10 minutes ago, John Drake said:

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

That's just the visa type, which means you are not a permanent resident. I would call you an immigrant if I knew you were here for good. 

I only call people 'expats' if they work in a foreign country, which I know is wrong. Actually, I am still an expat, although I am Thai. I wouldn't call myelf an immigrant as I feel superior(just being honest) to other immigrants from neighbouring countries. 

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 20214 yr by Neeranam

Just now, Neeranam said:

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

Unless your 'British by descent' children live in the UK for 2-3 years (with evidence to support those years), before reproducing, your grandkids won't be British citizens.

18 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

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.

My suggestion would be to find a nice person as a partner , someone whom you like and someone who likes you . 

  The concept of being in a mutual happy and content relationship seems to have passed you by . 

  If you superficially choose a partner on what she looks like , you will be happy and content for 30 minutes every night and miserable for the other 23 and a half hours .

  If the only thing that matters is her appearance , it would be better to stick to short term prostitution , rather than a long term relationship 

11 minutes ago, driver52 said:

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

TIA 

and  yours?

1 minute ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

and  yours?

well I asked first! lol

where are all the dead bodies? here you go, more folks died in the 90s in the UK......let's see what cards you've got then 'Dr Jekyll'?

I chose 3. After the pandemic I will be relocating my "base of global operations" to a another country I like better where  I have some chance of PR, participation in the national health care scheme, and could actually retire to without anxiety over constantly moving goalposts.

 

 

19 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.

What, be British purely based on your parents being British... what terribly racist thoughts! To get  that coveted status one has to arrive in a dinghy on the SE coast carrying Somalian documents, or similar.

1 minute ago, driver52 said:

well I asked first! lol

where are all the dead bodies? here you go, more folks died in the 90s in the UK......let's see what cards you've got then 'Dr Jekyll'?

whats any of that got to do with what I was  saying?

1 minute ago, Captain Monday said:

I chose 3. After the pandemic I will be relocating my "base of global operations" to a another country I like better where  I have some chance of PR, participation in the national health care scheme, and could actually retire to without anxiety over constantly moving goalposts.

 

 

Why can't you get PR here?

Do you have a job, or is "base of global operations" other words for 'wearing Mickey Mouse ears, and playing Kumbaya on the ukulele to Chinese 5-year-olds"?

 

 

Edited July 26, 20214 yr by Neeranam

Just now, Neeranam said:

Why can't you get PR here?

Won't bother to work here and wont marry.

All foreign pilots I met who worked here were paid a pittance, it did not last long, 

and some of it was actually illegal but you know how things work here right?

 

2 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Why can't you get PR here?

Too old & retired.

PR and citizenship is only available to foreign men working in Thailand.

(different rules for foreign women of course)

Edited July 26, 20214 yr by BritManToo

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

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

Yes Thais nationals and offspring can hold onto their Thai citizenship, for what it’s worth. Not much in my opinion when compared to what immigrants receive in the West.
 

Here is a short list of the rights you can expect to have as an expat in Thailand:

 

- the right to be called a farang (connotation outsider/visitor)

- the right to report to Immigration every 3 months

- the right to go every year to Immigration for an reentry permit (even if you have residency)

- the right to be overcharged by those who think all westerners are rich and can handle the cost

- the right to be considered kee nok (bird doo) if you don’t spend generously

- the right to be denied rights by the authorities despite the taxes you’ll pay if you work there

- the right to be told ‘you can go home’ if you don’t like the ways Thais do things

- the right to be frustrated by the corruption of Thai politicians and unable to do or say anything much about it

- the right to suck up the illogic and downright lunacy of Thai culture on a daily basis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

39 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

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

High price?

9 minutes ago, driver52 said:

well I asked first! lol

where are all the dead bodies? here you go, more folks died in the 90s in the UK......let's see what cards you've got then 'Dr Jekyll'?

Where is that from? I found similar thing about Scotland. Why is everyone making such a fuss?

 

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/general-publications/weekly-and-monthly-data-on-births-and-deaths/monthly-data-on-births-and-deaths-registered-in-scotland?fbclid=IwAR0FqU6ZwbzEJrBqTfnjTp6ajqqJTZCMsRtGJmu9RdYdI1CRLzQFMKNssPw

2 minutes ago, ABCbangkok said:

- the right to be told ‘you can go home’ if you don’t like the ways Thais do things

From your list I'd suggest you'd probably be happier 'at home'.

