Retirement in Thailand for low and mid level budget expats -- is the party really over?

[BritManToo]

9 hours ago, LaosLover said:

Privilege is usually randomly distributed. Why aren't I better looking and stronger? Why wasn't I born into a non-white trash family? I demand a recount.

Why wasn't I born a white woman? ..............

Where I can pop a couple of kids and never have to work again, with a free house, free pension, free money and free sex whenever I want it. A life where I never have to work unless I feel like it.

[LaosLover]

I'd personally would prefer to be a thin Brit academic woman in simp-land, swatting away suitors and wallowing in my own sumptuous fatuity. 

 

[RJRS1301]

7 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Why wasn't I born a white woman? ..............

Where I can pop a couple of kids and never have to work again, with a free house, free pension, free money and free sex whenever I want it. A life where I never have to work unless I feel like it.

Along with a 50% chance of sexual abuse (25%) before age od 15 , harrassment, domestic violence, murder by spouse, poor supperannuation if working

 

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

Along with a 50% chance of sexual abuse (25%) before age od 15 , harrassment, domestic violence, murder by spouse, poor supperannuation if working

 

Sounds like BS to me, can't believe many women in the UK suffer any of that (except in their minds). But I'd certainly be happy to take the risk, gotta be better than having to work for everything I have.

Edited February 12, 2022 by BritManToo

[RJRS1301]

13 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Sounds like BS to me, can't believe many women in the UK suffer any of that (except in their minds). But I'd certainly be happy to take the risk, gotta be better than having to work for everything I have.

The surveyed and reported figures are  less than that, however researchers believe that as few as 1 in 10 assaults are reported and lot less harrassment cases reported. 

 

 We estimate that there are over 4.5 million adults in Great Britain who were sexually abused as children, and that a potential 1,117,000 children will be sexually abused before they are 15 years of age. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4084825/

However I have gone off topic. 

Edited February 12, 2022 by RJRS1301

[LaosLover]

The patriarchy is evil, but many men have also suffered at the hands of unjust women.

 

Def an empathy shortfall on one side of that equation.

[rumak]

12 hours ago, billd766 said:

I have just read the thread and said, as politely as I can,

 

What a load of spherical reproductive organs.

 

I have no idea who, where or how many expats she supposedly interviewed for those few pitiful comments but she wasted her time. She may just have sat in the dark corner of a bar somewhere and listened to only what she wanted to hear.

 

I don't think that would describe anyone that I know in the slightest.

haha   thank you.   i didn't bother reading even the "abstract" .....but i have now.  Jeeeez, i was not disappointed.    I am REALLY all for gender equality,   and am offering this lady a position mixing concrete with the Thaiyai females I know .   The crazy thing is.... these hard working women show much more life and enjoyment than the western counterparts sitting at a desk and mixing words for a living...... while sipping their lattes and munching on crescents.         I will with hold comments on the size and firmness of their respective derriers

[RichardColeman]

Think this thread rather relies on what you consider low to middle level income is.

 

I know many UK ex-pats living on just their state pension (say 30-33k) and life is getting harder for them every day. 

 

But I also consider myself low level income when sending about 61k a month. But, that more than adequately covers everything for me, the wife and our daughter, and we are still saving 13-15,000 a month.

 

Being only 57 my income is reliant on early uk company pension and rental income, but at 67, my income to Thailand should top 100k a month, and I would consider that mid level.

 

Expats here will continue but I fully expect them to drop (?) in large numbers over the next 20 years, yes they will be somewhat replaced but not in same numbers, especially if they start bringing in some nutty mandatory insurance forcing 80-100 year olds away.

[daveAustin]

17 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Dude.

You said nothing has changed.

I proved to you that you were utterly wrong.

So instead of being decent and saying yeah I was wrong you deflect to an attack on Americans.

I'm not playing your game.

He does that. He hates Brits too. Strange as most Dutch are alright, but you get the odd few who can’t stand the notion of being liberated by the evil ones lol. 

[BritManToo]

10 hours ago, PoodThaiMaiDai said:

Yes, only Americans have lied about this.

It amazes me the hate for Americans on these threads. 

Maybe if America ceased starting wars, there would be less hate directed at it.

Should I have called it 'peacekeeping operations in foreign countries' rather than wars?

