The best country for expats to relocate to has been named

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, World Traveller2 said:

Generally, it seems Buddhist and Muslim countries are safer. Co-incidence?

Thou jest!

Speaking as one that lived/ worked in Saudi one is always in peril from the mutawa, especially if a foreign woman. Pakistan seems a trifle difficult if one says the wrong thing in the wrong place.

I think Cambodia is Buddhist, but they spawned Pol Pot. Plenty of violence in LOS, but they tend to leave the farangs alone, unless con artists.

[thaibeachlovers]

15 hours ago, alyx said:

Well, you cannot compare Corfu, Mykonos or Santorini to Fethiye. It would be like comparing Miami, Florida  to Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Although Athens would not on your list, considering the choice you made, you would be surprised by the low cost of living. I spend more in Thailand than in Greece, by all means and I am referring to basics.

I doubt that 3 days worth of fried rice chicken for 50 baht can be bettered anywhere. Always depends on what one wants from life.

 

[World Traveller2]

1 minute ago, BE88 said:

Thanks for the information, I get up at 6 am already so it wouldn't be a big problem to wake up half an hour earlier, but it seems to me that you can't get a visa if you don't have a monthly income of $ 2500?

 

Here's the thing... It doesn't matter for all practical purposes. You can long-stay and just do a border run to Singapore or Thailand. Malaysia seems to be less sensitive to Cheap Charlie foreigner long-stayers than Thailand does.

 

Just one man's opinion, but my Muslim friend in Singapore thinks that his country (*not* Malaysia) will be a victim of Islamic terrorist attack before Malaysia does - because it supports USA.

 

I quite liked the schizophrenic society of Malaysia, where what is written and what is reality were a huge disconnect. I always thought Malaysia was more developed than Thailand, but now I think this is not correct. How many open sewers are there in Thailand?

 

Malays are very family friendly. The women can be gorgeous and I *hear* that KL has a robust P4P trade. I just found living upcountry very boring and lacked public transit. Turkey is much better to live in a small city or town.

[alyx]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I doubt that 3 days worth of fried rice chicken for 50 baht can be bettered anywhere. Always depends on what one wants from life.

 

Beg to differ…

Athens is way cheaper

and that from experience, as I spend  an equal amount of months between Thailand and Greece, and the rest in France, both countries not as a tourist 

you can have a basic meal or sandwiches for 1 to 2 euros (35/70 baht)

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Name a country that has 'human rights' as it's priority.  I left the USA, after they, and the rest of the 'good moral' countries joined in, and starting invading and occupying sovereign countries (Iraq & Afghan) for NO reason, simply because they could.  Killed, direct or indirectly about 1 million people and displaced even more millions.

Of course there was a reason, usually to do with money, but in that particular morass I'd have to delve into politics to explain further, and can't do that on here now.

 

IMO the war to come will make them seem like a Sunday school picnic.

[World Traveller2]

Just now, alyx said:

Beg to differ…

Athens is way cheaper

and that from experience, as I spend  an equal amount of months between Thailand and Greece, and the rest in France, both countries not as a tourist 

Isn't Athens polluted, the air I mean - worse than Bangkok? How have the economic troubles of Greece affected you personally?

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, alyx said:

Beg to differ…

Athens is way cheaper

and that from experience, as I spend  an equal amount of months between Thailand and Greece, and the rest in France, both countries not as a tourist 

Well, to each their own druthers, but after visiting southern Cyprus, nothing would convince me that living in Greece is a good idea.

[alyx]

4 minutes ago, World Traveller2 said:

Isn't Athens polluted, the air I mean - worse than Bangkok? How have the economic troubles of Greece affected you personally?

Sincerely I do not find Athens polluted and definitely no traffic jam Bangkok is impossible to from that pint of view
The crus has allowed me to purchase a flat at a more than reasonable price 

People are nice although lazy but great to stay there for a few months  .Not withstanding the fact that there are plenty of beaches around Athens 

[BE88]

1 hour ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Reading the posts in this thread I get the impression, that cost of living is the main point for to be named as the "best country".

If beer is cheap, human rights, the rule of law, freedom of speech, transparency do not matter and hardcore dictators like Erdoghan are ok.

According to that, North Korea could be the best country to retire, if the prices ar low enough.

Amazing.

If it was a hot country, why not?

 

What difference where do you live now?

 

[KhunLA]

9 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Of course there was a reason, usually to do with money, but in that particular morass I'd have to delve into politics to explain further, and can't do that on here now.

 

IMO the war to come will make them seem like a Sunday school picnic.

