Now as far as Visas, it is easy to get any Visa you want. That is one of the finer parts of corruption here, pay a bribe and everything becomes really easy, I am 34 years old currently on a Business visa with a work permit, but in the past I have stayed and worked here here o visa, a tourist visa and just a passport stamp. In Thailand the rule of the day is Mai Pen Rai, which loosely translates into “Never Mind”. As far as getting residency or a passport well let me say that it is hard, but not impossible. That being said, do you want to get a second passport in a country that you don't want to live?

Banking – No problem – go to the K bank on Sukhumvit 33 or across from Phattanakarn 57 in Bangkok. Give them some supporting documents that they can put in the file instead of a work permit and they will give you an account and a ATM. It can be anything, birth certificate, copy of your drivers license from back home, just slap it in the packet and they will not say no. If for some reason they do, then hit me up on facebook and I will tell you who to talk to at Bangkok Bank that will take a small bribe and set up an account. There is no government regulation that says you can't have an account, that is a internal banking thing, so regardless you are within the law.

If you are looking to retire, this is a great location, but you better act fast, the good areas are starting to get expensive.

If you are not ready to retire, just want a change and you are coming over her looking for work, well there might be a problem, unless you are a school teacher or an engineer, there are very few jobs here that have pay that is worth your time. In that case, if you get creative you can create a good life here, by starting your own business. For the most part the Thais don't think it is possible to do any of the things that we do in the west everyday. My Personal Assistant tells me all the time, “Only an American thinks he can turn a stone into a million dollars.” That will give you a significant advantage in this market, because they don't try because they think it cannot be done.

My suggestion is to buy a Franchise and let someone else set up your company for you. You can just be the owner, and once you are here, then just drink beer everyday and act like all the retired guys who are here. You can set the whole thing up from the US using Fedex and a PA, if you buy a franchise from a smaller company here they will find you a PA if you need one. Don't buy a 7 eleven, there are a million of them here and most of the new ones are failures.

Setting up a company can be hard, because the people that speak thai and english want a big price. 1600 dollars, but if you get just a Thai person to set it up they want 400 dollars. Solution, hire a PA for a month for 400 dollars, they can translate for you and the total cost is 800 dollars. Be creative and you can have everything for cheaper.

Finally, the thing to remember about Thailand is if you do not accept no for an answer you will not get it. Thais love to tell you no, even if the answer is yes. If they are not sure, the answer is no always because they do not want to loose face. That being said Thais also don't want difficulty so you can push your way into getting just about anything by causing a problem and a scene here. Thais don't like problems and they practice avoidance at all costs, so just pitch a fit and they will say yes. I honestly think that a Blind Foreigner can get a drivers license here if he pitches a fit. Remember, “Mai Pen Rai”, it is important here.

If you want to know more, hit me up on facebook.

I get emails from married couples who ask about living in Thailand.
They simply don’t know what is in store for them here.
Here’s a good example of a recent email:

………………………………………………………………………………………………………
> My wife and I are thinking of retiring to Thailand because of the low cost of living.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Here’s my reply, mentioning the un-mentionable topic:

“I wish I could be more encouraging to you, but, chances are very high that your marriage won’t last here. As a white man, you will be a prime target for the local women. No joke: they won’t stop coming at you, day and night. If you are married, so much the better, because you have already passed approval of another woman. And Thai woman can be very alluring, very tempting, and VERY available. Maybe that will be good for you, but it won’t be good for your wife to find herself abandoned in a strange country on the other side of the world.”

Married couples: You’ve been warned — about Thailand.

Single men: Revenge is sweet, eh?

– Howard R.
Thailand

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Not true?

You don’t think the IRS is not watching sites like these?

You think customs can’t run records on peeps making trips to offshore havens like Panama etc?

You think the IRS doesn’t have undercover ops in Panama, CI, etc?

Unless the assets you move offshore aren’t overweight what you have in the US it aint worth the risk.

So, don’t be naive. As an American your ONLY option now is to go “Colonel Kurtz”!

If that doesn’t work, then I can be found via this web page: http://shrinkify.com/1fg1
Click on “email me” under the photo.

- Howard

Only people from countries that don’t have a territorial based taxed system can play the “multiple flag approach” game.

As an American you are tracked. And try revoking your citizenship and see what happens.

Multiple flags (PTing) was the creation of the great Harry Shultz for the purpose of avoiding taxes ond not being commited as a citizen to any one country.

