LOS alternative

[JimmyJ]

5 hours ago, cleverman said:

Not a problem, I've spent a year in Yogyakata,only one person wasn't very nice towards infidels.

Krabi is loaded with Muslims.

They were nothing but very kind and welcoming when I had interactions with them.

 

Same in Kuala Lumpur although only had minimal interaction there.

 

The big issue is if Muslim country means Sharia law.

If that is the case, a country is a pass for me as far as living there.

[alex8912]

2 hours ago, Small Joke said:

I recently spent several months out of LOS, ranging as far afield as South America, doing some boots on the ground research.

My nutshell conclusions are: no other SE Asian country comes close to LOS with all its faults. Caveat! Where you settle in LOS also matters, Pattaya, 'the islands' and Bangkok are really best avoided unless you like paying too much for everything, or you have a chronic need to road test a new 'wife' every three hours, forever.

India? You're having a laugh!

Malaysia, I could deal with it, BUT if you have issues with Islam just remember you'll be hearing amplified calls to prayer constantly. Its also much more expensive than LOS, just to visa qualify. Alcohol is sky high, even given the luxury tax on wine here.

Mexico or Colombia are OK as a lifestyle move, but crime is high, and statistically, you will get rolled at some point, which may or may not be terminal. The rest of it; yeah, nope!

 

There are two -and only two- rules to bear in mind when you go hunting for your own private Idaho:

1. Cheap countries are cheap for a reason, sure the PI is great if you like living behind razor wire, smelling burning trash as you sit down to dinner every single night, dirt roads, joke internet, hospitals where opioid pain relief is more or less illegal, and 'workmanship' far far below even Thai unregulated standards.

2. If you were suddenly forbidden by law to date the local talent, would you STILL want to live there?

And therein lies your answer, gents.

 

 

 

 

I don’t get your insult and wrong info about BKK. Unless you are a complete cheap Charlie what is so expensive about it?? Many on here have a nice apt for 10k a month( or less)  and luxury condos can still be bought for 3 million near the BTS. The best restaurants , great non sex tourist nightlife. Cheap and cleaner food everywhere. Cheap flights out. Lots of English spoken if that’s a plus. Great cheap transport with no need for a car. Universities , hospitals , amazing temples , malls when you need them , tons of cheap and luxury theatres, maybe 4 areas at most for sex tourism , quiet sois with no dogs, no animals like chickens etc. on and on and on. You crossed BKK , Pataya and most islands and beaches off your list. I’m glad to not be in your boots. 

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

Krabi is loaded with Muslims.

They were nothing but very kind and welcoming when I had interactions with them.

 

Same in Kuala Lumpur although only had minimal interaction there.

 

The big issue is if Muslim country means Sharia law.

If that is the case, a country is a pass for me as far as living there.

I live in a muslim village in Phuket. Today I came out from 7-11 with some sodas.

There was a group of older muslims. They asked me if I bought some whiskey as well. 

I answered only for my cats..

 

Once older muslim woman saw me and my beers in the same 7-11 (next to mosque). She asked: Oh, you like to drink beer? I answered: Yes, would you like to have some too.. and her reply: No. It gives me a horrible headache; with a grin. 

 

There is also many openly gay and transgender muslims in this area. Nobody cares who people love and think to be. 

 

Imho muslims in SEA in general are relaxed and only drink alcohol after sunset, when Allah doesn't see. ????

[JimmyJ]

One big negative takeaway from my visit to HCM City and Da Lat that doesn't seem to bother anyone else thus far since it hasn't been mentioned:

 

Driving is different in Vietnam from Thailand.

Instead of applying brakes, drivers instead apply the horn.

 

Sometimes in the US and perhaps other countries, after a wedding guests get into their cars and honk the horns like mad in celebration.

 

It's like that non-stop in Vietnam.

So there's all the traffic noise of Thailand, but with the addition of constant horns.

 

A poster here told me it's like that all over the country.

 

 

[zzaa09]

Yunnan Province, China.

Bhutan.

Marquesas Islands, FP.

[Kerryd]

8 hours ago, rumak said:

paraguay,uraguay,istanbul,india,afghanistan ?........good morning vietnam, cambodia, brazil,mexico, costa rica,

pretty rita, slovakia, head spinning, so much whinging....

GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ACROSS THE BORDER.......  let me know when you get there, the cost of a lawn mower

I was going to say the same thing (more or less). 20 years ago I was checking out potential retirement spots, including Belize, Costa Rica, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Cambodia, the Philippines and a few others. Tried to avoid any countries with Communist governments and Muslim countries (and that was long before I spent a decade working in Afghanistan).

When all was said and done, Thailand worked out as the most viable option and I'm sure if I did the same thing today, it would still be the same.

As rumak said - the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Until you get there and realize that is because that place is even more full of shi* than the place you just left.

Nowhere is perfect. Period. 

 

You have to look at the good and the bad and decide what compromises you can live with. 

Most of what I see people complaining about as far as Thailand is concerned is BS.
"Waaa the "junta" is so bad". What a crock. The majority of the country and the vast majority of the foreigners aren't the least bit affected by the "junta". Not to mention that ever since the last coup, the level of political violence and disruption in the country has been next to nil. Unlike it was when Thaksin and his clan of crooks were robbing the country blind.

"Waaaaa - Thailand expects me to have money to live here". Boo hoo. Let me guess, you live for free "back home" don't you ? BS. I'm guessing that a lot (maybe even most) of you are here because you can't afford to live "back home". That is why so many (but not "all") of you are looking for "cheaper" places to live, despite all the claims of how rich you all supposedly are. 

"Waaa - Thailand makes me renew my Visa/Extension every year and then do 90 day reports. I want to move to a country where I only have to do border runs every 3 months, and then get an agent to do this and then have to pay for that (yadda yadda yadda)".

You'd be there less than 6 months and you'd be whining about how bad things are for foreigners there and how much better things were in Thailand. Like the first time you get into an accident with a local, or an altercation with the police, or have a medical problem or the government suddenly changes to a real "foreigner hating" regime like Zimbabwe or Venezuela. Or when you realize that the beer sucks, you can't watch your "footie" at the local bar and the girls aren't flocking to your squalid local style apartment and banging you silly all day and night (for free of course).

Next thing you know, that grass won't be looking so green anymore. In fact, it will probably be looking old, moldy and rotten and the grass back where you left will be looking so sweet that you'll wish you'd never left.

Face it - if there was a place that was better than Thailand (i.e. cheaper, easier to stay in, more "foreign friendly", fewer restrictions, more "bang" for your "buck", etc, etc) - most of you would have left for there long ago.

So all this BS about looking for somewhere else to go is just that. BS.
One year, two years, 5 years from now most of you will still be here (at least the ones who actually can meet the requirements). Very few of you will move anywhere else. Frik - you all whine about having to go to Immigration once every 90 days and having to prove you have enough to live on once a year. I highly doubt many of you will move any further than one or two barstools away from where you are now, let alone to a completely different country.
 

[melvinmelvin]

7 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

I was going to say the same thing (more or less). 20 years ago I was checking out potential retirement spots, including Belize, Costa Rica, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Cambodia, the Philippines and a few others. Tried to avoid any countries with Communist governments and Muslim countries (and that was long before I spent a decade working in Afghanistan).

When all was said and done, Thailand worked out as the most viable option and I'm sure if I did the same thing today, it would still be the same.

As rumak said - the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Until you get there and realize that is because that place is even more full of shi* than the place you just left.

Nowhere is perfect. Period. 

 

You have to look at the good and the bad and decide what compromises you can live with. 

Most of what I see people complaining about as far as Thailand is concerned is BS.
"Waaa the "junta" is so bad". What a crock. The majority of the country and the vast majority of the foreigners aren't the least bit affected by the "junta". Not to mention that ever since the last coup, the level of political violence and disruption in the country has been next to nil. Unlike it was when Thaksin and his clan of crooks were robbing the country blind.

"Waaaaa - Thailand expects me to have money to live here". Boo hoo. Let me guess, you live for free "back home" don't you ? BS. I'm guessing that a lot (maybe even most) of you are here because you can't afford to live "back home". That is why so many (but not "all") of you are looking for "cheaper" places to live, despite all the claims of how rich you all supposedly are. 

"Waaa - Thailand makes me renew my Visa/Extension every year and then do 90 day reports. I want to move to a country where I only have to do border runs every 3 months, and then get an agent to do this and then have to pay for that (yadda yadda yadda)".

