So here is the dilemma, if not Thailand then where?

[Acemaker]

1 hour ago, AsiaHand said:

Try Brazil and their hot blooded women.

And the soaring Murder and kidnapping rate especially in Sao Paulo.

[Mac98]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Nice people, international restaurants with $1 beer, visit Thailand a couple months a year. 

 Na Trang, Vietnam. Named best beach resort city in the world for low-income retirees. Look it up.

 Panama. Retirees encouraged with generous allowances on bringing personal items into the country, tax breaks, and official discounts abound from air travel to entertainment. Excellent health care. Nightlife. U.S. dollar is official currency. English common. Downsides: it doesn't have Thailand's food or women.

 

[poanoi]

i'm so done with visa hassle, and i'd sooner be dead than cambodia,

i also totally refuse to live in a cold country yet again,

so for me its going to be some warm piece of land belonging to EU,

like caribbean or spain or something like that

[wgdanson]

44 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yes, and no, but non E.U. nationals will be required to purchase very expensive private health insurance which jacks the price up considerably. 

And all drugs are totally legal.

[grollies]

1 hour ago, mlmcleod said:

For me, my next stop would be Panama, Columbia or Ecuador.  The Visa process is a lot easier than Thailand and the Immigration Police are not constantly hassling the expats.  Safety and healthcare is about the same as Thailand.  I have roots here now, so I do not think about moving often!  There are really a lot of options in this world.

That's a bold statement.

[observer90210]

People will go anywhere with clean good cheap food and booze.....cheap sex with young hotties for the mongers.....cheap lodging to rent but of good quality....places that do not harass retirees with red tape on their visa issues.....good medical.....possibility to purchase homes with good finishing for less then US$ 100K....Vietnam is catching up as well as many other countries surely even in the EU (Spain, Canary Islands, Albania or Croatia) where homes are cheap, booze is cheaper then Thailand, good food, sun almost all year around, good medical.......Thailand needs to wake up and adapt or if not they will loose valuable cash flow from the retirees and it will be too late once they leave....

[grollies]

2 minutes ago, poanoi said:

i'm so done with visa hassle, and i'd sooner be dead than cambodia,

i also totally refuse to live in a cold country yet again,

so for me its going to be some warm piece of land belonging to EU,

like caribbean or spain or something like that

Yep, the Caribbean is owned by the EU.

[Nice Boyd]

Ecuador 

[Mansell]

You have to be careful in Managua, Nicaragua after dark as some areas are dodgy. People are mostly nice. Second poorest country in the Western world. Have a good friend living in Ecuador teaching after getting banned from here for a year.....originally from Argentina, but enjoying Ecuador. Had a vacation in Porto, in Portugal. Enjoyed the countryside as well. It was miserably hot when I was there and went to the movies to get away from the heat, but they only have the a/c around 80 degrees, not like California where it is around 60 degrees. Lovely country with nice people, but not cheap, but cheaper than France.

[kevvy]

For me personally I see myself 6 foot under ...

[Mac98]

Note on Central America: my buddy, a Marine captain at the time, and just back from Afghanistan, was sent to Costa Rica for immersion into Spanish. (They could have sent him an hour away from his base into East Los Angeles.) Costs Rica is supposed to be the safest of these countries, probably of South America, too. He had barely checked in when he was robbed of his laptop and shot in the stomach. He later visited Thailand and liked it much better. In fact he said: "If you hadn't invited me, and I later found out what I had missed because of it, I would have hunted you down with a rifle." He was kidding, I think.

[Jingthing]

7 minutes ago, Mansell said:

You have to be careful in Managua, Nicaragua after dark as some areas are dodgy. People are mostly nice. Second poorest country in the Western world. Have a good friend living in Ecuador teaching after getting banned from here for a year.....originally from Argentina, but enjoying Ecuador. Had a vacation in Porto, in Portugal. Enjoyed the countryside as well. It was miserably hot when I was there and went to the movies to get away from the heat, but they only have the a/c around 80 degrees, not like California where it is around 60 degrees. Lovely country with nice people, but not cheap, but cheaper than France.

I wouldn't consider Managua in the first place. But Grenada sounds quite lovely with it's colonial architecture and massive lake. However by the time they develop better infrastructure it will probably get overpriced. 

[poanoi]

14 minutes ago, grollies said:

Yep, the Caribbean is owned by the EU.

yes, many of the islands belongs to NL & france, alas, its EU territory

[Mansell]

You could also live on the island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America. Been there a few times and found it very peaceful. Costa Rica is very Americanized and not my choice.

[altcar bob]

58 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Portugal is a destination of choice for EU retirees (no tax) and is already full of them.

Fair and rather dry weather, much cheaper than neighboring European countries, no exchange rate issue, close to home in case of emergency...

