DogNo1

I agree with Tornado. I think that what you really can't stomach is being stuck professionally. Actually, it is positive that you are having these problems. Your body is trying to tell you to get moving. Start immediately to plan what you will do to improve your professional situation. Whatever degrees or qualifications you need - develop a scheme of how you will get them. It really doesn't matter if you make mistakes. Just keep moving purposefully toward what you think will make you more employable and bring you a higher rate of pay. You'll feel loads better just for making plans and getting moving. Then eventually, you will achieve success in a line of work that will give you security and a decent income. Don't even think of the barriers and difficulties in getting there. Just make your plans and then trust yourself to put one foot in front of the other every day in pursuit of your goal. If my impression is correct, your body is telling you that you deserve better than what you've got. Now you've got to bite the bullet.

FYI, Horns are not used in Japan either. Drivers are incredibly patient and courteous for the most part. The driving test in Japan is very difficult and it is evident that most of the drivers are proficient as a result.

Perhaps the worst drivers are in Vietnam. There was a flap between the Vietnamese government and motorcycle exporters about 16 months ago. The government imposed import restrictions on all motorcycles because their hospitals were being overwhelmed by people with motorcycle accident injuries. When I was in Saigon in February, I found the drivers didn't seem to be following any discernable rules. I only took taxis, but my heart was in my mouth quite often. I wasn't in any accident, but there were a lot of near misses.

I have been thinking about this thread for a while. I think that the term "freedom fighter" neads a little clarification. Freedom from whom and what kind of freedom for whom is quite important. Would it be OK for a gang of thugs in the USA to kidnap and behead a Muslim arbitrarily? Would the objective be to rid the USA of the Muslim infidels and to serve as a warning to Islamic terrorists so that they would cease and desist from all agression against Americans. Would it then be OK for American kids to dance in the streets celebrating his death?

I can't imagine this happening. I believe that many Americans would be horrified and insist on fair treatment of Muslims in America. Indeed, a Jewish professor at UC Irvine appeared on the O'Reilly Factor today arguing that Islamic students had the right to wear religious shawls at their graduations.

I am a veteran of the Vietnam War and was criticized quite a bit for my service in Vietnam, during which I worked in civic actions taking medical teams to villages, coordinating with village leaders and providing materials and support for constructing buildings such as libraries, trade school, high schools, and so on.

I was criticized by both American civilians and Vietnamese civilians. Many people in Vietnam told me, " We don't care what government we have so long as we have peace." In 1973, when the communist government took over, millions of Vietnamese took to the sea as "boat people" and many ended up in California. I actually met some of the people I had known in Vietnam and asked them why they had not stayed since they had said any government would be OK. They said, "Well, we just didn't understand."

I would ask those who are harshly critical of our intentions in Iraq to wait for a while. I believe that our objective is to help establish a government there that will get the various religions to cooperate in building a country that will allow all of them to enjoy prosperity and peace. I think that it is a testament to our good intentions in Vietnam that after the communist government took over so many people risked their lives to reach the US and other western countries. Many of those refugees are now doctors, pharmacists, lawyers, accountants and others are working in various professions in which they enjoy a high degree of success. In the end, many Iraqis will probably benefit, too, if we are able to accomplish our objectives there. We must ask ourselves what kind of governments the terrorists want to build and then what their stance toward the West would be.

Mr. Vietnam:

Sorry, but this is off topic. I don't know how to address this to you on a new thread. I bought a new house in Saigon in March and the wiring seems to be screwed up. There has been considerable discussion about faulty wiring on this site. Do you know anybody in Saigon who can be trusted to straighten out the wiring?

To Dr. Pat Pong and other site monitors: sorry about this being off topic. How do I start a new thread?

ProThaiExpat,

Actually there is no other place I know of that can compete with Thailand for its reasonable cost of living and quality of life. I get newsletters all the time about retirment in Central and South America, the Caribbean and Europe. I also have a friend who is retired in Portugal, which he says is good, but I wouldn't consider any place except Thailand. I had hoped to retire in California to be near my grandkids but have decided that it will be cheaper to visit them once or twice a year from Thailand while enjoying a higher quality of life than I could have in the US for the same money. One important thing to me is that I will be able to afford good health care, even paying for it out of my own pocket. The point I wanted to make is that it is good to retire with adequate income so that you don't run out of money eventually. Of course the options for getting by on relatively little money are much, much better in Thailand than in Hawaii or California. The Philippines are OK, but like you ( I assume from your moniker), I really like the Thai people and Thai culture. And the food IS better.

BTW, I really appreciate all of the information and opinions available on this site. My thanks to all for your feedback and observations.

