UK pensioners flock to luxury retirement resorts in Thailand

[webfact]

 

British retirees are flocking to Thailand retirement resorts as they slam the NHS and social care for driving them overseas

 

We're topping up the tan, not playing bingo in a nursing home: Pensioners needing some sun or round-the-clock care flock to luxury £1,500-a-month retirement resorts in Thailand - which are nearly three times cheaper than the UK

+ With low costs and hands-on care there is new market for Thai retirement resorts

By IWAN STONE and JAMES REYNOLDS

 

British pensioners needing round-the-clock care and those wanting a bit of extra sun are flocking to luxurious retirement resorts in Thailand - where the costs are nearly three times less than in the UK.

 

Facilities such as Care Resort Chiang Mai offer independent living, close care and dementia care alongside meals and activities.

 

Brits who have made the near 6,000-mile trip to South Asia say it is a far cry from playing bingo in a stuffy nursing home and describe their move to a destination reminiscent of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as 'the best we've made'.

 

In Thailand, where the government has already listed 30 facilities it says meet its quality standards, retirees only need to pay £1,500 for all monthly costs, including 24-hour care.

 

Exotic care homes cater to the UK pensioners in a tranquil scene of sunshine and stunning landscapes

 

By contrast, it costs on average £800 a week for a place in a care home back in Britain, or £1,078 for a nursing home - meaning families face shelling out north of £4,000 every month.  

 

Former hospital manager Peter Mallard, 75, and his wife Rita, 81, are among those living it up having moved from their former home in Eastbourne, east Sussex.

'People have the feeling, certainly as you get older, that you're going to be stuck in a room in a lounge playing bingo once a week … whereas you just can't compare [to Thailand],' Mr Mallard told The Telegraph. 

 

His wife added: 'Friends thought we were mad, but it's the best move we've made.'

 

Director of Care Resort Chiang Mai, Peter Brown, chose to open the resort after seeing his mother's experience in the UK.

 

For a similar price to what families might expect to pay in the UK, sufferers of dementia could enjoy one-to-one round-the-clock care in facilities that 'look like four-star hotels'

 

He says there are 47 staff for 33 guests - in contrast to what he claims is one for every ten patients in Britain.

 

'My mother had a nurse or carer visit once a week in the UK. Everything else is conducted by talking over the phone on a loudspeaker in a room asking her how she is,' he told Express.co.uk last year. 

 

Mr Brown continued: 'If you want your parents or grandparents to have a high level of care and a high level of happiness in the rest of their life, Thailand is an option.' 

 

Full story: Mail Online 2023-11-04

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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[jacko45k]

Makes me think of Bobby Charlton who recently died in a UK care home... result of a fall, not really his age ( 86) or dementia. Yes a Thailand care home is a good option... but hard for close family to visit regularly!

[phetphet]

£1500 a month? 

 

I couldn't open the link to Mail Online, but for accommodation and 24 hour care, if that includes all meals, that is a steal.

Not sure about the one in Chiangmai though. the pollution for several months a year isn't good for anyone...young or old.

 

The old boy in that last photo looks like he can't take his eyes off that nurse. 😀

Edited November 4, 2023 by phetphet

[sammieuk1]

Looks like the old geezer has something fruity on his mind 🤔

 

[Ben Zioner]

A different kind of UK pensioners, I'd be glad to mingle with...

[Rimmer]

Troll post removed, this is an article taken from a UK newspaper it is not advertising

[observer90210]

The good ole retiree has already taken his pants off it seems on the photo....waitin for his Missus to doze of ? 😂

[John Drake]

Heaven's waiting room.

[foreverlomsak]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

In Thailand, where the government has already listed 30 facilities it says meet its quality standards, retirees only need to pay £1,500 for all monthly costs, including 24-hour care.

If it is full board and medicines sounds too good to be true 

[Mike Lister]

6 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Heaven's waiting room.

If I upped sticks and went back home it would probably be to an anonymous one bedroom retirement flat that I own in Lancaster. The other 48 residents would be around my age so what's not to like you ask. Well, that truly is heaven's waiting room, there's barely a month goes by without somebody popping off, I haven't been back in five years so imagine the entire population of the estate has turned over once. It's a lovely location in the summer and handy for the nearby Lakes, from October through May it's cold, damp, grey and depressing plus there's not a hint of eye candy within many miles. Given the choice of that scenario versus a one bedder in Chiang Mai in burning season, CM wins hands down every time, by miles. At least the sky is blue, the vegetation is green, the girls are pretty and everyone smiles plus I don't have to eat gawd awful food that costs an arm and a leg.

[DaLa]

I believe there is a very important missing element to this. Hospital treatment. I've just burned through £3k obtaining a full diagnosis in 6 weeks. Treatment next and that figure will treble, and that's in a reputable government hospital.

 

They have to have insurance cover or a sizeable pot for future care on top of the figures quoted.

[shackleton]

If retired pensioners can afford to relocate to Thailand 

To stay in a luxury resort then good luck to them go for it 

The majority of Pensioners cannot afford this luxury plus their government  Pension will be frozen 😑 

[impulse]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Director of Care Resort Chiang Mai, Peter Brown, chose to open the resort after seeing his mother's experience in the UK.

 

Kudos to the guy.  I hope he maintains the high quality and ethical standards (and doesn't sell out to some greedy corporation).

