Shilo

Thanks for starting the thread I have Glaucoma in my right eye. I take two drops... Travatan and Cosopt . Does anyone know if I'll have a problem getting drops in LOS or might I have to try some type of online method? Thanks again, Shilo (9 more months)

This might help a little.... a little dated. http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?blog=5...p;tb=1&pb=1 Shilo

I brought this thread back up to the front because I was wondering... As I understand the visa changes the Thai's were going to start counting days in the country so that you were allowed no more then 90 days over a six month period. And the "counting" was to start on Oct 1st of last year. Well, it's been 6 months. Is anyone hearing of problems with doing visa runs? Shilo

Sabang, Just in my own case, I can't complain about the tax issues I'm facing with the US. For the past several years I have been socking away all that I could into my 401K and then another $5000 into my Roth. The majority of my "wealth" will be in retirement accounts. So at the moment I am putting 20% of my pay into the 401K and because I'm over 50 I am using the "catch-up" limits to add another 10% for a total of 30%... then there is my company match of 5% and a year end profit sharing of another 10%. Without sharing my pay scale over the net, it's enough to say that nearly half of the money that I'm making each year is not being taxed at my current rate of 28%. As I said, growth is good, tax-deferred growth is better, and tax free growth is best of all. I have "sheltered" a lot of income from taxes each year and will continue to shelter those monies plus any growth till I start to take it out of the accounts for income. And because I will no longer be working, then those distributions should be taxed at about 10 or 15%. It was a deal that I made with the government that I was deferring the tax so I'll pay up when the time comes. But that won't stop me from looking for other ways to chase that best of all worlds... tax free growth. Which is why I'm looking to convert some of the tax-deferred money to tax free without having to pay the tax if I can keep my total income below the standard deduction by converting a little bit each year. Soi6, As you can see from above, I am putting every dime I can into retirement accounts. If there was any more room under any of the limits I'd be filling them too No what I'm wondering is if I stop working and start to live off of money that I'll have in my checking account (mostly coming from a sale of my house) and so won't show ANY income except for interest on the money in the savings....and if I can convert small amounts of money from the traditional ira to the roth and not owe any taxes as long as the interest income and converted amount doesn't exceed my standard deductions? And Mr. Mango, Yep, this was my last winter here in the cold ass heartland of the US. But for the moment I'm still here in the states and for most of us the tax season ends on April 17th this year. Also worth noting: there was a study done (actually, it's done every year) that says that Americans have to work nearly 4 months of the year just to cover all the different kinds of taxes... be it federal, state, local, sales, gas, ect ect ect ... .

We have had several threads that addressed the questions of moving from one state to another to get a state tax break. And I have seen it posted many times that guys will plan a trip home to the states around this time of year to touch base with their families, escape from the Songkran madness and file their taxes. But what I'm looking for is some help with tax planning... Let's say that I have sold everything I own and just have a load of cash sitting in my accounts back home in the states. About 15% will be in taxable accounts while the other 75% will be in tax-deferred accounts, and 10% will be in a Roth growing tax-free. I won't have a job so there won't be any income to claim other then from my investments. For at least the first few years or so I will be living off of the taxable (15%) portion. And I plan to leave that money in money markets and short term CD's. The largest portion (75%) in the tax-deferred account will be invested but won't effect my taxes till I start to pull from the account. And of course the Roth is tax free so it will be invested with a 20+ year timeframe. Looking at federal taxes... it seems that the only taxes I'll owe will be on the interest I'll get on the taxable portion. What do guys put on their tax forms for resident status (or does it even come up), do you show your address to be the mail drop in the states or your home in Pattaya? Does choosing one or the other have any effect on the standard deductions? And most important: The standard deductions when you just claim yourself is about $8500. Let's say that the interest income from your taxable investments only comes to about $3000 for the year. Can we convert about $5000 from the tax-deferred ira to the Roth and add the 5000 to the 3000 and still stay below the $8500 (standard deductions) so we won't owe any money to the IRS?. When looking at investing... growth is a good thing, tax-deferred growth is better, and tax-free growth is best of all. I'm wondering if I will be able to shift some more money into the Roth while living off the money in my checking account without creating a tax hit. Shilo (sitting here with a smile on his face knowing that he has survived his last winter)

