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Maybe this is true for flying within the European passport free zone (or whatever it's called), but I find it hard to believe they wouldn't check your passport and return flight when travelling to bkk.

Yeah, don't listen to a bunch of egghead scientists like those morons at the CDC. Sommy's advice sounds reasonable to me and I've been using the internets for well over two years now, so I can tell.

Definitely get these. Even though you may not have time to get the final doses, the first couple will give you some measure of protection (so I've been told).

Also keep in mind that Thailand is closer to the equator so there's going to be a little more spin on the ball. So you might notice that you get a few more yards driving to the east than the west.

Tsk, tsk. I think the word you're looking for is "prostitution." (Not in place of "whore", in place of "hypocrisy".)

Like most big cities, it's great if you have money but it sucks if you don't.

Perhaps he doesn't know her name yet?

Thanks. Now I remember where I left my watch.

I've got a few good ones. Q: Why are colored people so fast? A: Because all the slow ones are in jail! Q: Why do Jews have big noses? A: Because air is free! Q: How do you know when Asians start moving into a Mexican neighborhood? A: All the Mexicans start buying car insurance! Hee hee.

That's a bit excessive. Seems like they could just do the same as they did with cigs, show the effects of excessive drink on the label. For example, a picture of LB Bert with no make-up sleeping in your bed.

Oh, now I see, "bar stool". Funny. Here's a few more from the collection: Why did LilWilly tiptoe past the sleeping pills in the medicine cabinet? Because he didn't want to wake the "sleeping" pills! Why did the salad dressing scream when LilWilly opened the refrigerator door? Because it was "dressing!" I'm here all week, folks. Don't forget to tip your waitresses (unless you're torrenova, of course ). For those who don't need their hands held to understand a joke, here's the proper way to tell it: What's the best pickup line in a gay bar? "May I push your stool in?"

This changes everything. No more chickenfucking for me. Other than that I'll probably just do as I normally do.

This is the kind of BS and generalization we don't need on this forum. And the term "fucking monkey" is offensive, please call them "bargirls" instead.

If she loves horses, you might want to check out a place called Horseshoe Point. It's some sort of high end (for Thailand) resort combined with a riding academy. They have horse shows and probably give individual lessons.

There are actually a couple options to my recollection. One is the "retirement" option which requires a minimum age (I believe 55) and proof of some minimum income. Another is to deposit a much larger amount of money in a Thai bank, and this is available to any age. I believe the amount was around $100,000, but don't take my word for it. A problem with this method is that it seems to lock up some of your money with a much lower return. I didn't bother to look up the details for this, just wanted to point out that it exists for those who might be interested. Also, keep in mind that they can change the rules at anytime. You may retire with what is currently a decent pension. However, the Thai govt may decide to double the minimum above your income and you might be forced to leave. There was some uproar when this happened (or was attempted) in the past; I don't recall the details.

And increase the chances of being a bitter, beaten down man full of regrets before you even get to retirement.

I know of a system for winning at online roulette that I've heard works pretty well.

I think these two statements are contradictory, I'm not sure which you meant. I just did a quick calculation and stopping contributions 20 years early made about a 25% difference. Not huge, IMO, but if that's all you have to live on it might be significant. Thanks for giving me an incentive to go figure this out, now I know.

At the numbers we're talking here I don't think taxes are a very big factor (for a US citizen). Especially since the $200K is probably completely (or mostly) already taxed at this point (a judicious withdrawal scheme might be able to avoid all future taxes). One issue I've had with projections such as the one you've referenced is when they say that x% of the time you will run out of money. Thus implying that the only safe choice is to retire only when there is almost zero chance of going bust, or that you need to start out with reduced withdrawals. This is misleading as it implies the retiree is an idiot who will not change his spending patterns and thus will end up impoverished if the market has a few down years. It should be fine to start out with a higher withdrawal and if it turns out that your investments have a bad year or two, you can pare down the withdrawals until it improves. However, if you retire and the minimum you can live off is that 5% then you will be screwed due to fluctuations in the market some percentage of the time. Most of the time you should be able to sustain that initial withdrawal amount and sometimes you will be able to raise it over time (above inflation). The two parts of the equation here are: 1) does he have enough money to make it to SS, and 2) will there be enough left to supplement the SS income to make him comfortable. My ballpark estimates looked good in this case, but I really think you need a spreadsheet to figure that out for sure.

If you're not familiar with how to use a spreadsheet (such as MS Excel) I think it's well worth learning to help answer a lot of these questions for yourself. After you've worked up some numbers, then get a friend or two to check your assumptions and formulas. Getting a basic sheet to give you a ballpark figure isn't too hard. Given the standard 4-5% numbers you'd be looking at spending 50-60K baht in your first 15 years. Check out other people's budgets for Pattaya to see if this gives you the lifestyle you're thinking of (or whether it's worthwhile suffering another 5 years to get a better lifestyle). However, that 4-5% standard assumes 3% inflation, as Owen stated. I'm not sure that's valid for Thailand and especially a farang lifestyle in Thailand. I would think it's at least 5% inflation if not higher, which will really cut into your savings. Given all the uncertainties, if your health is really good it would be hard to pass up that pension (that said not knowing all the details of the pension).

Maybe that's because you tried to give him cash. I think he'd be more open to receiving a token gift or some other consideration instead.

Keep in mind that the cost of living is most likely going to be going up faster in Thailand than in the US, especially the cost of female companionship. Also consider the chance that Thailand may change its laws at any time to either make it difficult for you to stay there for long periods or to make it less desirable for you to stay (i.e. by gutting the nightlife industry). But with $5K a month you should have decent padding, assuming your getting a half-decent rate of return on the non SS part of your money. The worst case is that you have to come back to the US with that money, which isn't bad for a worst case.