Expats Here on a Permanent Basis: How did you pull it off?

[Cypress Hill]

Came here a long way short of the traditional retirement age. I'm able to remain in the country on extension of stay due to marriage. Support myself with money I earned back home, topped up with the occasional brief trip back there when there's a lucrative freelance job to be had.

Hang on . . . how's that, then? You stay here on a marriage extension but I'm sure I've heard you say your wife isn't Thai.

Can you elaborate?

[neverdie]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

I mean old chap,i was merely concerned,you know the old blood pressure,sweat pouring off as you pound the keys,blood sugar rising ect.

Zzzzzz

Honestly, I've obliterated you so many times, it's gotten boring

It might appear that way in your mind but reality is something entirely different.

Still spewing vile vile onto the forum. Anger management should be your next online course.

"Vile vile"??

Maybe remedial written English ought to be yours, Officer Dibble

Vile bile .

What no tongue lashing from your cesspit mouth tonite?

You assume you came to LOS well before anyone else (age wise) & somehow think you've invented the wheel, meanwhile you get by on mamma noodles and left overs from local 7/11 bin & speak scathingly to anyone who might be different.

Still sad to be you.

[SiSePuede419]

"And I can tell you're just ticked off that other people can see ways to support themselves that you're too blinkered or too set in your ways to acknowledge. "

Actually, I acknowledged it was a scam. Another 29 year old Monger writing reviews of Soapies in Chiang Mai or how to screen naive mountain girls by offering to buy them noodles and then screwing them in a short time hotel and then driving off without even buying them noodles?

Yup. Another "sophisticated " HTML jockey who wouldn't be able to get through one semester at a university, 555

[Cypress Hill]

Vile bile .

What no tongue lashing from your cesspit mouth tonite?

You assume you came to LOS well before anyone else (age wise) & somehow think you've invented the wheel, meanwhile you get by on mamma noodles and left overs from local 7/11 bin & speak scathingly to anyone who might be different.

Still sad to be you.

Notice how relatively civil the thread was until you popped up, Mr. Angry ex-cop.

You're not even worth acknowledging beyond one or two posts

[SoiBiker]

Came here a long way short of the traditional retirement age. I'm able to remain in the country on extension of stay due to marriage. Support myself with money I earned back home, topped up with the occasional brief trip back there when there's a lucrative freelance job to be had.

Hang on . . . how's that, then? You stay here on a marriage extension but I'm sure I've heard you say your wife isn't Thai.

Can you elaborate?

Yes, both those things are correct.

[Cypress Hill]

"And I can tell you're just ticked off that other people can see ways to support themselves that you're too blinkered or too set in your ways to acknowledge. "

Actually, I acknowledged it was a scam. Another 29 year old Monger writing reviews of Soapies in Chiang Mai or how to screen naive mountain girls by offering to buy them noodles and then screwing them in a short time hotel and then driving off without even buying them noodles?

Yup. Another "sophisticated " HTML jockey who wouldn't be able to get through one semester at a university, 555

Monger?? Noodles?? Soapies?? 29??

That's the only reaction you'll get to your feeble efforts at profile-building

Edited May 12, 2015 by Cypress Hill

[Cypress Hill]

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Came here a long way short of the traditional retirement age. I'm able to remain in the country on extension of stay due to marriage. Support myself with money I earned back home, topped up with the occasional brief trip back there when there's a lucrative freelance job to be had.

Hang on . . . how's that, then? You stay here on a marriage extension but I'm sure I've heard you say your wife isn't Thai.

Can you elaborate?

Yes, both those things are correct.

So how can you remain on a marriage extension if she's not Thai or a Thai citizen?

[SoiBiker]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Came here a long way short of the traditional retirement age. I'm able to remain in the country on extension of stay due to marriage. Support myself with money I earned back home, topped up with the occasional brief trip back there when there's a lucrative freelance job to be had.

