Thailand drops in ranking of best places for expats - but which country is number 1?

[fusion58]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Overall Taiwan was ranked as the best destination for expats due to the high quality of life, good personal finances and great working life. It ranked best in the world for affordable and high quality healthcare.

I like Taiwan, but there's no long stay visa options for retirees.

[wisperone]

1 hour ago, Fred31 said:

Hanoi or Hue maybe nicer

Not sure what one would do in Hue after a day or two.

[Catoni]

1 hour ago, WeekendRaider said:

Thailand wins hands down.  rural Thailand.  show me where I am wrong.  aside from having to acquire the lower diglossia, the pluses outweigh all comers even if you have plenty of money by western standards and can choose where to live such as maybe rural Vermont, places like that.

self sufficiency.  food.  self policing.  a sense that folks treat everyone as family, generally.  where the village takes care of just about everything.    

water.  we will be okay for consumption, even during more pervasive and intense ENSO conditions.  no journal literature I have seen is not optimistic overall for northern Thailand and maybe Issan too, in a general way versus the rest of the........ planet.  to top it off,  where I live the Thai government just announced a new reservoir.  and except for the klong in my village that is lower than the exit pipe that heads out to the paddy, in recent years many improvements.  

housing is DIY or local labor, and we are able to quickly adapt for Climate Change.  no ridiculous permits needed.  and doing projects to get ready for what will come soon enough is really important now.  in 2019.  it's getting real obvious.  Rosenfeld et. al. in February Science, Mandy Freund et. al in Nat Geosci May 2019 and that July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded, and 2019 was barely above a neutral ENSO condition.

the only serous minus is that the grid probably won't hold up in any kind of serious heat wave.  what was true for Chicago in 1995, New York City in 2019 and Texas in recent weeks is likely to also unfold anywhere else.  and in my village we drop down to 170 volts quite often and have almost daily blackouts.  that's now and notwithstanding it is a local political thing and merely a new transformer is needed, it doesn't ring very good.  but grid failures are a different thing entirely. in heatwaves they could last for days or weeks and today everyone uses electric water pumps.  and fans and water will be critical.  critical.  but this one for your own family situation obviously can be mitigated.  it's that it may be a larger issue for many other folks that it becomes the only warning light I see going forward, even if we face the worst situations quite readily such as a recurrence of the 2015-2016 ENSO.  but the Thai government has done quite a few projects where I live to prepare for most of that, just not how villages will power the water pumps that fill the towers.  solar of course.  

 

and one trap for the unwary (unread).  air con is not an answer.  get along without that one.  it is not a good thing to lean on at all.  we need to adopt to higher temperatures.  solar and batteries drop performance wise in 40 plus C temperatures.  and the other solutions are more resilient and helpful for surviving heat.  and to be ready for both dry heat waves and wet bulb ones.  different problems and different solutions.   but those can be covered... and we will need to do that almost anywhere you live even if The Woz is your neighbor down there in whatever that island is off of Australia.
   

      


 

 

Oh boy...here we go again..

 “...Climate Change..” 

“...hottest month ever recorded..”. 5555 

   “When you pay people to give you a predetermined desired result that you are looking for in order to push a politico-economic agenda, and their jobs and income depend on it, they are all too likely to tell you what you want to hear.”

 

[bristolgeoff]

I know many in cm who retired work hard did the right thing.they get good money in the pension.but with the visas renewal and other matters they are not happy some are moving with they feet some are sticking it out hoping it get better with the rates their money brings in.the government should look at the neighbours and see how they treat the expats and Visa requirements. Before it is too late and lose what they had.the glory days could return but they have lost alot.one friend had the money and decided to go back and live in Mexico.he is a yank but do not want to live in the us.maybe he hoped it get better but he moved on.

I know the retirement Visa needs 800k 400 married.u have to keep 400k in the bank and not spend it.many want to keep it in their money and transfer when needed and spend it in Thailand too.the work Visa was never easy and the rules around it were never easy.if u lived in the village married and u can not do anything to help the family if rice or food involved.u need a work Visa and u can  see the stories of some who did and got into trouble.

