SURVEY: What are your plans for the long term?

[wolf81]

34 minutes ago, bendejo said:

At this age I say hear, hear for boring.

Priorities at this point in life are good coffee, good milk to put in it, legal cannabis.  When I get ready for bed at night I think about the coffee I'll have when I wake up.  Clean, good quality food.  Not having to be concerned that others will give me grief for not being like them. Emergency medical call facilities necessary, unfortunately.

 

Been in the northwest part of US since before pandemic.  In the past 18 months have personally witnessed not only the lockdown but also empty supermarket shelves.  Demonstrations by irate citizens that turn into violent clashes by those that oppose them, and went on for nights at end: let me clarify that this was confined to just a few blocks in the downtown area, and most of Portland was not affected.  Then there were the wildfires last September and the entire area was dark with ash clouds for about two weeks.

 

before

after

 

Both pics taken around 3pm from the same point, maybe 1 week apart.  The nearest actual burning was around 150 miles away.

The upside of the ash cloud was that gun-toting patriots began cruising around the state a few days before, oversized flags flying from their pickups and horns blaring, and the cloud put that to an end for the most part, but some tried to take advantage of the panic.  If interested search on "clackamas militia"

Then in February we had an ice storm, the 2 major towns in the state (including the capitol) lost electricity for 3-4 days of freezing temperatures (glad I stocked up on canned tuna and had a cooked chicken in the fridge).  Drove out of town, managed to find a McD's that had a generator, waited an hour for a cup of coffee.

And now it's fire season again.

So much for comparing life in the US with countries where living is difficult.  It's starting to rack up like Biblical plagues, anticipating a rain of frogs.

 

For those looking for a new country to live in, 2 words to bear in mind: rising shoreline.

 

 

Yeah rising shoreline ... sure. Why do banks still give out mortgages for seaside properties? Why haven't seaside property prices plummeted? It's all a wash ...

 

Sure the shoreline might rise, a couple of centimeters in 100 year. Doubt it'll be the end of the world.

 

[KannikaP]

11 hours ago, habuspasha said:

I just have to continue working in my 80s.

Then, in my opinion, you have gone wrong somewhere along the way. 

 

[2009]

36 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

There is a big difference in the words 'immigrant' and 'expat'.

Bert, the retired butcher from Bognor Regis, or Helmut, the retired seaman from Hamburg moving to Thailand permanently calls himself an expat, yet a financial advisor from Hong Kong in the UK/Germany is an immigrant. This makes me think it's a superior racial attitude, rather than a snobbish, Colonial-style one. 

I wonder what an Asian migrant in the west refers to himself as? Expat? Foreigner? Migrant?

 

Superior racial attitude. You know Asians are really racist and have a superiority complex of their own.

[bendejo]

24 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

Its the only place that i have ever seen a man get down on his knees to look up a womans skirt as she boarded a bus.

I was NOT trying to look up her skirt!  I dropped my bus ticket is what happened!

 

Knew a farang who lived in Japan (bit of a perv himself) told me it's true that there were guys with tiny cameras on the shoes, putting cameras in sidewalk gratings, etc.  The thing is they would also need lights, so no chance they would see the prize anyway.

 

 

[BritManToo]

9 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Then, in my opinion, you have gone wrong somewhere along the way. 

 

Yeah, I retired age 45.

[Neeranam]

4 minutes ago, 2009 said:

I wonder what an Asian migrant in the west refers to himself as? Expat? Foreigner? Migrant?

 

Superior racial attitude. You know Asians are really racist and have a superiority complex of their own.

I guess Brits don't really care what migrants call themselves, like Thais don't care what we call ourselves. 

I don't think Asian in the UK have a superiority attitude at all. 

I'm interested what expats call themselves, maybe they the equivalent of ThaiVisa, and bash all Brits! 

I doubt it as most of them are young, working expat. 

[BritManToo]

Just now, bendejo said:

I was NOT trying to look up her skirt!  I dropped my bus ticket is what happened!

 

Knew a farang who lived in Japan (bit of a perv himself) told me it's true that there were guys with tiny cameras on the shoes, putting cameras in sidewalk gratings, etc.  The thing is they would also need lights, so no chance they would see the prize anyway.