You'd be there less than 6 months and you'd be whining about how bad things are for foreigners there and how much better things were in Thailand. Like the first time you get into an accident with a local, or an altercation with the police, or have a medical problem or the government suddenly changes to a real "foreigner hating" regime like Zimbabwe or Venezuela. Or when you realize that the beer sucks, you can't watch your "footie" at the local bar and the girls aren't flocking to your squalid local style apartment and banging you silly all day and night (for free of course).

Next thing you know, that grass won't be looking so green anymore. In fact, it will probably be looking old, moldy and rotten and the grass back where you left will be looking so sweet that you'll wish you'd never left.

Face it - if there was a place that was better than Thailand (i.e. cheaper, easier to stay in, more "foreign friendly", fewer restrictions, more "bang" for your "buck", etc, etc) - most of you would have left for there long ago.

So all this BS about looking for somewhere else to go is just that. BS.
One year, two years, 5 years from now most of you will still be here (at least the ones who actually can meet the requirements). Very few of you will move anywhere else. Frik - you all whine about having to go to Immigration once every 90 days and having to prove you have enough to live on once a year. I highly doubt many of you will move any further than one or two barstools away from where you are now, let alone to a completely different country.
 

what's the point of this post?

looks like an awful lot of nonsense to mee

 

[rumak]

37 minutes ago, melvinmelvin said:

what's the point of this post?

looks like an awful lot of nonsense to mee

 

its called equal time !  certainly there are plenty of posters who say that they are not happy here , so if you accept their right to post their complaints.....then a reasonable person would listen to an opposing view.

Saying nonsense to that is easy way to dismiss something.  Better way might be to consider someone elses point of view.

[alex8912]

15 minutes ago, rumak said:

its called equal time !  certainly there are plenty of posters who say that they are not happy here , so if you accept their right to post their complaints.....then a reasonable person would listen to an opposing view.

Saying nonsense to that is easy way to dismiss something.  Better way might be to consider someone elses point of view.

And you will probably be reported by one of the house top tattle tales. The thinnest of thin skin here. But of course they can be outright vile in many threads. 

To stay on topic many Americans, Canadians and Europeans  retire in the USA. Super cheap and warm in many places in Florida , Georgia , Texas , Arizona etc. so many places you can still get a nice house for 175K USD( or less ) , cheap cars, cheap gas, cheap alcohol, cheap rents in those place too. Breakfasts for 65 baht and food is cheap in supermarkets. Also senior citizens discounts and outright free stuff everywhere. 

[marcusarelus]

6 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

And you will probably be reported by one of the house top tattle tales. The thinnest of thin skin here. But of course they can be outright vile in many threads. 

To stay on topic many Americans, Canadians and Eoropeans  retire in the USA. Super cheap and warm in many places in Florida , Georgia , Texas , Arizona etc. so many places you can still get a nice house for 175K USD( or less ) , cheap cars, cheap gas, cheap alcohol, cheap rents in those place too. Breakfasts for 65 baht and food is cheap in supermarkets. 

175K USD is 6 million baht!  There are 7000 posts here recently of guys who can't put even 1% of that in the bank. 

[Dazinoz]

1 minute ago, marcusarelus said:

175K USD is 6 million baht!  There are 7000 posts here recently of guys who can't put even 1% of that in the bank. 

Theres them 7000 posts again.

[marcusarelus]

2 minutes ago, Dazinoz said:

Theres them 7000 posts again.

Ya the West is cheap as long as you can come up with that initial 6 million baht. 

[Dazinoz]

1 minute ago, marcusarelus said:

Ya the West is cheap as long as you can come up with that initial 6 million baht. 

I was stay here (thailand) for the time being. Last visit back to Oz opened my eyes to how exe things have become.

 

[rumak]

45 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

175K USD is 6 million baht!  There are 7000 posts here recently of guys who can't put even 1% of that in the bank. 

and then........there's a little matter of healthcare .   

[Mac98]

Panama has potential.

[JackThompson]

2 hours ago, Kerryd said:

"Waaa the "junta" is so bad". What a crock. The majority of the country and the vast majority of the foreigners aren't the least bit affected by the "junta". Not to mention that ever since the last coup, the level of political violence and disruption in the country has been next to nil. Unlike it was when Thaksin and his clan of crooks were robbing the country blind.

Have to agree - and the downhill-slide in treatment of foreigners here by immigration pre-dated it.  I could complain that they didn't clean it up or reverse the trend towards driving us out - but they weren't the ones who started that trend. 