So they should open they eyes as maybe 15 yrs or longer was  their golden age.i still think Thailand has alot to offer but they are making it harder and people will stop going.i hope they realise sooner than later 

[rabas]

47 minutes ago, toenail said:

Taiwan with a “language barrier”-??? I find Thailand to be worse. Understand ably the further you get away from the capital city or in the rural area the locals  cannot speak English- but even in the tourist towns the English is limited.  I found the young generation in Taiwan more capable speaking English compared to Thais. -but the Taiwan youth want to learn English ( unlike the majority of Thai students.  But the education system is totally different along with the Taiwanese being more “high tec-savvy “ Most Thais only know about Youtube & Facebook.  Using their phones for research or  learning about world events is rare.)

 

Reuters would disagree, they recently singled out Thailand as a top adapter to online social media commerce. Everyone is my house has transitioned to buying online. One niece has started her own online live sales. Live sales are very popular. Have you seen some of the full length movies produced on hand phones by up country bumpkins? They beat Hollywood to the punch.  

 

[Tambs2020]

2 hours ago, Fred31 said:

Hanoi or Hue maybe nicer

Hanoi is good for some things and Hue for others... I really liked Hue,  so I reckon that would be my choice ????

[DrTuner]

10 minutes ago, fusion58 said:

I like Taiwan, but there's no long stay visa options for retirees.

My main problem with Taiwan is the threat from mainland China. So I've crossed it out.

[phantomfiddler]

"Thailand popular for those looking for love" ? You,ve got to be pulling my plonker ! Yearning to be cleaned out of your life savings, a definite YES !

[DrTuner]

Just now, phantomfiddler said:

"Thailand popular for those looking for love" ? You,ve got to be pulling my plonker ! Yearning to be cleaned out of your life savings, a definite YES !

I think in translates "for those looking to get laid" in non-PC talk. Then it matches reality.

[yellowboat]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand still affordable and good for those looking for love

Yeah, that and a sick uncle who needs help baying his medical bills. 

 

Sorry, before the coup Thailand had hope and fun.  Now it has silly rules, boredom and a questionable future if you are Thai.  

[Tambs2020]

LOS... Is still good (as opposed to in the past being great)  If you choose to live on solely a pension with no superannuation topping you up,  then it's going to be a bit hard now! 

 

Saying that,  if you own your Home and grow your veggies and some fruit,  it's actually not as bad as some seem to say it is... If you choose to drink <deleted> all day and eat ham & cheese sandwiches, then your gonna have a <deleted> time!  

????

 

 

[Vacuum]

1 hour ago, Old Croc said:

I have trouble understanding how Italy is ranked second bottom, just below Nigeria.

Using to much hand signals whilst talking? It can offend a lot of people.

[Globe Trotter]

3 hours ago, 3421abc said:

Not surprised Thailand is just above Morocco. However I am surprised VIETNAM is NUMBER 2!!!!!!!!! My rental contract ends in mid February and I am seriously thinking of moving to HCMC. Great to see Vietnam rising to the top. I tried to move to Taiwan 2 yrs ago but visa was difficult and I am not a fan of earthquakes.

2 of my closest friends form back in the day, an English couple, have recently moved to Vietnam without ever having visited there before. They seem to be really enjoying it. Me personally, I would prefer live in a small-isn costal town, as I really don't like inner-city life these days 

[Tambs2020]

1 hour ago, DrTuner said:

I dunno. Give me a banjo and a shotgun and I might like Isaan.

Have you been up Issaan or are you just quoting what you have read? 

 

We are there and it's certainly not what you suggest... In fact the opposite...????

[Sonhia]

Why do people bother visiting Thailand? For Food? Temples? Abuse to childten and animals?Fraud?  Extortion? Racism...?

 

Ok, if like myself that have dependants, I can undetstand, but to be honest, if I had no dependants, I would not bother with the place at all!

 

Thailand is false, a rip off, too expensive, dangerous and polluted whereby foreigners are not welcome because of racism.

 

Lets be honest, Thai have changed far too much, no.more smiles, customer service is rubbush, the police extort from foreigners, where do I stop?

 

Thai can only blame themselves, for being far too greedy, egotistic and far too big headed plus arrogant.

 

Not all are bad, there are the very few Thai that do try, but they are in the minority.

