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

[Brunolem]

12 hours ago, The manic said:

incredibly violent city not safe at night.

Not anymore...the mayor has confiscated all the knives, including the Swiss Army knives, and locked them in a drawer in his office!

Of course, there are still the brutish Brits roaming the streets, but they are progressively captured and sent to commit their crimes in Thailand (read TV daily news).

Soon, London will be a nice Middle Eastern paradise, similar to Beyrut or Brussels...

[MaeJoMTB]

25 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Then, Thailand may be attractive for tight budgets, but it depends where in Thailand...one can't live with the same budget in a village in Isaan or in Bangkok, very far from it...

Unless you've gone native, Pattaya is probably cheaper than an Issan village.

(for those of us living a western lifestyle without the need for hookers)

Edited May 5, 2018 by MaeJoMTB

[Brunolem]

5 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

Unless you've gone native, Pattaya is probably cheaper than an Issan village.

(for those of us living a western lifestyle without the need for hookers)

I have been living for years, both in Pattaya and in a village...have you?

 

What I spend in one month in the village, all included, would barely cover the cost of a modest rental in Pattaya!

Prices in supermarkets, like Lotus, are the same, but the big difference comes from the lack of temptations: in the village, there are no 7/11, no bars, no restaurants, no shops, no cinemas, so no way to spend money other than on food.

 

Living in Pattaya requires 3 to 4 times the budget needed in the village, at least as far as I am concerned...

[altcar bob]

Just now, Brunolem said:

I have been living for years, both in Pattaya and in a village...have you?

 

What I spend in one month in the village, all included, would barely cover the cost of a modest rental in Pattaya!

Prices in supermarkets, like Lotus, are the same, but the big difference comes from the lack of temptations: in the village, there are no 7/11, no bars, no restaurants, no shops, no cinemas, so no way to spend money other than on food.

 

Living in Pattaya requires 3 to 4 times the budget needed in the village, at least as far as I am concerned...

Long time dead

[MaeJoMTB]

16 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

I have been living for years, both in Pattaya and in a village...have you?

 

What I spend in one month in the village, all included, would barely cover the cost of a modest rental in Pattaya!

Prices in supermarkets, like Lotus, are the same, but the big difference comes from the lack of temptations: in the village, there are no 7/11, no bars, no restaurants, no shops, no cinemas, so no way to spend money other than on food.

 

Living in Pattaya requires 3 to 4 times the budget needed in the village, at least as far as I am concerned...

Presumably you (or someone paid) for the village home.

I'm betting it was more than the 2k/month for a similar room in Pattaya.

My wife's village near Lomsak in Petchabun is 15Km from the nearest 7/11.

 

As I said, for someone living a western lifestyle and not living as an Issan village idiot, Pattaya works out much cheaper.

Nobody forces you to pay for the cinema. 631bht/month internet replaces the need for any other entertainment.

Enjoy your barbecue pigs intestines and sticky rice, I ain't eating that shit.

Edited May 5, 2018 by MaeJoMTB

[Brunolem]

11 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

Presumably you (or someone paid) for the village home.

I'm betting it was more than the 2k/month for a similar room in Pattaya.

My wife's village near Lomsak in Petchabun is 15Km from the nearest 7/11.

 

As I said, for someone living a western lifestyle and not living as an Issan village idiot, Pattaya works out much cheaper.

Nobody forces you to pay for the cinema. 631bht/month internet replaces the need for any other entertainment.

Enjoy your barbecue pigs intestines and sticky rice, I ain't eating that shit.

The idiot is the one who speaks (patronizes) without knowing!

Makes one look like Boris Johnson...

 

What is a Western lifestyle?

How can Pattaya be much cheaper than an Isaan village? (It's like saying that Nice, on the French Cote d'Azur is much cheaper than a village in Normandy!)

Making a bold statement is not proof of anything...you have to come up with examples and numbers to make your point.

 

Otherwise, I doubt that I would have a 2 floor house with one rai of garden for 2,000 baht in Pattaya (the best city in the world for the roughly 100,000 Westerners who live there, and the worst for almost anyone else).

I didn't buy or build this house, even though I put a lot of work to improve it, something that may be considered as idiocy by those who prefer to enrich their minds drinking beer while inhaling the fresh emissions coming from the zillion cars roaming Pattaya's streets 24/7!

[Dibbler]

14 hours ago, torrzent said:

Colombo is terrible, but maybe you like Karachi as well?

Colombo is liveable and more interesting is that it is 2 hrs drive from the south coast and some of the best beaches in the Indian Ocean.  This is what it looks like.  Clean water, clean beaches and great surf!

[JAZZDOG]

30 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

The idiot is the one who speaks (patronizes) without knowing!

Makes one look like Boris Johnson...

 

What is a Western lifestyle?

How can Pattaya be much cheaper than an Isaan village? (It's like saying that Nice, on the French Cote d'Azur is much cheaper than a village in Normandy!)

Making a bold statement is not proof of anything...you have to come up with examples and numbers to make your point.

