Sorry, But It's Time To Leave

[ICELANDMAN]

12 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

I thought that they did that all the time in Iceland?

Who could tell?

In Iceland we now in the Winter have 2 hours of light the rest we have sex and sleep little time ????

[beachproperty]

I am a American and I don't know of ANY insurance (Tricare or Medicare) Where you don't pay a c0-pay or something if ill. And the co-pay's often are more than what you would pay in Thailand.  So your excuse of medical insurance is falling on deaf ears.

 

As for pollution. That is a real concern but easily gotten around by moving to an area which is less polluted.

 

I think your just looking for excuses to leave.....why not be real an just say "I want to go home!"

[Ventenio]

10 minutes ago, beachproperty said:

I am a American and I don't know of ANY insurance (Tricare or Medicare) Where you don't pay a c0-pay or something if ill. And the co-pay's often are more than what you would pay in Thailand.  So your excuse of medical insurance is falling on deaf ears.

 

As for pollution. That is a real concern but easily gotten around by moving to an area which is less polluted.

 

I think your just looking for excuses to leave.....why not be real an just say "I want to go home!"

AN American.  

 

"I want to go home!"  is maybe your only option, but to others there are more than two countries in the world.

 

American, Thailand.........and guess what?   maybe the OP and/or I want to go to another country not called America or Thailand.   

 

 

[Odysseus123]

11 minutes ago, beachproperty said:

I am a American and I don't know of ANY insurance (Tricare or Medicare) Where you don't pay a c0-pay or something if ill. And the co-pay's often are more than what you would pay in Thailand.  So your excuse of medical insurance is falling on deaf ears.

 

As for pollution. That is a real concern but easily gotten around by moving to an area which is less polluted.

 

I think your just looking for excuses to leave.....why not be real an just say "I want to go home!"

I think that he laid out his case for himself and his wife very well and,if by good fortune he is not an American, then he is probably returning to a country which has a decent and respectable health care system.

 

Getting old and sick is no joke in Thailand.

 

 

[seasia]

I wish the OP and his wife Good Luck for the future.

His post nicely written and seemed logical to me.

 

Some may have missed his comment but he did reply that he is an American.

 

Also it seems he has spent 47 years of his life in Thailand.

Big move.

I doubt he will be the last  to leave for an alternative.

[brokenbone]

best of wishes

[GeorgeCross]

47 minutes ago, Ventenio said:

Pollution is a thing.  We are all idiots for coughing, taking medicine, wearing face masks even one day a year.....pollution will kill us.  destroy our brain, lower our immunity, really destroy our lives.

 

but we want to prove to ourselves and everyone we were smart in picking LOS.  I'll never go back to CM.   

 

If you value your health and can simply get your ducks in order.....quit being bored every day and waiting until you die.  Vietnam it is.

 

this vietnam?

its worse than thailand - hanoi hit 240 earlier in the week!!

 

[digibum]

6 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Expats packing up their bags and tourists  prioritizing Vietnam over Thailand. If someone would  have told me this about 6 years ago i would  have just laughed however its today’s reality !

Well, I'm glad we didn't meet back then, because I've been telling people for around ten years now that Vietnam was going to silently creep up on Thailand in terms of tourism, manufacturing, and foreign investment.  ????

 

For the least decade (actually, a lot longer than even just the past decade), it seems like the vast majority of Thailand's political will to get things done and make change has been directed towards infighting. 

 

Thailand has been so used to Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam being so much worse than Thailand that they aren't used to competing for tourism, manufacturing, and foreign investment.  They still think that Hong Kong and Singapore are what they should be comparing themselves to. 

 

Yes, the Thai government is building high speed trains and pushing forward some things but everything else is pretty much window dressing. 

 

That said, I'm overall optimistic though.  I don't think it's a bad thing that Thailand has to work harder to compete. 

 

They may not realize the position they're in quite yet, but the more Vietnam keeps creeping up on them, eventually it will become a necessity. 

[BMW Overlander]

Retiring in Thailand with lifetime savings of THB 800,000 only?

Why bother moving to exotic and beautiful third world country and live like a dog? You should live like a king.

Better stay in your own country.

 

Edited December 15, 2019 by BMW Overlander

[Don Mega]

Just now, BMW Overlander said:

Retiring in Thailand with lifetime savings of THB 800,000 only?

