December since I last updated? Time certainly flies here.
I have been here a year, and have no desire to return home or move or anything like that. This place feels like home now.
Sorted the visa issues way back in December, and am living happily on a retirement extension. We are still in the same condo, because we like it here and the landlord and manager are pretty decent people.
Life here is pretty good, I have no complaints to be honest. The people I deal with are generally friendly, decent people. We have done a couple of trips around the place. Up to Petchabun, Mrs Dave's home town for a wedding (which was an experience in itself). I don't mind it there in the cool season, but like most places here, during the hot season it is HOT!!. Also, we headed up to Kanchanaburi for a few days to get away. Again, I like it there. Plenty to do and see, and a fair whack of Aussie History can be found there, along with other country's history..
After Songkan this year, April 20... we took up in a bar... I can hear the howls now 555. But wait.... I intentionally bought in Low Season. I wanted to see how bad it could get. And to be honest, it hasn't been bad at all. Other than original seeding money for stock etc, I have not dipped into my own pocket for anything bar related. It pays it's way, and puts money in the bank every month. Of course, I am unable to do anything because of the visa restrictions, so I am very very hands off. Mrs Dave manages the place (pretty well). I always remember many blokes telling me "never put more money into Thailand than you can afford to walk away from". It is good advice, and I applied that in this case. But, the place has already returned original purchase price in profits (after all outgoings), so I am not complaining... The only downside is it limits our chances to travel around the place... good staff are there, but they are hard to find, and even harder to keep.
We live well within my budget, even with the AUD being a little weak atm. Since I have been here, my available cash has been cut by about 8K per month due to currency fluctuations. The budget is still good, because I factored in a rate of 22.5 (give or take) when planning... so there was always (so far) a cushion.
I am enjoying life here....
I have been here a year, and have no desire to return home or move or anything like that. This place feels like home now.
Sorted the visa issues way back in December, and am living happily on a retirement extension. We are still in the same condo, because we like it here and the landlord and manager are pretty decent people.
Life here is pretty good, I have no complaints to be honest. The people I deal with are generally friendly, decent people. We have done a couple of trips around the place. Up to Petchabun, Mrs Dave's home town for a wedding (which was an experience in itself). I don't mind it there in the cool season, but like most places here, during the hot season it is HOT!!. Also, we headed up to Kanchanaburi for a few days to get away. Again, I like it there. Plenty to do and see, and a fair whack of Aussie History can be found there, along with other country's history..
After Songkan this year, April 20... we took up in a bar... I can hear the howls now 555. But wait.... I intentionally bought in Low Season. I wanted to see how bad it could get. And to be honest, it hasn't been bad at all. Other than original seeding money for stock etc, I have not dipped into my own pocket for anything bar related. It pays it's way, and puts money in the bank every month. Of course, I am unable to do anything because of the visa restrictions, so I am very very hands off. Mrs Dave manages the place (pretty well). I always remember many blokes telling me "never put more money into Thailand than you can afford to walk away from". It is good advice, and I applied that in this case. But, the place has already returned original purchase price in profits (after all outgoings), so I am not complaining... The only downside is it limits our chances to travel around the place... good staff are there, but they are hard to find, and even harder to keep.
We live well within my budget, even with the AUD being a little weak atm. Since I have been here, my available cash has been cut by about 8K per month due to currency fluctuations. The budget is still good, because I factored in a rate of 22.5 (give or take) when planning... so there was always (so far) a cushion.
I am enjoying life here....
