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  1. #76
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    Quote Originally Posted by Storekeeper View Post
    ^ ... Thanks Switch. There's definitely veteran's group in Patters. Last time I lived there I rarely mingled with them. My loss I think.
    ^^ ... Watched a couple recently posted videos of soi 7 & 8. Looked to me like over half of each soi was now dark. If we end up finding it
    to be a poor fit we'll just move. I needed something to upload for the O visa application so pulled the trigger.
    Any group will have the odd idiot in it, but most will share the relaxed and familiar dark sense of humour. I’m sure you have been around long enough to avoid the bluffers.

  2. #77
    Thailand Expat Storekeeper's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Switch View Post
    Any group will have the odd idiot in it, but most will share the relaxed and familiar dark sense of humour. I’m sure you have been around long enough to avoid the bluffers.
    Over the last couple years I've followed the VFW veterans pages for posts in Pattaya, Bangkok and Ban Chang. Seems like the wives auxiliary groups are pretty active in the Pattaya and Bangkok posts. Looks like they also have their own monthly posts meetings. Looks like they're mostly involved with donations of goods to orphanages and assisting the elderly veterans.

    Also still in contact with a couple of Filipino fellas I was a TEFLer with back in the day. One of them is still at the school and the other is into real estate somehow. The one still teaching has a volunteer group that does beach cleanups. Think he has a youtube page called "Planet Clean Up". I'll probably throw in some time to that if we decide to stay in Patters.

    Also planning to crash a youtuber gathering ...

  3. #78
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    Soi's 7 & 8 are on life support and have been for 10+ years now, there's still a few bars open but it's definitely not the party area of days gone by. Oddly enough when I first came to Pattaya I stayed at the Eastiny Inn which is almost across the road from the Flipper and it was fantastic, no idea of how it is these days though.

  4. #79
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    Quote Originally Posted by Headworx View Post
    Soi's 7 & 8 are on life support and have been for 10+ years now, there's still a few bars open but it's definitely not the party area of days gone by. Oddly enough when I first came to Pattaya I stayed at the Eastiny Inn which is almost across the road from the Flipper and it was fantastic, no idea of how it is these days though.
    We're going to be busy anyway. Have the old dump of a house to inspect and decide what we want to do with it. Hope to get somebody out to it for an estimate to renovate. Have 3-4 areas we want to comb the sois for a suitable place to rent for a year. And as Headworx recommended want to see these areas at various times of day.

    Priorities are to get get the drivers license, bank account and visa situation done or moving in the right direction pronto.

    At some point I may have a little retirement party in early November. Maybe at my retired Air Force friend's bar in the Soi Bukhao area called the Chik n Coop.

  5. #80
    Thailand Expat Storekeeper's Avatar
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    Set up a Wise account today and did a $20 test run. Looks like we got 36.135 baht to the dollar and transfer cost me $1.44

    Anybody here use Wise?

  6. #81
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    ^I use nothing but Wise and do 7 figure Baht transfers with them as needed. Never once had a problem, in fact they only get better. The last x-fer I did was in my Kasikorn account about 10 minutes after completing the transaction online. Obviously I check the competition and bank-2-bank rates too before doing a transfer, Wise is always the best rate or so close to it that the difference isn't worth worrying about.

  7. #82
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    Quote Originally Posted by Headworx View Post
    The last x-fer I did was in my Kasikorn account about 10 minutes after completing the transaction online.
    I transferred money by Wise yesterday, it took 6 seconds for my GB Pounds remittance to arrive as Thai Baht in my KrungThai account. Good rate too.

    I keep some funds in my Wise account so that I don't need to go back to my UK bank when I make a transfer. That makes things very quick. Wise pay me the same interest as my UK bank: zero.

    Storekeeper you possibly saw the note on Wise that remittances over B50K are now only permitted into a few Thai banks. I think Bangkok Bank is one. This restriction popped up a few months ago, I guess it is some control thing by the Thailand central bank.

    Also be aware that there are stories of some retirees being challenged by Immigration if they use Wise for their monthly transfer provision. I don't, so it is only what I hear. The Immigration view (at least in some places) is that a Wise transfer is not technically an inward remittance because the funds are transferred from Wise's Thailand bank account to your Thailand bank account, a domestic transaction. I don't have any update on this story.

