Do I have enough money?

[DoctorG]

Sorry if I missed it, but did the OP mention about marriage? If not, what visa is he intending to use to stay?

[chicowoodduck]

Oh my Buddha, I see a disaster in your future....and sooner than later.....get a grip, man.....and stay home...?

[sammieuk1]

It can be done on much less with due diligence .

[Skeptic7]

Not nearly enough money. Multiply by 10 and come back then. 

[RichardColeman]

9 hours ago, nopsled said:

OK, second option. Don't sell my flat, rent it out and have an income of about £650 per month after agent/repair fees.?  Clutching at straws?

I have no other income other than my 1000 quid a month rent from my house in the UK. I live with my wife and daughter in Pattaya. I have to go back to UK every 9 months for personal reasons, so currently we get by on about 36,500 to 37,500 baht a month depending on exchange rate - about 870 quid a month (flight costs off). I honestly do not think I could live on your money (650 a month), its not enough. We are quite frugal, wife picks up money from the floor, we use all free point store cards, we buy the buy the BOGOF offers. We rent a 2 bed house for 10,000 (pool and internet inc). I am sure many on here will say 'yeah, well i get less and I live a great life' - I say cobblers to that, I doubt you can if renting, paying for visa every year etc. Get by , yes, live great, no. I have a early pension that kicks in at 55 that will help out more (-tax).

 

My advise to you, rent the house and try it for a year, but for heavens live with her first in a rented place. She may be a nice lady - happy to be quite 'poor' you'll have to see (I include myself in that).     

 

DO NOT SELL YOUR HOUSE - you need an escape back home. 

 

[gmac]

11 hours ago, nopsled said:

I will inherit at some point, as things stand @£200k but that could be a while yet.  Parent age 76 in good health.  Hopefully will stay that way for many years.  I think I'm getting the picture.

Don't bank on an inheritance, I have always thought I would inherit at some point but parents now reached 91, mother in care home father's health seemingly deteriorating, once he dies the house will go to mother and if she survives another 5/6 years no doubt care home fees will eat the lot.

[RichardColeman]

49 minutes ago, zaZa9 said:

Sheez , the country is full of attractive women without them ...

Seriously ? Attractive Thai woman without kids ? Cheap ? LOL. 

[peterb17]

Personally I would say the most important thing to have an enjoyable stress free life in the Kingdom is income- pension funds, investments etc. I have never had any problems- but you never know what is around the corner- so you also need back up funds- for example have a road accident ( it’s does happen here!) because you are a foreigner - it is always your fault; and can get expensive.

 

Heaven forbid you become ill- there is no NHS , after you live here for a while- you are denied treatment back home- so insurance is necessary in my opinion - that’s expensive- money every year.

 

Another myth is that Thailand is cheap, it’s not any more.

 

I admit accommodation is reasonable- outside Bangkok prices are coming down and if you bargain long term rents can be good- why not rent. Your good lady wants you to build a house - in whose interest - the place can never really belong to you. 

 

You say you might inherit in the future, again heaven forbid one of your parents has to go into a home ( my Dad’s place cost £1400 a week! ) the money will be eaten up. 

 

The last comment I have- even if you have lived here for many years, you are always a farang ( a term I really dislike) an outsider. You can never get to grips with what quite goes on in a Thai brain - but much of what does go on involves Baht. 

 

Give it a go - TV members can advise, they can’t tell you what to do- but with your present financial situation I can almost guarantee you will be bankrupt within 4 or 5 years. ( and your good lady will have a pleasant new property) 

 

Good luck 

[likeke]

Why don't you rent for 1-2 years before investing that much money, and also to test out your relationship? Many guys have made similar mistakes and we all know how that works out. I had a Thai girlfriend once who wanted to marry me and then build her a house in Isan. I never did so she got some other guy to buy her said house and married him. I dodged a bullet!!! 

[mstevens]

13 hours ago, nopsled said:

I'll have about £160k.  Everything I have.  No pension.  I can feel the heat from here!  Let the flames commence ;-)

This is absolutely not enough money for a 54 year old to live the rest of his days in Thailand.  You could reasonably expect to live for another 30 years or so - and quite possibly could live a lot longer.  You'll run out of money long before you run out of time - and being a broke foreigner in Thailand ain't fun!

[Nielsk]

What ever happens You will end up with a  broken heart and be broken economical..

After a time no girlfriend, no house and no money and what then ?!?!

Don't ever fall in to that trap, as so many foreigners painfully has done before You.

 

End of story !

 

[murraynz]

please stop and think more realisticly about YOUR  future...you have had lots of sensible advise so far--

do you realy know this lady ?? once you have spent lge amount of money building a house-you then have NO  further control of it---how clever is that??

as stated,at 54 yrs, you still have quite a few more years before you obtain pension, then when you do, your chances to earn extra income, or even any income, in thailand-is limited..this then restricts your lifestyle for the next 30+yrs..

im sure your parents wont be that happy leaving inheritance to you--after a thai lady has already bled you---this most likely would happen again with their money...

it seems like many expats leave their brains behind in the company of beautiful thai woman....

if your "friendship "cant work without spending your lifetime savings on them-you are better to move on..

money is everything to thai women--if you dont have it--YOU are nothing--nobody will want you....

