Lazy Day [Or why I retired away from Australia]

[thhMan]

You forgot to mention the other perks.

The Thai Filth, unhygienic food practices, lack of local knowledge, lack of worker rights, lack of tourist rights, tourist scams and so on.

Yep, Thailand is different from Australia

Yes - this describes Australia quite well.

How so... I am from there and I had never had food poisoning until I started living in Thailand.... Jumping in a cab in Australia (well for starters, just that is something I miss) and the driver will take you where you want to go.

In Thailand, I dont do that as many times I have to hop back out as the cabbie suddenly is on a break, doesnt know where to go, decides the fee with no meter and so on.

[mikemac]

Well; interesting but very different from my current Thai life and my former life in Britain....

Jogging in the morning........free...........England.....free.

Mug of Tea (1 bag )........1 Baht...........England.....1p.

Use of fitness Machines in local park.....free......England.....free.

Back Massage (Wife)..........free...........England.....free.

Car Wash (myself)..............free...........England.....free.

Avoiding Cheesecake.........free...........England.....free.

Total...................................1 Baht..........................1p.

I do this as many times a week as i please and i could afford to do it in either country, or any other for that matter.

Have a nice day everyone.

Kee niow mahk mahk !!!

[Mousehound]

Just a comment on a few purchases in the last days here in Perth, OZ.

1pt beer 350 bht

1 loaf decent sliced bread 200 bht

1 fish and chips with side salad (snapper) 950 bht (local pub)

rent 60sq m one bed apartment in old condo unit 4k from city centre 45 000 bht pm (no gym, pool or security etc). - this is a good deal here.

car Suzuki Alto 10k service 8900 bht + oil etc

1K organic grown bananas 180 bht

12 800g free range eggs 140 bht

I mug flat white coffee 100 bht

virtually no fresh green veg on the shelves in Woolies when I went yesterday. Cheapest was a cauliflower for only 60bht. A small cucumber was 80bht. potatoes - washed 120bht per K. Capsicum 350bht per K.

Milk is very cheap here at 50 bht for 2L

Cigarettes are a fortune - about 20bht each

[cpofc]

You forgot to mention the other perks.

The Thai Filth, unhygienic food practices, lack of local knowledge, lack of worker rights, lack of tourist rights, tourist scams and so on.

Yep, Thailand is different from Australia

Yes - this describes Australia quite well.

How so... I am from there and I had never had food poisoning until I started living in Thailand.... Jumping in a cab in Australia (well for starters, just that is something I miss) and the driver will take you where you want to go.

In Thailand, I dont do that as many times I have to hop back out as the cabbie suddenly is on a break, doesnt know where to go, decides the fee with no meter and so on.

Cabs are great where I am. Where else do they take your shopping trolley off you as you walk out the door of your local Tesco Hypermart, load the goods into the back, take you home, (they don't ask where I live, haven't done so for yonks, they know where I live). On arrival they help me inside with all my stuff. 50Bt with a 10 Bht tip. For long journey's, expeds, etc I have a good friend in my Soi who has his own cab, so I usually ask him. Otherwise going downtown, immigration, malls, pubs, is no problem at all. I often have a chat to the driver, discuss what route to take. To go the Toll Way or not. I even began teaching myself about English Football to use as an icebreaker. LOL. Go Arsenal, the Gunners! or they smile and turn up the stereo when they hear me humming along to Carabao numbers. Thailand is good because keeping within Australian culture we can jump in the front seat next to the driver! Happy with that.

On the other hand my mate was telling me not long back how one of our mates (Ex HMAS VOYAGER Survivor actually) had a heart attack and was rushed to Royal Melbourne Hospital. My mate didn't want to drive to the city (traffic is bad, like BKK) so he caught the train to Flinders Street and jumped in a Cab. 'Take me to the Royal Melbourne Hospital mate'. The bastard didn't even know how to get from Flinders Street Station to Royal Melbourne. <deleted>!