It's always about money ... the not so hidden agenda.  Sadly, the blind majority can't see it.

[alyx]

9 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Well, to each their own druthers, but after visiting southern Cyprus, nothing would convince me that living in Greece is a good idea.

I hesitated between Cyprus and Greece in 2016 to buy a flat but the prices from that point of view were triple the ones in Athens. Also too quiet for me in the wintertime. I live it during the summer though ( maybe too many youngsters though  : ) ) 

[World Traveller2]

I would love to hear from someone who has visited ( and ideally lived) in both parts of the island of Cypress. For example, can foreigners easily move back and forth?

 

If you are neither Orthodox nor Muslim (even technically) how does religion affect you, if at all?

 

I am secular, but outside of mainland SE Asia, I think I would miss the opportunity to start my day making merit by taking blessing from monks.

 

The thing about Muslim countries that gets to me is the non-differentation between secular and religious authorities from the time of the Messenger himself. So, with the exception of Dubai and Indonesia there is always someone who appears to be a religious nut (but is actually just following Al-Quran, Hadith and Sira) who wants to impose his views on religion on everybody else. Indonesia is delightfully secular and even Turkish society has a backlash from those who reject Erdogan and remind others about Ataturk's vision (dictator that he was). Malaysia forbids Shia Islam, Pakistan forbids reformist Ahmadi. Islamic politics *is a big deal* and I find it tiresome. Not exactly 'mai pen rai'.

 

So, I prefer to be somewhere where Islamic values and religion in general is irrelevant. Hard to find, as even Buddhist and Christian majority-countries have issues with jihadis. Then sub-Saharan African countries have the same plus their own Protestant and Catholic hardliners.

 

But I can't afford super-secular EU, which in some senses is even more at risk. Do I have to relocate to the South Pacific to get away from warring Abrahamic religions? Geez, even there religion is a problem for me - hyper-Christian, everything closed on Sunday, right?

[World Traveller2]

5 minutes ago, alyx said:

Sincerely I do not find Athens polluted and definitely no traffic jam Bangkok is impossible to from that pint of view
The crus has allowed me to purchase a flat at a more than reasonable price 

People are nice although lazy but great to stay there for a few months  .Not withstanding the fact that there are plenty of beaches around Athens 

I notice a lot of typos. I am constantly dealing with correcting typos on this forum and delays in typing (not on other forums). Is there a technical problem with ASEANNOW?

[simon43]

[quote]

But I can't afford EU....

[/quote]

 

I CAN afford the EU, but I am not so stupid as to pay the high costs for living in the EU... ????

[JustAnotherHun]

8 minutes ago, BE88 said:

If it was a hot country, why not?

 

What difference where do you live now?

 

Still a big difference imo. But not big enough for my taste and that's why I'm just waiting my son finishes school to leave.

[BE88]

1 minute ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Still a big difference imo. But not big enough for my taste and that's why I'm just waiting my son finishes school to leave.

You are not alone.

[KhunLA]

Affording to live anywhere, well, almost anywhere isn't  problem.  I just prefer to have a bit more jingle in the pocket after the bills are paid.  

 

Thailand's 'less taxes & cheap healthcare' makes that possible.  I find the rest of the cost of living here isn't that much cheaper.

[World Traveller2]

Just now, JustAnotherHun said:

Still a big difference imo. But not big enough for my taste and that's why I'm just waiting my son finishes school to leave.

You implicitly make a very important point. There is a huge difference between free-floaters like me and those who have roots such as property and/or family anywhere.

 

The only reason I don't expatriate is financial and health insurance. For both (maximum pension and safety net insurance) it is legally required that I spend 183 days in Canada.

 

If I get my act together and figure out a way to pay my own way and stop being at the tit of mother-State I can cut ties entirely. But I planned poorly and am lazy.

[BritManToo]

18 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

It's always about money ... the not so hidden agenda.  Sadly, the blind majority can't see it.

Almost everything in life is about money,

Where I live ........ about money.

The woman I live with ...... about money.

Where I eat, where I drink, where I holiday ........ about money.

[Henryford]

I would give NZ a wide berth with Jackboot Jacinda in charge.

[NanLaew]

On 12/14/2021 at 7:27 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

What's the point of such best of lists?

Like: what's the best car? What's the best computer? What's the best whatever?

Answer: It depends on what you are looking for. There is no such thing as "the best" for all of us.

It's obvious that our esteemed @ezzra is planning on moving on and is vicariously testing the waters right here.

