Too old for Thailand?

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎5‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 1:04 PM, Dick Crank said:

or am I just dreaming and yearning for youth again and need to accept where I am and have the support structure in place? If I leave now it won't be easy to return again to my current situation here.

You are dreaming, unless you are really loaded. There are sod all facilities for disabled here, which is why wheelchairs are a rarity outside Walking St and shopping malls.

I won't be staying in LOS as I don't have the funds to pay for carers, and I want to get set up back in the homeland before I get too bad.

[Odysseus123]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

You are dreaming, unless you are really loaded. There are sod all facilities for disabled here, which is why wheelchairs are a rarity outside Walking St and shopping malls.

I won't be staying in LOS as I don't have the funds to pay for carers, and I want to get set up back in the homeland before I get too bad.

Yes.

 

That is how it was for me.

[Lacessit]

17 hours ago, The manic said:

I learned to cook when i was five. i make my own rice porridge or buy instant knorr jok for ten baht a packet but only eat it once a week. Walk 10000 peds a day run 5 k 3 times a week, swim for 20 to minutes a day . Fast two days a week and most days try to avoid breakfast. I try to make the first meal of the day after 16 hours including sleep. I am 64 and recognise I might get age related illness or become susceptible to falls and may require some kind of care formal or informal so there is some useful info on this site. I am eligible for UK NHS treatment but dread it. My good quality Company related medical insurance elapses soon and will need some decent insurance for both Thailand and surrounding countries for immediate needs and think of longer term care. My friend is 73 and susceptible to falls but his long time paid girlfriend acts as a carer and driver. 

I didn't say I couldn't cook. Why should I, if my GF is happy to do it instead?

You may find running those kind of distances in the next few years will have you developing ailments such as torn ligaments and osteoarthritis. Gentle exercise is better, and swimming is always good.

Once you hit 70 in Thailand, you will find medical insurance companies will want extortionate premiums, even assuming there are no pre-existing conditions. Then you have to decide whether to self-insure or retreat to the medical system in your home country.

[JLCrab]

In Thailand I live alone but I am certainly not lonely. If I moved back to the USA, I would be alone and lonely. Not interested, thank you.

[i claudius]

As was said before it is not so much of a problem if you have a supportive family.I have been married for over 20 years and am 100% certain my wife would look after me we can even live rent free in one of her sisters properties if things were really bad. It must be very frightening to be old and infirm with no one wether its here or back in your home country. But at least there the state would care for you.

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[JLCrab]

Personally I said that I live alone but I did not say that I was lonely -- just that my extended Thai network does not live with me. In fact the girlfriend does not live with me because I pay for her to have her own room in town so she can hang out with her friends and give me some peace and quiet.

 

I can't imagine having a Thai female with me round the clock -- 'twould drive me nuts. And I would not expect any Thai female in any kind of relationship with me to be a principal care giver. I would want professional help and I will gladly pay for it.

Edited May 8, 2018 by JLCrab

[mrwebb8825]

OP, my dad is 82 and thinking of moving here for retirement. He found this place  careresortchiangmai.com  and care over a month ago to check it out. He stayed for about 4 weeks and gave it some good reviews. (if you knew him you'd know those don't come lightly)

Anyway, might be an option to consider.

[Dick Crank]

I was in sihanoukville cambodia in my younger days at a guest house setup near victory hill beach. I asked about a room on the corner as I was considering a monthly stay.

 

they said an elderly guy just moved out who comes every year and stays in that same room. It's not clean they say but we goto view anyway. On the bed and floor were bloody cotton swabs I guess from this guy shooting up probably or could have been weeping sores I suppose.

 

any kind of mobility issue cambo ain't the place, figured that one out even in my younger days when I used to row.

[jayceenik]

On 5/6/2018 at 4:10 PM, keeniau96 said:

I am 78 and still in quite good shape and mobile. Have a wonderful Thai wife (Phuket native, has never ever been in a bar), married now 16 years and expecting more. She took very good care of her grandmother who lived with us until the old lady dies, and tells me she will do same for me, and I believe her. So my answer would be that you find a good Thai woman, maybe even marry her (not really necessary). Easier said than done, but they do exist, I know of goodly number of friends here who same. 