  8. #83
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shutree View Post
    I keep some funds in my Wise account so that
    Also I should mention that I have a Wise debit card, so with funds in the account I can go to a local cash machine and take out Baht, at the usual Wise exchange rate. That could come in useful if I lost my local bank cards.

  9. #84
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    ^^I’ve read about this too.

    As a result I won’t be using Wise when I need to get back to 400K.

  10. #85
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    Quote Originally Posted by cyrille View Post
    ^^I’ve read about this too.

    As a result I won’t be using Wise when I need to get back to 400K.
    I believe Shutree was referring to a potential problem using Wise for the monthly income method, rather that topping up an account for the lump sum. I believe that Wise has an arrangement with the Bangkok Bank who ensure that their transfers are noted as 'Foreign Transfers'.

  11. #86
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    Quote Originally Posted by PAG View Post
    the Bangkok Bank who ensure that their transfers are noted as 'Foreign Transfers'.
    My BK Bank describes the deposits as, "International Transfer".

    Quote Originally Posted by Shutree View Post
    I transferred money by Wise yesterday, it took 6 seconds for my GB Pounds remittance to arrive as Thai Baht in my KrungThai account. Good rate too.
    Is your deposit described in your KT account as an "International Transfer"?
    Last edited by OhOh; 24-08-2022 at 10:15 PM.

  12. #87
    Thailand Expat Storekeeper's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Headworx View Post
    ^I use nothing but Wise and do 7 figure Baht transfers with them as needed. Never once had a problem, in fact they only get better. The last x-fer I did was in my Kasikorn account about 10 minutes after completing the transaction online. Obviously I check the competition and bank-2-bank rates too before doing a transfer, Wise is always the best rate or so close to it that the difference isn't worth worrying about.
    Not sure what the deal is but Wise still hasn’t taken the funds from my credit union account yet.

  13. #88
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    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    Is your deposit described in your KT account as an "International Transfer"?
    I just checked. It is described as 'Transfer in' from Kasikorn Bank. No mention of international.

    It doesn't matter to me as I don't rely on the monthly income method for my visa. It could make a difference to others.

  14. #89
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    Quote Originally Posted by Storekeeper View Post
    Not sure what the deal is but Wise still hasn’t taken the funds from my credit union account yet.
    I don't actually know how Credit Unions work but when I use Wise I transfer out of a foreign bank account directly to them then once they receive it, they x-fer from their account in that country to my Baht account in Thailand. As mentioned by me and others, it's pretty much instantaneous from the time you do the TT from your home bank.

    Not sure why it's not working the same for you, send an email to their help desk (which I've done before and received a rapid response, albeit several years ago)

  15. #90
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    Quote Originally Posted by Headworx View Post
    it's pretty much instantaneous
    On the condition that you are inside Thailand banking hours. For some reason it isn't a 24/7 service at this end. I was a few minutes late one evening before a bank holiday weekend so nothing happened for a few days. My fault really.

  16. #91
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    If you pay by debit card its virtually instantaneous (you pay a bit more), if you do a bank transfer it can taken up to a day or two.

  17. #92
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    Quote Originally Posted by malmomike77 View Post
    If you pay by debit card its virtually instantaneous (you pay a bit more), if you do a bank transfer it can taken up to a day or two.
    That's why I keep some funds in my Wise account. The UK bank pays me no interest so it is convenient to be able only to log on to Wise when I want some cash and transfer it instantly.
    Also as I mentioned I have the Wise debit card so I can get cash from pretty much any cash machine anywhere.

  18. #93
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    ^ do you get an atm fee?

  19. #94
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    Quote Originally Posted by malmomike77 View Post
    ^ do you get an atm fee?
    I only tried it once to see if it worked. I don't remember a fee, although this being Thailand there might well have been. If there was a fee it was modest and the exchange rate was the standard Wise rate that day.

  20. #95
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    just checked wise, there are limits too before fees

    Here are the fees* dependent on where your card was issued:


    If your card was issued in Europe or the UK: You can take out money for free twice a month — as long as the total amount is 200 GBP/EUR and under. But after that, we’ll charge you 0.50 GBP/EUR per transaction. This is a fixed fee. If you take out over 200 GBP/EUR in one month, we’ll charge you 1.75% on top of that.

    and

    What if the ATM charges me a fee?
    Some ATMs charge their own fees, and they’ll usually say so before you get started. If you see any extra fees, you’ll have the option to cancel and use a different ATM.


