British expats in Thailand feeling the misery as the UK pound drops to record low levels.

[SheungWan]

7 hours ago, William T said:

 I know several British OAPs who can no longer afford to renew their Retirement Visa and have gone home.

Really now. The mind boggles.

[bomber]

7 hours ago, William T said:

Brilliant post on a serious subject. I know several British OAPs who can no longer afford to renew their Retirement Visa and have gone home.

and i bet most voted for brexit,as NF said not laffing now are they

[bomber]

2 hours ago, MrPatrickThai said:

It's 43.8! Hardly a record low.

 

In  Oct 1992 it was 38. And the US$ was 25.

 

I love it as it make my family's holiday much cheaper than a few year ago.

 

Let's hope it goes up when I retire in 15 years.

 

 

at 42ish it would be a 20 year low.not a record but............not good either,pretty shit actually

[emilymat]

It's not really relevant to compare rates to the mid 90's. I first came here in 1989 and recall it was about 40 then. But, of course, things here were much cheaper then and my income much higher as I was still at work on paid holiday

 

I'm sure this applies to many retirees etc .  We are where we are, and although it's no good re-hashing all the referendum divisions I still cannot understand how anyone living here could argue 'we now have our freedom back' when the Brexit  talks are gong down the pan. (Clearly I voted remain as I believe narrow nationalism is the scourge of the world.)

 

I'm afraid this latest 'no deal' scenario is likely to impact once again on the devaluation of the pound.

 

Personally, and I know I'll get it in the neck, but I would support some form of second referendum when the actual outcome is absolutely clear, but before ratification by the UK and EU parliaments. If the 'Brexiteers' are so confident then they will simply win again and that's that.  

 

Prior to the vote, I remember having rather heated discussions with some of my friends in Birmingham who were adamant that immigration was the big issue. But.....it was not EU immigration, it was the flow from the sub continent they were passionate about. Some even believed we could send people back to those areas once we left the EU.

 

It's all such a mess now. So sad. I suppose I should feel pride in having my freedom back, given I live in a country where I have no vote and which is run by a military government, not that I'm really affected in my daily life by that. That's a matter for the Thai people.

[Henryford]

9 hours ago, MrPatrickThai said:

It's 43.8! Hardly a record low.

 

In  Oct 1992 it was 38. And the US$ was 25.

 

I love it as it make my family's holiday much cheaper than a few year ago.

 

Let's hope it goes up when I retire in 15 years.

 

 

People forget, i only got 43.5 on a transfer in March 2013, long before any BREXIT. It won't rise now until interest rates rise and that's won't happen until the Goldman Sachs stooge Carnage goes.

[whiteman]

On 30/09/2017 at 9:57 PM, Airbagwill said:

There have always been prophets of doom and drops in exchange rates etc etc......but I think the difference for UK now is Brexit. It will permanently devalue the UK in every respect....value of the pound, value of pensions, values of property, and unlike previous hiccoughs, this is a permanent long term possibility.

many people have already had 20% or more slashed off their wealth.

Of course some expats will tell us that their pensions and savings aren't in the UK and immune, but this will be a minority.

 

In the end I don't see a sudden exodus...it will take time first for the situation to harden and then for the harsh reality to sink in, many may try to hobble along until they die, uninsured in a government hospital, but many will see that Thailand is no longer the cheap retirement option it was 10 years ago and will have to pack up and leave. The new huge industrial expansion in Chonburi and Rayong will undoubtedly raise property prices, rents and CoL and ths rest of the country will follow.

Sadly of course they won't have any choice of where to go....until Brexit there was the possibility of settling in some of the warmer areas of the EU or in the new members with relatively cheap cost of living, but now that option will fly out of the window too.

 

..or like many people in the Uk, they will make use of dual citizenship and move to the other country they have citizenship of....apparently thousands are already renewing their Irish passports (in my case Italian or Australian)

 

...but if you are a Brit (especially an English one) I really  don't envy your prospects for the next 20 to 40 years or so.

 

 

 

 

It is that the Thai Bhat is very strong to most other currencies and getting stronger. The n.z.$ has also fallen by 7% in the last 2 months and that has nothing to do with Brexit just a strong Thai Bhat

[billd766]

12 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

have you been there since they joined the EU?

