I thought it would get easier here at older age

[jwest10]

10 hours ago, StandardIssue said:

 

Trapped in Thailand, retirement in the home country is rarely a comfortable option for men who make Thailand their home early on in their professional life. They make enough to get along in Thailand but have an insufficient nest egg that can provide them retirement in their home country. They get stuck in Thailand and in many cases, have to work right up to the very end. Thailand can be a trap that way.

Yes, many have wonderful Thai wives and families, and yes, we look after them, but so too, very much viz a versa.
Many also have no family and just a very few friends back in Blighty, and it would be impossible to even exist there, and also no way can get a spouse there. Well, not any more and it was very difficult 21 years ago!!
Maybe sell some land, but like other places, not in our names and also, they seem reluctant to sell, but if we run short, then some of us may be lucky,
Yes, been here 18 years, and an amazing place, but hard on fixed income like frozen State pensions and yes, families can be expensive but do not feel stuck and the same as if one gets an emergency but one has a little set by,

Also, some Thais think old Blighty is great, but one has to remind them of all the taxes and they think one can get a job and yes have a couple of friends and they get told how very hard it is and yes the same everywhere.
The answer is how can we exist on a very small amount and no thanks.
We also keep up with the news in the media too.
 

[NanLaew]

10 hours ago, Lorry said:

As you get older,  in the eyes of Thais you resemble more and more not a working professional,  but a typical retiree aka old sex tourist. They treat you accordingly. 

Elder Thais are treated with respect,  elder farangs, of course not. Thais do not respect farangs. They respect money, they also respect elder humans (= Thais) - not soi dogs and other assorted vermin.

 

Try getting the seat for the elderly on the BTS. You don't even get the senior fare,

 

Maybe the OP should get a t-shirt with "I used to work for your government" printed in Thai.

 

That should get him the respect he thinks he deserves.

[dutch boy]

41 minutes ago, KhaoHom said:

 

This was my plan. I lived it large (35)40-50 and married at 50 (unplanned) to a 32yo.

 

I have to laugh the guys that wait until they are not only retired but on full Social Security or pension. There's good as dead. My guess is they settle in and by the time they're pushing 70 they've got serious health concerns, can't much handle the heat nor the food and don't last.

 

Planning is good but too much planning or plans that disallow spontaneity or simply you actually doing or taking action or bad plans.

I would have to agree that waiting until full retirement or pension to move to Thailand drastically reduces ones changes of a better experience and enjoyment. I moved to Thailand at the age of fifty three when I was already retired for five years. Three years later I married a woman over thirty years younger than me. Now in my 70's, I am really slowing down and wish I had retired earlier in life. I would not have as much money now but I would have been able to enjoy Thailand at a younger age when I could fully appreciate it. 

[Ralf001]

39 minutes ago, novacova said:

Why work in a country where one may only be able to build a limited amount of wealth and assets and faced with a dead end? Work in your home country and accumulate wealth and assets, then retire and have your fun. 

Living here allows me accumulate wealth and purchase assets back in my home country.

 

Gotta love a full western expat salary package !

 

[Hummin]

41 minutes ago, novacova said:

Why work in a country where one may only be able to build a limited amount of wealth and assets and faced with a dead end? Work in your home country and accumulate wealth and assets, then retire and have your fun. 

Right now I'm planning to educate myself to personal trainer, diet and nutrition coach with international certificate for maybe later start a gym and have work permit. 

 

Many elderly struggling with these young pt's who doesn't understand how it is to become elderly, and barely interest them for the clients individually needs.

[worgeordie]

Respect it has to be earned ,maybe your not a nice person ,you have to 

treat others with respect to earn it yourself, I am tired of Frangs on  here,

Youtube and most likely other social media sites i don't bother with  

complaining about Thailand ,its people and how expensive it is here now,

as if there was no inflation in their country ,why don't you all just FFFFFFF fade away

 

regards worgeordie

 

[KhaoHom]

44 minutes ago, dutch boy said:

I would have to agree that waiting until full retirement or pension to move to Thailand drastically reduces ones changes of a better experience and enjoyment. I moved to Thailand at the age of fifty three when I was already retired for five years. Three years later I married a woman over thirty years younger than me. Now in my 70's, I am really slowing down and wish I had retired earlier in life. I would not have as much money now but I would have been able to enjoy Thailand at a younger age when I could fully appreciate it. 

 

I always say the game is not to die with the most stuff , but with one baht in your pocket owing no one.

 

Now married, that's changed somewhat, but overall philosophy not.

[Lorry]

12 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Respect it has to be earned ,maybe your not a nice person ,you have to 

treat others with respect to earn it yourself

It's exactly the opposite in Thailand,  and you can see examples everywhere,  everyday in the country. 

Respect is something that results from your position in society.  Farangs don't have any position in Thai society,  they exist outside of it.

Rarely has something so wrong been posted about Thailand. 

 

[NanLaew]

1 minute ago, Lorry said:

It's exactly the opposite in Thailand,  and you can see examples everywhere,  everyday in the country. 

