To the OP. Are you still in the country? (Thailand)

I guess not. He must be in Ecuador now.

I don't think the OP is being that insensitive. He knows he is in a relationship with a bar girl he meet in Pattaya. Do you think she would hesitate to ditch him for somebody richer? Somebody suggested giving the girl his truck but that is way too much to give her. Give here enough to go back to Pattaya (or where ever she wants) and rent an apartment. That is more than reasonable as she was already getting paid to do nothing for 2 years.

As far as Ecuador or the other countries in the area go, they sound like real hell holes. High taxes on imported food, less variety of goods and terrible crime problems. I am no huge fan of Thailand but those alternatives seem pretty desperate. Is it better to be bored or afraid for your life? Those countries would be fun and exotic at first but would become very boring over time as I am sure they do not offer nearly as many entertainment options as Thailand. Looking up the local foods of that region and they seem pretty unappealing to me. There was another thread going on about alternatives to Thailand. The conclusion I came to after reading it and this one is that if you are broke and need your money to stretch far then you are pretty much stuck with Thailand. Costa Rica sounds like it might be okay but much more expensive than Thailand it seems.

If money was taken out of the equation then my guess is Thailand would not be very high on the list for prospective retirees. I am not knocking Thailand here but just saying you get what you pay for. Don't expect champagne on a beer budget.

....

As far as Ecuador or the other countries in the area go, they sound like real hell holes. High taxes on imported food, less variety of goods and terrible crime problems. I am no huge fan of Thailand but those alternatives seem pretty desperate. Is it better to be bored or afraid for your life? Those countries would be fun and exotic at first but would become very boring over time as I am sure they do not offer nearly as many entertainment options as Thailand. Looking up the local foods of that region and they seem pretty unappealing to me. There was another thread going on about alternatives to Thailand. The conclusion I came to after reading it and this one is that if you are broke and need your money to stretch far then you are pretty much stuck with Thailand. Costa Rica sounds like it might be okay but much more expensive than Thailand it seems.

If money was taken out of the equation then my guess is Thailand would not be very high on the list for prospective retirees. I am not knocking Thailand here but just saying you get what you pay for. Don't expect champagne on a beer budget.

I thought Equador and Curacao were very beautiful. I'm sure Columbia would be just as beautiful if not more so. Very humid in those areas (not just hot); air condition is a must. I felt more safe in those places than I did in major cities in USA. I've been reading up on Columbia and it looks like a great place to retire, or at least check out. It's one of the happiest populations in the world (I forgot the study that measured this). It couldn't be worse than thailand, except some of your imported foods may be higher.

If you are going to a non-Western countries expecting Western standards, you may be in for a disappointment.