I'm an old senior still in very good shape.

Bought house, car, and land for TGF in Ubon. Sort of buying my retirement home with a GF carer.

She is a good homebody and all I need to do is walk the dog, go to the subdivision club pool, and get on the Internet.

My income has been cut drastically since the 2008 crisis but I still get a decent pension which I give her.

First met her freelancing at a Tipp Plaza beerbar on 2nd Road 8 years ago. She was 22 then.

We've had a steady relationship in Pattaya for the past 6 years until we moved to Ubon a year ago.

She wanted to be closer to her parents - a good honest family in a nearby village.

She says she'll take care of me when I'm no longer mobile. I hope to be gone before that.

She is to implement my Living Will if bad medical stuff happens to me (this will is very important for me).

She'll be my sole inheritor for all my saved $$$. Lawyer-drafted Last Wills.

No TBF in the background plotting my demise !!

 

Easy old age life. Beats those expensive and boring senior homes in Belgium !! 

 

[greenchair]

On 5/6/2018 at 2:52 PM, Dick Crank said:

How do you cope with necessities, cooking, daily tasks? Is it easy to hire assistants for that sort of thing and how much does that kind of help cost?

If you have plenty of money, you would be very well cared for. 

There are many retirement villages opening here. I think you buy the room, then pay around 16000 a month or something. Daily meals and health checks all provided. Look up retirement villages thailand. 

If you have money. 

If you don't. Stay where you are. 

[Ninni]

Getting old!

See it from tha bright side of life!?

If we get together like a collective we can help each other by " I can do this but not that" and the things we cannot mannege together we have to "rent some help from the outside"

I stay in Thailand 6 month, 6 mont in Denmark. I'm turning 66 in december 2018 and I'm still going strong.

Everything is possible!?

Just an idea!

Take care all of you!

Ninni?

[starfish]

17 hours ago, greenchair said:

If you have plenty of money, you would be very well cared for. 

There are many retirement villages opening here. I think you buy the room, then pay around 16000 a month or something. Daily meals and health checks all provided. Look up retirement villages thailand. 

If you have money. 

If you don't. Stay where you are. 

My problem is: Who looks after my money, when i´m to stupid for that ? Didn´t care to have children in my life.

 

 

Edited May 11, 2018 by starfish

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, Ninni said:

Getting old!

See it from tha bright side of life!?

If we get together like a collective we can help each other by " I can do this but not that" and the things we cannot mannege together we have to "rent some help from the outside"

I stay in Thailand 6 month, 6 mont in Denmark. I'm turning 66 in december 2018 and I'm still going strong.

Everything is possible!?

Just an idea!

Take care all of you!

Ninni?

66 was bliss. I was physically fine then. Now I'm not. It's all a one way slope and it's not going to ever get better.

Unless one has a wife that will actually look after one, one must be able to pay for carers, or face a miserable end.

[Jonah Tenner]

On 7.5.2018 at 3:06 PM, nanglong218 said:

I'm too bossy and in control to accept full time care.  When the time nears I'll have a plan.

As they say.........  old age is only for the brave.

As me then. I am 67 for one more month, and I have wondered about what it would be like to try to swim the Pacific when the time comes...

I'll probably never find out as I a planning on buying a Honda CB 650 X to explore Isaan...

[starfish]

26 minutes ago, Jonah Tenner said:

As me then. I am 67 for one more month, and I have wondered about what it would be like to try to swim the Pacific when the time comes...

I'll probably never find out as I a planning on buying a Honda CB 650 X to explore Isaan...

I´m a motocross guy, and can´t ever imagine not leaping off into air, what do i do ? I guess, what has to be done, has to be done by now.

[NancyL]

6 hours ago, starfish said:

My problem is: Who looks after my money, when i´m to stupid for that ? Didn´t care to have children in my life.

 

 

You should have a trusted friend or adviser who holds a Power of Attorney for you.  You can have an accident at any time that could render you unable to handle your money, yet bills need to be paid for your continuing care.

 

Countless expats have been turfed out of good care at private hospitals and sent to substandard care at gov't hospitals just because they maxed out their credit cards and no one knew how to access their funds to continue to pay for their medical care and they were in no shape to enlighten anyone.  Sometimes the result can be deadly.

