@Peter ******

I later discovered that during the first few weeks we were chatting, her older sister was sitting just out of sight of the camera. I didn't know that she was there, but she was judging and vetting me. After she approved, my wife was much more comfortable about me.

@Peter ******

In one way, online has an advantage over traditional dating. Traditionally, you meet and immediately know if there's a physical attraction, then you start dating, and soon you have sex. Once you start sex, it colors your outlook on everything, but often before you have really gotten to know each other completely. Sometimes you then discover that you really aren't all that compatible except for sex. Online, sex is not an option, so you get to know each other much better before you meet and before sex can even be an option. I think that it can actually build a much stronger foundation if you take the time before meeting (my wife and I video chatted hundreds of hours over many months before meeting).

@Peter ******

I agree, but online can be a start. My wife and I spent hundreds of hours video chatting before I flew to Thailand to actually meet her. And yes, even all that video chatting didn't completely prepare us for the actual meeting. It did, however, give us a very good start. I'll admit that it's a bit strange at first; it's like meeting a stranger that you already know very well, but the strangeness wears off very quickly since you have already gotten to know each other in advance.

I met my Thai wife online 14 years ago and we're still very happy together. We have always lived in the US, but are considering moving to Thailand. However, she is not in the US because she prefers to be here; she's only here because of me. If I should die, she would be back in Thailand immediately to stay, taking my ashes with her. Don't make any assumptions or generalizations. I can attest that some Thai women have no motive other than love.

This is a ranking based on the ratings given by residents of each of their own cities. Of course there were 6 in the UK; they also like haggis, jellied eels, black pudding, and marmite. They wash it down with warm beer. Compared to that, of course they think that their cities are great.

@Dwayne *******

I am an American, but, after Trump, I often spell it amerika. I also noticed the original poster's spelling and I merely approved of his political views. I didn't consider him to be Russian.

I have Ooma which is a VOIP (voice over internet service) for my home phone in the US. It is very cheap, only a few dollars a month. (I pay an extra $5/month for up to 500 free minutes to almost any phone in the world.)

Then I load the Ooma app to my cell phone and adjust the settings so that any call to my home phone also rings my cell, just as long as my cell has internet connection. In Thailand, I buy a cheap Thai SIM card which gives me internet connection, so I can then both receive calls from the US and MAKE calls TO the US for free from my cell phone in Thailand.

Finally, I forward my US cell number to my US home phone (Ooma) number, so any calls to either my US home or my US cell number ring through to my cell in Thailand and I can use my cell with a Thai SIM card to call almost any number in the world for free.

@Ernesto *******

Small difference. Russian is usually just a drunk moron.

@Ernesto *******

You are obviously a moron. Or, possibly Russian?

@Ernesto *******

Thai wife and US residency came long before the condo and land. Until Trump, thought we would probably just spend a few months in Thailand each year.