The Race To 20 Thb Per Dollar

[Jingthing]

Yeah but what about 20 or 15 to the dollar? How would that feel. A poster asked about lower skilled US labor rates for US restaurant workers, well for example the minimum wage in Georgia is 6.55 per hour but Mexican type places often employ illegals and pay less.

More food carts! They're cool.

http://www.findsffoodtrucks.com/

[roamer]

Are you talking about the $ in isolation or are we talking about baht to sterling/euro also ? Because if that is the case then not only will there be fewer tourists/expats but this export financed country will be headed down the swanee.

[Ulysses G.]

Yeah I can see how people who are totally baht-ized might like this trend.

Think again. Anyone with a business that mostly depends on tourists is just as unhappy about the strength of the baht as the rest of you.

[Chunky1]

maybe i am paranoid but i am just waiting for the bus to go off the cliff and for the drunk driver to flee.

[Ulysses G.]

The baht was 25 to the dollar for many, many years, but the problem is that everything was cheaper and prices never go down here.

[Heng]

If it goes to $1 to 1 THB, no more ice cream baths for the staff!

Seriously though, it's still not too late to hedge (not just currency wise, but business wise).

[garyk]

I am already planning to go home to the U.S. I have been here for 2.5 years now.

I own a home there paid for, and a new pickup paid for. So all i have to pay is the tax on the home each year.

And food if you are careful. Is not that much more. So it is getting where the U.S. is going to be cheaper for me.

No more women half my age. But who cares. Been there done that. I am not much of a ramantic. And i really do not like the young women. Wierd hu.....

Now i am looking at South America. I am planning a trip to Equador next year. Also i can own a home there. If i want.

I never have inversted in the Asia system here. It is not a very good investment. I do not see why anyone investes money here with no rights.

Sorry ,,, at 26 my retirement will no longer be good enough to meet the 65000 baht rule. So before 25 I am out of here for sure. But i just got my retirement visa extended for another year last week. So I will be here for one more year.

Just my plan.

Edited August 28, 2010 by garyk

[bunta71]

You get far better value for your dollar in the Philippines. But, would you actually want to LIVE there? As I am only a seasonal visitor to Thailand it doesn't bother me too much when the baht fluctuates between 28 B to the Canadian dollar and 32 B to the Canadian dollar. Considering what I actually spend while in Thailand and what I save by BEING in Thailand, I can live with few hundred dollars extra. It all comes down to value for your money.

I spent the better part of twelve years in the Philippines and am married to a Filipina. There are some very nice places in the 7,107 islands there. Also some very crappy places. As JT mentioned Dumaguete is one of the very good towns to live in. University town, on the ocean and a two hour ride to Cebu on a German designed and built fast ferry. There are other nice places there also.

[lovelomsak]

20 baht to the dollar is tolerable but if philipines stays around 45 I will be going there before the 20 baht mark arrives.

[jazzbo]

sadly... funny... lastly... ... if only it were so... (No problem -- I am on ignore) ...

To the bugs '15' would be optomistic ... there is a topic on the Jobs, Economy section where the anti-Heidelberg gang can chime in on: Is The Us$ Destined To Collapse?

Edited August 28, 2010 by jazzbo

[flying]

Sadly many folks do not leave their visa guarantee funds in baht in the bank year round

( I do not know why not )

You don't know why flying? You? I thought of all people you would understand why. Some of us don't like receiving next to nothing by holding a worthless bunch of paper. So instead, we buy gold. Then we sell gold 3 months before the visa comes due. Rinse and repeat. That way, we at least get 9 months of positive upside potential.

Unfortunately, some people make the mistake of thinking that foreign currencies like the USD are also a better store of value than THB. I think they are wrong, but different strokes for different folks I guess.

.

hahaha of course your right greg

But I meant more so the folks who are on a shoestring.

They cannot really afford to gamble anything. Especially anything as important as their visa guarantee

Like you also said the usd is not the good as gold currency it use to be.

[jazzbo]

... why don't you just forget that silly bank bank book filled with worthless FIAT paper and plop 800K worth of gold on the IMM Officer's desk and say "Extend me for another year, babe!"

[loong]

buy a condo to rent out. Then you are paid in baht and don't have sweat the exchange rate........much.

Rent to who?

If your tenants are foreigners who rely on a favourable exchange rate, you may just end up with an empty property!

[Chunky1]

If i was single, well, I might already be gone already for Eastern Europe, China, Argentina maybe Macau. I can't see myself living in the Philippines with the crime that goes on and despite what some people claim, I think most of Central and South America falls into the same category. Married with children makes it harder, but as Heng says, not too late to hedge (I've already been hedged with existing funds but my income is in US dollars). For those who own property here and have strong roots here, I would recommend bahting up. There is no reason to be even exposed to the USD at this point if that is your situation.

Edited August 28, 2010 by Chunky1

[Chunky1]

those who work here and think you are out of the clear, you better have a job that relies primarily on the local economy (shoe store at main street) and not a job that relies on farang business, locally or globally. but maybe i am just paranoid.

[Jingthing]

Yeah I can see how people who are totally baht-ized might like this trend.

Think again. Anyone with a business that mostly depends on tourists is just as unhappy about the strength of the baht as the rest of you.

Good point, but think about it, if you run a business dependent on imported money, then you are not really baht-ized then, are you?

[chops]

make more money. i'd never return to america. place is a disaster now. got out while i could and not returning - ever.

[Hakuchi]

buy a condo to rent out. Then you are paid in baht and don't have sweat the exchange rate........much.

Rent to who?

