Some interesting statistics about Brits retiring to LOS

[anon8]

Still don't see why any normal (not alcoholic/sexpat) retiree would choose to settle in Pattaya over Bangkok.

I mean, look at it.

It is difficult for some people to understand even the simplest things. No shame in that.

[HardenedSoul]

Plenty of single Western guys going with plenty of single Western girls and not a modelling contract or 10 million bucks anywhere in sight.

If you think you need that stuff to get women, there's no hope for you and you'd be better off moving to Pattaya to pay for it for the rest of your life.

Good luck

Aha...another poor misguided soul who thinks that he doesn't pay for sex. What about the cost of the meal, the shows, the drinks, the gifts....?

I must admit that I don't make use of the "services" on offer in the girlie bars here in Thailand (or anywhere), but I know people who do, and they have a lot more spare cash left at the end of the month than we married types I can tell you!

Aha another poor misguided soul who clearly never had a woman who was capable of paying her own way.

Meals, drinks and shows come under enjoyment of someone's company and believe it or not, women in jobs or careers (millions upon millions of them in the West) have been known to pay for these items on occasion as part of - wait for it - a mutually beneficial relationship.

God knows what sort of women you were knocking about with but I'm glad I never ran into them

[brucel]

The idea behind the story is good: export the oldies, cheaper than having them at home and more fun for them in the sun. They spoiled the story with the sex/booze angle, but that was to be expected.

The Australian govt is so stingy it won't even pay the pension ( to those eligible for it at home) outside Australia ( except for a few countries, not including Thailand)

Your comment on Oz government not paying Aged Pension to eligible Australians who relocate to Thailand is inaccurate.

Here's the page for Australian benefits paid overseas:

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/outside-australia#PensionSupplement

Basically, they continue to pay the Old Age Pension, but they stop paying for

• Pensioner Education Supplement
• Pharmaceutical Allowance
• Remote Area Allowance
• Rent Assistance
• Schoolkids Bonus
• Seniors Supplement
• Sickness Allowance
• Special Benefit
• Telephone Allowance
• Utilities Allowance
• Widow Allowance
• Widow B Pension and Wife Pension
• Youth Allowance

Edited January 4, 2014 by brucel

[donniereadit]

Lived here several years but still can't get out of my mind how down and out pitiful these guys seem. They don't seem like men to me, more just an immaturity, maybe it's because they are drunk during the interviews? Or normal behavior in UK? Other ideas?

[thailiketoo]

Lived here several years but still can't get out of my mind how down and out pitiful these guys seem. They don't seem like men to me, more just an immaturity, maybe it's because they are drunk during the interviews? Or normal behavior in UK? Other ideas?

Drunks come in all nationalities and all ages. As do ignorant people. Which is worse an old drunk in the gutter his life used up and his future non existent. Or a young drunk football hooligan beat dead by three hookers on Walking street? The old guy dies. He wasn't going to live that much longer anyway. The young guy dies and he left a whole life not lived.

Last time I looked the Pattaya flying club was about 1 old guy to three young ones.

In Thailand, "Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand ... A total of 383 cases of suicide victims autopsied during January 2003 to December 2008 ... The largest age group was 20-29 years and average age was 37 years.

[shows]

BruceL while giving sound information was a little simplistic. Governments are not known for making laws/guidelines simple and logical.

I am an Australian of retirement age who, if I was living in Australia, would be eligible for at least a part pension BUT as I had moved here before retirement age to get the benefits I have to move back to Australia. I can get the pension immediately I move back BUT I could not retain it if I then chose to live outside Australia before a period of 2 years had passed irrexpective of whether I'd worked and paid taxes for 30+ years!!

This is the relevant section: If you returned to live in Australia and were granted or transferred to Age Pension within the last two years, you will not be able to receive your Age Pension outside the country. After you return, to be paid outside the country, you must have been living in Australia for two years since your last arrival for residence. If you travel to a country that Australia has a social security agreement with, you may be able to continue to get your payment under that social security agreement.

Oh it's not often I wish I was a Brit but this is one of them! OR that Thailand was a country with a reciprocal social security agreement.

[Prbkk]

Lived here several years but still can't get out of my mind how down and out pitiful these guys seem. They don't seem like men to me, more just an immaturity, maybe it's because they are drunk during the interviews? Or normal behavior in UK? Other ideas?

