Some serious questions

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

As I ponder my future and a possible early retirement abroad, I have a few concerns that I would like your input on.

 

The older I get the more difficult making a visa run to Laos or Cambodia could be. How difficult is it to get a more permanent immigration status to avoid that?

 

What is the attitude toward expats in Thailand? Is the Thai government in any way hostile toward them? Do you expect immigration policies to get tougher, easier or stay the same?

 

Is being married to a Thai national a huge bonus?

 

Anything you can tell me about residing there, retiring there is appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Mid

 

[BigDUSA 71]

I've started the process to make the move to LOS. If your 50 y/o you can get a retirement visa. Easy to get. Check the Thai Embassy website in DC for up to date info.

 

Money talks and bullshit walks in LOS. Cash can make many small problems go away. Expats are tolerated because they bring in large sums of cash and generally don't use many tax supported services. Schools and tax supported medical care are two examples. Who knows what the next government attitude towards expats will be? We plan on renting not buying a condo. The bulk of our finances will stay in US banks.

 

Couple of "old Asia hands" I respect recommend Malaysia as the friendliest toward expats.

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

I have no problem with others, but I have concerns with other's problems with me or my country of origin. So I tend to see myself feeling more at home in a Budhist nation than a predominately muslim one.

[BigDUSA 71]

Have you traveled to Thailand?

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

No sir, not yet. Next February will be the first time.

 

I realize that my real knowledge of conditions and attitudes over there is extremely limited and filtered by the American press. And I am looking at a number of places including Cebu and Costa Rica.

 

I am simply exploring and explaining myself, which will include admitting my shortcomings. Those I strive to ever improve. As Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." or was that "If I'm lying, I'm dying." ?

 

Mid

 

Edited July 6, 2006 by midlifecrisis

[BigDUSA 71]

Keep asking questions. Lots of good info on this forum. Some basic info would be helpful, age, health and what type of budget are you looking to spend? Do you get your kicks below the waistline, sunshine or are you the more cerebral type. Like myself.

 

BTW stay away from the off topic section. Some guys want to ban me and soon, I suspect burning at the stake.

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

I hope they don't ban you. I would be very disappointed in this group if they do.

 

There is not a person on this earth that I couldn't find serious fault with if I was so inclined. I try to ignore what I don't like but am able to live with, which is a lot more than I could when I was young.

 

To answer your question, I am 55, my only health problems are a surgically repaired knee and two recently removed cervical disks. I am cerebral but get an occasional below the waist itch that needs to be scratched. I am married, but we are considering divorce. This is one big reason I am considering oversees retirement.

 

My planned trip to Thailand is to relax, clear my head, do some thinking and some playing. I definately want to see Bangkok and Pattaya for different reasons. I plan to do my partying in Pattaya and see as much as I can of Bangkok and areas north before heading down south.

[BigDUSA 71]

Don't try and do everything on one trip. YOU WILL BE BACK. Best fucking drug, I've ever been on. How long you coming for?

 

Don't be surprised when you get off the plane you start to feel like your 35. No worries when you get back on you'll feel 55.

 

I'm not worried about being banned. I may be a cranky old geezer but I pass on a fair amount of good info.

[Gary 4,119]

Malaysia is pushing to try to get retirees there. They have several packages available BUT it is a lot more expensive there than here in Thailand. The Buddhists are also much easier to get along with than the muslims.

 

The Philippines was my second choice but the typhoons, earthquakes, volcanoes, crime and lack of infrastructure made Thailand an easy choice for me. It is also easier to get a year to year visa here in Thailand WITHOUT having to get married. Being married here is not much of an advantage. The financial requirements are 400,000 baht rather than 800,000 baht in a Thai bank. This proves to me that two can live cheaper than one.

 

Actually it is MUCH cheaper for me to live here married than when I was single.

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

Thanks, Gary.

 

Where can I get the best info on what it requires to retire to Thailand?

[soi6 0]

Do some reading in the forum at www.thaivisa.com

lots of good info.

 

Best of luck!

[Soi7 1]

Here

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

Thanks guys!

 

mid

[jacko 8,822]

Thanks, Gary.

 

Where can I get the best info on what it requires to retire to Thailand?

And here....

