It increasingly looks like part of my long term plans means waiting for Moderna/Pfizer vaccine availability in Chiangmai …

1 hour ago, kingstonkid said:

Looking at the way things are going in North America and Canada in particular I do not think I would  be any better off than I am here either health wise or financially.

My only benefit would be getting the Moderna/Pfizer shot quickly in the USA. But currently too expensive, along with the hassle of travel and return here to the family.

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

And lets not forget that most of us moved to Thailand because we didn't like it back home very much. Otherwise we would not have moved.

Just looking at the weather report from "home" is enough for me not to consider going back to that place.

 

I might well have retired in the US after my working life but … I wanted to be able to afford a working middle class standard of living. At home, I had visions of a rusting trailer in Florida or Arizona on my $2400.00 retirement budget ($1320.00 of that from SS). Quite comfortable here on my 65,000 baht a month.

My only alternative to living here in the jungle at the end of the road would be to return to the bourgeois paradise of Oz (Canberra! or Melbin). But the cost of reestablishing there would be monumental and I've spent my adult life there till 8 years ago so been there done that ...

 

How one copes with the negatives of Thailand depends greatly on personal circumstances including where you live. Here in Prasat the doings & misdoings of the guvamint leave us mostly untouched. We laugh, along with all the peasants, as Prayut et al stumble from pillar to post.

 

At 72 I live in the largest most comfortable house I've ever lived in with plenty of room to swing a cat & for all my books. We have a 2-rai block with trees and gardens growing, and 2-metre wall all round, very quiet. Blissful for me, and blissful for b/f who travels the 40km each day to the family farm.

 

I look forward (but not too soon ... 20 years?) to dying in my bed here, my Khmer family all round and the monks chanting (not too loud) outside.

Edited July 25, 20214 yr by mfd101

toast and coffee tomorrow morning, as usual.

I chose "remain," but I don't think it's going to get really bad.

 

IMO, Thailand's handled this crisis pretty well so far, and I already have my first vaccine shot (AZ). My province (Phetchabun) has been only lightly affected, and mostly then by people coming up here from Bangkok. The people here wear masks and obey all the rules in the big cities. Out in the rural areas where I live it's a little more loose, but there again, they have not been affected much at all.

 

I'm 75, and as far as I'm concerned, I'm here for the rest of my life.

Edited July 25, 20214 yr by billsmart

None of the above.  I will probably stay, but nothing is ever certain in this place.  

1 minute ago, billsmart said:

I chose "remain," but I don't think it's going to get really bad.

 

IMO, Thailand's handled this crises pretty well so far, and I already have my first vaccine shot (AZ). My province (Phetchabun) has been only lightly affected, and mostly then by people coming up here from Bangkok. The people here wear masks and obey all the rules in the big cities. Out in the rural areas where I live it's a little more loose, but there again, they have not been affected much at all.

 

I'm 75, and as far as I'm concerned, I'm here for the rest of my life.

lovely country people in Petchabun,,,

 

Beam me up Scotty... 

 

Just now, Doctor Tom said:

but nothing is ever certain in this place. 

where is it certain? - that would be boring - right?

2 minutes ago, billsmart said:

Thailand's handled this crisis pretty well so far

Really?  They have made a massive set of errors in the last 12 months, not least, not ordering vaccines until it was too late.  They started out well, but its been a dogs breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past year and its not over yet, not by a long way. 

1 minute ago, 1FinickyOne said:

where is it certain? - that would be boring - right?

right 

I’m no spring chicken, so my not-so-long-term plan is to return to the U.S. in order to spend the remainder of the fourth quarter near family and friends. I admit I originally came to Thailand for the split tail action, and, after sport <deleted> my way through the early years, I eventually settled down and married a nice (non-pro) girl. Mrs. Fusion is growing weary of the generalissimo and his clown car administration and is hankering for a change of scenery, so we plan to liquidate our Thai assets and ship out in a year or so. The corrupt/inept junta, the vaccine bungling, the onerous immigration policies and the general banana republic vibe have all simply helped cement my decision to move on.

 

Should have added one other option.

What's your long term plans when China reunifies Taiwan and SE Asia becomes a Chinese occupied territory? 

I'm pretty consistent in pointing out that Thais are short-sighted, but I don't see many students of Geo-politics on the forum other than knee-jerk visceral hatred for all things China and Russia which is naught but a reflection of their Western political programming.
Don't get me wrong.  There are plenty of Russians and Chinese who have a knee-jerk visceral hatred for all things Western based on their own country's political programming.  But if we all plan on moving into the future together it's probably a better idea to find our commonalities and work to get along.  Detente. 
And understand the realities of the One-China policy of the CCP.  Closing your eyes and ignoring it doesn't make it go away.

Edited July 25, 20214 yr by connda

1 minute ago, fusion58 said:

I’m no spring chicken, so my not-so-long-term plan is to return to the U.S. in order to spend the remainder of the fourth quarter near family and friends. I admit I originally came to Thailand for the split tail action, and, after sport <deleted> my way through the early years, I eventually settled down and married a nice (non-pro) girl. Mrs. Fusion is growing weary of the generalissimo and his clown car administration and is hankering for a change of scenery, so we plan to liquidate our Thai assets and ship out in a year or so. The corrupt/inept junta, the vaccine bungling, the onerous immigration policies and the general banana republic vibe have all simply helped cement my decision to move on.

 

You're lucky. If I went back to the UK, it would just be swapping one third world country for another. At least its warm here.

Yes.  As long as I have the means, health and availability of meeting girls 30 to 40 years younger then me I will remain here.