I hope you don't mind... But I'd like to see this thread expand a little to cover ALL things related to getting a "quality" internet connection. I'll be making the big move soon and I'll need the best internet connection I can find. Partly related to the stock market but also because the internet has become a major factor in my life. I would guess that between entertainment and research that I might average several hours a day online. So what is needed for a fast connection? I think that I read that you need a condo with a land line. That there were limited land lines to be had and that in some cases that were bought by Thai investors looking to make a quick buck. Is there more then one option for a service provider? Which condo buildings offer the best connections and which should we avoid? And what about cost, is there an hourly rate or is it a flat charge by the month as most of us have here in the states. I'd appreciate any and all info on this subject. Shilo

Owen, As always, I find myself agreeing with most of what your saying. And don't get me wrong with this thread. If there was a debate and the choice was to "move" or "not move" from the West to Pattaya.... I'd be confortable taking either side of the discussion. My decision was made long ago to make the move. And the benefits have been huge. Over the last several years I have worked and saved my ass off so that now I am approaching the point where working will be a choice rather then a need. I have no doubts that I will be out of work, and living off my savings on a retirement visa in Pattaya come next year. But the point of the thread is to point out that there has been a shitload of news out of Thailand over the past several years. And much of it somewhat negative. I'm just wondering if maybe part of our discussion around making commitments (on whatever level) should factor in the patterns of some of these events. Someone set me straight, is there just more news coming out of Thailand compared to most other countries in the area, or am I just paying more attention to Thailand news and cause myself to get a jaded impression? .

My first trip to Pattaya was about 3 1/2 years ago and like most on the board it was love (or lust) at first sight. After a couple of trips I started to give some serious thought to making the big move. I was old enough to qualify for the retirement visa but young enough to still have some fun. I put together a 5 year plan. But because of some hard work I was able to trim some months off of the plan so that now it looks like the spring of next year is a valid target. So with about 14 months to go it's time to start putting things into motion...... and then in creeps the doubts After about 15-20 trips to Pattaya (3-4 a year) I feel like I have lost my newbie glow and so has Pattaya. I think that I pretty much understand the scene. And I'd be happy to call it my new home. But just off the top of my head I can remember the following issues coming up. The Thai gov't calls for a War on Drugs and there seemed to be more killings then arrests. The gov't decides to start a 20 baht medical care program that hurt the country's health care. The problems in the South get worst and the country deals with it in part by dropping little paper bird foldings. Anyone still remember SARS? Can we now say that Bird Flu is a thing of the past? Did you read today that there was a Tsunami Warning. None of us can or should forget the last Tsunami. How about when we were talking about a water shortage and they were trucking the water in. And now most recently, The changes to the visa run rules of 3 entry stamps a year. Changes to currency controls. Changes to company owership and voting rules. The recent bombings. Oh and did I forget to mention the Coup or the fact that the country currently is running without a constitution The point: We discuss the wisdom of buying vs rently a home in Pattaya. What if we take a moment to discuss the wisdom of making the move vs staying at home and visiting. Maybe it's cold feet on my part, but after EVERYTHING that we have seen happen in Thailand over the past few years I'm beginning to wonder if it's time for a reality check. .

Here is the link to the story... http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=115809

This seems to be as good as any place to drop off a little something something I ran accross the other day http://www.uniquepeek.com/viewpage.php?page_id=376 .