Respect is something that results from your position in society.  Farangs don't have any position in Thai society,  they exist outside of it.

Rarely has something so wrong been posted about Thailand. 

 

 

Total conflation of 'face' and kriengjai with respect.

 

Since these are unique to Thailand, it doesn't apply to farangs unless they've been here so long they think they deserve it.

[IsaanT]

7 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

Nothing in life gets easy as you age. Life peak is 20 to 35.

On the contrary, I feel I have yet to peak and I'm 65... 😉

Life is what you make of it.
 

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

Total conflation of 'face' and kriengjai with respect

So, in your opinion, in Thai culture there is a difference between face and kriengjai and respect?

Please elaborate.

[hotsun]

16 hours ago, Chinagmaiguy said:

I had always thought the older I got here the more respect I would get. How wrong I was. For 25 years I had my fun, worked for the government and had various professional jobs in Thailand. The older Thai's always get more respect but I seem to get overcharged more and more and overcharged for the simplest things, medical services especially. Sure, you can say I'm cheap and bitter but others I know have noticed the same thing. To the point of not feeling safe. I wonder how long i should stay on here? Ok go ahead with the nasty responses. 

 

Its not because you are getting older, its because thailand is getting worse over time at an exponential pace. Dont burn your bridges back home

[NanLaew]

6 minutes ago, Lorry said:

So, in your opinion, in Thai culture there is a difference between face and kriengjai and respect?

Please elaborate.

Yes.

 

But I'm a farang, so what do I know?

[youreavinalaff]

2 hours ago, Lorry said:

It's exactly the opposite in Thailand,  and you can see examples everywhere,  everyday in the country. 

Respect is something that results from your position in society.  Farangs don't have any position in Thai society,  they exist outside of it.

Rarely has something so wrong been posted about Thailand. 

 

Speak for yourself.

[Jack1988]

16 hours ago, Lorry said:

Thais do not respect farangs. They respect money

I don't care about thais when i stay to thailand. And i'm smarter than them, i know how to play the game. They only see a small amount of money from me. It's already too much😴😂

[Lorry]

4 hours ago, hotsun said:

Its not because you are getting older, its because thailand is getting worse over time at an exponential pace. Dont burn your bridges back home

They don't need our money anymore, we were replaced by the Chinese

[youreavinalaff]

14 minutes ago, Lorry said:

They don't need our money anymore, we were replaced by the Chinese

Not quite. Chinese were setting up shop in Thailand long before the Farangs came to live.

[Chinagmaiguy]

Its amazing  how angry and  mean the posters here can get when I, or anyone simply explains a situation that they observe or are subject to here. Whats the deal? I am telling my personal observations and experiences. And by the way ,some infer I am an old sex pervert or something? How about being married to a western woman who died recently from cancer here? I knew this would draw out many of the low life angry people that live on this forum.

[Magictoad]

Cheap & Bitter LOL...Leave that to the lemons on Pattaya market. 

[Magictoad]

9 hours ago, cdemundo said:

"Sure, you can say I'm cheap and bitter .... Ok go ahead with the nasty responses. "

 

I don't know what to say.

Maybe self-awareness or lack of enters in.

Do you project that rainbows and beautiful music emanate from your soul?

Or not?

BUT YOU SAID PRECISELY 

"I had always thought the older I got here the more respect I would get. How wrong I was. For 25 years I had my fun, worked for the government and had various professional jobs in Thailand. The older Thai's always get more respect but I seem to get overcharged more and more and overcharged for the simplest things, medical services especially. Sure, you can say I'm cheap and bitter but others I know have noticed the same thing"

 

You sound bitter and joyless to me; I don't know about cheap.

[persimmon]

I find the way you get treated depends how you look ,eg. young , good looking female farang - it`s all smiles from the Thais, particularly immigration officials . OTOH - old , rough looking / shabby male farang , you get treated like s**t . Er , so a friend tells me .

[cdemundo]

10 hours ago, Magictoad said:

BUT YOU SAID PRECISELY 

"I had always thought the older I got here the more respect I would get. How wrong I was. For 25 years I had my fun, worked for the government and had various professional jobs in Thailand. The older Thai's always get more respect but I seem to get overcharged more and more and overcharged for the simplest things, medical services especially. Sure, you can say I'm cheap and bitter but others I know have noticed the same thing"

 

You sound bitter and joyless to me; I don't know about cheap.

As Travis Bickle said "Are you talking' to me?"

[daveAustin]

On 6/20/2025 at 1:20 AM, Lorry said:

As you get older,  in the eyes of Thais you resemble more and more not a working professional,  but a typical retiree aka old sex tourist. They treat you accordingly. 

Elder Thais are treated with respect,  elder farangs, of course not. Thais do not respect farangs. They respect money, they also respect elder humans (= Thais) - not soi dogs and other assorted vermin.

 

Try getting the seat for the elderly on the BTS. You don't even get the senior fare,

Utter garbage. Don’t know why you guys stay here if you think that. 

[simon43]

I assume after living for so many years in Thailand that you can speak and read Thai very well?  That will certainly help you to integrate better (I always make jokes in Thai with the 7/11 staff "Hey, I don't want sugar in my latte, can you discount it  by 1 baht?")

