I believe the OP has answered his own question in .26 above.

There's a few things that don't add up, that aside I wish him the best of luck.

Yeah, I'm surprised it's taken this long to wonder how a 34 year old construction worker ended up with, what sounds like, a substantial 'offshore' income ... Win the pools? Rich dead uncle?

Nobody has mentioned Vietnam, which I find surprising.

Superior to Laos and Cambodia by a long way.

Having been to Sihanoukville on several occasions, it might be okay for 3 months, but that is the max IMHO.

In my book a vasectomy is the best investment in Thailand. Think about it. 15k at Bumrungrad. School Fees = 300k - 700k a year at international school. 2 kids = 1mio a year. That's an ROI of 6,000%+ per annum, net present value under a free cashflow method would be around THB 20mio ball park, when taking into account other expenses

It's also an occasion to agree with one of the golden rules of don't spread your seeds in Thailand on fertile ground that you can't afford to maintain

Apart from turning you into a lap dog, a vasectomy will make you undesirable for a long term relationship with almost all Thai girls. Thai girls nearly all want children. Having children in Thailand costs almost nothing, and if you aren't married to the lady, then you have no legal responsibility towards the child either. I support a Thai teenager going through high-school and it costs about 2kbht a month for food, clothing and school.

I settled here by chance. I'd been fortunate enough to see the writing on the wall in Great Britain and knew full well that if I'd stayed, I'd probably have been chained to the well-paid but soul-destroying job, the daily scrum on the Central Line and the mortgage well into the next decade so I resigned, burned my suits while muttering something along the lines of "never again" and completed the sale on the flat the week before the Northern Rock went tits up.

The idea was to go around the world living off my investments and trading but, although I'd never been here before, when I arrived in Thailand at 41, I figured I might as well hang about for a while. As soon as Lehman Brothers collapsed though, I knew I wouldn't be back home for a good 5 years at least. Four years later, I'm still here and still lovin' it so I'd say that if you haven't got any young kids or other major responsibilities, have your wits about you and are resilient, I'd say make the break.

I've not regretted it . . . yet!

In my book a vasectomy is the best investment in Thailand. Think about it. 15k at Bumrungrad. School Fees = 300k - 700k a year at international school. 2 kids = 1mio a year. That's an ROI of 6,000%+ per annum, net present value under a free cashflow method would be around THB 20mio ball park, when taking into account other expenses

It's also an occasion to agree with one of the golden rules of don't spread your seeds in Thailand on fertile ground that you can't afford to maintain

Apart from turning you into a lap dog, a vasectomy will make you undesirable for a long term relationship with almost all Thai girls. Thai girls nearly all want children. Having children in Thailand costs almost nothing, and if you aren't married to the lady, then you have no legal responsibility towards the child either. I support a Thai teenager going through high-school and it costs about 2kbht a month for food, clothing and school.

Not sure lap dog is the proper term for someone who does not want to reproduce and bring yet more people into this crazy world. How about using the term shrewd for someone who won't have paternity held over their heads and the constant worry about knocking someone up.

You also left out the headaches and heartaches caused by rearing children. That alone is worth the price of getting cut. That 2k baht monthly expense will surely rise when it comes time for a better / higher education.

Some feel the need to procreate and to spread their seed upon the wind, some don't. When I hear a couple talking about having children, I ask them why. To date, I have never received an answer that made any sense.

Some people are cut out to be parents, others are not.

In my book a vasectomy is the best investment in Thailand. Think about it. 15k at Bumrungrad. School Fees = 300k - 700k a year at international school. 2 kids = 1mio a year. That's an ROI of 6,000%+ per annum, net present value under a free cashflow method would be around THB 20mio ball park, when taking into account other expenses

It's also an occasion to agree with one of the golden rules of don't spread your seeds in Thailand on fertile ground that you can't afford to maintain

Apart from turning you into a lap dog, a vasectomy will make you undesirable for a long term relationship with almost all Thai girls. Thai girls nearly all want children. Having children in Thailand costs almost nothing, and if you aren't married to the lady, then you have no legal responsibility towards the child either. I support a Thai teenager going through high-school and it costs about 2kbht a month for food, clothing and school.

No, we were talking about living human children not a kitten/doggy.

First off I would take a English grammer lesson