Given the c**p exchange rate on the £ now, would I be better off ( re visa, cost of living, accomodation, life style, fun ) to retire in Pattaya, Cambodia ( Sihanoukville ) or Phillipines ( Cebu )?

I was intending to live in Pattaya, but I've heard that Cambodia is cheaper and has better visas, while Phillipines seems to have better visas, but same cost of living etc. I've only been to Thailand, so have no personal experience of either Cambodia or Phillipines.`

Thanks for any personal knowledge.

Cambodia has very poor health care. Anything at all advanced would mean medical evacuation to Thailand. Cebu is nice but many reports of higher rates of violence, crime, scamming, etc. I think Thailand would be the top choice of those three for retirees.

AFAIK the three currencies are dollar linked so you'll get the same cr@p exchange rate wherever you go (I may be wrong there but I'm sure someone will correct me ). Same here in Viet Nam the Dong is loosely pegged to the dollar so I am getting basically the same rate as I did 2 1/2 years ago but not for good old Sterling (glad I'm paid in USD right now).

When are you set to retire? A cr@p exchange rate today may be totally different in a week/month/year time.

All things considered......Pattaya!!!

Money's not the only consideration (the medical care mentioned above is very important). Thailand has good infrastructure, for example, something sorely lacking in Cambodia and most of the PI (just think reliable electricity supply). Probably because of the sheer number of tourists who come here, it's also safer than Cambo or the PI. I've visited both countries many times over the past 10-15 years, and enjoy them as a holiday destination, but I'm always glad to get back to Pattaya in the end. In Cambo and the PI, booze and women may be cheaper than they are in Thailand (which makes for a nice holiday! ), but many other things are more expensive - if you can buy them at all. The PI much above Mindanao is in the typhoon belt - it's really crap being stranded in some small resort where the power is out for days, simply unable to leave. It's happened to me three times.

Anyway, I'm off to Cambodia for a few weeks next month, the royal funeral and probable bar closures here are enough excuse. No doubt, though, I'll be happy to get back home to Pattaya again at the end of it.

You'll probably get other opinions if you post this question in a Sihanoukville or Cebu forum but I have to agree with the previous posters. Cambodia and The Philippines are great holiday destinations but the quality of the hospitals, the infrastructure, the quality and taste of the local food, the quality and range of restaurants, the availability of everything from tech stuff to sneakers and the proximity to Bangkok with the international airport and even better restaurants and shopping made me choose Pattaya.

// Johan

Thanks for the replies. Good in a way, as I am reluctant to have to start "learning the ropes' in a new place.

The only question is whether it will still be affordable with the exchange rate. Surely the baht has to fall sometime, even against sad old Sterling.