1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

perhaps consider donating some stuff like plates and cooking stuff (or selling on facebook marketplace) ... and just leave it behind.

It will probably not cost that much more to buy it again back home anyway than having it shipped.

Was at several Wal Marts back in So Cal and most household items were still pretty cheap. I saw a microwave oven for about $50 and a coffee maker for $20. Kitchen items are cheap and I even got a pay as you go phone plan for $45 a month(Total Wireless. Wal Mart is not favorite place to shop but they have a lot of what I needed at good prices. Pay with cash because I used my credit card at one and I had fraud charges a few days later.

If you know how to shop in the U.S. you can keep things cheap. Friday night steak night, comes out of the bargain bin at Albertsons 17$ steak 9$. Yep, Walmart better prices.

I'm probably 15 years behind you guys, have some years on the Khao Lak coast to do as well as the Philippines but will eventually (80's), probably be in an old folks home Vegas.

I can think of worse things to do than spending time at Valley of Fire State Park.

7 minutes ago, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

I can think of worse things to do than spending time at Valley of Fire State Park.

Depending on the time of year.

9 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Depending on the time of year.

I was there last November which wasn't bad. Which months would you avoid?

Just now, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

I was there last November which wasn't bad. Which months would you avoid?

May to September

On 9/18/2026 at 9:57 AM, Priorexpat said:

I'm probably 15 years behind you guys, have some years on the Khao Lak coast to do as well as the Philippines but will eventually (80's), probably be in an old folks home Vegas.

Wouldn't such care be much less expensive in Thailand? I’m pretty sure you can spend $10K a month or more just about anywhere in the USA. Then again, if you’re in a position where the US government is going to pick up the tab, then maybe it doesn’t matter.

On 9/17/2026 at 10:25 AM, sqwakvfr said:

as at several Wal Marts back in So Cal and most household items were still pretty cheap. I saw a microwave oven for about $50 and a coffee maker for $20. Kitchen items are cheap and I even got a pay as you go phone plan for $45 a month(Total Wireless. Wal Mart is not favorite place to shop but they have a lot of what I needed at good prices.

Small appliances and household items are the least of it. I haven’t been back to the USA for over four years, but there’s no shortage of people online complaining about the cost of just about everything else. Food, gas, transportation, rent, utilities, health care, insurance. All very expensive these days, given the typical income.

I sometimes think about moving back there, just for a change of scenery, but I stop and ask myself if it’s worth it.

29 minutes ago, jas007 said:

Small appliances and household items are the least of it. I haven’t been back to the USA for over four years, but there’s no shortage of people online complaining about the cost of just about everything else. Food, gas, transportation, rent, utilities, health care, insurance. All very expensive these days, given the typical income.

I sometimes think about moving back there, just for a change of scenery, but I stop and ask myself if it’s worth it.

Yes. Food, Gas and rents cost high. I was back in my old neighborhood in LA county and went by old apartment building and when I left the rent was $1100. It is now $1800. Almost doubled in 8 years. For me health insurance would be about $900 per month with a $7000 deductible. Gas at my local ARCO station is $5.69 per gallon as of yesterday. At this point I can afford to move back but what type of vehicle to buy is a perplexing issue. The cheapest new car starts at about $25K. Decent used cars (I mean the type that don't blow up) can range from $10K to $15K. I was back in February and a glimmer of hope was lunch at In N Out( cheeseburger, fries and a drink) was $11.

5 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

Yes. Food, Gas and rents cost high. I was back in my old neighborhood in LA county and went by old apartment building and when I left the rent was $1100. It is now $1800. Almost doubled in 8 years. For me health insurance would be about $900 per month with a $7000 deductible. Gas at my local ARCO station is $5.69 per gallon as of yesterday. At this point I can afford to move back but what type of vehicle to buy is a perplexing issue. The cheapest new car starts at about $25K. Decent used cars (I mean the type that don't blow up) can range from $10K to $15K. I was back in February and a glimmer of hope was lunch at In N Out( cheeseburger, fries and a drink) was $11.

I could move back tomorrow if that’s what I decided to do. Buy a house, put a car in the garage, get my junk out of storage, turn on my utilities, and there I’d be, stuck with all the high costs. I’m not sure what the advantage would be other than good Mexican food and to once again have a car. Here, I just take Bolt taxis. AndI don’t have a health insurance problem.

You can surely buy a decent car for $25K. Maybe not a BMW, but so what? The last time I was there and had a car, I mostly never left the neighborhood. In three years, I only put 9K miles on the car going back and forth to the grocery store or out to lunch or dinner.

On 9/13/2026 at 12:12 PM, James Peiris said:

Only clothes, cooking stuff and plates etc. And, a computer

Unless your cooking stuff is hard to replace, I would not bother shipping it.

Same for your computer, unless it is a laptop which you can carry with you. When I moved to TH in 2020, I carried with me a very small computer, mouse and keyboard. We were quarantined for 2-3 weeks in a hotel in BKK so used the TV as the monitor. I suggest you back up your computer to an SSD or even to a cloud service and then buy a new/used computer in US and restore your data to it. I bought several used computers from eBay over the years and had good results.

22 hours ago, jas007 said:

Wouldn't such care be much less expensive in Thailand? I’m pretty sure you can spend $10K a month or more just about anywhere in the USA. Then again, if you’re in a position where the US government is going to pick up the tab, then maybe it doesn’t matter.

Yea, thats what I'm dealing with now, with my Mom. Medicare picks up the bill. Trumpers will claim foul, but hell no when my Mom has been paying in for 60 years.

1 minute ago, Priorexpat said:

Yea, thats what I'm dealing with now, with my Mom. Medicare picks up the bill. Trumpers will claim foul, but hell no when my Mom has been paying in for 60 years.

Actually, it’s Medicaid that will pick up the bill, not Medicare. And the rules to qualify for Medicaid can be complex, depending. The general idea is that they want you to be just about destitute, but they won’t go after your home, although they can go after the estate for reimbursement of any amounts paid for the nursing home.

There’s an entire little industry of estate planning attorneys that try to find ways around the rules, so the government’s rules are constantly changing to counter whatever scheme the estate planners come up with.

27 minutes ago, jas007 said:

Actually, it’s Medicaid that will pick up the bill, not Medicare. And the rules to qualify for Medicaid can be complex, depending. The general idea is that they want you to be just about destitute, but they won’t go after your home, although they can go after the estate for reimbursement of any amounts paid for the nursing home.

There’s an entire little industry of estate planning attorneys that try to find ways around the rules, so the government’s rules are constantly changing to counter whatever scheme the estate planners come up with.

That what all the bankruptcy related to medical bills are about.

They generally can't take your home, car, retirement savings or personal effects.

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

That what all the bankruptcy related to medical bills are about.

They generally can't take your home, car, retirement savings or personal effects.

Not while you’re alive. There are exemptions in place at that point, but once you die, they often go after your estate, which can include all of the above. It’s a big game. Of course, many truly indigent people have no estate, so when they die, that’s that.

Anyway, the nursing homes won’t even admit you unless they know you can pay. And if you can’t, then there are means tests to determine when Medicaid will pick up the tab while you’re alive and in the nursing home.

The reason I know about any of this stuff is that I went through it with both my father and his wife. Those people could afford to pay, though, so all I did was write checks every month.