 

[Mike Lister]

Caption competition for the picture in the OP:

 

He's saying, "I don't care if the old girl is here, I'm gonna jump that nurse now".

[Smokey and the Bandit]

3 hours ago, phetphet said:

£1500 a month? 

 

I couldn't open the link to Mail Online, but for accommodation and 24 hour care, if that includes all meals, that is a steal.

Not sure about the one in Chiangmai though. the pollution for several months a year isn't good for anyone...young or old.

 

The old boy in that last photo looks like he can't take his eyes off that nurse. 😀

Can you blame him? I bet the carers or nurses in the UK are fat and ugly compared to those in Thailand?🤣

[spidermike007]

Something like this has to be infinitely better than a retirement home in the West. Very few back there are pleasant or fun. I would imagine one in Thailand would have sweet, cute nurses and attendants with a good sense of humor, and it would be an entirely different atmosphere.

 

Good on them for getting away from the misery of the West. 

[wensiensheng]

Tosh. 
 

my mother is 93 with early dementia and she lives in her own home and has private carers come into her 4 times a day to give her meals, get her dressed and showered etc.

 

the authorities means tested her and because she has little money, she pays a pittance and the government pays the balance of the private care cost. My sisters husband has a similar arrangement for his elderly parents in a totally different part of the UK.

 

having said all that, actual health care, as in a doctor or hospital, is in a dire state. On the occasions that my mother has needed more than just a care service, the NHS has been a disaster. The last time she was taken to hospital she lay in an ambulance in the hospital car park for TWO days because there was no bed for her in a ward.

 

care homes and medical care are two different things.

[Chongalulu]

3 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

Looks like the old geezer has something fruity on his mind 🤔

 

He's saying ” I didn't need those blue pills after all! ”

[HappyExpat57]

I was taking care of a sick relative in California who needed 24 hour care. When I looked into finding a daytime nurse to spell me (and anyone who has gone through such caretaking KNOWS what a toll it can take on you!), the cheapest medical assistance I could find was $30 PER HOUR with a MINIMUM of eight hour shifts x five days a week. Needless to say, I sought other options.

[Jackbenimble]

If they still own their property and haven't sold it to pay for care back in UK then they can liquidate their assets, retire here and live out their lives in stress-free bliss. I'm sure the kids and grandkids wont be too miffed about visiting.

They could even buy a condo - they're cheap enough compared to home - and hire a live-out maid to wash, iron, clean and shop for them. Domestic staff here are not expensive compared to home help in UK. 

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Jackbenimble
spelling

[John Drake]

What sort of visa are they on? The 800,000 in the bank or what?

[Jackbenimble]

Just now, John Drake said:

What sort of visa are they on? The 800,000 in the bank or what?

one would assume a retirment visa..........they qualify once they're 50 anyway.

[John Drake]

4 minutes ago, Jackbenimble said:

one would assume a retirment visa..........they qualify once they're 50 anyway.

 

But the O or OA? I'd guess they're applying from Britain and would need hospitalization insurance upon arrival??? Or do they come in on the medical visa? Whichever way, they're going to need a lot more money than the 1500/month the article indicates.

[heybruce]

3 hours ago, phetphet said:

£1500 a month? 

 

I couldn't open the link to Mail Online, but for accommodation and 24 hour care, if that includes all meals, that is a steal.

Not sure about the one in Chiangmai though. the pollution for several months a year isn't good for anyone...young or old.

 

The old boy in that last photo looks like he can't take his eyes off that nurse. 😀

It may be all that is promised, but I would check carefully before committing.

[blazes]

3 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

Looks like the old geezer has something fruity on his mind 🤔

 

 

I wonder how many of us following this thread would grudgingly admit that we too were "old geezers"?

[shortstop2]

Just now, HappyExpat57 said:

the cheapest medical assistance I could find was $30 PER HOUR with a MINIMUM of eight hour shifts x five days a week. Needless to say, I sought other options.

I know someone who worked in home care near Bangkok taking care of an old Thai guy.  She's not a nurse though.  She was earning 16K baht a month and free room and board living with the family.  Not sure what the agency was charging the client.

[pookett]

I didn't see a link for the Thai Gov list of homes referred to given anywhere?

Preferably southern places for a relly...

[billd766]

1 hour ago, foreverlomsak said:

If it is full board and medicines sounds too good to be true 

Then you need to add in 2 retirement visas through Immigration, any transport costs. hire or buy a car, unless the resort has its own fleet of vehicles and drivers.

 

90 day reports to immigration unless you can do it inline.

 

Perhaps a pc, tablet etc.

 

2 mobile smart phones with international connection apps.

 

If you want English food you can probably order it at the resort, alternatively there are British food shop online.

 

Medicines, doctors and hospital fees. You will pay farang prices for sure. Not to forget that at their age they will need health insurance, which unless they already have it, and it can be extended. will be expensive and hard to find.

 

Also, if they are honest and declare that they now live in Thailand, their pension will be frozen.

 

All little things that I have not seen mentioned in the thread so far.

 

But the little things add up.

 

They will have, at least IMO, a better and more comfortable life than in damp and dreary UK. Life will be better for them.

[bizboi]

ASEAN now best click bait ever!! This should get the haters hating!!!

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, Mike Lister said:

Caption competition for the picture in the OP:

 

He's saying, "I don't care if the old girl is here, I'm gonna jump that nurse now".

How do you know she doesn't want him to and watch?

 

We're so quaintly conservative here for supposed men of the world.