California is getting a lot of precipitation

Hey everybody.

We'll uh give it a bit for people to uh join on here.

Thought I'd just do a live stream.

It's been I don't know like a month or two since I've done one.

But uh yeah, I hope everybody's doing well.

Hope everybody had a merry Christmas.

We'll see if folks have a chance.

Oh, hey, we got one person.

Welcome.

Welcome.

How's everybody doing tonight or in the morning if you're in Asia?

Uh yeah, I've just been enjoying uh pretty mild winter here in California, all things considered.

It still definitely gets chilly uh out here, but it's nothing like uh some places back east.

Please give a thumbs up, guys.

Um, recently I've had some trips to uh Sacramento and also Reno, which have been a lot of fun.

And just working my uh office job out here.

You know, everything's going fine.

I'm not going to uh go into detail beyond that except that I I work in an office uh building.

Um, any other updates?

I'm starting to get back into working out.

So, as you can tell, I've mentioned it several times to try to shame myself, but I've gotten out of shape.

And so, I started working out.

I'm trying to work out probably like four days a week.

Uh, probably like a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday type thing.

Hey, how's it going in Hawaii, Derek?

Good to see you.

I'm here in Northern California and it's it's been chilly, but it's not too bad with um the proper attire.

But yeah, so I've been been lifting weights again and I'll probably uh continue to do cardio, but yeah, I miss lifting weights and I already feel a difference.

I'm sleeping a lot better.

[snorts] My body feels a lot better, less achy.

Trying to stretch more.

It's so important as we get older to maintain activity.

And I know too it will help when I do my next trip.

I won't be so sluggish and uh I'll be in a better mood.

I've noticed my mood's definitely improved since I started exercising again.

[snorts] Fortunately, there's a gym in proximity to where I work.

So, right after I get off work, I go and exercise and then I have a kind of a good feeling on my my commute home.

[snorts] I had to, you know, just change things up and get back into that.

But, um, how is Hawaii, Derek?

Actually, one of my co-workers, some of her family members recently had a trip there and they had a great time.

They really enjoyed it.

They spent about 10 days there.

[snorts] What else?

What else is new with me?

Um, it's uh what all are you doing there in Hawaii, Derek?

Uh trying to think of I Yeah, I'm I'll probably get get out of town this weekend depending.

I've had some car stuff happen recently.

I've had to uh have some work on my car.

Oh, okay.

You're retired in Hawaii.

Excellent.

Yeah, you earned it.

Um I've heard Hawaii is really an amazing place.

I'd like to go eventually.

I had plans to go during the pandemic.

I plan to fly to the Philippines and then [snorts] Philippines to Hawaii and then Hawaii back to the mainland.

That did not materialize unfortunately, but I'm sure I'll make it in the future.

I've thought about doing another Japan trip in the future and doing something like going to Hawaii for I don't know a few days and then going to Japan from there or hitting it on the way back.

But I haven't I haven't visited Tokyo.

I visited a lot of other places in Japan.

Um but I haven't made it to the big city.

So I've been thinking, hey, maybe a Tokyo trip should be in the cards in the future because it's uh well the exchange rate's really favorable and I uh yeah, I just, you know, I enjoy it a lot.

Oh, Philippines.

Heck yeah, that sounds awesome.

I haven't been to Lee Island yet, but I met some really nice people from there.

My cab driver in Sibu actually uh I can't remember was that that may have been in January of this year.

I had a cab driver maybe it was February or March.

Um he was uh he was from Lee and then I met a guy whose wife uh happened to be from Lee.

He was visiting Dumagetti.

What are you going to do in Lee?

Derek inside my car is soaking wet all the time.

I place towels to absorb the water.

I have to change the towels every two days.

It feels like a bucket of water is stone inside my car.

Is that Oh yeah.

Yeah.

The precipitation.

You saw the title.

Yeah.

California, we've been getting a ton of rain and depending on where you are in the state, snow in the northern, like far northern part of California, like Tahoe is uh really getting just tons and tons of snow.

So, it seems like it got delayed and it's just all coming down at once.

Definitely made my commute this morning hairy.

I fortunately I got to work and a bunch of people were late so they were pretty understanding but it was uh it was definitely stressful.

[snorts] That sounds great, Derek.

