47 minutes ago, simon43 said:

I'm in the UK now, and my 6 weeks experience of the UK has persuaded me to return back to south-east Asia!

Yes, I have a $400k medical insurance policy for south-east Asia.

To quote myself when you were still in Thailand planning to go back to UK

"I reckon Simon will not last the year in the UK .
He will be back to Thailand before 2027"

4 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

To quote myself when you were still in Thailand planning to go back to UK

"I reckon Simon will not last the year in the UK .
He will be back to Thailand before 2027"

You might have realised by now that because I am not 'tied down' by wife or employment, I am able to go where I want and when I want :) If I find a location not to my liking, then I move on. This is one reason why in the past 20 years I have legally not had pay 1 single penny in tax to any government (Google 5-flags theory).

While I will use Bangkok Airport as a transit hub, I am unlikely to settle in Thailand - the visa rules are too onerous for me.

11 minutes ago, simon43 said:

. This is one reason why in the past 20 years I have legally not had pay 1 single penny in tax to any government (Google 5-flags theory).

Isnt that illegal ?

3 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

Isnt that illegal ?

I just used the word 'legal' and it is legal if you obey the tax rules in the countries where you stay. Typically, you are not considered tax-resident if you stay in a country less than 180 days (of course the rules vary and change, but I have always been careful not to break them). I used to live in the Principality of Andorra where there are zero personal taxes. I have bank accounts in countries not of my nationality and live in different countries not of my nationality etc.

This idea that you can't afford death and taxes is wrong, but sadly I'm not an immortal jellyfish - so I accept death at some stage, but not taxes!

3 minutes ago, simon43 said:

I just used the word 'legal' and it is legal if you obey the tax rules in the countries where you stay. Typically, you are not considered tax-resident if you stay in a country less than 180 days (of course the rules vary and change, but I have always been careful not to break them). I used to live in the Principality of Andorra where there are zero personal taxes. I have bank accounts in countries not of my nationality and live in different countries not of my nationality etc.

This idea that you can't afford death and taxes is wrong, but sadly I'm not an immortal jellyfish - so I accept death at some stage, but not taxes!

Don't you have to pay UK tax on income earnt abroad ?

6 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

Don't you have to pay UK tax on income earnt abroad ?

No I am not tax-resident in the UK. As Google explains:

As a British citizen who is not tax-resident in the UK, you generally do not have to pay UK tax on income earned outside the UK. You are only liable for UK tax on your income or gains arising from within the UK, such as rental income from a UK property.

13 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

All your friends and even family are in farangland,

What family? Never married no kids in US and the only long-term friends I still have are travelers and more likely to visit me in Thailand than v.v.

7 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

To quote myself when you were still in Thailand planning to go back to UK

"I reckon Simon will not last the year in the UK .
He will be back to Thailand before 2027"

Asian brain

Western body

That will be my new topic

On 2/7/2026 at 4:27 AM, Kyoto Kyle said:

This is a genuine question and not an attack on anyone who already lives here or loves it. But is Thailand really a smart place to spend the last third of your life?

Thailand gets talked about nonstop as a dream retirement destination. Cheap living. Easy food. Beaches. Warm weather. Services available for just about anything. Basically a soft landing for men with a bit of cash who are tired of the West and want an easier daily life.

But the older I get the more I wonder if people are only looking at the upside and ignoring the stuff that actually matters once your body is no longer forgiving.

When you are young or even middle aged you can shrug things off. Heat is annoying but manageable. Air pollution is just a bad month or three. Traffic is chaotic but you stay alert. Medical costs are hypothetical.

That changes later on.

A few things I keep coming back to.

Thailand consistently ranks at or near the top globally for road deaths. As reflexes slow and eyesight fades, is this really the environment you want to be navigating daily?

Air pollution is not just an inconvenience. For older lungs and hearts it can mean chronic breathing issues or worse. Burning season is not a meme when you are seventy.

Heat tolerance drops as you age. Long humid days that feel merely uncomfortable at fifty can become exhausting and dangerous later on.

Private hospitals are excellent but also brutally expensive if you do not have top tier international insurance. Public hospitals are another story and not always reassuring for complex age related care.

Social safety nets are thin. If things go wrong financially or medically, you are largely on your own in a foreign system as a second class citizen.

Long term care is rarely discussed. Assisted living, dementia care, and end of life support are not cheap or straightforward here.