Pointless in Thailand as they all wear shorts under their skirts.

[Neeranam]

34 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

Like it is back where theh came from,ive been to Pakistan,not a nice place. Mind you at the hotel i was staying at at least the cockroaches were dead in the bath.

Its the only place that i have ever seen a man get down on his knees to look up a womans skirt as she boarded a bus.

Reminds me of when  I was deported from India to Bangladesh, which looks like East London! 

Horrible place. 

[sanuk711]

[Mac Mickmanus]

11 hours ago, thaigrifter said:

It always makes me smile when ex UK residents describe people who go to the UK as "immigrants", and yet refer to themselves as expats when living in Thailand.

Makes the scratch my head when Westerners go to Asia and take advantage of the young females available , actively seeking the youngest , shortest , lightest weighing  ones they can find and all congregate in the same area and then they complain about Asians going to their Country and seeking out similar females and all congregating in the same area

[NoshowJones]

15 hours ago, rumak said:

sorry if i laugh.    we all know that you got shafted pretty good.    And i am sure there are others here

that if not embarrassed would tell some of their horror stories.

I was lucky.   Didn't lose very much in my thai divorce .   But your 1/3 pension is still probably more than my pittance of social security.  So,  you're fortunate for that  !

When I divorced my UK wife and sold the house, she tried to get half of everything, after a discussion between my lawyer and my wifes, I got everything, the house, belongings, and what was in the bank. She got 500GBP from the house sale, I got thousands.

Without going into detail, she was an alcoholic who could not hold down a job, also, there were no children involved.

[BobinBKK]

I'm over 60 and I'm ok with having the AstraZeneca vaccine, but if the political situation gets out of control and it's no longer safe to live in Thailand or they impose martial law you can color me gone!!!

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, possum1931 said:

When I divorced my UK wife and sold the house, she tried to get half of everything, after a discussion between my lawyer and my wifes, I got everything, the house, belongings, and what was in the bank. She got 500GBP from the house sale, I got thousands.

Without going into detail, she was an alcoholic who could not hold down a job, also, there were no children involved.

Presumably this was before 1997 when the UK laws on divorce radically changed.

[NoshowJones]

Just now, BritManToo said:

Presumably this was before 1997 when the UK laws on divorce radically changed.

 

Just now, BritManToo said:

Presumably this was before 1997 when the UK laws on divorce radically changed.

Yes, 1987, if it had went to court, things would have got very messy,  even her family would have taken my side, along with other factors, also take into account that it was in Scotland, I think the divorce rules were different than in England.

[Denim]

2 hours ago, possum1931 said:

You should not be paying anything, it should come off your income tax.

I can afford the 20 baht. Pretty cheap if you ask me.

[AwwYesNice1]

9 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

 

Plenty of Thai kids educated all of life in Thailand are quite successful in Thailand. 

 

Look around, you just answered all of your own hopes and fears.

[DrPhibes]

If it was not for the fact the the older son is starting KMUTT (online from home for now) and the daughter has one more yr in HS and then off to KMUTT also, we would be gone.  Will try to hang around for 2 more years from now before leaving the teens 1/2 a world away.   Then back to Fort Collins CO to raise the now 3yr old (yes, all 3 mine by the same woman!).  Predict the teens will do their 1st 2 years at KMUTT then off to Digipen in Washington State to finish their respective degrees in Digital programming (video game programming essentially) and Digital Design (video game design).  Wife is of the opinion that if things don't change, she never wants to come back unless to fight with the resistance.

[DrPhibes]

35 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Makes the scratch my head when Westerners go to Asia and take advantage of the young females available , actively seeking the youngest , shortest , lightest weighing  ones they can find and all congregate in the same area and then they complain about Asians going to their Country and seeking out similar females and all congregating in the same area

Thanks, that was exactly the description I was trying to come up with for my Thaicupid ad for a mia noi!

[ABCbangkok]

22 hours ago, Pravda said:

 

Went back to Canada many times pre covid and you couldn't be more wrong. 

Totally agree. Got back to Canada recently and I can’t believe how clean and fresh the air is here. Nice to live with an open sky.

 

The cost and tax are high because you get quality and services. Arrived in June and my free medical coverage starts in September and in October for my Thai wife.