Just to add my two cents: I visit Bumrungrad every year when I vacation In Bangkok and have been pleased with their service except for one time when the physiotherapist forgot to come and remove the heatpack applied to my back. Actually no big deal.

I had a condition similar to the one mentioned. The doctor, I think it was Panya, diagnosed my problem as sciatica - a pinched nerve in the back. It was very painful to even sit and I suffered on the airplane on the way over. Medication and physiotherapy helped somewhat, but the condition didn't really get better until I got home and started an exercise program with a personal trainer. After about two months of exercises designed to buld up the muscles in the back and buttocks my problem went away. If I stop exercising, it may come back, but it's gone for now. I had a similar problem with a neck whiplash injury in California. All kinds of medication didn't really help and I only got better when I found a good physical therapist and exercised to strengthen the neck and shoulder muscles. Of course I realize that some people's conditions don't respond to exercise, but it's worked great for me.

ghengis:

I am curious about the "inflation proof" annuities in the UK. In the US, lifetime annuities are available that will pay you about 5% of your investment for the remainder of your life after age 60, but they have no built-in increase for inflation. That's dangerous because inflation can make the 40,000 K mentioned by some as a livable amount worth a lot less.

I have been investing in stocks because I wnated to stay ahead of inflation. Actually, I'm far behind it. I have done a bad job of investing, actually managing to lose about 30% of my portfolio, so annuities are starting to look attractive. Some posters to Thaivisa have said that you can survive on 40,000K - a 4% return on $300,000. That would be tricky if prices in Thailand increase either due to inflation or due to wealthy Asians retiring in Thailand. Actually, retirement in Thailand is looking very attractive to Japanese and I've heard of Japanese retirement villages planned for the Lampang-Chiang Mai area.

It seems to me that anyone planning on retiring in Thailand should make allowances for the bite on income that taxes, inflation and unexpected expenses can take. I personally wouldn't consider moving to Thailand to retire unless I had a monthly income of $2,000 plus a little extra to save up for the unexpected. If I couldn't live comfortably and afford occasional trips and purchases of big-ticket items, I wouldn't enjoy the retirement very much. But that's just me. Possibly some people could get by on a lot less and be content with the lifestyle that they would have.

Hi Khun ?,

Wow! 4 to 5K per month would allow for a terrific lifestyle in Thailand!

Your post was interesting, especially the reference to closed-end funds and funds that pay 0.75% per month. Would you like to share the names of those? I've not done well with my investing and my portfolio is now nearly 3% in the red. I'm trying to learn how to invest more wisely, but the market has been very volatile these past few years. You mentioned possibly putting 50 to 60% of your money in long-term bonds, possibly the 20 government bond if it pays 6%. I have about 40% of my money in a fixed annuity that may pay 6% or more when annuitized if the Fed raises interest rates 200 basis points (2%) over the next two years. The percentage of payout depends on the conditions you choose, but one of the higher paying options is payments for life with nothing left at the end. I'm trying to make a good return on the remaining 60%, but it's not easy. I learned to my sorrow that mutual funds will continue to eat up 1.5 to 2% of your investment even if their value has crashed.

At present, I do love my job and would like to continue working to save as much as possible until I retire. It can be nice to have nothing to do and sleep in late, but after a while it gets boring. I'll have to find something to do when I move to Thailand. Maybe teaching English a little would be fun if I could find a rewarding and enjoyable situation. Money wouldn't be the object, so I could afford to be picky. Maybe some of the national universities in Bangkok might offer the opportunity for teaching a class or two. Do you plan to retire completely, or will you plan to do something to keep you from getting bored?

Thanks for your observations, especially on investing. I really must do better in the future.

Hi Udon,

Sounds as though you've got a nice situation. Did you have to go 30 minutes out to find a good rental? (Unless you bought the house, of course) It's great that you get all of the things you listed for 20K per month. I've gathered from various posts that the best way to go is to rent a bare house or apartment and furnish it yourself. That must make for a considrable initial cost to buy all of the things you need, though I guess if you're staying long-term it works out to be cheaper than paying the extra rental a furnished place would cost. I wonder if you use air conditioning very much? I'm a pretty heavy user of air conditioning, so I expect my electricity bill wil be pretty high. When I was looking at a furnished apartment out in the Emporium area of Sukumvit, the agent estimated that constant air conditioning use in the apartment might come to $150 a month.

I come to Bangkok at least once a year and am continuing to check things out and prepare for my eventual move to Thailand. I had not thought to check into rentals a distance out from the city, but I'll look into it next time I'm there.

Thanks for the information

Hi again Khun ?,

Thanks for the follow-up advice. Actually, one line of advice I have been reading in the financial magazines and on the web agrees with what you said and that is keeping a bit larger allocation than 40% in securities until our late 60s. I'll probably fudge it and sell some of my ETFs to buy high yield bonds and munis but keep around 50% invested in a variety of stocks. Midcaps and small caps have been making greater gains recently but who knows what reaction a couple of international disasters would bring. At that time, large caps may be less volatile.