[Tolley]

I think it is a sensible option for someone who is in good health and wants to retire and has limited funds because Australia is very expensive.

I am on contract in Perth at the moment and my costs are very high.

Here is an example:

rent 700 per week nice two bedroom in East Perth FF all amenties gym pool sauna

electricity 300 dollars for two months

food is very expensive average lunch 12 dollars no drink

beer after work min 10 a bottle or glass some places more

taxi fares really kill me I travel a lot 20 minute is around 40 dollars.

Perth very expensive but it the food quality apart from seafood is much better than thailand. The open spaces the ease of transportion and the rule of law and medical services infrastructure far higher than Thailand.

If you can afford it Australia on my metric is a much better place to live especially when you get into later retirement like your 70s.

However if you can only generate 50-60k a year then better go and live someone else in early retirement because that really is only enough to survive in Oz.

[mogoso]

A long way off retirement but some cost comparisons that have me thinking a bit recently

Thailand England

Education c.300,000/year Free

Healthcare c.5000/m insurance Free

BMW 320 c. 3,000,000 c. 1,200,000

Coffee Machine c. 15,000 c. 5,000

Supermarkets are about the same, but I would say you have a bit more variety and (never thought I would say this!) better quality in the UK.

Thailand is cheap for some things, hotels, restaurants, labour (a double edged sword) but not for others, and the things Thailand is not cheap for are becoming more of a priority in my life than the things it is cheap for.

Property can be cheap but if you want a nice place in a good location (and that means Bangkok for most people who work here) then it isn't much different to provincial cities in England.

Is Education and Healthcare really free in England? Are the teachers paid? or there facilities for the students to be taught in? are there hospitals and Doctors offices? do the people who work in them get paid? Or is there a system of high taxation that removes the money from your pockets withoiut you having to worry where the cash is going. there ain't no such thing as a free lunch where Government is concerned

[kevvy]

you cannot compare these results...As the average Australian wage is so much higher than here.

You didn't read the OP properly. He's retired so the money he recieves is the same here or back in Australia so it's a very fair comparison, wouldn't you say?

Aussies world's highest paid but not for long

October 3, 2013, 11:19 amYahoo!7

Australia is the world’s highest paid country in terms of monthly wages, but will slip the rankings over the next 20 years due to stagnating wages, a report has suggested.

The report by PwC notes that while globally, there’s likely to be an advancement in real wages by 2030 of both emerging and advanced economies, Australia is set for its wages to stagnate.

In 2011, Australia ranked as a leading economy with an average wage per month of $4471, France coming in second at $3821.

[hellodolly]

.. not to mention the fabulous 1st class health care.

I had an emergency hernia surgery at the Austin hospital recently, one of the best on the planet 0.Baht

Then shortly after was bowled over by a car, back in hospital for 1 week, and 3 weeks at Private Rehab, with the best physio ... 0.Baht I am still going as outpatient. Transport and treatment? paid for by TAC.

Thailand is cheap because 1. there is no tax on motor registration to cover such things.

2. There is very little tax on anything else, so there is no funding to maintain many of the things we take for granted in Australia and other Western countries.

You can't have your cake and eat it. I hope you are well prepared for all possibilities, especially the 'probabilities' that loom in the shadows of retirement.

I live in Bangkok excluding the massage I think it would be cheaper if I moved to Brisbane

How much is the cost of insurance in Australia. In Canada I pay $66 Canadian a month.

[kevvy]

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I was in st.vincents hospital in melborne for over 5 months because i contacted MRSA disease .got a new total hip replacement free ambulance each week to take me to rehab,free nurse care , free wheelchair and other medical items . What was the cost? Everything was free

[F4UCorsair]

You forgot to mention the other perks.

The Thai Filth, unhygienic food practices, lack of local knowledge, lack of worker rights, lack of tourist rights, tourist scams and so on.