Well, yeah, I've heard cool things about Lee.

I've heard it's like more provincial, less developed.

It's the nature is really awesome.

I've heard good things about the dating in Lee, too.

doesn't seem to get quite the number of tourists as uh like the you know urban hotspots Manila, Sabu, Dumagete or the you know places like Borakai or Sikihore.

But I yeah I bet you're going to have a great time in Lee.

Oh, nice.

You already have your house uh lined up.

[snorts] You have your place lined up in Lee.

Yeah, that that can be uh your biggest challenge is just finding a comfortable landing spot and you've already got that lined up.

That's that's a big part of the challenge.

So, I'm sure you'll have a great time in Lee.

It sounds like you'll be there for a while.

[snorts] I've been chatting with friends from Dumageddi.

I just talked to my buddy Robbie who lives in Duma and then also talked to uh a little bit with Paul.

Everybody knows Paul Old Dog.

And uh who else have I talked to from Duma?

Um Filipino friends as well.

Uh Shireen's not my friend Shireen is not from Dumagetti.

I interviewed her on the channel a while back.

She's from Bowan.

Talked to her.

Talked to her sister Jeten.

Who else?

Um oh Jen.

Yeah, one of my friends, Jen and Duma, she's doing all right.

Um, she's got some personal challenges going on right now.

Um, yeah, I reached out to Mike uh a while back and Mike didn't get back to me.

I also reached out to um Jenna and she didn't chat a lot.

Um, I, you know, I don't like really want to get into their, you know, uh, whatever challenges they may have.

I I do hope they had a merry Christmas and, uh, hopefully, you know, everything's going okay.

Um, yeah, I just haven't heard back from from Mike to be honest.

I think he's he may have some other um other stuff going on right now that's taking priority over his channel.

[snorts] Check my messages as well because I I talked to a few people I met in the Philippines that were just there on vacation.

a good buddy of mine, James.

Dazzle's great.

Yeah, I think Dazzle puts a lot of work in and he does some unique stuff.

Definitely enjoy Dazzle.

Oh, Will.

Yeah, I've got a buddy Will I interviewed on the channel, the uh one of the two gentlemen who struggles with disability.

Uh he's doing well.

Uh David, who I haven't met chatted with him.

I haven't met him, but uh we chatted.

We just like have communicated dude a meeting through the channel and my buddy and co um Zy and uh who else?

Yeah, that's most of the people.

Um James, I chatted with James.

You guys probably watch James and Carrot.

I chat with him uh from time to time.

Yeah, James is is a really a great guy and I I enjoy their channel a lot.

[snorts] It's the channel has helped to connect me with so many people.

Actually, where I'm living now in California, I'm living with somebody I met through the channel.

Um, and so that's that's been going really really well.

They helped me to uh get back to work and to find opportunity and and aside from that like just a good friend in general.

Uh really supportive and encouraging and a positive person, resilient person.

I, you know, reflecting on all the expats I met.

Yeah, there's some challenging guys out there.

And I think that they they should face scrutiny, but there's also a lot of like really cool expats that are just, you know, they're kind of living their life in America.

They're not really interested in getting into the media.

They plan to retire in the Philippines or Southeast Asia in general.

uh but they they don't really have a need or an interest to put themselves out there, but they're still cool guys.

And there's there's so many of those people out there.

Um I think more I I think as you know, one of the downsides like people talk about the expense in the Philippines going up.

I think one of the upsides of that is you'll attract more and more professional type guys.

You know, guys who um they they what's the word?

they have more more professional type backgrounds.

Not to say that's that's not been the case, but I think in the past, you know, it's been possible to get by on say a thousand a month in the Philippines.

And I think that uh you know, I think that could dis uh decrease in in the coming years for better for worse.

Um, hey Dumaguette, nice to meet you.

I don't think we've interacted before.

It's uh great to see you on here.

He's a farmer.

for the Colonel Chronicles.

Got it.

Yeah, James is really doing some interesting stuff and I think James as well is doing a lot of unique stuff.

How How are things in Minnesota?

Hey, good.

Good to see you, Loner.

Yeah, it's definitely Yeah.

Uh, in the northern part of California, it's the same same case like Tahoe area, there's been a a lot of um a lot of challenges there.

