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

[JAZZDOG]

2 hours ago, Mac98 said:

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.

Spot on, lived and worked there a decade. Take all the issues you have with Thailand times 10 equals CR. Not so much the Ticos are bad people but more about the influx of gringos and their bad habits. Sound familiar?

[CG1 Blue]

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

I finally got to the Caribbean (Barbados) 2 years ago after longing to go there for as long as I can remember. There is some beautiful scenery there (like Thailand), and amazing beaches (like Thailand). Eating and drinking out was very expensive, and the locals were moody and quite rude. Also the food was stodgy and uninspiring.

As a place to stay long term, Thailand beats Barbados hands down.

 

[poanoi]

30 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

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...

but the reason i want to leave thailand is solely down to visa hassle & extortion,

it has to belong to EU or i got zero interest to be there, going through yet more

visa hassle & probably extortion too

[poanoi]

2 minutes ago, CG1 Blue said:

I finally got to the Caribbean (Barbados) 2 years ago after longing to go there for as long as I can remember. There is some beautiful scenery there (like Thailand), and amazing beaches (like Thailand). Eating and drinking out was very expensive, and the locals were moody and quite rude. Also the food was stodgy and uninspiring.

As a place to stay long term, Thailand beats Barbados hands down.

 

thailand visa has cost me 40k+ baht per year on an average,

that would eradicate whatever cost of living there is in caribbean,

and once there, or any other place belonging to a EU member,

i can never again be subject to visa extortion, i can plan long term economy etc,

like buying a condo, and most of all, no more fcn visa runs or extortion

[poanoi]

1 hour ago, verticalift said:

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......

 

 

 

in your opinion, what is the difference between caribbean & thailand ?

[CG1 Blue]

6 minutes ago, poanoi said:

thailand visa has cost me 40k+ baht per year on an average,

that would eradicate whatever cost of living there is in caribbean,

and once there, or any other place belonging to a EU member,

i can never again be subject to visa extortion, i can plan long term economy etc,

like buying a condo, and most of all, no more fcn visa runs or extortion

Fair enough. I would say somewhere like Tenerife is a better bet then. Well run, clean, friendly and great weather most of the year.

You could give the Caribbean a trial for a couple of weeks to see if you like it. That's if you can afford the extortionate hotel rates

[JAZZDOG]

40 minutes ago, Hummin said:

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. 

Built a beach house south of there in Salvador. If you black and poor living in a favela it's rough but where I live in Itapúa it is like S. Florida at half price. Bahianos are very warm, welcoming people. The food, music are fantastic. 

[Jingthing]

33 minutes ago, Airalee said:

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

There's a lot to digest there but it sounds like no tax at all up to 12,725 annually. That's close to a typical U.S. social security check.

As far as double taxation which you mentioned before, it seems not:

 

Quote

 

Relief for foreign taxes

Is there any Relief for Foreign Taxes in Colombia? For example, a foreign tax credit (FTC) system, double taxation treaties, and so on?

If a tax resident individual pays tax in another country, on income earned abroad (foreign source income), the amount of tax paid abroad may be deducted from the tax payable in Colombia, up to 100 percent of the tax payable in Colombia in respect of that income.

In addition, the tax credit is also capped to the 75% of the tax due that results from the calculation of the presumptive rent system. 

 

The 35 percent thing is about non-residents. Retired expats there would be residents. 

In any case, the gist of what you said is right, it's not the most tax advantageous country but it might not matter to lower income people. 

[Airalee]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

There's a lot to digest there but it sounds like no tax at all up to 12,725 annually. That's close to a typical U.S. social security check.

As far as double taxation which you mentioned before, it seems not:

 

The 35 percent thing is about non-residents. Retired expats there would be residents. 

In any case, the gist of what you said is right, it's not the most tax advantageous country but it might not matter to lower income people. 

The catch there is that there is a difference between “earned” and “unearned” income.  It is the tax on earned income that is deductible.

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, Airalee said:

The catch there is that there is a difference between “earned” and “unearned” income.  It is the tax on earned income that is deductible.

Honestly I'm so broke ass that I don't think this would be a problem for me! I've always said poverty has great tax advantages.

Question though, withdraws from U.S. IRA accounts are seen as income by the IRS. Is that classified as earned or unearned income? I would assume S.S. checks would be seen as earned. Unearned is like profits from stock sales. 

Edited May 2, 2018 by Jingthing

[55Jay]

2 minutes ago, JAZZDOG said:

Built a beach house south of there in Salvador. If you black and poor living in a favela it's rough but where I live in Itapúa it is like S. Florida at half price. Bahianos are very warm, welcoming people. The food, music are fantastic. 

Nice pad!   Are the wires on top of the normal fence electrically charged, or just a psychological barrier?

[Airalee]

5 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Honestly I'm so broke ass that I don't think this would be a problem for me! I've always said poverty has great tax advantages.

