Big Decision: Which Asian country is ideal for foreign retirees?

[off road pat]

10 hours ago, Dustdevil said:

Hoi An might be nice to live in, although I personally haven't been there yet. Saigon--forget it. Extremely difficult getting around, and overcrowded.

Many beautiful places i could live in Vietnam,....been there many times.

[sawadee1947]

10 hours ago, ezzra said:

Israel? knowing Israel very well, life is not cheap there nor accommodations, other than excellent medical care retirees on a tight budget will not find Israel a reasonable place to live as well as Japan i think...

In my opinion Israel doesn't belong to Asia. Or did I miss Something?????

[off road pat]

10 hours ago, blazes said:

Retirement doesn't necessarily mean "for ever" in a country.  It could be 6 months here (in home country) and 6 months there (Asian country).  From that angle, the lack of visa hassles in places like Malaysia and Sri Lanka would seem major pluses.

Exactly what I do, 6 months in Europe (Summertime) and 6 months in Asia (European Winter time) !!!

 

[Muzzique]

Absolutely the Philippines. Forget the issues and problems of Thailand. Here life is heaven.

[Muzzique]

23 minutes ago, sawadee1947 said:

In my opinion Israel doesn't belong to Asia. Or did I miss Something?????

It's not in Europe either but it's in the Eurovision song contest. You have to think out of the box here.

[mrfill]

9 hours ago, NanaSomchai said:

Fake news you say? Let's look at the first paragraph of your linked articles then, shall we?

 

"HIV prevalence, sexual risk behaviours and HIV testing among female sex workers in three cities in Sri Lanka: Findings from respondent-driven sampling surveys"

 

Now let's add emphasis to it:

 

HIV prevalence, sexual risk behaviours and HIV testing among female sex workers in three cities in Sri Lanka: Findings from respondent-driven sampling surveys

 

You see that? Female sex workers, the statistics do not include MALE sex workers. This is why I did not link a source to my previous post because I legally cannot do so, male prostitution is supposedly "non existent" in Sri Lanka, which we all know is a load of BS, arguably because then again male sex workers are supposedly non existent as well.

 

Now should you compute the official female HIV rate with the officious male HIV rate (which by the way is through the roof) among heterosexual, bisexual and gay males, you end up with a staggering 8.54% HIV rate through it's population.

 

Not so "fake news" anymore, eh?

 

What do you mean that you cannot prove any of your 'facts'  because 'legally cannot do so'? That's tosh.

The reality is (as shown in my second link that you conveniently ignored), the HIV rate OVERALL is less than 1%.

 

Yes, yours is still fake news and worse, fake news backed up by not a single 'fact'.

[Capella]

10 hours ago, steven100 said:

Why  ?    Vietnam is better than the Philippines in my view.   Philippines is ok but their food leaves alot to be desired.

Agreed Philippine food is probably the worst in the region. Most of it is vile. It's why you see hardly any Philippine restaurants anywhere else. 

[PFMills]

9 hours ago, vandeventer said:

I'm with you on the food, when I spent 3 months at Clark Air Base in 1969 and when I went to town to see the girls and get something to eat, I hated the food but loved the girls.  Some things in life you never forget.

It’s probably not changed in the fifty  or years since you were there.

[Jingthing]

50 minutes ago, Muzzique said:

It's not in Europe either but it's in the Eurovision song contest. You have to think out of the box here.

Huh?

Yes Israel is in Asia.

Not Europe.

Being in Eurovision doesn't change the geography.

 

But Israel doesn't position itself as a retired expat destination any more than Singapore does.

Edited February 14, 2022 by Jingthing

[gejohesch]

8 hours ago, NanaSomchai said:

These destinations only lack one very important thing: WOMEN. No pay4play experience.

 

True, I think I mentioned women somewhere in my comments above. When it comes to looks and availability, it's difficult to beat Thailand, but not everyone has his / her mind set on women ????

[gejohesch]

6 hours ago, BayArea said:

Mexican food is among the best in the world, why do you think you can find a Mexican restaurant or cantina pretty much anywhere in the world? As far as their women goes,  they are second to none!

Sorry for not agreeing. Yes, food is great in Mexico, but it's also a matter of taste and I found it a bit on the repetitive side, I like it but on balance I prefer Asian food. As for women, I definitely do not find Mexican women that good looking, the ratio of overweight women (and men) is very high in Mexico, certainly more than in a number of Asian countries. Now, I love Mexico, it's one of the nicest countries to visit and maybe to stay, for sure.

[PhineusFreek]

11 hours ago, Dustdevil said:

Hoi An might be nice to live in, although I personally haven't been there yet. Saigon--forget it. Extremely difficult getting around, and overcrowded.

Have you even been there? I doubt it

[BritManToo]

8 hours ago, WinterGael said:

I have friends living in Mexico, Central America, and the Philippines who go on and on about how wonderful the people are and how well treated and helpful they are.  I can't say the sane.

Agree, everyone in the Philippines was very nice to me.

"Thankyou for shopping here sir"

"Have a nice trip sir", "Thankyou Boss"

 

So much nicer than 'farang' or 'you'.

[Nemises]

59 minutes ago, Muzzique said:

1 hour ago, sawadee1947 said:

 

It's not in Europe either but it's in the Eurovision song contest. 