Well another trip is coming up, so naturely, I start to pay alot more attention to the dollar to baht exchange rate. I can't help but to stop in my tracks and read when I come across a headline like Baht at six-year high and rising http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=113805 The baht is very strong but as anyone who watches the markets knows... it is hard (some would say impossible) to time the stock markets... it's even harder to time the bond market or predict interest rate moves.... and the hardest of all is timing the currency markets. But you can learn a lot by stepping back and looking at the history of the movements. So here is a little graph that I like to post from time to time to add perspective. I'm not much for "reading" graphs but it sure looks like the baht has been gaining strength for the past several years. It's hard to say if it's percieved strengh in the Thai economy, weakness in the US, or a combination of both. But what is clear is that the international market have given a seal of approval for the recent coup. Oh well, I promised a little good news for the dollar exchange rate (well sort of). There is a website that is perfect for financial nerds like myself. economagic.com Try this out: click http://www.economagic.com/em-cgi/start4cas...hus&freq=12 scroll to the middle of the page and look for a button "Forecast Now" click again. What you have are quarterly baht exchange rates going back to the beginning of 1990 but more interesting... the websites projections through 2014. Now reading the table might be a little bit of a challenage because you have to sign up for their service to see all of the numbers. But try this, try to look at the numbers 3 rows at a time. It isn't hard to fill in most of the ?'s with actual numbers. The good news They project that in the first three quarters of 2014 the baht will exchange between 52-55 per dollar three more weeks till wheels up, Shilo

Something to remember: there is inflation, then there is Thai inflation.... but most importantly there is your personal inflation. We all know and understand the concept of inflation, in the simplist terms it's the rise in prices. But here in the states we tend to look at a "basket" of goods, price them each month and then look for the increase in prices. However, we will also "remove" energy and food from the basket to get what we call the "core" inflation. But then there is your own personal inflation. If the cost of gas and autos is going up it doesn't effect a person who doesn't drive unless the price of public transportation goes up. My kids are all grown so if the cost of education goes up then again it's doesn't effect my "personal' rate of inflation. We can't know what impact the Thai inflation will have on us till we understand what they use in their "basket" of goods and services. I still book my room at my favorite hotel at the same rate I had 5 years ago, I tend to pay the girls the same rate, barfines are a moving target (going up and down from time to time) but as long as I avoid party nights when they get just plain silly then there hasn't been much of a change, and even drinks seem to stay in a somewhat tight range. I think there has been more "punter" inflation in Bangkok then in Pattaya. .

I can't ever remember reading a thread like this when the View Talay Condo's aren't mentioned over and over. But this is the first time I've read someone say that VT #1 isn't good while VT #2 is better. I think there are something like 6 View Talay's now. Which ones are recommended and which ones should be avoided.... and why? .

I think the biggest issue here are time. In order for this approach to work you would have to hope that you stayed healthy for at least 10-15 years to allow the money that would have gone to premiums to accumulate in your savings account. Biggest risk here is that most people don't actually stick with the plan and consistantly add those monies to their savings (something always comes up) and you are betting that you won't have a serious accident. It isn't just heart, lungs and kidneys that you have to worry about over the long term but also the legs, arms, eyes, head ect. that could be involved in an accident in the short term... Personally, I would never try this approach here in the West.... and I'm not sure that I would feel comfortable taking that risk in the East either. The older you are the more risk, but being younger wouldn't elimiate the risk. .

Chas, THANKS.... this is actually the kind of post that I was hoping to get. I hope others who have been through the process will take a moment to share their experiences. .

Steve, Just a thought, but have you considered talking with a good lawyer and asking about setting up an S-corp. Then the rental property might be seperate from you and your personal finances and allow you to still "live" in Nevada and get the personal tax break. .

And it's the pre-existing conditions that I can't seem to get my head around... Look, as I have posted elsewhere, I am 52, have very good job with great benefits. I quit smoking about 6 months ago and I'm fat. I have only been the the hospital twice in my life and both times it was to correct a problem in my "bad" eye. I don't expect any insurance company to have to cover any expenses for that bad eye. I can count the number of times I have been to the doctor on 1 1/2 hands for basic crap like colds. I have had two complete physicals in the past 5 years and both came back with nothing to worry about. But both times the Doc said I should get off my ass once in a while and stop smoking.... otherwise, no pre-existing conditions Oh and my parents were walking medical journals with every kind of health problem you could think of from the heart, to back problems, to serious diabitous (sp). Ok, so here is the question: I start walking into an insurance agents office to ask about health insurance in Pattaya. What can I expect. They can contact my Doc and he'll say "everything seems fine at the moment, he comes from a sick family and he needs to lose some weight, he smoked for years but now he says he has stopped...otherwise, he's fine at the moment." What else will I be expected to do, will I need to take another physical, is there something I'm missing, could I be painted with the dreaded pre-existing conditions based on my parents poor health history. I'm seriously considering that on my next trip I will walk into an agent's office and sign up for the insurance. It'll cost me a buck or three but at least I'll have it done and off of my mind. And it'll cover me while I'm in Pattaya for vacations over the next year or so till I make the move. But am I off base when I think that if I get the health insurance in Thailand while I'm still working in the states that I would then be free to walk into my doctor's office and ask for the works... let's see what if ANYTHING we can find and then get it fixed while I'm still employed and can use my work benefits. Then these newly uncovered "conditions" wouldn't be "pre-existing" because they were discovered after I got the Thailand coverage. .

