Ignore the Naysayers ! Live the dream in Thailand

[ThailandRyan]

On 1/13/2023 at 2:12 PM, KhunLA said:

If I had 2 mill USD, liquid, a very small lottery wins, then Thailand would be in rear view mirror, and never looking back.  Not sure where I'd go, but it wouldn't here.  After 20+ yrs, nothing of interest to keep me here.

 

Love my life here, but I wouldn't pass up a financial upgrade, along with a location upgrade.  Nomadic till I found a spot, or not.

 

Might just stay nomadic ... $2 mill - 10 yr - $500+ a day.  That works, so no need to settle in, or settle for, any place.

Just read an interesting article that stated that if you have enough to live the lifestyle you want after you turn 60, and your retired, to spend it all living the way you want and not leave anything behind for greedy kids and family members who are already rubbing there hands together.  Of course tongue in cheek, that would be if you were truly single and could not care what happens to your children.  A family trust with asset protection ensures the trust will live on in perpetuity.  Having a spouse or long time partner means you live like you want and then she/he inherits the rest unless of course you just don't care. One wonders if having a hefty life insurance policy is even warranted after one retires and all is paid for, like houses, cars etc...

 

A Nomadic life style can be lived if you have homes in many places of course.  Assets aside if all you had was money, the amount you discussed, then spend it all and leave nothing, yet for medical expenses one needs to keep a good policy in place.

[patongphil]

11 minutes ago, swm59nj said:

After living in Thailand for a few years.  I find most expats that move here is for one main reason.  They couldn’t afford to live in their own countries.  Due to minimal income and other factors. 
They don’t come here for the culture.  And they are quick to ridicule their own countries because of the personal situations they are in. 

Why are you here?

[nigelforbes]

3 minutes ago, swm59nj said:

After living in Thailand for a few years.  I find most expats that move here is for one main reason.  They couldn’t afford to live in their own countries.  Due to minimal income and other factors. 
They don’t come here for the culture.  And they are quick to ridicule their own countries because of the personal situations they are in. 

I'm not 100% certain but on balance I don't think I agree. I think that was true many years ago when Thailand was a cheap place to live. Today it's not cheap and speaking as somebody who up until 2020, has split each year between Thailand and the UK, the cost for me at least is very very similar (albeit the money is spent differently). I think there is probably a variety of reasons why expats come here, climate is one, female companionship is another, cheap lifestyle is a third, I'd be hard pressed to figure out is there's one main reason. In my case I came here after living in Hong Kong for many years and I simply didn't want to retire in the West. Plus all the other reasons I mentioned earlier came into play also, but to a lesser degree.

 

Do I ridicule my own country? No, but I do see it very differently than people who live there all the time. There's just as much stupid in the UK as there is here, it's just a different kind of stupid.

[ThailandRyan]

1 minute ago, nigelforbes said:

I'm not 100% certain but on balance I don't think I agree. I think that was true many years ago when Thailand was a cheap place to live. Today it's not cheap and speaking as somebody who up until 2020, has split each year between Thailand and the UK, the cost for me at least is very very similar (albeit the money is spent differently). I think there is probably a variety of reasons why expats come here, climate is one, female companionship is another, cheap lifestyle is a third, I'd be hard pressed to figure out is there's one main reason. In my case I came here after living in Hong Kong for many years and I simply didn't want to retire in the West. Plus all the other reasons I mentioned earlier came into play also, but to a lesser degree.

 

Do I ridicule my own country? No, but I do see it very differently than people who live there all the time. There's just as much stupid in the UK as there is here, it's just a different kind of stupid.

It is still cheap in reality for anyone who has been here for awhile and owns a home, whether that's a condo or a house on GF/Wifes land with a usufruct, or a 30 year leasehold.  One can still live on 30k Thb or so a month if they choose too as long as they are not in a large city area.  Food prices have increased, but then if you cook your own meals at home and decide to travel only locally on day trips it is very doable. I have a few friends who have been here for 20+ years, own their residences and live off of just US SS.  Having a large freezer allows you to shop at the beginning of the month and fill it with meat, and other items. The only thing you then need to buy is fresh produce and fruits, and pay your electric bill, water bill, and misc expenses.

[KhunLA]

9 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

Do I ridicule my own country? No, but I do see it very differently than people who live there all the time. There's just as much stupid in the UK as there is here, it's just a different kind of stupid.

Yep, worldwide, and sadly... it seems ... you can't fix stupid ????