Why bother moving to exotic and beautiful third world country and live like a dog?

Better stay in your own country.

 

Who did that ?

[BMW Overlander]

Just now, Don Mega said:

Who did that ?

In general: those who bitch and unable to set aside 800k for annual reirement visa extention.

[Don Mega]

Just now, BMW Overlander said:

In general: those who bitch and unable to set aside 800k for annual reirement visa extention.

So not relevant to the OP then.

[BMW Overlander]

1 minute ago, Don Mega said:

So not relevant to the OP then.

Nope. Just runting here ????

Edited December 15, 2019 by BMW Overlander

[kwak250]

Must admit Thailand hasn't got the appeal that it had when i moved here 15 years ago.

I won't be leaving though as i have children in school and really dont mind the taste of Leo.

 

[Moonlover]

2 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Yes your correct and the 400,000 bht amount only needs to be seen in a Thai bank for 2 months.

As for OP's air pollution wherever he lives there are other places in Thailand, maybe he don't that like it seems about other things.

Yes that's correct, only 400k,  or the O/P can use the income method of 40,000 per month.

 

1 hour ago, PhonThong said:

I have no problem qualifying to stay. I is just that this is not the same place I have come to know for the past 47 years. I can't watch my wife of 30 years get sick from the air as I have. 

As for the air quality problem, come to the sunny north east of Issan. As long as you choose a spot away from the sugarcane farms, the air is very acceptable. Right now ÁQI is only 53, and that's in town. Where we are in the country it will be even lower. And it's consistently low.

[wtfracing]

2 hours ago, PhonThong said:

I have no problem qualifying to stay. I is just that this is not the same place I have come to know for the past 47 years. I can't watch my wife of 30 years get sick from the air as I have. 

I fully understand your decision and am gearing up to do the same. Good luck and hope it all works out great for you.

[NoshowJones]

6 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Yeah the pollution can suck... CNX in burning season ain't fun.

 

On them making it difficult, surprised they haven't thought about not letting foreigners have local driving licenses. Maybe next on the list.

A high percentage of Thais don't have driving licences anyway, so if that happens, just keep driving, and bung the cops if you get stopped. When in Rome etc.

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, PhonThong said:

I am an American. I am fully covered by Tricare and Medicare. That is why we made the decision. Not much sense in buying some foolish Thai insurance policy, if I was able to. Just to be denied payment. I had AIS insurance a couple of years ago. But, they canceled my policy.

Why was that? Probably another reason to never trust insurance companies.

[robertson468]

9 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

 

I thought a married Visa was 400,000 in the bank?

Monthly of 40,000 is a dead end?   

Anyway, sorry to see you leave due mostly it seems your complaints/excuses about inability to qualify for the stay rules.  

Life is full of constant changes but I understand some have difficulty adjusting. 

You will be missed and good luck with the next chapter of your life.

It is only 400,000 or 40K per month.  I think the Op is disillusioned with Thailand and the money in the Bank is the straw that breaks the camels back.  We own a small Resort, which strangely enough is still doing well, but last month my Thai Wife bless her, said she thinks it's time to sell up and enjoy all our ill gotten gains. I must confess that at the young age of 75 years, she has planted a seed of thought that a year or so ago would not have taken fruit, but now?!  The problem is I don't want to go back to the good old UK, just spent two weeks there last month and became depressed at the state of the place, many very fat people and the Nanny State System.  Am beginning to look for somewhere new that is also relatively warm.  

Thailand is financially on a downward trend, with production down, unemployment up, farming down due to droughts, baht, way, way too high which is killing all the markets and do I sense yet another political problem on the horizon with the populace about to revolt against this very, very corrupt Government?    Maybe the expats should all leave en masse at the same time and head for somewhere that appreciates our financial contribution to the local economy.  Any takers and/or suggestions?

[PhonThong]

29 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Why was that? Probably another reason to never trust insurance companies.

Because I had to stay in the hospital a couple of days. They paid it, but then canceled it the next week.

[steven100]

14 minutes ago, robertson468 said:

financially on a downward trend, with production down, unemployment up, farming down due to droughts, baht, way, way too high

You could probably say that about most countries nowadays. Vietnam is moving forward as is China although slightly less than in previous years. India is the next powerhouse in my book. 

