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I'm some calendar distance from Medicare and given that distance I suspect knowing the intricate details of how it works may not have value (in that they'll change by then). Meaning, I may not understand some of what was posted above. The concept of paying out of pocket for treatment in Thailand sounded like you were facing about 350K baht out of pocket at Bumrungrad. That's $10,000 USD. Your alternative was $1500 for the procedure in the US, that did NOT require the stents and angioplasty that would have boosted the price up well above $1500 (given that you still had to pay 20% in t

Given the avalanche of posts about currency over the past several months, attributing it all to the evil of GW Bush and the US government's policies -- and how the trend was relentless, unstoppable, inevitable, crushing and would leave all Americans poverty stricken and begging for food handouts soon . . . well, GW Bush is presumably no less evil today than yesterday and the government's policies didn't change today vs yesterday. Conclusion: None of it has anything to do with anything else. Currency fluctuations occur of their own accord. Speculators try to make money anywhere they can a

A pretty damn good link. You have to wade through it, and maybe your interest isn't covered, but a lot is. http://ajarnforum.net/vb/showthread.php?t=8047

Thumbs up on Acer so far.

Just bumping Paul and Jan's thread up. It's a good service. It's worth the extra money, to me anyway. I'm very much safety focused and after several trips now, I know Jan not only drives safe, but adheres to their security procedures, which are extra safe.

I know nothing of this in detail, but in the context of a big picture . . . guy, this has GET A LAWYER and get onsite written all over it. Some things can't be sorted out unless you're there. Too much money at stake here to be screwing around.

This is another matter that is early retirement focused even more than Pattaya, though certainly the Pattaya aspects of it are unique. There is a subtle and devious reality associated with "pre-existing conditions", namely that if you expect to change your work/retirement configuration and seek new insurance then there is a very real issue of choosing not to go to the doctor for a checkup or some pre-existing condition may be found and documented that would prevent getting insurance later. Obviously this risks not finding something serious, but the point is going to a doc is about more

Here's the deal on annuities. An annuity, folks, is a product. It's a product sold by . . . usually insurance companies. What they do is say, we will pay you $X per month for The Rest Of Your Life if you give us $Y now. And they guarantee it. That's the appeal for most folks who are interested in this -- the guarantee. Well, here's the downside: 1) You can buy inflation adjusted annuities that pay $X per month in 2006 equivalent dollars, but they will cost you a lot more than $Y from above. 2) The guarantee is secured only by the survival of the insurance company.

Spot On!! This is huge. I think a lot of guys who take the plunge were semi forced into it. They were offered some retirement buy out or they lost their job or some health event told them they have to get away from stress or maybe a divorce or whatever. But if you're making big money and have a solid net worth, but you know that if you're gone for a year your skillset will be too old to resume where you were . . . then it's hard to walk away. But in the end, in the final analysis, your last sentence tells the tale. It is a matter of when, not if. If you wait longer, you have fe

Little place across from Residence Garden: Had breakfast there a few times. Price is reasonable, portions are not skimped. Polite service. The eggs are scrambled with some subtle addition, probably a bit of pepper or something, and are very good. Eggs, + ham, + sausage, + toast, + tea or coffee, + juice. Pretty standard stuff but done rather well with no price surprises. I think 110 baht. Something like that. Reflects just a bit extra in service and portions. I tried the 50 and 60 baht places and they usually tack on 60 baht for a drink. I also think it's better than the RG breakfast l

A lot of this is getting past the psychological barrier of thinking that a price tag of living expenses of just $1500 or $2000 per month is some kind of downgrade in lifestyle. The number intimidates guys until they have spent enough time travelling -- not just to Pattaya -- to see that the rest of the world does not pay what the US and UK citizenry pay to live. Well dressed Thai office girls make what, 15,000 baht per month? They fund those nice clothes and demeanor with that paltry income. A big, subtle effect on budgets is travel. A lot of guys have no interest in extensive trave

Can't blame guys for this. I've seen it a lot of late as more and more people reach that age group where it becomes clear that work is not in their future. It's such a new concept to them that they instinctively presume it is new for everyone. Well, it is for everyone, at some point. And there is an aspect of the issue that is different from any time in the past -- in that pensions are going away and retiring on something other than a pension, in Southeast Asia rather than Florida or Yorkshire, is not what our parents did. So, the questions can be repetitive, but understandably

A quick comment here to encourage the OP to use Search at the top of the page. There are some very helpful people around and individual costs for individual categories have already been covered in almost all cases. If your early retirement is coming from pension sources, you have US tax issues to address. You also need to look very carefully at it, be sure it is inflation indexed, and be sure the odds of it being attacked in the future by the distributing source are low. If it is coming from a nestegg, you have many maneuvers available to you that can reduce tax to almost zero.

