Returned to UK

[Pdavies99]

So I've returned to UK for health reasons in May 2018 and thought I would demonstrate how it went.

(So you can see what it might cost you)

 

Firstly though I lived in Pattaya for about 12 years, thoroughly enjoyed myself and traveled well, that's not to say that Thailand is perfect, far from it.    (Thailand is often dirty, unclean beaches, bad police, Racist in my opinion, double charging foreigners, poor Visa rules with cost, dangerous roads etc)

 

I moved to UK in May and rented from Airnb a flat for 4 weeks.

 

I purchased a nice 3 bedroom apartment at Hayling Island for £200k+ (one road from the beach!)

 

Costs initially:

Buy Home £200k

Property  / Contents Insurance Annually £300

Electric £40 monthly

Gas £40 monthly

Water £30 monthly

Local Taxes £1000+- annually

Sky TV / Internet £30 monthly

 

Car £20k

Car Tax £150 annually

Insurance £450 annually

 

Food choice fantastic, similar or lower prices than Thailand

Alcohol similar prices or slightly lower

Clothes better quality and lower prices in general

 

Free Healthcare / medicines etc and despite what some say, very good!

I declined OAP Free bus pass! (so get £50 Taxi credits annually)

 

So I hope this gives an indication of costs etc of moving to the UK.

 

Best Paul

 

 

Weather has been great, but winter will be here soon, time then for holidays.

 

 

Buy Car £20k

 

[moonseeker]

Wow. Not British, but says a lot your report and might apply to other nationalities too.  O wonder more and more are returning home or to alternative destinations. Best of luck. MS>

[oxforddon]

Glad it is going well. If I had 200 thousand quid then I guess I could live anywhere. Not sure I would return to the UK though as have no benefit entitlements there after living away for too long.

[johng]

You could have bought a (reasonable good)second hand car for 1000 ukp

[CH1961]

2 hours ago, Pdavies99 said:

Local Taxes £1000+- annually

1000+ tax for plenty of crime: https://crime-statistics.co.uk/postcode/po11 9ad

Horrible weather: https://www.bbc.com/weather/8299619

At place 26 (of 50) in Crap Towns, Pan Macmillan ?

 

No, thanks .. will stay in Pattaya ?

[Pdavies99]

4 hours ago, johng said:

You could have bought a (reasonable good)second hand car for 1000 ukp

Maybe but I wanted better?  I'm just trying to show what it costs in general to move back to the UK, many friends In Thailand have asked me, ok?

[NonthaburiBear]

(bad police, Racist in my opinion, double charging foreigners, poor Visa rules with cost, dangerous roads etc)

its happen in any part of the world.

i been travel on and off for 6 years. Twice a year and stay for a month on each visit as i work offshore. I dont knoww ho old are you.. i'm 30is and travel for business and visit my fan who study there.. i also have many local Thai friends, some bad and some are good..but hey "Bad Apples" are everywhere .  The world  you see is the world that you think..

But whatever your decission..im sure you'll be back..Best Of Luck mate!

Edited August 10, 2018 by NonthaburiBear

[Pdavies99]

2 hours ago, CH1961 said:

1000+ tax for plenty of crime: https://crime-statistics.co.uk/postcode/po11 9ad

Horrible weather: https://www.bbc.com/weather/8299619

At place 26 (of 50) in Crap Towns, Pan Macmillan ?

 

No, thanks .. will stay in Pattaya ?

Oh yes, I forgot Thailand is safe!!  Always someone to criticize.

 

I'm not trying to say the UK is great, but neither is Pattaya if you are in poor health!!

 

Anyways I hardly think the below chart give no concern, probably less than one week in Pattaya!

 

And as for your comments about Crap Towns, I see your list suggests Brighton, Liverpool, Winchester, London, Basingstoke etc are more crap, so I would not believe everything you read, according to adverts Thailand is safe and secure, and many polls say that as well Ha Ha!!

