webfoot

I give it 10 more years before walking street is minature golf, amusement parks, Ripley's Believe it or Not, shopping centers, Sea World, and Taco Bells without a gogo or beer bar in sight except for the Russian owned ones.

I'm staying there right now and I was quoted 1200 baht for my standard no balcony no frills room. That's the membership price. I paid for the membership last year and I think it's good for two years. I don't think you can beat the location depending on your interests and I definitely like the price. I think they may be attempting to go to this membership arrangement and they elevated the non membership price to motivate people to buy the membership. As I recall it was cheap and paid for itself during that stay.

Pilot, That is good news to me since I live in Salem which is only a one hour drive to the Thai consulate in Portland I thought I would have to send off to Los Angeles for my visa but that makes it a heck of a lot easier if I can do it in person. Did you have to provide proof of income at that time as well? I'm a little confused from some of the comments here. I thought you just needed to have a combination income and money in a Thai bank to equal 800,000 baht. From what I gather from some of the posters one would need 800,000 baht in a Thai bank and 65,000 baht income per month. Can you clarify? Thanks, and from one Oregonian to another I hope you are enjoying the warm weather because it is raining and cold here in Salem.

Thanks for all the great information! Owen, yes the pension does have inflation increases but has to be approved by the state legislature every year since the job was a state government job. If I don't start the pension it increases by approximately $100 every year but if I take it I will get about 2% per year so that's the trade off. It sounds like the best thing to do is get the visa while in Thailand from what I've gathered. I guess I'll also need to renew my passport since the Thai consulate websites states that it must be valid for another 18 months and mine only has 14 months left. That's going to be a pain since the U.S. has now required all travelers to Mexico and Canada to have passports now and the rush has created a two to three month backlog. So I guess that I need to do that before I start anything else. I have one more question though. What does "OP" mean. Thanks.

O.K. I lost my job of 15 years a couple of months ago and I am tired of living in this town. I have been to Thailand about 11 times and it has always been my goal to try and attempt living there. I'm 55 and I do have a small pension which I have not started yet because the longer I wait the larger the monthly benefit is. I have some money which I am living off of and I plan to sell my condo. I figure the first year I will just live off the 800,000 baht that is required and if I decide to stay I will start my pension and combine that with a cash deposit in a Thai bank to meet the requirements. After reading the reqirements for a retirement visa at the Thai consulate in Los Angeles I was wondering if it is easier or better to apply here in the U.S. or get a tourist visa and have it all taken care of there. Is there an advantage of getting the visa in Thailand? I also understand that the 800,000 baht deposit has to be made 90 days before the retirement visa can be applied for. How would this be accomplished if I apply at the U.S. consulate? Should I just pick a bank in Thailand start an account and wire the money 90 days before I enter Thailand? Then read somewhere that when you apply for a retirement visa what you get is a type "O" nonimigrant visa. Can anyone shed some light on that? I would appreciate hearing from anyone that has retired in Thailand who have received their visa in their home country or in Thailand and what problems they encountered. Perhaps I could get some tips on how to avoid any pitfalls that you have experienced. Any information would be appreciated.