The wrong reasons to retire to Thailand?

[georgegeorgia]

We've all heard it before,a farang retiring to Thailand because he is not "happy" with his life in farangland, usually as some of us say he wont be happy in Thailand either.

 

Which draws me to the question,what are some of the wrong reasons to make that decision to sell up everything you own and retire to Thailand.

 

Yesterday I was talking to a work colleague who is only 50yo, he was depressed and telling me he is thinking of selling his house worth about 8 million baht in Australia and going off forever to Phuket where he holidays twice a year.

the reason, his 25yo son who he is close with is moving interstate to start a new career and he will have no other family ,ex wife lives hours away and is remarried,only one child,doesnt see his brothers and sisters,so the reason in reality,he is lonely.

can this all be fixed by him selling up and moving ?

what about the other reasons?     i guess financial reasons maybe a lot better reason to retire to Thailand than just someone doing it out of lonilessness ?

 

Because you CAN still be lonely in Thailand,even if its Pattaya ????

Edited May 19, 2020 by georgegeorgia

[UbonThani]

Retire with someone

[CharlieH]

Everyone needs someone(mostly). He stands a much better chance of finding someone to care about and who will care for him here than there.

Assuming he rents or chooses wisely or he'll learn a hard expensive lesson.

 

Its better than being cold and lonely.(mostly) ????????

 

 

[georgegeorgia]

So i discussed with him,is life for a 50yo going to be much more exciting everyday for him than going to work everyday in Sydney Australia?

is somehow selling all his assets about 10 million going to give a better life eg for him stopping the loneliness or depression.

the answer i believe is NO

I feel empathy for him but that is a wrong reason to "retire" even at his relatively young age especially with only 10 million baht to last him a lifetime and no house or job to go back to if suddenly he gets....lonely in Thailand too.

Edited May 19, 2020 by georgegeorgia

[ezzra]

Because to just mat this poor lovely Thai girl who gave you couple of good happy ending nights and you think to yourself, " now that i have tasted a glass of milk i wanna buy the whole cow" type of scenario...

[CharlieH]

5 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

So i discussed with him,is life for a 50yo going to be much more exciting everyday for him than going to work everyday in Sydney Australia?

is somehow selling all his assets about 10 million going to give a better life eg for him stopping the loneliness or depression.

the answer i believe is NO

I feel empathy for him but that is a wrong reason to "retire" even at his relatively young age especially with only 10 million baht to last him a lifetime

May be the guy just needs a "time out", get out if his routine, go relax and have some fun for awhile to "reset" his life and attitudes and get his priorities in order or even discover what they are !

 

[Ron jeremy]

Next guy in the food que? Or a swanny off the balcony? At 50? Little too young to make the jump.unless he has his <deleted> together and a good pension etc. Grass ain't always greener on the other side.guy hasn't been laid for years, lonely, comes to pattaya, meets his lovely, here we go again. I've seen very  very few people lead a productive retirement in Thailand at that age.

most spiral downhill . Don't sell up back home mate! The bright lights wear off quickly!

Edited May 19, 2020 by Ron jeremy

[eyup]

"Everyone needs someone(mostly)"

Wrong IMVHO!

Most of the sob stories I hear/know of/read about here, involve "someone".

To me the secret of success or more likely the secret of non failure is the opposite.

The ability to live on your own and be happy with your own company is far more likely to result in less misery.

Maybe not in some people's opinion complete happiness, but this lack of ability to be comfortable in your own skin/company and having to rely on the hope that someone else will bring you so called "happiness" is a false premise. Insecure at best?

As far as I know the only thing/animal that remains monogamous throughout is a swan.

We are not swans!

Retire, be happy in your own skin and, especially, over here you do not have to be lonely.

 

 

 

[baansgr]

Thailand is a great place to retire..easy visa extensions for over 50s, cheap as chips to eat at home, with internet keeping in touch and downloading TV is easy. Nirmall circumstances airports and travel anywhwre.If he keeps his senses and doesn't start building houses or buying land and gold for the fairer sex he'll be fine.

[Kadilo]

“Because you CAN still be lonely in Thailand,even if its Pattaya “

 

Clearly. 
 

Good luck to him. What’s he got to lose? He ends up skint and enjoys the rest of his time on this planet or dies wondering bored out of his brains somewhere he dont want to be.  
 

 

 

 

[georgegeorgia]

5 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

May be the guy just needs a "time out", get out if his routine, go relax and have some fun for awhile to "reset" his life and attitudes and get his priorities in order or even discover what they are !

 

i agree however, i shudder to think that most ,? farangs are in his predicament eg divorced ,kids grown up,live by themselves,lead a boooring life,unable to meet girls for sex even company i guess,???? so look forward to their trips to Thailand and get lonely and depressed most times with their current lifestyle,that is going to a mundane job everyday, etc ,so sometimes,as in his case, think its far better to take that wrong plunge to thailand,because.....somehow life will be more exciting than it is now ?????

am i right?

Edited May 19, 2020 by georgegeorgia

[scubascuba3]

He could move to Thailand but having enough money and income is essential to last him a life time otherwise it will end in misery.