Question though, withdraws from U.S. IRA accounts are seen as income by the IRS. Is that classified as earned or unearned income? I would assume S.S. checks would be seen as earned. Unearned is like profits from stock sales. 

In Colombia, they break it down into 5 categories and the only one that appears to be deductible is income from labor.  So all the pensions, social security, dividends etc are basically unearned.  I remember reading about it on a couple different expat blogs one of which the guy was an accountant who worked in Colombia and was trying to give people a “heads up” with regards to the tax rape.  But...as you say...if your income is low enough, then you won’t get hit as bad.  It’s the people with the $5000/mo lifestyles that are kinda screwed.

[JAZZDOG]

2 minutes ago, 55Jay said:

Nice pad!   Are the wires on top of the normal fence electrically charged, or just a psychological barrier?

Wires are fired up. Rotty is 65KG and not happy with strangers but sleeps allot so I have little dogs as alarm clocks. Lived in allot of places where I felt less safe just because the police were a joke, not Salvador, lots of law enforcement. I also think that one needs to focus more on the demographic crime stats. A sixty year old man in Brazil has little need to fear. Just like Pattaya you have to go out of your way to way into a dangerous situation except of course driving which is my biggest complaint here.

[55Jay]

27 minutes ago, JAZZDOG said:

Wires are fired up. Rotty is 65KG and not happy with strangers but sleeps allot so I have little dogs as alarm clocks. Lived in allot of places where I felt less safe just because the police were a joke, not Salvador, lots of law enforcement. I also think that one needs to focus more on the demographic crime stats. A sixty year old man in Brazil has little need to fear. Just like Pattaya you have to go out of your way to way into a dangerous situation except of course driving which is my biggest complaint here.

 

Roger that!  It caught my eye ~  I'm an ex-physical security goon.  In the ME, locals use broken glass on top of their concrete walls.  Nice pics, thanks. 

Edited May 2, 2018 by 55Jay

[Hummin]

@JAZZDOG

What do you spend an avarage month all included? 

[Jingthing]

45 minutes ago, Airalee said:

In Colombia, they break it down into 5 categories and the only one that appears to be deductible is income from labor.  So all the pensions, social security, dividends etc are basically unearned.  I remember reading about it on a couple different expat blogs one of which the guy was an accountant who worked in Colombia and was trying to give people a “heads up” with regards to the tax rape.  But...as you say...if your income is low enough, then you won’t get hit as bad.  It’s the people with the $5000/mo lifestyles that are kinda screwed.

More than kind of.

I know that some countries tax people on global assets as well! Of course many people just don't tell them. Is Colombia one of those? 

[JAZZDOG]

1 minute ago, Hummin said:

@JAZZDOG

What do you spend an avarage month all included? 

Less than I do here in Pattaya but then again I own my house in Bahia. Food and beer is cheaper, eating out not so much. The house is pretty large and directly on the beach so upkeep is expensive but less than rent which for the same home here would be 100K baht. Just to be safe I bought a Ford Ranger 4x4 with the bullet proof option, popular there. All impact glass plus 1/4 inch steel plating inside the walls of the compartment. Works well in crashes. Never been fired upon or crashed yet. At the end of the day I spend about US$ 1800/month there. I spend about     US$ 2500/month here with rent @ 30K baht.

[Airalee]

Just now, Jingthing said:

More than kind of.

I know that some countries tax people on global assets as well! Of course many people just don't tell them. Is Colombia one of those? 

Columbia does have a “wealth tax”.  I didn’t look into that because I’m not that rich...lol.  They also will tax your inheritance from another country if you have residency status.

[Jingthing]

Even at my levels, Colombia taxation sounds a little annoying. If I ever get more serious about there, will need to do a lot of detailed research. If it's as bad as you presented, I'm surprised it's as popular as it is, which is in the earlier stages of expat interest. Crime and security definitely is a concern there even though clearly not nearly as bad as the drug cartel days fear mongerers might think. Too many downsides and why bother? 

Edited May 2, 2018 by Jingthing

[Airalee]

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

More than kind of.

I know that some countries tax people on global assets as well! Of course many people just don't tell them. Is Colombia one of those? 

I was really interested in Medellin too until I started digging into all of the tax stuff.  The rich guys are fine...they can afford the taxes (doesn’t mean they like them). Low budget probably ok too.  It’s the middle class that gets hit

[Airalee]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

Even at my levels, Colombia taxation sounds a little annoying. If I ever get more serious about there, will need to do a lot of detailed research. If it's as bad as you presented, I'm surprised it's as popular as it is, which is in the earlier stages of expat interest. 