None of this means Thailand is bad. It clearly works very well for a lot of people right now.

The question is whether it still works when you are no longer mobile, independent, or resilient. When the margin for error shrinks.

Is Thailand really a place to grow old in or is it a place that works best only while you are still healthy enough to enjoy the advantages?

Maybe for a short period of time might be OK.

25 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Asian brain

Western body

That will be my new topic

This is a large part of my mental make-up. I still get upset at stupid shi+ quickly, still look for solutions when best to hold two minds. I do have far more patience. But I've completely assimilated. My mannerisms, chat. When I go back I miss so much about Asia and embrace very little of the US... especially living in BKK. I like how transit is clean and polite as long as tourists not involved

About the only thing I really like is the quiet, walking in my friends clean neighborhoods, parks and green spaces. Some purchases at Costco.

I don't miss the food at all. Maybe cheap cheese and wine, but that's nothing

Even Laguna beach...meh. Islands in S Thailand are paradise

Want to live in California and other high tax states? You will work forever!!!

In the words of Zack Mayo : ‘I got nowhere else to go !’

I left after a few years there, my lungs could not take the pollution any longer. I was never so miserable in my life.

I was planning to move to Thailand but over the past year the bureaucrats have increased the hassle factor of living in Thailand to the point that I have no interest in dealing with it. I'm an old man who wants a peaceful life and doing paperwork, usually more than once, every few months is not the life I want.

Maybe the new government will ease off, but I doubt it.

On 2/8/2026 at 9:29 AM, Prubangboy said:

I have more friends here than I ever had back home and more social opportunities to make more. Plus more dateable women.

I go to the gym more and get more medical check ups. I have an air purifier.

The good far outweighs the bad for a third the price of being back in the states.

Also, I like many people here don’t have much of a support network back home. There really is no alternative for me.

What sort of weight training do you do?

1 minute ago, technoronin said:

I was planning to move to Thailand but over the past year the bureaucrats have increased the hassle factor of living in Thailand to the point that I have no interest in dealing with it. I'm an old man who wants a peaceful life and doing paperwork, usually more than once, every few months is not the life I want.

Maybe the new government will ease off, but I doubt it.

Cambodia has a better visa once a year $300 us

On 2/7/2026 at 7:27 PM, Kyoto Kyle said:

This is a genuine question and not an attack on anyone who already lives here or loves it. But is Thailand really a smart place to spend the last third of your life?

Thailand gets talked about nonstop as a dream retirement destination. Cheap living. Easy food. Beaches. Warm weather. Services available for just about anything. Basically a soft landing for men with a bit of cash who are tired of the West and want an easier daily life.

But the older I get the more I wonder if people are only looking at the upside and ignoring the stuff that actually matters once your body is no longer forgiving.

When you are young or even middle aged you can shrug things off. Heat is annoying but manageable. Air pollution is just a bad month or three. Traffic is chaotic but you stay alert. Medical costs are hypothetical.

That changes later on.

A few things I keep coming back to.

Thailand consistently ranks at or near the top globally for road deaths. As reflexes slow and eyesight fades, is this really the environment you want to be navigating daily?

Air pollution is not just an inconvenience. For older lungs and hearts it can mean chronic breathing issues or worse. Burning season is not a meme when you are seventy.

Heat tolerance drops as you age. Long humid days that feel merely uncomfortable at fifty can become exhausting and dangerous later on.

Private hospitals are excellent but also brutally expensive if you do not have top tier international insurance. Public hospitals are another story and not always reassuring for complex age related care.

Social safety nets are thin. If things go wrong financially or medically, you are largely on your own in a foreign system as a second class citizen.

Long term care is rarely discussed. Assisted living, dementia care, and end of life support are not cheap or straightforward here.

None of this means Thailand is bad. It clearly works very well for a lot of people right now.

The question is whether it still works when you are no longer mobile, independent, or resilient. When the margin for error shrinks.

Is Thailand really a place to grow old in or is it a place that works best only while you are still healthy enough to enjoy the advantages?

The question posed seems to be about the poster's own personal and financial situation. Perhaps it is based on a single, financially limited pensioner who still has close familial and government support in his particular home country. Not every expat fits that mold.

I'm 77, infirm, with many medical issues but wouldn't return to Australia under any circumstances. I am far richer here and can access top tier medical care here without breaking the bank.

