus the more typical Thailand versus Otherland thread where the variables are just too disparate. Good subject matter and I have gleaned a whole lot in addition to my own experiences in various other parts of Vietnam over the years.

 

Are your planning a Danang visit any time soon?

Honestly its high on my list to visit.

I lived in and visited several Asian Countries since years but never visited Vietnam.

I have only some knowledge from google about DaNang and it got me curious now after this thread i more then pleasantly surprised about the comparison.

I think i will just give it a try anyone else should decide for themself. I still like Thailand and Thai people but i am under 50 years and Visas i can get elsewhere easier and also i’am ready to discover new places..

Edited May 12, 2019 by Destiny1990

[scubascuba3]

Its just over the top.
I doubt other nearby Countries anytime soon will follow that business model. 
There will always be good other alternatives Spain, Portugal etc. 
 

Maybe a Costa del sol vs Pattaya thread next. Spain and Portugal are a completely different kettle of fish, personally I'd never want to stay there. It's possible the little Britain people will leave after brexit and come to Thailand

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Spain and Portugal are a completely different kettle of fish, personally I'd never want to stay there.

The Algarve is not all of Portugal and the Costas are not all of Spain. There are some extremely nice places in both countries that have a much better climate than here, are much cheaper for many day-to-day costs, and are generally more pleasant and healthier to live in. Without the income tax issue I would be in one of them now and would not miss Thailand at all. But that is off-topic.

[Destiny1990]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

10 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Its just over the top.
I doubt other nearby Countries anytime soon will follow that business model. 
There will always be good other alternatives Spain, Portugal etc. 
 

Maybe a Costa del sol vs Pattaya thread next. Spain and Portugal are a completely different kettle of fish, personally I'd never want to stay there. It's possible the little Britain people will leave after brexit and come to Thailand

Why you suggest here to make such thread if you are not even interested living in these places??

I think if we do a Benidorm versus Pattaya that likely Benidorm easily comes out on top imho.

Edited May 13, 2019 by Destiny1990

[Olmate]

1 minute ago, Destiny1990 said:

Why you suggest here to make such thread if you are not even interested living in these places??

Nice to see another poster on Your thread tho!

[Destiny1990]

50 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

The Algarve is not all of Portugal and the Costas are not all of Spain. There are some extremely nice places in both countries that have a much better climate than here, are much cheaper for many day-to-day costs, and are generally more pleasant and healthier to live in. Without the income tax issue I would be in one of them now and would not miss Thailand at all. But that is off-topic.

What income tax issue you will have living in Spain?

So your main reason living in Thailand is the non income tax ?

[KittenKong]

4 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

What income tax issue you will have living in Spain?

I would have to pay it.

 

4 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

So your main reason living in Thailand is the non income tax ?

Very high up the list, along with the relative ease of getting a long visa, and the availability of fairly good and fairly cheap accommodation with a nice view, and the fairly good infrastructure, and medical care, the wide variety of restaurants and the general easiness of living here. High prices of imports are a downside of course.

It doesnt actually make much difference to me which country I live in, and everywhere that I live I tend to do exactly the same things.

But one thing I particularly dont like about Thailand is the climate. It is too hot and sticky here for my taste. Nothing new about that, of course, but it has become much more unpleasant over the last few years.

In that respect I think that parts of Vietnam could be a big improvement. Parts of the Philippines would also be fine in that respect, but I spent a lot of time there decades ago and - like many other places - going back now would probably be a big let down.