Pattaya Expats Club

[BigDUSA 71]

If you plan on coming in February it's high season and the cheap good hotels get booked out early. Try and firm up your plans and make your hotel reservations as soon as possible.

 

I would recommend seeing BKK first and then move on to Pattaya. Here's a few of the hotels I've stayed in and will stay in again. These are all in BKK. I start with the cheapest and work my way up.

 

Majestic Suites

Twin Towers

Sheraton Royal Orchid

Westin

 

Many good choices in Pattaya:

 

Sky-Top

Pig & Whistle

Flipper Lodge

Flipper House

Sabai Inn

Marriott Royal Garden

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

More great help guys, I appreciate it.

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

Gotta love this description from the Majestic Suites web site

 

"Long Bath-tub in the toilet"

 

[picoman 1]

Gotta love this description from the Majestic Suites web site

 

"Long Bath-tub in the toilet"

 

Just make sure you flush before you fall into the toilet

 

[bangkapiboy 5]

Once you are of age then you can get the retirement visa and no visa runs needed!

[captcraig2 120]

You might also want to visit a very helpful website www.escapeartist.com and follow the links for any country you're contempalting.

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

You might also want to visit a very helpful website www.escapeartist.com and follow the links for any country you're contempalting.

Thanks, bookmarked it!

[mrstein 0]

If I could add My two sense here.........A quick rant about each place.

 

I have traveled throughout a great deal of the Philippines more so then Thailand However knowing what I know and seeing what I have seen.

 

Thailand makes more sense.

 

Cebu USE to be nice now it’s a complete Shithole DO NOT LET anyone tell you different.

 

I was there about 7 months ago for about a week or so it sucked Traffic was a Nightmare It smelled the malls didnt even have Air con working I know hard to beilive but true.

 

Would only go back there to travel thru as a Hub for Diving throughout the rest of the country. 1 day stay over Only.

 

Manila Forget about it you might as well live in the ghettos of ST Loius before moving to Manila.

 

AC is a great little town to whore in for about 5-7 days tops To live there long-term you would need to get your head checked Most the Ex-pats are complete Losers not to mention the town is small dusty and the AIR can and WILL Kill you.

 

Boracay is awesome beach town in the Philippines However long term stay No way nothing to do at all.

 

Subic is nice and fairly clean and infrastructure isn’t Too bad however once again Not much to do but its nice and cheap.

 

Tagatay is VERY nice in the Philippines However very Little Expat community and once again the boredom will kill you.

 

Dumugatte is also VERY Nice and the college gals are cute However Very limited on actual things to do on a daily Boredom would kill ya .

 

 

Thailand on the other hand

 

Bkk

Big city lots of pollution and a True rat race However lots of cool shops and neat little hangouts not to mention Tons of girls. To live thu pricey and like living in a Big city such as New york .

 

Pattaya

 

Great town Good infrastructure lots of Ex pats and tons of things to do and plenty of girls However like any Busy touristy event it can get to you with all the winners coming thru.

 

I think to make friends with Local Ex-pats would not be a problem.

 

The longer you live there the better deals you can find and learn your way around the key in Pattaya for long term stay is everything in moderation.

 

Keep cool with everyone and you will enjoy your life Become a local jackass and Bad Karma will come knocking HARD……..

 

Phuket

 

IS a great place Very clean?

 

However a bit pricey not by much but it does cost more overall to live there However it’s a bit smaller also I have notices maybe its me I don’t know But the weather there IS Brutal compared to anywhere in Thailand Its Fucking Hot and Humid No Joke.

 

Lots of cool places to hang out in and plenty of action Nice golf courses also, To find a nice place to live can be a bit of a challenge thu not as much as in Pattaya.

 

Lots of girls did I mention that hahahhaaha……If you like Ladyboy”s Live there.

 

 

Ko samui

 

Only been there once a few years ago ….

 

Small Island and not much to do on a daily basis.

 

Never been up Northern Thailand so I cannot comment on that.

 

 

Keep in mind thu find somehwere you can do things on a daily and enjoy your life thru a bit of Interaction with people. I do realize as most of us get older WE do not need or want as many friends,However its still nice to know you can go out from time to time and meet up with some of the boy"s.

