Feeling 'eyed' by Thailand and what I'm planning on doing about it

[Lacessit]

3 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Did I say socks or sock? There is your answer Breaker.

You said sock. Perhaps you are confusing a pigeon chest with man boobs. I know it's hard to get the gist after the fourth beer.

[tingtongtourist]

19 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

You are reading Thai visa too much.  Really nothing much has changed except the attitude of some key posters on here. 

 

One of them is running 13 negative threads now.  He was always negative for the 10 years of so I've been reading here but now it's getting extreme. 

 

I am in my 70's and nothing has changed for me.  If anything the people are getting nicer because the backpackers and skint expats are leaving. 

 

Thai's are going more online and that means more action for the fellows who can read and write Thai. 

 

I'd take a break from Thai Visa and associate with some less OCD types. 

 

We have always had the dumped guys but now add to that the visa runners and the ex pat fakers and it seems like a Tsunami of negativity. 

 

They'll be gone in a few months as things shake out and normalcy will return. 

 

I visit two Thai social streaming forums daily and I've seen more people wanting to meet me rather than less recently and I'm an old guy. 

 

The eye thing reminds me of the guys smoking for the first time and getting paranoid. 

I respond because this post needs to be seen often.

especially the 1st sentance!!

At the end of all, this 800k rule has been there forever, 

If badly affectected now it mean you been cheating for years

OR

to be brutal, you have not really got enough funds to be living older life in Thailand

or any other country than your own really.

 

there is no welfare, no medical care for you( if no money)

other than to rely on Thai family if you have it.

 

if have some money,

To be honest id am very worried if i didnt have at least US$30k to hold for the plan B

 

 

[Kwasaki]

10 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

I don't think it is absolute- but as a rule most Thais now hold Westerners in low esteem until proven otherwise.

That reminds of something I read about Thailand's culture before deciding to try retirement here, 15 years ago mind.

 

It was said for a Thai person to get to know you and maybe speak with you takes 7 years. ???? 

[Jingthing]

There are definitely new rules about the 800K method.

For those that have been relying on income methods and lost the embassy letter option, the 800K method is much easier to comply with.

For those under 65K monthly pension, the combo method is now in a great state of enforcement uncertainty, meaning sensible people will shift to the 800K method if they can. 

Within the 800K method the SEASONING requirements have expanded greatly to cover the entire year. Before it was three months before for the 800K, now it is two months before, and three after, while for the remainder of the year you can't go below 400k.

Some offices are already handing out show bank book orders for 90 days AFTER, meaning those that do go under will most likely have their extensions cancelled and worse.

People that say the rules haven't changed are either intentionally lying or are greatly misinformed.

[marcusarelus]

35 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

You try articulating subtle changes in people's behavior. I'm sure it will provide me with ample opportunity to speculate about your mental health as well. 'Eyed' was the verb I chose to describe somewhere between being glared or stared at and friendly direct eye contact. It was used to describe a sense of being observed, watched or being visually casually monitored without any verbal or non-verbal communication. Your wild speculation about my mental health is just that: wild speculation.

I guess I could articulate subtle changes as I have spent a couple of years in Thailand in the 60's and 70's , 90's and moved at the turn of the century.  The changes I've seen were from no phones and no TV's to cell phones and hd TV.  No refrigeration and AC to refrigeration in every home and many AC's. 

 

People's reaction to me?  I was young and handsome in the 1960's and not so much in the 2019's.  I got less respect the older I got.  I carried a gun in 1960's - don't now.  Maybe that's part of the reason.  I find as I get older I get less eye contact.  In America you get arrested for eye contact not so here yet. 

 

I think if you are a well educated young handsome guy From California the girls will like you just as much now if not more so than 10 years ago. 

I was old 10 years ago so I haven't seen any difference. 

 

If I started worrying about people giving me the "evil eye" I'd stay home.  Just me.  When I was a young man people smoked funny stuff and got paranoid everyone was watching them. 

 

I don't know you but reading all of this negative stuff in every thread every day  can't help but effect peoples psyche. 