[KNJ]

Rent

Health Insurance

Car

Car insurance

car maintenance

Internet

furnishing home ( endless )

Visa requirements

Food

entertainment

Trips back home to see parents

Broker fees for rental

potential bad tenants

house insurance

Clothes

Assisting her kids ( 4 mouths to feed at a minimum)

Variable FOREX rate implications

unexpected  - expect something to happen

[theguyfromanotherforum]

11 hours ago, nopsled said:

OK, second option. Don't sell my flat, rent it out and have an income of about £650 per month after agent/repair fees.?  Clutching at straws?

 

There is another option that is working out quite nicely for me.

 

Find an employed woman without kids and live in her own house.

 

Many of them around in Bangkok, but not expat beach resorts like Patters and hua hin.

 

 

[dutchman]

i had one advise i always kept in mind when i start start going to thailand and that is to be worth more alive as dead.

The way you thinking is an dead end streat.

Not everybody has the luck of meeting and having a good lady with a good family

[DUS]

2 hours ago, zaZa9 said:

You do know that the law says ''Farang can never own Thai land" right?

So if you build a house with your money , its sitting on land that ( you bought ) in HER name.

Forget all types of tricky bits of paper - if a Thai wants you off THEIR land they will achieve that goal.

(...)

 Anyway ...

I sincerely advise other Aus men that $800 k  aud ( 400k pounds ) at age 60 is a minimum to have behind them and retire here  pre-65.

 

I don´t disagree in principle with what you are saying above but was surprised when you said that GBP 400k should be considered the bare minimum for a 60 year old. I don´t know about the current life expectancy of Australian men but even at 50k Baht per month your 400k GBP minimum would last for almost 30 years. Yes, I know, I´ve ignored inflation in this calculation and health costs are always an unknown and potentially financially disastrous factor in anyone´s budget plan but still, I find 400,000 Pounds or over 17 million baht too much to be considered the bare minimum. Anyway, that was just a thought when reading your post.

 

As for the OP, I agree with the what´s been said on this thread so far: 100,000 Pounds after building the house etc will not be enough if you cannot supplement it with additional income whilst living over here.

 

[timendres]

If you decide to come, do not build the house. That will be a fatal error.

Find a cheap house to rent, obtain a cheap used car.

Give it a year or two. Then you will know for yourself what is possible.

[Nielsk]

3 minutes ago, timendres said:

If you decide to come, do not build the house. That will be a fatal error.

Find a cheap house to rent, obtain a cheap used car.

Give it a year or two. Then you will know for yourself what is possible.

....and even after a year or two I would never invest money in to something I don't have 100 % control of and risk to loose every thing. Without money You are a zero in Thailand  !

[KNJ]

35 minutes ago, dutchman said:

i had one advise i always kept in mind when i start start going to thailand and that is to be worth more alive as dead.

The way you thinking is an dead end streat.

Not everybody has the luck of meeting and having a good lady with a good family

What has a village in Sussex got to do with it?

[robertson468]

14 hours ago, JAS21 said:

With no other income and just 6.8M thb and only 54 and 10-12 years before you will get any pension ... your dreams look just a touch unrealistic. Do you expect to receive an inheritance ...

 

Now if you have a degree ...you can teach english and then that is a different matter ..

You don't need a degree to teach English, all you have to do is pass the TEFL Exam and get yourself registered.

[BTB1977]

Build her a house. Are you f#@king stupid. Never do anything you would not do for a girlfriend in your own country. They are snakes with titts. They will tell you anything to extract your money. Many times they have a other white boyfriend and a thai husband happy to spend your money. Never  never talk about money with a thai girl. Tell her you have no money for a house. And can not send her any. See how long she sticks around. She say Bye bye too you. Foolish foolish boy. I have seen it happen to alot of good men. Take your time.  2 or 3 years. Slowly. Do not let her control your spending ever. She will have many stories of why she needs your money. Use you head, not your heart or dick. There are some good ones here. But they do not ask you for money or cars or houses. Run Forest run. 

[robertson468]

Personally, I think you have insufficient capital to build a house and then live off the balance.  I would also strongly recommend that you rent, live with the potential new Family for four years of more so that you can get to know the Lady really well and that you will not then loose your investment in a house, or buy a condo in your own name.  A house on bought land would not be in your name.  Be very, very careful.  The amount of foreigners who have failed to take off the rose tinted glasses and then ended up loosing their hard earned savings in Thailand are legion.  On the other hand some relationships work out very well and as they say.........live happily ever after!

[steven100]

OP .... you can build a house for as little as 40k ,  standard 2 bed block & tile.   The problem I see is that 160k is not enough to keep you going another 30+ years ..

you need a small income ....  period   !!     this is the only way to ensure you can live reasonable year after year. (  eg ; a  renter back in the UK or wherever  ) in your name obviously.

Even if the wife works,  and with your 160k  .... you don't just want to keep spending that as it won't last 5 yrs, then what ???