Yep, Thailand is different from Australia

Just as Australia was 50 years ago, and EVERY developing country was and will be.

Tourism is a scam the world over, taxi drivers ripping you off, ridiculously high prices for only some nationalities, operators scamming those whose first language is not English, and on it goes.

[F4UCorsair]

NBD said, "Property can be cheap but if you want a nice place in a good location (and that means Bangkok for most people who work here) then it isn't much different to provincial cities in England."

Compare apples with apples. Bangkok with provincial cities? Bangkok with London would be a valid comparison in my view, but if you want to sue that line, compare London prices with Chiang Rai.

[F4UCorsair]

.. not to mention the fabulous 1st class health care.

I had an emergency hernia surgery at the Austin hospital recently, one of the best on the planet 0.Baht

Then shortly after was bowled over by a car, back in hospital for 1 week, and 3 weeks at Private Rehab, with the best physio ... 0.Baht I am still going as outpatient. Transport and treatment? paid for by TAC.

Thailand is cheap because 1. there is no tax on motor registration to cover such things.

2. There is very little tax on anything else, so there is no funding to maintain many of the things we take for granted in Australia and other Western countries.

You can't have your cake and eat it. I hope you are well prepared for all possibilities, especially the 'probabilities' that loom in the shadows of retirement.

I live in Bangkok excluding the massage I think it would be cheaper if I moved to Brisbane

How much is the cost of insurance in Australia. In Canada I pay $66 Canadian a month.

The cost of health insurance is high.

The 'public' system, Medicare is levied as a percentage of gross income, currently 1.5% I think, so on $100,000 income, $1500 a year, or $30 a week. The public system involves queueing for hospital treatment, no choice of specialist, shared hospital room, etc. An operation, e.g., hip replacement, will cost not a cent, but you may have to wait a couple of years for a slot, and could be displaced by those 'more needy' along the way.

Private insurance, at a moderate level is at least another $2000 a year for a single, or $40 a week, so about $70 total a week should cover it. Private insurance means you can have elective surgery/specialist treatment, choose your specialist, a private hospital room, etc. A hip replacement will cost what is not covered by private insurance, and that could easily be $1000-1500 considering the hospital policy excess, the gap between the 'scheduled fee' (that nominated by the health department and insurance companies) and that charged by the surgeon and anaesthetist. Surgeons/specialists ALWAYS charge more than the 'scheduled fee'. That's still not bad for a procedure that now costs about $25,000, but bear in mind that you've paid for private health insurance and still have to pay excesses.

Many surgeons operate in both systems, and the one who replaced my hip does 6 - 8 operations a day, two days a week, at $1500+ a time, plus consults 2 - 3 days a week, so a gross income of $1 + million.

The same surgeon occasionally operates in the public system for $125.00 a day, doing up to six operations. He gives the reason for working in the public system as putting something back for the millions of $$ in training he received at no charge. The real reason is that if he operates in the public system, he is able to salary sacrifice ALL his income, effectively paying very, very little tax, leaving the tax burden on the poor old 'pay as you earn' salary earner......again.

Comparing the cost of health insurance in Australia with Thailand, you could be paying $70.00 a week LESS in Thailand if you have no insurance, or it frees up $70.00 a week to buy top of the range insurance.

Edited October 16, 2013 by F4UCorsair

[pitchag]

Im ex Brisbane resident to and concur the brisvegas costings...I live in hua hin and my costings are probably 2 to 3 times more expensive than yours...but still cheaper than Australia.

I sold my house on the Gold Coast Queensland last year and retired to Thailand the cost of living in Aussie has gone though the roof, example my house and contents insurance for $380,000 was 2 years ago was $700 = 20300Bt next year $1200 =34800Bt last year $3980= 115,429Bt and on the rates of over $3,000= 87000Bt a last but not least water $1400= 40,600Bt This adds up to

A whopping 243,029Bt per year just to own your house add on gas and electric ( which has also gone through the roof ) and maintenance. Then the cost of running a car with fuel at $1.60 a litre and tax and insurance through the roof as well

I love Australia it is a beautiful country with some of the best and most generous people you would wish to meet but it is just too expensive for a pensioner to enjoy the good things in life

[David48]

I amazed by the number of QLDer's and particular Gold Coasters who have made Thailand their home!