[snorts] Yeah, I don't know if I'll try to live in a van uh for a few reasons.

I think they may crack down on it more in the coming years.

Um, you know, I may consider it, but with the the career I'm getting into now, I should be able to make enough and put a lot away without living in a van.

I think that the arrangement I figured out is economical enough compared to a van in my current location.

If I relocate in California, it may make sense to live in a van.

But, uh, I I like where I'm at pretty good here, and I should be able to I still I should still be able to travel and budget and save uh where I'm at currently.

Um, [snorts] it's uh, you know, it's a big Oh, got by the way guys, please give a thumbs up if you're watching.

We got nine people watching.

Yeah.

I mean, the challenge with the van, um, in California, some places have become really resistive to it, like they they feel like it's, you know, hurting property values or or it could lead to trash dumping, that kind of thing.

I don't want to do those things, but I know I know it's possible like for one person to run ruin the whole, you know, ruin it for everybody.

Um, with my career, I could tra I can I could move throughout the state, but there are parts of the state where I'd make what I make here uh in a more mid-range cost area, but uh how to explain it?

Like I wouldn't get paid more.

So the the pay would not necessarily reflect the increase in housing costs where it might make sense to actually um live in a van.

You know, I you I'd want to set it up though.

I'd want to set it up with like cooking and u you know proximity to like a laundromat and gyms and that kind of thing and also have a safe place to park it.

Wouldn't want to get towed while I'm at work.

uh or you know anything like that.

But it's you know it's the flip side is with that the housing crisis it's like kind of a necessity uh in California to some extent.

But I I like it a lot.

I like it a lot out here.

It's beautiful.

Um with economies of scale there's elements of living out here that are cheaper than back east.

You know, there's there's just so much uh excess resources.

Strange Day Diaries works Bay Area lives in a van.

Let me check that out.

Actually, I'll check out Strange Day's Diaries.

I know there's an RN apparently.

I don't know if this is that that channel, but there's an RN that lives in the Bay Area in a van and and like works tons of overtime.

Oh, you know what?

I think I have seen I I'll subscribe.

Um, thank you for the heads up, Derek.

I appreciate that.

But I'm always interested to uh you know see more kind of like unique channels and people trying to kind of find their way around uh just the challenges of of the current era.

Um I think with my current career, if things go in the direction that I'm I'm wanting them to, I should be able to do a few trips per year.

And I debate on going back to Southeast Asia.

Um there's quite a few regions I'd really like to see that you know I' I've seen a lot of Southeast Asia live there for I've spent about two and a half years there in that region in total and I'd like to see more of there's a couple regions really that are kind of oddballs um central Asia like uh Kyrgystan and Beckistan uh like Serbia which or Eastern Europe.

So Serbia, the Balkan countries and those are kind of oddballs, you know, like a lot of people like Western Europe, they like uh East Asia, but I've spent some time in Western Europe.

I spent some time in East Asia.

I kind of want to try something different and just like off the beaten path.

And I think something just different, you know, very different would be like Central Asia or Eastern Europe.

Um, there's, you know, I could do Latin America again.

I'd be happy to go back to Southeast Asia.

I'd like to do like a Malaysia trip.

Go back to Malaysia, see some other parts of Malaysia, maybe see some other parts of Indonesia.

Um, you know, if circumstances were different, I'd take a look at Cambodia again.

I'd [snorts] like to do a Japan trip again.

But it's been a while since I've been somewhere new.

The last time I went to somewhere new was about three years ago.

About three years ago, I went to Western Europe for the first time.

I visited UK, Portugal, Spain, and Morocco.

U, so it's been almost three years, like I said.

Well, I take that back.

I did go to Indonesia earlier this year.

Um, and but you know that's not necessarily a new region and I did no Vietnam was last year.

Okay.

So I see most of Southeast Asia at this point.

I'd like to see a different region.

Maybe you know a buddy of mine's going to Albania.

He's he's been talking up Albania.

That might be on the radar.

I like I'll have for my next trip I'll probably have four to six weeks and I'd like to com combine some stuff like if I do um Albania maybe combine it with like Serbia um Croatia Bosnia something like that may like maybe uh Bulgaria something where I do like maybe a week to 10 days in four countries, something like that.