[malibukid]

1 hour ago, toenail said:

Taiwan with a “language barrier”-??? I find Thailand to be worse. Understand ably the further you get away from the capital city or in the rural area the locals  cannot speak English- but even in the tourist towns the English is limited.  I found the young generation in Taiwan more capable speaking English compared to Thais. -but the Taiwan youth want to learn English ( unlike the majority of Thai students.  But the education system is totally different along with the Taiwanese being more “high tec-savvy “ Most Thais only know about Youtube & Facebook.  Using their phones for research or  learning about world events is rare.)

worse is that they are not interested in learning English like they are in Vietnam

[malibukid]

58 minutes ago, jumbo said:

Thailand is still no. 1.. for real expats that make some money and less attractive for pensioners on a few bucks... what's new???

 

no place to spend it in CM, lol. 

[justin case]

why is thailand even on the list

 

in most countries, when you married a local and live there, you get residency which let you stay without more bullcrap and no 90 day checks, no tm30 , no yearly begging & photocopy show

 

yeah yeah, don't let the door slam me on the way out...

[Emdog]

The survey was done by Internations. Did join and pay attention for a bit. Struck me as too much networking, on the hustle, go go go sort of org. Not the sort of people I want or need to associate with. I'm retired and I just find them tiresome. So sue me.

[DrTuner]

14 minutes ago, Tambs2020 said:

Have you been up Issaan or are you just quoting what you have read? 

 

We are there and it's certainly not what you suggest... In fact the opposite...????

I've spent about six months in total near Khon Kaen. Gets really, really boring and when you start doing projects to have something to do, you'll run into problems getting materials and competent help. I guess it'd be ok place to wait for death to come.

[rtco]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

survey carried out in 2018

That was way before TM30, govt hospital pricing and all the other xenophobic actions being taken by the so called democratic government ... probably go down a few more places the next time the survey is done 

[Bkkthebest]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand still affordable and good for those looking for love

What sort of love are they referring to?

[4MyEgo]

2 hours ago, WeekendRaider said:

Thailand wins hands down.  rural Thailand.  show me where I am wrong.  aside from having to acquire the lower diglossia, the pluses outweigh all comers even if you have plenty of money by western standards and can choose where to live such as maybe rural Vermont, places like that.

self sufficiency.  food.  self policing.  a sense that folks treat everyone as family, generally.  where the village takes care of just about everything.    

water.  we will be okay for consumption, even during more pervasive and intense ENSO conditions.  no journal literature I have seen is not optimistic overall for northern Thailand and maybe Issan too, in a general way versus the rest of the........ planet.  to top it off,  where I live the Thai government just announced a new reservoir.  and except for the klong in my village that is lower than the exit pipe that heads out to the paddy, in recent years many improvements.  

housing is DIY or local labor, and we are able to quickly adapt for Climate Change.  no ridiculous permits needed.  and doing projects to get ready for what will come soon enough is really important now.  in 2019.  it's getting real obvious.  Rosenfeld et. al. in February Science, Mandy Freund et. al in Nat Geosci May 2019 and that July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded, and 2019 was barely above a neutral ENSO condition.

the only serous minus is that the grid probably won't hold up in any kind of serious heat wave.  what was true for Chicago in 1995, New York City in 2019 and Texas in recent weeks is likely to also unfold anywhere else.  and in my village we drop down to 170 volts quite often and have almost daily blackouts.  that's now and notwithstanding it is a local political thing and merely a new transformer is needed, it doesn't ring very good.  but grid failures are a different thing entirely. in heatwaves they could last for days or weeks and today everyone uses electric water pumps.  and fans and water will be critical.  critical.  but this one for your own family situation obviously can be mitigated.  it's that it may be a larger issue for many other folks that it becomes the only warning light I see going forward, even if we face the worst situations quite readily such as a recurrence of the 2015-2016 ENSO.  but the Thai government has done quite a few projects where I live to prepare for most of that, just not how villages will power the water pumps that fill the towers.  solar of course.  