 

I'm 66 years old and am treated with respect by the local Thais, especially those that I don't even know.  School kids all duck as they go past me in the 7/11, locals say hello and so on.

 

You know, it helps a lot if:

- you do not wear shorts - shorts are for the beach and gym.  Wear long trousers

- you do not wear a 'wife-beater'.  Wear a collared shirt or a smart t-shirt

- you do not smoke in public, absolutely don't smoke weed in public

- you do not visibly drink alcohol except at a bar or restaurant

- you are not a lard-bucket

 

Follow this simple advice and enjoy your retirement 🙂

 

 

[daveAustin]

10 hours ago, persimmon said:

I find the way you get treated depends how you look ,eg. young , good looking female farang - it`s all smiles from the Thais, particularly immigration officials . OTOH - old , rough looking / shabby male farang , you get treated like s**t . Er , so a friend tells me .

A big issue is how you carry yourself and interact with the locals. If one wears that typical westerner scowl, never smiles and always looks bedraggled (whatever age), you’ll get the appropriate response… same any country. Speaking a bit and actually interacting also helps. 😔

[daveAustin]

20 hours ago, KhaoHom said:

If I may be so bold.. I wonder how much living in Chiang Mai has to do with it. I've always intensely found the place utterly boring to a fault. Then you have the bad air on top of it. It's a dead city for dead people. No amount of silly motorbike rides in the mountains or whatever will change that. It's not even Thailand's second city although it's often thought of as such. Second City is Phuket or Pattaya.  CM just a wasteland

More garbage. Jeez, what are you people smoking? CM is still Thailand’s second city, a provincial capital and a historically and culturally significant centre. Phuket and Pattaya? 😂😂😂

They are tourists hangouts first and foremost. Hat Yai would vie with CM for second city status, but the above are not in the running. Take the visitors away and you have a pair of ghost towns. Not even that—Phuket has a quaint old town but Pattaya is a rambling eyesore with a beach.
 

Just don’t get the hate for Chiang Mai, though if you’re a mongerer you of course got limited options. 

[BritManToo]

On 6/19/2025 at 10:13 PM, Chinagmaiguy said:

I had always thought the older I got here the more respect I would get. How wrong I was. For 25 years I had my fun, worked for the government and had various professional jobs in Thailand. The older Thai's always get more respect but I seem to get overcharged more and more and overcharged for the simplest things, medical services especially. Sure, you can say I'm cheap and bitter but others I know have noticed the same thing. To the point of not feeling safe. I wonder how long i should stay on here? Ok go ahead with the nasty responses. 

 

I've been here 16 years and never had any of these problems or negative feelings.

If I didn't like it here, I would leave.

 

Yesterday, weather was fine, went out cycling 20km along rural roads, bought moo ping and sticky rice for breakfast from a roadside stall (30bht), out to a bar with a pal in the evening small Leo (80bht), then Tacos at La Casita (180bht), then live music in the Moat house with a small Leo (100bht), life was good.

 

Today, weather is fine, a pal is just about to call round and we'll go out and have coffee, maybe walk round the local lake or play table tennis ....... as an old guy, life is amazing nearly everyday in Chiang Mai.

 

No dual pricing in my life!

 

 

[youreavinalaff]

3 hours ago, simon43 said:

I assume after living for so many years in Thailand that you can speak and read Thai very well?  That will certainly help you to integrate better (I always make jokes in Thai with the 7/11 staff "Hey, I don't want sugar in my latte, can you discount it  by 1 baht?")

 

I'm 66 years old and am treated with respect by the local Thais, especially those that I don't even know.  School kids all duck as they go past me in the 7/11, locals say hello and so on.

 

You know, it helps a lot if:

- you do not wear shorts - shorts are for the beach and gym.  Wear long trousers

- you do not wear a 'wife-beater'.  Wear a collared shirt or a smart t-shirt

- you do not smoke in public, absolutely don't smoke weed in public

- you do not visibly drink alcohol except at a bar or restaurant

- you are not a lard-bucket

 

Follow this simple advice and enjoy your retirement 🙂

 

 

There are beach shorts and regular day to day shorts. There's nothing wrong with wearing the appropriate ones on a day to day basis.

 

No need for a collard shirt either. A  t shirt or a sports vest is also fine to wear.

[madone]

On 6/20/2025 at 1:20 AM, Lorry said:

As you get older,  in the eyes of Thais you resemble more and more not a working professional,  but a typical retiree aka old sex tourist. They treat you accordingly. 

 

This is bull<deleted>. not everyone over 50 looks like a sex tourist. You ean respect with your actions and demeanor 

 

you are in control over the signal you send

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, madone said:

You ean respect with your actions and demeanor 

That's exactly wrong.

I am surprised how many farang here think like this.  Is it because you cannot accept that the locals  - all of them - around you look down on you?

 

In Thailand, respect is not earned. 

You are born into a position that commands respect.

And as a farang, you are born a farang, you cannot change this. Sorry.