Maybe I could do five if one's particularly small and and not as eventful or exciting, but that's just what's been on my mind.

Do go work for the government contractors or Department of Defense.

That's not a bad idea, Derek.

Um, [snorts] I'm I'm heading to Thailand in two weeks.

Looking forward to seeing Ean this time, maybe Vietnam again and a beach location.

Goa, Borakai, etc.

That sounds fantastic, Dan.

I haven't been to Ean, but I'd like to go at some point.

It's uh I've heard it's a really like a beautiful kind of countryside feeling and I think a lot of people would see that as a fresh mix up from the hustle and bustle of places like Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

And who knows, I may just go back to Southeast Asia.

It's it's so easy, you know, like the easy option for me is to just go to Southeast Asia because I know I like it.

I know I like the culture.

I know I like the scenery, the nature.

Obviously, it's budget friendly, the um the women are lovely.

It's, you know, there's a lot going on there.

I have checked at USA jobs, Derek, and it's the bulk of the jobs I've seen are not super well-paying to be honest.

Like I've seen a lot of 17 $18 an hour jobs and a lot of them are reserved for military spouses as well.

I could possibly find something if I get a graduate degree, but I'd want to make sure um you know there'd be loan forgiveness.

I thought about going back for grad school actually for a few different reasons, but that's not a bad idea.

I just I wouldn't want to do it at the expense of being able to invest for the future, right?

Like if I could get a job where I could save half my income, uh then I think it would be fantastic.

if it would be a situation where I was breaking even, I feel like I'm at the point in my life where I want to make sure I invest and prepare for the future uh so that I'm financially comfortable in my retirement years.

So, that's kind of the battle as far as like working abroad is yeah, you can make money um but it's it's harder to find opportunities or positions where you can save and invest.

Um yeah, so teaching English I I couldn't do and there's a number of reasons for that.

I should probably do a video on that.

Why I could not uh teach English.

The the there's a few challenges.

So, one, it's the the risk of automation.

So, I I taught on Campbi for a while and they're actually doing a lot of automation.

They're using recordings of tutoring sessions to train their AI.

Uh, and they already offer a fully AI tutor.

So I think that in the future there'll be a lot more AI uh teaching English.

There's also been a lot of wage stagnation.

So postcoid you've seen a lot of people from lower cost of living countries like South Africa and the Philippines uh being willing to teach English for a much lower price right so where before like basically the wages have been stagnant for 10 15 years but the cost of living keeps going up.

Korea is a big example.

In South Korea, 1015 years ago, you could actually make pretty good money doing it.

Uh but the while South Korea's gotten a lot more expensive since then, uh the wage is roughly the same.

And so you're still making 2,000 a month, but Seoul has gone a lot more expensive.

Rent in Seoul has gone up a lot.

Food has gone up a lot.

Seoul and South Korea in general functions like an island because to the north they've got the north uh and then to the west they've got like well basically water on three sides in a country they don't have relations with good relationship with so it functions like an island.

So energy costs and things like that really can quickly raise the cost of living but then the wage doesn't keep up with it.

So people are are making what they were making 101 15 years ago but they're not able to save as much.

Um the countries the two countries or that primarily you can still get ahead would be China and Saudi but you're still running the risk there of like hey English teaching is still going to be automated and wages have stagnated in those two countries as well.

So, uh, cost of living goes up, but English teaching wages don't.

And I think it's because so many people want to do it, right?

Like a lot of people want out of the US and it's it's a really attractive, easy option uh, for a lot of people.

And so, the third would be like there's not really a path up.

So, if you want to teach English, you could potentially in some places open a language school, but you're not really like moving up the um the ladder.

You know, other careers you can get promotions, you can uh take on more work.

You're like in in the United States, I as a citizen, I can open a business very easily.

In some of these other countries, it's very difficult for foreigners to open businesses.

you may not be able to fully own it.

I would say another like a fourth point is it's not the most intellectually stimulating.

So I I did Camily for a couple years and you know there there were dozens of conversations I had where it was like hi how are you where are you from?

What do you like to do?

And and you don't really get in-depth conversations.

You don't really it just tends to be kind of limited.

It tends to be a bit repetitive.

Um, but yeah, AI, like you said, AI is hurting entry- level IT jobs as well.