Probably like a few on here I have fully committed myself to living in Thailand wife family  ect

Nothing back in the UK  for me to return to 

Always remain positive for the future no matter what 

The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill, but, often, it's harder to chew.

 

The thought of going back to the "old country", for me, is the stuff of nightmares. I also remind myself that, after being gone for so long, the country, and the people, have moved on. Britain is definitely not

the country I grew up in. I, too, have moved on, of course, but my path and life experiences have been totally different to that of my peers who remained.

 

My nightmares take the form of a "bedsit" in Bradford. Probably extreme, but you get the picture.  I will fight tooth and nail to avoid spending the remainder of my life in such a situation, however tough it may be from time to time.

Edited July 25, 20214 yr by allanos
typo

2 hours ago, Hornell said:

Thailand is not the relatively easy retirement country it was 20 years ago and if i was considering retiring here now I would reject the idea.  Having said that,OP is right, many of us have a wife/partner, assets, etc here and have maybe burned most of our bridges at home, so regardless of the political or Covid situation here - both of which are pretty dire - I suspect most of us will stay put, simply because it is too difficult to do otherwise.

Tell us what country is easy to retire to compared to 20 years ago?

.Having just returned from Australia I can tell you im extremely happy to be back. The rent alone was killer 

, Thailand is perfectly fine if you're vaccinated

10 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Yes.  As long as I have the means, health and availability of meeting girls 30 to 40 years younger then me I will remain here.

Is that meeting girls naturally or paid for meetings ?

 

Short term more of the same. It seems the world is in state of continued upheaval that shows no signs of slowing down. 

 

I  keep a folder on potential countries, places to live. The long term G holds a Schengen area passport besides her Thai one. It would give an easier route if we did relocate there. Still she does not like the cold winters.  She feels the same about winters in the US too. I have fond memories of my city, but nostalgia for a past long gone & too expensive. Still an off chance we might build, family land on an island in the sound, if we had to. Meanwhile .... looks like all the horseradish in town has been bought out again, *%^# !  

I voted to stay.

 

I don’t worry at all for Covid and I don’t plan on taking a vaccine. It seems Europe has gone crazy and wants to force vaccines on people (see France, Portugal, more to follow soon I’m sure).

 

The weather in my country of origin sucks most of the time anyways. Healthcare for the elderly is going down the drain as well, immigration of people without any skills continues and there’s a housing shortage that will not be resolved in the next 20 years. Also climate hysteria.

I am also quite sure a huge economic crash is looming in Europe. 

I feel Thailand is a better place to stay. As far as I know BoT isn’t doing QE and I’m hoping Thailand will not force vaccines on people. I hope to safe a lot of money while working here and then perhaps once I am old and in need of help, maybe I could afford a nurse to help out every day in my own house. Seems a better way to go then to slowly detoriate in a home for the elderly. 

Left back in 2012 for professional growth reasons. Never looked back and don't regret it at all. In fact, I was surprised by how little I miss the place. Family moved back to Thailand in 2018 although now planning to move them to the UK in a couple of years because of uni etc.

 

See no long term future for the children in Thailand. They'll be so much better off in the UK re jobs and opportunities etc. 

 

Thailand is a backwater in the grand scheme. 

 

Nice enough to visit though, and to those that are retired and don't have to work I can see the benefits.

 

But ultimately the Thai people are just frogs in a coconut shell, as the saying goes. 

It's complicated but the option about assets was the closest answer for me.

1 hour ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

What is the grass like in Italy ?

I have heard that its a lovely shade of green 

It is impossible to explain if you don't love Italian cuisine and dishes and of course good wine and above all good living.

I forgot no racism against expatriates.

 

1 hour ago, Burma Bill said:

Thankyou for your comment and one of the main reasons I also departed Thailand, after almost 20 years, across the border to "hassle free" Cambodia where I have been happily living (without any ties) in Siem Reap for 1.5 years. As a former volunteer with the Thai Tourist Police, I could see the way practices were becoming very much pro military and anti true democracy - medieval in fact!!

Same as me!  I was a Thai Tourist Police volunteer in Bamgkok (1 year), Pattaya (1 year) and Phuket (8 years)

 

I always used to joke (sadly, it was probably true), that my role as a TPV was to protect foreign tourists from the Thai police!!

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

How about: I will stay here as long as I don't see any alternative which is a lot better than Thailand.

 

Obviously Thailand is far away from perfect. But we still have nice weather, many nice people, good food, lots of pretty girls, no hassle with police, low crime, and and and.

 

It seems many people see problems with immigration or with politics. Personally I think that is maybe 10% of what is important.

There is a lot about the government and politics in Thailand which I don't like. But does it affect my life? No, or very little. And looking at "home" and many other countries in this world it seems bad politicians exist almost everywhere.

And about visa and 90 days, etc. That needs a few hours every year. Who cares? 

Agree with everything you said...as for Immigration, even doing my retirement extension in a new province this year, Phuket, was a piece of delicious cake. And economically, politically, and social/culturally in the West, I'd never want to return to that...it's gotten infinitely worse in the twenty years I've been away.

3 minutes ago, BE88 said:

It is impossible to explain if you don't love Italian cuisine and dishes and of course good wine and above all good living.

I forgot no racism against expatriates.

 

What made you leave ?

6months Thailand, 6months England, that's the way it will be for the next 7years till my UK pension kicks in, I'd be daft not to my job gets me £30,000 for the 6 months I'm back in the UK, I've got everything I need here, nothing in UK except a job.

3 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

What made you leave ?

Return to a civilized country.

Just now, BE88 said:

Return to a civilized country.

No, what made you leave Italy in the first place ?