 

He already realises being lonely in Australia is no good. Just don't fall into the normal pitfalls in Thailand

 

 

[flyingtlger]

The grass is greener on the other side???

                         or

The grass is greener over the septic tank!!!

 

[cranki]

14 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

So i discussed with him,is life for a 50yo going to be much more exciting everyday for him than going to work everyday in Sydney Australia?

is somehow selling all his assets about 10 million going to give a better life eg for him stopping the loneliness or depression.

the answer i believe is NO

I feel empathy for him but that is a wrong reason to "retire" even at his relatively young age especially with only 10 million baht to last him a lifetime and no house or job to go back to if suddenly he gets....lonely in Thailand too.

He should go for it !!! 10 million baht will be more than enough (if he's sensible) to last him for 10 years.

[Grumpy one]

There is no simple answer to this

Each of us has decided to stay for different reasons

At the end of the day you can have a better lifestyle here if you can accept the fact

it is not your country

[Sujo]

Why not, but if i were him i would do long visits to other countries also and then chose which country he suits better.

 

Thats what i did and chose malaysia, though not retired.

[pineapple01]

8 Mill Aus wont get him anywhere here if hes 55.

[georgegeorgia]

6 minutes ago, Sujo said:

Why not, but if i were him i would do long visits to other countries also and then chose which country he suits better.

 

Thats what i did and chose malaysia, though not retired.

but are you lonely?  he is i guess more lonely than bored,i guess bored too but once his son goes off interstate he will be living by himself.

He is overweight etc so has problems meeting others

[georgegeorgia]

10 minutes ago, pineapple01 said:

8 Mill Aus wont get him anywhere here if hes 55.

he is 50/51 yo and his unit is worth about 500k australian around 10 million baht

i agree ,he should wait ,never sell everything up to look for a more "exciting" life somehow i doubt he will find that "exciting" life, and many many farangs think that dont they?

 

Edited May 19, 2020 by georgegeorgia

[finnsk]

Sometimes you need a break or a change in your life, to keep or to find the happy life again.

 

After many years in the "mousewheel", disapearing family, divorces etc . Many people make a change in the age of fifties, should they keep the boring life or should they make a new life ?

 

I think he is doing the right thing, he is missing/looking for quality in his life.

 

Many western man is getting tired of the western woman and are looking for something different from a dominating 150 pound masculine western "woman".

 

He has a good chance to find a good life partner in thailand if he is using his head and not only his d.ck

Edited May 19, 2020 by finnsk

[Ventenio]

the answer lies in your mind.

 

i would hope people come here to be better people, but it's usually the opposite since many sins are easily found.  

 

i've lost weight, got in better shape, won some competitions, kept savings, mind got stronger, and i'm eating healthier.

 

loneliness can EASILY be seen if living with other people.  The odds of you finding the right person in Thailand seems impossible, unless you are fluent in Thai or they are fluent in your language and you both have common interests.  

 

so it comes down to.....farangs want to go to Thailand and realize other farangs are worse off than they are and then they feel better.  it's funny when farangs come here and only complain about back home or other countries.  that's about as lonely as you can get.  

 

worst retirement ever is someone negative thinking LOS is LOS 

[stephenterry]

IMO, now is the wrong time to retire in Thailand. Especially for a lonely man who will be fleeced by a succession of Phuket women. I suggest he reads this first - and I wish I had the same information when I retired here. Now, I'm stuck for both family and financial reasons. 

 

https://internationalliving.com/the-best-places-to-retire/   

[JonnyF]

4 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

he is 50/51 yo and his unit is worth about 500k australian around 10 million baht

i agree ,he should wait ,never sell everything up to look for a more "exciting" life somehow i doubt he will find that "exciting" life, and many many farangs think that dont they?

 

He'd be better off renting his place in Australia out than selling it. At least for the first year or two, that way he can go back easily if he doesn't like it here. As we all know it's a lot different living here to coming for a 2 week holiday.

 

I'd hate to be stuck here watching my savings diminish with no property to fall back on in my home country.

 

[sanuk711]

50 y/o sounds a good age to retire...I was 52

 

When I retired, I took up meditation.

Think It beats sitting around doing nothing................................

[scubascuba3]

9 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

he is 50/51 yo and his unit is worth about 500k australian around 10 million baht

i agree ,he should wait ,never sell everything up to look for a more "exciting" life somehow i doubt he will find that "exciting" life, and many many farangs think that dont they?

 

Does that include retirement income\pension etc? if so, it's not enough. Do the sums

Edited May 19, 2020 by scubascuba3

[whiteman]

10 million - 800000 retirement visa say at spend 25k bhat a month to live = last 30 years if he has a company pension as well then he can spend more that 25k a month.

 

So go for it but if he can come here for say 3 months to start with and keep his job in ausy that is what I did came here 3 times for 3 months and then moved at 57 to here worked for me from 57 to 73 best years of my life.

[georgegeorgia]

3 minutes ago, stephenterry said:

IMO, now is the wrong time to retire in Thailand. Especially for a lonely man who will be fleeced by a succession of Phuket women. I suggest he reads this first - and I wish I had the same information when I retired here. Now, I'm stuck for both family and financial reasons. 

