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New financial regulations for retirees: Nearly a third of expats may have to leave - but half on Facebook say they're off!


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On 2/3/2019 at 10:37 PM, BritManToo said:

50% of Americans couldn't pay an unexpected $500 bill (according to a survey), 800k is $20,000.

Most off the western world is the same.

Your conversion is a bit low. THB800K is about US$26,000.

I know few who has that kind of scratch just lying around. Most often paycheck to paycheck.

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On 2/4/2019 at 4:37 AM, spidermike007 said:

It does appear that this administration, and especially the biggest joke, are trying to do everything in their power to discourage ex-pats from staying here. Does it not? These imbeciles should be making our lives easier, and making visa policy simpler. Rather they seem to be tightening the noose, every chance they get. To call them ignorant, fearful, xenophobic, non-visionary, and misguided would be a vast understatement. Biggest Joke said he would make things easier and simpler. He is doing just the opposite, and barely even disguising his contempt for foreigners. He is the single biggest threat to the ex-pat community right now. 

 

One can only hope that come election time, all of this nonsense will be over, and both Prayuth and especially the biggest joke, will be sent out to pasture for the rest of their lives. They are not doing anything that benefits their nation, and they are picking on good men, who are bringing a lot to the table. Dumb and dumber. What can one say? 

In all fairness the Thais are broken by the regime, in debt, fearful and utterly repressed.  This is the only regime that has truly broken Thailand and Thainess.

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On 2/8/2019 at 11:36 PM, KhunFred said:

Cambodia or the Philippines are really the only options that I would have. The Philippines does not interest me in the slightest, but it DOES have sane visa regulations. Cambodia is a place that I quite like but fear the "medical care" that I would get there. Having enough funds to afford a trip back home to access Medicare is always an issue and my evangelical-minded family has more or less told me that I could take a flying flip into the "Lake of Fire". Those of you with caring family do not know how lucky you are.

If you are an adult your family is irrelevant. 

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I think for many expats it's whether you live on the cusp, be that financial, family or just Thai fatigue.

 

I 'think' many expats stick it out for a variety of reasons, which is not to say that for many expats it still works for them

 

Fear of failure, financial situation precludes repatriation, pets, family ties, the list goes on.

 

The current environment seems at least to be pushing many expats to that cusp.

 

Many expats are in their twilight years, and they thought that Thailand would give them stability. That seems to be evaporation by the day.

 

It's a tough question. For me it was to hedge my bets. Wife wanted to move to the US after son decided he wasn't coming back to Thailand, plus she resumes her career.

 

But we keep our foot n the door with our house in Khon Kaen.

 

So all in all a very mixed bag

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On 2/8/2019 at 6:24 AM, MaxYakov said:

"Internal racism?" - never heard of that one. Careful not to confuse "racism" with classism and/or discrimination and/or cultural or religious rejection.

 

The way I look at is: racism happens between the ears and is not illegal (unless it leads to an illegal action). It could lead to classism or discrimination where the (what may or not be) racism rubber hits the road (leads to action such as (perhaps illegal) discrimination).

 

We farangs are discriminated against all the time, but I'm careful not to necessarily put it down to racism. If you're not Japanese, try getting into one of those Japanese-only clubs in Phat Phong and elsewhere in Bangkok.

 

So the question we should be asking, IMHO, is whether any store/shop/bar has the right to discriminate w/r which customers would be acceptable (to sell to). The U.S. and others, I believe, have gone completely over-the-top with forcing shops to cater to a certain class of undesirable (to them) customers, such as the "gay" when it would be against their morals, religious beliefs, etc.

Nonsense playing with semantics.  Racism as a term can include cultural and skin colour issues. The central light skinned Thais look down on the darker skinned Issan  Thais of Lao extraction.  The latter are not represented in public life, media, national institutions, government and are held in contempt.  That my friend is racism.

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2 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

I think for many expats it's whether you live on the cusp, be that financial, family or just Thai fatigue.