Try doing that as an American. You’ll end up on “a list”.
In times like these it will bring you heat. Bank on it.

The only strategy left for Americans is to go ALL In getting out or go home.

From my perspective of four years living in Bangkok, everyday is fascinating.
If you’ve only passed thru as a tourist, you may find this city overwhelming:
huge amounts of noise, crowding, pollution.
Plus a lot of poverty.
You might wonder why any sane man would choose to live here.

I’ve lived in a score of cities, in five countries, on four continents: Sydney, Vancouver, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, and others.
For a retired man, Bangkok is, by far, the best city I can imagine.
Reasons are many.
Here are a few:

1. High quality rentals available at modest prices (but not cheap).
2. Magnificent food, also at modest prices.
3. Boundless respect and politeness from Thai people.
4. Endless variety of entertainment: from concerts and lectures to go-go bars and second-hand bookshops.
5. Everything you’d want “from home” from familiar foods to Western-size clothing.
6. Reliable and low-cost Internet access: land-line or wireless.
7. Plentiful gyms and swimming pools – with reasonable membership rates.
8. A variety of other expats: middle-age men from Australia-New Zealand, UK, America, Canada, Europe and Scandinavia.
9. Countless opportunities to meet delightful Thai women.
10. Live far away from certain sour attitudes towards men that have become common in Western countries in recent years.

Put the total package together, and you may never want to leave.

But it’s not just enough to land in Bangkok and expect all the delights served on a platter.
It just doesn’t work that way here.
As in the rest of Asia, the most attractive elements are hidden behind screens and mirrors.
What you see on the outside is not what is available on the inside.
And that works two ways.

On the surface Bangkok is dirty, crowded, polluted, noisy, and, well, there’s no way around it: most of Bangkok is ugly.
Ah, but once you find the hidden gems, then Bangkok opens its arms to welcome you, and beckons from behind the screens.
That’s the Bangkok I’ll attempt to hint at here.

There are many other web pages that refer you to the main tourist attractions and the popular areas of the Bangkok, and Thailand in general.
I won’t cover that same ground.
Instead I’ll offer glimpses of what it’s like to live here, or to stay long-term; a few months or more.
My focus is the man who is of an age and stage in life where he might consider living in Thailand for “the duration”.

Service in restaurants, shops, trains, etc. is respectful and eager, especially to middle-aged men.
Are you getting respectful service in your home country?
Here you’ll get it every day.

You can get virtually anything here that you got “back home”.
The size may be different, or the brand, but you’ll get almost exactly what you want:
Apple pie and ice cream. Vegemite. Oreo cookies. Branson’s pickle. Peanut butter & jelly. Bacon & eggs. Popcorn (microwave or regular). Valveeta cheese. Lamb chops. Mint sauce. Crumpets. Bangers. Fresh bratwurst. Lingonberries. Herring in mustard sauce.
It’s all here, and more.

Internet service is quick and cheap throughout Bangkok.
Many hotels and serviced apartments have high speed lines to every room.

There are many bookstores here, with used and new books in English.
If you like to read, you need never be without a good book.

There is no end to quality entertainment.
If you like symphony, it’s here.
If you prefer jazz, that’s here, too.
There are music festivals and film festivals, food festivals and craft festivals, art shows and exhibitions in uncountable variety.

If you like to eat, oh, my!
Within a 10 minute subway ride from my location we have Italian, Japanese, German, Swiss, East-Indian, French, Vietnamese, Chinese, pizza, American, American BBQ, Mexican, Swedish, Danish, more Italian, vegetarian Italian, Australian, Irish pub, British pub, more Japanese, fish & chips, steak house, more British pubs, buffets of all kinds, and on and on.
Oh, yes, countless Thai restaurants, too.
That’s just one neighborhood.
There is also home delivery with Food-By-Phone, The Pizza Company, McDonalds, Burger King, and lots of others.
If too lazy to go out, my building offers room service for everything from a cheeseburger with french fries and a Coke, to grilled lamb chops with mint sauce plus Ceasar salad and dessert of home-made apple strudel with vanilla creme sauce.
And room service is available 24 hours.

The serviced apartments are great.
Everything is provided: phone, TV, sheets and towels, plates, cups and glassware, writing paper and envelopes, bathrobes and slippers, even toothbrush and toothpaste.
In some cases a DVD player and microwave and a full kitchen.
In my building, the maid comes in every day to bring fresh towels, wash the dishes, make the bed, empty the trash, mop the teak and marble floors, bring drinking water (unlimited and free) and generally make my life easy.
She would even take my laundry, but I prefer to patronize a little, family-run laundry around the corner.
If a lamp bulb burns out, the maid picks up the phone and calls the service desk.
Within minutes, a maintenance man arrives to put in a new replacement.