42 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If people are paying 250 quid a WEEK just for services, people must be earning a <deleted> of a lot more than I did when I was working in London.

Another poster noticed my mistake. It is 250 a month ....... not week.

 

But yes....people are earning a lot more than when I was last there too. My mother was paying her two home helps 12 pounds an hour each ....yes each , for a couple of hours work twice a week. In addition , since this was a new build house on the Isle of Wight , she had her front and back gardens landscaped for 12,000 pounds. When she told me I couldn't help asking  ' Blimey mum, how did you manage to resurrect Capability Brown for such a small job !!?? ' And when I asked friends if they thought my mother was being ripped off they said no and told me of some of their own outlays.

 

Last time we were in the UK three years ago , my wife and I were obliged to pay 15 pounds for a 5 mile bus ride from Heathrow to Uxbridge.

 

So when I read about expats here saying Thailand is not cheap any more I can only understand them to mean it is not as cheap as it was but nonetheless it is still pretty cheap.

 

 

Edited July 26, 20214 yr by Denim

16 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

That's just the visa type, which means you are not a permanent resident. I would call you an immigrant if I knew you were here for good. 

I only call people 'expats' if they work in a foreign country, which I know is wrong. Actually, I am still an expat, although I am Thai. I wouldn't call myelf an immigrant as I feel superior(just being honest) to other immigrants from neighbouring countries. 

 

 

 

The one thing you cannot be, as far as I know, is an Immigrant (an official term) as a foreigner to Thailand. You can call yourself a "resident" but that is not official status, but a situation.

3 minutes ago, ChrisKC said:

The one thing you cannot be, as far as I know, is an Immigrant (an official term) as a foreigner to Thailand. You can call yourself a "resident" but that is not official status, but a situation.

In the US, there are 4 types of immigrant -  citizens, residents, non-immigrants, and undocumented immigrants

6 minutes ago, Denim said:

.

 

Last time we were in the UK three years ago , my wife and I were obliged to pay 15 pounds for a 5 mile bus ride from Heathrow to Uxbridge.

 

 

You could have taken the U3 bus from Uxbridge to Heathrow for 1 Pound 50 each 

My plans are to remain in Thailand . Mainly because of the cost of living compared to my homeland . 

I do not feel comfortable with that decision as I am riding on the back of the average Thai citizen to achieve the decision to stay . 

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

From your list I'd suggest you'd probably be happier 'at home'.

Happy to say I did make the move to a country I can indeed call ‘home’.

 

 

 

PR or citizenship is not impossible, just not feasible for me and for most a chickens chance in Thailand. The worry is visa issues and insurance. Look what they did with the O-A visa and this nonsense we  must buy even though fully insured already. They keep suggesting high net worth individuals are wanted and mooting various schemes. How about allowing people to provide some millions of baht under bond with a Thai government account instead of forcing me to buy 400,000 cover of dodgy insurance? Having equivalent of USD 12k hospital insurance is a small number and is no proof the hospital gets paid anyway. Some said go back to Elite. Since covid they made it an hindrance to enter Thailand because it requires some additional time consuming MoFa certification to get a COE, every time!  

 

39 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

I chose 3. After the pandemic I will be relocating my "base of global operations" to a another country I like better where  I have some chance of PR, participation in the national health care scheme, and could actually retire to without anxiety over constantly moving goalposts.

 

 

Where do you have in mind?

Just now, John Drake said:

Where do you have in mind?

Not saying. I should have been PR there 10 years ago. Will have to marry, maybe recycle an old GF

7 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

You could have taken the U3 bus from Uxbridge to Heathrow for 1 Pound 50 each 

Nope. And here's why. None of the buses running from Heathrow take cash any more. Its part of the wonderful cashless society. So.....you have to buy a travel card for each passenger. The minimum charge for an all day travel card was 7.50 pounds. This was at 9.00 pm in the evening because the taxi I had ordered and paid for in advance ( from Thailand ) failed to meet us.

