Why are you still here?

[yogi100]

45 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

No. Who?

Ronnie Biggs.

[fusion58]

On 10/10/2019 at 8:39 AM, Nyezhov said:

 

 

[Nyezhov]

On 10/10/2019 at 8:46 AM, BritManToo said:

I'm 64, not enough time left to make it worth moving.

Still considering France though, all depends on Brexit not happening.

France? Really?

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, Nyezhov said:

France? Really?

Why not? There are more affordable provincial cities there that would please a lot of people. 

[Dumbastheycome]

It does have to be contemplated as to the effect of the apparent lack of legislative discretion in enforcement of existing or new legislation that causes family unit  destruction.

I  have  no idea  of how many others there are  but I  personally  know several who are  here on "retirement" extensions  who have  de facto  spouse and children for whom they have for many years been responsible for and have provided for in every  aspect . But now are  becoming entangled in the provable deposit scenario, the  entirely possible extension of health insurance requirement for which a significant percentage would  not  legitimately  qualify due to age and existing  medical conditions acquired since residence and possibly due to that in Thailand.

Is it or could it ever be possible that there  ever be some  discretionary assessment of  case  by case  situations  that without  would  relegate  entire family units  to  various degrees of destruction  by virtue of simplistic application of  legislation?

I  can well understand that Thailand along with  any other country  would aspire to  reject undesirable  or  non  compliant on individual  basis. But in effect it is not so simplistic in humanitarian outcome.

Especially so in example for those who have "retirement" status and  have long term de facto  family but due to such as  not  having a divorce status from a previous era  thereforecan  not move  to a  valid Thai  marriage scenario despite no historical financial liabilities.

For those  that would  say  tough S..t , too  bad,  etc, they  ignore the  Thai  family dependents and the value of all that involves. Such  comment  would  coincide  with  the  same crass ignorance  of  mandatory  legislations.

More than once I  have seen  comment from  some  who  concede to having  to "visit" family  as some sort of gratuitous  priviledge  or  suggest the improbable possibility  of  repatriation  of  entire family unit.

If any legislation that has an  indirect negative in outcome of application it  would  be nice to see  such  legislation  contain a  clause  for  appeal  on presented  verifiable consideration that excludes  3rd  party 

involvement. ie.  legal  beagles.

Ok.  Utopia?

 

 

[DaRoadrunner]

On 10/10/2019 at 12:22 PM, Greyhat said:

I've been here the majority of my adult life and I'm scared to go home to start all over again from square one. With the recent passing of my father I have no family and no home waiting to support me temporarily on arrival back home, I'll be quickly trying to sort out accommodation and finding a job to support myself. Not to mention all the things I'll be leaving behind with the life I've built for myself here. If/when the day comes and I have to leave it will be a very dark day indeed and I'm not sure I'll be able to cope.

To which I would add:- I understand the above poster as all my family are dead. There is nothing to go back to. Most of us posting here are of an age where if we did go back home we would be on the scrap heap and unemployable. I cannot afford to retire in my own home country and would not want to anyway. As for the thought of ending up in a care home for the rest of my days.......

 

Nope. They will have to rag me outta here kicking and screaming in protest. If forced to go there are options... Plan B is Vietnam or Da Phils.

 

 

[Pravda]

Transiting in Manila and browsing tinder. 

 

Very tempting.... 

[Proboscis]

On 10/10/2019 at 9:21 AM, cyril sneer said:

because Thailand isn't getting Islamized like the West

 

happy to do TM30s/90-days/Health Insurance as long as it stays this way

Really? So you have not heard about what goes on in South Thailand?

[Colabamumbai]

I stay to rub it in to them everyday. 

[Isaanbiker]

On 10/10/2019 at 8:58 AM, pluto1956 said:

Im not im in the Philippeans 555

No idea why you write 5555. Is that a wannabe smile? 

 

    How could you be happy in the Philippines when used to life in Thailand? 

 

    The mind boggles. 

 

I am "still" here because my family, my students and my friends need me here. 

 

   And I wouldn't like to move to the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, or any European country.

 

 

 

 

  

[sirineou]

On 10/9/2019 at 9:25 PM, Pravda said:

However, after decades of Farang supporting Thai wives, families, brothers and buffaloes, you'd expect that there would be some organized movement from these "families" that would make married guys in Thailand life a little easier. Just one person out of those millions could have gone and raised an issue to get at least some discussion going.... like in the case with TM30, but no one seems to care

What a bunch of huy 

Poor farang is here, altruistically supporting "thai families, brothers, an buffaloes" while ungrateful Thais do nothing to help.  BooHoo.