    What if the ATM charges me a fee, or asks me to choose a currency?
    ATMs may ask to convert your money for you. If you say yes to this option, they’ll often charge an unfair exchange rate.

  21. #96
    Thailand Expat Storekeeper's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Headworx View Post
    I don't actually know how Credit Unions work but when I use Wise I transfer out of a foreign bank account directly to them then once they receive it, they x-fer from their account in that country to my Baht account in Thailand. As mentioned by me and others, it's pretty much instantaneous from the time you do the TT from your home bank.

    Not sure why it's not working the same for you, send an email to their help desk (which I've done before and received a rapid response, albeit several years ago)
    Money arrived in Thailand almost instantaneously, but ... the money still hasn't been deducted from my account.

  22. #97
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    ^ Bonus

  23. #98
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    I like the way Credit Unions work then! I have a brother who once paid for a new computer by credit card that never did get charged for it, hopefully you'll have the same luck

  24. #99
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    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond View Post
    Yes, learn Thai, definitely to the point of not being illiterate. The amount of Westerners that have lived here for a decade and cannot read a simple menu or road sign is embarrassing, to be honest. Plus afternoon classes 3 times a week is good socially, and the teachers usually cute and fun.


    Though, you could well enjoy living here more when you don't know what they're saying.
    Why on earth would anyone want to eat in an establishment in Thailand that failed to produce a menu in English?

    Given most Thai drivers ignore all road signs a failure to be able to read one in Thai is somewhat otiose especially in these days of satnavs.

    Unless you are a septic bore I would counsel against joining any expat group - they are mostly geriatric dullards, delusional weirdos or socially inept.

    Joining a beach clean-up group in Pattaya/Jomtien as a farang would mark you out as an idiot or someone with a dubious agenda.

    Walking here is of course a tiresome activity given the heat and humidity and certainly there is no architectural attraction to pique one’s interest that might compensate for the ubiquitous Thai stink of sewage and traffic fumes.

    The best venue to settle within the conurbation but to the North is on the Wongamat beach strip which is generally quiet, clean and devoid of shanty businesses that used to populate Thai beaches hereabouts. The condos are well run and are the main focus for expat staff housed by corporate employers - no whores, no beer bars, no go-go bars but there is of course the nearby Terminal 21 mall and adjacent retail outlets for most needs.

    Wongamat Beach is a fine exercise venue without the usual Pattaya trash.

    Wongamat has a social cachet and the place for more discerning folk who want the benefits of seaside living but close to Bangkok - I live here.

    Eschewing the city environs I would avoid Pratumnak and Jomtien entirely and head for Ban Chang or Bang Saray and enjoy the benefits of a quieter and less touristed environment but where you can still have proximity to the city. Rental properties are much more attractive there and you can avoid those ghastly dark side side ghettoes. Driving here was much better during Covid but the Pattaya congestion will no doubt return - most prefer the convenience of a motorbike to poodle about given the usual parking hassles.

    striving for a more svelte physique pick a decent condo with a good swimming pool and gym but many large hotels offer such facilities at reasonable tariffs - commercial gyms in Pattaya are a Mecca for criminals, roid nutters and slapheaded, tattooed oiks.

    Soi Buakhao is for lonely blue collar, oikish geriatrics still into mongering and a place to avoid if you have any self respect.

    Pattaya has morphed more into a domestic tourist resort for Thai and as westerners have disappeared their numbers have been supplanted by more and more Indians and ME men. I mean just what decent white man would want to fuck a Thai floozie once that lot have been spilling their tainted, monkey-poxed seed into her.
    Last edited by Seekingasylum; 26-08-2022 at 12:34 PM.

  25. #100
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    ^This window licking biscuit dribbler who lives in a perpetual state of emotional suffering and could not possibly have fucked-up more by moving to Thailand, which he's now eternally trapped in while waiting for the grim reaper to put him out of his misery, is doling out advice on how to live a happy life here now?

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