 

So .... always remember ,  to live in Thailand one needs a small monthly income year in year out.   That way the 160k is in the bank for emergency, maybe buy a small rental in Thailand , a car, and other special requirements. 

[Capt Rob]

32 minutes ago, DUS said:

 

I don´t disagree in principle with what you are saying above but was surprised when you said that GBP 400k should be considered the bare minimum for a 60 year old. I don´t know about the current life expectancy of Australian men but even at 50k Baht per month your 400k GBP minimum would last for almost 30 years. Yes, I know, I´ve ignored inflation in this calculation and health costs are always an unknown and potentially financially disastrous factor in anyone´s budget plan but still, I find 400,000 Pounds or over 17 million baht too much to be considered the bare minimum. Anyway, that was just a thought when reading your post.

 

As for the OP, I agree with the what´s been said on this thread so far: 100,000 Pounds after building the house etc will not be enough if you cannot supplement it with additional income whilst living over here.

 

Good to see a helpful debate going on. There are of course many reported successful relationships forged in Thailand but uni-formally not coming of such a low investment base. The good natured sage advice offered here should be accepted as such, still good to remember, that even successful relationships are a work in progress and it pays to have an exit strategy that allows for survival.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

15 minutes ago, robertson468 said:

You don't need a degree to teach English, all you have to do is pass the TEFL Exam and get yourself registered.

 

What a bunch of crap.

 

Degree is required, TEFL is absolutely not required.

[maccastime]

Just my two cents worth, have a real good scroll through a few threads on here this I strongly advise. Do u have enough money, how long is a piece of string? Do your homework well before making the move, be extra careful if u plan on buying or building a house do not put it in your ladies name at all costs. Consider a company title, or maybe a decent size condo which u can purchase. Medical I think is a must but that is my opinion. Good luck. I hope all works out for you

[RichardColeman]

1 hour ago, peterb17 said:

Heaven forbid you become ill- there is no NHS , after you live here for a while- you are denied treatment back home- so insurance is necessary in my opinion - that’s expensive- money every year.

 

From Age UK.

A British citizen who resumes settled residence in the UK is immediately entitled to free NHS care. If a British citizen resides only overseas and is visiting the UK, they may be charged.

 

So, I guess all you need do is say I have just moved back ! Failing that, hit an immigration officer, straight to the nick - first question, any health problems ? Yes. Free treatment, since you are in their care.

 

[PerkinsCuthbert]

Look, people will give you all sorts of figures, based on their prejudices, that in the end tell you very little. It is certainly possible to live in Thailand, particularly rural Thailand, as a single person, quite happily and frugally on very little, despite what some say you'll 'need'. With a partner it is also possible, but that very much depends on the real, long-term relationship, not on what she says she's satisfied with when you've barely started together. And that's suck-it-and-see, nobody but you can find out for you. It also depends on how adaptable you are - for instance, can you find your way around by public transport, thereby saving on a vehicle? Will your gf be happy with that? Do you have to have foreign food or are you happy with Thai food daily? What about drinks, do you 'need' wine? What about aircon, can you adapt to fans or must you have expensive aircon twenty-four hours a day? And so on; ultimately it's up to you whether you plunge in or not, but these are some of the things you need to consider beforehand.

Lastly, it is perennial but good advice not to do anything but rent for at least a year or two of living in Thailand; after that time you will have a good idea of your monthly outgoings, and also know if your relationship is good and stable enough to consider permanent roots.

[Just Weird]

14 hours ago, nopsled said:

I'll have about £160k.  Everything I have.  No pension.  I can feel the heat from here!  Let the flames commence ;-)

No need for you to put up with the flaming that you're going to get.  You know the answer if you really have to ask that question and you should also know that Thaivisa is a daft place to ask for that kind of advice.  

[glasswort]

With all due respect to the majority of all other negative posters they are presumably speaking from their own experiences. I was in a very similar situation when I met my Thai wife twenty odd years ago and if I had read similar advice on Thai visa or somewhere similar I probably would not have continued the relationship. Fortunately, as it turned out, my Thai wife is a gem and her two children as well. We have purchased property and land over the years, all in her name of course and I have provided all the funds for this. We have now sold everything except for a couple of plots up in her village and the house where we now live and have made decent profits. She has never balked at signing transfer documents and more to the point never asked for a share of the profits. When I asked her why her answer was it is your money not mine. I admit that at the start of our relationship I was working and being old fashioned preferred my wife to be at home. During this time we enjoyed a good standard of living and she did not once ask me for money. Now that I am retired and living on savings and the measly UK Gov basic pension (of seven years ago I might add) we have had to cut back and my wife understands this completely. Both her children fled the nest a long time ago and I think her daughter gives he money occasionally. We have never had children together because I made it very clear from the beginning that this would be the case. Over the years I have heard/read many, many horror stories about money grabbing, cheating, gambling Thai wives and I guess I am extremely lucky. Sorry about all this but basically what I am saying is go  by your own instincts when it comes to the  Thai lady but I would add that the amount of money you have available does not appear to be enough for what you will need. Our house, car and motor scooters are paid for and we spend around THB100k per month which includes everything. Good luck with whatever you decide.