Is,but more expensive than Spain  and feel more lonely there too, I know,tried it

[CGW]

2 hours ago, 3421abc said:

Today I could not think of a place that would be an alternative to Thailand. However in 5 to 10 yrs I see Vietnam and even Cambodia as they are catching up fast.

Been hearing this for 20 years now! yet they still remain back in the dark ages in a lot of respects.

[Airalee]

My #1 choice would be Hanoi

 

Cost of living less than Thailand and all the modern conveniences.  Rent a nice place on Ho-Tay lake right in the city for less than a Bangkok Apartment.  Condos there are generally larger and better equipped than Thailand.  Restaurants also cheaper in general.  Downside is the healthcare as their public hospitals are substandard but private hospitals are fine.  Biggest downside IMHO is the traffic all the honking of horns by the hoardes of motorbikes.

 

#2 Montevideo, Uruguay.

 

Other places considered but discarded as options.

 

Lima, Peru

Medellin, Colombia

 

Reason for discarding them... Dual taxation.  If you don’t know about it, do your research.

 

[verticalift]

As a Canadian expat I found myself island hopping around the Caribbean looking for an island to call home....Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Tortola in the BVI and further down island through the Grenadines, St Lucia, Grenada, Venezuela....... I would have loved to have been able to do Belize, Costa Rica and Panama, but I never got that far. Then one day at work 20 years ago, one of the other pilots I flew with at the time asked why I always went to the Caribbean for my time-off.

We were based in Doha and Bombay and it took me 36 hours+ travel time to get to/from where I wanted to go for my time-off. He suggested SE Asia. My next leave from work, with a duffle bag slung over my shoulder, I made a right turn in India vs a left and found myself in T’land. Haven’t been back to the Caribbean since. For the past 15 years I have owned my own home in Phuket (My Name is on the Tambian Baan/Yellow Book) I have the Pink Thai ID Card, have owned yachts, cars, etc.... 

While like you, I have occassionally thought much about selling it all and moving on, but Phuket is only a single 6 1/2 hour flight from Abu Dhabi where I’m based, direct Phuket where I live. Traveling 36 hours back to the other side of the planet every month just to get “home” is painfull, so I’ll stay in T’land for now.

But, if I were to do it..... Panama, Costa Rica and Belize would all be on my To Do List. 

Hell, my Thai wife might also do quite well with a Thai Restaurant over there......

 

 

 

[Jingthing]

I forget to mention the Dominican Republic as another nation meeting my lower wealth / doable visa list. But I've been and the place kind of freaked me out, so that's out.

 

I found Costa Rica kind of boring, awful bland food, and word is it's gotten quite expensive. 

 

Lima, Peru, yes I've been. Fantastic amazing food. Kind of intense though. 

 

I just have a feeling I wouldn't like Panama, but you really never know until you go. 

 

On the double taxation, yeah I was looking into that in Colombia. I think there might be ways around that but yes definitely check that issue out if you're serious about it. At my wealth level it might not even be a big issue anyway. 

 

I could be wrong but I recall getting a long term resident visa for Uruguay would require a higher wealth level than the others on my loso list. Pot is legal though!

 

Then there is Chile. It's a first world country now so not the cheapest. They do have a more flexible visa qualification system. It's a case by case basis and they take WHERE in Chile you'll be living into account (as costs are very different depending). 

 

If you're looking for super cheap visa requirements in Latin America, Nicaragua is the place. 

Edited May 2, 2018 by Jingthing

[Airalee]

33 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Lima, Peru, yes I've been. Fantastic amazing food. Kind of intense though. 

 

On the double taxation, yeah I was looking into that in Colombia. I think there might be ways around that but yes definitely check that issue out if you're serious about it. At my wealth level it might not even be a big issue anyway. 

 

I could be wrong but I recall getting a long term resident visa for Uruguay would require a higher wealth level than the others on my loso list. Pot is legal though!

 

Then there is Chile. It's a first world country now so not the cheapest. They do have a more flexible visa qualification system. It's a case by case basis and they take WHERE in Chile you'll be living into account (as costs are very different depending). 

I haven’t been to Lima...what do you mean by “intense”?

 

I’ve read up a lot on Colombia.  US citizens are basically screwed with the taxation.  The first $1000/mo isn’t taxed, but it quickly rises to around 35%. The IRS and Colombia also “share information” so you can’t fudge your income down there.

 

Uruguay is actually very lenient even with their residency requirements.  Or you can just do continual 90 day border runs.  They won’t tax you, but if you want to buy a car or other “luxuries”, it will be far more expensive than Colombia so the tax situation is balanced out that way.  If you don’t want to buy a car then you save a ton and it becomes much more affordable.  Very gay friendly from what I’ve read.  I’m not gay but know you are so just thought I’d mention that.

 

Chile...from what I see, rent is outrageous there so any savings otherwise are eaten up by the cost of living.