Yes, but on the other hand they look so much younger than the Brits in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. It must be the sea air.

[thaibeachlovers]

Thanks for posting Seb, I agree the article was very lightweight but that's a reflection on C4 journalism, not you! As someone else said, the article seems to be quite out-of-date too. In my last trip to Pattaya about 6 months ago the stereotypical farang resident seemed to be giving way to Indian and Russian family holiday-makers.

Given the ongoing raising of government retirement ages across Europe I think we'll see a smaller proportion of breadline farang retirees in Pattaya. Also the increasing cost of living and the long term appreciation of the baht against western currencies (which IMHO is inevitable, despite the current dip - but please let's not start a load of tit-for-tat about this as there are plenty of threads discussing this already) will make Pattaya less desirable for people living mostly on a government pension.

Re the sleazy sexpat angle, I really don't know what I think about this anymore. I certainly wouldn't want my sister, mum, wife or daughter involved in that business.

By the way Seb, surely everyone in the western world knows Gollum by now !

OMG. Someone with a brain replied.

By the way, it's Smeagol, not Gollum, if you please.

Sez who? I read the book and Smeagol/ Gollum are the same person.

[thaibeachlovers]

Can someone give me back the 3 minutes I wasted on that oh so predictable piece of Brit so called journalistic tat?

Had I watched more, I'd have had to top myself, it was so bad.

Yet another loser "journalist" wanting to pay for his debauchery in LOS by selling a shallow, lying portrayal of seniors as lechers in sin city.

I liked Steve's reply though, when asked why he was there, and he replied, "for sex". Good on him for not becoming a sad old man fading away in some horrid English highrise council flat.

[nonthaburial]

Watch this series from UK TV. And see how broken Britain is now, I really am ashamed.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qtJfsksdKYM

Edited January 6, 2014 by metisdead
Comments on moderation edited out of post.

[MRTELLYOUSTRAIGHT]

Why does not the Western media come up here to Chiang Mai and produce a documentary about me or others like me who live normal lifestyles,

Because it would be like watching paint dry.

[donniereadit]

Lived here several years but still can't get out of my mind how down and out pitiful these guys seem. They don't seem like men to me, more just an immaturity, maybe it's because they are drunk during the interviews? Or normal behavior in UK? Other ideas?

Yes, but on the other hand they look so much younger than the Brits in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. It must be the sea air.

If those old prunes looked happy you need to watch the video again.

[thailiketoo]

Lived here several years but still can't get out of my mind how down and out pitiful these guys seem. They don't seem like men to me, more just an immaturity, maybe it's because they are drunk during the interviews? Or normal behavior in UK? Other ideas?

Yes, but on the other hand they look so much younger than the Brits in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. It must be the sea air.

If those old prunes looked happy you need to watch the video again.

I came to Thailand long before the V pill was invented but the old prunes definitely look happier now and the contribution they make to the local economy has shifted from bars to needy Thai families in Issan.

[aveabeeror2]

 

Beggar me.

Sorry for even bringing it up.

Don't shoot the messenger (I just thought some might be interested in seeing how LOS and Pattaya in particular are currently being promulgated on nationwide TV in the UK this evening).

I guess I hadn't allowed for all you jaded ex-pats' input and your defensive responses..

Talk about a couple of stereotypes.

 

I don't think anyone was having a go at you.

SC

Well it certainly seemed so (hardly a wow and a welcome).

I took the ruddy trouble to post this and .......just negativity resulted - in only two sad posts.

The customer is always wrong, here, I guess.

Do you guys here have anything "nice" to say about anyone and/or anything?

Im sure that if you got your heading right, then we would all love you and not hate you.

[HardenedSoul]

Watch this series from UK TV. And see how broken Britain is now, I really am ashamed.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qtJfsksdKYM

Ashamed of what?

[StreetCowboy]

Watch this series from UK TV. And see how broken Britain is now, I really am ashamed.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qtJfsksdKYM

Ashamed of what?

Maybe ashamed that he's not helping out his country in its apparent hour of need

SC

[FiftyTwo]

Not sure what all the righteous indignation is all about.

After all we are here for the pussy.

I'm leasing mine, with a marriage contract.

Some like shorter contracts.

OK, they could have left out the elderly drunks.

