Former Thai expat here

[Yohan]

@jerryrigged

Baht 600.000 for a 5 year visa is a lot of money - (baht 10.000 per month!) and about retirement visa you need now proof of health insurance, but most Thai insurance companies plainly refuse if you are 70+ or will send you a very expensive quotation, and additionally you need still money in the bank (baht 800.000) or prove a regular national pension overseas of at least baht 65.000,- per month.

I can fulfill all these requirements easily (also for elite visa) it's all about money - but it is a waste of my money and I do not agree with that. I will wait it out in my home in Japan and my 2 condo units in Thailand remain closed.

Covid-free certificates cost a lot of money (in Japan about baht 12.000,- or so), and quarantine on arrival will rip you off again of around baht 40.000.

I will likely just apply for tourist visa, 2 months are OK for me, to look after my rooms etc. if possible end of this year, but only if possible without quarantine, I will not stay in a hotel locked in a room with my own rooms nearby.

Anyway, I am not in a hurry.

About vaccination, no problem, I am not anti-vaxx and got already 2 x Pfizer, have a covid-vaccination certificate for overseas travel from the ward-office. No side effects noticed or reported within all my family members and friends except being a bit tired for 2 days and some pain in the left arm.

[jerryrigged]

@jerryrigged

Baht 600.000 for a 5 year visa is a lot of money - (baht 10.000 per month!) and about retirement visa you need now proof of health insurance, but most Thai insurance companies plainly refuse if you are 70+ or will send you a very expensive quotation, and additionally you need still money in the bank (baht 800.000) or prove a regular national pension overseas of at least baht 65.000,- per month.

I can fulfill all these requirements easily (also for elite visa) it's all about money - but it is a waste of my money and I do not agree with that. I will wait it out in my home in Japan and my 2 condo units in Thailand remain closed.

Covid-free certificates cost a lot of money (in Japan about baht 12.000,- or so), and quarantine on arrival will rip you off again of around baht 40.000.

I will likely just apply for tourist visa, 2 months are OK for me, to look after my rooms etc. if possible end of this year, but only if possible without quarantine, I will not stay in a hotel locked in a room with my own rooms nearby.

Anyway, I am not in a hurry.

About vaccination, no problem, I am not anti-vaxx and got already 2 x Pfizer, have a covid-vaccination certificate for overseas travel from the ward-office. No side effects noticed or reported within all my family members and friends except being a bit tired for 2 days and some pain in the left arm.

It depends. Thats $300 per month. To live comfortably in my super cosmopolitan area of the US, you will need $4000-5000 per month. I was living just fine in Udon on $1000 per month. The $300 seems almost like a nominal charge. What makes sense for one person may not make sense for another.

I think the only people right now who should be on their way to Thailand are people who are already deeply in love with the country and intend to stay long term. There's no point in going on holiday there right now. Its just to risky. The quarantine on arrival if you test positive is enough to keep many many many people away. As long as things remain as they are in Thailand, I don't see tourism recovering any time soon.

I cannot receive vaccinations because the last time I was vaccinated it triggered a severe auto-immune reaction that caused me to be hospitalised multiple times requiring multiple surgeries. Once you have one autoimmune response to a vaccine you can never receive vaccines again. However, many people are cold and heartless when it comes to these kinds of things. "Its my own fault" I have an autoimmune disease and can't get vaccines, so theres no health exemptions, and I'm just discluded from public life. I am moving to a very rural mountainous area where this won't be an issue. I'm saving right now towards having a home built on my land I already own. My days of travel are over and thats the way it is.

[Tsar]

I'm not sure how old @Tsar is, but he could use the 5 year elite visa to bridge the gap to his retirement visa. Most guys I knew bought it once and planned to buy the retirement visa when it runs out.

Early 30s and really broke, essentially homeless (no permanent address) so I am also staying where I can afford, and I don't really have money for lawyers anymore.

[jerryrigged]

I'm not sure how old @Tsar is, but he could use the 5 year elite visa to bridge the gap to his retirement visa. Most guys I knew bought it once and planned to buy the retirement visa when it runs out.

Early 30s and really broke, essentially homeless (no permanent address) so I am also staying where I can afford, and I don't really have money for lawyers anymore.

Laos or even Cambodia might even be a better solution for you. Cambodian women are so beautiful and sweet. More sweet than Thai women. Cambodian food is not too spicy, either. When they reopen the borders, go to all three countries. Spend a lot of time there. Do you think you could study to do something from home like medical billing? Like with a laptop?

[Tsar]

@jerryrigged

Baht 600.000 for a 5 year visa is a lot of money - (baht 10.000 per month!) and about retirement visa you need now proof of health insurance, but most Thai insurance companies plainly refuse if you are 70+ or will send you a very expensive quotation, and additionally you need still money in the bank (baht 800.000) or prove a regular national pension overseas of at least baht 65.000,- per month.