 

Otherwise, I doubt that I would have a 2 floor house with one rai of garden for 2,000 baht in Pattaya (the best city in the world for the roughly 100,000 Westerners who live there, and the worst for almost anyone else).

I didn't buy or build this house, even though I put a lot of work to improve it, something that may be considered as idiocy by those who prefer to enrich their minds drinking beer while inhaling the fresh emissions coming from the zillion cars roaming Pattaya's streets 24/7!

Making a bold statement is not proof of anything...you have to come up with examples and numbers to make your point. ....fresh emissions coming from the zillion cars roaming Pattaya's streets 24/7!

Is that a zillion as in how many people attended Trumps inauguration. Is using a fake number proof of anything, after all there is not even 1/10 of 1% of a zillion cars in the entire world.

[MaeJoMTB]

55 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

What is a Western lifestyle?

For a start, not having to eat chickens feet, raw minced meat and pigs intestines.

My wife's village you can't even buy lean pork, or chicken breasts, it's ALL nasty cuts of meat on sale that have been sitting in the sun on a fly blown market stall for a week, served by a lady who hasn't washed her hands since her last 'after sex' shower.

 

Western lifestyle IMHO is access to food that has a basic standard of hygiene, along with western toilets, heated water, high speed internet, large screen tv (optional) and air conditioning (essential).

Edited May 5, 2018 by MaeJoMTB

[Brunolem]

16 minutes ago, JAZZDOG said:

Making a bold statement is not proof of anything...you have to come up with examples and numbers to make your point. ....fresh emissions coming from the zillion cars roaming Pattaya's streets 24/7!

Is that a zillion as in how many people attended Trumps inauguration. Is using a fake number proof of anything, after all there is not even 1/10 of 1% of a zillion cars in the entire world.

A zillion is an "undetermined very large number".

How can you calculate 1/10 of 1% of an undetermined number?

[torrzent]

41 minutes ago, Dibbler said:

Colombo is liveable and more interesting is that it is 2 hrs drive from the south coast and some of the best beaches in the Indian Ocean.  This is what it looks like.  Clean water, clean beaches and great surf!

That 2 hour drive you describe is a poor quality white knuckle 2 lane road with high speed head on collisions on a regular basis.  The picture you provide does not portray Colombo but more likely Hikkaduwa.  The Colombo beachfront is more like this,

 

 

Edited May 5, 2018 by torrzent

[poanoi]

i spend money in a rapid pace when i live within striking range of go-go bars,

but i also once lived on the wrong way of sukumvit, 'the dark side',

boring like hell but i did save more money than ever before in my life,

since it was too far away from go-go

[Dibbler]

3 minutes ago, torrzent said:

That 2 hour drive you describe is a poor quality white knuckle 2 lane road with high speed head on collisions on a regular basis.  The picture you provide does not portray Colombo but more likely Hikkaduwa.  The Colombo beachfront is more like this,

 

 

Not now, there is a 4 lane major highway linking Colombo and the south coast. It's a fast road and I have driven it many times in the last year. Road was built with government money for post-war reparations.  I've not visited the slums you show photos of but that's not the coastline I am familiar with.  Looks like you just copied photos from the internet.  I could do that too but chose to use photos of my own. 

[torrzent]

2 minutes ago, Dibbler said:

Not now, there is a 4 lane major highway linking Colombo and the south coast. It's a fast road and I have driven it many times in the last year. Road was built with government money for post-war reparations.  I've not visited the slums you show photos of but that's not the coastline I am familiar with.  Looks like you just copied photos from the internet.  I could do that too but chose to use photos of my own. 

Thank you for confirming that my information was from an independent verifiable 3rd party and not subjective photoshop such as your own!

[Hummin]

I always wonder what the heck is with men sitting shoulder to shoulder looking at skinny girls dancing on the stage while they drinking beer? 

 

Much better to go to a decent club and have time to socialize with them instead. 

 

Maybe Im not man enough for that kind of style. 

[Brunolem]

7 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

For a start, not having to eat chickens feet, raw minced meat and pigs intestines.

My wife's village you can't even buy lean pork, or chicken breasts, it's ALL nasty cuts of meat on sale that have been sitting in the sun on a fly blown market stall for a week, served by a lady who hasn't washed her hands since her last 'after sex' shower.

 

Western lifestyle IMHO is access to food that has a basic standard of hygiene, along with western toilets, heated water, high speed internet, large screen tv (optional) and air conditioning (essential).

OK then...

 

I have aircon, only in the bedroom and only at night...daytime is spent outside...

I have 3BB fiber optic internet for 700 baht per month.

I have a Samsung flat screen which I use only to watch whatever I download... I have a satelitte antena but don't watch TV.

I have a nice shower room with heated water, even though I often can't get the water cool enough to refresh myself, like now for example.

 

As for the food, I eat little meat, and never from the village.

The most expensive part of my food comes from the dairies (milk, yoghurts, butter...) I buy at the supermarket, because I want my son to eat enough calcium.

All in all, I think the cost of my food would be similar in Pattaya, the big difference, as I explained above, coming from the lack of temptations in the village...