[greenchair]

10 hours ago, starfish said:

My problem is: Who looks after my money, when i´m to stupid for that ? Didn´t care to have children in my life.

 

 

You must have a brother or sister or uncle that could oversee your funds. 

Or at the very least a couple of friends. 

I didn't have children, but was lucky enough to get a throw away kid when I was early 40s. He is now 12 and looks to have a great future. I'm hoping he might hang around a bit until I'm dead. 

[starfish]

7 hours ago, greenchair said:

You must have a brother or sister or uncle that could oversee your funds. 

Or at the very least a couple of friends. 

I didn't have children, but was lucky enough to get a throw away kid when I was early 40s. He is now 12 and looks to have a great future. I'm hoping he might hang around a bit until I'm dead. 

 I have a few bitcoins, distributed at 3 USB-Sticks, with instructions how to get them, and my love of my life knowing where they are, hope she doesn´t  before i´m dead.

I did hide them really good  .

 

 

Edited May 11, 2018 by starfish

[JLCrab]

11 hours ago, NancyL said:

<snip>

Countless expats have been turfed out of good care at private hospitals and sent to substandard care at gov't hospitals just because they maxed out their credit cards and no one knew how to access their funds to continue to pay for their medical care and they were in no shape to enlighten anyone.  Sometimes the result can be deadly.

The American Express Card -- Don't leave home without it (no max)

[greenchair]

2 hours ago, starfish said:

 I have a few bitcoins, distributed at 3 USB-Sticks, with instructions how to get them, and my love of my life knowing where they are, hope she doesn´t  before i´m dead.

I did hide them really good  .

 

 

I am 55, I feel the best about my future and happiest I have been in my entire life. 

But since I have read this article and posts, my thoughts of a wonderful future have gone. I have a house full of stuff. I heard a piece of good advice. Your loved ones don't want your stuff that you have collected over 20 years. It is a real burden for them to have to clear out. So over the next couple of years, I will throw out all my memories that I will not need when I'm dead. My plan is to make my death as troublesome free as I can for my son. If your girl is a newbie, then best to be wary, you might live long. But if she has been around awhile then she should know everything she needs to know in the event of your death. 

Make her burden troublesome free. 

[NancyL]

3 hours ago, JLCrab said:

The American Express Card -- Don't leave home without it (no max)

Many hospitals don't accept the American Express Card.

[NancyL]

2 hours ago, greenchair said:

I am 55, I feel the best about my future and happiest I have been in my entire life. 

But since I have read this article and posts, my thoughts of a wonderful future have gone. I have a house full of stuff. I heard a piece of good advice. Your loved ones don't want your stuff that you have collected over 20 years. It is a real burden for them to have to clear out. So over the next couple of years, I will throw out all my memories that I will not need when I'm dead. My plan is to make my death as troublesome free as I can for my son. If your girl is a newbie, then best to be wary, you might live long. But if she has been around awhile then she should know everything she needs to know in the event of your death. 

Make her burden troublesome free. 

Good point.  I've seen people unwilling to move to assisted living when they really should because they have a condo or house full of stuff that they just can't part with.  In truth much of that stuff could go with them to the assisted living place and there is help available for sorting through it.  Of course, if they go to sell things they'll discover even nice appliances and furniture are worth a small fraction of what they paid. No one is going to give you even half the price you paid for a four year old TV when there have been so many improvements in the past four years, for example.  

 

And it's even worse when someone should return to their home country and have acquired stuff here that they just can't part with.  Or worse yet, think their loved ones will be interest in, so they pay a fortune to have it shipped back.

 

Hubby and I came over here 10 years ago with just four large suitcases of stuff and had some boxes mailed from the U.S.  Since then we've bought a condo full of stuff, but it's all expendable.  Well, except maybe for the two cats.  Edit:  and my refrigerator.  Really love the refrigerator, but I could be convinced to give that up if I was no longer doing any cooking.

[starfish]

1 hour ago, greenchair said:

I am 55, I feel the best about my future and happiest I have been in my entire life. 

