nigelforbes

I KNOW that you think that Thai's need to up their game and competition is one way to do that, that's all.

It's a descriptive term that coveys the image of what many retirees expected when they first imagined they would move overseas to a warmer climate. Maybe posters should not be so sensitive and start taking statements like this literally!

The key issue here is not whether retirees here are able to get by today, but whether they will be able to do so tomorrow. Living in a "backwater" town USA or in Burnley UK, doesn't sound that appealing but at least in those places retirees are not at the mercy of a government who may change the rules quickly and cause major upset in the lives of many. For example, health insurance is unavailable for many (because of age), ineffective to many others (because of pre-existing conditions) and is rising rapidly in price for everyone. If health insurance become a visa extension requirement (as it did with OA), that will change the landscape for many and they may not be in a position to buy their way into alternatives. Cost of living versus income is another aspect, prices here are rising and already many on fixed income (many UK pensioners are) are being squeezed. Other potential visa related rules threaten downstream, all of which, without adequate funds, is a problem. Whilst today, I personally am also able to live a comfortable and enjoyable life on US SS ++, there is no guarantee that I will be able to do so tomorrow, because of factors outside my control, a problem that backwater and Burnley residents don't have to worry about.

Ah yes, living the dream!

I'm not 100% certain but on balance I don't think I agree. I think that was true many years ago when Thailand was a cheap place to live. Today it's not cheap and speaking as somebody who up until 2020, has split each year between Thailand and the UK, the cost for me at least is very very similar (albeit the money is spent differently). I think there is probably a variety of reasons why expats come here, climate is one, female companionship is another, cheap lifestyle is a third, I'd be hard pressed to figure out is there's one main reason. In my case I came here after living in Hong Kong for many years and I simply didn't want to retire in the West. Plus all the other reasons I mentioned earlier came into play also, but to a lesser degree. Do I ridicule my own country? No, but I do see it very differently than people who live there all the time. There's just as much stupid in the UK as there is here, it's just a different kind of stupid.

Only if married is that legal and the wife buys in her name.

Read my post again, all of it!

I agree. But as with all these things there are different classes of foreigner, that's certainly true of the healthcare system where there are four classes, locals, ASEAN, tourists and finally expats/retirees. The Thai fishing industry imports Burmese labour to work on the boats, a job that few Thai's will do yet foreigners are not allowed to own register commercial boats and participate.... it's very doubtful they would be allowed to crew, without a work permit, not that they would really want to. Ditto the construction industry. The common denominator of course is cheap labour versus experienced expensive labour, AKA operating company profit. So the model is, cheap labour, cheap poor quality home grown components and higher profit retained in country. But of course, if Thailand were to open up the country to outside industry, that would mean a higher volume of quality imports. That in turn would erase the current account surplus and there goes the value of the Baht.

It's not just farang, it's all foreigners! And locals are not being warned to stay away from them, that's stupid, they're just saying that shouldn't be allowed to own things of substance.

I understand that''s the law, that's what I understand, whether or not I agree with it is a different matter! If the only two choices are that foreigners can own land or they can't, on balance, I think I'm on the side that they shouldn't be allowed to. I think that's a ruling that prevents speculation by cash rich outsiders and keeps real estate prices affordable for locals. The reason the law was first introduced was because Indian speculator began to buy up large tracts of land and prices began to rise rapidly. That's just not appropriate or fair to people who until quite recently were still an emerging economy or third world country as some like to describe it. I do however think there might be a middle ground but I don't want to turn the thread into that discussion.

I don't know if this is xenophobia or just plain greed, or perhaps fear of competition from people more capable, but this exclusion of foreigners in almost everything becomes stifling after a while. I understand foreigners not being allowed to own land but even companies must be 51% Thai owned. Plus as the article says, there's a long list of professions and jobs that are closed to everyone apart from locals. Apparently, local Thai's need protecting from foreigners, that's why the country imports so little, to protect home grown industries. Without that competition, product and service quality is always going to remain very low and the investment in people, virtually non-existent. It is ironic that 11% of Thai GDP comes from foreigners who are actively sought to vacation here.