I am very wary of managed funds. I just don't trust them because I lost about 75% of my investment in some agressive growth and science and technology funds. Of course you can sell funds whenever you want, but ETFs seem more liquid. They can be bought and sold at any time without penalty.

Unfortunately we are in an outrageous position here in Japan. We are legally required to pay about 14% of our gross wages into the national pension scheme but can not receive a pension unless we pay in for 20 years or more. There is the provision for foreigners who leave the country permanently to receive a one-time payment equal to three months pay less taxes. I can't make 20 years before I retire.

As you suggest, I am planing to live conservatively when I retire, especially since I must finance my retirement mostly from my own savings with only about $450 per month coming from US Social Security. I don't know what living expenses will be in Thailand in a few years. The thought of the baht going to 25 per dollar is a nightmare. Presently though, I plan to annuitize part of my money to guarantee me a stable income for the rest of my life and to draw upon capital gains or dividends for the remainder to give me a flow of about $3,400 per month. I will only move into Thailand the money that I need - $20,000 initially to satisfy the visa requirements of 800 K and then replenish that as I need to from my bank account in San Antonio. I'm hoping to get by on $2,000 per month for everything, leaving me $1,400 to invest and keep in reserve in the US. I'm 61 now and may continue at my job until age 70 if I want to. I calculate that I will have sufficient savings in another year or two, so I may be moving to Bangkok in 2006 or so. It's nice that you have been able to retire 20 years early. How did you manage that? Do you think $2,000 per month is sufficient for a decent life style in Bangkok?

Thanks again for your helpful observations and advice.

Hi Khun ?,

Thanks for the investment advice. I plan to keep the funds invested in mostly American securities through my broker in San Antonio, TX. Right now I own long-term bonds, small caps, large caps and ETFs. I've been advised to begin to shift some of my funds out of small caps and large caps into high-yield bonds to achieve a 60-40 balance since I am near retirement. Since my interest and capital gains will apparently be reportable and taxable in Thailand, I will seriously look into tax-free munis. I like to use ETFs because of their low cost, but have recently gotten stung by a special fee from Merril-Lynch on their SMH holders that eats up all of my dividends for what they call cash journal and custodian fees. Pretty sneaky. Any additional advice is welcome.

Eric

Thanks for your advice. Based upon it, my strategy will be to deposit 800 K at the beginning of my stay and draw upon it for living expenses in Bangkok while investing my retirement income offshore and then replenishing my account in Thailand once a year before the renewal date of my "O" visa. To minimize the number of documents needed, I'll plan on converting a tourist visa obtained at the Thai Embassy here in Tokyo. The procedures for visa conversion in Bangkok sound much easier than the requirements for obtaining an "O" visa outside of Thailand. It should be easy enough to report in once every 90 days if registered mail delivery is reliable

Eric

Oops! The last time I was in Bangkok, I bought a roundtrip ticket to LA through Narita in Japan on ANA. I was planning to buy another roundtrip ticket in Bangkok, but since I actually live in Japan, I wonder if I will be denied boarding on my return Narita to Bangkok leg until I buy a ticket leaving Thailand. What do you think?

Hi,

I'm planning on retiring in Bangkok by and by. After reading the instructions, I am planning to enter with any kind of visa, then have it changed in Bangkok by showing that I have 800 K deposited in a Thai bank. A wire transfer from my US bank in Texas should be no problem. I have a few additional minor questions. Does the "Visa on Arrival" available at the airport qualify as a visa that can be converted, or must I definitely get the visa from a Thai embassy or consulate. Also, do deposits in Thai banks earn a decent amount of interest? If not, it might be a good idea to withdraw much of that money and invest it elsewhere until I need to show that it is in the account again. I wonder if the money in Thai banks is safe?

Finally, does the 90 day reporting requirement apply to all visa holders without exceptions? My impression was that certain visa holders, such as those on retirement status, didn't need to report. Perhaps that's just wishful thinking, but I do know people working in Thailand who say that they don't need to report every 90 days, but I guess that they are on "B" visas and not "O" visas.

Any advice will be much appreciated.

Eric

Hi,

The description of how to get a retirement visa is quite clear, thanks. I am wondering whether income from an annuity will qualify as a pension. I will receive more than the monthly required amount of 40,000 from my annuity for the next 23 years, at which time I will be 84. I hope that this may qualify. One issue of concern is that the original post quoting the official in Chiang Mai mentioned having to report to immigration every 90 days after receiving the year-long extension of an "O" visa. Is this really required?

Thanks,

Mooneye