seasia

I voted for the 3rd option

"The health insurance requirement will expand to include O visa based retirement extensions"

I think it is almost inevitable.

Whether in 1 year s time or maybe longer, unsure..

That is surely going to cause problems for those with pre existing conditions.

On 10/21/2019 at 5:10 AM, Jingthing said:

Cool.

Do you know specifically where he has visited in Colombia? 
You can't really generalize for the country as a whole about prices.

I do completely understand how many people visit a country in Latin America or anywhere and know fairly quickly that they would never want to live there. That was my feeling about the Dominican Republic. 

Of course the opposite is also true and sometimes first impressions don't turn out to mean much.

I remember when I first visited Pattaya that I thought it was absolutely the most horrible place I'd ever visited. (Now over a decade later ….)

On the other hand upon landing in Chiang Mai for the first time I felt I wanted to move there even before the plane had landed! But never did and don't regret it. 

Hi

I caught up briefly with my friend. He visited and stayed in Bogota  ( I had thought it was to be merely a transit point to Cartegena, not so )   which I assumed would be expensive.

I realise that the price of a beer in a bar would be low down on most people s priorities but he visited a bar with 25 baht bottles of beer, so half the Thai price of even the cheapest bars.

So for those who like say 3 or 4 beers of an evening very cheap.

Food, I was really surprised, have read of 5$ meal deals, he was paying between 1.5 $ to 3.5 $.

Hotel just over 400 baht a night.

Probably in his favour, he is very street smart, very pleasant and friendly guy and speaks Spanish fluently..

I doubt there could be much improvement on his costs, barring a long term deal with a hotel or guesthouse/rental of an apartment.

It sounded OK to me.

I personally think that for a Brit who has had some European travel experience, some LATAM countries would be less of a culture shock to Thailand/SE Asia.

I also think they would find more similarities in LATAM than Thailand.

Yes LATAM countries more of a logical choice for Americans/Canadians than it would be for Brits, who generally favour somewhere in Europe.

Anyway a friend of mine is coming to the end of a fair length visit to the LATAM region, Cuba, Colombia and Dominican Republic.

I had a bit of news on some prices in Colombia from him, seems good value.

Tough crowd on here for anyone that decides to change their mind and head back either home or to an alternative destination.

After the same amount of time living in Thailand as the OP sanemax, decided on a change.

Happened to choose Italy for a 4 month break from Thailand, longest time out of Thailand in 10 years. It has been great. Coming to an end, have return flight booked to Thailand.

Probably stay there for a few months then back to Italy for a longer stay, 6 months.

Also fancy a stay in the UK, maybe just a couple of weeks.

As to UK weather, seems to be used as an attack weapon.

I am not keen on UK winter weather but others are probably hardier than me and as some have suggested, just wrap up more.

Simple enough.

I find the Thai summer weather to be too hot and humid.

Each to their own.

14 hours ago, sanemax said:

I am in the UK because I prefer it here .

If I wanted to go to Thailand  , I would go .

Theres nothing stopping me from going to Thailand .

Not sure why theres such an amount of animosity from some of you guys.

Maybe you think that its every westerners dream to live in Thailand and you dont like being told that that isnt the case .

   Yes you were living the dream , the dream that slowly turned into a nightmare

Hi sanemax

Unfortunately there seems to be animosity from just a few of the usual crowd against anyone who has either chosen a different location or posts considering it.

Sad really , maybe it shows up those posters own insecurities.

Looks like you are settling in fine after a long absence.

Your posts are interesting, hope you are not deterred from carrying on with your observations.

Good Luck

Not a pensioner but will have a go at answering.

Had spent many years of visiting Thailand for holidays, enjoyed them.

Then moved there, mostly because the weather a far more attractive proposition than the UK, I had become fed up of dreary cold winters.

Other attractions also.

Living in Thailand coming to an end for me, chosen Italy as a main base.

Chilly winters though so perhaps Thailand/Vietnam or someplace else for a mild and not cold winter climate.

Just now, keysersoze276 said:

For anyone wondering about the one year visas-  Yes, only Americans can get one year Tourist Visas in VN.  Can choose single or multiple entry.  Seems to be a little known fact as to why only Americans can, so this is what I found out-  During a visit to Vietnam to strengthen relations, then-President Obama mentioned that it was very difficult for long stay American tourists or expats to stay in Vietnam due to the visa restrictions.  So the government changed it's policy for only Americans.  Why didn't they include other productive first-world countries?  I have no idea.  But I hope that change comes for all you Brits, Aussies, Canadians, etc.

I do know that one year business visas are offered, but I have not looked into the requirements.

Hi

Yes, knew about the 1 year visas for Americans. Shame the other nationalities you mentioned cannot get the same.Brit passport holder myself, can only get 3 months.

It would probably attract a fair few others considering leaving Thailand.

Europe is nice, some of it, currently in Italy, you are right though can get chilly in much of it over the winter months.

Anyway, nice reading a bit more about Vietnam.

Hope all works out well for you.

Hi

2 links to articles I found interesting and nicely written.

First is from an investment site,encouraging investment and visits to Medellin.

