OrangeDragon wrote:i wonder... how much do those 10% account for the enjoyment of tourists there? as in, an english bar run by an englishman probably has more appeal to english tourists than an english bar run by a thai guy.

True, but, those days don't necessarily hold true anymore.

What about the novelty of an English bar run by a British educated Thai with a cockney accent.
I'm sure this is already happening. Thailand has been in the tourism business for long enough to know what tourists want (regardless of what you or I may think).

if your over 50, Thailand is no hassle at all to be retired in as long as u follow the rules and have an income or $$

Governments come an go but one thing holds true always
the
Thai's
LOVE $$$$

OrangeDragon wrote:sometimes having to fork out a lot of money IS the hassle, lol. especially for people on fixed incomes.

NO one needs to fork out lots of money,
I use the combo method, i put xxx in my account for one day ONLY ( which could be borrowed if i didn't have it) as i receive a small SS payment.

If your retired an u dont have a nest egg,( $25,000 is a very small amount to have after XXX years of work) ur better off staying in your own country

Soi;
no one knows what they will do ( same goes for anywhere in Asia) BUT if its like they did before when they changed the $$ requirements, those already receiving retirement extensions were grandfathered in.

Soi Dog wrote:

phuketrichard wrote:
I use the combo method, i put xxx in my account for one day ONLY ( which could be borrowed if i didn't have it) as i receive a small SS payment.

I thought everyone needed a letter from their local bank for each visa renewal stating the funds have been in your Thai account for a minimum of two months or something.

Sort a

3 ways to get a retirement extension
1. Have 800,000 in a thai bank, 1st application must be 60 days 2nd an onwards 3 months
2. Have an income of over 65,000 baht/month from outside Thailand
3. Combination of the two ( how i keep my extension) an income from outside Thailand , ( SS, pension etc etc) plus a certain amount of $$ to make up to 800,000 in the bank for ONE DAY.

Yes u need the letter from the bank but if u have the money in the bank its a 15 minute thing to do.

So example u have ss of $800/month ( 25,600/month, 307,000 baht) you need 800,000- 307,000 493,000 in the bank

1 year EXTENSION costs 1,900 baht $59,
a 1 year multiple re enty permit ( so yo can come an go as u please) 3,800 $118
so i pay /year $177