It is a symbiotic relationship. and Thais do plenty, or as much as the can, to support their husbands. At Least the ones I know do. 

IMO The whole premise of this OP is Hogwash.  We are here because it is better than there 

[Pravda]

6 minutes ago, sirineou said:

What a bunch of huy 

Poor farang is here, altruistically supporting "thai families, brothers, an buffaloes" while ungrateful Thais do nothing to help.  BooHoo.

It is a symbiotic relationship. and Thais do plenty, or as much as the can, to support their husbands. At Least the ones I know do. 

IMO The whole premise of this OP is Hogwash.  We are here because it is better than there 

 

I guess you should know

[Pedrogaz]

I have decided, after almost a dozen years here, to leave. No hard feelings, but my time is up as I want a more secure future than I have here. The insurance requirement apparently does not apply to me (yet).....but the whole immigration thing is getting more and more hostile with each passing year. Every new immigration chief seems to want to make his mark by making retirees jump through hoops....well I simply won't do it, I have ample cash and don't need the hassle (and no I don't file TM30s). I have been an immigrant for most of my life in several countries and never seen a place like this....whether it is paranoia or racism I don't know, but I don't like it. I have simply decided to leave and am getting my affairs in order ie getting my cash out. I have 6 months or so to prepare.

 

Another reason is that Thailand has become horrendously expensive. I went home a while back and was shocked at how cheap stuff is there compared to here. Literally everything is cheaper apart from Thai restaurants and cigarettes. I don't like Thai food, and don't smoke.

Where I land will depend on what happens with Brexit....I have supported Brexit, but personally it will be inconvenient if I cannot move to the EU, as I don't want to go back to the cold rainy UK.

I will likely first go to Ireland for a few months and claim citizenship there through my father and grandparents who were Irish, and then move to somewhere warm in the EU.

 

Thailand was good for the first 8 years or so, but with the ratcheting up of requirements each year, I can see a time when I am really old and might well struggle to survive here.....best to leave before that happens. I see a lot of people on pensions here who are struggling and paying vast sums to agents to secure their visas...that's no way to live is it? 

[marcho]

On 10/10/2019 at 9:30 AM, Beggar said:

The day might come when you are too old to get health insurance. That could mean that you will be forced to leave Thailand. 

Not if like me, married a government worker. Free. I pity others

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, Pravda said:

7 minutes ago, sirineou said:

What a bunch of huy 

Poor farang is here, altruistically supporting "thai families, brothers, an buffaloes" while ungrateful Thais do nothing to help.  BooHoo.

It is a symbiotic relationship. and Thais do plenty, or as much as the can, to support their husbands. At Least the ones I know do. 

IMO The whole premise of this OP is Hogwash.  We are here because it is better than there 

 

I guess you should know

Why guess?

Of course I do, otherwise why would I post the above reply 

[Guderian]

On 10/10/2019 at 3:37 AM, JohnOFphon said:

I'm still here for the women. Late 60's now and my girlfriend is 35....Where else can an old man find this?

Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama, and just about anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

[Catoni]

On 10/9/2019 at 11:50 PM, INV said:

 I stay here for my gf, cant just leave her after many years together. Nothing so special here

that would want me stay and play along with all the <deleted>. But I will leave next year and she have to

come with me or not. Came here 2001 so had great time but just have enough of all the BS.

Biggest issue is to find a great warm country were you are welcome and were I can spend

rest of my life in peace with out getting constant changes to make it harder for me to stay

or being worried that I get denied entry if I go some were on holiday if the IMO having a bad day

and come up with some stupid reason to not let me in.

So looking for option were to move, Panama looks good , Spain not to bad, Vietnam and Cambodia but non of the last 2 have any proper retirement safe long term option so in the end it will end up with the same BS as we have here, but I keep looking

 

Thought about Equador, Bolivia, Columbia. Columbia nice and quiet now. The bad days are over. 

   But of course there is India. Some places in India are quite nice. 

[Catoni]

On 10/11/2019 at 8:29 PM, Pravda said:

Transiting in Manila and browsing tinder. 

 

Very tempting.... 

Sorry....”...browsing tinder.” ??

 What’s that mean?

[malibukid]

in Bali

[cyril sneer]

1 hour ago, Proboscis said:

Really? So you have not heard about what goes on in South Thailand?

yes i've heard, but Thailand hardly embraces it and allows it to spread like the West does..

 

 

[malibukid]

On 10/10/2019 at 10:37 AM, JohnOFphon said:

I'm still here for the women. Late 60's now and my girlfriend is 35....Where else can an old man find this?

Russia?

