Thailand ranks third in 2026 expat living survey

5 hours ago, JerryM said:

That's only because -- as is oft posted on here -- they are willfully blind to the impending doom.

Me personally, I love living here.

Great Weather.

Great Food.

Great People.

Cheap cost of living.

Free for all out on the roads, love driving my cars or riding my bikes like an absolute lunatic!

Poll taken before or after the government started seizing retirees property caught up in nominee business mess

Again is Thailand high ranked, but if I read the news every day, I can hardly believe that there is no impact on people, if they read all the negative news about foreigners. Never I read that foreigners did something good or that Thailand is appreciating them. It is always a crackdown on this, that, foreigners who don't behave, make noise in the BTS, or walk around with no shirts, or just name it. Never read that a foreigner died and collected money at his cremation to give to a hospital for support, or to underpriviliged kids. And i am sure there are more feeling good stories, but never online. That will do more good to be an attractive country for expats than all the negative news now

7 hours ago, Nemises said:

demonstrate you can survive Sukhumvit at 5:30pm.”

Not just on the road but at MRT/BTS stations.

I once was leaving Bangkok from Sukhumvit MRT station at 5pm and after swiftly going through the VISA gate than had to choose which of four long waiting lines to go downstairs to LINE UP again for the actual transport stations. But people were all polite and respectful.

54 minutes ago, Thumbs said:

government started seizing retirees property caught up in nominee business mess

Break the law - lose.

4 hours ago, Hotchilli123 said:

If Thailand doesn't change many things over the next decade I can envisage that rank changing.. and not for the better

Mexico and Panama have better permanent residence stays than Thailand and there's no reason Thailand can't duplicate the same.

4 hours ago, FlorC said:

Mexico second ?

Must be a joke , or just for expats from the US.

I've driven to all but three Mexican states. Safe, wonderful, helpful people. Stable govt. Although prices are now pretty close to US, the attitude is way better. Be my second choice.

4 hours ago, ronster said:

Mexico 😳

Think I will take my chances here with the traffic rather than being kidnapped by the cartel or shot dead in Cancun while wandering along the beach !

Foreigners are not in their (US-made) gunsites. Gangsters kill other gangsters.

4 hours ago, FlorC said:

Mexico second ?

Must be a joke , or just for expats from the US.

These ratings are mostly made by Americans, for Americans. Having lived in the Philippines part-time for many years, I’ve had a front-row seat to the influx of American "cheap charlies". Forbes named Dumaguete the fifth best expat destination back in 2014, and in 2025 they singled it out again as a retirement haven—this time in an article highlighting top Philippine retirement spots on a budget of around $1,000 a month. With that level of income, they wouldn't even qualify for a visa in Thailand. Now both we and the local Filipinos just have to live with this massive crowd of expats. Sadly, a lot of them act like royalty, even though they’ve got less cash in their pockets than a middle-class Filipino. So much for expat living surveys and their real-world consequences.

4 hours ago, emptypockets said:

I wonder how many current expats in Thailand could afford to live in UAE.

Who in their right mind would want to?!?

4 hours ago, emptypockets said:

I wonder how many current expats in Thailand could afford to live in UAE.

NOT MANY,Me Thinks !!!

49 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Foreigners are not in their (US-made) gunsites. Gangsters kill other gangsters.

Tell that to all the people kidnapped and killed !! 🙄

The demographics of those who contributed would be interesting to see

With Panama on top I would expect North Americans to be strongly represented because for most Europeans Spain Portugal Thailand and the Czech Republic would seem like more natural choices for retirement while the UAE is more obvious for work

For European retirees I would expect Thailand and the Czech Republic to be strong alternatives together with Portugal and Spain depending on whether they value climate cost of living or staying closer to home

Even Norway seems to be in the wind these days especially with the extreme hot summers in Europe lately and I tend to see more and more focus on Norway and the other Nordic countries

Norway is very predictable and safe for those who have the resources and do not expect a luxury lifestyle while Dubai can offer considerably more disposable income and luxury for a well paid professional especially because of the tax advantage

For families emigrating for work though Norway and the Nordics can still have great potential because much more of education healthcare and family support is built into the system

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

Mexico and Panama have better permanent residence stays than Thailand and there's no reason Thailand can't duplicate the same.

Seems many of the forum members do not realise the survey is not just about retirement

It covers foreigners who moved abroad for work or to live and looks at quality of life settling in working abroad personal finances housing and digital services

So the rankings reflect a mix of retirees workers families and people moving for lifestyle reasons

1 hour ago, Feingeist said:

So much for expat living surveys and their real-world consequences.

Admitedly there are too many - like the top university surveys - both are growing in numbers.