Edited February 12, 2022 by BritManToo

[herfiehandbag]

20 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Not actually a journalist but .........

"Sarah Scuzzarello (PhD Lund University) is a Lecturer at the Department of Geography and a Research Fellow at the Sussex Centre for Migration Research (SCMR). Her research focuses mainly on 1. gender and transnationalism and 2. comparative politics of migration and integration."

Wishful thinking by a leading member of the sisterhood!

[Henryford]

19 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Real estate here only makes sense if you can buy at 40% off asking price, and there is potential for appreciation, which eliminates most condos. Nobody knows where this market is going. And with most properties, the numbers barely make sense. In the past, buying land and building bungalows to rent out to foreigners was a good money maker. But, those days seem to be long gone.

I think real estate is one of the inexpensive items here in Thailand, even at asking price. $100,000 for a nice condo or a 2-3 bed house. Or renting for $500 a month. Try getting that in a major European or US city.

[thaibeachlovers]

14 hours ago, sirineou said:

That's the privilege's of paying farang prices ????

I have no idea what she is talking about. How are we "enacting privilege " over the local people? I read the article a couple  of times trying to understand the point she is trying to make as  she meanders trough several issues. 

The truth of the mater is that it's not beneficial enough to justify the hassles of living here any more, and that there are other better options.  

April we are going to Greece, we will spend the summer there and while there we will look into moving our retirement base there.

No Immigration hustles, and I can buy into the Greek national health care system (rated 26th in the world) , reasonable cost of living,  and as an EU country easy access to the rest of the EU. 

A Real estate investment of EUR 250,000 required. for a Greek Golden Visa, We are going a different route. 

If that does not work out, we are going back to Florida. 

If Greece is not your cup of Tea , Portugal has a very reasonable  retirement policy , look into Portugal golden visa.

Point being that there are other better IMO options. 

 

The big drawback of any western country is that they are IMO too expensive ( poor people can't afford to live properly in NZ any more, so I don't understand how any not wealthy would be immigrants would even consider it ), and too boring. Eating in restaurants is not my idea of living the dream, and I've never been into getting drunk for fun.

If someone is wealthy, I don't believe that they can't live better in LOS than anywhere else on the planet, and I very much doubt that the rich have a problem with immigration.

[herfiehandbag]

20 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Not actually a journalist but .........

"Sarah Scuzzarello (PhD Lund University) is a Lecturer at the Department of Geography and a Research Fellow at the Sussex Centre for Migration Research (SCMR). Her research focuses mainly on 1. gender and transnationalism and 2. comparative politics of migration and integration."

I am pretty sure I saw her on "Mastermind" the other week!

 

Her specialist subject was "talking <deleted> to support preconceived notions"!

[thaibeachlovers]

22 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Maybe if America ceased starting wars, there would be less hate directed at it.

Should I have called it 'peacekeeping operations in foreign countries' rather than wars?

I always separate  American people from the US government. I found the Americans I knew to be very pleasant people, but when one is considering the US government I remember Chile 1973 and Nicaragua/ contras etc.

[Pravda]

10 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

 

 

OMG, no dishwasher?  How have you survived?

 

Thanks for your input regarding groceries. I'd just like to comment on this as I know it sounds like a first world problem.

 

The thing is we are in 2022 yet you still can't drink tap water in this country. In Serbia my parents had a dishwasher in our apartment unit in 1979. I understand that Thai condos are super small, but this is not even an option in so called "luxury condos". That also to a lesser degree includes a full size oven.  On the other side Thailand wants to bring wealthy tourists. Unless they pay upward of 45 million baht to stay in one of those ultra luxury condos to get amenities that were available as standard  in the communist country in the 1970's I don't see how will they achieve this goal. Especially since as soon as you step out of your ultra luxury condo it still screams 3rd world country.

 

Or maybe their target group is wealthy pensioners building houses in Issan? In that case we have next Dubai in the making 

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, RJRS1301 said:

Along with a 50% chance of sexual abuse (25%) before age od 15 , harrassment, domestic violence, murder by spouse, poor supperannuation if working

 

Link to a reputable source re the sexual abuse claim. IMO not true.