Hang on . . . how's that, then? You stay here on a marriage extension but I'm sure I've heard you say your wife isn't Thai.

Can you elaborate?

Yes, both those things are correct.

So how can you remain on a marriage extension if she's not Thai or a Thai citizen?

Because I can.

[JB300]

OP why limited yourself to Thailand?

Look for opportunities in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo etc... Earn a 1st World salary & visit Thailand as often as you like...

[Yes more expensive to live in than Thailand but more higher paying careers & (certainly in the case of Singapore) much lower tax]

Finance/IT would be good disciplines to go for, if these don't float your boat then look into Oil & Gas, it's going through a tough patch at the moment but will bounce back & those guys seem to have a great lifestyle plus earn a reasonable amount of money.

[Bernard Flint]

worked my butt off for 36 years, divorced wifey, and came to live in Thailand at 51 yo. Cashed pension, and have a monthly income, have sipps, so monthly incoime from that and a yearly payment form investment funds.Have my full state pension when 65 too. My partner has a full time job also.

Forgot to say, i won the lottery too

Edited May 12, 2015 by Bernard Flint

[SiSePuede419]

The reason why these self-proclaimed "geniuses" can't be more specific about what "content" they provide on the internet is because if what they're doing isn't a scam, it's probably illegal or at least a moral "grey area".

Google Stickman "The Last Month, Explained" to find out more about the Boiler Room Mafia who own many of the Whore bars in Thailand...

"In many ways the place is a shit magnet...Many who become expats reinvent themselves to escape a shady past. Some are on the lam. They aren't necessarily bar customers. Some hold the respected title of ajarn and are teaching the youth of Thailand. They sit across from you on the skytrain, they're your neighbours, they're everywhere and they're unavoidable. You can't escape them. It's all very cute to term them characters some are but **many are something much worse**....there are so many reasons why Thailand is a shit magnet."

These HTML jockeys with their amazing "content" that they have to be so vague about, 555.

Reminds me of interviews with pimps who talk about how everyone be jealous of their fancy cars, condos, diamond rings and ho's, 555

I'm not retired. I'm not a mailman. I have the second most difficult university degree on earth, behind Physics. 67% of people who start my degree drop out or change majors. You can't handle the Truth, 555

[hereforgood]

Came here to retire but it didn't work out that way. had a friend who was managing a bar he then left that bar put together his own hired me to manage it did so for 7 years left there went to another bar been there for almost 2 years. Been a great almost 10yrs now.

[lostoday]

The reason why these self-proclaimed "geniuses" can't be more specific about what "content" they provide on the internet is because if what they're doing isn't a scam, it's probably illegal or at least a moral "grey area".

Google Stickman "The Last Month, Explained" to find out more about the Boiler Room Mafia who own many of the Whore bars in Thailand...

"In many ways the place is a shit magnet...Many who become expats reinvent themselves to escape a shady past. Some are on the lam. They aren't necessarily bar customers. Some hold the respected title of ajarn and are teaching the youth of Thailand. They sit across from you on the skytrain, they're your neighbours, they're everywhere and they're unavoidable. You can't escape them. It's all very cute to term them characters some are but **many are something much worse**....there are so many reasons why Thailand is a shit magnet."

These HTML jockeys with their amazing "content" that they have to be so vague about, 555.

Reminds me of interviews with pimps who talk about how everyone be jealous of their fancy cars, condos, diamond rings and ho's, 555

I'm not retired. I'm not a mailman. I have the second most difficult university degree on earth, behind Physics. 67% of people who start my degree drop out or change majors. You can't handle the Truth, 555

Education is the easiest and Engineering is the hardest.

http://www.thebestcolleges.org/top-10-easiest-and-hardest-college-degree-majors/

I'm glad you are successful in Thailand. Tit for tat. You wrote, "The reason why these self-proclaimed "geniuses" can't be more specific about what "content" they provide on the internet is because if what they're doing isn't a scam, it's probably illegal or at least a moral "grey area".