Paul, I just posted the text below to the Members Only area of this board. I was told in the replies that you might not see it there, so I am cross posting here. Be aware that in response to this post several other BMs spoke up in praise of Jan: ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Folks, Just posting a note of praise for Paul and Jan's taxi service, which I used today. I think their thread in the cost sharing section is called "New Driver Available". Jan is Paul's wife and she does a good job. Some special security thin

Hey ginseng. A few thoughts about US real estate. First of all, the article you read could be old, but if not then the writer (no doubt trying to hit a deadline and get paid) is about a year out of date. The primary mechanism for the anticipated drop in RE prices was increasing mortgage interest rates. For more than a year, the Fed has been raising rates on the short term end of the maturity spectrum and though the Fed has no control of the long term end (on which real estate mortgages are based), it is generally accepted that unless enormous yield curve inversions are to be accep

Thanks, Bob. This looks like money we will probably collect someday, if we live long enough.

From what I've seen there, you can probably save yourself some time and money if you just take a hammer and smash both your legs, then go to the hospital and get fixed.

Here's an exciting 2 cents worth. Government has very little impact on the US economy. Booms and declines happen largely of their own accord. No one knows what currencies will fluctuate in what direction. No one. Repeat, no one. One more time. No one. If you hear an opinion that sounds good and you decide it is right, you have a 33/33/33 chance of being right. It's not 50/50 because there are 3 directions for currencies to fluctuate. Up, down and sideways (unchanged). If an event occurs that clearly and definitively points at what direction a currency should move, then that currenc

Pre-existing condition exclusion in the US has a time limit. Perhaps this is the same everywhere. This means if you had blood pressure problems and they went away and stayed away for 5 years, the exclusion stops. Drugs used to keep bp down may not qualify for this, however. If this is the problem, I think you're best bet is to draft a letter and shotgun email it out to everyone that asks just what ailments are excluded by bp. That may vary from company to company.

US employees contribute some portion of the health plan insurance premium, too. Varies from company to company, but all companies are in the process of shifting more and more of the premium burden to the employees. Mild difference here with the UK on this. I can see how, with the NHS, you can offer private insurance for senior staff because you can tell the shareholders that the NHS queues are too long and your senior staff are too valuable to be waiting in them. The US can't do that. Everyone waits in the same queue (which isn't very long compared to many countries). And given e

Thanks, Alan. At first glance months ago I thought there was no need for US guys to know what UK guys are talking about -- terminology wise -- and vice versa. But as discussions have continued it has become clear (to me at least ) that some underlying ideas get covered up in the terms used and they can be be useful to know. Works pension vs state pension. I presume the "state pension" is something from the UK govt that shows up at age 65 or something like that? The "works pension" would be pension paid by the company you worked for long enough to qualify to receive it? Equiv US

Good emphasis. I can't see any problem mechanizing this. A cash, non-interest bearing account can be fed with the interest from some other account the previous year and then only sent to Thailand next year. Or you can simply declare that the money you are bringing in is purely principal and not interest. I cannot see any way any Thai investigation could penetrate this. If they want to nail you, they will, regardless of truth or reality or documentation -- but if they are pretending to some semblance of legitimate adherence to their own law I do not think anyone can be touched by taxes

Excellent data, Bob, and thanks for being kind enough to provide it. It appears that all folks on retirement visas are not liable for Thai income tax on pension income or interest income brought into Thailand derived from a nestegg invested external to Thailand. I am intrigued by talk of "the preceding year". It would be pretty easy, even in a Thai crackdown of some kind, to show that money brought into Thailand was from income earned external to Thailand perhaps 2 or 3 yrs ago. But no matter. No point in muddying the waters. Your text is clear and is good news for the BMs on site

In general, folks, no one knows what any currency fluctuation is going to do. If they did know, they would be worth billions and would not be on this board. Explaining what happened and why is how people get dubbed expert. Explaining what happened and why has more or less no value. If you accept that no one knows which direction various currencies will fluctuate, you will not spend time trying to analyze it. The real problem with this issue is that there are guys who will spend a few hours on it, make a prediction, and be right. Then they'll do it again, and be right again.

No shortcuts, guy. I don't think any of us are Thai tax lawyers. Here's the link again from above. It's in English and it seems to make sense, but interpret it as you will. http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html