 

if you want to search for rentals down there (S America), do your google search in Spanish as you’ll see the real prices.  The prices in places like Montevideo are more than double if you use an English website.

 

Here is the best site I know for condo rentals in Montevideo...

 

https://inmuebles.mercadolibre.com.uy/apartamentos/alquiler/montevideo/

Edited May 2, 2018 by Airalee

[Jingthing]

Anthony Bourdain is covering Uruguay this season with his travel food porn.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/travel/2018/05/01/explore-parts-unknown-uruguay-ron-1.cnn

I have only been on a day trip to Colonia so that doesn't really count. 

I'll check into that again but I have before and I recall finding things that turned me off. 

Will also check again on Colombia taxation. I don't recall it being quite as grim as you present it, but you're right, it's an important consideration. 

On the gay friendly thing, Nicaragua is very unfriendly. 

Edited May 2, 2018 by Jingthing

[Brunolem]

2 hours ago, poanoi said:

i'm so done with visa hassle, and i'd sooner be dead than cambodia,

i also totally refuse to live in a cold country yet again,

so for me its going to be some warm piece of land belonging to EU,

like caribbean or spain or something like that

Canaries islands, west of the African coast, belongs to Spain...direct cheap flights to everywhere in Europe...

[InMyShadow]

8 hours ago, strikingsunset said:

Taipei, Taiwan 90 day entry stamp on arrival, lovely gentle  polite people, wide availability of elegant educated females, affordable cost of living.

I could go on.

or you could just go? let me guess ..family and children stuck here right lol

[Brunolem]

2 hours ago, poanoi said:

yes, many of the islands belongs to NL & france, alas, its EU territory

Very expensive, everything imported.

Locals not especially friendly...lots of public workers looking at the clock...

Better try the independent islands...I had a fantastic time in Jamaica, but that was long ago, before globalization and the following invasion of tourists...

[Hummin]

Fortaleza Brasil best clima and 20% cheaper living than Hua Hin. 

 

A bit hazzel with the violence, but if you keep to surten places and areas in town, you will be fine, and never where gold and expensive shit. Cheap shit you just give away when asked, a old credit card, and cheap sunglasses and your fake rolex from Thailand. . 

 

A good Seaview appartment with big balcony first row to the beac 7 - 10 mill bath. 

[CG1 Blue]

2 hours ago, Mac98 said:

Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Nice people, international restaurants with $1 beer, visit Thailand a couple months a year. 

When I was in PP I couldn't wait to get out.  I've never been anywhere where the people so openly ask for money all the time. Even the tuk tuk driver from the airport spent the entire journey repeatedly telling me "you go to nice hotel, big tip for me"

Maybe I was unlucky, or maybe it has changed.

 

 

[Airalee]

23 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Anthony Bourdain is covering Uruguay this season with his travel food porn.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/travel/2018/05/01/explore-parts-unknown-uruguay-ron-1.cnn

I have only been on a day trip to Colonia so that doesn't really count. 

I'll check into that again but I have before and I recall finding things that turned me off. 

Will also check again on Colombia taxation. I don't recall it being quite as grim as you present it, but you're right, it's an important consideration. 

On the gay friendly thing, Nicaragua is very unfriendly. 

Oh...it’s grim.  And the penalties for not complying are BRUTAL!

 

https://home.kpmg.com/xx/en/home/insights/2011/12/colombia-income-tax.html

[dpcjsr]

I have had this discussion many times. The problem I face is the cost of living. The low col along with the many positives makes Thailand very hard to beat. Sometimes though Colombia sounds ok, too. Currently, I am in a great relationship with a Thai lady and am happy. If that ever changes I will seriously consider some place new.

[Lacessit]

4 hours ago, strikingsunset said:

i suggested taipei earlier - i don’t think there’s much difference in living costs overall these days- last year i was at a “Hash” in Taipei - all the girls: women looking for partners were called into the circle - 6 walked in !
Another issue in Taipei is the average salary is quite low - so it is possible to live a “ local style “ life affordable - i love the place - totally safe.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

If one was renting a studio apartment in an average condo there, what would be the monthly rental in US dollars?

[InMyShadow]

3 hours ago, Mac98 said:

Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Nice people, international restaurants with $1 beer, visit Thailand a couple months a year. 

 Na Trang, Vietnam. Named best beach resort city in the world for low-income retirees. Look it up.

 Panama. Retirees encouraged with generous allowances on bringing personal items into the country, tax breaks, and official discounts abound from air travel to entertainment. Excellent health care. Nightlife. U.S. dollar is official currency. English common. Downsides: it doesn't have Thailand's food or women.

 

Armpit of Asia full of 50 year old junkie expats. Great place to shoot up smack , you will never see a cop anywhere, totally lawless !!!