Tat - how are you successful in Thailand? Or. are you in the scam moral grey area and can't be more specific?

[LivinLOS]

"Ihear this all the time about you guys making money on line. I always wondered how you guys do this. do you sell products?"

Do you wonder why so many people in Thailand are so vague about where their money came from, 555?

"I sold a business"

Well, where did you get the money for the business? I fell out of the right womb, said no "self-made" millionaire, ever.

So far, it looks like the only honest answers the OP got are "English teacher" and "fell out of the right womb"...

555+

Ya ya we all know you like kicking people but how did you make it full time in Thailand?

I'll admit it: I fell out of the right womb.

If my mother lived in a slum in Calcutta/Mexico City/RIO/Lagos/Etc., I wouldn't be here in Thailand having this conversation..

What utter nonsense.. Just because maybe you cant imagine succeeding in life dont paint us all with your brush.

I was born to an old man who was a drug dealer.. we were on the run for the first 4 years of my life.. I spent a lot of my childhood living in caravans.. Going from school to school (4 schools my first year).

Right womb ??

I started a biz at 22, by 28 it was pan european offices in 5 countries and employed over 1000 men that year. All done in countries I had no language skills of, or nationality etc. Since then I have started a few other businesses which have also gone big.. One I do now required large startup cost (project far over ran) but is an online service in financial services industry.. Yes that internet that you think no one makes money out of !!

Yes I sold a business.. I had to make them and grow them before anyone would pay for them !!

Edited May 12, 2015 by LivinLOS

[tolsti]

Great input at both ends of the spectrum.

I am going back to the USA to enroll myself in courses and learn skills that will let me telecommute on the job.

I want to come back to Thailand while still young but if I have to spend one to three years in the USA building up my business and career that's okay.

I recently turned down a job paying 35,000 baht a month.

I would love to stay here and just party and have sex all the time. Plus I find day to day life better here than the States.

I'm sacrificing being in Thailand for short term so that in the long term I will have the independence I need to travel and live where I want. Thailand is great but I want to also experience life in Japan and maybe Philippines.

The requirement for wages visa-wise for Americans is 50,000 the unless you are a teacher.

[CharlieH]

Off topic posts removed.

This thread is not about an individuals visa status, nor is it about any specific member and his posting style.

[Stan42]

I was born.

That's it OP. That's all the effort I put in. I'm not a teacher and not retired but still enjoy a carefree life in Bangkok. I have full dual citizenship with all the rights that they bring. I support myself through:

1. The greatest welfare state: Germany (heck we invented the welfare system in the late 19th century)

2. Online work from home mostly for US customers.

3. Some real estate I own in Lop Buri which I rent out.

Put all 3 together and I have a decent income that allows me to take 4 days a week off while living under expat standards in downtown Suk.

Feels good man

What kind of online work?

I draw Hentai on a commission basis.

Before you think I'm a pervert, I should tell you that you wouldn't believe how much money people are willing to spend on some personally tailored, sick stuff they can't get anywhere else. In my 10 years I have seen and drawn more fetishes and weird, twisted sexual fantasies than a Bangkok pimp. It's anonymous and I never ask any questions.

[rayongchelsea]

"Ihear this all the time about you guys making money on line. I always wondered how you guys do this. do you sell products?"

Do you wonder why so many people in Thailand are so vague about where their money came from, 555?

"I sold a business"

Well, where did you get the money for the business? I fell out of the right womb, said no "self-made" millionaire, ever.

So far, it looks like the only honest answers the OP got are "English teacher" and "fell out of the right womb"...

555+

Ya ya we all know you like kicking people but how did you make it full time in Thailand?

I'll admit it: I fell out of the right womb.

If my mother lived in a slum in Calcutta/Mexico City/RIO/Lagos/Etc., I wouldn't be here in Thailand having this conversation..

What utter nonsense.. Just because maybe you cant imagine succeeding in life dont paint us all with your brush.