 

and one trap for the unwary (unread).  air con is not an answer.  get along without that one.  it is not a good thing to lean on at all.  we need to adopt to higher temperatures.  solar and batteries drop performance wise in 40 plus C temperatures.  and the other solutions are more resilient and helpful for surviving heat.  and to be ready for both dry heat waves and wet bulb ones.  different problems and different solutions.   but those can be covered... and we will need to do that almost anywhere you live even if The Woz is your neighbor down there in whatever that island is off of Australia.
   

      


 

 

That island off of Australia you must be referring to is Tasmania.

 

A fairly good point, being in Isaan myself.

 

Blackouts are a pain, winds up, oh no, lighting, oh no, and when the power goes, usually an hour or two, sometimes 12 if a few power poles go over due to the soil being too wet...lol, then that means the internet goes with it, as does the fans etc etc etc, thought of getting a generator, have money but too confusing for me to understand, I am one of those guys, how much, ah, ok go ahead, but no one around here for cooee to put their hand up and I am reluctant to get a Thai to do it.

 

My biggest issue is the back burning, I mean doesn't it affect you, sure if you stay indoors till 10am and get back before 4pm you might breath in some fresh air, but early mornings, and after 4 all hell breaks loose, and I really feel for the kids that go to school, not a good thing to be standing there at assembly for 45 minutes listening to nothing and breathing that <deleted> in.

 

Villages do take care of themselves, well that depends if your mayor is proactive or just gambles all day long or sells underground lottery tickets, the local road potholes take forever to get fixed as well which can be a pain.

 

But overall, as you say, the cost of living is lower here in Thailand if you have money, return to Oz for example and you will need a $hit load of money to rent something for the family, let alone put all your $'s into purchasing a property again.

[Spock]

Where is Cambodia in the list?

[Pravda]

The baht will start dropping once every expat moves out of Thailand.

 

That's why I am staying put.

[wisperone]

2 hours ago, Old Croc said:

I have trouble understanding how Italy is ranked second bottom, just below Nigeria.

I arrived in Italy couple days ago...doing recon for a place to stay at least part of the year. I am in a suburb of Milan at present. Will be moving around the north for a month.

 

Air quality is great. Air Visual in Milan today is 10, the other day 2.

 

Taxi ride, meters, although I thought was quite pricey, but that was getting from the airport. Extensive train services to get all over the country efficiently and cheaply. Driver was safe and traffic was safe...never felt otherwise.

 

I am in a apartment so have been cooking for myself. Nice market in walking distance. Prices are great. Bought so much food the other day for only 11 Euros. Everything is marked pricing. Weigh your own fruits and vegetables and print a price sticker for the bag. I haven't eaten out yet, but will do once I start travelling around.

 

Wines so cheap..great selection costs around 2.5-3. Euros a bottle....larger bottles around 4+ Euros. Beer was also reasonable, but I forget the pricing. 

 

Lots of people all ages ride bicycles. I see this as a good sign,.. of being health conscious, exercise, enjoyment, environmentally helpful.

 

People...so far very friendly. Went into a bike store yesterday to inquire about renting a mountain bike. I think a older, late 60's couple own it. Neither spoke English, but a few google translate messages and set the stage for what I was looking for.  Few minutes later, I think the son came in, he spoke good English. We spoke for long time, he was very helpful on where to ride, suggestions, his nephew who is going to start college in the US, our families, etc etc. Very pleasant. He told me where I could buy maps at a "cycling bar" , but then offered to give me his maps, said he would drop them off at the bike store for me tomorrow (today), and I could get them anytime. I then asked him where I could get a sim card for my phone. He told me about a mall, I asked for directions and he said it was too far to walk. He told me to come back at 6pm and his nephew(the one heading to school in the US) would be working at the bike store then, but he would have him drive me to the mall and help me get the sim. Went to the store and the nephew was expecting me. We talked for awhile, and he took time to show me bike routes, trails, etc online. Drove me to the mall, got the sim..I wouldn't have been able to do it by myself, they didn't speak English, and the process isn't as simple as getting a sim in SEA where you just hand them the phone and 5 minutes later your on your way with phone working. Anyway, she explained to him what had to be done today to complete the process at home once the sim was working. I will go to the bike store today where he will complete the set up for me. He then drove me back to my apartment. Told me to feel free to contact him if I have any questions or problems while travelling around Italy. They all made me feel like family. They gave me so much of their time and I haven't even rented a bike yet...rainy today, so will tomorrow.