But since I have read this article and posts, my thoughts of a wonderful future have gone. I have a house full of stuff. I heard a piece of good advice. Your loved ones don't want your stuff that you have collected over 20 years. It is a real burden for them to have to clear out. So over the next couple of years, I will throw out all my memories that I will not need when I'm dead. My plan is to make my death as troublesome free as I can for my son. If your girl is a newbie, then best to be wary, you might live long. But if she has been around awhile then she should know everything she needs to know in the event of your death. 

Make her burden troublesome free. 

I will clean out my house, first thing in the morning, she doesn´t deserve anything worse, thats not a question, but an answer !

 

8 minutes ago, NancyL said:

Good point.  I've seen people unwilling to move to assisted living when they really should because they have a condo or house full of stuff that they just can't part with.  In truth much of that stuff could go with them to the assisted living place and there is help available for sorting through it.  Of course, if they go to sell things they'll discover even nice appliances and furniture are worth a small fraction of what they paid. No one is going to give you even half the price you paid for a four year old TV when there have been so many improvements in the past four years, for example.  

 

And it's even worse when someone should return to their home country and have acquired stuff here that they just can't part with.  Or worse yet, think their loved ones will be interest in, so they pay a fortune to have it shipped back.

 

Hubby and I came over here 10 years ago with just four large suitcases of stuff and had some boxes mailed from the U.S.  Since then we've bought a condo full of stuff, but it's all expendable.  Well, except maybe for the two cats.

NancyL you´re helpfull, thank you !

[JLCrab]

22 minutes ago, NancyL said:

Many hospitals don't accept the American Express Card.

You said  "turfed out of good care at private hospitals". Private hospitals. Many do. I have used mine several times. 

[NancyL]

6 minutes ago, JLCrab said:

You said  "turfed out of good care at private hospitals". Private hospitals. Many do. I have used mine several times. 

Good to check with your hospital of choice if they accept American Express before you get to the point that you may have to rely on it as your lifeline.

[JLCrab]

RamKamhaeng and Bangkok Group hospitals no problem

Quote

 

 

[watcharacters]

On 5/6/2018 at 1:20 PM, simoh1490 said:

I'm 68 and I've lived here for 16 years, I'm now starting to have mobility problems resulting from spinal damage and am looking ahead to my future, clearly, Thailand is not the place to be if you're wheelchair bound. As a consequence, I'm now looking to transition out over time spending less and less time here beginning this year.  There isn't much here by way of wheelchair friendly environments, the UK is much better but is far from perfect - given a choice between the two locations and being mobile versus static AND bored versus not so bored, I have to choose being mobile but perhaps slightly bored in the UK, boredom is, however, something a person can influence and control, much more so than mobility.. 

 

I agree with your post simoh1490.    I'd even go so far  in a strict sense to call thailand wheelchair unfriendly.      I marvel at those who are somehow able to navigate roads and shops in the country when there  is clearly little thought given to the needs of  mobility challenged people.

 

I've seen mobility access ramps that are so steep as to make me wonder  how anyone could push a wheelchair up the ramp.     I can only imagine the speed the wheelchair must have as it goes  down such a ramp.

[starfish]

5 minutes ago, JLCrab said:

RamKamhaeng and Bangkok Group hospitals no problem

 

Problem is, i have no American express

[JLCrab]

As you say, your problem.

[NancyL]

8 minutes ago, watcharacters said:

 

I agree with your post simoh1490.    I'd even go so far  in a strict sense to call thailand wheelchair unfriendly.      I marvel at those who are somehow able to navigate roads and shops in the country when there  is clearly little thought given to the needs of  mobility challenged people.

 

I've seen mobility access ramps that are so steep as to make me wonder  how anyone could push a wheelchair up the ramp.     I can only imagine the speed the wheelchair must have as it goes  down such a ramp.

Some of these steep ramps are in hospitals!  There's no way someone can deal with the ramps on their own, as a self-powered wheelchair.  Even an attendant has challenges.  The way to go down a steep ramp is backward, with the attendant using their body weight to stop the momentum of the wheelchair.  Fortunately, I've always found bystanders willing to help when I'm the attendant with someone in a wheelchair.