 

After waiting for our no show driver we walked to the central bus station to catch a bus to Uxbridge. Here we found out cash was not acceptable and we would have to buy a travel card. Where was the booth to buy this travel card....somewhere in the bus terminal ??  No...don't be silly , you have to walk back to the underground station to get them. We dutifully walked back. Where is the booth to buy a travel card please ?  No booth here mate. You have to get one from the machine. We walked over to the machines. Above them was a massive board detailing the various travel cards available for the various zones depending on day of the week and age of passenger etc.

 

In front of this large fares board stood about 20 people who's first language was not English. There was a lot of head scratching and confused looks. I spent a few minutes trying to figure out the cheapest option for our journey. People realized I was English and asked for my help....but I was still trying to figure it out myself. Eventually an angelic female employee of London Underground pushed her way through the melee and started getting people their tickets according to their destination. She told me my cheapest option was the 7.50 ticket ....even though the actual fare for the journey is 1.50.   I asked ...' can I use one pass for the 2 of us ' . Answer no....must have one each.  

 

We could have gone a late night tour of the underground for several hours and got our moneys worth from these wonderful passes but after a long flight and it now being 9.00pm we just wanted to get to our hotel.

 

All the above is exactly true. I still think the whole episode was a cluster <deleted> and illustrative that the cashless society is not without its drawbacks.  If you want to use one of those archaic ATM machine thingamabobs....better hurry. They also are fast disappearing.

 

Rant over.  Wow catharsis can be as good as sex if you bottle it up long enough.

1 minute ago, Denim said:

Nope. And here's why. None of the buses running from Heathrow take cash any more. Its part of the wonderful cashless society. So.....you have to buy a travel card for each passenger. The minimum charge for an all day travel card was 7.50 pounds. This was at 9.00 pm in the evening because the taxi I had ordered and paid for in advance ( from Thailand ) failed to meet us.

 

After waiting for our no show driver we walked to the central bus station to catch a bus to Uxbridge. Here we found out cash was not acceptable and we would have to buy a travel card. Where was the booth to buy this travel card....somewhere in the bus terminal ??  No...don't be silly , you have to walk back to the underground station to get them. We dutifully walked back. Where is the booth to buy a travel card please ?  No booth here mate. You have to get one from the machine. We walked over to the machines. Above them was a massive board detailing the various travel cards available for the various zones depending on day of the week and age of passenger etc.

 

In front of this large fares board stood about 20 people who's first language was not English. There was a lot of head scratching and confused looks. I spent a few minutes trying to figure out the cheapest option for our journey. People realized I was English and asked for my help....but I was still trying to figure it out myself. Eventually an angelic female employee of London Underground pushed her way through the melee and started getting people their tickets according to their destination. She told me my cheapest option was the 7.50 ticket ....even though the actual fare for the journey is 1.50.   I asked ...' can I use one pass for the 2 of us ' . Answer no....must have one each.  

 

We could have gone a late night tour of the underground for several hours and got our moneys worth from these wonderful passes but after a long flight and it now being 9.00pm we just wanted to get to our hotel.

 

All the above is exactly true. I still think the whole episode was a cluster <deleted> and illustrative that the cashless society is not without its drawbacks.  If you want to use one of those archaic ATM machine thingamabobs....better hurry. They also are fast disappearing.

 

Rant over.  Wow catharsis can be as good as sex if you bottle it up long enough.

Similar happened to me at the SFO bart station. All the machines were broken.

I now call it "America, the country where nothing works"

40 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Where is that from? I found similar thing about Scotland. Why is everyone making such a fuss?

 

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/general-publications/weekly-and-monthly-data-on-births-and-deaths/monthly-data-on-births-and-deaths-registered-in-scotland?fbclid=IwAR0FqU6ZwbzEJrBqTfnjTp6ajqqJTZCMsRtGJmu9RdYdI1CRLzQFMKNssPw

All totally irrelevant to my  point  that  getting  vaccinated  will  improve  your  survivial  chances  next  time you get infected wtih covid

Off topic post removed

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

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

Well, at the time Britney Spears wandered without panties under her skirt I remember one case when a teenager with her motosai had an accident. When help arrived she was asked why not wearing pants, and the reason was to copy style of this greatest singer

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

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

Thank you for the field report.  ????