 

No, but they are still in Europe and Yugoslavia does not exist now.

[MrPatrickThai]

4 hours ago, emilymat said:

It's not really relevant to compare rates to the mid 90's. I first came here in 1989 and recall it was about 40 then. But, of course, things here were much cheaper then and my income much higher as I was still at work on paid holiday

 

I'm sure this applies to many retirees etc .  We are where we are, and although it's no good re-hashing all the referendum divisions I still cannot understand how anyone living here could argue 'we now have our freedom back' when the Brexit  talks are gong down the pan. (Clearly I voted remain as I believe narrow nationalism is the scourge of the world.)

 

I'm afraid this latest 'no deal' scenario is likely to impact once again on the devaluation of the pound.

 

Personally, and I know I'll get it in the neck, but I would support some form of second referendum when the actual outcome is absolutely clear, but before ratification by the UK and EU parliaments. If the 'Brexiteers' are so confident then they will simply win again and that's that.  

 

Prior to the vote, I remember having rather heated discussions with some of my friends in Birmingham who were adamant that immigration was the big issue. But.....it was not EU immigration, it was the flow from the sub continent they were passionate about. Some even believed we could send people back to those areas once we left the EU.

 

It's all such a mess now. So sad. I suppose I should feel pride in having my freedom back, given I live in a country where I have no vote and which is run by a military government, not that I'm really affected in my daily life by that. That's a matter for the Thai people.

<deleted>, the lot of the English politicians. If only the Scottish people weren't fooled by their propaganda, including the BBC, we'd be a rich nation. 

[Airbagwill]

3 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

No, but they are still in Europe and Yugoslavia does not exist now.

Just like the UK shortly after Brexit.

[bomber]

6 hours ago, Henryford said:

People forget, i only got 43.5 on a transfer in March 2013, long before any BREXIT. It won't rise now until interest rates rise and that's won't happen until the Goldman Sachs stooge Carnage goes.

The UK wont be able to take a rise,dont forget the govts interest on its massive debts will rise also,thats why it wont happen.

[SheungWan]

3 minutes ago, bomber said:

The UK wont be able to take a rise,dont forget the govts interest on its massive debts will rise also,thats why it wont happen.

Interest on debt is not the only variable so it is not possible to definitively say something will not happen.

[Kieran00001]

7 hours ago, Henryford said:

People forget, i only got 43.5 on a transfer in March 2013, long before any BREXIT. It won't rise now until interest rates rise and that's won't happen until the Goldman Sachs stooge Carnage goes.

 

The 2013 issue was caused by an incompetent Chancellor, he managed to drag the global crash out for his entire terms while our neighbors recovered years before.  No, it does not require Brexit for our economy to falter, a Tory party will do, and with both...

[billd766]

5 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

Just like the UK shortly after Brexit.

 

The UK in its various forms has been around for well over 2,000 years and it has survived and done well over that time.

 

The EU was only formed on 1st November 1993.

 

Even its predecessor, the EEC was only formed on 25th March 1957.

 

They have a long way to go yet. Perhaps another 2,000 years

 

I know who I back and support 100%, and it isn't the EU.

[billd766]

5 hours ago, bomber said:

The UK wont be able to take a rise,dont forget the govts interest on its massive debts will rise also,thats why it wont happen.

 

Are you a banker by any chance with all the updated information at your fingertips?

[Kieran00001]

58 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

The UK in its various forms has been around for well over 2,000 years and it has survived and done well over that time.

 

The EU was only formed on 1st November 1993.

 

Even its predecessor, the EEC was only formed on 25th March 1957.

 

They have a long way to go yet. Perhaps another 2,000 years

 

I know who I back and support 100%, and it isn't the EU.

 

The UK has not been around in any form for over 2000 years, that is just nuts, 2000 years ago there were four warring tribes, the first time in history that there was unity on the island was in 1653, if you really support our country 100% then you should at least learn the basics of our history.

 

As for not backing the EU, I think it important to go back to the reason we started it, when Churchill envisioned a United States of Europe it was following a war that killed 65 million people, Churchill's idea was to get Europe into a situation of mutual dependency so that war could never happen again.  We are now experiencing the longest period in recorded history without a major war in Europe.