Guys, What say, we try to get a little more active on this topic.... Because to be honest, it's my concerns about health care coverage that are causing me the most grief when trying to put together a retirement plan. Dave: Could you (or anyone else who uses Thai Health) tell us a little bit more about the process that you went through to get signed up for the coverage. Was there a physical, much if any talk of the ever dreaded "pre-exsiting conditions", and maybe give us a little bit of an idea of what your getting for your 39000 baht, 557 pounds sterling.... or as I think of it $1000 US . Jacko: It seems like a lot of guys have gone the BUPA route. I seem to remember someone posting that there are several levels of coverage, at different cost, for different age groups, each with both pros and cons. Would you or any others please tell us more about this kind of policy. And I wondering, with the range in prices, it looks like the expats club plan cost about 1/3 of the indiviual price... how many guys use it. Gary: I would love to hear more about your policy. The price seems reasonable compared to some of the other numbers mentioned on this thread... but how much coverage do you get for the price. And isn't Liberty Mutual Group an American company? Is there any chance that the policy would give you any coverage while in the States for a visit? I know that most of us can work are way through the visa issues... or at least for myself, it's not a worry. And most of us can make are own decisions on where to live, to buy or rent, working out the ins and outs of day to day living. It gets a little harder when we each try to get a handle on that all important question: How much money do I need to save before I make the big move? But as important as it is.... I don't think we are giving enough thought to the question of health insurance. If anyone can offer ANY solid info or advice, I for one would greatly appreciate it

There are some interesting ideas coming out here which I'm sure will be used in one or another by a lot of us who are planning the move. I'm going to have to think about PO Box issue in light of what Owen mentioned about making a clean cut from my home state where I would be taxed. I could see myself spending some time in a Nevada, Florida or Texas to get residency but I wouldn't be there long enough to have anyone that I would trust to pick up my mail. I just figured that the PO Box would be here at my current home near my friends and family.... which as Owen points out would leave a possible paper trail for the state tax board... errr And I didn't know that there are both an O and an O-A visa... But for the moment, I'm beginning to worry about something that may end up being more important. Medical Insurance I have always worked and have always been covered by some form of employers health care policy....some better then others. At the moment, I have a good job with very good (not great) benefits. But I have never had to purchase a policy on my own. I'm not really sure what all is involved. It seems that pre-exsisting conditions is a biggy. And I am guessing that there might be some type of physical involved. And I know that my family and friends are glad that I stopped smoking about 3 months ago and that this time it seems to had clicked... maybe it was my best friends lung surgery that helped me stay the course this time. Anyway, what advice is there out there for planning the move and taking health care policies into account. Is it wise for me to see my doctor and get another FULL physical to see what if anything can be found while I'm under the current plan and get the problems addressed. Or should I try to buy a policy now and pay for a year or so while still working. That would give me coverage while in Pattaya on my vacations, and with the retirement policy in hand I could then get the complete workover with my Doc and have the employee policy to cover anything that comes up. Or lastly, just wait till I stop working, don't worry unless I get sick, move to Pattaya, buy a policy and then get the physicals. Note: I'm in my early 50's, seriously overweight, no known problems like high blood pressure or diabetes, but just gave up smoking 3 months ago after about 10 years of a pack a day and my parents (who have both passed away) had lots of issues with weight, heart problems, diabetes, the works... Suggestions? .

