Knock knock, who's there?

[Weapons Grade]

Nice to see a forum not over run by half the Americans on it wanting to kill me if I don't believe Obama was a returning Messiah and the other half if I don't believe Trump was sent by God! Is 'Let's chat' a relatively new forum? 
 
What can I say? I returned to the UK in 2019 after over a decade teaching in Thailand and Northern China. I didn't want to, but immigration requirements have tightened up everywhere (outside the west) and my state pension is no longer enough for a long stay visa.

I leave behind my wife, two cats and a bungalow by the sea. We talk everyday on Wechat which is the Chinese equivalent of Skype, but unless the Thai immigration laws relax as they were years ago, it's only visits from now on. 

I'm Midlands based and four years later still getting used to my return culture shock!
 
Interests: Social and political science, computers (Have my own little free website), publishing political essays on international sites such as China Daily, Russia Insider and Rob's The BlogMire, among others.

Dislikes: Celery! Can't stand the stuff.
Receiving texts and emails from agencies offering me minimum wage twelve hour shifts at Amazon.


 

[Diasi]

Welcome to the forum Weapons Grade.

It must have been a difficult decision leaving your two cats behind. 

I'm a Trump supporter as I like a politician who's daft enough to try & achieve what he promised during the 2016 election rallies.

[klondike]

Welcome Weapons Grade. Feel free to roust us up with some tales of your adventures in the big wide world. 

Let'sChat is a spin off from another forum that had some problems but has since recovered with mostly a fresh group of posters who went there from a forum that had some problems...    It has been around a bit over a year but most of us have known each other on forums at least for considerably longer.

Celery is often a major topic of conversation here but you can always skip those threads without causing offence.

[Weapons Grade]

Welcome to the forum Weapons Grade.

It must have been a difficult decision leaving your two cats behind. 

I'm a Trump supporter as I like a politician who's daft enough to try & achieve what he promised during the 2016 election rallies.

Hey, it was you know. Miss my cats and miss my wife, not necessarily in that order.
Obama, Trump and now Biden. So what changed? None of that bunch would have got near the White House even thirty years ago. Times change and reflect the stupefied societies across the west we now live in. 

You'd love it over here in Europe. We're just about to discover a mythical green energy source, the politicans will change the earth's climate and by next week at the latest we'll all be equal. Honestly, bigly ugely.   

[Diasi]

Hey, it was you know. Miss my cats and miss my wife, not necessarily in that order.
Obama, Trump and now Biden. So what changed? None of that bunch would have got near the White House even thirty years ago. Times change and reflect the stupefied societies across the west we now live in. 

You'd love it over here in Europe. We're just about to discover a mythical green energy source, the politicans will change the earth's climate and by next week at the latest we'll all be equal. Honestly, bigly ugely. 

I'm in the UK, North Lincolnshire, but I like the USA political theatre.

[Weapons Grade]

Welcome Weapons Grade. Feel free to roust us up with some tales of your adventures in the big wide world.

Let'sChat is a spin off from another forum that had some problems but has since recovered with mostly a fresh group of posters who went there from a forum that had some problems...    It has been around a bit over a year but most of us have known each other on forums at least for considerably longer.

Celery is often a major topic of conversation here but you can always skip those threads without causing offence.

If you tell me you identify as a stick of celery you know I'm going to give you an earful, don't you.
 
Certainly, I have tales to tell about my travels, but they don't always go down well. If a population has been conditioned with years of mainstream media news about Putin is a monster, China is taking over the world and the Ukraine is a peace loving democratic oasis and the Azov Nazis are actually freedom fighters, I'd probably get the same reaction as I did in North Korea where I was told that I must be pretty stupid if I didn't even know Kim Jong Un was a desendent of a Sun God.

It's difficult to get through indoctrination and most don't even want to.

September 07, 2023, 05:23:57 PM

I'm in the UK, North Lincolnshire, but I like the USA political theatre.

Oh, my mistake then. I thought you were an American. North Lincolnshire eh? Do they have buses and stuff up there? Did a court send you there as a punishment, or was it a self imposed exile? 

[klondike]

Only one American here and he retired there after a lifetime at the bar in the UK being half American and having dual citizenship. No not the boozer - a legal eagle. Cassandra.

September 07, 2023, 06:37:52 PM

in North Korea where I was told that I must be pretty stupid if I didn't even know Kim Jong Un was a desendent of a Sun God.

You sure that wasn't just language difficulties? After all most of the politicians here think the sun shines out of their arses.

[Michael Rolls]

welcome aboard , Weapons Grade. I'm an elderly Englander, based in Scotland, a country I love despite its stupid ruling party. Can't begin how much it must be difficult to leave your good lady and menagerie behind - any chance of joining up?

[Diasi]

If you tell me you identify as a stick of celery you know I'm going to give you an earful, don't you.
 
Certainly, I have tales to tell about my travels, but they don't always go down well. If a population has been conditioned with years of mainstream media news about Putin is a monster, China is taking over the world and the Ukraine is a peace loving democratic oasis and the Azov Nazis are actually freedom fighters, I'd probably get the same reaction as I did in North Korea where I was told that I must be pretty stupid if I didn't even know Kim Jong Un was a desendent of a Sun God.

