Msn Money: 10 Exotic, Affordable Retiree Havens

[StrongView]

10 exotic, affordable retiree havens

I saw this article headline and was almost 100% sure I'd see Thailand in the list. Surprisingly (or not so much) it isn't.

In the list: Panama, Malta, New Zealand, Uruguay, Mexico, France, Romania, Argentina, Malaysia & Ecuador

Anyone smarter than me like to gander at what this means (long term) for Thailand?

LINK

Edited July 23, 2007 by StrongView

[pkrv]

10 exotic, affordable retiree havens

I saw this article headline and was almost 100% sure I'd see Thailand in the list. Surprisingly (or not so much) it isn't.

In the list: Panama, Malta, New Zealand, Uruguay, Mexico, France, Romania, Argentina, Malaysia & Ecuador

Anyone smarter than me like to gander at what this means (long term) for Thailand?

LINK

I find this staggering - That the article actually considered possibilities outside of the next county - boundless possibilities. But in Panama they are of course US trained....

[kelvinj]

I think they are using a different definition of affordable to mine, if I could afford to retire to France I probably would, but Thailand is much cheaper, so that is where I'm looking.

[PeaceBlondie]

Quickly, I just checked the highest single cost, which of course is for rental housing. I saw little if any discussion about home ownership. Malta, Uruguay were not listed. The rest ranged from a low of $600 (US$) for Panama, Romania, and Ecuador. That's almost 19,000 baht, and those are the cheapest, continuing to a staggering US$2,650 in Paris, France.

Malaysia was quoted at $850 per month to rent a place in Kuala Lamphur.

I don't know that you can compare it to Thailand because each country is diverse on its own. Heck, we argued for 88 posts about the cost of a couple retiring in amphur muang of Chiang Mai recently. And the article says some people are seriously considering....hold on...Nicaragua! Been there and done it until 1999; no thank you.

[trajan]

I think they are using a different definition of affordable to mine, if I could afford to retire to France I probably would, but Thailand is much cheaper, so that is where I'm looking.

If I could afford to retire on the French Riviera or yacht ports of Monaco, I would still retire in Thailand... (with occasional jaunts to southern Europe )

[think_too_mut]

10 exotic, affordable retiree havens

I saw this article headline and was almost 100% sure I'd see Thailand in the list. Surprisingly (or not so much) it isn't.

In the list: Panama, Malta, New Zealand, Uruguay, Mexico, France, Romania, Argentina, Malaysia & Ecuador

Anyone smarter than me like to gander at what this means (long term) for Thailand?

LINK

The article is a plain junk.

Like those appearing in free handouts like "Nine to Five" around busy spots.

[Naam]

In Paris, water is included in the rent.

i wonder what sort of moron considers this to be an important factor

[kelvinj]

One with a name like Naam perhaps? It should be quite close to his heart. :-)

[klikster]

In Paris, water is included in the rent.

i wonder what sort of moron considers this to be an important factor

Well Jeez, Dr Naam .. my last water bill at my house was a staggering Bt 86!

[londonthai]

a large part of americans (to whom msn money is addressed) don't even know where thailand is - if they travel abroad it's no further than accross the border to mexico i a few neighbouring countries in the region. For them it's still us of a.

malaysia is on that list by chance, like france or new zealand

[Naam]

another moronic statement is "housemaid Malta 80 dollars". we were interested in buying property in Malta several years ago (2002). at that time the wages for a cleaning lady were between 8 and 10 €URos PER HOUR.

property prices and rents in Malta were and are still skyhigh. morons, morons, morons!

[Naam]

In Paris, water is included in the rent.

i wonder what sort of moron considers this to be an important factor

Well Jeez, Dr Naam .. my last water bill at my house was a staggering Bt 86!

you should move to Paris. free water

[PeaceBlondie]

Their example of a city in Mexico is San Miguel de Allende, which is overrun with Americans, according to those who are already there. I agree. But then so are Guadalajara and Lake Chapala, which were featured in the 1980 popular book, "How to Retire in Mexico for $400 per month." I believe Panama has the rampant crime typical of most Central American countries, between Costa Rica and Nicaragua in crime intensity.

There is something to be said, though, for countries that speak Spanish. Signage in Roman alphabet, far more cognates, relatively simpler to learn than Thai or Tlingit.

[Naam]

"In the Latin American countries, the cost of electricity is high, and if you don't constantly run the air conditioning (as most expatriates do), your utility bills would be a lot lower."

= words of wisdom

[Naam]

France... Maid: $300

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[samran]

10 exotic, affordable retiree havens

I saw this article headline and was almost 100% sure I'd see Thailand in the list. Surprisingly (or not so much) it isn't.

In the list: Panama, Malta, New Zealand, Uruguay, Mexico, France, Romania, Argentina, Malaysia & Ecuador

Anyone smarter than me like to gander at what this means (long term) for Thailand?

LINK

It probably means that a bunch of yanks who read this <deleted> won't be moving to Thailand.

[roietjimmy]

10 exotic, affordable retiree havens

I saw this article headline and was almost 100% sure I'd see Thailand in the list. Surprisingly (or not so much) it isn't.