 

I remember psychiatrists telling folks to stop watching news.   More than half of Americans say the news causes them stress, and many report feeling anxiety, fatigue or sleep loss as a result, those who watched the negative news bulletin all reported being significantly more anxious and sadder after watching this bulletin than those people who watched positive news. 

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

There are definitely new rules about the 800K method.

For those that have been relying on income methods and lost the embassy letter option, the 800K method is much easier to comply with.

For those under 65K monthly pension, the combo method is now in a great state of enforcement uncertainty, meaning sensible people will shift to the 800K method if they can. 

Within the 800K method the SEASONING requirements have expanded greatly to cover the entire year. Before it was three months before for the 800K, now it is two months before, and three after, while for the remainder of the year you can't go below 400k.

Some offices are already handing out show bank book orders for 90 days AFTER, meaning those that do go under will most likely have their extensions cancelled and worse.

People that say the rules haven't changed are either intentionally lying or are greatly misinformed.

The people who say no change may mean no change for them.  I've left 800,000 baht in a Thai bank for 20 years.  So no change for me. 

[Ulic]

Take the 60-day cure. Go back to the US for 60 days and I think that you will find the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence and you may have rose-tinted memories of life on the US West coast. 

[dbrenn]

I think we can blame our own governments for falling out with Thailand voluntarily.

 

Think back to all the lecturing and virtue signalling our useless politicians did during Thailand's various political crises.

 

It's hardly surprising that the Thais went off us.

[Don Chance]

OP should look into Panama or Ecuador. Places you can buy property, get citizenship have rights and health care is much cheaper too.

[Jingthing]

5 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

The people who say no change may mean no change for them.  I've left 800,000 baht in a Thai bank for 20 years.  So no change for me. 

Yes, that happens. But many of those people project the no change for them to no change period. They are 100 percent wrong. Also some of them project an obnoxious smugness, similar to the ill mannered retirees (many that now feel insecure) doing a superiority dance towards other classes of expats as various "crackdowns" have taken place (visa runners,  ED impotency visas, etc.). It's no problem saying no change for me, but to project for all and express disdain and hostility and "you deserved it" crap to those that do feel changes is  simply vile behavior. 

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, Ulic said:

Take the 60-day cure. Go back to the US for 60 days and I think that you will find the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence and you may have rose-tinted memories of life on the US West coast. 

Home countries aren't the only choices.

There are realistic choices in Asean, Latin America, and southern Europe as well. 

[JAFO]

19 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

You are reading Thai visa too much.  Really nothing much has changed except the attitude of some key posters on here. 

I agree 100%. People seem to base a lot of there latest sentiments on the immigration changes. Many took it personal to the point they started to let their mind run away with them. Again, foreigners seem to have this idea that they want our money but not us. Nonsense!!!. Our living here is noise wise financially. They do not care if you come or go. Its totally the individuals choice. I never felt they wanted me to live here to spend my money. I live here by choice.

 

I am not disagreeing with the Ops feelings, they are his. Age can have a lot to do with that especially based on their living arrangements. However I see many posters POV's are based on what people are posting on TV and they are letting it run away with them.

 

Where one lives has a HUGE impact on ones point of view. 

 

 

[Nyezhov]

21 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

You said sock. Perhaps you are confusing a pigeon chest with man boobs. I know it's hard to get the gist after the fourth beer.

There ya go Ozzie. Sock. Single. Guess where.

 

Boob obsessed you are.

[tlandtday]

I think the attitude was summed up when I waited in line at the big C in Patttaya while a middle aged Thai woman argued with the teller over coupons being valid or not.  This went on for quite some time and I let out a sigh.  She turned and yelled at me "THIS IS MY COUNTRY NOT YOURS!"

[marcusarelus]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yes, that happens. But many of those people project the no change for them to no change period. They are 100 percent wrong. Also some of them project an obnoxious smugness, similar to the ill mannered retirees (many that now feel insecure) doing a superiority dance towards other classes of expats as various "crackdowns" have taken place (visa runners,  ED impotency visas, etc.). It's no problem saying no change for me, but to project for all and express disdain and hostility and "you deserved it" crap to those that do feel changes is  simply disgusting behavior. 