I have never ridden nor passengered on a motorcycle, which means Thailand is probably the safest country in which I have ever lived. Only 12% of road deaths involve cars. Work it out. Half of all Thailand's road accidents happen in Bangkok, a place I avoid. Others drive me around these days.

Smoke pollution is a problem anywhere, not just for Thailand. As another poster stated, it's not a big thing in the south of the country. It doesn't have to be a reason to flee to nome country where they probably have similar problems.

If you grew up in a grey country near the artic circle perhaps retiring to the tropic heat is not a clever option. However, I believe over time the body adapts rather than becomes more sensitive to hot weather. Also, they also have AC here. I rarely turn mine on, the ceiling fans suffice.

Social safety nets here are possibly thin for the single man on a small pension who came for the booze and girlies and has discovered age happens. I, and most expats i know, have extended family support in Thailand far beyond what is left at home.

I've done the research, Thailand has far superiar assisted and dementia care facilities than are available at home. A main reason is the much lower wage structure which equates to more and better nursing staff.

By all means, run home to family and the nanny state if you didn't fully plan nor equip yourself for migration.

Thailand is still one of the best retirement destinations in SE Asia regarding infrastructure, costs and visa. Providing you stay away from Phuket, Pattaya, Chonburi, BKK, Koh Lanta, Samui, KPG and any other foreign dominated cesspool destination. Find your ideal slice of paradise and live in peace. What's not to like?

On 2/7/2026 at 7:38 PM, georgegeorgia said:

Unfortunately you may have overlooked one important and what my dear fellow would we perhaps call it ...faculty .....?

You overlooked one faculty ...housing

You see many if not ALL expats come from living in a house with a backyard to living in Thailand... to a shoebox condo or even any condo that is not in their normal living in farangland

And that my dear fellow can lead to depression, isolation.

I certainly hope that nobody is asking for your 'academic works' (of an earlier post) as you seem to be prone to making sweeping statements backed up by no academic data, whatsoever. Such as the above '...many if not ALL expats come from living in a house with a backyard...'. Wrong. I came from living in a condo, as did my spouse. Neither of us ever owned a house until we moved to Thailand.

We have Canadian friends who also own a condo, not a house, in the Canadian city where they are from. I think you would find that some people, moving from large cities to Thailand, lived in a condo or an apartment in their home city, rather than a house with a backyard.

You also seem to be inordinately focused only on expats living in reduced circumstances in Thailand and, once again, make the broad assumption that all expats here are living in a 'shoebox condo'.

There is certainly nothing wrong with living in a small condo--many condo projects with small condo units have wonderful amenities for residents to enjoy--sky lounges, multiple pools, air-conditioned gyms, saunas, theater rooms, libraries, garden areas, etc. Plus, it can be easy to socialize, if one wants to, and not be in 'isolation' in a large condo project. So, living in a small condo in a nice climate, not so bad.

But, many expats here are not living full-time in shoebox condos. Nobody I know is living in one year-round here. They are all lving in larger condos or pool villas. While you are laser-focused on the residents of Nirun and Flybird, you are totally ignoring where the vast numbers of expats are, which is not Nirun or Flybird.

I use Pattaya as my example but I think you'll find that to be true in other places, as well. Next time you visit Pattaya, you need to do some real research for your 'academic works', and that means getting in the car and visiting places where most expats live--Jomtien, Na Jomtien, Cosy Beach, Central Pattaya, Naklua/Wongamat, Pratamnuk, Ban Saray, etc.

But, mostly you need to venture over to the Darkside to really have your eyes opened. You need to see for yourself the hundreds of housing projects in this part of Pattaya, with more being built every day. For every expat living in Nirun, there are many more living very nicely on the Darkside, including me.

You are certainly correct that housing is important. The fact that it is so plentiful, with so many choices, and at reasonable prices relative to many western countries, makes Thailand a smart place to grow old, in my opinion. Keeping a roof over one's head is usually one of the biggest monthly expenses. If you can keep that cost low, it leaves more money for health care and home care if you eventually need it. Just as a wake-up call, my Mom was in a nice retirement facility for 10 years before her death in 2019. Average yearly cost for those 10 years? $70,000. That can buy a lot of care in Thailand.

On 2/7/2026 at 7:48 PM, Harrisfan said:

Thailand has dodgy footpaths and slippery bathrooms. I cant see how an 85yo would cope with them.