In the list: Panama, Malta, New Zealand, Uruguay, Mexico, France, Romania, Argentina, Malaysia & Ecuador

Anyone smarter than me like to gander at what this means (long term) for Thailand?

LINK

It probably means that a bunch of yanks who read this <deleted> won't be moving to Thailand.

Amen from a Yank!! When I first came to Thailand, Pattaya was a fishing village, Phuket was a rubber plantation, Koh Samui was yet to be discovered, Chiangmai was an opium warehouse and Bangkok had one "western" hotel and not a condo in sight. Wouldn't hurt my feelings a bit if Thailand failed to make any "best places" lists.

[lingnoi34]

Romania...Right!!!!

I have been to Bucarest, Constanta and Timisoara and while Timisoara is charming I sure wouldnt consider those places for retirement!

LN

[backflip]

"Anyone smarter than me like to gander at what this means (long term) for Thailand?"

Long-term, short-term, any term - the article has no impact on Thailand, and I don't know why you think it would. I'm sure bingobongo has a differing opinion.

[PeaceBlondie]

If there is suddenly a big surge of potential expatriate retirees, due to the baby boom or successful retirement savings, or if there are 9 million Yanks eager to get the heck out of Yanksville, then Thailand will surely get a portion of that fallout. Any travel magazine can whip up a list that includes Ecuador or Paraguay, even if they only spent time in the airport checking the left baggage concession. The article is not substantial, and could have been written on a barstool in Nana Plaza. Retirees are a diverse lot, from any country. Thailand must have 189 different kinds of Kiwi settlers just in Roi Et Province. Some folks never leave home, never relocate; others keep bouncing from country to country. I' wonder if Tuvalu has good kaow pad gai......

[farangfool]

The conditions offered by Malaysia look pretty good as compared to Thailand. I m just a bit concerned about the pollution (haze coming over from Indonesia) plus I m not sure how the political situation will develop (Muslim radicalism). Any ideas about Vietnam? Maybe it is time to get out of here.

[roietjimmy]

The conditions offered by Malaysia look pretty good as compared to Thailand. I m just a bit concerned about the pollution (haze coming over from Indonesia) plus I m not sure how the political situation will develop (Muslim radicalism). Any ideas about Vietnam? Maybe it is time to get out of here.

Don't run off because Thailand didn't make some nonsense list. If you are comfortable here and enjoy yourself, the grass is no greener on the other side of the fence.

Depending on your needs, Malaysia can be a good alternative to Thailand. It's comparatively liberal policies on visas, land ownership, foreign business ownership, english language skills, etc. make it better than Thailand. If you locate the the northern half of Malaysia, the Indonesian haze won't be a factor. I have many friends in Penang and they love it there. Except for a few minor quirks, the Muslim population is very moderate so don't expect any great issues there. Costs are in general slightly higher than Thailand.

Vietnam is opening it's arms (again) to foreign investment. Relaxation of visa and land ownership have recently been put in place. I have a close friend who relocated his ceramics business from Thailand to Vietnam and has indicated it is much better in Vietnam. Property costs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Min are rising rapidly and are now higher than Thailand. Costs in rural Vietnam are slightly lower than in Thailand. Vietnam still has a long way to go to equal Thailand's infrastructure especially in rural areas. Also, considering Vietnam's Socialist one party government they can and have in the past changed the rules over night.

Edited July 24, 2007 by roietjimmy

[bkkjam]

Langkawi would be a good place to retire. Cars are duty free.

[Jersey_UK]

France extends beyond Paris..........being one of the worlds top capital cities it can be a bit expensive for OAP's.

But France does extend beyond Paris......and a very popular place it is for Brits to retire to, as well as have second homes. Because it is cheap to buy property and to live. The only downside is that this has priced some of the rural locals out of the property market leading to a certain (increased?!) resentment against the Anglos - but in Brittany this has only resulted in a couple of house burnings this year.

Got a mate who is half french, is truly bilingual and even served in the French Army where he learnt to be.........a pastry chef But he has lived outside France most of his adult life, so speaks the lingo with a hint of a foreign accent - was looking to move to France permanently and ended up in a local Government office and immediately after an initial greeting with a female official he was told in no uncertain terms that France was for the French and not for immigrants.........and that he was not particularly welcome and not to expect any help, let alone money - and this in front of a room full of people.

She was surprised that he replied in a tirade of Fluent french (including words no doubt learnt in the Army!) mentioning that was a French Citizen, from a long line of french citizens, had served in their army and was probably more entitled to be in France than she was.

In Britain, the conversation would have gone very differently, been very polite and been conducted by both sides in fluent..........Punjabi.

I love the French

[buddhafly]

you can nit-pick the dollar differences but at the end of the day you should ultimately pick a place where you feel a certain connection with the people, the culture, the climate, the food, etc.

perhaps a place like malaysia may be easier on visa reg's but i certainly wouldnt want to live there. its certainly missing that happy smiley factor that thailand abounds with. i'd go so far to say that malaysia is a pretty dour place.