[thailiketoo]

Not sure what all the righteous indignation is all about.

After all we are here for the pussy.

I'm leasing mine, with a marriage contract.

Some like shorter contracts.

OK, they could have left out the elderly drunks.

Even the gay guys?

[NeverSure]

I thought the video report was fairly illuminating. As an American, I don't see too many of my fellow countrymen, here, in Thailand. Most elderly Americans opting to retire outside the US do so in Mexico or Costa Rica. So, I've always wondered what the typical expat retiree was like. Thanks to that video, I now have a pretty clear image of what most of the British that come to Thailand are like. Nice to see the reality beneath some of these avatars on TV.

People go on and on how Americans seem uneducated which I did think was unfair and inexplicable, but now understand, they learn by watching a 7-minute TV clips....

Americans are uneducated but run away from the rest of the world in technology. For instance, what is that you have in your right hand right now? Oh, it's a mouse.

[watso63]

I accept that it is possible to survive on £110/week, but not if you act like the codgers in the film and the implication of it with the bright lights of Walking Street was lots of boozing and sex. 2 days and the lot's gone. Never mind the costs of visas etc.

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Tywais]

I removed a couple of messed up quotes due to losing who was who making the comment. Be sure your cursor is outside the quote box when replying.

[mimithewoof]

The worst part of the report though was the suggestion that British people could retire here on a state pension....currently £110.15/week or approx 5,500 Thb. No way in a million years, so please Channel 4, try not to put that idea into anyones' head...doh, too late!

Your words...hope you appreciated mine...personally, I'd welcome Brits arriving here to retire on their state pensions as they'll be far more comfortable than they would have been in the disintegrating UK. At least the majority of expat Brits commit to staying here and making new lives, rather then jetting in and out as the weather and their fancy takes them.

[HardenedSoul]

The worst part of the report though was the suggestion that British people could retire here on a state pension....currently £110.15/week or approx 5,500 Thb. No way in a million years, so please Channel 4, try not to put that idea into anyones' head...doh, too late!

Your words...hope you appreciated mine...personally, I'd welcome Brits arriving here to retire on their state pensions as they'll be far more comfortable than they would have been in the disintegrating UK. At least the majority of expat Brits commit to staying here and making new lives, rather then jetting in and out as the weather and their fancy takes them.

Well hang om a sec. There's a bloke in the "Cost of Living" thread who reckons he does retirement on 15,000 baht a month . . . in Pattaya. He doesn't drink, doesn't do the totty and spends much of his time walking on the beach.

I s'pose it's better than struggling to buy a pint at some sticky-floored codgers club in Hull but at least there you've got the NHS.

All these jokers without any insurance are taking the piss burdening the Thai health system with caring for their pickled livers and tar-soaked lungs.

[FiftyTwo]

All these jokers without any insurance are taking the piss burdening the Thai health system with caring for their pickled livers and tar-soaked lungs.

I don't have health insurance, most of the stuff can be treated for very little cash in a government hospital.

I do have 30kbht of accident insurance, in case of m/c accident, etc.

Any person working in Thailand can get health insurance for 500bht a month, for the rest of their life.

That club isn't making a loss, it makes a profit.

Time to extend the offer to everyone in Thailand and stop ripping off foreigners.

But of course, the private sector makes too much money off foreigners .....

The old foreigners aren't a burden, they are a resource to be milked dry.

Edited January 8, 2014 by FiftyTwo

[thailiketoo]

The worst part of the report though was the suggestion that British people could retire here on a state pension....currently £110.15/week or approx 5,500 Thb. No way in a million years, so please Channel 4, try not to put that idea into anyones' head...doh, too late!

Your words...hope you appreciated mine...personally, I'd welcome Brits arriving here to retire on their state pensions as they'll be far more comfortable than they would have been in the disintegrating UK. At least the majority of expat Brits commit to staying here and making new lives, rather then jetting in and out as the weather and their fancy takes them.

Well hang om a sec. There's a bloke in the "Cost of Living" thread who reckons he does retirement on 15,000 baht a month . . . in Pattaya. He doesn't drink, doesn't do the totty and spends much of his time walking on the beach.

I s'pose it's better than struggling to buy a pint at some sticky-floored codgers club in Hull but at least there you've got the NHS.

