Hawkster

I have been coming to Pattaya for about 10 years, sometimes 1, 2 or even 3 times in a year. I retired last August and have been traveling in US and finishing up some financial matters (taxes, getting documents to get reimbursement from 2014 flexible spending account, setting claim with insurance company after being rear ended, etc., deciding whether to take pension or lump from my old job, get my savings properly diversified so I have income in retirement) before booking a 2 or 3 month trip to Pattaya. Hopefully, I can book a flight in the next month or two. Being retired is great with very

Gerry, I received your PM - very good information. Thanks, Hawkster

I am currently on holiday here in Pattaya until Saturday. I have always considering retiring here - possibly in the near future. I would to happy to buy some beers and hear about some the ExPats folks' experience regarding retiring to Pattaya over a beer or other libations. I would like to discuss how do you stay busy, cost of living, health insurance and how you made the decision to finally pull the plug and make the move to the LOS, etc. If anyone would be good enough to give me their insight, I would be happy to buy some drinks. Please private message me if you would good eno

I am currently on holiday here in Pattaya until Saturday. I have always considering retiring here - possibly in the near future. I would to happy to buy some beers and hear about some the ExPats folks' experience regarding retiring to Pattaya over a beer or other libations. I would like to discuss how do you stay busy, cost of living, health insurance and how you made the decision to finally pull the plug and make the move to the LOS, etc. If anyone would be good enough to give me their insight, I would be happy to buy some drinks. Please private message me if you would good eno

Owen, The tax consequences are something I am also concerned with, with respect to how much investment income I can shelter. I am glad to see that a large portion of yearly income could be potentially sheltered, assuming you have relatively low levels of withdrawals from the investments in a year. This means a reasonably conservative spending lifestyle in LOS. Being from the States, I have certain concerns that a combination of political conditions (Democrats coming into power and taking money from those who have saved) and many people retiring so that the government must find way

The real issue is quality of life. Right now I have a very good job with very good compensation and can save quite a bit each year. However, I am working 6-7 days a week and long hours to get the job done. I go home, think about work some more, and then go back to work. I plan to work all of this weekend to keep my head above water. As I make good money, I do not want to pull the string too soon and quit. However, quality of life is not that great right now. That being said, I really, really enjoy my trips to Pattaya where I do not think about work and can truly relax. In retirement

A lot of people have discussed retiring to Thailand. How much money would you need to comfortably retire at ages a) 45, 50, and c) 55 with a) $500,000, 750,000 or c) $1,000,000 sitting in the bank? I am sure different people have different needs and expectations. What is your comfort level with getting 3, 5, 7, 9 or greater 10% return a year on your investments? How you would you diversify and invest the money to get that expected return? For those living in LOS now, how much do typically spend over the course of year including housing, health insurance, plane tickets to home, etc

Can anyone recommend a Pattaya hotel with good in-room high speed internet connection? I need to work while on vacation. Hopefully, the hotel would be nice but not overly expensive. I will be in Pattaya March 17-26. Looking forward to a great trip.