Thanks for the replys... I'm a little pressed for time this evening so I'll wait a bit before I start to read some of the replys and respond with my "two-bits" of "wisdom" . But I did want to take a moment to throw a couple of links to blogs and Expat related websites that I have come across... http://www.escapeartist.com/Thailand/Thailand.html http://www.thailandguru.com/ http://www.orientexpat.com/thailand/ http://www.ajarnmichael.com/index.html http://www.guidetothailand.com/thailand-tr.../retirement.htm http://www.talesofasia.com/thailand.htm http://www.thethaibutterfly.com/ http://www.countryreports.org/history/thto...ryName=Thailand http://www.2thebigmango.com/ Thanks again for the replys .

I'm coming into the final year (to 18 months) of what has been a 5 year plan to retire early and make the move to Pattaya. Up until now it's been easy.... just work my ass off, save every nickle possible, pay close attention to my investments, and settle for the 3 odd trips a year to Pattaya, to remind myself why it's worth all of the effort. But as the moving date gets closer, there are many questions that I feel like I have a basic understanding of but will now need to get a much better handle on. I'm starting this thread to get feedback from other Americans who have made the move. Or who are like me in the planning stage and either have better answers or perhaps different questions. Where I would like to start are with questons of what other guys did to stay legal and current back in the States. I'm guessing that most have quit their jobs, sold their homes, stored a few things that they didn't want to drag to LOS and just couldn't part with, and in some way or other brought their families up to speed on the new realities. But to start the tread off with a few simple questions: I will be living off of investment income and withdrawals from my tax-deferred retirement accounts. I assume that I will still have to file and pay taxes for both the federal and state. Do you guys go home to do this or do you file over the net? Like others, I will try to find health insurance that will cover me while living in LOS but my understanding is that most policies that cover you in LOS won't cover you in the states. Is this true, and if so, what do you do about health coverage while visiting back home in the states? I plan to get a retirement visa before moving to LOS. I understand that this can be done while in the states, that it requires about 800K baht in a Thai bank or proof of income for same. I will be making the deposit to cover the requirement. But I think that the visa is only good for one year. Do you need to go back to the states each year to re-up the visa, does it have to be timed with when the current visa is set to expire, are there ways to get a longer visa (say 5 yrs) without leaving the Kingdom? How have others handled their wills? Do we need seperate ones for the states and LOS? How do you guys handle your mail.... by this I mean, none of us want to get a letter from the IRS or other legal/government bodies... but it happens. Once you made the move, did you maintain a PO box back in the states, have mail sent to a family or friend, or just change your mailing address to Pattaya? Has anyone come across any books, blogs, or websites that cover making the move? I'm sure that I and others will have a lot more questions and I hope that this thread can be used to share experiences. less then 18 months Shilo

For my American friends... Run over to a Best Buy and see if they are still selling a small DVD unit made by CyberHome. It's cheap...something like $80 Small enough to fit easily into a suitcase. Is multi Regional. I take it with me when I go to Pattaya and use it at home when the DVD's don't play in my normal player. As for comedians... I'll have to give the edge to the Brits. On my last trip to Pattaya, I spent a great afternoon with my lady friend watching Mr. Bean reruns. No words so no language problems...great fun-

neil324, Actually, what I said was that one of my "assumptions" was to be able to invest my cash with a 7% average annual return but I wasn't suggesting that I knew of any risk free "interest bearing" options that would currently get me the 7%. Here in the states our interest rates are just a bit higher then the rates in the UK. The Fed rate is sitting at 5% and no one (including the Fed) seems to have a clear idea of where they will go from here... It seems that the Fed is concerned about inflation here in the states because of oil and other commodities and the low unemployment rate (currently at 4.6%) and many think that the Fed would like to increase the short term rate once or twice more before stopping. But the bond market is making it hard on them with the 10 year note at or just below 5%. There is a real concern that we could end up with an inverted yield curve (long rates below the short rates) that would spook the markets. In the past, an inverted yield curve has been an indicator of a recession... My assumption was simply that I feel that over the long term I could average 7% on my capital. And the 15% tax rate is something I could work towards while in retirement. Right now I pay a much higher rate on my income. But once retired there will be ways to use different pools of monies to keep the rate at or below 15%. .

