Was Thailand ever the number 1 country to retire to because its not now

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, lovethai123 said:

no food is inferior, what u like and dnt like , depends on what our parents fed us when we were little and also on our travels. 

 

Well not exactly.

There is widespread international consensus that some national cuisines are more wonderful. 

So that Ieaves others that are less wonderful. 

For example Colombian and Filipino. 

Obviously loved by its nationals but judged as less wonderful internationally. 

 

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by Jingthing

[lovethai123]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

For Americans the most popular has always been Mexico.

r u kidding, ?

 

i have seen videos of mexicans entering US illegally, so why wud reverse happen? for what? I understand a week's holiday. but settling there ? for what?   

 

 

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Mexico has too much fat/oil, heart attack territory. Refried beans, tacos, guacamole, spare me. Malaysia must have picked up how to stew food to death from the Brits, who did colonize them for some time.

Have you even been to Mexico because you sound very uninformed about their food.

For expats that live there the food is usually very high or tops on why they love it.

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, lovethai123 said:

r u kidding, ?

 

i have seen videos of mexicans entering US illegally, so why wud reverse happen? for what? I understand a week's holiday. but settling there ? for what?   

 

 

Not kidding at all.

[Lacessit]

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

This entire topic is flawed.

 Most popular retirement expat countries is obviously closely linked to the geographical location of the expat source countries.

 

For Americans the most popular has always been Mexico.

 

For Brits Spain.

 

For Koreans the Phillipines. 

 

Etc.

No argument distance is a factor.

Koreans like Thailand as well, there's a condo complex and 29 hole golf course owned by them in Chiang Rai. Happy City.

[lovethai123]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

some national cuisines are more wonderful. 

 

For example Colombian and Filipino. 

 

 

 

I would love to eat filipino cuisine. They speak very good english. and u can talk to them about anything, watch YT vids with them too unlike the thai cuisine

 

had a colombian cuisine in walking street once, bit shy, had too much plastic inside and was overpriced, 

 

 

[lovethai123]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

Have you even been to Mexico because you sound very uninformed about their food.

For expats that live there the food is usually very high or tops on why they love it.

that sounds like an english food shop in pattaya to me

[lovethai123]

1 minute ago, Lacessit said:

No argument distance is a factor.

Koreans like Thailand as well, there's a condo complex and 29 hole golf course owned by them in Chiang Rai. Happy City.

Why no one likes cambodia?  ????????

 

300 usd and one yr visa, no further visits to i/o, travel as u please. 

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

Have you even been to Mexico because you sound very uninformed about their food.

For expats that live there the food is usually very high or tops on why they love it.

I've eaten Mexican food in Los Angeles, never been to Mexico.

[lovethai123]

Just now, Lacessit said:

I've eaten Mexican food in Los Angeles, never been to Mexico.

Did it come with a mexican topping? 

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, lovethai123 said:

that sounds like an english food shop in pattaya to me

I have no idea what you're talking about. 

[EricTh]

Most of the countries on the top of that list is actually just next to USA (like Mexico), so why aren't people going there?

[lovethai123]

Just now, Jingthing said:

I have no idea what you're talking about. 

i meant just like thais own english food shop. mexicans probably own american food shop cooked in american style, so americans can eat and be merry

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I've eaten Mexican food in Los Angeles, never been to Mexico.

OK. Sounds like you think its only about tacos and burritos when in reality that's just one aspect of their incredibly rich food culture.

[lovethai123]

1 minute ago, EricTh said:

Most of the countries on the top of that list is actually just next to USA (like Mexico), so why aren't people going there?

There is no country like Thailand. And you know why I am saying it. 

[Jingthing]

Just now, lovethai123 said:

i meant just like thais own english food shop. mexicans probably own american food shop cooked in american style, so americans can eat and be merry

I was talking about expats in Mexico eating Mexican food because its so wonderful there. 

[Jingthing]

I don't think Thailand was ever the top country to retire in internationally. However it was previously higher on the list. For reasons most of us know it has dropped rank on lists or even fallen off them.

[Pro1Expat]

Thailand is as good or as bad, as cheap or as expensive as you make it. It depends upon your life style and what you work as. Myself and my family who are Thai have a good life style but that is because I earn more than the Prime Minister of the UK. If you re on what I will call a regular salary of say Baht 50,000 a month then obviously you will have a different lifestyle.

As some posts have said Thailand used to be a lot cheaper but is now getting more expensive. This of course is true but it is also true for every country as it develops.

