Do you think (most) financially struggling western retirees are stupid for not retiring abroad?

[Jingthing]

I've had this thought for years now.

You hear about oldsters living in cars in the U.S.  for example but they do have a social security income but can't afford rent.

Obviously each person has their own specific personal and financial situation and there are good reasons for poor retired people to stay home, but in many cases I see not moving abroad to live a much better quality of life on a low income as basically stupid.

Not only to Thailand of course.

For Thailand, a person with low income would need to be able to do the 800K baht thing but many poorer retirees do have that level of a very modest life savings.

So why do so many that could greatly benefit by moving abroad fail to do so?

Other than good reasons (such as strong family support, too physically ill to do it, etc.).

I can only speculate.

I assume many just don't know about and/or have failed to do the research on the options open to them at their finance level.

I know that many people assume that living abroad is a "glamourous" option only for rich people. 

Some are probably ultra nationalist xenophobe types that think as bad as things are for them personally their home country still offers them the best of all possible worlds. 

Some may be afraid of foreign languages.

Some that might know of some options may simply be afraid of such a big change.

In my view, living in a car and <deleted>ting in a bucket is something to fear much more than living abroad!

 

So back to the question:

Do you think (most) financially struggling western retirees are stupid for not retiring abroad?

Edited October 21, 2023 by Jingthing

[EchoPlus]

Not everything is about money or purchase power.

Most people want to stay in the place they call home.

You need a peculiar mindset to go die in a country where most people don't even speak your language, infrastructure sucks and your family ain't around. Most people retiring in Thailand are in a way or another, deep down inside, sad and lonely individuals. I mean no disrespect. It's just the truth.

[Jingthing]

5 minutes ago, EchoPlus said:

Not everything is about money or purchase power.

Most people want to stay in the place they call home.

You need a peculiar mindset to go die in a country where most people don't even speak your language, infrastructure sucks and your family ain't around. Most people retiring in Thailand are in a way or another, deep down inside, sad and lonely individuals. I mean no disrespect. It's just the truth.

That may be so but still beats living in a car and <deleted>ting in a bucket!

I'm above that level here but for quite modest levels of wealth and income I have a set up that I couldn't replicate in the U.S. for under at least a million dollars, more like two.

 

There are retirement destination countries where you can qualify for 600 dollars a month income and perhaps I'm wrong but I don't think Cambodia even checks income for retirement status.

 

Or there is the Philippines option of only needing to do a visa run every three years.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Jingthing

[bignok]

Lots are racist. They see Thailand as the land of ...

 

[bignok]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

That may be so but still beats living in a car and <deleted>ting in a bucket!

I'm above that level here but for quite modest levels of wealth and income I have a set up that I couldn't replicate in the U.S. for under at least a million dollars, more like two.

60 or 70% of yanks dont own a passport

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, bignok said:

60 or 70% of yanks dont own a passport

But they could get one and it's a pretty good  passport as well. 

[bignok]

Just now, Jingthing said:

But they could get one and it's a pretty good  passport as well. 

They watch cnn or fox or whatever tv rubbish that says USA great other nations bad.

 

 

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, bignok said:

They watch cnn or fox or whatever tv rubbish that says USA great other nations bad.

 

 

Sure there's that.

There's also the "safety" canard especially for Latin America.

Living in the U.S. for example as a poor person even if you do have a roof is usually incredibly unsafe.

Poverty kills.

If the same money can lift you out of poverty somewhere else, what a blessing that can be.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Jingthing

[bignok]

People choose the devil they know. Chiang Mai and Pattaya have 8 000 baht a month rooms that are pretty decent so yeah Jing is right but lots of westerners dont know.

[Chivas]

22 minutes ago, EchoPlus said:

Not everything is about money or purchase power.

Most people want to stay in the place they call home.

You need a peculiar mindset to go die in a country where most people don't even speak your language, infrastructure sucks and your family ain't around. Most people retiring in Thailand are in a way or another, deep down inside, sad and lonely individuals. I mean no disrespect. It's just the truth.

Yep I'd go along with some of that

Thailand is not a place to be when health starts to deteriorate alarmingly.....if you're strugging financially within the UK then you'll still struggle in Thailand when the health costs mount. Visa requirements etc etc etc

 

The basics are still very cheap in Thailand but go "off-piste" per se and they rise quickly

 

Only my opinion I acknowledge others will disagree

 

Edited October 21, 2023 by Chivas

[Lacessit]

I don't think they are stupid, just unable to uproot themselves. My guess is people who retire outside their homeland are far more likely to have travelled extensively. 

[Celsius]

Who says they live in a car? You?

 

There are dirt cheap places in USA, people get free medicare and they don't have to beg for a visa in Laos.

 

 

[SiamAndy]

Based on the current Census stats and the Department of State stats only 48.07% of Americans have passports, that leaves a lot of Americans who can't leave the country legally. I'm sure for many, they prefer to stick with what they know and are creatures of habit. Thus they stay where they are, even though they may have better options abroad.