So, I think I found something that's AI proof.

I something that to, and this could be a hint, but it's still pretty broad.

Elon Musk, he recently did an interview with Joe Rogan and setting aside politics because I know some people hate Elon.

I know some people love Elon.

I'm indifferent toward him.

Uh he said jobs where you physically move atoms are probably going to be a safer bet in the long term compared to like engineering um software engineering specifically uh accounting you know things where you're you're working on a computer where you're doing repetitive work are more likely to be automated versus other types of jobs where you're like I like you said moving physical atoms.

So, yeah, it may mean I have to stay in the US longer.

I may not be able to move overseas as quickly, but I'll be financially secure.

Plus, like there's things that I'm enjoying about life in the US.

There's hard days for sure, but there's other times where I'm like, man, it's not it's really nice to have this beautiful air quality.

And and and for me, a compromise as far as like living abroad.

California has some of the things I really like about other countries, like diversity of landscapes, um interesting people, really good food, um it's it's a lot better than, you know, I like it a lot better.

It's it's just overall a better cultural fit.

It's um yeah, I I like it a lot.

And there's the wages are still high in California.

I mean, it's hard to get into tech, but in other fields, there's still opportunity to make more money than where I'm from.

Oh, back to teaching English though.

Also, my my fear is, and there's a lot of English teachers in this position, maybe not as as many as is known, that they get to to their 50s and they haven't really saved any money.

They haven't really invested any money.

They're not employable in any other field.

They're aging out of teaching in Southeast Asia because it tends to be oriented toward younger English teachers.

And so they find themselves are like, "Okay, I'm in I'm 50.

I don't have any savings.

I haven't paid into social security.

I don't have any retirement funds.

I I'm starting to have health problems.

Starting to like it doesn't really unless you've got like a master's in English and you're teaching doctors and business English and um it's it's more competitive, right?

Like it's it's hard it's hard to transition back to the western market.

So, I think a lot of them do get trapped in English teaching, but it's kind of like I don't know.

I I it's hard to see an end date where they stop working and they get to relax and enjoy these countries and they're they're they're recreating a nineto-five lifestyle in another country where I mean yeah the nineto-ive grind can suck here in the US but you know there's light at the end of the tunnel you know you're paying into social security you know in a lot of fields you can move up and make more money and and save and invest for the future you know that there's a um what's the word?

You know, there's a social safety net.

Like if you have health care concerns in other countries, especially popular expat destinations, there is no free healthcare.

Or if there is free healthcare, it's very very uh limited.

You might be in a ward with 30 other people and people are banged up and hurt and you're, you know, you're hearing babies crying and they're not necessarily using I mean there's technically public health care in a lot of these expat destinations, but it's nowhere near what we would most Americans would consider acceptable, right?

Technically, it exists, but it's kind of like if I gifted you a Model T today.

I know Model T is probably worth a lot because various reasons, but it wouldn't be useful as a commuter vehicle, right?

Most people if they own a Model T, it's in a museum or it's in a private collection, they're not driving back and forth to work in a Model T.

So, yeah, it's technically a car, but it doesn't technically solve the problem.

Um there's other things too that are nice about the US like while you're working, you know, you you know, like worst case scenario, typically you're paying into social security.

So it's like, okay, at least I know I think the average social security check is like 1,700 a month.

I know that at 62, which for me is 29 years from now, I'll have inflation adjusted.

There may be a haircut to it 20%, 25%.

But there's going to be a lot of Americans continue to live on social security.

I don't think they eliminate it.

I think they'll probably give it a haircut.

It probably won't be the same purchasing power as what it does today, but it's probably going to be enough in the long term, I believe, to survive in like uh a developing country and have a modest standard of living.

Are you going to live like a king on social?

Probably not.

But you'll probably be able to live in a small apartment, uh, eat local food, you know, basically retire with more dignity than what you would have here trying to make it on social just social security.

Now, I'm fortunate that I've I've been saving and investing for probably seven years, a modest sum.

I'm not a big-time investor, modest amounts of money, but if I continue on track, I'll I'll probably retire with just in my personal investments.

That's if I maintain my current investment rate, which my income is likely to increase.

I'll probably retire with at least 800K to a million.