[nigelforbes]

7 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

It is still cheap in reality for anyone who has been here for awhile and owns a home, whether that's a condo or a house on GF/Wifes land with a usufruct, or a 30 year leasehold.  One can still live on 30k Thb or so a month if they choose too as long as they are not in a large city area.  Food prices have increased, but then if you cook your own meals at home and decide to travel only locally on day trips it is very doable. I have a few friends who have been here for 20+ years, own their residences and live off of just US SS.  Having a large freezer allows you to shop at the beginning of the month and fill it with meat, and other items. The only thing you then need to buy is fresh produce and fruits, and pay your electric bill, water bill, and misc expenses.

Ah yes, living the dream!

[Thingamabob]

I'm a Brit. Lived and worked here in the 80's, retired here from my final posting to Taiwan, in 1993. Happily married to a Thai since 1990. Now aged 81, still happily married, with houses in Bangkok and Rayong. Still enjoy being here, with no intention to return to the UK where things are not working too well at present. Not  bothered by the annual extension of permission to stay or the two tiered pricing. The only annoyance for me is the 90 day reporting. The people are friendly, the food is good, the weather is warm, and health care is excellent. I'm here for the duration.

[ozimoron]

24 minutes ago, swm59nj said:

After living in Thailand for a few years.  I find most expats that move here is for one main reason.  They couldn’t afford to live in their own countries.  Due to minimal income and other factors. 
They don’t come here for the culture.  And they are quick to ridicule their own countries because of the personal situations they are in. 

First sentence good. That's a perfectly valid reason to want to live in Thailand.

 

Second sentence bad. The two sentences are not mutually exclusive. It's quite possible for someone to want to live in Thailand because they can't afford to live in their own country and also to appreciate the culture. I'm one of them. Rent for a rat infested hovel in Australia is more than the OAP. Ridiculing one's own country need not be related to one's own situation and it's perfectly valid to ridicule certain aspects of it while praising others.

[KhunLA]

8 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

 who have been here for 20+ years, own their residences and live off of just US SS.  Having a large freezer allows you to shop at the beginning of the month and fill it with meat, and other items. The only thing you then need to buy is fresh produce and fruits, and pay your electric bill, water bill, and misc expenses.

That mirrors my/our existence here.  On a retirement visa (monthly SS DD), and we seriously have a hard time spending it.   When daughter was in Uni, she got the better half of the 65k month, and we still had change left over at the end of the month, even while renting with utility bills.

 

Small investment (that's relative), house, solar, EV, and we've eliminated the larger monthly bills (aside from food); rent/electric/petrol - 6k/3+k/3k a month respectfully.

 

Now reduced to only: internet  631, phone <1000, water 500+, electric 100 +/- (next PEA bill 40 baht, conx fee) and the daughter graduated and is self sufficient.  Oh happy days.

 

Of course that does take a 'trusting' partner.  But adding 10k for rent & utilities shouldn't break anyone's wallet.

 

No large freezer (2 very small ones ????), and we do dine in mostly, simply because we do it better.

[EVENKEEL]

Having an ole lady and a kid here in Thailand is where the money goes. My goal this year is to sock away 10-20K/mo for large ticket items. Tires, electronics, school fees, Insurance for 2 vehicles, want to get health ins for kid and ole lady.

[ThailandRyan]

33 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

Ah yes, living the dream!

Why would it not be.  Happiness for some is different than for others.  Why is there a need, if retired, to run all over hell and back spending gobs of money, I mean if you have it that's fine, but for others the lifestyle they choose here makes them more happier being here rather than living in some backwater town in the US struggling to get by.

[KhunLA]

8 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Having an ole lady and a kid here in Thailand is where the money goes. My goal this year is to sock away 10-20K/mo for large ticket items. Tires, electronics, school fees, Insurance for 2 vehicles, want to get health ins for kid and ole lady.

Yep.  Her hobby, gardening/farming ? is more expensive than my fancy cameras & drones.   Required buying the lot across from us, since the one the house sits on, 1/4 rai, is full up with the house & carport.

 

Now she's building a greenhouse on that 1/4 rai ???? I think the ROI of fruits & veggies might take a while.   But a happy wife = happy life ????

 

[save the frogs]

49 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

Ah yes, living the dream!

where does that phrase come from? the marketing dept of international living magazine?

maybe just living a comfortable decent life with your basic needs met in a decent country with warm climate is good enough for most people.

and maybe people need to stop using that phrase. 