 

I don't know anyone that was subject to domestic violence, or murdered by spouse and if as high as you claim I'm sure I would. In NZ men and women get the same rate of pension, etc. I was paid exactly the same as females doing the same job there and in the UK.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, Pravda said:

 

Thanks for your input regarding groceries. I'd just like to comment on this as I know it sounds like a first world problem.

 

The thing is we are in 2022 yet you still can't drink tap water in this country. In Serbia my parents had a dishwasher in our apartment unit in 1979. I understand that Thai condos are super small, but this is not even an option in so called "luxury condos". That also to a lesser degree includes a full size oven.  On the other side Thailand wants to bring wealthy tourists. Unless they pay upward of 45 million baht to stay in one of those ultra luxury condos to get amenities that were available as standard  in the communist country in the 1970's I don't see how will they achieve this goal. Especially since as soon as you step out of your ultra luxury condo it still screams 3rd world country.

 

Or maybe their target group is wealthy pensioners building houses in Issan? In that case we have next Dubai in the making 

 

 

IMO any idea that the seriously rich would visit Thailand as tourists is something that will never be more than a dream for those that would profit from them.

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, Pravda said:

The thing is we are in 2022 yet you still can't drink tap water in this country.

I've been drinking the tap water in Chiang Mai for the past 9 years.

No problems at all, my PPM meter tells me it's better than the water I was drinking in the UK.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

I've been drinking the tap water in Chiang Mai for the past 9 years.

No problems at all, my PPM meter tells me it's better than the water I was drinking in the UK.

You drank water from the tap in the UK?

 

I only drank the water I got from the hospital that had been filtered. The tap water tasted vile.

 

Even now I only drink water that comes out of the ground on a farm- no added chemicals, and tastes great.

The stuff out of the tap stinks of chlorine, and they add fluoride for teeth. If I want to put fluoride in my body I'll buy it separately.

[BritManToo]

25 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

I am pretty sure I saw her on "Mastermind" the other week!

 

Her specialist subject was "talking <deleted> to support preconceived notions"!

The enemy of middle class feminists has always been older (35+) middle class white men.

They don't care about the privilege of the super rich, or the transgressions of the criminal poor, or the bad treatment of women by followers of Islam, they are only out to vilify and destroy middle class white men. It's a complete mystery to me, why they feel like that, it must be hard to live a life full of hate for the men you were biologically designed to mate with.

[Pravda]

11 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I've been drinking the tap water in Chiang Mai for the past 9 years.

No problems at all, my PPM meter tells me it's better than the water I was drinking in the UK.

 

PPM can't detect toxic metals

Edited February 12, 2022 by Pravda

[Fat is a type of crazy]

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

The enemy of middle class feminists has always been older (35+) middle class white men.

They don't care about the privilege of the super rich, or the transgressions of the criminal poor, or the bad treatment of women by followers of Islam, they are only out to vilify and destroy middle class white men. It's a complete mystery to me, why they feel like that, it must be hard to live a life full of hate for the men you were biologically designed to mate with.

Feminists have long stood up against the crimes of the poor, rich, and for Islam woman. They set up shelters for poor women abused by the criminal poor. They raise their voice about the treatment of staff, in the houses of the rich, and employees of business barons. They take action  to help women in muslim countries caught up in conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq. They do stuff. I don't think the modern feminist cares about 35 year old white males as much as you think. Feminists aren't all extreme. Some are just like for any ism. Talk to one.  They don't bite. 

Edited February 12, 2022 by Fat is a type of crazy

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

The enemy of middle class feminists has always been older (35+) middle class white men.

They don't care about the privilege of the super rich, or the transgressions of the criminal poor, or the bad treatment of women by followers of Islam, they are only out to vilify and destroy middle class white men. It's a complete mystery to me, why they feel like that, it must be hard to live a life full of hate for the men you were biologically designed to mate with.

I grew up watching ads on tv that made Mr Average out to be a complete loser. Watch enough and they probably think it's true, and no one likes a loser.

