Turbota

This is all good info in this thread. I used Mr. Toom once before ... the driver showed up at the airport in a real old junky car. Think it was an old Volvo or something ... Never again with Mr. Toom. Tried another company on the trip after that one. Might have been called Pattaya Limo Service (or something like that) ... They were a no show! Had to get a metered taxi from the airport down to Pattaya at midnight. The driver had no clue where anything was in Pattaya. Drove around lost for about an hour. Well, in about a week, me and my wife are coming to Thailand again from the PI. Flight arrives at about midnight .... I guess I will now try this Mr. T How much is Mr. T charging from the airport to Pattaya nowdays? .... I guess you also have to pay the tolls in addition to the driver's regular charge? What do you folks usually tip the driver when you get down to Pattaya if everything turns out ok? Thank's :)

redwood .... Thank's for the great explaination! That explains what I was trying to understand. Instead of wire transfering money from an account in the US (and the wire transfer fees), I just thought it would be easier to just write a personal check from my credit union in the US and deposit it into my baht savings account .... wait the required time for the check to clear, and then just withdraw money as needed .... at least that's how most of us do it here in the PI. Ron,

While living here in the PI, I bought a 1 year old very low mileage Toyota Camry from the Toyota dealership here. The Chinese businessman that owned it before me just trades every year for a new Camry, so it wasn't abused .... Great Car! I understand the Camry is now being final assembled in Thailand, so parts and warranty work should not be a problem there. Do you see many late model Camrys there in Thailand? Ron,

Eneukman ... Thank's for the reply, but I really was not needing info on the requirements for a Retirement visa ... Basically, all I was wondering is how you guys living in LOS get you money from your foriegn bank account to your hand anytime you need money for rent, food or whatever while actual;y living in Thailand. As you did say, when you open an account in a Thai bank, they give you a debit card so you can pull money from the various ATMs around town from your Thai bank account as needed for living expenses. Since that money that you every once in awhile [deposit] in your Thai bank account to replenish it is in foreign funds (ie: a personal check you write to the bank or a wire transfer), does the Thai bank automatically convert it to baht so you can take baht out of the ATM machines as needed for living expenses? Ron,

Got a banking question for you folks living in LOS: I live in the PI, but may move to the Pattaya area soon on a Retirement visa. How do most expats do there banking here in the PI? We have 2 choices of bank accounts here ... A Dollar account or a Peso account. Most of us have US funds in a bank or credit union in the US, so opening a Dollar account in the PI bank is the best bet. After we deposit the minimum required $500 in our Dollar account in order to open the account, then we just write a check from our bank in the US and deposit it into our dollar account. After the check clears (takes about 30 days), the money is available to us to withdraw as needed. Then we just fill out a withdrawl form and recieve US dollars from the bank. We could then take the dollars and just change them to pesos at the same bank, but the money changers in town will give a better rate, so almost everyone goes downtown to change there dollars. ________________________________________ My question is: Is this how it's done for foriegners living in Thailand? Somehow, since you will making a deposit into your account by writing a check from your US bank/credit union in dollars, it seems to me that the bank needs to give you dollars back when you need to make a withdrwal for living expenses. (I can't image living for years in LOS using just ATM machines and credit cards) Hope someone can explain how the banking system works for us foriegners that don't get paid in Baht. Thanks, Ron

Thank's for the info ... I posted these same basic questions on the Thai Visa message board and got the following answers from someone that obviously knows more about this than I do .... Just to share with you: 1. I wonder if they use the Gross or Net amount to figure out if you meet the 65,000 baht requirement or not? I actually get more than 65,000 baht per month, but it is only 60,000 baht after they take out taxes and insurance. Gross amount - but be advised the rate used will not be the current bank rate. Believe it was 36 but with recent increase of baht value expect it may be less currently. 2. If they use the Net amount [after taxes and insurance are deducted] I wonder how much money I would have to put into a Thai bank account in my name to make up the difference? You are expected to have a bank account in any case. The amount would have to make up for any shortfall between the required 65,000 baht per month and your per month figure x 12. 3. Would that small amount of money still have to stay in the bank for 3 months before I can apply for the Retirement Visa? That is not clear - I expect the more money in excess the less chance it would be questioned. But for using 800,000 baht only it is a firm requirement to have 3 month record. 4. When I come to Thailand on my 30 day entry stamp, can I then pay for and get a Non-Imigrant O Visa within those 30 days while in Thailand? (Someone said I need the O visa prior to even applying for a Retirement Visa) You must have a Non-Immigrant O visa to extend your stay for retirement. There is no 30 day tourist visa for Americans so you must intend to arrive without visa and obtain 30 day visa exempt stamp. Normally that was not coverable in country but in last year immigration has been willing to provide a single 90 day stay non immigrant visa conversion for 2,000 baht if you apply with 21 days remaining on your permitted to stay stamp and meet the requirements for retirement extension of stay. 5. Once I get the Non-Imigrant O Visa, will that give me enough time to wait the 90 days the money has to stay in my bank account in Thailand and give me enough time to acually get the Retirement Visa? The Non-Imigrant O visa would provide 90 days stay. It would be better to obtain a tourist visa from Thai Embassy which allows you a 60 day stay on arrival - then use conversion from that visa stay. That would provide the extra time. But you probably will not need this in any case as your pension should be enough. You have to obtain letter from US Embassy listing your pension amount (you fill in amount on form letter and sign) and when you visit immigration take that, bank letter and passbook, and retirement statement of earning in the event they wish to check that.