 

I also agree the 90-day reporting isn't so horrid - wish they would enforce existing immigration-law in my country.  I might still be there, if they had simply enforced the law, and stopped adding visa-programs to bring in cheap workers to undermine both blue-collar and college-grad citizens.

 

But I don't find much agreement with the rest.  A couple of points...

 

2 hours ago, Kerryd said:

Face it - if there was a place that was better than Thailand (i.e. cheaper, easier to stay in, more "foreign friendly", fewer restrictions, more "bang" for your "buck", etc, etc) - most of you would have left for there long ago.

You left out 2 reasons I stay here:

1. My Thai wife

2. The culture

All the other things you did list, I can find in the PI, Cambodia, probably Vietnam (haven't lived there, though), and much of Latin America - including "easy to stay" and "cheap to live" and even "cheap women for a night," (if I had that habit).

 

And, btw, most of us never claimed to be rich - and of course we live better here, or in many other countries, than we ever did or could in our high-cost for low-quality-living passport-country.  If I were a gazillionaire, I'd probably be living in Switzerland - at least during the summer months - I hear it's nice, and the pics are beautiful.

A funny thing about "grass is always greener" - people told me the same thing when I left Latin America for Asia.  Well, it is greener over here, for me - years on.  I definitely prefer Cambodia to the parts of Latin America where I lived - though there are many more areas I never explored. 

[JackThompson]

 

1 hour ago, marcusarelus said:

Ya the West is cheap as long as you can come up with that initial 6 million baht. 

Don't forget the property-tax on that house, or you won't be living there for long. 

[JackThompson]

6 hours ago, Small Joke said:

sure the PI is great if you like living behind razor wire, smelling burning trash as you sit down to dinner every single night, dirt roads, joke internet, hospitals where opioid pain relief is more or less illegal, and 'workmanship' far far below even Thai unregulated standards.

Where in the PI did you test out?  I never smelled burning trash in the places I lived there.  Never lived down a dirt-road, either, though I'd guess that's a "mud road" much of the time, given the climate. 

 

I cannot speak to the hospitals from experience - but while the "PI public" hospitals are likely not close to "Thai public" standards, some private ones in major cities are respected.

 

Every place I stayed in the PI did have full-time security, but I used public-transit regularly, walked a lot, and never had any problems.  Granted, I did not live in Manila, many parts of which are known to be dangerous. 

 

Internet is better now that fiber is in many cities, though they had growing-pains for a few periods in recent years. 

 

The main sticking-point is electricity - it "being on" that is - for which you need to select one of the larger cities, or prepare for frequent outages.

 

5 hours ago, Small Joke said:

On 11/13/2018 at 9:38 PM, BritManToo said:

And as much cannabis as you can smoke.

You can get that in LOS ...

My advise: Don't do it folks.  Go to Cambodia if you want to do that.  I was offered it frequently there (no thanks, not my thing) and often smelled it, and saw no reactions from officials.  Here, it's a major PITA if you get in trouble, so best avoided.  It is sad reading the "busted for pot" stories here, and the hell those folks are put through.  Please don't be one of them.

[whitemouse]

3 hours ago, Kerryd said:

3 hours ago, Kerryd said:

 

"Waaaaa - Thailand expects me to have money to live here". Boo hoo. Let me guess, you live for free "back home" don't you ? BS. I'm guessing that a lot (maybe even most) of you are here because you can't afford to live "back home". That is why so many (but not "all") of you are looking for "cheaper" places to live, despite all the claims of how rich you all supposedly are

LOL 

 

How clueless are you?

[rumak]

3 hours ago, JackThompson said:

 

Don't forget the property-tax on that house, or you won't be living there for long. 

probably over 3000 dollars a year on that "cheap house".   But hey, Thailand has property tax too !

Let me look......ok, I paid 200 baht tax on my house/6 rai last year.   

[swissie]

As far as alternatives to LOS are concerned, some 3 years ago I made my personel "Top 10" list. Researched the "technicalities" beforehand and then I visited all of those countries. Cost me a pretty penny.

Guess what! Despite it's faults and imperfections, Thailand ended up as #1 again.

Should it be that the stiffer Immi-Requirements make a Farang look for alternatives? If that's the case, raise the required 800K, no matter how.= Take out loans from fellow Farangs (offering 35% return), sell your mother in law to slave traders etc etc, whatever it takes.