 

[nigelforbes]

2 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Why would it not be.  Happiness for some is different than for others.  Why is there a need, if retired, to run all over hell and back spending gobs of money, I mean if you have it that's fine, but for others the lifestyle they choose here makes them more happier being here rather than living in some backwater town in the US struggling to get by.

The key issue here is not whether retirees here are able to get by today, but whether they will be able to do so tomorrow. Living in a "backwater" town USA or in Burnley UK, doesn't sound that appealing but at least in those places retirees are not at the mercy of a government who may change the rules quickly and cause major upset in the lives of many. For example, health insurance is unavailable for many (because of age), ineffective to many others (because of pre-existing conditions) and is rising rapidly in price for everyone. If health insurance become a visa extension requirement (as it did with OA), that will change the landscape for many and they may not be in a position to buy their way into alternatives.

 

Cost of living versus income is another aspect, prices here are rising and already many on fixed income (many UK pensioners are) are being squeezed. Other potential visa related rules threaten downstream, all of which, without adequate funds, is a problem.

 

Whilst today, I personally am also able to live a comfortable and enjoyable life on US SS ++, there is no guarantee that I will be able to do so tomorrow, because of factors outside my control, a problem that backwater and Burnley residents don't have to worry about. 

[nigelforbes]

3 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

where does that phrase come from? the marketing dept of international living magazine?

maybe just living a comfortable decent life with your basic needs met in a decent country with warm climate is good enough for most people.

and maybe people need to stop using that phrase. 

 

It's a descriptive term that coveys the image of what many retirees expected when they first imagined they would move overseas to a warmer climate.

 

Maybe posters should not be so sensitive and start taking statements like this literally!

[EVENKEEL]

18 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Yep.  Her hobby, gardening/farming ? is more expensive than my fancy cameras & drones.   Required buying the lot across from us, since the one the house sits on, 1/4 rai, is full up with the house & carport.

 

Now she's building a greenhouse on that 1/4 rai ???? I think the ROI of fruits & veggies might take a while.   But a happy wife = happy life ????

 

Better to indulge her in farming than alternatives like gambling and hanging out with the madams.

[save the frogs]

12 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

It's a descriptive term that coveys the image of what many retirees expected when they first imagined they would move overseas to a warmer climate.

I just meant that the term may be creating unrealistic expectations.

Hence posters who claim Thailand is boring so they want to move on.

Most people's lives are not that exciting unless you're james bond. 

Cheers.

[BritManToo]

On 1/14/2023 at 4:47 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

I've lived in many countries, but none had the "appeal" of Thailand. The only equivalent I've heard of is the Philippines, but apparently very violent, so wouldn't want to live there if Thailand available. Heard bad things about Cambodian beaches so that's out.

Western countries- never even an option.

 

It's Thailand by default.

What you hear isn't the reality, Cambodia and The Philippines are great.

[FarAway]

On 1/13/2023 at 8:12 AM, KhunLA said:

If I had 2 mill USD, liquid, a very small lottery wins, then Thailand would be in rear view mirror, and never looking back.  Not sure where I'd go, but it wouldn't here.  After 20+ yrs, nothing of interest to keep me here.

 

Love my life here, but I wouldn't pass up a financial upgrade, along with a location upgrade.  Nomadic till I found a spot, or not.

 

Might just stay nomadic ... $2 mill - 10 yr - $500+ a day.  That works, so no need to settle in, or settle for, any place.

 

There are plenty of people with this amount of money choosing Thailand.

Why?
Territorial taxation combined with low crime and beautiful nature and good infrastructure. This combination is actually kinda unique worldwide

 

Most of the countries where you have 0% income tax are just boring island-nations in the Carribean like Antigua, St Kitts, Caymans and so on. Let aside the Gulf States where you just have a few buildings in a desert, who actually wanna live there? Not me.

Then you have territorial taxation countries, where you can easily live tax-free with the right setup.

Bost most of these places are kinda dangerous if you have big amounts of money, not essentially life-threatening dangerous but for sure not as chilled out as here in Thailand. For example Costa Rica, Panama or Guatemala. Others are just literally unlivable warzones like Somalia, Syria and Lybia.