You guys could have your own sub-Forum.

[Bcgardener]

.. not to mention the fabulous 1st class health care.

I had an emergency hernia surgery at the Austin hospital recently, one of the best on the planet 0.Baht

Then shortly after was bowled over by a car, back in hospital for 1 week, and 3 weeks at Private Rehab, with the best physio ... 0.Baht I am still going as outpatient. Transport and treatment? paid for by TAC.

Thailand is cheap because 1. there is no tax on motor registration to cover such things.

2. There is very little tax on anything else, so there is no funding to maintain many of the things we take for granted in Australia and other Western countries.

You can't have your cake and eat it. I hope you are well prepared for all possibilities, especially the 'probabilities' that loom in the shadows of retirement.

I live in Bangkok excluding the massage I think it would be cheaper if I moved to Brisbane

How much is the cost of insurance in Australia. In Canada I pay $66 Canadian a month.

The cost of health insurance is high.

The 'public' system, Medicare is levied as a percentage of gross income, currently 1.5% I think, so on $100,000 income, $1500 a year, or $30 a week. The public system involves queueing for hospital treatment, no choice of specialist, shared hospital room, etc. An operation, e.g., hip replacement, will cost not a cent, but you may have to wait a couple of years for a slot, and could be displaced by those 'more needy' along the way.

Private insurance, at a moderate level is at least another $2000 a year for a single, or $40 a week, so about $70 total a week should cover it. Private insurance means you can have elective surgery/specialist treatment, choose your specialist, a private hospital room, etc. A hip replacement will cost what is not covered by private insurance, and that could easily be $1000-1500 considering the hospital policy excess, the gap between the 'scheduled fee' (that nominated by the health department and insurance companies) and that charged by the surgeon and anaesthetist. Surgeons/specialists ALWAYS charge more than the 'scheduled fee'. That's still not bad for a procedure that now costs about $25,000, but bear in mind that you've paid for private health insurance and still have to pay excesses.

Many surgeons operate in both systems, and the one who replaced my hip does 6 - 8 operations a day, two days a week, at $1500+ a time, plus consults 2 - 3 days a week, so a gross income of $1 + million.

The same surgeon occasionally operates in the public system for $125.00 a day, doing up to six operations. He gives the reason for working in the public system as putting something back for the millions of $$ in training he received at no charge. The real reason is that if he operates in the public system, he is able to salary sacrifice ALL his income, effectively paying very, very little tax, leaving the tax burden on the poor old 'pay as you earn' salary earner......again.

Comparing the cost of health insurance in Australia with Thailand, you could be paying $70.00 a week LESS in Thailand if you have no insurance, or it frees up $70.00 a week to buy top of the range insurance.

As an Aussie that is currently reviewing private health insurance quotes here in Thailand for myself and family, you have just clarified the whole thing for me. Here I am thinking it's expensive here but forgetting that both my wife and I were paying the Medicare levy in Oz. So take me at 100k and her at 50k = $2250 in Medicare levies, add on the private insurance at about $3000 (after30% rebate) and all that comes to about 155,000 baht. That is pretty much the price I have been quoted for family cover here and I don't have any gap payment to worry about.

[simple1]

As an Aussie that is currently reviewing private health insurance quotes here in Thailand for myself and family, you have just clarified the whole thing for me. Here I am thinking it's expensive here but forgetting that both my wife and I were paying the Medicare levy in Oz. So take me at 100k and her at 50k = $2250 in Medicare levies, add on the private insurance at about $3000 (after30% rebate) and all that comes to about 155,000 baht. That is pretty much the price I have been quoted for family cover here and I don't have any gap payment to worry about.