[SheungWan]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

 

The UK in its various forms has been around for well over 2,000 years and it has survived and done well over that time.

 

The EU was only formed on 1st November 1993.

 

Even its predecessor, the EEC was only formed on 25th March 1957.

 

They have a long way to go yet. Perhaps another 2,000 years

 

I know who I back and support 100%, and it isn't the EU.

Any rating on for the Romans ?

 

[bomber]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

 

Are you a banker by any chance with all the updated information at your fingertips?

who needs to be a banker,watch any news channel and they will inform you,i watched a few days ago and i was informed that household debt is escalating on a big scale,9% up on some previous time which i didnt quite catch,and it was already bad.no need to be a banker mate

[SheungWan]

4 minutes ago, bomber said:

who needs to be a banker,watch any news channel and they will inform you,i watched a few days ago and i was informed that household debt is escalating on a big scale,9% up on some previous time which i didnt quite catch,and it was already bad.no need to be a banker mate

Lazy.

[bomber]

2 hours ago, SheungWan said:

Lazy.

please explain

[Airbagwill]

10 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

The UK in its various forms has been around for well over 2,000 years and it has survived and done well over that time.

 

The EU was only formed on 1st November 1993.

 

Even its predecessor, the EEC was only formed on 25th March 1957.

 

They have a long way to go yet. Perhaps another 2,000 years

 

I know who I back and support 100%, and it isn't the EU.

I think your appreciation of "UK" history is somewhat amateur, verging on the comical.

Start by checking out the "UK" as you so hilariously call it 1000 B.C. 

 

There is a common trait amongst Brexiteers to claim wildly inaccurate histories as fact..... but lets face it "fact" and reasoned thought has no place in the Brexit camp - QED.

 

Of course it would take a very tortuous series of arguments to try and connect early events on the British Isles to the future of expats.

 

however a couple of points spring to mind

Roman Britain was of course part of a European Union

Anglo Saxon/ Danish Britain was ruled by Germans and Scandinavians

Norman Britain we were part of France and catholic Europe - we shared a currency and a lingua France.

even our language is Germanic with a 50% loading of French/Latin

Napoleonic Wars were to stabilise Europe

..and the EU grew out of  further need to stabilise Europe and establish free trade.

 

The philosophy of Brexit that will prove so devastating to expats and retirees is well illustrates in this analogy ....

 

I'm leaving Netflix and I'm going to negotiate my own agreement with each individual film production company - go figure.

 

 

Edited October 11, 2017 by Airbagwill

[whiteman]

9 minutes ago, Airbagwill said:

I think your appreciation of "UK" history is somewhat amateur, verging on the comical.

Start by checking out the "UK" as you so hilariously call it 1000 B.C. 

 

There is a common trait amongst Brexiteers to claim wildly inaccurate histories as fact..... but lets face it "fact" and reasoned thought has no place in the Brexit camp - QED.

It does not matter what you say the Brexiteers won the vote ( END OF) Majority rules except in your mind :)

[Airbagwill]

2 minutes ago, whiteman said:

It does not matter what you say the Brexiteers won the vote ( END OF) Majority rules except in your mind :)

Last time I looke the UK was a democracy and any democratic country has the right to change its mind......

[Airbagwill]

3 minutes ago, whiteman said:

It does not matter what you say the Brexiteers won the vote ( END OF) Majority rules except in your mind :)

Democracy and "majority rule" are not the same thing - democracy is" government of the people by the people for the people" - majority rules are mob rule.

 

For instance any changes in the US constitution require a 2/3 thirds majority and this concept applies throughout the democratic world.

 

I think Clement Attlee's comment is worth bearing in mind when it comes to referendums

"I could not consent to the introduction into our national life of a device so alien to all our traditions as the referendum, which has only too often been the instrument of Nazism and fascism.” 

 

He was even referred to by Margaret Thatcher who declared.