Um, now that's not going to have the same purchasing power as it does today, but it's also probably not going to be totally worthless.

And it could be worth more.

I mean, it's, you know, you're amplifying it by going abroad.

Uh, I'm likely to get pay increases over the course of my career.

I'm likely to be able to do things to maintain fixed costs.

Like, I've only ever I'm 33.

I've only ever owned two cars in my lifetime.

Uh, I I'm not a like a buy a new car every year kind of guy.

I'm not a buy a new phone or laptop every year kind of guy.

So, if I continue to be aggressive, I'll probably retire with a decent seven figure um net worth.

If I'm if I'm aggressive about it, if I work really hard, I try to really grind it out um and still have adventures and still have travel and still enjoy my life.

I I that to me even though it's the sacrifice of not living abroad right now, it's a better bet than some guys I see that are young and they're thinking, "Oh, it'll just work out.

It'll just work out and they they fritter away their working years enjoying life and then they get to be older and they they're not prepared." You know, I I talked to a good friend of mine about it.

He said something I've had to explain to my significant other is if you have a health issue and you need to see a doctor, there's no way around paying him.

It's, you know, you can go cheaper on food or you can rent a smaller apartment or you can travel less, but when it comes to something like health care, there's no way around it, right?

Um, Kyle says, "Hi, hey, Alex.

I enjoy your perspective and your experiences.

It gives me a different view to learn from you." Thank you so much, Kyle.

That's really kind and I appreciate that.

I appreciate your kind words [snorts] and your support of the channel.

Your your comments are always very thoughtful.

Uh let's see.

Invest when you're young.

I started at 30 and retired at 56.

I'm 59 and live off my investments and the market has been good to me.

That's awesome, Dan.

I'm I'm targeting like 57.

So I that's kind of my my more realistic uh retirement date.

I could probably do it earlier, but I feel like at 57, you know, with medicine improving, then I feel safer at that age considering I get travel and I get vacations in the meantime and I get to live in a state that I want to live in.

I think if you're looking at like I go Mississippi for the next 30, there's nothing wrong uh inherently with Mississippi, but just seeing like the the population numbers there, seeing that the people I've met um from Mississippi have wanted to try living elsewhere where California actually has a lot going for it.

You know, unless you're you're really not upwardly mobile.

I think if you're you're trying to get by on like a cashier salary, yeah, you're probably better off leaving California.

But if you've got more of a professional job or professional career, California has high wages, great quality of life.

Yeah, you pay a lot of taxes, but it's quite enjoyable.

Um, I worked a factory job for 20 years.

That 29 years, that's awesome, Dan.

That you're able to like retire early.

56 is definitely early retirement.

I think most people would consider early retirement even up to like 62, 65, and you still got plenty of time to enjoy and relax, but you're also prepared.

You're not uh thinking, "Oh, I'm going to have to run back and and get some kind of cashier job." Nothing wrong with being a cashier.

I've done jobs I wasn't thrilled about, but it's it's one thing to do that when you're working your way up the ladder.

It's another thing when you're trying to just hang on to the ladder.

Derek says, "I have a military pension, social security, and wife has social security." Yeah, you're prepared.

Um, and and you made the sacrifice to work long and hard for many years uh to set yourself up for that.

And that's the responsible expat.

And I think that's the expat of the future.

I think that when costs rise in these countries, you know, I I say I could make it on I'll probably be able to make it on social, but I'm not planning to make it on social.

That's like my worst case scenario.

What's more realistic is is having a more healthy budget, being able to live more comfortably, being able to afford quality health care, uh being able to travel, right?

Like I I met quite a few guys in Duma.

Um and I myself lived a very budget lifestyle in Duma on on trying to do a thousand a month.

And there's no judgment.

I get it, right?

People have mishaps.

People go through divorces.

People pay child support.

Uh people try to give their kids a better life than what they had.

And I I don't shame guys trying to make it on a thousand a month at all.

I think it's it's um I think it's unfortunate simultaneously, right?

Simultaneously not judging those guys.

I think I now that I've seen what that looks like, I've experienced what that looks like, I'd like to plan to do things a bit different.

Um, if I I'm cool with having a base, but I'd like to travel a couple times a year.

I'd like to not worry so much about [snorts] whether I'm shopping at the local market or shopping at the grocery store.

