Rex7777

Why not buy a night in advance through Priceline or Priceline.HK? I've never had a problem doing that. Rex

Remember, in Thailand a foreigner cannot own land. So in a condo there's no land title, as such. You're just buying a piece of a building, I think. There's a land office where such sales are registered. They keep track of the foregn ownership percentage. Of course, one would assume that whoever built the thing in the first place had good title, either as a Thai person or as a Thai corporation. As for fire saftey? I'd get a long long rope. Rex

One thing that happens is that the states perform a cross-check with federal tax returns. For example, you live in Arizona and have been filing Arizona taxes every year. Then you stop because you move to Texas and start filing your federal returns there. When AZ wonders where their state taxes are, the check the address on the federal return and see that you've moved to Texas. That should usually be the end of the story. I can't imagine they have the resources to follow people around, unless of course, you're a billionaire. Rex

Moving to a state without income taxes before I move to the LOS is about the last thing I want to do. But if I have to, I will. I suppose Las Vegas would be fun. Rex

Owen, I haven't made the move yet, but I've thought about whether or not to bring anything, and I've looked into the shipping costs a bit. From what I could tell, you can have a 20 ft container of stuff sent from the east coast (Baltimore) to Bangkok for about $5000. Then you'll have to pay movers in Bangkok. I've come to he conclusion it's more trouble than it's worth. $5K could buy a lot of stuff in Thailand. I guess I'll just bring a carry on, a laptop, and maybe a suitcase or two and get rid of the rest of my stuff. Rex

JTiger, One big factor is whether people intend to spend down their capital or not. Do you intend to die penniless, or would you like to leave an inheritance for your kids, if you have any? It can make a huge difference. I'll have a pension, a 401K that I can tap at age 59 1/2, and a pile of money. Plus some money in a trust I'll eventually get my hands on (in the next ten years or so). I can do just fine simply off the interest, or, I can do really really well every month if I intend to spend it all. As I don't have any kids that I know about, I might do just that. But how long wil

One trip I just did whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and didn't worry at all about money. At the end of the trip I added it all up and it came to about 6000 baht a day. You'd really have to try hard to spend more than that. Rex

Ken, Sounds like you have everything you need. I'll be retiring myself in about 8 months, but I'm a little bit younger, at 54. I still don't know where to live, though. I've thought about the USA, or Panama, Belize, Mexico, etc. Thailand would probably be the most fun, though, and the least expensive. But where in Thailand? Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Koh Samui, Issan? I'm used to having all the modern conveniences at my fingertips (high spped internet, 500 channel digital tv, shopping mall around the corner, sports car in the garage, etc.). So, I'm not sure how much I want to rough

I've flown Thai Air from LAX to Bangkok a few times. From LAX to Tokyo the plane is usually full. Not so full on the next leg to Bangkok. On the return flight? Full to Tokyo, not so full to LAX. Of course, a few flights don't make a trend. Sometime I want to try the non-stop flight from NYC to Bangkok. Rex

The first time I went to Pattaya, someone suggested the Sabai Lodge. It turned out to be a good suggestion. Rex

$1525 for the land tour (10 days) sounds pretty expensive to me, unless it includes a bunch of activities that you're really interested in. Otherwise, you could just go to Priceline and get a good deal on the Bangkok Hotel, and look around for a deal for a Pattaya Hotel. You should be able to stay for less than $75 a day. Much less, if you really try. I guess it depends on what you want to do. Rex

Isn't it true that if you're actually living in Thailand 12 months a year then you really wouldn't have any state tax to pay no matter where you used to live? Rex

I've also heard about some sort of long range Wi-Fi service that'll be available in some places soon. Apparently, there's a service radius of several miles. That would work great if some local company were to set up a few accesspoints around town. I'm so used to broadband that I'm not sure I could ever go back to dial up, except in an emergency. Rex

I assume I could also get from my embassy some sort of verification of my retirement income that would substitute for the 800,000 baht in a Thai bank? And what about the so-called police report from my home country? Has that been done away with? Rex

So if I get the right cell phone with Bluetooth and a Bluetooth adapter for my laptop, I can be anywhere and have broadband? sounds like the way to go. Rex

Looks good from the pictures. The site seems to have a bandwith allocation, though. Rex

I don't know what their November rates would be, but you might try the Expat or the C&N Hotel in Patong. Also the Orchid Residence. There used to be a small place called the Smile Inn, but I'm not sure if they survived the Tsunami. Rex

Not only has the 1918-1919 virus been recreated, they've figured out that it was a form of the bird flu. Supposedly it's all locked up in a vault in Atlanta at this point. I worry aboout the bird flu, but what's the use? If there's a pandemic, it'll affect the whole world. Rex

Just the other day I bought a new laptop and a new wireless router. It took me a half an hour figuring how to set the thing up with the security settings, but the funny thing was the fact that my computer could pick up 4 or 5 other networks along with mine. Some were secured, some weren't. A person could almost get by without paying. Rex

Why don't you go to the Bumragard Hospital in Bangkok and get an MRI of your spine to see what's going on? Shouldn't cost too much. I'd certainly do that before I let any Thai girl twist me around with a "massage." That could make matters worse. Rex

Gabor, A simple question: You say many of the condos are or sale "for company name." Exactly what does that mean? Has the condo complex already used up its 49 percent allocation of farang owners? Rex

I've been thinking about buying a condo somewhere in Thailand. Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket, Hua Hin, etc. I guess like everyone else, I'd like a well managed, clean place with good security. In the Pattaya, what are the best places? I might not mind paying a premium price, if I really liked the place and the general area. Rex

It's been said a million times, but why not try the Majestic Suites? Rex

At 44 you're a bit young, and don't forget, if you access the retirement account early, you'll pay a hefty penalty on top of the regular income taxes. So, You're working with just 200K to last until you're 59 1/2. Doesn't quite seem like enough. I'll be retireing early next year at 55, but I have the financial part covered, at last for a place like Thailand where the costs aren't so much. I too could work 5 more years, but why? Rex

With the so-called "water shortage" going on, have the View Talay places been affected, or do they have some sort of private storage capacity? I've though about buying a smaller one, just to have a base of operations. It looks as though you can pick them up for a little over one million baht. Rex