Australia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest six times since their debut in 2015 and has been in the top ten four times. The country's best result in the contest is a second-place finish for in 2016. Australia also finished in the top ten in three of its other appearances in the contest, with finishing fifth in 2015, and finishing ninth in 2017 and 2019.

 

 

 

Edited February 14, 2022 by Nemises

[sawadee1947]

2 hours ago, Muzzique said:

It's not in Europe either but it's in the Eurovision song contest. You have to think out of the box here.

And you think because Israel is joining the singsing Festival it moves to Europe??? ...And the earth is flat?????

[sawadee1947]

1 hour ago, Nemises said:

Australia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest six times since their debut in 2015 and has been in the top ten four times. The country's best result in the contest is a second-place finish for in 2016. Australia also finished in the top ten in three of its other appearances in the contest, with finishing fifth in 2015, and finishing ninth in 2017 and 2019.

 

 

 

That is not an answer by far.

It was about why Israel is counted as an Asian country.

????

[sawadee1947]

1 hour ago, gejohesch said:

overweigh men

You love it because you succeded in the meantime?????

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, sawadee1947 said:

That is not an answer by far.

It was about why Israel is counted as an Asian country.

????

Actually it does.

In some cases Eurovision allows nations not in Europe.

[sawadee1947]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

Actually it does.

In some cases Eurovision allows nations not in Europe.

Do you have problems in reading??????

The UN does not count Israel neither an European  nor an Asian country.

What private Institutions or your neighbor are doing is not relevant,????

[Blumpie]

Where's China?  

All  kidding aside,

I'd pick Malaysia over any of them hands down.  Vietnam is a nice place to visit, and Laos has horrendous health care.  I wouldn't want to live in either.  And definitely not Indonesia.  

[simon43]

[quote]

In my opinion Israel doesn't belong to Asia. Or did I miss Something?

[/quote]

 

Yes - your geography lessons at school ???? 

 

Think about the boundaries of the 7 continents. Israel is on the landmass of Asia, not Europe, not Africa.

[OneMoreFarang]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

After making the decision to retire overseas

Was that a smart decision?

I came to Thailand when I was relative young and flexible. I work here, had time to learn the language, the way of life, and and and. And I will retire here.

How will a person who lived his whole life i.e. in Europe or America adapt to any other radically different country? Is it possible to adapt i.e. with age 65? Learn a new an very different language, different culture, etc.?

Yes, it is possible but for sure it is also very difficult.

I wouldn't recommend this to anybody who didn't spend an extended time here on holiday.

 

 

[Kalasin Jo]

15 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Laos is more of a retirement destination for "pioneers" but the Philippines has one of the most robust formal retired expat programs in the world, the SRRV, and has for a long time. 

And Laos is landlocked. Beautiful scenery though and friendly people, but not much English spoken. It's French colonial past means decent bread too. More of a place to visit than to retire IMHO.

[Jingthing]

4 minutes ago, sawadee1947 said:

Do you have problems in reading??????

The UN does not count Israel neither an European  nor an Asian country.

What private Institutions or your neighbor are doing is not relevant,????

One word:

GEOGRAPHY

 

 

[Old Nomad]

9 hours ago, BE88 said:

It seems to me that not many retirees have a monthly income of $ 2380 to take advantage of the mm2h visa

 

https://www.mm2h.com/requirements-to-qualify/

"The minimum monthly income required was raised from RM10,000 a month to RM40,000 and there was a major increase in the required Fixed Deposit to RM1 million."  The Sararwak My Secound Home programme might be an alternatvie.

[BangkokReady]

18 hours ago, webfact said:

Well according to International Living’s List, the top five countries in Asia to retire are Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam & Sri Lanka. 

Why include a country that you cannot retire to?

[TheScience]

Malaysia is now pretty much impossible.

 

Vietnam visas are headache.

 

Sri Lanka - nothing from what I understand.

 

**Indonesia is a hassle grubbing visa extensions. I think living on Bali and traveling for diving and snorkeling would be great. Healthcare sucks.

 

Depends much on one's age and interest.

 

Junk list imo

[moe666]

17 hours ago, RubbaJohnny said:

If starting again Japan, Israel or Indonesia

Japan is very hard to stay long term. Work permit good for 3 years when that expires you will be leaving unless your company extended your stay

[moe666]

27 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Was that a smart decision?

I came to Thailand when I was relative young and flexible. I work here, had time to learn the language, the way of life, and and and. And I will retire here.

How will a person who lived his whole life i.e. in Europe or America adapt to any other radically different country? Is it possible to adapt i.e. with age 65? Learn a new an very different language, different culture, etc.?

Yes, it is possible but for sure it is also very difficult.

I wouldn't recommend this to anybody who didn't spend an extended time here on holiday.

 

 

I agree with you on that. Spent 10 years going and coming  and after retirement moved to Thailand after my second ex-wife said adios. I had spent 10 years in the Navy as a young man so was use to different places. It can be hard to adjust to another country and culture.Thailand is it for me how could it not be

[JustAnotherHun]

2 hours ago, Nemises said:

Australia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest six times since their debut in 2015 and has been in the top ten four times. The country's best result in the contest is a second-place finish for in 2016. Australia also finished in the top ten in three of its other appearances in the contest, with finishing fifth in 2015, and finishing ninth in 2017 and 2019.

So there's the proof: Australia is a part of Europe. Great! ????

Edited February 14, 2022 by JustAnotherHun