There are plenty of shops around here with a decent selection of men’s clothes and shoes. Department stores have laid on Western sizes.
The selection is not all you’ll find back home, of course, but in the tropics, how much do you really need in the way of clothes?

In Bangkok you certainly won’t need a car.
No insurance, no oil changes, no snow tyres/tires: none of that.
Just wave your hand and a taxi will stop.
35-100 baht just about anywhere you want to go.

A smart expat will pay a bit more to live close to a skytrain or subway station in Bangkok.
Quick, cheap (to us), and air-conditioned.
I rarely go anywhere in Bangkok that is not close to either a skytrain or subway stop.

In Thailand, people leave you alone.
“Back there” I felt I had to watch every word, every motion – somebody might be offended at whatever I said or did.
Why?
Simply because I’m a middle-age, white man, who is educated and modestly prosperous.
Those simple facts offend certain people back home.
Here, there’s none of that.
In Thailand, people welcome normal men; not hate, despise, or ridicule them as so often was the case back home.

In Bangkok there’s air pollution.
In Chicago, Manchester, Montreal, and Melbourne there’s air pollution, too.
I don’t like it, but I’ll take the whole package here, rather than endure what is on offer these days “back there”.

Bangkok and Thailand are certainly not for everybody.
But for the adventurous man, with a high tolerance for “other cultures”, this part of the world can offer a warm welcome.

If any readers here have questions about retirement living in Thailand, I invite you to contact me.

– Howard

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So, when she says Kuala Lumpur is the only place in the whole world where she has ever been triggered into a crowd panic mode and mental shutdown, and when she says that it is the only place in the world that she would specifically avoid now, I listen carefully.

Thailand…best way to stay for an extended period seems to be the good old educational visa. Not too expensive and requires no real “education”. Basically you are just signing up to learn “Thai” and get granted a visa on that basis.

What I would love to know from you Simon and Matt is what you think of regarding anonymous payments for things and banking for everyday stuff. Things like prepaid debit cards and the like. Always uncomfortable with using cards linked directly to accounts that hold anything of value which in turn may be linked to entities that are nobodies business. Any thoughts would be interesting.

All the best.

Great points about Thailand and Uruguay.

I wanted to give my thought out list.

No question in my mind – south east Asia and Latin America is where it is at. I want to stay away from big brother in all “first world” spots – whether thats North America, Europe, or down under.

SE Asia –

Malaysia
Thailand
Philippines

Malaysia is off the radar for many people – thats why I like it. Can get residency, hold a bank account, buy real estate freehold – and KL makes a great hub. More people should be taking a serious look at it. Plus, since I am under 50 – the Malaysia My Second Home is perfect.

http://www.mm2h.gov.my/

Thailand gets my nod for WG Hill´s playground country. You really cant beat the Thai massage or oil massage, Thai food, tuk tuks, beaches, culture, and nightlife. Their tourist visa is a joke though. Owning real estate is a pain.

Philippines is a poor mans Thailand – except its catholic and English speaking.

Latin America –

Panama
Brazil
Uruguay

Panama has it all – then some. Banking, entities, real estate, Panama City nightlife, great hub. Ability to get residency and then citizenship and 2nd passport. I saw you mention Chiriqui in Panama before. Dont forget the Azuero area.

Brazil is going off. 2014 World Cup, 2016 Olympics, and NE Brazil´s real estate is as hot a real estate market as there is right now. Mix in the nightlife, beaches, and ladies – its a no brainer. Fortaleza is a cant miss.

Uruguay is a great spot to disappear to. Residency is the easiest IMO leads to citizenship and 2nd passport, shares the same beaches as Brazil – just more quiet. Set up entities and banking. Its the Panama of South America in regards to this.

Readers cant forget how import getting residency – which leads to citizenship – which leads to a second (or third) passport is.

Malaysia, Dominican Republic, Panama, Uruguay – are all good spots for this IMO. Especially if you are on a budget.

Do you have a Black paper on Ecuador? I have been trying to make contact with am Ecuadorian knitter to try an import some sweaters and am having trouble finding a reliable way to reach her as well as handle the export process.

Thanks,

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