js007

50,000 Russians in Pattaya? That seems a little high.

Every time this subject comes up, the answer seems to be "how long is a piece of string"? In other words, it depends. Some guys on here are married or whatever, and don't go out much. Their wife does all the shopping and they get by cheap. Otherwise, it's not hard to come up with a basic no-frills budget that covers only housing, food, utilities and transportation, plus a few incidentals. Let's say you weren't trying to be too cheap: Rent 15,000 baht per month Food 10,000 per month Utilities 3,000 Transportation 5,000 Drinking water

It's probably not a bad idea to keep 800,000 baht in a Thai bank at all times, just as an emergency cushion. And depending on your currency at home, it might turn out to be a profitable move.

Gold is up because it looks like the US Fed has capitulated. It will be money printing from now until doomsday. People are looking to preserve their wealth.

I’ve read that some of the Thai phone companies have better service in rural areas of the country, but I guess for me, that doesn’t much matter. For other people, that might be a big deal.

What about people who want a Thai number? For example, my Thai bank? It would be nice if I could do without a Thai number, but that sounds like it won't happen. Anyway, the sim cards are cheap and with "pay as you go" pricing, it doesn't need to cost too much.

In the past, I've used 1-2 Call with no problem. It pays to look into the different plans, though, as they have more than a few and the features differ. For example, some plans may require topping up more frequently. Another thing I've been looking into is Google Fi. I'm in the USA, and I can get Google Fi and keep my USA number for $39 a month for phone service and data. Supposedly, the phone will work in 165 countries and there's no need to change sim cards every time you change countries. Somehow, the phone knows where you are and makes the necessary adjustments, automatically.

Because I seem to get some sort of terrible cough every time I'm in Pattaya, I once did a web search to figure out the supposed air quality. Anyway, I found a website that had air quality ratings for cities all over the world. Pattaya didn't exactly rank in the acceptable range. Phuket air quality, on the other hand, was just fine. I'll be back in a month or so and I'm probably going to give Pattaya another chance. But I really can't live somewhere where I spend every day coughing.

I'd add some pics, but all my pics of Pattaya are old. Some from 2006 and some from around 2010-2011. I guess I should use my camera more. Next time I'm back, I'll try to take more pics. If nothing else, I guess I'll always have my phone in my pocket. Those kind of pics are better than nothing, I guess.

It's hard to imagine that a new mattress would be all that terrible. I've stayed in places with the opposite problem. Old, saggy, soft mattresses. Not good for my back.

I'm sure some effort will be made to resolve the current lack of clarity. Deposits into a Thai bank account would work, I suppose, but what about the people applying for the first time? How many months will they have to show such deposits? What about people with easily verifiable pensions and social security income? I'm about to return and have decided simply to have enough money wired into my Thai account to satisfy the 800,000 baht requirement, then draw that down over the course of the next nine months. I can always top it up, as necessary. Maybe in a few months, I won't have to

I just read that Thailand just raised interest rates, for whatever that's worth. Should strengthen the Baht a little?

Maybe it's old age? I can drive out of may house and, two blocks later I can't remember whether I pushed the button to close the garage door., so I have to drive around the block to go back and check.

They now have thermostats that can be connected to wi-fi and the internet. You can check/adjust the temperature in your house from anywhere. Of course, that assumes you would still have wi-fi and the internet in your old house. Anyway, broken pipes can be a mess. Why not turn off the water to the house?

Bill, I’ve thought about getting the O-A visa in the USA, but the medical and background checks, whatever that would entail, sounds like too much trouble. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me these days, but I’m not really in the mood for a lot of nonsense .

One would think that whoever owns this gas station would have fired the scam artists by now.

Thanks Jacko. I’m on mY IPad and the quote function doesn’t seem to work too well. Anyway, my main goal is to put up with as little nonsense as possible.

Question, re: 800,000 baht in a Thai bank and conversion of tourist visa to retirement extension while in Thailand. Does anyone see anything wrong with this plan? 1. Obtain multiple entry tourist visa in th USA 2. Fly to Thailand and when I get ther and see that my bank account is all OK, Then have 800,000 wiwred to the account. 3. Stay in Thailand or one of the neighboring countries for at least three months. 4. Then the tourist visa converted at Jomtien immigration to a retirement extension. 5. Draw down the 800,000 during the course of the year, but see that it’

Government pensions and the like are.more or less a sure thing, until you die. Maybe not so with other kinds of income.

I certainly know nothing about how state pensions work in the U.K. Everyone gets the same amount? In the USA, Social Security is based on your past earnings. Ditto for government pensions or military retired pay. Some people do more than OK.

Social Security or. Government pension is as secure and predictable as it gets. I think it’s the other forms of income people might have that would cause all the problems. Rents, stock dividends, etc. Those can change at any time.

Of course, notarization means nothing in this context, anyway. What's needed is some clarification from the Thai authorities as to how, exactly, one can "prove" his monthly income. I suspect that most people have the monthly income, it's just a matter of proving it to the satisfaction of the proper officials. It would be nice if retirees could deal with this business once every 10 years, not once a year. Malaysia has the right idea. Apply to the program and if you're accepted, you get a visa good for 10 years and you can come and go.

I also did the JFK-BKK nonstop trip one time. Those flights went up over the North Pole and then back down.

I've done the prior 17.5 hour Thai Air flights from the USA. I guess another hour and a half would be tolerable in Premium Economy. One time, coming back tot he USA, we caught a jet stream or something and the flight was only about 13.5 hours.

"Proof" from banks? I'm sure banks don't want to get involved, other than perhaps providing copies of monthly statements showing pension or other direct deposits. And what if they want the statements "notarized" or whatever, and your bank is in the US? Sounds like just putting 800,000 baht in a Thai bank might be the way to go to avoid all the nonsense.