@John *********
Ok, I see English is not your native tongue and this is why you don't read my post correctly. I never said I have lots of money and I never said I eat only at expensive restaurants. I said I seldom eat street food which is mainly for health reasons, plus I like a decent meal, not a dollop of sugar-sweetened meat dumped on plain white rice. I import only 100k baht per month for living expenses. That's only about $1000 Australian dollars per week. Not exactly "lifestyles of the rich and famous" is it? The OP suggested a one year visa exempt (which no doubt was a joke), because if someone is a one-year tourist they'd have the dosh for a long-term visa. The only people interested in one year exempt would be the digital nomads, because it would save them scurrying to borders every couple of months