It's difficult to get through indoctrination and most don't even want to.

September 07, 2023, 05:23:57 PMOh, my mistake then. I thought you were an American. North Lincolnshire eh? Do they have buses and stuff up there? Did a court send you there as a punishment, or was it a self imposed exile? 

I first came to Lincolnshire via a job transfer but left when I retired early & moved to the South East coast.

After my marriage broke up I couldn't afford to stay down South so my new female friend & I moved to Lincolnshire as I knew the area & decent detached houses were quite cheap by comparison.

I wouldn't leave Lincolnshire now as it was where I lived with the said new female friend who I married not long after we moved here & where my happy memories still are.

[Weapons Grade]

I first came to Lincolnshire via a job transfer but left when I retired early & moved to the South East coast.

After my marriage broke up I couldn't afford to stay down South so my new female friend & I moved to Lincolnshire as I knew the area & decent detached houses were quite cheap by comparison.

I wouldn't leave Lincolnshire now as it was where I lived with the said new female friend who I married not long after we moved here & where my happy memories still are.

Yes, it is all about memories and especially if they're happy ones. As we get older they're all we have left.

September 07, 2023, 09:38:54 PM

welcome aboard , Weapons Grade. I'm an elderly Englander, based in Scotland, a country I love despite its stupid ruling party. Can't begin how much it must be difficult to leave your good lady and menagerie behind - any chance of joining up?

As I said, Thai immigration rules say no. I can visit for up to thirty days because after that I lose my pension credit benefits and have to start the process all over again. I'm also waiting for an operation (enlarged prostate) except mine closed up completely and I ended up with a week in hospital as my kidneys started to fail and began to pass blood.
 
Oh my God, did I howl! Guys, if they ever say we're putting a catheter in tell them you want an anesthetic, don't let them. Swear at them, wave your arms about, throw things at them, refuse. It is absolute agony and you will scream like a little sprog! 

Until the operation I'm now wandering around with a catheter bag strapped to my leg! I'm one of those that fortunately rarely gets sick so it came as a shock. Oh well, never mind, I met many worse off than myself in hospital.  

[Diasi]

Yes, it is all about memories and especially if they're happy ones. As we get older they're all we have left.

September 07, 2023, 09:38:54 PMAs I said, Thai immigration rules say no. I can visit for up to thirty days because after that I lose my pension credit benefits and have to start the process all over again.

When you say Thai immigration rules say no, do you mean the rules that the Thai authorities impose or rules that the UK impose on retirees going to Thailand?

Also I'm with Mike Rolls in thinking how dreadful it must be to have to make such a decision.

[Weapons Grade]

When you say Thai immigration rules say no, do you mean the rules that the Thai authorities impose or rules that the UK impose on retirees going to Thailand?

Also I'm with Mike Rolls in thinking how dreadful it must be to have to make such a decision.

The Thai immigration authorities impose the visa rules and currently the rules state that you're either working, or have an income of £1K pm which must be sent to a Thai bank account. Aside from that you must have £10K in your bank account every year at the time of your visa application.

There are schemes where you can buy a visa that lasts for years, but they're very expensive and well out of reach for ordinary peasants such as myself. Nobody on a UK state pension gets a £250 pw  pension, which meant no matter how long you'd been living there you were out and there was a huge exodus.

Currently, with pension credit and the extra add-ons my income is around £300 pw. It would actually be cheaper for the government to give me £250 pw to go away and as I'm getting older, it would also save the NHS money, but they won't. If I was to leave the UK I would lose all my pension credits and be left with whatever pension they'd give me, which they would also tax. 

So, I'm stuck here. My wife owns the house I bought with the money I made working in China and also has a small business selling organic fruit juices she makes, so she can manage, barely. I did have savings that I could have lived on a few more years, but I was warned by my brother don't come back to the UK with nothing because you'll be living on the streets! By then I'd have been in my seventies, not a pleasant thought. He was right. It took me about three months to start receiving any benefits and it was like starting life from scratch again.

I was going to go back and visit after settling down, but then Covid arrived and no one was going anywhere. That went and then I have this problem with my postate ... One thing after another so we haven't actually met in person for four years, but as I said, we speak to each other every day by video link and hopefully when I get the operation done I'll go back for the maximum allowed period of thirty days.

[Diasi]

Thanks for your explanation of your circumstances which I find quite depressing & annoying in equal measure.

When your operation is done & dusted, can you go to Thailand for 30 days on any number of occasions so long as you come back to the UK for a few weeks?

Sorry if I keep asking personal questions but I'm interested in how other countries operate their schemes.

If the UK implemented the Thai rules no buggers in a dinghy would get in.

[GrannyMac]

Can anyone claim asylum in Thailand?   😉

[Diasi]

Can anyone asylum in Thailand?  😉

I reckon Thailand will have the gumption to tell anyone paying £thousands to enter illegally & claiming asylum, whilst wearing Nikes & carrying an iPhone, to piss off.

In fact they'll ensure they piss off.