You can obtain no gap private medical services. e.g. I required hand surgery, one specialist who did not subscribe to no gap services wanted an additional $1000 for a 30 minute operation, the specialist I used had a no gap policy, so no extra payment required.

[lahgon29]

Speaking of Perth and considering that mostly Aussies are reading this.

Scoot Airlines have just released a Perth - Singapore fare for $88

Yes you are right but it is just a promotional first fare commencing on the 9th of December I think

After checking flights back Brisbane, it seems the specials that are on Brisbane-Udon Thani- Brisbane, don't exist in reverse. I can get cheaper flights to the UK than to Brisbane, due, I suppose, to the larger selection of airlines...Another reason to not return to home often!

Yes, I realize I can fly AirAsia and Scoot from the Gold Coast. Been there, done that, and I'd rather pay the extra.

[lahgon29]

What the heck is a "casual gym visit"

That's where you just walk into a gym, see people exercising and sweating, think that looks like work, then turn around and leave.

Hah! That is basically what my visits to the gym are like. With regard to the OP that seems like a very cheap day... I only have Bangkok as a reference but to do all of that there I would assume a price more along the lines of 1000tbh.

It's Udon Thani, Pitts, which is much cheaper than Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Hua Hin, Samui etc. The prices were true. My 25 Baht per cup Arabica bean long Black shop has no aircon or free wifi, granted, but a pot of hot green tea is included..1115 now....Time to go!

[Mousehound]

Although I am based in the U.K some of the year, I was recently asked to fly to Brisbane from Samui to attend a skin cancer patient. I had not been for 2-3 years previously, and was absolutely horrified at the prices in the local shop. Have salaries really risen by the same amount?

No they have not In fact of the four wage earners in my immediate family only one has had an increase above the inflation rate in the last two years and two have had a dramatic drop in wages. We now have a two tier economy. Those with extremely high paid jobs and those with pretty low paid jobs with not a lot in between.

[Mousehound]

Thailand v Australia (Perth)

Cars expensive in Thailand

Scooters very cheap in Thailand

Petrol - not much in it really

beer and food - way cheaper in Thailand if you can eat local food.

Public transport - very limited options in Perth and much more expensive than Thailand.

Taxis in Perth (if you can actually get one are a fortune.

Electricity - I would have thought not a lot of difference.

House / condo way cheaper in Thailand

Electrical - computers etc I think better value in OZ

Dental - cheaper in Thailand and good quality if you go to the right places (not too cheap please)

Optical - way cheaper in Thailand (but I get my scrip done in OZ)

Good clothing I actually find not much in it either way.

Education - expensive tertiary and private schools (top) are very expensive for what you get. (I would say you need about 1 000 000 per year for a top private school here)

Perth cinema 500Bht for standard seats

Internet 2200bht in Perth one month (500gig download)but one megabit per second download.

[SPIKECM]

Absolutely true, but if you don't work, then Thailand starts to become more expensive as at the point of use, health and education are free .......in the UK anyway (to the user). There's no arguing with your political point though.

A long way off retirement but some cost comparisons that have me thinking a bit recently

Thailand England

Education c.300,000/year Free

Healthcare c.5000/m insurance Free

BMW 320 c. 3,000,000 c. 1,200,000

Coffee Machine c. 15,000 c. 5,000

Supermarkets are about the same, but I would say you have a bit more variety and (never thought I would say this!) better quality in the UK.

Thailand is cheap for some things, hotels, restaurants, labour (a double edged sword) but not for others, and the things Thailand is not cheap for are becoming more of a priority in my life than the things it is cheap for.

Property can be cheap but if you want a nice place in a good location (and that means Bangkok for most people who work here) then it isn't much different to provincial cities in England.