[bignok]

1 minute ago, Lacessit said:

I don't think they are stupid, just unable to uproot themselves. My guess is people who retire outside their homeland are far more likely to have travelled extensively. 

True. 

[Jingthing]

Just now, Celsius said:

Who says they live in a car? You?

 

There are dirt cheap places in USA, people get free medicare and they don't have to beg for a visa in Laos.

 

 

I call B.S.

Dirt cheap rent in dirt cheap areas for a basic apartment in the U.S. is usually at least 800 dollars a month. People on low level social security often have a check of  1000 or so. Do the math.

Sure it's different if a person owns their home clear.

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I don't think they are stupid, just unable to uproot themselves. My guess is people who retire outside their homeland are far more likely to have travelled extensively. 

I also agree with that.

If you've never seen places abroad and think I could live here you just won't know.

[bignok]

Just now, Jingthing said:

I also agree with that.

If you've never seen places abroad and think I could live here you just won't know.

Plus meeting new people

Learning language

Visas

 

 

[The Cyclist]

1 minute ago, Lacessit said:

 

I don't think they are stupid, just unable to uproot themselves

 

This, for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons have nothing to do with money or a lack thereof.

 

3 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

My guess is people who retire outside their homeland are far more likely to have travelled extensively. 

Sure, they are the people who can identify that their homeland is crap or heading to the dogs.

 

It's called experience, and if you do not have any experience, you will not know any different.

[freeworld]

21 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

So back to the question:

Do you think (most) financially struggling western retirees are stupid for not retiring abroad?

Yes.

[Celsius]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I call B.S.

Dirt cheap rent in dirt cheap areas for a basic apartment in the U.S. is usually at least 800 dollars a month. People on low level social security often have a check of  1000 or so. Do the math.

Sure it's different if a person owns their home clear.

People with such a low income live in subsidized housing and get many other benefits.

 

They probably live better than you. 

 

Old farts who live in Thailand always like to make themselves feel better about the decision to move here.

[EchoPlus]

16 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

That may be so but still beats living in a car and <deleted>ting in a bucket!

I'm above that level here but for quite modest levels of wealth and income I have a set up that I couldn't replicate in the U.S. for under at least a million dollars, more like two.

 

There are retirement destination countries where you can qualify for 600 dollars a month income and perhaps I'm wrong but I don't think Cambodia even checks income for retirement status.

 

Or there is the Philippines option of only needing to do a visa run every three years.

Extreme cases don't have the money nor the mental health to organize and leave. Choosing expatriation requires a certain level of wealth.

[zzaa09]

12 minutes ago, bignok said:

60 or 70% of yanks dont own a passport

And even a much greater percentage don't acclimate or adjust well in foreign lands. 

Could easily be said for most Western creatures. 

 

Why bother. 

[bignok]

4 minutes ago, Celsius said:

People with such a low income live in subsidized housing and get many other benefits.

 

They probably live better than you. 

 

Old farts who live in Thailand always like to make themselves feel better about the decision to move here.

Really? How many 30yo women have these poor old yanks slept with?

[bignok]

Nong Khai has 3,500 baht a month rooms. Get yourself a 30yo gf. 

[Jingthing]

9 minutes ago, Celsius said:

People with such a low income live in subsidized housing and get many other benefits.

 

They probably live better than you. 

 

Old farts who live in Thailand always like to make themselves feel better about the decision to move here.

Some do.

Most don't. 

[bignok]

9 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Some do.

Most don't. 

US$300 a week is say 10,500 baht. Thats surely a better life in CM or Pattaya than most of the US.

[mfd101]

16 minutes ago, EchoPlus said:

Choosing expatriation requires a certain level of wealth.

Yes, and self-confidence and agency. None of which is particularly common amongst poor people. Poverty breeds passivity. I see that every day here amongst the Khmer peasants.

[Lacessit]

19 minutes ago, Celsius said:

People with such a low income live in subsidized housing and get many other benefits.

 

They probably live better than you. 

 

Old farts who live in Thailand always like to make themselves feel better about the decision to move here.

You are obviously not Australian.

There, the best I could afford would be a mobile home.Housing would be out of my reach to own, renting would take 60% of my pension. 

Here, I have a house and a condo to live in, two cars, two motorbikes.

I will always feel better about my decision to live here.

[BE88]

It has nothing to do with intelligence, many expats here in Thailand are stupid so the comparison is not to be made with intelligence but rather with the spirit of adventure or recklessness, not everyone should go to a country leaving all your family behind family and friends and set off to discover a new world to live in which is very different from setting off on exotic holidays.

Certainly having financial resources helps a lot in making these decisions.

[transam]

Just now, BE88 said:

It has nothing to do with intelligence, many expats here in Thailand are stupid so the comparison is not to be made with intelligence but rather with the spirit of adventure or recklessness, not everyone should go to a country leaving all your family behind family and friends and set off to discover a new world to live in which is very different from setting off on exotic holidays.

Certainly having financial resources helps a lot in making these decisions.

You sound like a very boring individual..........