One last thing: I drink only water, always have...at 5 baht for 19 liters, it can make a significant difference at the end of the month with those who enjoy drinking 3 beers, or more, a day... 

[Dibbler]

Just now, torrzent said:

Thank you for confirming that my information was from an independent verifiable 3rd party and not subjective photoshop such as your own!

I think perhaps you've not been to Sri Lanka recently, would that be correct Mr Google expert?  No photoshop required to show the natural beauty of Sri Lanka.  Attached more genuine photos from my recent trip to watch blue whales off the coast of Mirissa.  Incredible to watch these amazing animals just a few hours sail off the south coast.  From Colombo one can be out watching whales within half a day.  

[Brunolem]

5 minutes ago, Hummin said:

 

Much better to go to a decent club and have time to socialize with them instead. 

 

Socialize?

[Hummin]

3 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Socialize?

Well, I like to go to clubs, sit down, and talk with people, and prefer a good woman company I can share some time with, instead of sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers with a funny grin on their face. But those days is gone, and now enjoy one of them home instead. It was actually a good move if you ask me. 

Edited May 5, 2018 by Hummin

[Brunolem]

26 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Well, I like to go to clubs, sit down, and talk with people, and prefer a good woman company I can share some time with, instead of sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers with a funny grin on their face. But those days is gone, and now enjoy one of them home instead. It was actually a good move if you ask me. 

Same here...

[Dick Crank]

My answer to that question was it does not really matter where I go.

 

When I find myself complaining a lot or getting irritated I move to the closest country that's affordable for me and has at least a 3 month visa.

 

sounds like your in the same mental trap I was in needing it to be just one place. Home is where you find it and IMO it's never really going to be a permanent situation anywhere except your home country

 

anywhere is worth seeing at least once so you never really lose by travelling.

Edited May 5, 2018 by Dick Crank

[Lacessit]

19 hours ago, torrzent said:

You seem to have an internet connection but are 5-10 years behind on current events?

I'm probably 5-10 years behind current events in Sri Lanka. I was not aware that was a capital crime. So update me if you know so much about it.

[grollies]

On 02/05/2018 at 11:35 AM, webfact said:

The Decision is not Straightforward

Er, yes it is. My wife, having lived in the UK for 30 years, wished to retire back to Thailand.

 

Being my wife I made a promise to her to settle back here before she was 55.

 

Having visited Thailand for the previous 12 years I concluded this was a country I could also retire to.

 

So for me Dan it was quite straightforward, my wife is here, my dogs and cat are here, my Lanny is here and all my clothes are here. Why would I then want to relocate elsewhere?

 

Mind you, last year she did say she quite liked Spain .

 

Women eh?

Edited May 5, 2018 by grollies

[Rimmer]

An off topic post has been removed, Please stay on topic which is about:

 

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

[altcar bob]

YouTube  Kev in Thailand..but now in Spain   Pristine in his latest blog,utterly beautiful ,its cheap as well Mojaca,down Valencia way,looking on with envy.  He wants to sell up there,do not know why,because its Patts he wants to come back to

[Jingthing]

Looking into Uruguay again, I'm finding it really hard to find clear and definitely CURRENT information about what's specifically required and involved to achieve retired residency status. In fact, lots of very conflicting information. That's an advantage Thailand has with so many expats here (and the forum) you can really get very good and current information. Uruguay being a very small country, not so much.

 

[poanoi]

9 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Looking into Uruguay again, I'm finding it really hard to find clear and definitely CURRENT information about what's specifically required and involved to achieve retired residency status. In fact, lots of very conflicting information. That's an advantage Thailand has with so many expats here (and the forum) you can really get very good and current information. Uruguay being a very small country, not so much.

 

for me at least, if i'm going through the discomfort of moving,

its for the higher purpose of getting less discomfort in the long run,

such as absence of visa struggle.

i would focus on US territory in your case, at low cost and high temperature,

i dunno, maybe guam air force base, or some island chain in pacific between

new zealand & america, marianas or something

 

[Jingthing]

Uruguay does look quite attractive though and the residency seems possibly doable even with all the ambiguity. The main downside I see so far is that it may not be "cheap" enough compared to Ecuador and Nicaragua. I'm reading positive things about lower cost health care access there even if over 60 with preexisting conditions. Americans often forget that Medicare access is not free. Average lifetime out of pocket medical costs for people on Medicare are about 150,000 dollars. 

Edited May 5, 2018 by Jingthing

[Airalee]

35 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Looking into Uruguay again, I'm finding it really hard to find clear and definitely CURRENT information about what's specifically required and involved to achieve retired residency status. In fact, lots of very conflicting information. That's an advantage Thailand has with so many expats here (and the forum) you can really get very good and current information. Uruguay being a very small country, not so much.

 

Google “Uruguay rentista visa”

[JAZZDOG]

4 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I'm probably 5-10 years behind current events in Sri Lanka. I was not aware that was a capital crime. So update me if you know so much about it.

You shouldn't have ask him that, Mr Wiki Jr is fixin' to load you up on everything you have already seen first hand but got wrong. It's like looking into a crystal ball. It's not worth it, just agree and move on and nod your head slowly.