I am really confused on this whole visa issue that seems to be changing all the time. Here is my situation ... I am living in the Philippines, but now want to move to Thailand. I am a US citizen, over 50 years old, and am getting a US Fed Gov retirement/pension as a former GS-13 employee. Putting money into a bank account setup in my name here in Thailand is not a problem. I read the thread below which may not contain ciurrent info about getting a Retirtement visa, and seems to have some very conflicting information. http://www.pattayatalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28499 Anyway; Does someone here know exactly how I can go about getting a Retirement visa for living in Thailand? I would hope I can apply for this after coming to Thailand. If I need to put money into a Thai bank, I need to be there to setup a bank account in my name, and then wire the money from my US bank into this newly opened account. Someone posted that you need to get a Non-Resident O visa before applying for a Retirement visa (that seems strange to me). I just wanted to come to Thailand on a 30 day tourist visa, then a couple of visa runs to buy me a little more time while they are proccessing my Retirement visa paperwork that I would apply for once I come to Thailand and open a bank account with the required money. Am I making this process too simple? Just seems to me that all the Imigrations people want is someone with money in a Thai bank, a good monthly retirement check and be of the minimum age requirement. I can't understand why having a Non-Imigrant O visa first would make any difference to any of this ????? BTW ... I don't want to be involved in business or work in Thailand. Thank's Ron

Well, thank's everyone for the good info. Really appreciate it. Overall prices in LOS are pretty reasonable ... with the exception of rent. I would have thought that rent would be alot cheaper in a country like Thailand, but I am wrong .... Rent appears to have really increased alot in the last 5 years since I last looked at rental costs. Looks like Thailand maybe now has a much larger middle class than it did 4 or 5 years ago. Oh well

Electricity is very high in the PI now. Much higher than LOS Rent, internet costs and drinking in the bars are cheaper here in the PI. About everything else is about the same. And as pretty much everyone knows already, an overnight barfine in the PI is cheaper than in LOS .... although that has nothing to do with the figures I was posting above. I really thought rent would be cheaper in LOS than in the PI .... but I guess I was wrong.

I have Blue Cross / Blue Shield paid by the government through the retirement plan. When I am 60, I will have the standard military retirement health insurance since I also retired from the US military reserves.

I am 58 years old, single and retired from the US Federal Civil Service. While living here in the PI, I always seem to be thinking about moving from the Philippines to Thailand. I guess I would deposit the required money and stay on a Retirement Visa .... A few of the living expense figures below are kinda old, so things may have changed. Could you look at these figures and tell me if they look about right for living in the Pattaya or Jomien area. Maybe it would be better to rent a house vs a condo ... not really sure about that. I did not include transportation costs here since I plan on selling my car and buying another one in Thailand. (I now have an 04 Toyota Camry here in the PI) Condo Rent (2 Bedroom / in upscale neighborhood): 25,000 baht / $667 Utilities: 3,000 baht / $80 Food: 11,000 baht / $293 Internet DSL: 3,000 baht / $80 Basic Cable TV: 500 baht / $13 Misc. Personal & Household Items: 5,000 baht / $133 Bar (drinking only): 12,000 baht / $320 Live-In GF (monthly allowance): 10,000 baht / $267 TOTAL: 69,500 baht / $1,853 per month ( based on currency exchange rate: $1.00 USD = 37.5 baht ) Did I leave anything out? Are my prices about right? Thanks, Ron ___________________________________________

I used to be registered in the Members Only forum as Blackhawk_Driver Since I moved and changed my e-mail address / internet provider, this board will no longer accept my old password. I e-mailed "PattayaPete" about this, and never got a response. Well, I just re-registered with this "Turbota" username so I could access this site. How could I get a new password so I can log on with my old "Blackhawk_Driver" username ... Nothing has worked Thanks, Ron