I think it’s only popular on forums like this.  I couldn’t find much in the way of an expat (retirement) forum.  Most of the people blogging about it worked there. And when I would read an article about how inexpensive it was, it was usually by someone who probably visited, checked out the prices of real estate and restaurants but didn’t dive down into the nitty gritty

[Airalee]

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Even at my levels, Colombia taxation sounds a little annoying. If I ever get more serious about there, will need to do a lot of detailed research. If it's as bad as you presented, I'm surprised it's as popular as it is, which is in the earlier stages of expat interest. Crime and security definitely is a concern there even though clearly not nearly as bad as the drug cartel days fear mongerers might think. Too many downsides and why bother? 

Yeah...and also, from what I’ve read, they are a little bit anti-American for our drug policies and whatever involvement we got into down there back in those days.  I also read that it is an extremely taboo subject to bring up in conversation with a local.

[Jingthing]

I think someone asked why I said Lima, Peru was intense.

I meant like Mexico City intense but less so.

Massive high density population.

Lots of poverty.

Security always a concern.

Even in the very pleasant more prosperous neighborhood of Miraflores (great place), at cafes and restaurants you need to attach your bags to the furniture.

Going to most areas at night (by taxi) on the scary side. 

Oh, and the city beaches were filthy and foggy. The weather is really weird there. 

 

Edited May 2, 2018 by Jingthing

[Airalee]

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I think someone asked why I said Lima, Peru was intense.

I meant like Mexico City intense but less so.

Massive high density population.

Lots of poverty.

Security always a concern.

Even in the very pleasant more prosperous neighborhood of Miraflores (great place), you need to attach your bags to the furniture.

Oh, and the city beaches were filthy and foggy. The weather is really weird there. 

 

 

It was me who asked.  I know a guy from Lima who works where I live in LA who tells me that Miraflores is the place to live.  I checked out apartments online around down there and you really get more bang for the buck than Thailand.   He also told me about the constant fog.

[Airalee]

 You can also live in Paraguay for cheap...but from what I have read, it’s a real hellhole.

[swissie]

Not all retirees can affort to live in Monaco or Cannes. So, most end up in a so called "3rd world country".

But no matter where one ends up, the health (HEALTH INSURANCE) issue becomes a dominant factor. Private Insurance is very expensive and "Self-Insurance", only allowing for treatement in some Bamboo-Hospital ?????
---------------------
Other than that, for the last 6 months I have looked at potentional "Retirement-Countries" on a global scale, with all the many pro's and con's. Much to my own surprise, Thailand (still) came in as Number 1.
---------------------
As far as Europe is concerned, PORTUGAL is the only game left in town. Unless in the Sticks, rents are relatively high and prices for Condo's/Homes are hopelessely overpriced. Probably the reason that a good number of Retirees live in well-equipped Motor-Homes.
Cheers. 

[LomSak27]

Cleveland

It's everywhere you want to be.;

[Hummin]

@JAZZDOG

 

I spend about 1850 usd for two her in Hua Hin included 7000,- bath maintenence fee every month. 

 

Im going to have a appartment wherever I go, and not going to start building house. Im not built that way ;-) 

 

The drawback is the flights to Brazil, and the violence, especially when living outside city and in some areas. Bullit proof cars etc. It is a hazzel

Edited May 2, 2018 by Hummin

[Stargeezr]

I had a friend who used to go to Mexico and had thought of living there until he got shot

in the stomache.  Knew an Americaxn who had a business in Honduras, but he sold out

and is back in America, as things were getting more dangerous to live in Roatan. I have 3

friends who live in Thailand. Two own their own places, and if I were to live there I would

own a condo. Way cheaper than a house, and less investment to leave for the months away.

  My last friend rents, and likes the freedom of not having a lot of stuff to worry about

when he comes back to Canada for the Summer months. I have chatted with my Vietnamese

friends, and I do not think I want to do more than visit a few months at a time there

as well.

Geezer

[poanoi]

7 hours ago, swissie said:

Not all retirees can affort to live in Monaco or Cannes. So, most end up in a so called "3rd world country".

But no matter where one ends up, the health (HEALTH INSURANCE) issue becomes a dominant factor. Private Insurance is very expensive and "Self-Insurance", only allowing for treatement in some Bamboo-Hospital ?????
---------------------
Other than that, for the last 6 months I have looked at potentional "Retirement-Countries" on a global scale, with all the many pro's and con's. Much to my own surprise, Thailand (still) came in as Number 1.
---------------------
As far as Europe is concerned, PORTUGAL is the only game left in town. Unless in the Sticks, rents are relatively high and prices for Condo's/Homes are hopelessely overpriced. Probably the reason that a good number of Retirees live in well-equipped Motor-Homes.
Cheers. 

thanks for info, i see that compared, greece is about the same as portugal

thanks to portugal being expensive for condos

http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Greece/Portugal

https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/country/comparison/greece/portugal

 

also so this in expatistan link: antigua and barbuda in caribbean 9% cheaper than greece

https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/country/comparison/greece/antigua-and-barbuda

Edited May 3, 2018 by poanoi