Have You Won the Game of Life?

[JK-Trilly]

To the true champions of life, those 75 and older, living the dream in Thailand, and still kicking it like you’re 45: do you look in the mirror and think, Yep, I’ve won the game of life? Or maybe you don’t think it, but deep down you suspect maybe it’s true because, well, you’ve lived a long life already and obviously things could have always turned out much more pear shaped.

So you made it this far, happily and hopefully healthily, and you’ve done it in Thailand, no less. That’s seemingly not just winning; that’s more like winning with a cherry on top, isn’t it? Or maybe it’s not for you? But if it is, then what’s the secret sauce to making it work? Is it the spicy som tam with runny fermented fish? The tropical weather? The ridiculously good/bad beer? Or is it simply the notion of knowing you’ll never have to shovel snow again?

There’s got to be some wisdom to be gotten from it. What choices do you think got you to this golden stage of life, where everything feels comfortably on track? And for the rest of us still in our 50s or 60s, what advice would you give to help us get to where you are now?

It’s probably not luck. Presumably you’ve made some good or great calls along the way. Was moving to Thailand one of them? Did it change your life for the better—happiness, health, wealth, romance or maybe all four? Then is it the people, the culture, the laid-back vibe, or maybe the healthcare that helps you sleep better at night? Or is life in Thailand something completely different for you than any of the above?

[KhunLA]

Hell yea, definitely won.  I never expected to live past 30, especially after I started riding motorcycles.  That and a few other vices, and risks I'd take, just for the hell / thrill of it.

 

Game changer aside from trying to kill myself, financially, was realizing, I'd never be able to retire, let alone as early as I did, if I remained an employee for anyone or company.  Learned to use them, and the system, instead of being used up by them.

 

Only I would ever pay myself what I was worth.  From that point the rest is history, and made life easy and even more fun.

 

Somehow I still didn't kill myself, knockin' on 70 in less than a month.  3+ yrs past life expectancy for a yank born in 1954.  Since I made it this far, might make it to 80, or so I read.  

 

Been much more health conscious the past 15 ish years.  Especially the last 2+ years with major diet change, and never felt healthier, aside from simply being older, and avoid bouncing since I don't do it nearly as well as I used to.

 

Been one hell of a ride 

[Yagoda]

I won life's Lottery when I was born in American citizen. That means I have the freedom to choose my own path in life, and basically do whatever I want. Now I want to live in Cambodia and bang legal teenagers in Bangkok and smoke a lot of weed,, so that's what I do.

[Terrance8812]

44 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

I won life's Lottery when I was born in American citizen. That means I have the freedom to choose my own path in life, and basically do whatever I want. Now I want to live in Cambodia and bang legal teenagers in Bangkok and smoke a lot of weed,, so that's what I do.

 

Canadians, Europeans, Australians, Brits, and citizens of many other countries enjoy the same freedoms you’re referring to, often with even greater benefits. For instance, several countries issue passports that offer better visa-free access to more countries than the U.S. passport. Additionally, Americans living outside the United States are uniquely burdened by the requirement to pay taxes on their worldwide income, something 99% of other nationalities don’t face. Furthermore, many Americans struggle to open bank accounts when living overseas, as their citizenship makes them a compliance headache for banks due to FATCA regulations.

 

To be honest, being an American living abroad looks like a raw deal, they miss out on the perceived benefits of being American while shouldering all the downsides. Unsurprisingly, a significant number of U.S. expatriates renounce their US citizenship each year to escape these frustrations.

[Yagoda]

11 minutes ago, Terrance8812 said:

 

Canadians, Europeans, Australians, Brits, and citizens of many other countries enjoy the same freedoms you’re referring to, often with even greater benefits. For instance, several countries issue passports that offer better visa-free access to more countries than the U.S. passport. Additionally, Americans living outside the United States are uniquely burdened by the requirement to pay taxes on their worldwide income, something 99% of other nationalities don’t face. Furthermore, many Americans struggle to open bank accounts when living overseas, as their citizenship makes them a compliance headache for banks due to FATCA regulations.

 

To be honest, being an American living abroad looks like a raw deal, they miss out on the perceived benefits of being American while shouldering all the downsides. Unsurprisingly, a significant number of U.S. expatriates renounce their US citizenship each year to escape these frustrations.

Feel better now? Got you a jealous little anti-American rant out? Why don't you start a topic about who's got more freedom in the West and I'm happy to participate and educate you. Just try not to cut and paste sound bites like you just did, and ignore irrelevant things like visa-free access, which have nothing to do with anything I said or even this topic.