[Guderian]

On an EVA flight back to London some years ago I got chatting and drinking a few beers at the galley with a English guy who was married to a Taiwanese Chinese and who had lived in Taipei for a number of years. His view on it was that the locals put up with foreigners, but it was usually clear enough that they didn't really want you there. At least here in Thailand, a certain section of the population is still grateful to receive some money from you for services rendered, even if the country as a whole doesn't really want you here (evidenced in my opinion by their lack of a formal retirement programme). In Taiwan, the people are as rich if not richer than most foreigners, so there's not even that small redeeming feature to life there, they're not much interested in your pounds, euros or dollars. If you fancy retiring to a safe, clean but sterile environment, then Taiwan might well be top of the list, but from what the guy told me about life there I'll stick to the grubby poorer places like Thailand and the Philippines, thank you.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Guderian said:

they're not much interested in your pounds, euros or dollars.

But they're probably interested in our warships helping to defend them against China.

[hotchilli]

On 12/14/2021 at 7:14 AM, ezzra said:

Top 10 countries for expats

1. Taiwan

2. Mexico

3. Costa Rica

4. Malaysia

5. Portugal

6. New Zealand

7. Australia

8.Ecuador

9. Canada

10. Vietnam

Not sure #1 Taiwan is a good choice at the moment..

China has swallowed and now controls Hong Kong, now it's eyes are definitely set on taking Taiwan.

If I left Thailand I would consider Vietnam or Philippines.

 

[gomangosteen]

3 hours ago, Henryford said:

I would give NZ a wide berth with Jackboot Jacinda in charge.

Care to explain?

 

I'm contracting there now till 4 Feb [Wellington].

The only restrictions applying are wearing a facemask, using their scan app when going to restaurants, cinemas etc.

Sports events, concerts  all going ahead.

47 COVID-19 deaths since April 2020. Over 90% double vaccinated [Pfizer]. I had my booster last month.

I won't mention the weather, a wet summer to date but won't blame JA for that.

I'll be happy to return to family in Thailand, however there's plenty of worse places to be in the world than NZ right now.

[thecyclist]

Why didn't exciting Myanmar make the cut :frequent military coups followed by riots, shootings, all-round action. The Pandemic brought under control by not testing. And they are working hard on the pollution expecting to be level with the big mango in terms of unbreathable air soon. 

[Grecian]

5 hours ago, World Traveller2 said:

Here's the thing... It doesn't matter for all practical purposes. You can long-stay and just do a border run to Singapore or Thailand. Malaysia seems to be less sensitive to Cheap Charlie foreigner long-stayers than Thailand does.

 

Just one man's opinion, but my Muslim friend in Singapore thinks that his country (*not* Malaysia) will be a victim of Islamic terrorist attack before Malaysia does - because it supports USA.

 

I quite liked the schizophrenic society of Malaysia, where what is written and what is reality were a huge disconnect. I always thought Malaysia was more developed than Thailand, but now I think this is not correct. How many open sewers are there in Thailand?

 

Malays are very family friendly. The women can be gorgeous and I *hear* that KL has a robust P4P trade. I just found living upcountry very boring and lacked public transit. Turkey is much better to live in a small city or town.

Arriving in Antalya in a couple of weeks. Your post on priorities could have been written by myself.

similar budget, veggie, probably similar age(53) 

Care to recommend any small city there? 

Turkish women a none starter?

[Tropposurfer]

On 12/14/2021 at 12:05 PM, Madgee said:

But not everything was perfect in Taiwan either, with Facebook user Joseph Nickalo saying: “I was surprised by how many businesses turn down a person simply because they don't want a foreigner. I guess they think we are too much trouble. I think that's illegal in the US so I just wasn't expecting it, but I get it I guess.”

 

You ain't in Texas now buddy! 

 

The quoting of something, from someone, without context seems to be a pointless exercise.

[zzaa09]

6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Thou jest!

Speaking as one that lived/ worked in Saudi one is always in peril from the mutawa, especially if a foreign woman. Pakistan seems a trifle difficult if one says the wrong thing in the wrong place.

I think Cambodia is Buddhist, but they spawned Pol Pot. Plenty of violence in LOS, but they tend to leave the farangs alone, unless con artists.

France and Catholicism spawned Pol Pot.

Nothing, whatsoever, Khmer or Buddhist about him. 

[World Traveller2]

29 minutes ago, zzaa09 said:

France and Catholicism spawned Pol Pot.

Nothing, whatsoever, Khmer or Buddhist about him. 

Sorborne (sp?) and Maoism from PRC to be precise