@Kevin ******

Agreed AIS. Prepaid plans are cheap and offered for tourists but if you are going to live there, they offer even cheaper post-pay plans that are great. You just need to show them proof of a long term visa (ex. retirement visa) and you pay monthly.

PH is beautiful but unless you live there on a 12 month lease, it's much more expensive to visit for a few weeks. The food is terrible.

@Ian ********

Been there. Stayed in Cebu for over 2 weeks, few days in Manila and surrounding area. Accommodation costs were about 3-4x higher than in Thailand for poorer quality accommodations.

@Dave ****************************

I think this is referring to 'living costs' meaning a 12 month rental lease option. For travelers who visit for a few weeks, the cost for accomodations are much higher than in Thailand and you get poorer quality in PH for that higher price.

@Reggie ******

Assuming you're eligible for the current 60 days exempt, then you can easily extend that an additional 30 days in Thailand.

@Tony *********

Ok but I disagree. IP numbers can be detected with modern fraud prevention technology. A cellular# becomes an IP phone# after it's ported, hence it is then treated as an IP phone#. Also, some 2FA systems will happily accept the number that's configured but the text or phone call may never be successfully received.

@Tony *********

Main advice - no need to port THEN test. Just create a Gvoice# and test what's needed beforehand. Superfluous info - I've used Gvoice since it's inception (15-20+ yrs?). I lived in Thailand . I access too many things to recall which had a problem but from experience, I no longer rely 100% on my Gvoice for success with all 2FA. Easy to set up and test everything in advance. The actual # doesn't matter, it's whether that company detects that it's an IP# and/or allows that type of #.

@Tony *********

IP phone numbers (ex. Google Voice) are hit and miss. Some institutions work, some don't. Don't setup 2FA then port to Gvoice. Test 2FA using Gvoice on everything you need it for.

@Baz ********

I forgot about visa rules. Thx for adding that.

As far as I know, the cheapest out/in flight is to go to Vietnam either Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) or DaNang. I've seen flights as cheap as $40USD each way so it's super cheap and you could even stay a night or 2 to check it out if u want. As for 5500b for a 30 day extension?? - you should just go to immigration in Jomptien and do it yourself for 1900b. The agency right next to the lineup area will fill out the forms for you and give you the proper pics and their help only costs a few hundred baht So add on Bolt taxi cost, and it comes in less than half of what you're paying and it's one of your basic Thailand experiences. Just make sure you arrive before they open to get agency help right away and get in line so you're done in just an hour or 2.