 

 

 

 

 

[Pdavies99]

2 minutes ago, NonthaburiBear said:

(bad police, Racist in my opinion, double charging foreigners, poor Visa rules with cost, dangerous roads etc)

its happen in any part of the world.

i been travel on and off for 6 years. Twice a year and stay for a month on each visit as i work offshore. I dont knoww ho old are you.. i'm 30is and travel for business and visit my fan who study there.. i also have many local Thai friends, some bad and some are good..but hey "Bad Apples" are everywhere .  The world  you see is the world that you think..

But whatever your decission..im sure you'll be back..Best Of Luck mate!

Of course I will come back for visits, its just a rip off if you become ill (in my opinion) And I'm 68 and wanting to stay well.

[NanLaew]

And no more annual extensions and 90-day reports either.

 

Heaven!

[Rc2702]

Can't believe the food pricing is the same. Yeah maybe you can get some chicken and mushroom pasties on a buy 2 packs for £3 job but last week I nearly ordered a small fish and chips and the price was £10.45. I cancelled it and opted for a save loyalty and chips for £5.50. Pricing on food is a joke and quality costs a lot compared to Thailand. 

[poohy]

11 minutes ago, Rc2702 said:

Can't believe the food pricing is the same. Yeah maybe you can get some chicken and mushroom pasties on a buy 2 packs for £3 job but last week I nearly ordered a small fish and chips and the price was £10.45. I cancelled it and opted for a save loyalty and chips for £5.50. Pricing on food is a joke and quality costs a lot compared to Thailand. 

Incorrect or maybe correct for your area

i have just returned  from UK (Dudley) alcohol cheap and better quality, food certainly cheaper   ( i am discounting  cheap street thai food 

A few examples

Fish n chips 5.00 GBP 

Beer 2.80 GBP

Indian 7.00 GBP

supermarket food and alcohol way way cheaper and superior 

[Moonlover]

10 hours ago, NonthaburiBear said:

The world  you see is the world that you think..

I like that. So, so true.

[wgdanson]

42 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

And no more annual extensions and 90-day reports either.

 

Heaven!

Annual extension = once a year. Plus 4 x 90 day reports. Not exactly hell

[Rimmer]

I think in order to get more exposure on this most interesting topic I will move it to

Home Country Forum

[sanemax]

14 hours ago, CH1961 said:

1000+ tax for plenty of crime: https://crime-statistics.co.uk/postcode/po11 9ad

Horrible weather: https://www.bbc.com/weather/8299619

At place 26 (of 50) in Crap Towns, Pan Macmillan ?

 

No, thanks .. will stay in Pattaya ?

................I dont think that he was inviting you to go and stay with him

[faraday]

Yea but, yea but...if there's no Brexit, the UK will fall apart.

 

 

And of course you can buy inexpensive & decent wine for alot less than 700 baht.

 

Used to live in Southsea an extremely long time ago.

 

What's Clarence Pier like now?

[Henricus]

``bad police, Racist in my opinion, double charging foreigners, poor Visa rules with cost``

 

It`s good that this is YOUR OPINION

 

Health Insurance is the same as everywhere if you don`t pay you don`t get nothing

Many people come to Thailand and think i don`t need insurance till something happens 

 

Visa rules are perfect in Thailand, if Europe and UK had the same rules 15 Years ago there was no problem there, and 1900 THB for people above 50 Years !!!!!!!!!! and don`t start talking about the 90 Days it`s nothing.

 

Food is always a problem wen you don`t adjust with local food and only want to eat YOUR food, sure it cost more to import.  

 

Safety nowadays is in every country a problem, not only in Thailand and i don`t want to say that in Thailand  everything is OK .    

 

 

[masuk]

I've had a similar experience, having to return to Oz for health reasons - heart and dental.  I had fantastic service in Chiang Mai for these services, but the declining rate of exchange and living on my pension became too great.

The 3 months of pollution each year got to me, and the dirt came into the house, and never sure what I was breathing.  

Reading of fish 'n chips, I had a slap-up feed last night - cost me $A8.00.  Medicines in CM needed for the heart problem were totalling $A135 a month compared to $A35.