I was born to an old man who was a drug dealer.. we were on the run for the first 4 years of my life.. I spent a lot of my childhood living in caravans.. Going from school to school (4 schools my first year).

Right womb ??

I started a biz at 22, by 28 it was pan european offices in 5 countries and employed over 1000 men that year. All done in countries I had no language skills of, or nationality etc. Since then I have started a few other businesses which have also gone big.. One I do now required large startup cost (project far over ran) but is an online service in financial services industry.. Yes that internet that you think no one makes money out of !!

Yes I sold a business.. I had to make them and grow them before anyone would pay for them !!

Agreed many have fallen out of privileged wombs and achieved nothing.

I beginning to think they have all come to Thailand..

[fey]

Not interested in saying. Would hate to disappoint you.

[BKKBobby]

Lucky in the lottery of life.

[ldnguy]

How would you support yourself back in your home country ? Get an education, get a job, get some experience and then live where you want. The problem with young pups is they want to learn new tricks without putting in their time to be an old dog. There are no shortcuts to life son.

I agree fully with that. Get your life and finances, or at least qualifications, sorted out before you come here - don't try to do it whilst you are here. I retired here 11 years ago after holidaying here most years since 1987. I planned it meticulously and made absolutely sure I was financially viable for every eventuality. I would not have liked to have arrived here whilst young hoping to make a life and a living. There are too many temptations and pitfalls that can make you regret it and there is then often no returning to the old life. You end up in a kind of limbo, or worst still, stupour.

It's true that you need some kind of plan, but some people can go with he flow and make a life for themselves along the way. I don't like planning too much, but things always work out just fine. You certainly don't need meticulous planning. People don't even do that back home.

[ev1lchris]

I think for most foreigners Thailand would be a dead end career wise. Especially if you go the English teaching route.

[wow64]

I think for most foreigners Thailand would be a dead end career wise. Especially if you go the English teaching route.

I am not a teacher so its hard for me to comment career wise... Have a very good friend who was an English Teacher in Oz got transferred out here to a College and did it for the experience. He gets good money for a teacher and free education for his kid.

Sent from my c64

Edited May 17, 2015 by wow64

[AntonTH]

Been working in hotel business, im 25.

Worked in bangkok and now currently working on koh chang not far from trat/pattaya

The requirement for wages visa-wise for Americans is 50,000 the unless you are a teacher.

In theory yes but my job included write 50000 on contract but you dont get them. So the work permit and everything gets approved. No one checks if you do get paid 50k afterwards Edited May 17, 2015 by AntonTH

[tolsti]

The company I work for both reports and pays the wages required.

[eeeya]

took a poor low paying job in oil and gas at the bottom in my home country..still working the same job but in the gulf of Thailand.

I used to think it was the holy grail to one day work and live here.. now it just seems normal daily grind with the same responsibilities..

anything involving bars and night life is for the tourists and retires..Other than that you'll just come home and sit on the sofa and watch the tv like anywhere else.

One thing i found here is even the lowest jobs the person still has a degree.. even on the oil platform im on now, the thai painter (entry level position) has a masters degree.

study up...now is not the time for You and Thailand

[Gringogazzer]

How would you support yourself back in your home country ? Get an education, get a job, get some experience and then live where you want. The problem with young pups is they want to learn new tricks without putting in their time to be an old dog. There are no shortcuts to life son.

Unfortunately, the US doesn't work like that anymore. 2.5% GDP growth doesn't allow it. You can get an education but there is no guarantee of a job at the end of the rainbow.

I've supported my travels in the past by running an internet business. For somebody who doesn't want to teach English, this is definitely the way to go. There are thousands of digital nomads in Thailand now and they can earn good money.

Also unfortunately for Americans they've brought out FATCA..foreign account tax compliance act..

All foreign banks are being forced to report Americans who bank with them to the IRS.

They will be taxed not by the country's in which they make their money, but by their citizenship. They will always have to pay the American rate of tax. If they live in a low tax country, the amount of tax paid to that country will be deducted off of their higher American rate.