Edited 3 hours ago by Yagoda

[FriscoKid]

6 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Feel better now? Got you a jealous little anti-American rant out? Why don't you start a topic about who's got more freedom in the West and I'm happy to participate and educate you. Just try not to cut and paste sound bites like you just did, and ignore irrelevant things like visa-free access, which have nothing to do with anything I said or even this topic.

Wow, look at that fragile ego go. 🤩 😂 

[Yagoda]

2 minutes ago, FriscoKid said:

Wow, look at that fragile ego go. 🤩 😂 

What's wrong with your ego or his? I don't quite understand the relevance of your comment?

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Been much more health conscious the past 15 ish years.  Especially the last 2+ years with major diet change, and never felt healthier, aside from simply being older, and avoid bouncing since I don't do it nearly as well as I used to.

Does having cancer and still living count as winning the game of life or losing? Jury is still out on that.

Basically gave up on living healthy after, and gained loadsaweight till prediabetes forced me to stop eating sugar, a legal poison that is available everywhere.

Diabetes doesn't kill us directly, but it's great at making us lose our legs starting at the toes.

 

avoid bouncing

 

Something to bear in mind for old people is that retinas are more likely to detach in older people. I will never go on a roller coaster again because of that.

[KhunLA]

22 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Does having cancer and still living count as winning the game of life or losing? Jury is still out on that.

Basically gave up on living healthy after, and gained loadsaweight till prediabetes forced me to stop eating sugar, a legal poison that is available everywhere.

Diabetes doesn't kill us directly, but it's great at making us lose our legs starting at the toes.

 

avoid bouncing

 

Something to bear in mind for old people is that retinas are more likely to detach in older people. I will never go on a roller coaster again because of that.

Be able to live with or even beating cancer definitely would put one in the win category, as many of lost that fight.

 

So much more, better, information out there now, not MSM or govt/big pharma health experts, but sadly YT 

 

Actually leaning and researching, along with more importantly, results of following their advice has really enforced my lack of trust in anything MSM, govt and 'health' experts recommend.

 

A lot was common sense, that I already knew, but some specifics about diet the last few years has made a huge change in my overall health.  And future longevity, I hope.

 

On diabetes, you may want to research cutting most or all carbs out of you diet, going strict Keto or even Carnivore diet, and may keep you from being pre, and or, diabetic or even reverse type 1 or 2.  Some quite believable success stories out there.

 

Also reported to help cancer patients, to a certain degree.  Something to do with the oxidation, (ROS), the cancer cells need to grow.  If not preventing, even reversing/starving/killing off cancer cells, or at least reducing the size of some tumors, that now make them removable with surgery, and nuke any cells left over.

 

Big Pharma only wants to treat disease, with no interest of curing them, as simply not as profitable.  IMHO

 

When they do have a cure pill, they charge the most ridiculous prices for it.  Damn shameful 🤬

Edited 2 hours ago by KhunLA

[RSD1]

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

Feel better now? Got you a jealous little anti-American rant out? Why don't you start a topic about who's got more freedom in the West and I'm happy to participate and educate you. Just try not to cut and paste sound bites like you just did, and ignore irrelevant things like visa-free access, which have nothing to do with anything I said or even this topic.

TRIGGERED!
 

Actually, everything he said is factual. I guess that's why his post upset you. It's true though, I have two American friends who also renounced for some of the very same reasons that he mentioned. I think about 6,000-7,000 expat Americans living abroad renounced in 2020. 
 

Edited 2 hours ago by RSD1

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Won the game of life? Not yet. Still playing and I hope I have a few years left.

 

My advice is to move to Thailand when you're in your twenties or thirties. Then it isn't necessary to try to think that you're forty-five.

[RSD1]

I think any Americans who are retired and living in Thailand should feel blessed. America has no state healthcare system either and most likely never will. Plus, 50,000,000 Americans who now have healthcare under the affordable care act stand to lose it very soon.

[Ben Zioner]

34 minutes ago, RSD1 said:

TRIGGERED!
 

Actually, everything he said is factual. I guess that's why his post upset you. It's true though, I have two American friends who also renounced for some of the very same reasons that he mentioned. I think about 6,000-7,000 expat Americans living abroad renounced in 2020. 

 

Income tax is probably the only reason for renouncing citizenship, and now it will be interesting to watch what will happen once Thailand introduced WWIT...

 

Generally US retiree in Thailand enjoy much better standards of living than those from UK, AUS and others on measly pensions and no health cover.

 

That's factual too..

 

And I am not a US national.

[Gandtee]

I'll be 91 next week, hopefully. Been here nearly forty years. I'll let you know if I've won the game later.😉