Is Education and Healthcare really free in England? Are the teachers paid? or there facilities for the students to be taught in? are there hospitals and Doctors offices? do the people who work in them get paid? Or is there a system of high taxation that removes the money from your pockets withoiut you having to worry where the cash is going. there ain't no such thing as a free lunch where Government is concerned

[marquis22]

you cannot compare these results...As the average Australian wage is so much higher than here.

You didn't read the OP properly. He's retired so the money he recieves is the same here or back in Australia so it's a very fair comparison, wouldn't you say?

I concur about the fair comparison re the retirement benefit payment.But you also have to consider the flight cost of about 30,000 B, visa cost, accommodation (OP's friend is a free loader no doubt?) cost of maintaining things back home and what about health insurance here in Thailand?

I'm contemplating staying here in Thailand in retirement, perhaps only 6 months per year, necessitating at least 2 return flights and although can live in hotels at 600 B average per day, really with free health insurance in Oz and as the body ages?? I guess I only get crook when in Australia!

[pitchag]

Laughed at trainmans cost comparison, but there are some "hidden costs" regarding wife that are not included in Brisbane costs. I wanted to move to Australia just a few weeks ago. The bar for moving there as far as just piles of cash go is far too high for me. But if I could trade my US passport for Australian I would do it in heartbeat. This place may be cheap, but it would be nice to live in a decent civil society, neither of which seems to be true either in Thailand or USA.

If you want a civil society avoid the inner city and stay clear of the Gold Coast in Queensland in the schoolies weeks place is full of drunken drugged out kids causing mayhem so much for civil society

[pitchag]

I tried retirement living in Thailand, but now live on the Gold Coast (near Brisbane).

I consider that I live here nearly as cheaply as in Thailand.

I agree that taxis are very expensive, but apart from an occasional airport trip. I never use them.

What I get here -

cheaper wine

free medical and dental (in thailand I need to pay for insurance)

free local bus

low cost quality food

beautiful beaches

rule of law

I am sure that I could think of some other things.

Where on the Gold Coast do you get Low Cost quality food? do you pay rates, house insurance, water bill, us electricity eat out even at the once cheap surf clubs the food increased beyond most retirees means and the free medical and dental is great if you don't mind waiting a few years to be treated, I have only been away for 12 months it can't have improved that much and as for rule of law the place is run by the bikies and the Lebanese mafia with the help of the grossly overpaid aldermen in the Gold Coast council, even the charity shops are ripping people off there

[pitchag]

A long way off retirement but some cost comparisons that have me thinking a bit recently

Thailand England

Education c.300,000/year Free

Healthcare c.5000/m insurance Free

BMW 320 c. 3,000,000 c. 1,200,000

Coffee Machine c. 15,000 c. 5,000

Supermarkets are about the same, but I would say you have a bit more variety and (never thought I would say this!) better quality in the UK.

Thailand is cheap for some things, hotels, restaurants, labour (a double edged sword) but not for others, and the things Thailand is not cheap for are becoming more of a priority in my life than the things it is cheap for.

Property can be cheap but if you want a nice place in a good location (and that means Bangkok for most people who work here) then it isn't much different to provincial cities in England.

What's the bull shit about FREE health care, The government has been ripping money out of your pay packets for years to pay for the sub standard health care that England supplies.

My sister and her husband worked for !00+ combined years in England never unemployed always worked and paid their dues, when my sister got sick with Parkinsons that led to Dementure and ended her days in a nursing home My brother in law had to sign over half his house to pay for the care Free health care <deleted>

[thehelmsman]

I was in Gladstone a few months back and was sort of shocked when shipmates told me a pack of smokes was costing $20. at a mini-mart. But I was also told wages there were quite good.

[lovinglifeinthailand]

you cannot compare these results...As the average Australian wage is so much higher than here.

Yes you can compare them, if someone is retired here from oz they do not get a smaller pension or the money in the bank does not become less.

So it is cheaper for them to live here.