Repatriated to the US after seven years in LOS on OA.

[sirineou]

4 hours ago, rosst said:

Don't come to the Philippines ????????????????

More cocks than fleas on a street dog. 

I am used to it now and when I am back in Thailand, the quiet in Isaan keeps me awake????????????????????????

I think I spoke too soon about the cocks and the dogs. We are getting into the rainy season here in Khon Kaen , and today it came down in buckets. 

Right on cue the bullfrogs came out and it sounds like ,

well I cant think of anything like it  to describe it. let me just say, compared to them . it makes the roosters and dogs sound like soothing music. 

It just started a few hours ago and both me and the wife run out to see the hell  it was,

Wife recorded it on her phone , It is amazing that such small things cam make as much noise. 

[EVENKEEL]

33 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I think I spoke too soon about the cocks and the dogs. We are getting into the rainy season here in Khon Kaen , and today it came down in buckets. 

Right on cue the bullfrogs came out and it sounds like ,

well I cant think of anything like it  to describe it. let me just say, compared to them . it makes the roosters and dogs sound like soothing music. 

It just started a few hours ago and both me and the wife run out to see the hell  it was,

Wife recorded it on her phone , It is amazing that such small things cam make as much noise. 

I have a place in Ca, USA with a pond in back. At night the frogs echoed super loud. Kind of nice.

[moontang]

7 hours ago, Inala said:

 

But drive four hours to Pittsburgh.. crikey.. 

As an Aussie, it's great to here such an eloquent turn of aussie slang used by an American in casual conversation. You must've mixed with some aussie/pommie boys in your time in LOS. 

After seven years, I figured out our true allies drink beer from an Esky.  Not so sure about the ones, who only translate their menus into Mandarin.  Would rather go to Macca's than a place like that. 

[Jingthing]

On 5/26/2021 at 4:38 AM, GinBoy2 said:

I think that may be the problem for some of the more ardent Thai apologists on TVF is that they are in the stuck category.

 

I feel for them, but you make your bed and you ultimately have to lie in in. I would never have moved to a country where I wasn't a citizen or permanent resident without a backup plan to go home

Hint.

Thailand and your home country are not the only countries in the world.

[Damrongsak]

11 hours ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

That's more than my SSA payments. I remember starting to work in 1976 as a fluids technician for $875/month.  That's what inflation does for ya'.

Thanks for your post moontang. (I may end up having to move to the US, too)

$5 an hour?  I hit the $4./hr rate back around 1971 just working summer construction jobs.  But that was in northern VA and stuff is expensive there. And the work was hot and nasty.  Digging ditches or stuffing fiberglass insulation by hand... one time I had to clean oil boiler fire boxes, just like one of the "Dirty Jobs" shows. 

 

6 years later I was working in Thailand for $250/month.  Half paid there and half at home on repatriation - Peace Corps, LOL.  I did get a 500 baht house allowance and free medical in case I got the clap or something.  In '79 I had a job in Thailand interviewing refugees for resettlement to the U.S. for $12K per year plus housing and per diem in the camps.  I was rich, LOL!  But we came back in '80 because I didn't see much of a future there.  I could have hooked up with the U.S. govt, say USAID or State Department, but didn't.

[moontang]

Today, I locked in my Natural Gas price for the next two years, as opposed to paying the market rate every month, which always tends to go up, when you need it.  My servicer is Black Hills Energy... sent the contract to GinBoys city, Rapid City, SD.  But, more interesting was the cost and how that compares to LPG.  My contract is 42.9 cents per therm.. so I did some Googling to determine how much LPG that would be.  Surprised to find that a therm is equal to 1.1 gallons of LPG.  So it is like paying 39 cents per gallon for LPG.. but current price of LPG is about 2.30 per gallon.  Huge difference. 

[DJ54]

25 minutes ago, moontang said:

Today, I locked in my Natural Gas price for the next two years

Hope it’s not like those folks in TX had some deal on electric 

and when they had the storms not long ago electric jumped

insane.. here in the sticks of Isaan @ 3,000 bath month

mainly due to bedroom has a/c .... don’t know our LPG is

for cooking 3 meals a day...not much though one tank

last for long time...

