js007

Yes, I could buy a house in my home country and then turn it over to a real estate agency to rent. The rents I'd collect would easily pay my rent in Thailand and I'd still own property in the USA in the event I ever wanted to return. Of course, tenants aren't always good tenants and there's no guarantee whether the property would always stay rented. And there would be property taxes, maintenance, the fee to the real estate agent, etc. Alternatively, I could just invest some more money in some dividend paying stocks. The dividends on those would go a long way towards paying rent in Thailan

Internet packages in Thailand don't cost too much, and smart TVs keep getting cheaper and cheaper. In any event, even if you don't have a smart TV, there are boxes like the Apple TV through which you can access Netflix and other movie sites, YouTube, etc. So, one way or another watching movies should be simple. Even the Blu Ray players now have the capability of loading apps. Streaming music should also be simple. I'm actually going to move back to Thailand in a few months, and when I do, Ill be all set with just a new TV, an internet connection, and some way to stream music. I've

The keycards are electronic and so the number of them can be controlled by the landlord? That makes sense. Probably some of those people are staying with friends or whatever and don't have a keycard.

The monthly overhead on a condo you own usually isn't too much, right? The HOA fee and maybe a small water bill and small electric bill. So I wouldn't let that stop me from traveling around. Just lock the door and leave.

Renting does make perfect sense in many ways. The cost is reasonable and you maintain your flexibility. I may well come to my senses and decide that's the way to go, as I'm 66 years old. I feel good, but what about 10 years from now?

Sure, all things being equal, a 60 sq. meter condo would be better than a 32 sq. meter condo. They actually sell small condos for a lot of money, though. It seems crazy. Anyway, on a sq. meeter basis, I'd be paying that much more for a bigger one. The whole real estate thing in Asia is hard to understand, for me. People pay a million dollars or more for a little shoebox in some places. Thailand is actually one of the less expensive places to buy.

I've been looking at the Wongamat area the last few days, although I've never been there. There seem to be some nice ocean front properties there. I guess I'm thinking that they aren't making any more ocean front land, so that might help sustain the value of anything I bought. Raimon Land has a few properties there, and they seem reputable. In any event, thanks for the offer. I guess I'll finally be back in Thailand in three or four months, so I'll be able to look around in person then. I'm also thinking about Bangkok and Phuket. I like to travel, so any condo I buy will probably only b

Thanks for the thoughts. I'm not sure what percentage of condos the Russians bought, and all I can look at is the asking prices. I guess the only way I'll find out for sure is to make some offers when I get back there. They say many condos sell for 20-30% below the asking price.

I haven't had any alcohol in over a year and a half, although I'm not sure I've quit forever. When I was at home just sitting around, I'd usually have some wine rather than beer, and also with dinner. In the US bars and restaurants, I usually skipped it because they seem to overcharge, even for "house" wine. I assume in Thailand the situation is even worse, because wine isn't cheap there. I've seen California wine I could buy around here for $8 that somehow cost 1000 baht in Thailand. At least when you order a beer you know what you're getting and there's enough competition that you prob

Just looking over some old real estate threads. Five or six years ago, I was of the opinion the market was overbuilt and a crash would come if I waited long enough. Well, here it is and it's 2018 and prices keep going up, or so it seems. I'd like to buy something, but I'm trying to not be stupid about it. A condo in Pattaya, Bangkok, or Phuket. Built buy a reputable quality company. But I'd rather not pay more than 6 million baht. And I'd rather not pay that for 30 sq. meters.

Foamy the Squirrel has some good YouTube videos:

I've never tried to make money off the internet, but I've noticed that some of the bloggers on YouTube use a service called Patreon, which allows uses to make payments for using a site or vlog. For those watching on YouTube, the Patreon payments are voluntary and can be made in any amount. For example, a person could pay $1 a month. I think that's still possible. In any event, something like that could be set up so that people could support the website on a voluntary basis. If nothing else, that might help defray the monthly server cost. As for advertisers for the site? Looking for local

There's no shortage of places you could stay. For example, it seems like there are two or three guest houses on every block. Many will give you a good monthly rate if they have an available room. You could also check out some of the serviced apartments. And if you're worried about utilities, just ask what the rates are, per unit. Some apartments will add a little to the official rate, but for only a month or two, it wouldn't be a big deal, in any event. Some of the YouTube channels covering Thailand do reviews of guesthouses and hotels, so you might check those out.

Tourist SIM? 1000 baht seems like way too much unless it also includes lots of minutes and airtime. Assuming you don't need a "tourist" SIM, I'd look at some of the regular plans and get a SIM for one of those in Pattaya. Anyplace that sells phones should be able to help.

In my experience, you never really know how the food will be at any particular place. I've had fantastic food at places that are completely ordinary, and I've had just average food at places that are supposed to be great. And the same place can vary from day to day.

"I also take a record of all emergency numbers, passwords, account numbers etc when I'm in Thailand." I sometimes store this kind of stuff online somewhere, although not passwords, unless they are on the Apple Keychain. At one point, I had a small USB flash drive I carried with me. You can encode those with a password.

Well, there will be no shortage of activities on Soi LK Metro. You could spend your entire vacation right there. Otherwise, you should visit the beach and spend a night or two on Walking Street.

"If our dollar was to seriously tank the other currencies would fall much faster." I wouldn't be so sure about that. For the most part, they all float against each other. By definition, if the dollar is dropping, it is doing so relative to some other currencies. They can't ALL drop at once. I guess the whole strong dollar/weak dollar thing is complicated. Sometimes a weak dollar may be good, but sometimes it may be bad. Personally, I'd like to see them stop playing games with the money and the money supply. It really is hard to plan anything because you just never know what the

Don't forget, 50% of "the economy" does not equate to 50% of the people. A small percentage of the people own a very large percentage of the country's wealth. So to that extent, maybe those people benefit. The whole "weak dollar" thing is a slippery slope, in any event, and at some point, a weak dollar is bad. For example, if you brought the dollar down to the worthless level, that would be weak, but not good. And don't forget to ask yourself why the dollar becomes weak. Money printing = inflation = a week dollar, sooner or later. Maybe some benefit from inflation, but I'd rather not se

Good for the country? Well, to a degree it's good for the multinational corporations with overseas sales. It's usually good for them. Whether it's good "for the country" is debatable. Imported goods will cost more, whether it's imported junk sold at a big store or an imported Porsche 911. Personally, I like it when my money buys more.

A while back I read a news story about Trump making a phone call in the middle of the night to one of his Cabinet members? for an explanation of whether a strong dollar was good or bad. My guess is that he understands very little beyond the fact that his supporters appreciate the tax cut giveaway.

Donald Trump and his tax cuts haven't helped the dollar at all, since the country will have to borrow even more money to pay for them. Of course, he says he watts a "strong dollar," but that's BS.

I don't think I've ever had pepperoni in lasagna. Interesting.

I did that once. Long story, but I was in the Army and on a trip with one of my buddies. He had a friend in the Air Force who worked on B-52s, so one night he insisted we go inspect a B-52. We were in the cockpit when the MPs showed up and wanted to see everyone's IDs. We didn't get in trouble, but we had to leave.

I do think it's useful advice to be somewhat vigilant about theft and pickpocketing. I try to keep my wallet in one of my front pockets, and I try not to carry around too much cash. I keep a back-up ATM card in my room safe, and I keep anything worth stealing locked up when I'm not in my room. Usually, the hotel maids are honest, but not always. I remember once talking to a guesthouse owner about the problem he was having with the maids. Apparently, he was having trouble finding maids who didn't steal from the guest rooms. More advice: don't walk around wearing expensive gold jewelry