I feel sorry for them.  I also feel sorry for people who think Thais have all of a sudden changed and are giving them the evil eye.  Not saying anyone else but just me, if I began to see Thai people staring at me with evil intent I'd talk to my doctor about having my meds checked.  I take pills that could have that side effect.  I have already told my wife if I have a severe mood swing to take me to my doctor and talk about Lipitor and the blood pressure pills I'm taking. 

[Kwasaki]

5 minutes ago, tingtongtourist said:

At the end of all, this 800k rule has been there forever, 

 

which is what the 800k baht talk is all about and these people claiming new rules driving them out. 

I agree,  retirement requirements have always been easy in my opinion the change should not affect most people.

 

People forget easily and blame Thailand when it was countries Embassies that started stirring things up.

 

The married extension which I have done for years has never been as easy as retirement ext, I can't think of even 1 year on year being the same when applying.

 

Just from memory the were 10 main things to present for married ext now there is 20.

[Nyezhov]

1 minute ago, tlandtday said:

I think the attitude was summed up when I waited in line at the big C in Patttaya while a middle aged Thai woman argued with the teller over coupons being valid or not.  This went on for quite some time and I let out a sigh.  She turned and yelled at me "THIS IS MY COUNTRY NOT YOURS!"

Well I do the same thing as the Immis fumble with their food stamps, except I say Yo dude, Im paying for your  groceries, could ya speed it up?

 

With a smile.

[Pravda]

Threads like this.... I swear.

 

If the US dollar jumps to 100 baht tomorrow, Thailand will again be the bestest place to live

 

hookers!

[Orton Rd]

2 hours ago, Vacuum said:

Happened to me last night.....

Outside the Nana Hotel? ????

[Odysseus123]

11 minutes ago, dbrenn said:

I think we can blame our own governments for falling out with Thailand voluntarily.

 

Think back to all the lecturing and virtue signalling our useless politicians did during Thailand's various political crises.

 

It's hardly surprising that the Thais went off us.

My goodness..

[Kwasaki]

18 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Some offices are already handing out show bank book orders for 90 days AFTER, meaning those that do go under will most likely have their extensions cancelled and worse.

People that say the rules haven't changed are either intentionally lying or are greatly misinformed.

There's an easy solution get married and if you have 65 grand baht a month enough for the sick cow. ????

[Kwasaki]

10 minutes ago, tlandtday said:

I think the attitude was summed up when I waited in line at the big C in Pattaya while a middle aged Thai woman argued with the teller over coupons being valid or not.  This went on for quite some time and I let out a sigh.  She turned and yelled at me "THIS IS MY COUNTRY NOT YOURS!"

Well you can't argue with that, " it is " and you should be more patient. ????

[statman78]

There have been a number of comments about how Thais “hate us”.  I have been coming to Thailand for over 17 years and now live here. I have a number of Thai friends but also get the feeling that some don’t want me here.  My wife is Thai and lived in the US for 9 years.  She had the same feeling about the US.  It doesn’t matter what country you live in (if it is not not home country) this will happen.

[BritManToo]

4 minutes ago, statman78 said:

There have been a number of comments about how Thais “hate us”.  I have been coming to Thailand for over 17 years and now live here. I have a number of Thai friends but also get the feeling that some don’t want me here.  My wife is Thai and lived in the US for 9 years.  She had the same feeling about the US.  It doesn’t matter what country you live in (if it is not not home country) this will happen.

Not true, foreigners are right at home in the UK, there's more of them than there are of us.

[BritManToo]

28 minutes ago, Pravda said:

Threads like this.... I swear.

If the US dollar jumps to 100 baht tomorrow, Thailand will again be the bestest place to live

hookers!

Plenty of hookers in the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.

And the exchange rate is the same as it ever was, don't understand guys desperation to be in Thailand, it ain't that great a place any more.

[Gecko123]

48 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

I don't think it is absolute- but as a rule most Thais now hold Westerners  in low esteem until proven otherwise.

 

When I first came to Thailand in 1971- there were hardly any foreigners- a few Westerners and the Us Military-  many Thais were afraid of Westerners because they had no interaction with us.

