SURVEY: What are your biggest issues in Thailand?

[TropicalGuy]

Road Safety : by far the largest threat here ( especially driving only motorbike). 
 

All other issues mitigated by maximum avoidance. Not living amongst Thais avoids all their Noise Parking Pollution issues. Immigration avoided by Retirement / Agent.
DLT every five years. Municipal : done with Lifetime ID /House Book. 

Work Permit: not applicable. Renting: own House. 

[KhaoYai]

4 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Seriously you can not compare uk to thailand investing in property and business. If Thailand was open everyone buying land and create business, what would be left for locals, and what would it have done to inflation? 
 

We see what happend to poor eu countries when the they joined, all the best easy productive farmland was bought up by cooperatives, and local  real estate was killed by foreign investors. 

I am not talking about investing, I am talking about family homes - that is very different and would have no effect on Thai land/house prices.

[david_dyer]

NOISE, the constant deep base doof doof doof. i live in thasala, nakhon si tammarat and every night it is deep base that rattles the windows shut if not already shut. i currently hate the post covid thasala m13 village and after this trip....will NEVER RETURN

[Hummin]

1 minute ago, KhaoYai said:

I am not talking about investing, I am talking about family homes - that is very different and would have no effect on Thai land/house prices.

I see the positive effect on it for myself, and not invest more than I'm willing to leave behind. It really makes me more cousious about my future plans and investments in Thailand. 

[david_dyer]

1 hour ago, NorthernRyland said:

100%. Nothing comes even close to this except for noise. When I hate Thailand and want to leave for ever it's for this.

come to thasala, m13. there you will see this place is noiser than phuket, patteya and kohsamui pre covid. doof dof doof doof from 6am till 3am every night

[NorthernRyland]

1 hour ago, vivananahuahin said:

time to go forward with some immigrations laws, they are outdated.

They're not outdated, the process is what's important to them. If we don't jump through the hoops then it's not meaningful to them. It's also a make-work program for bureaucrats and agents.

[Freddy42OZ]

Misleading title. 

Should have said "What topics do you want to read more about on ThaiVisa?" 



 

[NorthernRyland]

1 hour ago, Ecky said:

4. Girls screaming over PA systems in shopping malls.

5. Screaming and playing <deleted> music over PA systems in every village twice a day even early in the mornings.

[The Fugitive]

3 hours ago, Toscano said:

After the first 3 months one has to apply for residency , if granted...........

Am I correct in understanding that application for residency is compulsory? What do they require? Would a criminal record in your home or any other Country in which you have lived result in refusal? 

[KhaoYai]

1 minute ago, david_dyer said:

NOISE, the constant deep base doof doof doof. i live in thasala, nakhon si tammarat and every night it is deep base that rattles the windows shut if not already shut. i currently hate the post covid thasala m13 village and after this trip....will NEVER RETURN

There are ways of dealing with that.  I neighbour of mine loves (loved) to play loud music (really loud music) most evenings - occasionally is OK but every evening?  Not acceptable. 

 

Having discussed the problem with my nearest neighbour (Thai) who had complained to this guy several times to no avail,  it was clear that I would not get anywhere by complaining muself. So, I put my 350w music system out on the balcony at around 8am for a few mornings and gave him a blast of Dire Straits for half an hour.

 

I know for a fact that my nearest neighbour told the music guy why I was doing this and hey presto, the evening music was much reduced - not completely stopped but much more acceptable.  I am not in Thailand full time so I have to go through this ritual every time I arrive back - its quite amusing actually.

 

 

[Hummin]

4 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

Misleading title. 

Should have said "What topics do you want to read more about on ThaiVisa?" 



 

The biggest issues we are not free to talk about! 
 

 

[digger70]

Ignorance of Any Law.

Worst of all is  that Not one is Policed ,from traffic laws to corruption.

[NorthernRyland]

24 minutes ago, Hummin said:

We see what happend to poor eu countries when the they joined, all the best easy productive farmland was bought up by cooperatives, and local  real estate was killed by foreign investors. 

Although I didn't understand it then, that was always the plan with the EU and so-called globalization, give the elites greater access to the low cost investments (and human capital) which were previously blocked off to them due to pesky nationalism.

[flyfrog]

The biggest issue as business owner from a restaurant or other entertainment places is staff, even when you pay them more salary as usual they won't come nor show up, what's wrong with those people?

[Hummin]

1 minute ago, NorthernRyland said:

Although I didn't understand it then, that was always the plan with the EU and so-called globalization, give the elites greater access to the low cost investments (and human capital) which were previously blocked off to them due to pesky nationalism.

We see it happening now in Cambodia and Laos on speed, and labour work on this tremendous huge projects is mainly being done by Chinese. 

[BonMot]

My gripe can be summed up as nonsensical, random and time wasting bureaucracy. Whether it's 90 day report, re-entry permit, tedious marriage extension, drivers license (gave up), renewal teachers license, opening a bank account, money transfer. If those issues could be made sane I'd be very happy here again. Unfortunately, they just seem to be getting worse. One more would be the opacity of the property market and banks being allowed to not mark down bad debt keeping zombie property market alive.

 

For now the scooters are off the foot path and my life is less in danger on a daily basis.

 

I've accepted as a foreigner that this sad government is not that much worse than Biden administration. The dollar is doomed.

Edited May 19, 2022 by BonMot

[NorthernRyland]

Just now, Hummin said:

We see it happening now in Cambodia and Laos on speed, and labour work on this tremendous huge projects is mainly being done by Chinese. 