 

I looked at all countries in the world before coming here.
Thailand is the ONLY country in the world that combines the following:

- Legal tax-free living due to territorial taxation with the right setup

- Security and low crime, you can show off your money and in 99.99% of cases nothing happens

- Good infrastructure

- Beautiful nature

- Feminine women that value family

- Owning freehold property as a foreigner through a company if you do not have local wife like me :)

 

Show me one other country in the world where you have all of this attributes together. Just one. There is none. Thailand is unique and therefore appealing to many people with a bigger wallet, you just do not meet them in a bar in Pattaya or where most of you people are hanging out.

 

 

The only downsides I see are:

- the weird Expat community consisting mainly of old Sexpats, polyamorous hippies, homosexuals, transgenders and leftists. Very difficult to find expats with traditional family values here.

- the fact that no matter how much you would try to integrate into the local population, the socio-cultural differences are just too huge, at least for me. Thai men are a bit too feminine for me to be my friends, I struggle to make substantial connections with them.

- Corona. The mask-mania. Especially the masked kids are still driving me crazy and showing me the true side of the local society. Too conformist in general, I do not want to see my kids growing up here in that kind of society.

 

 

Especially the latter is the reason why I am daily considering to move my family to another country. We need to make compromises with the security and crime in that case, but at least we would see no masked toddlers anymore.. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, nigelforbes said:

Ah yes, living the dream!

I never dreamed that as old guy in his 60s I'd be living with a young attractive woman in the tropics surrounded by my children. My reality has beaten all my dreams of my retirement years.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

What you hear isn't the reality, Cambodia and The Philippines are great.

I do regret that I never really went anywhere else after I discovered LOS. I was having too much fun there to go anywhere else, but it'd have been nice to see other places too.

I was going to go to the Philippines, but that was when the mayor closed the bar district ( forget the name of the area ) and I wasn't going somewhere I couldn't enjoy myself. I found out later that was just one area, but by then I was invested in LOS. Had everything I wanted there.

[ozimoron]

17 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

What you hear isn't the reality, Cambodia and The Philippines are great.

Both countries have high rents considering that in the Philippines you either need to live in a village in the boonies or a gated community. Otherwise you will be broken into. It happened to me  a few times. I was also held up at knife point within a hundred yards of Fields Ave. . Much higher rates of crime against foreigners in both countries compared to Thailand. In the Philippines it's almost impossible to rent a furnished apartment, they are all bare. Food in Philippines is shocking and the country rated third worst in the world in a recent poll discussed on this board. Fresh fruit other than pineapples and  mangos in season (one variety) is not available. They don't have the fruit carts like I see everywhere in Pattaya. There are very few small restaurants selling fresh cooked food cheaply in the Philippines. Western food restaurants are outrageously expensive. International schools likewise. Decent doctors are out of the country and hospitals are terrible or very expensive.

[thaibeachlovers]

12 minutes ago, FarAway said:

the fact that no matter how much you would try to integrate into the local population, the socio-cultural differences are just too huge,

I never, ever, in all the years I lived in LOS wanted to integrate. Happily one didn't need to to to have loadsafun in the sanuk paradise.

 

12 minutes ago, FarAway said:

Corona. The mask-mania. Especially the masked kids are still driving me crazy and showing me the true side of the local society. Too conformist in general, I do not want to see my kids growing up here in that kind of society.

 

 

Especially the latter is the reason why I am daily considering to move my family to another country. We need to make compromises with the security and crime in that case, but at least we would see no masked toddlers anymore.. 

If masks are enough to make you leave Thailand, you never really loved the place.

[thaibeachlovers]

8 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I never dreamed that as old guy in his 60s I'd be living with a young attractive woman in the tropics surrounded by my children. My reality has beaten all my dreams of my retirement years.

I'd have been happy as a sandboy in a very big pile of sand if my wife had stayed as nice as she was when we first got married. I'd also still be there.

[KhunLA]

2 minutes ago, FarAway said:

 

There are plenty of people with this amount of money choosing Thailand.

Why?
Territorial taxation combined with low crime and beautiful nature and good infrastructure. This combination is actually kinda unique worldwide

 

Most of the countries where you have 0% income tax are just boring island-nations in the Carribean like Antigua, St Kitts, Caymans and so on. Let aside the Gulf States where you just have a few buildings in a desert, who actually wanna live there? Not me.

Then you have territorial taxation countries, where you can easily live tax-free with the right setup.

Bost most of these places are kinda dangerous if you have big amounts of money, not essentially life-threatening dangerous but for sure not as chilled out as here in Thailand. For example Costa Rica, Panama or Guatemala. Others are just literally unlivable warzones like Somalia, Syria and Lybia.

