17 minutes ago, khunPer said:

I was more concerned about the gasoline costs...

Don't you enjoy driving?

Yes.. sometimes hard to get good information. And also you need to know when something changes. I was caught out on the visa front 9 years ago when the rules for the Multi-entry 'O" visa changed. I had checked in early July about the requirements at the consulate, but the rules changed a month later ..... and i didn't know. Got turned down and had to use tourist visas ( at least you could still get double entry ones then). Been on this forum ever since, and so have known about coming changes and prepared for them.

 

Other things .... a lot of information online  on Thailand English forums  can be wrong - either the poster's information is out of date or just wrong. So always need to verify it. Google sometimes helps, sometimes not.

 

For Thai bureaucracy the wife can sometimes help, but often she is as unaware as well. Ask a question to an official/employee - half the time they do not know either! Bureaucratic thinking in Thailand is also far worse - I remember that opening a bank account a few years ago  required visiting 5 branches, taking the wife AND a blue book holder and took 2 hours of form filling. That's why sometimes getting anything done is like wading through treacle.....

Is there such a thing as clear and accurate information in Thailand? I'm not sure there is.

 

Same in the UK, where the PM doesn't even understand his own rules.

 

Back to Thailand and I always recommend AseanNow/Thaivisa for the best info though I will give a shout-out to Richard Barrow who tries very hard to provide good advice.

 

As for Thai Government sites.......need I say more?

Living in a 3rd/ 2nd world military dictatorship in the Far east you don't really expect information to be easy to find or access!? One they don't actually know what they are doing coupled with their lack of common sense finds them holding a position that they would not normally ever have.

 

They are in charge and then you try to deal with the estate agents and lawyers and again you can get very sketchy information.

 

Tried to buy a house in Hua Hin once and ended up with two companies, no house and an outstanding loan of 2m baht!.......perhaps i should go to the authorities !?? lol

 

My thoughts are that peoples expectations are far too high when they move to Thailand.

 

One of the most annoying and also best qualities of the the Thais is there total lack of awareness of time or the urgency and efficiency of getting something done.

It is all simple over two centuries of experience cooperating with the gatekeepers of our esteemed hosts.

It would be tragic if we had to deal with incompetent, or idle xenophobic bureaucrats , who are in fear of those with more gongs decorating their rooms and whom they paid for the opportunity to meet the very people they often despise.

 

Luckily as my wife explained many moons ago and dealing with dozens of individuals on 4 different types of Visa in different Offices Khets and provinces they all consistently like a quiet life , deference, gifts , oh and I almost forgot MONEY in the best of all possible world's.

 

On Work, Married O and Retirement visa seems more variation between offices reported sometimes, but the actual rules as explained here are not difficult to understand for those who read Thai and our excellent posters like UJ. For others with more cash than leisure there are agents. You may not like the longer seasoning the health insurance and 90 days but no foreigner is forced to live here.

 

12 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Love the way you still refer to it as Thai Visa !

To me it's still Thai Visa ????

3 hours ago, ed strong said:

Living in a 3rd/ 2nd world military dictatorship in the Far east you don't really expect information to be easy to find or access!? One they don't actually know what they are doing coupled with their lack of common sense finds them holding a position that they would not normally ever have.

 

They are in charge and then you try to deal with the estate agents and lawyers and again you can get very sketchy information.

 

Tried to buy a house in Hua Hin once and ended up with two companies, no house and an outstanding loan of 2m baht!.......perhaps i should go to the authorities !?? lol

 

My thoughts are that peoples expectations are far too high when they move to Thailand.

 

One of the most annoying and also best qualities of the the Thais is there total lack of awareness of time or the urgency and efficiency of getting something done.

I do understand the sentiment , but have you ever noticed how fast freebies, special Lottery or 2+1  for  get snapped up not to speak of shrimp buffets, of course your time has no value to them, if you are retired or on vacation why should it?

I also notice Banks ,Teachers et al seem acutely aware of home time like civil servants the world over, while in private enterprise a "tip" may yield a happy ending.

 

My last extension issued in under a quarter of an hour. I admit I try to chose days/times when no queues due to Covid.

Structured ambiguity has its purpose

1 hour ago, Artisi said:

To me it's still Thai Visa ????

Bless.