As the years have progressed-  Foreigners- especially Westerners were held in High esteem- as we were well dressed; had money and acted politely.  This all changed with mass tourism and the growth of sex tourism. the more Westerners that came in  due to low cost flights brought in not only the good but also the bad.   In the early years- even with the US military on leave from Vietnam- I cannot remember foreigners acting up; criminals; overstays in numbers etc.

 

In the last 10 years- there have been almost daily reports of  Foreigners- mostly Westerners- getting into bar fights; killing each other; stealing; and just generally unable to hold their alcohol or committing a crime in Thailand. Throw in criminal Westerners posing as school teachers abusing children; running boiler rooms; selling drugs; robbing banks 

 

In addition- the advent of the social media-the internet and smart phones  means it is immediately  sent to millions. While we all know that locals have their good, bad and ugly; I believe that  abhorrent Westerner's stand out to Thais because most Thais  didn't expect there would be so many  Westerners that could cause so many social problems.

 

I try and keep smiling; treat people with respect and generally get a smile back. However, when I don't- I try and remember why.  

 

The bottom line is that while Thailand is  not as 'friendly' as it once was and there are myriad reasons for this besides  Western fatigue-  I would also postulate that our countries are not as friendly as they once were for also a myriad  of reasons.

 

Excellent post, Thaidream.

 

I'm sure you will agree that Thais in general are very approachable, affable, good-natured, and enjoy a good laugh. But there are big cultural differences between how Thais and foreigners view friendship. The typical Western 'golf buddy, dinner together as couples, cocktail parties, soccer matches and football games, tailgate parties, camping and fishing trips, backyard barbecue' model for friendship will only get you so far in Thailand. To me, most Thais bond through school, work, and daily interactions, with heavy emphasis on the family. That's why from a foreigner's perspective, the relationships only seems to go so far. But this is hard to see if you are only a tourist or short term visitor. Westerners naturally assumed that the initial friendliness (big smile, laugh, shy giggle) had the potential to mature into more durable relationships. It's only after moving here that people realized that the follow through in terms of tight-knit friendship might not be as forthcoming as they hoped.

 

You ever notice how everytime a Thai guy is arrested for a crime against a foreigner, the standard apology is to the Thai people for damaging Thailand's reputation and the tourist economy? The expression 'Land of Smiles' wasn't just promoted in tourist brochures. At some point, Thais had to have been told that this was how Thailand was being promoted and to have been encouraged to play this up, in turn benefiting one and all in the process.

 

What's changed is that initial superficial friendliness has kind of fallen by the wayside. Mass tourism, social media, negative news stories have all taken their toll. The other big reason behind this drop in enthusiasm is that average Thais don't have as much economic incentive to be friendly to foreigners as they once did. We aren't the big spending and gullible patsies we once were. We ask for prenups, shop on-line and at big box retailers, eat at international chain food restaurants, stay at international chain hotels, avoid non-metered taxis, etc.  In the process, many sources of income from foreigners to average Joe Thais have dried up. So when the government says that there are many foreign "bad guys" who need to be deported, there are plenty of Thais who are happy to see these changes simply because they don't see foreigners as benefiting them as much as they may have in the past.

 

[Vacuum]

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Plenty of hookers in the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.

And the exchange rate is the same as it ever was, don't understand guys desperation to be in Thailand

Wife, tirak that doesn't want to leave Thailand, or they 'invested' more money that they can comfortably walk away from?

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

Wife, tirak that doesn't want to leave Thailand, or they 'invested' more money that they can comfortably walk away from?

Plenty of available women in every 3rd world country.

One's much the same as another.

[natway09]

Glad you got that off your chest.

I can imagine as we get older it is harder to stay here if you do not have a genuine "extended Thai family" to relate to. Lucky for me I do.

The country is growing up & with it accepting some of the bad points of the western world,

but has not changed that much if you do not listen to the belly aching on this forum (silly old men) a lot of them

Try the city (if you can) make some friends or even a relationship.

There now, feel better 

 

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, Nyezhov said:

There ya go Ozzie. Sock. Single. Guess where.

 

Boob obsessed you are.

Boob obsessed? That's rich coming from an American. I can't remember a Hooters restaurant opening in OZ. Show me a Playboy or Penthouse centrefold with less than 36 inches in that department.