The article deals with safety aspects, seems quite well balanced to me

"Even if you have only just vaguely heard of Medellin in the past, you’ve undoubtedly heard something about the city in relation to violence, cocaine, Pablo Escobar, and things of that nature.

Those who have only ever heard of Medellin on the news have quite a different picture in their head about the city versus those who have visited in the last 10 years.

In 1991, Medellin was indeed a very dangerous place. With a homicide rate of more than 381 people per 100,000 residents, it was a homicide rate double that of the world’s current most violent city, San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

But Pablo Escobar has long since been dead and amazing strides have been made to turn this city from the world’s most violent into the world’s most innovative. All within about 20 years.

No one could argue that things aren’t better here. Nor could they argue that things are perfect here.

Talking about safety and violence in this city as it stands today is a tough subject. It invites criticism from both sides who will say I am either painting the city in a negative light by talking about crime or that I am looking at things with rose colored glasses and dismissing some of the real dangers.

It is also a difficult subject to address because the perception of safety differs from one person to another based on a person’s life experience, perspective, previous exposure to similar environments, etc.................."

From and full article @ https://www.lifeafarinvestments.com/medellin-safety-statistics/

2nd article is from an adventure site, covers, cycling, trailing, bird watching and more. Also travel safety.

Nicely written.

"Colombia boasts huge mountain ranges, large portions of the Amazon, and endless coastline and surf breaks. But can a country come back from a civil war to become a mecca for adventure?..........."

Long article       https://www.outsideonline.com/2399499/colombia-travel-safety-2019

13 hours ago, Inn Between said:

My research shows that (legally) all residents in Vietnam, whether locals or foreigners, have to have their address registered with the police. I suppose that's likely the nature of all communist gov'ts, but in reality, this is usually ignored by landlords, local residents and also the police. However, I cannot find a requirement for them to re-register every time they go away for a few days as I believe is the case with TM30's.

 

But what I can't understand why you feel the need for such a comment, calling everyone who has decided to try Vietnam over Thailand a sucker. Why do you feel so critical towards people who want to try living there? It's not just you. There are many people here who get offensive toward people who have abandoned Thailand. Do you take that personally? I'm really trying to understand the mind set that can't accept people who want something different. Do you people somehow feel threatened or insulted by those who want to explore what many blogs and articles describe as one of the top retirement destinations in the world? Are you people virtually trapped in Thailand by property or people in your lives and feel resentment toward us who have the freedom to explore and live in other places?

 

Live and let live is a REALLY good approach to life, IMO. Check that idea out. You may like it and learn that it can eliminate hostile thoughts toward others, which will inevitably make your life more peaceful. Each to their own. These hostile attitudes remind me of Islamic extremists who think anyone who doesn't believe in Allah should be killed.

 

 

Hi

One of the best  posts I have read on this site.

The animosity shown by some to those who either have left or are merely considering it is incredible, never come across it on any other board.

The number of " alternative destination " threads has grown exponentially yet they all attract attacks.

A good job there is the very useful ignore function on this site.

All the Best

On 8/26/2019 at 1:14 PM, Jingthing said:

OK, folks, I think I've now "officially" entered a new phase in my "consideration" of moving to Latin America thingie.

 

I'm sure now that IF I was a fresh virginal potential expat still in the U.S. that I would NOT be moving to Thailand, but would instead move to Latin America.

 

For so many reasons, some general, some personal --

 

I have a pension now so more options visa-wise. 

Baht strength vs. general weakness of the currencies in Latin America. Though I don't really fully understand how that works in dollarized countries like Ecuador.

Thailand having become more expensive. TM30, more onerous visa rules and changing attitudes to expats etc.

 

That wouldn't even be a hard choice for me anyway. Thailand? No way. 

 

My choices of where to move in Latin America may be different though as the visa situation is simpler in general coming fresh from the U.S. vs. after many years in another country. But that's an aside.

 

But here's the rub. I'm already very well established in Thailand. Hanging by a thread of course with the immigration situation here. But pretty much all the details of my life are sorted IF I can stay. Recreating that anywhere else would take years and a lot of pain and likely never to the level of the ease of my life here (short of the visa things). 

 

So it's a fairly major step towards Latin America but not clear yet whether it will ever go further than that. For the time being, I'll keep on learning Spanish. Plan B and all that.

 

 

Interesting post and thoughts. I have a slight similarity in feeling re. your 2nd line. If I had not moved to Thailand ( in my case from the UK and a large part of the reason was for the Thai climate ) I would not make the move today.

A variety of reasons, not just visa related.

Prior to moving to Thailand to live I already had 10 years holiday experience ( good times ) including 2 x 3 month stays, the latter of which was sort of an experiment to see whether I wanted to live there.

I now have a little regret, maybe I should have visited and considered various other countries as options.

I vaguely recall reading online about both Chile and Panama, likely because they were high up on expat options lists.

Maybe I should have done a 6 month split between 2 countries, Thailand one of them and then a choice from several others.

No turning the clock back though, as they say.

Plan B already started.

Good Luck to those who are considering their options, change can be difficult.