All these jokers without any insurance are taking the piss burdening the Thai health system with caring for their pickled livers and tar-soaked lungs.

I think one may purchase a shot of ya dong in Pattaya for 10 baht. Instant rice or noodles and the fruit and vegetables/meats that Tesco Lotus marks 50% off at 7 PM. 50 baht gets one drunk and a balanced meal.

[HardenedSoul]

All these jokers without any insurance are taking the piss burdening the Thai health system with caring for their pickled livers and tar-soaked lungs.

I don't have health insurance, most of the stuff can be treated for very little cash in a government hospital.

I do have 30kbht of accident insurance, in case of m/c accident, etc.

Any person working in Thailand can get health insurance for 500bht a month, for the rest of their life.

That club isn't making a loss, it makes a profit.

Time to extend the offer to everyone in Thailand and stop ripping off foreigners.

But of course, the private sector makes too much money off foreigners .....

The old foreigners aren't a burden, they are a resource to be milked dry.

Those old boys in the video aren't a resource to be milked dry

Well not by the part of the private sector you're talking about

[JLCrab]

Just to note that given the tail-end of post #145 above -- while I would guess that the majority of their Thai citizen policy holders are members of group plans -- the premium rates for BUPA/Thailand individual policies are the same for Thai and non-Thai citizens.

[watso63]

The worst part of the report though was the suggestion that British people could retire here on a state pension....currently £110.15/week or approx 5,500 Thb. No way in a million years, so please Channel 4, try not to put that idea into anyones' head...doh, too late!

Your words...hope you appreciated mine...personally, I'd welcome Brits arriving here to retire on their state pensions as they'll be far more comfortable than they would have been in the disintegrating UK. At least the majority of expat Brits commit to staying here and making new lives, rather then jetting in and out as the weather and their fancy takes them.

I have no problem with anybody doing what they want with their lives with their own money. I just suspect the film was made with the intention of denegrating retired British people. I agree life is much better here and money does go a lot further than in the UK. BUT, it wasn't a balanced report. It showed drunk, sad, lonely, desparately ill, destitute British pensioners and educated, caring Derby and Jones, Scandinavians, dancing, socialising and acting like....well grown up pensioners. How hard to go to golf courses, cycling clubs, yacht clubs etc to find decent British pensioners?

Come over here with nothing but a state pension and what do you get? Then make a film showing how it can be done for decent people. Just don't portray Thailand as a haven for drunks, perverts and other low life.

It was disrespectful to British people and to Thailand.

I have my suspicions that films like this are meant to encourage the powers that be to chip away at incomes of pensioners that choose to leave..but perhaps another day, people back home are jealous enough already! 555

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited January 8, 2014 by watso63

[Konini]

The worst part of the report though was the suggestion that British people could retire here on a state pension....currently £110.15/week or approx 5,500 Thb. No way in a million years, so please Channel 4, try not to put that idea into anyones' head...doh, too late!

Your words...hope you appreciated mine...personally, I'd welcome Brits arriving here to retire on their state pensions as they'll be far more comfortable than they would have been in the disintegrating UK. At least the majority of expat Brits commit to staying here and making new lives, rather then jetting in and out as the weather and their fancy takes them.

They may be far more comfortable here than in the UK, until they get ill. Brits are not used to having to pay for medical care, so many don't even think about it until they are ill and find out that the state isn't looking after them any more. I'd say to anyone come and retire here, but only if you have adequate insurance. This is a lot more important to people of retirement age, when the wheels are much more likely to start falling off than it is to healthy fit youngsters.

[bundoi]

All these jokers without any insurance are taking the piss burdening the Thai health system with caring for their pickled livers and tar-soaked lungs.

I don't have health insurance, most of the stuff can be treated for very little cash in a government hospital.

I do have 30kbht of accident insurance, in case of m/c accident, etc.

Any person working in Thailand can get health insurance for 500bht a month, for the rest of their life.

That club isn't making a loss, it makes a profit.

Time to extend the offer to everyone in Thailand and stop ripping off foreigners.

But of course, the private sector makes too much money off foreigners .....

The old foreigners aren't a burden, they are a resource to be milked dry.

Thais pay in for life, not just a couple of years in retirement; in addition to which retirement / old age is more expensive for health care anywhere anway. You are asking Thais to subsidise bad retirement planning on the part of farangs.