Since my return, I've seen the doctor three times and had a tooth out, and denture repair due next week.  Cost is zero.   Weekday bus fares are free, train and tram concession fares.

My pension increased considerably on return, as the govt only pay base rate while we're enjoying overseas jaunts exceeding 6 weeks.

Mind you, I enjoyed Thailand, making friends of both Thais and expats, but never enchanted with pedestrians overlooked while new tunnels, highways, infrastructure for vehicles increased. 

Allow me one shot of the end of my street. 

[roo860]

Can't believe the food pricing is the same. Yeah maybe you can get some chicken and mushroom pasties on a buy 2 packs for £3 job but last week I nearly ordered a small fish and chips and the price was £10.45. I cancelled it and opted for a save loyalty and chips for £5.50. Pricing on food is a joke and quality costs a lot compared to Thailand. 

Did you order the fish and chips in Harrods???

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[peterb17]

OP

 

All quite interesting if all that concerns you is the cost of living .

 

You returned for health issues - and I hope you are OK , however personally I would much prefer the health care here ( with very comprehensive insurance ) over the NHS .

The concept of becoming a very elderly person in the UK would fill me with dread - shuffled off to a ghastly home - but better options in Thailand and respect for the elderly from most Thais . Wait a year for a new knee or hip? 

Safety -of course statistics can be frightening, but London is now the hub of scooter muggings ( 25000 last year) , acid attacks, murders, car theft, burglary etc . If you own a house with anything decent inside - triple deadlocks and monitored alarms - that is reality. I feel totally safe here .

And a worry about terrorism 

 

The motorways are almost grinding to a halt , I was astounded on a trip last year on the sheer number of vehicles . 

The cost of eating out is very high 

Running a car - very expensive.

 

The thought of months of freezing miserable weather !

 

Anyway thanks for your info - and good luck with your relocation. 

[natway09]

All sounds great if you have 15,000000 Bht in your pocket, Lucky man

[korkenzieher]

Spent several weeks back in Yorkshire over the summer, and fish and chips was of the order of £5. £7 for large. One of the things I see in the UK is the cost of eating out, and drinking has risen significantly. I think the problem here, largely, is the council / business rates, coupled with more home entertainment options. Fewer people go out to eat so it gets more expensive. Similar to Thailand in a way: business is down, so put up the prices - but the problem largely is the cost of doing business, rather than profiteering. Market stalls (many of whom now think they are entitled to be premium priced 'farmers' markets, are now so far ahead of supermarkets, that it isn't funny. But supermarket pricing is very cheap. There's a whole bunch of things - not just bread, cheese, wine - that I think the UK now is much cheaper. Thailand has gone up, and the exchange rate particularly to the pound has had a bad effect on disposable incomes for expats - but it makes the UK look pretty cheap, even if prices there have risen too.

[NonthaburiBear]

36 minutes ago, roo860 said:

Did you order the fish and chips in Harrods???

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

most of food on tourist market in London will cost around 6-10 quid for food,   living outskirt of London are more cheaper.

 

[Sprigger]

Just another NHS user, I’m sure the U.K. needs you like a kick in the nuts.

[Mbaki]

5 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Annual extension = once a year. Plus 4 x 90 day reports. Not exactly hell

I only do 3 x 90 day reports, the 4th is cancelled out by the annual extension ?

[natway09]

It will be interesting to hear from more expats returning home to the UK once the Brexit rubbish is sorted,

if it ever is. My thoughts are that the cost of living will rise dramatically, although I hope I am wrong but logic tells me so

[janclaes47]

Just now, Mbaki said:

I only do 3 x 90 day reports, the 4th is cancelled out by the annual extension ?

Annual extension doesn't replace a 90 day report.

[janclaes47]

4 minutes ago, Sprigger said:

Just another NHS user, I’m sure the U.K. needs you like a kick in the nuts.

Since the OP lived here only 12 year, I assume he has paid all his working life to have the right on NHS.

 

Back under your bridge you troll

[Mbaki]

2 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

Annual extension doesn't replace a 90 day report.

It does if you do your annual extension before the report is due ?