On a more serious note: A major reason why Thailand has ended up as #1 in my book again can not be measured in monetary terms. Hard to express in a single word. The relaxed athmosphere, the "mai pen rai" syndrome, "Sanuk" as a major part of life, the quiet acceptance that fortune and misfortune is part of life. All things, that can not be measured in $ and ¢.
- Be assured, that outside of Thailand all those things can nowhere be experienced in the same form and shape and with the same intensity.

If you like those things, better not leave, as the grass on the other side of the fence will not be as green as in Thailand if those things are of importance to you.

Cheers.

[rumak]

2 hours ago, swissie said:

On a more serious note: A major reason why Thailand has ended up as #1 in my book again can not be measured in monetary terms. Hard to express in a single word. The relaxed athmosphere, the "mai pen rai" syndrome, "Sanuk" as a major part of life, the quiet acceptance that fortune and misfortune is part of life. All things, that can not be measured in $ and ¢.

Takes a smart man to stop seeing everything as negative and figure out that sh*t happens and you learn to make adjustments and improve what you can.  Namely....ones attitude.  I still sometimes roll my eyes but

don't make those stupid faces i once did.   Maybe TI should come up with a new slogan :  Good attitudes in/ Bad attitudes out !  

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

12 hours ago, zzaa09 said:

Yunnan Province, China.

Bhutan.

Marquesas Islands, FP.

French Polynesia with a Thai or Vietnamese girlfriend would be my choice. As an EU citizen you can stay there as long as you want, not cheap but you get what you pay for. 

[Ahab]

32 minutes ago, rumak said:

Takes a smart man to stop seeing everything as negative and figure out that sh*t happens and you learn to make adjustments and improve what you can.  Namely....ones attitude.  I still sometimes roll my eyes but

don't make those stupid faces i once did.   Maybe TI should come up with a new slogan :  Good attitudes in/ Bad attitudes out !  

A very smart post. I have known people that can be unhappy anywhere, even in really nice places like Hawaii. Bottom line is if you are prone to complaining you will always find something to complain about. Find things that you like and then do them, find people that you like and spend time with them, maybe (at least try to) learn the language. I like dealing with different things and different places. One of the reasons I like living in rural Thailand is because of the differences. I like the USA, but for right now I like living in Buriram with my Thai wife of 26 years. 

[cleverman]

12 hours ago, melvinmelvin said:

what's the point of this post?

looks like an awful lot of nonsense to mee

 

You have two eyes ,one mouth. Use them in that proportion. Let me explain for you. Embassies are going to stop issuing letters confirming your income, so,some people will have to leave LOS. You really should take notice of what is happening around you. Now, when they leave LOS, they are going to need somewhere else to live. Please feel free to pm me if you need anymore clarification. 

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, cleverman said:

You have two eyes ,one mouth. Use them in that proportion. Let me explain for you. Embassies are going to stop issuing letters confirming your income, so,some people will have to leave LOS. You really should take notice of what is happening around you. Now, when they leave LOS, they are going to need somewhere else to live. Please feel free to pm me if you need anymore clarification. 

I gave up using money in bank and proof of income, and extensions of stay 5 years back.

Just get a VISA from another country now, 90 days at a time is good enough, then a little holiday.

[cleverman]

9 hours ago, whitemouse said:

LOL 

 

How clueless are you?

He's not the clueless one.

[xylophone]

12 hours ago, Kerryd said:

I was going to say the same thing (more or less). 20 years ago I was checking out potential retirement spots, including Belize, Costa Rica, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Cambodia, the Philippines and a few others. Tried to avoid any countries with Communist governments and Muslim countries (and that was long before I spent a decade working in Afghanistan).

When all was said and done, Thailand worked out as the most viable option and I'm sure if I did the same thing today, it would still be the same.

As rumak said - the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Until you get there and realize that is because that place is even more full of shi* than the place you just left.

Nowhere is perfect. Period. 

 

You have to look at the good and the bad and decide what compromises you can live with. 

Most of what I see people complaining about as far as Thailand is concerned is BS.
"Waaa the "junta" is so bad". What a crock. The majority of the country and the vast majority of the foreigners aren't the least bit affected by the "junta". Not to mention that ever since the last coup, the level of political violence and disruption in the country has been next to nil. Unlike it was when Thaksin and his clan of crooks were robbing the country blind.