[DerbyDan]

????

 

Edited May 27, 2021 by DerbyDan

[moontang]

I did the Math.. 42.9 cents per Therm of Natural Gas is like paying 2.931 THB per liter of LPG.  

[GinBoy2]

2 hours ago, moontang said:

I did the Math.. 42.9 cents per Therm of Natural Gas is like paying 2.931 THB per liter of LPG.  

I wouldn't even try to get into this, the discussion always devolves rapidly.

 

As we move into summer, all our utilities shift to electricity. I'll fess up I'm a total aircon junkie.

 

In Thailand we have AC units in every room, which we use extensively. In the US we have central air to cool the entire house, which again we use extensively.

 

In Thailand our summer months PEA bill runs about ฿7000/month, or ~$200/Month.

 

Our Black Hills Energy bill in the summer runs about $120-140/Month.

 

Now granted we both work here in the US, so are out of the house during the day.

 

And this is why direct comparisons are tough, because you tend to live different lives in different locations.

 

But we're arguing around the margins, and again a lot depends on how you want to live. 

 

Life in an Isaan shack with a couple of 'patloms' is gonna cost you ฿200/Month. But just not the way I want to live.

 

So again, I do direct lifestyle comparisons, as best you can, but for us, looking at the bills in both houses for a similar quality of life, I struggle to decide which is better or worse

[moontang]

56 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

I wouldn't even try to get into this, the discussion always devolves rapidly.

 

As we move into summer, all our utilities shift to electricity. I'll fess up I'm a total aircon junkie.

 

In Thailand we have AC units in every room, which we use extensively. In the US we have central air to cool the entire house, which again we use extensively.

 

In Thailand our summer months PEA bill runs about ฿7000/month, or ~$200/Month.

 

Our Black Hills Energy bill in the summer runs about $120-140/Month.

 

Now granted we both work here in the US, so are out of the house during the day.

 

And this is why direct comparisons are tough, because you tend to live different lives in different locations.

 

But we're arguing around the margins, and again a lot depends on how you want to live. 

 

Life in an Isaan shack with a couple of 'patloms' is gonna cost you ฿200/Month. But just not the way I want to live.

 

So again, I do direct lifestyle comparisons, as best you can, but for us, looking at the bills in both houses for a similar quality of life, I struggle to decide which is better or worse

Just comparing nat gas to LPG, nothing about class warfare.

[unblocktheplanet]

On 5/25/2021 at 5:20 AM, GinBoy2 said:

I work at the airport in RAP.

 

Right now much better than GCC.

One mainline UAL A319 flight to DEN then 4 more EMB 175 UAX to  Denver. Next week we start mainline Delta to MSP & ATL on top of the Delta connection flights

 

OMG! American air carriers--what a joke! "First class"! RAOTFL.

[GinBoy2]

21 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

OMG! American air carriers--what a joke! "First class"! RAOTFL.

I was making no comment on US carriers, just the frequencies of a very  short 40 min flight from GCC/RAP-DEN.

 

So long as it takes off on time and gets me safely to Denver in 40 minutes later I have no interest, in warmed nuts or the like. Cup of coffee is fine

[moontang]

18 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

I was making no comment on US carriers, just the frequencies of a very  short 40 min flight from GCC/RAP-DEN.

 

So long as it takes off on time and gets me safely to Denver in 40 minutes later I have no interest, in warmed nuts or the like. Cup of coffee is fine

Funny, I haven't heard the business class choir in a while.. guess they couldn't get Visas.. or didn't have the 800k..lol.  Even if it was available, it is rarely worth paying 3 times more....

[GinBoy2]

On 5/28/2021 at 7:38 PM, moontang said:

Funny, I haven't heard the business class choir in a while.. guess they couldn't get Visas.. or didn't have the 800k..lol.  Even if it was available, it is rarely worth paying 3 times more....

Oh they crop up over and over again on here.