 

If you wind up in a place with very littel interaction and nothing to do Your brain will go numb and YOU WILL DIE MUCH SOONER.

 

Unless of course you are wired like the unubomber was ???

 

Once again like anything else is comes down to personal choice"s.

 

Hope this helps

 

Mrstein

Edited July 9, 2006 by mrstein

[Gary 4,119]

Good post Mrstein. I lived in Bangkok for about 7 years but it was because I was still earning a living. After I retired I bought a condo in Jomtien. I had been from one end of Thailand to the other and side to side too. I had determined from my travels that Jomtien was the perfect place to be. Unfortunately it has grown and is now too busy to suit me.

 

If ANYONE had told me that I would eventually be living up country in the boonies, I would have told them they were crazy. That was before I met my wife. I am now very content living in the boonies of Loei province and have a very good life here.

 

That said, if anything were to happen to our relationship (not likely) I would be loading my truck and heading back to Jomtien. I do miss the beaches but the mountains here suit me about as well. This is a very scenic area. I HOPE I'm up here to stay.

 

Since my wife already had a house and property up here, this is where we settled. If not for the house being here I would have loved to have given Prachuap Kirikan a try. The beaches are pristine and the mountains to the west are beautiful. The city itself sits on a bay and there is an island in the middle of that bay. Beautiful.

[CalEden 360]

If you plan on coming in February it's high season and the cheap good hotels get booked out early. Try and firm up your plans and make your hotel reservations as soon as possible.

 

I would recommend seeing BKK first and then move on to Pattaya. Here's a few of the hotels I've stayed in and will stay in again. These are all in BKK. I start with the cheapest and work my way up.

 

Majestic Suites

Twin Towers

Sheraton Royal Orchid

Westin

 

Many good choices in Pattaya:

 

Sky-Top

Pig & Whistle

Flipper Lodge

Flipper House

Sabai Inn

Marriott Royal Garden

Denny good post and some good info. Not your typical cheap charlie rant!

[Owen` 2]

Keep in mind thu find somehwere you can do things on a daily and enjoy your life thru a bit of Interaction with people. I do realize as most of us get older WE do not need or want as many friends,However its still nice to know you can go out from time to time and meet up with some of the boy"s.

 

Lots of good stuff in MrStein's post. This item above I want to jump on

because it's related to a pet hobby horse I have here on the board,

and because I want to go to bed leaving the guys with an upbeat

note.

 

I usually pound on my keyboard here telling guys not to dart off

to Pattaya without satisfying the magical 4-4.5% money issue for

extraction from their assets. Well, I have a bit of good news for all.

 

The 4-4.5% perspective is based on history for several things.

1) The stock market, 2) bond returns and 3) inflation. The

calculators that come up with 4% as the extraction number presumed

that inflation would continue to increase your living expenses the

rest of your life.

 

Well, there is now considerable doubt about the last item.

 

"In a report published in the Journal of Financial Planning last year, Eau Claire, Wis., financial planner Ty Bernicke examined federal statistics and discovered an assumption-bursting fact: Seniors actually go through less money as they get older. By contrast, many financial advisers figure that retirees will spend at the same rate until they die, and they rely on this conventional wisdom in crunching numbers."

 

More on this here:

 

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/artic...29/29saving.htm

 

The gist is this. A guy looks at his current spending and projects it forward at 3% (inflation) per year to see what his budget will be each year in his final years. I even do this personally to find an average spending level over that time

 

((current spending X (1.03)^30th power) - current spending) / 2 = avg per year over 30 yrs.

 

Well, there's a pretty good chance this is wrong. MrStein's quote above is involved in the reason why.

 

As you get older, you do fewer things. You probably travel less. You probably drink less. You do lots of things less that cost money. It is possible and even likely that a relentless 3% projection forward is not a reasonable way to estimate your future budget. No, we don't have a crystal ball and maybe 3% will prove low, but in terms of what we DO know, it's probably going to be high.

 

What this means is the 4-4.5% magical extraction number is likely to be pessimistic. There are no reliable estimates out yet of how much pessimistic, and the whole matter is in heated debate, but . . . what I've seen now looks likely. 1.03^30 is not the right equation for estimating future budget. It's too high. This is good news for guys retired to Pattaya.

Edited July 9, 2006 by Owen`