 

https://internationalliving.com/the-best-places-to-retire/   

Do you think you retired to thailand for the wrong reasons??

[bert bloggs]

after over 25 years of holiday here ,business here and living here ,i could not imagine living here alone, the lure of the bars and girls wanes in the end and you need real company ,i am married to a Thai ,have a grown up son here ,we lived in the UK then came back to live here ,its perfect ,,why? because i have a loving wife and a real home ,alone ,i would not be happy .

[worgeordie]

With 10 Million Baht ,he won't be lonely long in Thailand ......

go with it,but he has not got to go crazy with spending

his money,that can happen in the first year,when you

get carried away with it.

regards Worgeordie

[spidermike007]

This is an entirely subjective topic, of course. But some of us live very good lives here. Some of us have been fortunate enough to find an outstanding woman, who is delightful to be around, on a daily basis, always has our back, and is fun, smart, and lovely. For me, that likelihood of finding that back in the US, would be very low. So, that is a big factor for me. The second factor is just the quality of life. Sure, I miss alot of the culture back home. The theatre, independent film (which I can download here with no issues at all (a super fast 540mbps fiber optic connection, at under 500 baht per month!), stand up comedy, live jazz, fine wine, etc. But I have a lovely home that I rent, for about 10% of what I would pay in California, I live very well on an income which is not huge, have access to great health care, at a tiny fraction of what it costs in the US, and do not have to put up with alot of the aggravation that I had to when I lived back there. These days, I find a high percentage of the population in the bigger cities of the US to be dour, disappointed, bitter, disenfranchised, heavy hearted, and without humor. I would not want to move back there, unless I was either being paid a million dollars a year, or the situation was dire. Especially now that the US has become the pity of the planet, as the world center for Covid.

 

Sure, Thailand has changed. My first trip here was in 1976! It was so much different than now. The politics here are absolutely regressive. The army is horrendous. Will that ever improve? I think so. I think the youth will eventually oust them, as they are virtually useless to Thai society, with the exception of protecting the elite. those in power and the super wealthy. But alot of things here have improved since then. The infrastructure here is quite good. Sure they could use a high speed rail. That would be amazing. Hopefully it will happen. The whole world is different now. The whole planet is being affected by a greatly expanding population, inflation, environmental issues, politics, and congestion. So, we are going to experience some of that no matter where we are. All I know, is that every day I wake up, I am very glad to be here, very glad to be with the woman I am with, and thankful for my life. Would I feel the same way in the US? I seriously doubt it. Most of my friends back in the US, say they would trade positions with me, in a heartbeat, if they could. I believe them. And I feel for them. The quality of life where I came from is a pale shadow of what it used to be. No thanks. 

 

And what about the standard of living? It used to be cheap here. Has not been cheap for a long time. But, it is still reasonable. I know people who pay 10,000 baht a month for newer 3 bedroom houses in nice towns. In major cities in the US? $2000-4000 a month. That is 120,000 baht! In LA right now, new 80 sq. meter one bedroom apartments are renting for $3,750 a month! At least pre-covid. All of that may be changing. Expect an economic re-set. 

 

I had my motorbike seat recently redone on my scooter. 400 baht. A friend of mine had similar work done in the US. $275. 

I recently had a guy come over and insulate my ceiling. I bought the insulation and paid him 2000 baht for labor. In the US? $500 to $1,000.

I recently had an electrician do some work on the house. Nearly a full day of work. Paid him 1000 baht. In the US? $800 and up.

An oil change for my scooter costs me 200 baht, with Castrol oil. In the US? $40 to $75.

With my Major cinema card, as a senior I get to see movies for 90 baht. Another 60 baht for a drink and chips. In the US? $15 for the ticket, and $8 for popcorn and a drink. Insanity. 

When I travel here I stay in very nice four star hotels in Bangkok. 1800-2000 baht. In the US? $130 for a crappy motel. $200 and up for a nice room.

I eat well here. In a smaller town you can get a three course meal for 200-250 baht. In the US? 2000 baht and up, plus tax and a nearly mandatory 15% tip. I get more gratitude here for a 20 baht tip, than I do in the US, for a $20 tip!

I visit the emergency room here to visit a specialist, and with x-rays I am out the door for 2000 baht, at a private hospital. In the US? $300-$3000.

Friends of mine, who are single, enjoy the company of a young, beautiful woman for a couple of hours, for 2500 baht. In the US? $200 to $800 an hour now for a reasonably attractive woman, lots of shame, guilt, an attitude and a heavy heart. 

 

I could go on and on, all day long. I live at a level here, that I would never be able to live at, in the US, in most of Europe, in Oz, or Canada. 

Yes, the higher baht is an annoyance. And yes things are more expensive than they used to be. But, it is very relative.

 

There is one more consideration. No matter where we go, we still have to contend with ourselves, our attitude, our issues and our minds. So, some will always be seeking greener pastures. Nothing wrong with that. But, it does not insure fulfillment. 

Edited May 19, 2020 by spidermike007