Also if you grow up thinking that your whole life is about marrying Prince Charming, and he turns out to be a frog, it must have a profound effect on your entire psyche. Rather than blaming themselves for believing in a myth, they turn their disappointment on the poor sucker they married and make his life a misery. My first partner used to tell me I was perfect ( at the start of our relationship ), but no one is, and the only direction from perfection is down.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

17 minutes ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

Feminists have long stood up against the crimes of the poor, rich, and for Islam woman. They set up shelters for poor women abused by the criminal poor. They raise their voice about the treatment of staff, in the houses of the rich, and employees of business barons. They take action  to help women in muslim countries caught up in conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq. They do stuff. I don't think the modern feminist cares about 35 year old white males as much as you think. Feminists aren't all extreme. Some are just like for any ism. Talk to one.  They don't bite. 

I obviously don't know any feminists then. No woman I know does any of that sort of thing. Perhaps feminists are women that live anywhere but where I have lived, and I've lived in a lot of places, and worked with hundreds if not thousands of women in my long nursing career. Not one of them ever said they were going to go help at the shelter for abused women, or similar.

 

Just thought of this-

perhaps I don't know any feminists because all the women I have known worked for a living. Feminists seem to be those that don't have real jobs or are married to men that support them so they have time to be out helping at shelters for abused women or suchlike.

Edited February 12, 2022 by thaibeachlovers

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Why wasn't I born a white woman? ..............

Where I can pop a couple of kids and never have to work again, with a free house, free pension, free money and free sex whenever I want it. A life where I never have to work unless I feel like it.

Agree for the most part, except if I was a woman I'd never get impregnated. I've seen too many births that were less than desirable to ever go through that myself. Perhaps I could adopt a couple instead, but would they give the free bees if I hadn't popped them out myself?

[Whale]

21 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Its obviously not only about Pattaya. Its about lower and mid level budget retired expats in Thailand in general.

As a retiree here for many years. I am relocating to Greece. My daughter bought a holiday place over there and I was shocked how beautiful the sea is and how cheap the cost of living was even compared to what I spend here. Seriously cheap for my lifestyle and I can visit other close countries without any long flights obviously). And as I am old I do consider the pains my kids will have securing their inheritance assets over here so I am selling up here. I have no interest in girly bars or the bar scene in general so I am off to be their "Harris" (like a Mae Baan looking after the place).

 

I really like Thailand still but when you get to. a certain age, your personal perspective can change. Its a pity greek seems harder to learn than Thai :+)

[EVENKEEL]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Maybe if America ceased starting wars, there would be less hate directed at it.

Should I have called it 'peacekeeping operations in foreign countries' rather than wars?

I'd bet most Americans would agree with you, oh not the hate part. I could give a fork about what people think. No, I mean sending out young men overseas to die for others.

[meechai]

Quote

 

The compulsory insurance net is slowly closing – howbeit with multiple loopholes for now –

whilst the assumption that third parties and visa agents will be able for all time to arrange

extensions of stay for those unable to fund themselves is speculative at best.

 

^^^From Article^^^

I said this a few years back when the US Consulate got wise to the BS claims of income & stopped providing the letter for Thai Imm

I knew next step was mandatory insurance & it is coming soon. Folks can claim what they want about self insure but it will not be allowed

Folks can claim they are not insurable at age xx but that is just Thai insurance...

Everyone can but International coverage that works well in Thailand & Thai Imm knows this.

Plan ahead as this is coming sure as sunrise

[thaibeachlovers]

7 minutes ago, Whale said:

As a retiree here for many years. I am relocating to Greece. My daughter bought a holiday place over there and I was shocked how beautiful the sea is and how cheap the cost of living was even compared to what I spend here. Seriously cheap for my lifestyle and I can visit other close countries without any long flights obviously). And as I am old I do consider the pains my kids will have securing their inheritance assets over here so I am selling up here. I have no interest in girly bars or the bar scene in general so I am off to be their "Harris" (like a Mae Baan looking after the place).

 

I really like Thailand still but when you get to. a certain age, your personal perspective can change. Its a pity greek seems harder to learn than Thai :+)

Is that NOW? If so, do you expect it to remain cheap after covid is over and things get back to some sort of normal?

Inflation is probably going to hit Greece just as it is hitting elsewhere. Prices are going mad in NZ, houses are unaffordable for any but the rich, and petrol goes up in price seemingly every time I go past a service station. Bad times are coming IMO.

 

Personally, I won't be making any life changing decisions till covid is well and truly over.