 

I looked at all countries in the world before coming here.
Thailand is the ONLY country in the world that combines the following:

- Legal tax-free living due to territorial taxation with the right setup

- Security and low crime, you can show off your money and in 99.99% of cases nothing happens

- Good infrastructure

- Beautiful nature

- Feminine women that value family

- Owning freehold property as a foreigner through a company if you do not have local wife like me ????

 

Show me one other country in the world where you have all of this attributes together. Just one. There is none. Thailand is unique and therefore appealing to many people with a bigger wallet, you just do not meet them in a bar in Pattaya or where most of you people are hanging out.

 

 

The only downsides I see are:

- the weird Expat community consisting mainly of old Sexpats, polyamorous hippies, homosexuals, transgenders and leftists. Very difficult to find expats with traditional family values here.

- the fact that no matter how much you would try to integrate into the local population, the socio-cultural differences are just too huge, at least for me. Thai men are a bit too feminine for me to be my friends, I struggle to make substantial connections with them.

- Corona. The mask-mania. Especially the masked kids are still driving me crazy and showing me the true side of the local society. Too conformist in general, I do not want to see my kids growing up here in that kind of society.

 

 

Especially the latter is the reason why I am daily considering to move my family to another country. We need to make compromises with the security and crime in that case, but at least we would see no masked toddlers anymore.. 

If you have 2 mill 'liquid', I don't find TH unique at all.  No taxes, as no income tax, that's the same most everywhere.  No RE Tax (1) in TH, and that's a big plus, IF, you own.  High crime is in the MSM & usually BS, and beautiful nature is everywhere, worldwide.

 

TH has decent infrastructure (2) for 3rd world country, and yes, it is 3rd world.  Better than it's neighbors, (Cambo, Laos, Nam) and why I don't think of living there.

Along with inexpensive & accessible healthcare. (3)

 

But if you got 2 mill in the bank, those 3 items are a bit irrelevant.  Especially at retirement age, as would have a hard time spending 2 mill if not frivolous.  Could easily afford excellent health insurance, which at a certain age, is hard to impossible to get in TH.  Unless having a health issue, the premiums would be more than and minor care needed.

[thaibeachlovers]

22 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

I just meant that the term may be creating unrealistic expectations.

Hence posters who claim Thailand is boring so they want to move on.

Most people's lives are not that exciting unless you're james bond. 

Cheers.

IMO anyone that is bored in LOS will be just as bored anywhere. It's got something for everyone, but not all in the same place, and one has to make an effort- it's not going to be presented on a platter.

I think people that leave because they are "bored" are just too lazy to find something worth while for themselves.

[thaibeachlovers]

5 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

If you have 2 mill 'liquid', I don't find TH unique at all.  No taxes, as no income tax, that's the same most everywhere.  No RE Tax (1) in TH, and that's a big plus, IF, you own.  High crime is in the MSM & usually BS, and beautiful nature is everywhere, worldwide.

 

TH has decent infrastructure (2) for 3rd world country, and yes, it is 3rd world.  Better than it's neighbors, (Cambo, Laos, Nam) and why I don't think of living there.

Along with inexpensive & accessible healthcare. (3)

 

But if you got 2 mill in the bank, those 3 items are a bit irrelevant.  Especially at retirement age, as would have a hard time spending 2 mill if not frivolous.  Could easily afford excellent health insurance, which at a certain age, is hard to impossible to get in TH.  Unless having a health issue, the premiums would be more than and minor care needed.

Whatever, is anywhere else as interesting, as much fun and as affordable as LOS? I've lived in a lot of places and I say NO.

[robertson468]

On 1/13/2023 at 1:58 PM, thaibeachlovers said:

I wouldn't. I'd rent all the huts on Than Sadet and populate them with 20 to 30 year olds that look great in bikinis.

Including the men!?

[Hummin]

On 1/12/2023 at 3:34 PM, Denim said:

What I regret about moving to Thailand .

 

https://danaboutthailand.com/what-i-regret-about-moving-to-thailand/

 

 

 

Dan covering all choices. Take your pick.

 

 

Part of making living as an expat here. He covers everything that comes to his mind and probably right on most seen from different perspectives. 

 

But I struggle to see more than a minute of him for some reasons. 

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, robertson468 said:

Including the men!?

55555555555555555555555

NO.

Didn't the word "bikini" indicate what gender they'd be?

That also applies to men of the third gender, even if they look good in a bikini.