I can fulfill all these requirements easily (also for elite visa) it's all about money - but it is a waste of my money and I do not agree with that. I will wait it out in my home in Japan and my 2 condo units in Thailand remain closed.

600,000 Bhat is almost $18,000 United States Dollars. If that's for a five year visa and no regaining it, then it's too expensive.

Cambodia would be $250 United States Dollars for a one year visa back when travel there was actually possible.

Many much more affordable destinations for me without a massive price tag including the EU.

[Tsar]

I'm not sure how old @Tsar is, but he could use the 5 year elite visa to bridge the gap to his retirement visa. Most guys I knew bought it once and planned to buy the retirement visa when it runs out.

Early 30s and really broke, essentially homeless (no permanent address) so I am also staying where I can afford, and I don't really have money for lawyers anymore.

Laos or even Cambodia might even be a better solution for you. Cambodian women are so beautiful and sweet. More sweet than Thai women. Cambodian food is not too spicy, either. When they reopen the borders, go to all three countries. Spend a lot of time there. Do you think you could study to do something from home like medical billing? Like with a laptop?

I don't think I can afford studying anything but I do think Cambodia would be a great and affordable place.

I saw an entire house there on Airbnb for $2,400 and a visa for one year would cost $250. I imagine I could easily save $7,500 a year of my income just by using geoarbitrage.

[jerryrigged]

@jerryrigged

Baht 600.000 for a 5 year visa is a lot of money - (baht 10.000 per month!) and about retirement visa you need now proof of health insurance, but most Thai insurance companies plainly refuse if you are 70+ or will send you a very expensive quotation, and additionally you need still money in the bank (baht 800.000) or prove a regular national pension overseas of at least baht 65.000,- per month.

I can fulfill all these requirements easily (also for elite visa) it's all about money - but it is a waste of my money and I do not agree with that. I will wait it out in my home in Japan and my 2 condo units in Thailand remain closed.

600,000 Bhat is almost $18,000 United States Dollars. If that's for a five year visa and no regaining it, then it's too expensive.

Cambodia would be $250 United States Dollars for a one year visa back when travel there was actually possible.

Many much more affordable destinations for me without a massive price tag including the EU.

Right I think you should only go to Thailand if you really really love the place, especially considering events right now. I REALLY LOVE Thailand and I will go back some day if I am ever allowed back in. I think I can cope with staying in Wyoming, though. Thats just the way that life has worked out for me at this stage of events.

[Yohan]

..... I do think Cambodia would be a great and affordable place...

Cambodia is a nice place, but it is a small country and it is considered to be a good place to get away from Thailand for a short while, or to continue for a visit to Vietnam. You will not spend much money there and visa formalities are also easy. After covid-19 I guess it will continue like before.

After visiting Cambodia a few times... my impression is stay one or two weeks or so is OK - but after I moved back again to Thailand... not so much to do there in Cambodia...only a few cities...a few places to visit...

How to go there and also how to go back is another important issue now - most people enter from Thailand and back to Thailand...covid-19 makes international travel even for short time as a tourist rather complicated.

[Italianman]

Welcome! Where are you now?
I am from Central Europe, but living in Japan since 40 years and have a second home in Thailand. Married to a Japanese woman, never divorced.
I also had a Thai retirement visa for one year, 2 times, but now expired. No way to travel this time without spending much money (testing, quarantine etc.) for nothing in return. - Just waiting it out, we can travel here inside Japan without any restriction.

I really don't think Southeast Asia will ever be the same again. Mask wearing and avoiding sick people and sick people isolating themselves has been part of Thai culture since the flus that hit in the 1950s if I remember my pandemic history right. Until covid becomes a virus that doesn't even kill 90 year olds (which may never happen), they'll be doing this. Also the harsh military government there is using covid as an excuse to clamp down on the organic democracy movement in Thailand right now. I don't expect this to end any time soon. I honestly think my days of international living are over. If Thailand ever gets better, I guess I'll go back. Its the only affordable place I can really think of in Asia where I can get all of my medications and speciality care I require. I could probably get by in the Phils but I would never go back there again. I loved Japan, but I would never in a million years be able to afford to live there in my health. Beautiful people, culture, land. You are fortunate my friend.

What medications and specialty care do you require? Why don't you have the medications shipped, yo?

Rheumatology, urology, gastroenterology.

Idiocy.

Should have a good cleanse then add good bacteria to your intestines with a bunch of probiotics. I’ll just say B. Bifidum and Laterosporus is a must… that’ll bring your IL-5 into normal range to prevent any nasty over immune.

https://culturewhiz.org/forum/topic/sum ... l-research

[Yohan]

Moderators should remove troll comments, especially those with links related to PAG and its 'culturewhiz.org'.
Also PAG's sockpuppets like this Italianman-profile should be deleted.