 

In my working career I flew C class on US, Asian and European airlines all the time. 

 

Did I really care if one was better than the other, not really.

 

I'm a 2M miler on United, 3M on China Airlines (the Taiwan one, not Air China) plus a host of others, and really i don't care.

 

On domestic travel it's an irrelevance anyway, Sit down, shut up, drink a cup of coffee and get off.

 

Sometimes as an airline employee I'll pay the $11 it costs me to upgrade from free just to get the free drinks

[moontang]

My first bottle of wine at the new house....101 THB.  California Cabernet.

[frantick]

@moontang, maybe I missed it, but what was your primary reason for leaving LOS, insurance requirement for O-A? Or just all the other stuff?

 

I'm from Rapid originally, but I did live 1 month in Upton, WY working on an oil rig.

 

I'm pretty sure I'll move back some day even though my GF says she'll wipe my a.s when I get older. Only been here a little over a year and for sure will wait for some sort of normal (post covid) to return before deciding my long term fate.

 

Chok Dee.

[moontang]

6 hours ago, frantick said:

@moontang, maybe I missed it, but what was your primary reason for leaving LOS, insurance requirement for O-A? Or just all the other stuff?

 

I'm from Rapid originally, but I did live 1 month in Upton, WY working on an oil rig.

 

I'm pretty sure I'll move back some day even though my GF says she'll wipe my a.s when I get older. Only been here a little over a year and for sure will wait for some sort of normal (post covid) to return before deciding my long term fate.

 

Chok Dee.

Top reason is to be within a much easier proximity to my parents, who were both born during FDRs first term.  But, I also feel like LOS has been on a downward trend since 2014, and a place like Chiang Mai may have peaked around 2004.  Most places aren't as good as they were before, though. OA insurance wasn't a game changer.  Although the Tokio Marine policies I had been buying were many multiples better.  This year, I bought the LMG throw away special.. still cheaper than an agent, which I never used in 23 years of visits. 

Edited June 3, 2021 by moontang

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, moontang said:

Most places aren't as good as they were before, though.

More to do with your aging than the place getting worse IMHO.

[moontang]

17 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

More to do with your aging than the place getting worse IMHO.

Cracks were surfacing about the time of Thaksin's removal.  My interests and activities are basically the same they were 25 years ago, except now with a lot more cash, but that can change one's perspective, especially after dealing with the Thai banks and Immigration. 

Edited June 3, 2021 by moontang

[frantick]

19 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

More to do with your aging than the place getting worse IMHO.

That's what I thought, but only mid 50's, so probably not.

[Maha Sarakham]

A lot of really fair points and good perspectives in this thread.  Too many times, people are far too invested in their current situation and want to trash the alternative.  However, there is a fair assessment presented here.  I often talk with my wife about the advantages & disadvantages of living in FL in retirement vs. Thailand and we really haven't come to a solid conclusion yet.  It's ultimately going to come down to the future policies of the government in Thailand and the implications of the USD:THB exchange rate I do suspect.  Wherever we can live a higher quality of life on the same budget would be preferable of course.  We shall see how times change.

[moontang]

26 minutes ago, Maha Sarakham said:

A lot of really fair points and good perspectives in this thread.  Too many times, people are far too invested in their current situation and want to trash the alternative.  However, there is a fair assessment presented here.  I often talk with my wife about the advantages & disadvantages of living in FL in retirement vs. Thailand and we really haven't come to a solid conclusion yet.  It's ultimately going to come down to the future policies of the government in Thailand and the implications of the USD:THB exchange rate I do suspect.  Wherever we can live a higher quality of life on the same budget would be preferable of course.  We shall see how times change.

The peak of the good times, which I stated were before Thaksin's removal were also the end of the 41-42 THB to the USD.  And the latter was a bigger impact for most of us, but it wasn't a deal killer.  I could come up with half a dozen negatives for each off the top of my head, as well as positives.  I can't see Thailand competing with the US on Medicare, which is one thing more important than the abundance of younger ladies willing to date older farang.