If your tenants are foreigners who rely on a favourable exchange rate, you may just end up with an empty property!

Just rent to people who have money and not at some poor pensioners from the USA. Problem solved. Don't think that the Thai economy depends on old lonely man from the West.

[loong]

buy a condo to rent out. Then you are paid in baht and don't have sweat the exchange rate........much.

Rent to who?

If your tenants are foreigners who rely on a favourable exchange rate, you may just end up with an empty property!

Just rent to people who have money and not at some poor pensioners from the USA. Problem solved. Don't think that the Thai economy depends on old lonely man from the West.

That is the same as telling any business that is struggling, "just get customers with more money - problem solved"

Most people who rent out condos, rent to tenants with more than average income for Thailand. if there are fewer foreigners that can afford the rents, there will be more empty condos. If the Thai economy suffers because of the stronger baht, there will be fewer people with income derived from within Thailand that can afford the rents. So more empty condos

[Heng]

Sadly many folks do not leave their visa guarantee funds in baht in the bank year round

( I do not know why not )

You don't know why flying? You? I thought of all people you would understand why. Some of us don't like receiving next to nothing by holding a worthless bunch of paper.

A lot of folks simply don't have even $25-30k USD in life savings. There's a thriving business providing bridge financing to foreigners who need to meet their visa requirements (often this business comes from Thais who also need bridge financing to make their foreign visa applications look more attractive).

[Loz]

That English Teacher salary sure looks better now, doesn't it!

Sorry, but I remember the smug eeejots who laughed at teachers. Seems if the Dollar tanks, they are going to be the new arristocracy! 555+

[Chunky1]

That English Teacher salary sure looks better now, doesn't it!

Sorry, but I remember the smug eeejots who laughed at teachers. Seems if the Dollar tanks, they are going to be the new arristocracy! 555+

im sure the schools will find an excuse to cut their salary regardless of enrollment rates.

Edited August 28, 2010 by Chunky1

[Loz]

I've only seen my go up in the 4 years I've been teaching here.

And as the economy is not struggling like the US, what reason would they have for cutting salaries?

A rural 30-40k requires only modest "international assistance" for major purchases like cars and whatnot. If I were staying much longer the list of "Sum mum na" cards I could hand over at leaving parties would only be going up it seems...

But like the Murphy's, I'm not bitter.

[Chunky1]

who needs an excuse to cut salaries when Paul and Ning just tied the knot and Paul just made a down payment on a shiny new 2004 Fortuner. i doubt paul wants to go back to Alaska/Scotland/Brisbane. i was really just joking though with my last post i have no idea how a teachers salary would be effected. one would hope that this would be an expense parents have already planned and saved for.

Edited August 28, 2010 by Chunky1

[Hakuchi]

buy a condo to rent out. Then you are paid in baht and don't have sweat the exchange rate........much.

Rent to who?

If your tenants are foreigners who rely on a favourable exchange rate, you may just end up with an empty property!

Just rent to people who have money and not at some poor pensioners from the USA. Problem solved. Don't think that the Thai economy depends on old lonely man from the West.

That is the same as telling any business that is struggling, "just get customers with more money - problem solved"

Most people who rent out condos, rent to tenants with more than average income for Thailand. if there are fewer foreigners that can afford the rents, there will be more empty condos. If the Thai economy suffers because of the stronger baht, there will be fewer people with income derived from within Thailand that can afford the rents. So more empty condos

You are mistaken when you think that people who get few dollars from abroad are the only ones with big money. And the Thai economy doesn't suffer from it. Some  foreigners on a retirement pension maybe, but that aren't the big players who boost an economy.

[Kilgore Trout]

20 thb/$... 3 sunrise tacos would cost $11.

What would it cost in the USA?

3 tacos in chicago would cost you about 2.50

[way2muchcoffee]

That English Teacher salary sure looks better now, doesn't it!

Sorry, but I remember the smug eeejots who laughed at teachers. Seems if the Dollar tanks, they are going to be the new arristocracy! 555+

im sure the schools will find an excuse to cut their salary regardless of enrollment rates.

I doubt it. You may be surprised to know that some EPs in Thai schools (not counting the international schools) pay as much as 100,000 bt/month after you have been there a bit. That is more than starting teacher pay in many western nations, even more so at current exchange rates.

[whopper]

make more money. i'd never return to america. place is a disaster now. got out while i could and not returning - ever.

amen to that. nothing for me there.

[Chunky1]

That English Teacher salary sure looks better now, doesn't it!

Sorry, but I remember the smug eeejots who laughed at teachers. Seems if the Dollar tanks, they are going to be the new arristocracy! 555+

im sure the schools will find an excuse to cut their salary regardless of enrollment rates.

I doubt it. You may be surprised to know that some EPs in Thai schools (not counting the international schools) pay as much as 100,000 bt/month after you have been there a bit. That is more than starting teacher pay in many western nations, even more so at current exchange rates.

so when the supply of available prospective teachers rises, you predict that the pay for those teachers will stay the same? i wonder how many farang would be willing to take that position for half of what the other guy is making now?

Edited August 28, 2010 by Chunky1

[Chunky1]

You are mistaken when you think that people who get few dollars from abroad are the only ones with big money. And the Thai economy doesn't suffer from it. Some foreigners on a retirement pension maybe, but that aren't the big players who boost an economy.

Yeah just put an advert for "Need HiSo Tenant to pay me the same rent that the last guy paid me before the Global Currency Crisis of 2011/12 and preceding Global Stock Market crash began. Great view! Building very quiet, only 25% occupancy rate!"

Edited August 28, 2010 by Chunky1