If your sick of Thailand then I would look at Vietnam or Malaysia ( but outside KL ) 

[ThomasThBKK]

16 minutes ago, robertson468 said:

Maybe the expats should all leave en masse at the same time and head for somewhere that appreciates our financial contribution to the local economy.  Any takers and/or suggestions?

 

No, but i can tell you that the rest of SEA is exactly the same, there's no greener grass. And don't come me with Vietnam, it's a corrupt communist shole even if people here deny that because cheaper.

 

Europe? Same <deleted>.

Georgia i like, Batumi and Tbilisi are nice. 1 year visa for everyone including ur thai wife/gf which allows working. They give you complementary Wine when you enter the country.

 

It's not as hot there but in the summer it's nice, Batumi is on the black sea. Tbilisi is Unesco world heritage so very historic without much construction.

[NoshowJones]

5 minutes ago, PhonThong said:

Because I had to stay in the hospital a couple of days. They paid it, but then canceled it the next week.

I'm not surprised, how can anyone have any peace of mind even when paying a fortune for health insurance?

[Searat7]

3 hours ago, PhonThong said:

I am an American. I am fully covered by Tricare and Medicare. That is why we made the decision. Not much sense in buying some foolish Thai insurance policy, if I was able to. Just to be denied payment. I had AIS insurance a couple of years ago. But, they canceled my policy.

Tricare gets you covered here but not Medicare. I am American too and am paying a fortune for Medicare B , Medicare D plus supplement plan. They more income you have the more you have to pay. I lived in Bangkok 7 months a year for 15 yr. but will just come for a shorter time as tourist after current O-A visa (and re-entry permit) expire.

[Nyezhov]

What's truly annoying me about Thailand is the air. Maybe spending years in Alaska has spoiled me. But I like taking pictures and gorgeous landscapes are spoiled with smog and particles. And the litter. 

 

And now I see that politics here is heating up.

 

I'm not a doom and gloom guy, and only spend the winters here. But I have other options and haven't quite figured out which options to exercise. I doubt I will be in Thailand for the whole winter upcoming in 2020 though. But a month or two in buriram plus a month here in Bangkok would probably be okay.

 

but I am here till the end of February for sure so might as well have fun. to me though, all of the alleged hassles of Thailand with immigration and so forth pale in comparison to the pollution. I guess it's easier when you're young, my supercilious brat is totally happy in fascist China, Shanghai, although the air there is like mud.

[jack7106]

4 hours ago, ThaiBunny said:

I thought he said he's going "home" to where his medical costs will be fully covered. Sounds like the UK, Australia or New Zealand to me

I am an Australian and we still pay for it as part of the Medicare rebate when doing our yearly Tax obligations - whilst I have been living in Pattaya for many years????????‍♂️????????????

[Fore Man]

We have decided to vote with our feet. I can handle quixotic immigration policies and allowing THB 800K to rot in a Thai bank, but I can’t prevent further damage to my weakened lungs...this year for the first time ever, my pulmonary specialist found a thickened bronchial wall and I’ve never smoked.  But suffering thorough several years of the most toxic air in Southeast Asia by remaining in Chiang Mai has been the likely culprit.  We’re leaving here in February with wife’s spousal visa nearing approval. Someday we might dare to venture back, but it won’t be to Chiang Mai.  Good luck to you all, it’s your choice and nobody can argue that right. Just watch your health if you decide to stay. 

[Enoon]

 

Shine well rubbed off for me.

 

It's really only the "nearest and dearest" that bring me back.

 

Without them I'd very likely be diligently looking to an alternative.

 

50/50 that I will be anyway.

 

The pollution, growing cost, and the intensified State radicalisation of the "New Era" bode ill for the future.

 

 

Edited December 15, 2019 by Enoon

[Mbaki]

4 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Don't get me wrong , and I don't condone the users, but all this moaning when you can get an agent to do it for 13 or 14 k a year if you need them seems a bit like making an excuse sometimes for leaving.

That said , I'd go tomorrow if I could get through the UK visa rules for the wife.

Some people will make any excuse to leave.

[abrahamzvi]

If I am correct in my assumption that your home is the US, then can you tell us how much your health insurance is. Or are you on Medicare only, if older than 65?