 

We both had our first shots of Moderna, no costs. Not bragging. Had we been we been able to get any Western vaccine in Thailand I might not have left.

 

COVID infections and deaths way down across Canada and many believe due to aggressive vaccination rollout. I do expect some counter trend due to variant  Delta and who-knows-what-next but govt isn’t lying and Canadians know what is going on.

 

I’m also appreciating not being treated like a tourist or second class citizen. I was in Thailand for 30 years and begged the banks for a mortgage, despite having sizable assets to put up as collateral. (Long time ago, could have done something with Bangkok Bank for triple the rate for Thais). No can do. Some found a way but I could not. Canada extends mortgage to one and all no discrimination.

 

I got tired of not having rights in Thailand and the hassles at banks and immigration.

 

 

 

[jacko45k]

1 hour ago, 2009 said:

Wait, the UK charges??

 

In Scotland, university education is free of charge.

Only if you are living in Scotland... there's a high price to  pay!

[BritManToo]

46 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Makes the scratch my head when Westerners go to Asia and take advantage of the young females available , actively seeking the youngest , shortest , lightest weighing  ones they can find and all congregate in the same area and then they complain about Asians going to their Country and seeking out similar females and all congregating in the same area

You think we should be seeking the oldest, tallest (LB alert), heaviest ones we can find?

I could have stayed in the UK if that was what I wanted.

[ABCbangkok]

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

2 years in UK school gets her the right to pass on UK citizenship to her children.

A right she probably doesn't have at the moment.

It also gains her the right to attend UK University at UK prices.

Yes! In all three of your sentences: “rights”. Something that Thai society in general doesn’t understand, for both Thais and foreigners alike. 

[Eric Loh]

Here for business and have seen 2 coups, 1 financial crisis, a big flood and a pandemic in a span of 15 years. If I can survive all that, I will survive the pandemic with my Thai family. Anyway, home is just 2.5 hours away if needed. 

[BritManToo]

Just now, ABCbangkok said:

Yes! In all three of your sentences: “rights”. Something that Thai society in general doesn’t understand, for both Thais and foreigners alike. 

Would point out Thai nationals can already pass their citizenship to their children no matter where they live or were born.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 7/25/2021 at 4:57 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

How about: I will stay here as long as I don't see any alternative which is a lot better than Thailand.

 

Obviously Thailand is far away from perfect. But we still have nice weather, many nice people, good food, lots of pretty girls, no hassle with police, low crime, and and and.

 

It seems many people see problems with immigration or with politics. Personally I think that is maybe 10% of what is important.

There is a lot about the government and politics in Thailand which I don't like. But does it affect my life? No, or very little. And looking at "home" and many other countries in this world it seems bad politicians exist almost everywhere.

And about visa and 90 days, etc. That needs a few hours every year. Who cares? 

It's always warm, and the girls are pretty and feminine. What more does a bloke need?

[ABCbangkok]

4 hours ago, billsmart said:

Yes, Thailand's handled this very well. 

That must be some damn good weed you’re smoking! 

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Something wrong there, my kids have to pay foreign students fees, despite being British from birth. 

Yep, although I believe the correct term is 'International student fees', and they can't pass on their British citizenship to their children either.

Edited July 26, 2021 by BritManToo

[driver52]

6 hours ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

That as we  all know  vaccination does  not stop you recatching covid  but does  help with  making it way  less serious.

says who? some paid shill on the TV? or was it Klaus Schwab? ???? Where's your scientific evidence for this?

TIA 

[John Drake]

2 hours ago, Neeranam said:

There is a big difference in the words 'immigrant' and 'expat'.

Bert, the retired butcher from Bognor Regis, or Helmut, the retired seaman from Hamburg moving to Thailand permanently calls himself an expat, yet a financial advisor from Hong Kong in the UK/Germany is an immigrant. This makes me think it's a superior racial attitude, rather than a snobbish, Colonial-style one. 

I call myself an "expatriate" because on my visa and extension I'm specifically listed as a non-immigrant, Non-Immigrant B.

[Neeranam]

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Yep, although I believe the correct term is 'International student fees', and they can't pass on their British citizenship to their children either.

Really? I'm sure it won't be too hard for my grandchildren to get British citizenship, if they want.