Well Bud, I am not in your age bracket yet, but getting close, much closer than most of the members, I am 60. Back in the mid 80's, I worked in Saudi, getting R&R every 4 months. BKK was my first stop each time, and made it to Patts a couple of those trips. To say I loved LOS then would be quite a large understatement. A few years after I finished my stint in Saudi, life intervened and I wound up being a single parent for my two kids. I was not able to return to LOS, but must say I never did forget how much I enjoyed it there. The kids are now grown and living on their own, then this past May I took early retirement, and suddenly LOS was again a possibility.
September was the time I chose, two weeks of pure fun. The trip was all that I had hoped it would be and even more. Though I made some major newbie mistakes with a certain young lady, at least my defenses allowed me to extract myself with only minor damage. As soon as I returned home, I began thinking seriously about moving to Patts. I was still busy making more mistakes with the same lady, but was able to remove her from my decision making process on making the permanent move. I did a ton of research, though none at this board (I was not yet a member, another newbie mistake, lol), came up with a budget, checked everything I could think of. On 10/15 Stickaman ran his weekly column on what it would cost to live in LOS, using as an example, a person he knew who lived in Patts. His friend, he said, lived nicely, though not partying every night, and lived on 500K baht per year, 41.6K per month. This amazed me because the number I had come up with for me was 40K per month, which I had kicked up to 50K per month as my budget. Once all the research was done, it quickly became abundantly clear that I would be far happier living in Patts than I would living here in the USA, and I could do so for almost 50% less cost.
Decision made, I began implementing my plan, and in 10 days it is wheels up for me, somewhere between Jan 4 when I leave and Jan 6 when I arrive, I will become a new man starting a brand new life. You bet it is scarey and there are certainly things I will be giving up in the USA. But for me, it is the right thing to do, of that I am certain. Your mileage may vary, but thought I would give you some food for thought. Good luck in your decision, feel free to contact me if there is anything I can do or answer for you along the way.
I still remember clearly when shortly before my first trip to LOS, a close friend of mine, one of several who had been enticing me with stories of LOS, told me to forget all I had heard about LOS because it simply was not accurate. My illusions shattered I looked at him, and watched huge grin broke out on his face as he said "It is better!" He was quite correct. Come on over and have a visit, I will buy you a drink at FLB.
Rick