Yeah Cambodia is finished. When I was there the Chinese were buying properties and ejecting the non-Chinese tenants out. Of all the people to be colonized by the Chinese may be the worse.

[Hummin]

16 minutes ago, flyfrog said:

The biggest issue as business owner from a restaurant or other entertainment places is staff, even when you pay them more salary as usual they won't come nor show up, what's wrong with those people?

Thai tradition is a thai family run business who succeeds. 
 

Most uneducated workers are not used to be told directly or instructed what to be done 10 times. They want to do it their way, no matter what you say, and if you are not there guiding, they will do it their way, and if you complain, they loose face and will  leave you. 
 

Culture issues and problems. 
 

I have a few friends who run restaurants, and only one of them have the same staff almost from 5 years back and even through covid? How did he manage? I would say he is a genuine good person and social cultural smart. He is good at what he is doing, and know the business, the working culture, and he is kind, but still pay average salary. However he never steel the tips, that some smart business owners tends to do during a bad month or week. 
 

So why he succeeded? He keeps his staff as family, providing housing for them close by, socialize with them, and during covid, the staff moved in to his house. Not many business owners would have done that. 
 

 

Thailand is all about family, and then you have to act like it is your family. 
 

Im right or wrong? 

Edited May 19, 2022 by Hummin

[Kinnock]

4 hours ago, 473geo said:

Misleading, I don't have 'issues' but appreciate having information supplied on Thai visa to negate the 'issues' perhaps its just me but 'topics' of interest are way different to 'issues'

Yes, I don't have any current 'issues' with visas, business set up or property, but that's because I'm reasonably sorted, so have no issues now.

 

But they were all big challenges at the time.

[rattlesnake]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I used to have more issues than I do now. I worked on my attitude, which was getting in the way of appreciating Thailand for what it is, and was clouding my experience here. Used to stress over stupid stuff, as you can see from some of my past posts. Used to allow the politics to make me angry. Now it is not something I take seriously, just something I comment on, without anger or an emotional investment. Now, I just tend to laugh it off. Spent some real time back in the US recently, and it allowed some clarity and perspective, that I am very grateful for. Now, I just chuckle at most of the nonsense. Water off a duck's back, so to speak. 

You've nailed it right on the head, I can totally relate to that. I sometimes smile when I recall how uptight I used to get about stuff 10 years ago (or when I see a newbie doing it).

[Mavideol]

the fact that we are guests nothing else, the fact they can kick us out at any time they feel like regardless of how much investment, regardless if property and/or family, we made

[EVENKEEL]

Seriously my biggest concern is Heineken beer shot up 3 thb/can

 

[gamb00ler]

2 hours ago, PJ71 said:

pls give axample of how this effects you personally.

LOL.  You can't think of any?  Do you drive, do you walk, do you like clean air, do you prefer treated or untreated sewage, do you enjoy parks, do you like the accumulated gravel on the side of most roads, have you found any treasures in the trash that lays around everywhere, do you have children that need an education?

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by gamb00ler

[cyril sneer]

1. Police checkpoints

2. Finger prints needed for visa

3. TM30 forcing me to be around other farangs (the new online system has recently fixed this problem but not sure about other provinces)

[Lacessit]

The only major issue I have here is the yearly retirement extension, I should not have to worry at my age whether I will be told to leave by an IO having a bad day.

 

If the Thai government wants to know if I can still afford to live here, a bank book is all the proof I should need, not reams of documents.

 

How hard would it be for the Thai government to say after 3 or 5 years of living here - OK, you've proved you are law-abiding, as long as you remain that way, you can stay for as long as you want.

 

Most retirees want to be left alone to enjoy what life they have left, the extension BS detracts from that, and serves little purpose.

[murraynz]

3 hours ago, PJ71 said:

Pls tell us how corruption effects your daily life here.

 

You don't think corruption happens in every single country on the planet?

Thailand is more corrupt than most countries.. 

[PJ71]

3 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

LOL.  You can't think of any?  Do you drive, do you walk, do you like clean air, do you prefer treated or untreated sewage, do you enjoy parks, do you have children that need an education?

 

LOL

 

Yes i drive, more than 60K - 70K per year, like with anything you get used to the way they drive, i like the corruption as when i get pulled over by the fuzz i can send them on the way with a couple of 'pinks'

 

Yes i walk, i experience no corruption when this activity takes place.

 

The air is clean where i live, although very humid ( is corruption causing the humidity )?

 

Not sure your point about sewage, never really give it any thought tbh.

 

Yes, the parks are nice and normally very well maintained ( and cheap ).

 

No children ( thankfully ).

 

Pls feel free to ask more......you're entertaining.

[PJ71]

1 minute ago, murraynz said:

Thailand is more corrupt than most countries.. 

I have nno problem with that.

[robpuff]

Very few "issues" here, but paperwork stands at the top of the list. 90 day reporting and freedom of movement from province to province, number one. Number two: village life - electricity is quite high, water quality low

[gamb00ler]

5 minutes ago, PJ71 said:

LOL

 

Yes i drive, more than 60K - 70K per year, like with anything you get used to the way they drive, i like the corruption as when i get pulled over by the fuzz i can send them on the way with a couple of 'pinks'

 

Yes i walk, i experience no corruption when this activity takes place.

 

The air is clean where i live, although very humid ( is corruption causing the humidity )?

 

Not sure your point about sewage, never really give it any thought tbh.

 

Yes, the parks are nice and normally very well maintained ( and cheap ).

 

No children ( thankfully ).

 

Pls feel free to ask more......you're entertaining.

I see.... it's all about you.  'Nuff said!