 

As a side note, I wanted to get a sim at the airport, but was too expensive...about $65 Euros for one month. I new cheaper was available, so decided to wait. I spent $30 at the sim store last night. Still pricey, but I know they offer deals now and then, so if living here, would be cheaper to purchase. Still cheaper than US, but more expensive than SEA.

 

So far so good. 

 

Oh..as another side note...since this is a country comparison thread... I went into several bike stores in Thailand, and it was like I didn't even exist. Staff didn't approach me...too busy talking with each other. In one store I just walked out after looking at merchandise for 10 minutes. Another one, I tried talking with, but they didn't seem interested in assisting. Talk about night and day comparison.

Edited September 6, 2019 by wisperone

[dcnx]

2 hours ago, WeekendRaider said:

Thailand wins hands down.  rural Thailand.  show me where I am wrong.  aside from having to acquire the lower diglossia, the pluses outweigh all comers even if you have plenty of money by western standards and can choose where to live such as maybe rural Vermont, places like that.

self sufficiency.  food.  self policing.  a sense that folks treat everyone as family, generally.  where the village takes care of just about everything.    

water.  we will be okay for consumption, even during more pervasive and intense ENSO conditions.  no journal literature I have seen is not optimistic overall for northern Thailand and maybe Issan too, in a general way versus the rest of the........ planet.  to top it off,  where I live the Thai government just announced a new reservoir.  and except for the klong in my village that is lower than the exit pipe that heads out to the paddy, in recent years many improvements.  

housing is DIY or local labor, and we are able to quickly adapt for Climate Change.  no ridiculous permits needed.  and doing projects to get ready for what will come soon enough is really important now.  in 2019.  it's getting real obvious.  Rosenfeld et. al. in February Science, Mandy Freund et. al in Nat Geosci May 2019 and that July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded, and 2019 was barely above a neutral ENSO condition.

the only serous minus is that the grid probably won't hold up in any kind of serious heat wave.  what was true for Chicago in 1995, New York City in 2019 and Texas in recent weeks is likely to also unfold anywhere else.  and in my village we drop down to 170 volts quite often and have almost daily blackouts.  that's now and notwithstanding it is a local political thing and merely a new transformer is needed, it doesn't ring very good.  but grid failures are a different thing entirely. in heatwaves they could last for days or weeks and today everyone uses electric water pumps.  and fans and water will be critical.  critical.  but this one for your own family situation obviously can be mitigated.  it's that it may be a larger issue for many other folks that it becomes the only warning light I see going forward, even if we face the worst situations quite readily such as a recurrence of the 2015-2016 ENSO.  but the Thai government has done quite a few projects where I live to prepare for most of that, just not how villages will power the water pumps that fill the towers.  solar of course.  

 

and one trap for the unwary (unread).  air con is not an answer.  get along without that one.  it is not a good thing to lean on at all.  we need to adopt to higher temperatures.  solar and batteries drop performance wise in 40 plus C temperatures.  and the other solutions are more resilient and helpful for surviving heat.  and to be ready for both dry heat waves and wet bulb ones.  different problems and different solutions.   but those can be covered... and we will need to do that almost anywhere you live even if The Woz is your neighbor down there in whatever that island is off of Australia.
   

      


 

 

You can live like a farm peasant or build a self sustainable home in any country. Thailand isn’t the only place where you can live in the middle of nowhere and be left alone.

[bbbbooboo]

Hmmm.... why would this be a surprise to anyone?

[Jimbo2014]

3 hours ago, 3421abc said:

Not surprised Thailand is just above Morocco. However I am surprised VIETNAM is NUMBER 2!!!!!!!!! My rental contract ends in mid February and I am seriously thinking of moving to HCMC. Great to see Vietnam rising to the top. I tried to move to Taiwan 2 yrs ago but visa was difficult and I am not a fan of earthquakes.

HCM is livable but expensive.  Hanoi and many other inland areas are unlivable, polluted, crowded.  Coast is nice in parts but the Chinese are starting to discover it!

[Destiny1990]

Sorry to say but no surprise at all.