Retirement Visa renewal
My point too, "you wanna live in the best country in the world you gotta jump through some hoops and accept the odd financial stitch up".richard wrote:ease up all and sundry
TIT
If you dont like it move on
It won't change and we can't change it, so live with it
As Michael Caine used to say.
Go with the flow chaps, it's nothing compared to the aggro we have with everyday life, working, relationships etc etc.
Burger
I agree to a point Richard, but it's not an attitude to be encouraged. I have many Thai friends who have similar frustrations (although different subjects) about their own country. When you find so many Thais that are in agreement with you (and we're not talking Kreng Jai here) then I feel it's worth saying.
What people tend to forget is that for 'most' of us, the main reason we are here is because it is a very cheap place to live, eat, drink and 'socialise' with the girls.
Ok I know there's other reasons, the beaches, the food, the friendly people, but the main reason is because we can afford to live here and retire early.
It is cheap because the people are poor, due to lack of a proper education and because it's an under-developed third-world country.
What comes with the above is a lack of organisation, lack adequate services, lack of systems etc that we 'enjoy' back home.
IE: We have to suffer the chaos, feeling of injustice when we get ripped off for a few measly Baht etc, for all the good times we have here. And there are plenty of them that outweigh the odd bit of hoop-jumping here and there.
Burger
Ok I know there's other reasons, the beaches, the food, the friendly people, but the main reason is because we can afford to live here and retire early.
It is cheap because the people are poor, due to lack of a proper education and because it's an under-developed third-world country.
What comes with the above is a lack of organisation, lack adequate services, lack of systems etc that we 'enjoy' back home.
IE: We have to suffer the chaos, feeling of injustice when we get ripped off for a few measly Baht etc, for all the good times we have here. And there are plenty of them that outweigh the odd bit of hoop-jumping here and there.
Burger
Okay Burger,
There are 'girly/entertainment' reasons. It is relatively cheap to live here but add on the amount of money required to be here and balance that out -- you'll be surprised. There is a lot of poverty here but that is because they're kept in poverty. Thailand is a very very rich country but money is not directed where it should. I first came to Thailand in 1965 (Pattaya was a beach road with one bar, a store and a few living shacks.) Of course in those days, BKK was dominated by Americans having a break after 2 weeks on the front in Vietnam. The point I'm making is that I've seen Thailand 'grow up' and then retract into childhood. I now have a Thai wife and family here so I have a vested interest in the future of Thailand. My children will probably grow up here long after I'm gone. I hope that Thailand will reach maturity and make a future for my offspring.
Thailand is a Buddhist country and they certainly have an equivalent of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". I just wish they would practice their own religion. A Thai cleric was quoted recently as wishing that Thailand would get back to 'Real Buddhism' as he pointed out that Thai Buddhism is 70% invented by the Thai people. Look around you and you'll see many many examples of Thai built superstition which has nothing to do with the teachings of 'The Lord Buddha'.
Don't get brainwashed guys. You're showing signs of it.
There are 'girly/entertainment' reasons. It is relatively cheap to live here but add on the amount of money required to be here and balance that out -- you'll be surprised. There is a lot of poverty here but that is because they're kept in poverty. Thailand is a very very rich country but money is not directed where it should. I first came to Thailand in 1965 (Pattaya was a beach road with one bar, a store and a few living shacks.) Of course in those days, BKK was dominated by Americans having a break after 2 weeks on the front in Vietnam. The point I'm making is that I've seen Thailand 'grow up' and then retract into childhood. I now have a Thai wife and family here so I have a vested interest in the future of Thailand. My children will probably grow up here long after I'm gone. I hope that Thailand will reach maturity and make a future for my offspring.
Thailand is a Buddhist country and they certainly have an equivalent of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". I just wish they would practice their own religion. A Thai cleric was quoted recently as wishing that Thailand would get back to 'Real Buddhism' as he pointed out that Thai Buddhism is 70% invented by the Thai people. Look around you and you'll see many many examples of Thai built superstition which has nothing to do with the teachings of 'The Lord Buddha'.
Don't get brainwashed guys. You're showing signs of it.
Good luck to you. I live here on a shoestring because I think my investment is increasing at such a rate that it's faster than Thailand's.HHTel wrote:Well for one, the 12,000 pounds sitting in the bank doing nothing.
However, I do agree that it's still cheaper to live here than in the UK but there are cheaper places.
If I had 12K in a bank account, I'd buy you a beer.
I've never had more than a few thousand in the account at any time. All the rest is ploughed back into my house.
Maybe I'm being stupid, but the "rate of return" for me is much better in the UK. Loads of hassle though etc etc.
But, I swear, one of these days I will sell up in the London and retire. I've been trying to do it for 9 years and it just dosn't seem to work - yet!!! I'm still trying to make money.
BTW for anyone who saw that post before, I've only changed the first sentence from plural to singular.
Last edited by lomuamart on Tue Mar 20, 2007 7:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