 

I 'think' many expats stick it out for a variety of reasons, which is not to say that for many expats it still works for them

 

Fear of failure, financial situation precludes repatriation, pets, family ties, the list goes on.

 

The current environment seems at least to be pushing many expats to that cusp.

 

Many expats are in their twilight years, and they thought that Thailand would give them stability. That seems to be evaporation by the day.

 

It's a tough question. For me it was to hedge my bets. Wife wanted to move to the US after son decided he wasn't coming back to Thailand, plus she resumes her career.

 

But we keep our foot n the door with our house in Khon Kaen.

 

So all in all a very mixed bag

Good point.  I still have my london gaff. Dont wanna leave Thailand but not not gonna jump through illogical hoops created by unelected military pin heads whose only succesful war has been conducted againt its own people. What a dreadful bunch.  I pity the poor Thai people, manipulated,  oppressed, in debt, broke,  poverty stricken, robbed of freedom and democracy but forced into false loyalty to corrupt authorities who despise them. The creepy weirdos who took over after the yellow shirt terror should have made their money and moved on by now. What the expats here are suffering its ten times worst for the majority of Thais. The war on white farang is a war on the Thai people too.

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On 2/8/2019 at 12:41 PM, Jingthing said:

In all fairness, and I'm making a gross generalization here, applying for retirement status in most Latin American programs is more difficult, more expensive, and more expensive than applying for annual retirement extensions in Thailand. But in general (not all) these are one time applications giving approval for lifetime residency, requiring no import of funds when pension based, have much lower income requirements than Thailand, requiring no annual re-applications. So the process can be very rough going in and you might not make it, but once in, assuming approval, then it gets much, much easier potentially for life. 

A typical example. Ecuador. Applications can be a nightmare, but once in, you're in.

Colombia. Interesting recent change. Apply first for a three year stay (reportedly quick and easy if you use a non-corrupt agent to expedite). Then the same thing again. Then after 5 years -- permanent residency. This is fairly recent which is part of the reason Colombia aside from it's desirability (quality of life for the cost) is getting to be on lots of people's radar. 

Columbia is still in the grip of narco terrorism and all its attendant problems.  No ive never been there but all the Columbians I meet in the UK would never go back. They prefer South West London. They prefer England. My friends, tough friends,  have advised me against the place and the most recent documentaries about the place make it look dreadful. 

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we say all kinds of things and love all kinds of nonsense.   

as long as it is something we want to "believe".  if it ain't, we can deny anything.  easy.  all we have to do is listen and repeat whatever today's nonsense is.

some retirees are on fixed monthly guaranteed pensions.  sounds great compared to having to invest an IRA or 401k.  and it is.  or was.  but they are also locked in dollars or Euros or whatever and some folks decided on lifestyles based on a fixed THB to a dollah rate a lot higher than 30 something.  that's almost funny.  not.  yeah, real people are involved.   but did not expect the Thai Baht to 'ever ever' recover from the 1997 Thai Baht Crisis???? 
 

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Columbia is still in the grip of narco terrorism and all its attendant problems.  No ive never been there but all the Columbians I meet in the UK would never go back. They prefer South West London. They prefer England. My friends, tough friends,  have advised me against the place and the most recent documentaries about the place make it look dreadful. 
If you're going to go on forums to trash a country in such a stereotypically unbalanced way it might be a good idea to first learn how to spell it.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

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4 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

In all fairness the Thais are broken by the regime, in debt, fearful and utterly repressed.  This is the only regime that has truly broken Thailand and Thainess.

Absolutely correct. I have been saying for some time, this regime is the worst thing to happen to Thailand is the past several decades. They are a plague. A scourge on the land, and the people. The name of the guys should be changed from the Thai army, to the Nothing men. That is who and what they are. Just admit your lack of real power, intelligence, vision, desire to help your nation and your people, and your greed and megolomia. 

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