[Thingamabob]

On 10/10/2019 at 9:21 AM, cyril sneer said:

because Thailand isn't getting Islamized like the West

 

happy to do TM30s/90-days/Health Insurance as long as it stays this way

Good point.

[newnative]

    Sitting here on my oceanfront balcony listening to the waves and watching the boats. Nothing between me and the sea except the swimming pool and beach.  Soon a beautiful sunset to enjoy.  Good shopping, good health care, good services, good weather, good weekly maid, good swimming pool, good restaurants galore, good movie theaters, good nearby airports, good city to visit a couple hours away, good lifestyle on an economy pension and SS.  Life is good.

[zyphodb]

On 10/10/2019 at 10:58 AM, Matzzon said:

Ok, I feel sorry for the ones have to leave. One thing though! You have to tell me why they would have to leave.

The financials have always been written in the Immigration Act, which everybody must be aware of when moving to a foreign country. If not aware of thoose, they can not blame the country.

What has changed is that the way of proving that they really have the money has changed. Now it will have to be in a Thai bank account, but that will not be any problem for the ones that has not been lying about their economy before.

Ok, health insurance has been implemented, but so far only for O-A visa, so there are other choices.

You can also not blame Thailand for the economy. It´s going good for the country, and other countries have problem with economy, like Brexit. Then it´s better to blame their own country instead of the country they moved to.

If you have any other reasons somebody will need to leave, please feel free to tell?

Don't you feel that this comment is pretty bloody smug???

[Suradit69]

On October 10, 2019 at 8:25 AM, Pravda said:

Yesterday I was reading all the rants about the new insurance requirements and one post stuck with me....

 

An older gentlemen saying he was leaving Thailand and was hoping the Thai government will take care of his wife as well as he did.

What's the connection between the insurance issue and someone eligible for extensions based on marriage or  non Imm O visas?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2019 by Suradit69

[jesimps]

On 10/10/2019 at 8:46 AM, BritManToo said:

I'm 64, not enough time left to make it worth moving.

Still considering France though, all depends on Brexit not happening.

As a single man at the time, I lived in a small town in France for a couple of years and nearly went crazy with boredom. All the bars seemed to close mid-evening and even when open, I hardly saw a female in them. I think they lock up all the women after dark, not that I saw many during the day. I also found the French more frustrating to deal with than the Thais. The best thing I ever did was move to Thailand, but even then it took me 10 years to sell my French apartment at a fraction of what I paid for it. If you do make the move there, I'd advise you to do the same as here - rent, don't buy. If you're someone who enjoys spending the evening in the bar, consider moving to a big city.

[Matzzon]

25 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

Don't you feel that this comment is pretty bloody smug???

Nope, and the above comment is something I would expect from a person that have missed to read the law when settle here and now suffer the consequenses.

Fell free to correct me if I am wrong. ???? 

[Jingthing]

49 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

Don't you feel that this comment is pretty bloody smug???

It's beyond smug. Actually for nationals with the embassies refusing to do letters the financial requirements have changed MASSIVELY. Before there was not a requirement to import even one baht. Now if doing income you need to import the full required amount monthly. For bank method the seasoning period has expanded massively, in fact now it is ALL YEAR if you count and you should count the requirement to never go under 400K. Also the combo method, now complicated, problematical, and possibly not accepted at all in some office without embassy letter. So people saying nothing has changed on the finances end are simply and truly WRONG. 

Edited October 13, 2019 by Jingthing

[emptypockets]

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

It's beyond smug. Actually for nationals with the embassies refusing to do letters the financial requirements have changed MASSIVELY. Before there was not a requirement to import even one baht. Now if doing income you need to import the full required amount monthly. For bank method the seasoning period has expanded massively, in fact now it is ALL YEAR if you count and you should count the requirement to never go under 400K. Also the combo method, now complicated, problematical, and possibly not accepted at all in some office without embassy letter. So people saying nothing has changed on the finances end are simply and truly WRONG. 

You lived here before without bringing one baht into the country? How did you eat?

Lets get real. The Land of Scams woke up to other countries scams and set it right. You pays yer money etc.

Honestly if the financials are really onerous then I feel sorry for you and you will have some hard decisions to make in the near future.

Good luck.

[BritManToo]

44 minutes ago, jesimps said:

but even then it took me 10 years to sell my French apartment at a fraction of what I paid for it. If you do make the move there, I'd advise you to do the same as here - rent, don't buy.

I'm looking at rural farmhouses with a small field and barn for between 10kE and 20kE, with property tax around 100E/year. It's 'throwaway' money for a Euro postal address.

Edited October 13, 2019 by BritManToo