Not to speak of the shower unit glass panels not being the safety glass panel version, mainly to save on costs. Sadly, a acquaintance of mine slipped in the shower, fell against the glass panel and resulting in him bleeding to death.

1 hour ago, Harrisfan said:

Cambodia has a better visa once a year $300 us

Not sure about that, as TH is 1900 + 500 ? (bank) = 2400 / $77 USD

Not to mention, crap infrastructure, or so I read.

3 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Not sure about that, as TH is 1900 + 500 ? (bank) = 2400 / $77 USD

Cambodia doesnt ask for proof of funds.

Just now, Harrisfan said:

Cambodia doesnt ask for proof of funds.

Yep, great for the skint expat, and why many left TH, when embassies stopped issuing BS income statements, THANKFULLY

On 2/7/2026 at 7:34 PM, Jingthing said:

I'm assuming you're really talking about home country vs. Thailand.

Many of the weaknesses of Thailand will show up in any non-home country.

So in that sense it's more a question of what is your home country, your wealth level, and what kind of support you can realistically expect in your home country when things have gone south.

In many cases, these calculations will end up being a wash or crap shoot, so if you love living in Thailand or elsewhere, may as well continue.

I believe you're correct when you mention the issue of expected support in one's home country, but I don't believe "many of the weaknesses of Thailand will show up in any home country", although home countries may have other weaknesses. As for aging and medical care, I'm not sure I agree with the "crap shoot" theory. Aging in a country with consistently high levels of pollution and other health hazards is likely to have a huge difference on not only the quality of life, but also it's longevity. As for me, I believe the points the OP brought up are valid.

I thought a lot about this for well over 20 years as Thailand was on my radar since visit in the '90s and became sort of a long-term retirement fantasy then a plan over the last 10 years.

After moving between Pattaya/Jomtien and Bangkok since I came here two years ago in my late 50s, O Retirement, I noticed a push-pull between being near the best medical care which is in Bangkok and being in an area where you can actually walk on the sidewalks, get some exercise, and have a more relaxing lifestyle, like Jomtien or maybe Hua Hin (haven't been).

Now after a year of getting some medical things addressed or at least stabilized in Bangkok, I'm going back out to Jomtien.

I have proper international insurance but a high deductible, so I just pay out of pocket. It has not been cheap, but easily less than half what I would have paid in the USA. If I had a truly disastrous health outcome here or mobility issues, however, things might be different. I'll reassess as the years go by, but life is more about the journey than the finish imho.

On 2/7/2026 at 7:38 PM, georgegeorgia said:

Unfortunately you may have overlooked one important and what my dear fellow would we perhaps call it ...faculty .....?

You overlooked one faculty ...housing

You see many if not ALL expats come from living in a house with a backyard to living in Thailand... to a shoebox condo or even any condo that is not in their normal living in farangland

And that my dear fellow can lead to depression, isolation.

Hmm, many Expats ... perhaps. I live in Chiang Mai, 3 bed, 2 bath bungalow, two cars (ancient), motorbike with my Thai Wife and Stepdaughter. Quite pleased but ... well, I am an American so cost comparisons show I cannot afford the have such an earned working middle class retirement in the USE.

I find the elderly in Thailand are generally far better treated than they are in western countries. In my case retired to the LOS in 1993 together with my Thai wife. She is now 72, I am 84. No complaints so far.

Here's where I live, no traffic, no pollution, in the middle of nowhere, still covered by my Thai Social Security, ประกันสังคม

https://youtu.be/IHNdzwHywnk

5 minutes ago, Garouda said:

still covered by my Thai Social Security

One of my regrets was not continuing to make the payments into Thai SS after my job ended along with my WP. I didn't expect to return to Thailand to retire. But things (and life) change... For the peanuts it would have cost me, that was a screw-up.

If you're reading this from a Thai job, don't make the mistake I did. Just for the health care coverage.

The depressing wet weather of England- and the woke politics of Starmer, and many others from all parts of the political spectrum made semi-retirement for me to Thailand at 70 an easy choice

2 years later I know I made thee right choice - and using the gym in my condo 4 /5 times a week has enabled me to lose weight, get in shape and feel better physically and mentally than ever before

This ridiculous 90 day reporting should be stopped, which other country does it? It is OK for people who have an IO in their town/city. My IO office is about 60 Ks from where I live and there is no public transport to it.

What happens when I am too old to ride a motorbike that distance. This is one of the reasons that is going to force me back home to my home country.