"Waaaaa - Thailand expects me to have money to live here". Boo hoo. Let me guess, you live for free "back home" don't you ? BS. I'm guessing that a lot (maybe even most) of you are here because you can't afford to live "back home". That is why so many (but not "all") of you are looking for "cheaper" places to live, despite all the claims of how rich you all supposedly are. 

"Waaa - Thailand makes me renew my Visa/Extension every year and then do 90 day reports. I want to move to a country where I only have to do border runs every 3 months, and then get an agent to do this and then have to pay for that (yadda yadda yadda)".

You'd be there less than 6 months and you'd be whining about how bad things are for foreigners there and how much better things were in Thailand. Like the first time you get into an accident with a local, or an altercation with the police, or have a medical problem or the government suddenly changes to a real "foreigner hating" regime like Zimbabwe or Venezuela. Or when you realize that the beer sucks, you can't watch your "footie" at the local bar and the girls aren't flocking to your squalid local style apartment and banging you silly all day and night (for free of course).

Next thing you know, that grass won't be looking so green anymore. In fact, it will probably be looking old, moldy and rotten and the grass back where you left will be looking so sweet that you'll wish you'd never left.

Face it - if there was a place that was better than Thailand (i.e. cheaper, easier to stay in, more "foreign friendly", fewer restrictions, more "bang" for your "buck", etc, etc) - most of you would have left for there long ago.

So all this BS about looking for somewhere else to go is just that. BS.
One year, two years, 5 years from now most of you will still be here (at least the ones who actually can meet the requirements). Very few of you will move anywhere else. Frik - you all whine about having to go to Immigration once every 90 days and having to prove you have enough to live on once a year. I highly doubt many of you will move any further than one or two barstools away from where you are now, let alone to a completely different country.
 

Lots of very good and insightful points in your post kerryd and in a way it was nice to read because there have been times when I have had a bit of a downer on the country, but it doesn't take long for one to sit back and think about things and realise that I have it pretty good here.

 

I take your point about the Junta and although I'm not keen on them buying things like submarines in place of improving the education or infrastructure, well that's what military people do the world over and it doesn't directly affect me so I get on with things.

 

I'm not a barstool aficionado and would probably only sit on one, once a week!!.

 

True enough, I complain about the immigration hoops, but now the 90 day reporting is just a five-minute job and if I have got the colrrect paperwork together even the retirement extension isn't too much of a hassle although it seems like it on the day, but then again once that day is past I've got another 364 days of comparative freedom!

 

As for the new rules regarding the 800k in the bank for the extension, well that has never been a problem and never will be I hope, but I don't worry about it because if everything turns to custard there are other avenues to explore if I needed to.

 

I think if one makes friends of both good expats and Thai folk, then that is a good incentive to stay and make it work, although it never ceases to amaze me at the amount of "shonky" expats there are around the place who would be quite willing to relieve you of your funds.........but the old saying, "never a borrower or lender be" always comes in handy.

 

Whenever I go away, I miss the place and its vibrancy – – it's alive and there is always something going on, whether good, bad or indifferent and it has a sort of fascination for me.

 

Thanks again for a good post and for getting me to rethink the reasons I like to be here. 
 

[rumak]

On 11/12/2018 at 11:49 AM, cleverman said:

With the Hoha over visas here, the Malasian MM2H,or even the one year visa,is looking more and more attractive. Maby go there and start up malasianvisa.com.Can work there and buy a house. 

there is a very well-known Chiangmai TV poster who was saying her goodbyes to the TV faithful around 2 years ago.

Was making all the preparations for the big move to Malaysia and pretty much said she and hubby were on their way.   don't know the reasons why....but they are still here !   nuff said ?

[garyk]

On 11/16/2018 at 8:58 AM, Tom89 said:

What's the crime like in Colombia these days?

I spent 3 months there traveling around. I never had a problem. But, I was never at ease as I am in Thailand.

Tourist areas are fine IMO.  Cheaper than Thailand if you know the rules.

 

Mexico is where i am heading, The Yucatan peninsula. Safe as Thailand or safer IMO. And no immigration hassles. I have got to where I hate it here. Way to restricting for me. 

 

I have had it with S.E. Asia for the past few years, luckily I am financially able to, and will relocate with no problem. 

Love the Thai people in general.  Love the food. Am fed up to the eyeballs with the stupid rules! 

Color me gone. ????