"“The late Lord Attlee was right when he said that the referendum was a device of dictators and demagogues,”

 

(Hitler used 4 referendums to consolidate his power)

[aslimversgwm]

10 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

The UK has not been around in any form for over 2000 years, that is just nuts, 2000 years ago there were four warring tribes, the first time in history that there was unity on the island was in 1653, if you really support our country 100% then you should at least learn the basics of our history.

 

As for not backing the EU, I think it important to go back to the reason we started it, when Churchill envisioned a United States of Europe it was following a war that killed 65 million people, Churchill's idea was to get Europe into a situation of mutual dependency so that war could never happen again.  We are now experiencing the longest period in recorded history without a major war in Europe.

Brilliant and accurate response. Like most brexiteers they are not only ignorant of their country's history and development but also why the EU existed in the 1st place.

[OJAS]

15 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 We are now experiencing the longest period in recorded history without a major war in Europe.

More thanks to NATO rather than the EU, I think.

[Kieran00001]

6 minutes ago, OJAS said:

More thanks to NATO rather than the EU, I think.

 

They are two very different things, the EU could never stop a war that was started, that would take NATO, likewise it is NATO who provide the solid threat of repercussions from war, but the EU makes it a virtual impossibility to go to war, they have divided war machine engineering works between multiple countries, made dependencies on international food trade and created economies that are in each others pockets, they play just as big a role as NATO and they are far more solid, NATO could end tomorrow, the EU simply cannot.

[Kieran00001]

12 hours ago, whiteman said:

It does not matter what you say the Brexiteers won the vote ( END OF) Majority rules except in your mind :)

 

Not only in their mind, it was also in Farages before the referendum, he declared that in the case of a 52/48 split it would unfinished business, and it was a 52/48 split, so shouldn't we hold the very man who led the movement to getting the referendum to his word?

[OJAS]

18 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

They are two very different things, the EU could never stop a war that was started, that would take NATO, likewise it is NATO who provide the solid threat of repercussions from war, but the EU makes it a virtual impossibility to go to war, they have divided war machine engineering works between multiple countries, made dependencies on international food trade and created economies that are in each others pockets, they play just as big a role as NATO and they are far more solid, NATO could end tomorrow, the EU simply cannot.

NATO has been in existence since the end of WW2 in 1945.

 

The EU, on the other hand, only dates back to 1993 in its present form following the Maastricht Treaty:-

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union

 

And were, heaven forbid, the EU eventually to morph into some super-state, what cast-iron guarantee could there be that it would not meet the same fate as that other artificial super-state called the USSR did more or less overnight in 1991?

Edited October 12, 2017 by OJAS

[Kieran00001]

47 minutes ago, OJAS said:

NATO has been in existence since the end of WW2 in 1945.

 

The EU, on the other hand, only dates back to 1993 in its present form following the Maastricht Treaty:-

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union

 

And were, heaven forbid, the EU eventually to morph into some super-state, what cast-iron guarantee could there be that it would not meet the same fate as that other artificial super-state called the USSR did more or less overnight in 1991?

 

The EU's present form is as relevant as NATO's present form, the majority of Europe joined NATO around the same time as the creation of the EU whereas the EU and NATO in their original forms are roughly the same age, but anyway all that is irrelevant to their future.

 

The Soviet Union being imposed by force is fair to call an artificial state, but the EU being voluntary does not meet the same definition and so is in no way artificial.  And the USSR had massive opposition, others sought to see it end and as they were plagued by corruption causing a failed economy the time was right to end it, why on earth would that happen to the EU?

 

 

 

[Henryford]

On 10/10/2017 at 11:01 PM, Kieran00001 said:

 

The UK has not been around in any form for over 2000 years, that is just nuts, 2000 years ago there were four warring tribes, the first time in history that there was unity on the island was in 1653, if you really support our country 100% then you should at least learn the basics of our history.

 

As for not backing the EU, I think it important to go back to the reason we started it, when Churchill envisioned a United States of Europe it was following a war that killed 65 million people, Churchill's idea was to get Europe into a situation of mutual dependency so that war could never happen again.  We are now experiencing the longest period in recorded history without a major war in Europe.

That has nothing to do with the EUSSR (who will probably cause a European civil war). It's down to nuclear weapons and rising living standards. People have too much to lose now to go to war.