It's a headache for the foreign banks & are turning accounts down, refusing mortgages etc of American citizens.

Land of the free, the biggest joke ever told.

Would of said lie, but religion got that one.

[Don Mega]

Great input at both ends of the spectrum.

I am going back to the USA to enroll myself in courses and learn skills that will let me telecommute on the job.

I want to come back to Thailand while still young but if I have to spend one to three years in the USA building up my business and career that's okay.

I recently turned down a job paying 35,000 baht a month.

I would love to stay here and just party and have sex all the time. Plus I find day to day life better here than the States.

I'm sacrificing being in Thailand for short term so that in the long term I will have the independence I need to travel and live where I want. Thailand is great but I want to also experience life in Japan and maybe Philippines.

The requirement for wages visa-wise for Americans is 50,000 the unless you are a teacher.

The wage requirement for a visa is Bt.00,000.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Don Mega

[lostoday]

How would you support yourself back in your home country ? Get an education, get a job, get some experience and then live where you want. The problem with young pups is they want to learn new tricks without putting in their time to be an old dog. There are no shortcuts to life son.

Unfortunately, the US doesn't work like that anymore. 2.5% GDP growth doesn't allow it. You can get an education but there is no guarantee of a job at the end of the rainbow.

I've supported my travels in the past by running an internet business. For somebody who doesn't want to teach English, this is definitely the way to go. There are thousands of digital nomads in Thailand now and they can earn good money.

Also unfortunately for Americans they've brought out FATCA..foreign account tax compliance act..

All foreign banks are being forced to report Americans who bank with them to the IRS.

They will be taxed not by the country's in which they make their money, but by their citizenship. They will always have to pay the American rate of tax. If they live in a low tax country, the amount of tax paid to that country will be deducted off of their higher American rate.

It's a headache for the foreign banks & are turning accounts down, refusing mortgages etc of American citizens.

Land of the free, the biggest joke ever told.

Would of said lie, but religion got that one.

I have 5 bank accounts in Thailand - none turned down because I'm an American. I also have a number of accounts in other countries also not turned down. Sounds to me more like the old song of anti Americanism rather than any fact. Why don't you list banks in Thailand that are turning down American bank accounts? Or were you telling porkies? Ya, that's what I thought.

[Gringogazzer]

How would you support yourself back in your home country ? Get an education, get a job, get some experience and then live where you want. The problem with young pups is they want to learn new tricks without putting in their time to be an old dog. There are no shortcuts to life son.

Unfortunately, the US doesn't work like that anymore. 2.5% GDP growth doesn't allow it. You can get an education but there is no guarantee of a job at the end of the rainbow.

I've supported my travels in the past by running an internet business. For somebody who doesn't want to teach English, this is definitely the way to go. There are thousands of digital nomads in Thailand now and they can earn good money.

Also unfortunately for Americans they've brought out FATCA..foreign account tax compliance act..

All foreign banks are being forced to report Americans who bank with them to the IRS.

They will be taxed not by the country's in which they make their money, but by their citizenship. They will always have to pay the American rate of tax. If they live in a low tax country, the amount of tax paid to that country will be deducted off of their higher American rate.

It's a headache for the foreign banks & are turning accounts down, refusing mortgages etc of American citizens.

Land of the free, the biggest joke ever told.

Would of said lie, but religion got that one.

I have 5 bank accounts in Thailand - none turned down because I'm an American. I also have a number of accounts in other countries also not turned down. Sounds to me more like the old song of anti Americanism rather than any fact. Why don't you list banks in Thailand that are turning down American bank accounts? Or were you telling porkies? Ya, that's what I thought.

Look it up yourself Holmer, read Forbes.

The deadline is 2016 but the foreign banks are starting to come into compliance now.

It's just not that hard to see if it's a porky or not.

You may not be able to type soon with the weight of them shackles.