Sandoz Rosuvastatin 20 mg is 900 Baht for 28 tabs in my neck of the woods (North), widely available. Sorry I can't advise a Pattaya pharmacy but others will.

I do like that Anfo method....neat! There's no short cut Mr Crossy, you know all your options, pick one. We've removed maybe 8 or 9 trees over the years, mostly we cut them as low into the ground as possible and cover them with dirt, after time they'll rot....a lot of time! Then just plant around them and forget.

If that's true, maybe some of the so called manipulation is rubbing off over there because they also are very very close on watch lists. https://www.cfr.org/article/tracking-currency-manipulation

The country operates an oil stabilisation fund that does an excellent job of shielding the population from rapid increases in fuel costs and also keeps inflation lower than it would otherwise be.

The Asian crisis was over 25 years ago, Thailand and its economy have come along way since then. I don't think it's sensible to consider anything earlier than the this century hence the 53 baht per USD was an anomaly or one off, along with some of the nearby range, nothing above 40 that's for sure. The only prediction I have made is GBP/THB will reach 35 within 5 years, I make no prediction against USD. If you accept that the value of GBP/THB is dependent on THB, USD and GBP, I'm pretty certain that the currencies of the UK and Thailand will move in the opposite direction, GBP has been on a downhill slope for decades. BOT on the otherhood has been struggling to keep the lid on THB and this is where most of their intervention has been, trying to reign in THB and there is ample evidence of this. So really the only question is, will THB strengthen against GBP, by 10% over the next 10 years? I think it would be extremely foolish to bet against that. Read what Capital Economics has to say about the Pound:

There are several tables showing maximum heart rate during exercise, by age, have you looked at them because that should probably give you a guide?

Coincidences...that's funny, the coincidence is the other way around...but OK, up to you as they say. FWIW I fully expect and am planning on GBP/THB to average 35, within five years and markets do not disagree.

We both operated in a similar space, we must exchange notes, I'll PM later.

I have enough cash on hand to last 7.2 years at my average burn rate, excluding income, before I have to start selling assets. Most importantly, I have enough THB cash on hand to last the next 4.2 years, which is by far the more important number to me. Statistically my cash will outlive me which my wife thinks is great! :))

Classic Type A personality, I sympathise.

If it helps.....I retired here at 52 and believed I had sufficient assets to where pension income was not important to the equation. The financial crisis in 2007/2008 changed my landscape. Ultimately I found different ways to invest and make a return but the closer I got to pensionable age, the more important pension income became. I eventually resorted to doing a couple of things I had never planned on, one was becoming an overseas landlord, another was investing more heavily in equities. If I were to do it all over again I I think I would have a) retired later b) gone into wealth preservation mode earlier, and c) diversified even further and wider than I had previously imagined, even if it meant testing my risk appetite threshold. Ultimately you have to think what would happen if the unthinkable happened, which is not necessarily a great way to spend retirement! But ultimately ultimately, it will work out OK, albeit differently perhaps to what you first imagined.

An interesting link to a calculator showing average exchange rates over time. The average GBP/THB rate over 1, 3, and 5 years is circa 42, over 10 years it's 45. https://www.ofx.com/en-au/forex-news/historical-exchange-rates/yearly-average-rates/

Given this is a Thai based forum, my interpretation of the poll is that it will show the relative wealth of Thailand based expats, not relative to any particular country but relative to other expats in Thailand. A US based median and average seems like reasonable enough benchmark as any to use for this purpose since it's indicative and not scientific. Of course, if a poster lives in a bed sit in Burnley and doesn't visit Thailand, their input may not be relevant.

Why, it's easy enough to convert from any currency, to USD. If from Pounds to USD, multiply by 1.20. It's a good and interesting poll.