 

Today's special, 48 oz ice cream for 1.49, when you buy six.

[Maha Sarakham]

17 minutes ago, moontang said:

Today's special, 48 oz ice cream for 1.49, when you buy six.

 

My wife is always surprised by the (inexpensive) cost of groceries here compared to Thailand.  If the cost of housing and property tax was cheaper in the US, the cost of living would be comparable in many ways.  Electronics, cars, quality clothing, supplements, insurance, many are far cheaper and higher quality here in the States.  However, Thailand too has many advantages such as the relative ease and convenience of travel at very low prices.  

[GinBoy2]

4 hours ago, Maha Sarakham said:

 

My wife is always surprised by the (inexpensive) cost of groceries here compared to Thailand.  If the cost of housing and property tax was cheaper in the US, the cost of living would be comparable in many ways.  Electronics, cars, quality clothing, supplements, insurance, many are far cheaper and higher quality here in the States.  However, Thailand too has many advantages such as the relative ease and convenience of travel at very low prices.  

It's always so difficult to get objective comparisons, I've tried, and got slammed on TVF.

 

So much depends on 'how' you want to live in Thailand. If an Isaan tin roof shack, you eat from the local market, no AC with a couple of patloms, well yeah it's dirt cheap.

 

But if you live like a Westerner then the cost comparison becomes a whole lot tighter.

 

We're AC junkies, both in Thailand and the US. We have solar in our Thai house and we'll still spend ฿7k/month on electricity.

 

In the US our gas and electric combined is ~$160/month, with the ratio gas/electric switching from summer to winter.

 

Cars are ridiculously cheaper than in Thailand, as is gas, although not as much as I would think, it's about $1.50/gallon cheaper in the US than in Thailand.

 

Food, well if it's Western quality food you want, then almost anywhere is cheaper than Thailand. I've had sticker shock at my Tops checkout!

 

The big plus with Thailand is housing. That is substainionaly cheaper, renting or buying.

 

But if you already own a house in farangland, then for sustaining expenses, in my mind you can flip a coin

 

 

Edited June 4, 2021 by GinBoy2

[moontang]

Today's shocker.. Dragonfruit.. 6.49 per pound.. Puts it at about 430 per KG.. Ouch.. from Vietnam.  Otherwise, 5 kinds of cheese.. 8 oz for 1.67..

[Yellowtail]

On 6/4/2021 at 8:35 AM, GinBoy2 said:

Cars are ridiculously cheaper than in Thailand...

 

Only some/most cars. Bought a diesel pickup in the US lately?

 

On 6/4/2021 at 8:35 AM, GinBoy2 said:

...as is gas, although not as much as I would think, it's about $1.50/gallon cheaper in the US than in Thailand.

 

Depending on where you are.

 

 

 

[simon43]

[quote]

...Went to the Marketplace, and signed up under open enrollment.  Getting a subsidy for the full amount.. around 1500 USD per month.

[/quote]

 

Did I understand you correctly?  You pay $1500 each month for medical insurance?!!

[Yellowtail]

7 minutes ago, simon43 said:

[quote]

...Went to the Marketplace, and signed up under open enrollment.  Getting a subsidy for the full amount.. around 1500 USD per month.

[/quote]

 

Did I understand you correctly?  You pay $1500 each month for medical insurance?!!

 

No. He means the top 53% of wage-earners are paying $1,500 a month for him.

 

I paid Baht38.00 for my medical insurance this month...

[moontang]

4 hours ago, simon43 said:

[quote]

...Went to the Marketplace, and signed up under open enrollment.  Getting a subsidy for the full amount.. around 1500 USD per month.

[/quote]

 

Did I understand you correctly?  You pay $1500 each month for medical insurance?!!

That is what it cost, but my subsidy covers all of it.  My maximum out of pocket would be 800 usd per year.  My deductible is zero, but there are copays. I used to pay about 120 pm with a 5000 dollar deductible, with Blue Ross, but those policies were made almost illegal, and now some thing similar could be 600 or more... they aren't allowed to not cover preexisting conditions for one thing.