The key to any and all questions is research Before making our first trip to LOS, most of us went to the web and started doing our research. We all benefit from learning from the success and failures of those who went before us... The same is true for the question of retirement. There is a ton of knowledge on this and other sites that will help anyone to figure out what is what before making the retirement plunge. And per the topic of this tread, the same is true again. Don't even think of walking away from your current job back home to make the move without doing a LOT of research. The thought had crossed my mind so I started reading up on the subject. First, I learned that a move to Pattaya would limit my options. Though we love the place, we should remember that at it's heart, Pattaya is a small seaside resort town. There are few schools so few teaching jobs, lots of tourist related stuff but you'll never get a job that a Thai can do, and of course you could try running a bar. The last option is the easiest to get into and the hardest to succeed at... just ask Adam (Cherry Bar) or read some of the great posting that Pete (PattayaPete) shared. So if your going to have half a chance of getting a decent job in LOS you'll have to consider Bangkok. But you'll still be limited because again...you'll never get any job that a Thai can do... so that leaves you hoping that you have speacial skills that will be hard to match by a Thai and valued by an employer. Now lets say that you do find this "job of your dreams", the next issue will be the culture shift. Again, it would be wise to do some research on the "problems" working with Thais. Just a small sample of the problems would be the matter of "Face" in the workplace, the mia ben rai attitude of those around you, and adjusting to working in a team setting when all around you seem to be working with a different playbook... For those who are young and determined to make the move, I would make two possible suggestions. Either start doing research on western companies that have a large expat workforce in Asia and see what would be involved in making a career shift. It might take some time (and it would be worth the effort to learn the language) but with a LOT of luck you might be able to hit the jackpot of have the Asian lifestyle with the western paycheck. Or the other option is to look at other countries like Japan, Hong Kong, or China. In the first two, the cost of living will be higher but so will be the payscale. And you'll be in the region so a trip to LOS will be there for just about any long weekend. Random thoughts....

Sa-teef Thanks for taking up my defense but it really isn't needed Touristman, Two quick points... don't mistake the current value of the US currency with it's long term prospects. There are number of reasons why the dollar is under pressure at the moment...mostly because the US government wants it that way. A weaker dollar in many ways is better for the US economy. I would be MUCH more worried about the long term effect the strong euro is going to have on Europes growth and employment situation. But again, that's a subject for another thread. But as for what any of us leave to our kids... I guess that maybe there is a difference between the way we look at it in the states and over in your neck of the woods. I've been divorced twice, once when I was very young and a second time about 10 years ago after a marriage of about 15 years. In total I have 3 children between the two marriages and unlike too many men, I didn't walk away nor allow myself to be turned into a "glorified uncle" with weekends and every other holiday. My heart goes out to the guys who have gone through the latter and I have little use for the blokes who chose the former. At the moment, I'm sitting here by myself in a three bedroom house, looking forward to attending my son's (the youngest) high school graduation tomorrow. Later this fall he will start his first year of college. I stayed in this house in part so my son (while he was still young) had a home to share with his father. There's a college savings account that I have funded for many years that will see him through the rest of his education. And in 4 or so years I look forward to attending my last graduation. But I'll have to fly back to the states for that one because I plan to be living in Thailand by the end of the next 2 years. I think (know) that a parent has an obligation to his (her) child when they bring them into the world. My kids have always had a dinner on the table, a roof over their heads, decent clothes on their backs, and a swift kick in the butt to get them to take their education seriously. My eldest is 34 and my youngest is 18. I could have walked away years ago but I stayed and did the right thing. When I die they will be grown adults, hopefully in the late 40's to mid 50's. What prey tell would you say that I owe them at that point other then my love? As I said before, my parents left me nothing but some old photos and some good memories when they passed away. And I had no problems with that.... if my kids think any differently of me if I do the same, then I will have felt that I failed as a father. Shilo