I'd like to uh be able to, you know, just have more flexibility in the budget than what I saw on the thousand month month budget.

with the $1,000 a month budget.

One, it may not be doable when I retire, but two, there's not a lot of flexibility there.

You don't have as much options.

It's like, okay, I'm renting a1 to $200 a month studio apartment.

I'm only going to have a bike.

Uh, my dating is going to be somewhat limited.

I'm not going to be able to afford an emergency.

What if I get hurt?

um you know, insurance insurance costs could go up.

It's you're you're living on the edge, right?

Where if you're at more of the two 3,000 plus budget, you can rent a $500 a month house, you can uh hire cabs, you know, like rather than trying to get around on a motorbike.

Nothing wrong with a motorbike, but you know, if you have some kind of health concern come up, like I just had a friend on Facebook, he got in a bicycle wreck in uh Thailand, you know, so for him, he's really banged up.

He's he's planning to be in Thailand for about six weeks and he's spending most of that just laying in a a bed recovering.

And so that's a situation where that was totally unexpected.

He's he's having to pay for that, right?

He's having to pay for the treatments.

he's having to pay for uh the hot the medical care.

It's um yeah, it's unfortunate.

So, some of you may know who I'm talking about.

Um but yeah, that's that's a reality and it's there's not really an alternative other than to pay for that.

Uh Dan says, "I'm planning to move to Thailand in a year, maybe two.

Where are you going to move to in Thailand, Dan?

There's a lot of great options.

You know, I'm partial to Chiang Mai.

It's um Yeah, Chiang Mai is fantastic.

I miss Chiang Mai a lot.

Mai is like my favorite city, especially the area near Maya Mallal and Chiangg Mai University.

It's just very like it's it's the perfect amount of city for me.

You've got a lot of conveniences.

I could within walking distance do all my chores.

uh hospital, pharmacy, doctor, eye doctor, uh restaurants, um restaurants of all levels.

I had sushi places, uh Thai food, there was Enko Reservoir, so I could go for walks around the reservoir.

Um there's [clears throat and cough] Deutsu Tap, so you can go up the mountain and enjoy [snorts] Deutsu Tap.

It's it's such a special city to me.

There's you can go into town.

So, you go the reverse direction and you go into town and there's the old city and there's the temples and there's like the markets and it's um it's just got such a classic vibe to me.

I don't know how to explain a timeless vibe.

Mai to me feels very timeless.

Like it's still going to be a cool place to me.

in the future.

It's getting busier.

It's definitely getting busier.

I feel like before COVID, it had a more kind of vi uh vibrancy, but it's still a nice place and it can bounce back.

You know, these these things happen in cycles and Yeah.

Uh Palm Chop.

I like mountains.

Oh, okay.

Very cool.

Yeah, I like mountains, too.

I'm more of a mountain guy than a beach guy.

And I think the vibe is cooler in Mai.

It doesn't have as much of the party vibe as other parts of Thailand and there's more of a focus on the culture.

It's uh yeah, it's a unique city for sure.

What's everybody getting into this weekend?

anything.

[snorts] Oh, NFL.

Oh, yeah.

My buddy's watching NFL, too.

He He [snorts] watched the Commanders and I think he watched the the Lions versus the Vikings yesterday.

[snorts] I've got a lot to to get into this weekend.

I'm uh I'm researching dividend stocks.

I'm exercising.

Yeah, he said they suck, too.

Um what else am I doing?

Uh exercising, researching.

I may make a trip to nearby city to do a Costco run.

and hit up WCO and uh Trader Joe's and and hang out with some friends.

I'm debating on it.

You know, the the roads can be a little iffy right now.

Traffic can be kind of iffy, but sleep great last night.

So, uh, with the inclement weather definitely woke me up off and on last night.

[snorts] Hey, uh, thanks guys.

I'll see you guy guys.

I think the the signal is choppy right now because of the inclement weather.

I do apologize.

I think I'm going to wrap things up, but feel free to comment down below.

Uh what topics you'd like for me to cover next time.

Um please subscribe if you haven't already and give us a thumbs up.

It helps with the algorithm.

But yeah, I'm going to go ahead and wind it uh wind down, guys, because I'm getting sleepy and my my signal's choppy.