If you want the lifestyle of a gentry but have a low salary then you should also lower your expectations.

Edited January 21, 2021 by Pro1Expat

[Sametboy2019]

16 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Mexico has too much fat/oil, heart attack territory. Refried beans, tacos, guacamole, spare me. Malaysia must have picked up how to stew food to death from the Brits, who did colonize them for some time.

guacamole is very healthy. 

[Jingthing]

5 minutes ago, EricTh said:

Most of the countries on the top of that list is actually just next to USA (like Mexico), so why aren't people going there?

Right now internationally moves are down due to the pandemic. 

Mexico hasn't really closed though so lots of people have moved there even during this period.

[khunPer]

Just like the length of a rubber band, it's depending of your privileges, expectations, funds, nationality, and taxation.

 

Many Danes, for example, used to choose Spain and France, which is on the list, due to the Double Taxation Agreement, where Danish retirement pension where taxed locally, instead of the Worlds #1 income tax; weather, living costs and other factors came thereafter. It worked until 2013, when Denmark terminated the DTA, and retirement pension suddenly became double taxed, and not much left after paying the Worlds highest income tax plus another, even small, income tax...????

 

Portugal, also on the list, is popular at the moment, and also France again that has signed a new DTA, so retired folks are only taxed once, but that tax is high. For retirement pension pretty much same conditions as when retiring in Thailand, but the Thai DTA has other benefits, so when having additional income Thailand becoms (very) interesting from a taxation point of view....????

 

Why Thailand also is high of the list for some, which might be mainly Europeans that don't consider Latin America as an option, might be the usual items mentioned for retirement in Land-of-Smiles.

 

It's pretty individual in my view, but thanks for sharing the list, it's interesting inspiration.

 

I'm still happy about my choice...????

[Jingthing]

13 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Not for me, the oil in avocado plays hell with my bile duct sludge. On the banned list.

Authentic guac doesn't have any oil!

Avocados are healthy fat.

 

 

https://www.food.com/recipe/guacamole-real-authentic-mexican-quot-guac-quot-135048

 

[Lacessit]

17 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Authentic guac doesn't have any oil!

Avocados are healthy fat.

 

 

https://www.food.com/recipe/guacamole-real-authentic-mexican-quot-guac-quot-135048

 

Then explain to me why my GP in Australia has banned avocados in my diet. Or perhaps your medical credentials are better than his?

Guacamole is made with avocado. The distinction between fat and oil is a matter of melting point. A fat is solid at room temperature, an oil is liquid. They are both glycerol esters of long-chain fatty acids. Your post is self-contradictory.

[Montnoveau]

No indexes on Crime Rates in that article.

[kingdong]

I first visted the los 20 years ao and thought it was paradise on earth,now i see it as a dangerously polluted third world country with first world prices and aspirations,if i didn,t suffer from yellow fever i wouldn,t return.

[Iron Tongue]

On 1/19/2021 at 9:15 PM, Dale75 said:

I had always planned on retiring to India.

Cheap, fabulous food, English widely spoken and in the media, cricket is 24/7, it's a stable democracy and the people love the English.

Then I holidayed in Pattaya and everything changed.

Thailand doesn't come close to the above list but it does have women!

And that was the decider. Sad eh?

Been retired here now for 9 years with wife and child and it's fantastic.

Still miss those Indian curries though...................

 

If you lived in India, you'd never have to deal with Chinese tourist buses!

[lovethai123]

3 hours ago, Iron Tongue said:

 

If you lived in India, you'd never have to deal with Chinese tourist buses!

Major indian cities may have a traffic issue during rush hours, india is a crowded place, 

but a lot of westerners live in Goa and enjoy there lives.

[Thingamabob]

Thailand is as good as it gets. If I wasn't here I would aim for Costa Rica.

 

[Lacessit]

9 hours ago, andy said:

Say what now???  Ok, I can't comment on Colombia but...have you actually been to Malaysia or Mexico?  Give it a try.  Penang and Mexico City have some of the best food on the planet.  I regularly fantasize about Mexico City street food.

Been to Malaysia several times, Kuala Lumpur, Melacca, Cameron Highlands. Food was underwhelming, much prefer Thai food.

Closest I have been to Mexico is either San Diego or Houston, ate Mexican a couple of times, too oily for me. No wonder Mexicans seem to be fat.

[Pravda]

Thailand is great if you like Thailand