$25k/yr may be livable if you are single and don't splurge--many falang English teachers are living on half that. Also, I saw on Ajarn.com an English teaching job in one of the three Southern provinces which paid B700/hr for a 3 day 25 hours week, and they provided accomodation while there and transport to and from weekly--I assume from Songkhla or some other nearby area. So, doing that would earn you almost another $25k/yr. Give you a little excitement too, nothing like the smell of cordite in the morning.

$25k/yr may be livable if you are single and don't splurge--many falang English teachers are living on half that.

And if you don't plan on getting sick, and if you don't plan on getting old, you should be fine.

Depending on where you live there can be quite a demand for native English speaking work. This can even be available without qualifications to adult classes. I have no teaching qualifications and have been offered work on several occasions, always turned it down as I am too old for the hassle.

One opportunity was to lecture policemen, that was to be one class a week for three months.

It would be worth while dropping a line to the head of local senior schools and see if anything turns up. Apart from straight English, they are often looking for English assistants in computer,maths and science classes.

Depending on where you live there can be quite a demand for native English speaking work. This can even be available without qualifications to adult classes. I have no teaching qualifications and have been offered work on several occasions, always turned it down as I am too old for the hassle.

One opportunity was to lecture policemen, that was to be one class a week for three months.

It would be worth while dropping a line to the head of local senior schools and see if anything turns up. Apart from straight English, they are often looking for English assistants in computer,maths and science classes.

And what would you say the chances are of any of those kinds of employment situations actually providing the documents required for obtaining work permits in a timely fashion?

I partially agree with "notmyself" regarding the spending/living ratios he mentions in post #16, but he is a bit weak on the long-term. It should be a minimum of 3:1 (3 times your cost of living)to start with in retirement and working up to a 4:1 ratio after everything is in place. As the years go by, inflation will eat away at your capital base or yearly income at a minimum of 3% inflationary rate. Your cost of living is going to continue to increase due to your lifestyle and because all living costs here will continue to rise as it has done in the past. You will need to increase your income as the years go by in order to stay ahead of inflation and to keep a decent living standard, but if you are able to keep your living ratios at 4:1 then you will be able to live a comfortable lifestyle in Thailand. If your income does not rise along with inflation then sooner or later you will be in financial trouble.

As long as the OP is willing to travel back to the USA it seems there are still honorary consulates who will offer in-person 3 entry 6 month validity tourist visas good for up to 9 months in the Kingdom. All the current ruckus is for persons who want multiple visa-exempt or tourist visas issued in neighboring countries or in the region.

Edited May 11, 201412 yr by JLCrab

Depending on where you live there can be quite a demand for native English speaking work. This can even be available without qualifications to adult classes. I have no teaching qualifications and have been offered work on several occasions, always turned it down as I am too old for the hassle.

One opportunity was to lecture policemen, that was to be one class a week for three months.

It would be worth while dropping a line to the head of local senior schools and see if anything turns up. Apart from straight English, they are often looking for English assistants in computer,maths and science classes.

And what would you say the chances are of any of those kinds of employment situations actually providing the documents required for obtaining work permits in a timely fashion?

If you are skeptical, nothing I say will change that.

All I can say is the offer came from senior staff at the local school. They had a contract so someone took the position.

Alright, it looks like this was the place to go to ask my question. I'll look into getting a teaching job with a government school four years down the road If I can get a resident permit simply by buying a killer condo I might just do that. As for making sure I have the right amount of savings to last into my seventies: I suspect I will get bored after a few years and return to Dubai in my early 40's to get some decent cash for another 5 - 10 years. then do the real retirement thing after age 50. Thank you all for your help, I wanted to make sure my upcoming 5 year plan was realistic, seems like the answer is possibly, but expect the unexpected and be prepared to go back to work after a couple years if need be.

Have you looked at Uruguay? The Sovereign Society has been plugging Uruguay and it sounds pretty good. Low prices, good economy, good banking, good climate, low taxes, affordable health care plans, plus relatively easy to get residency and citizenship, etc. If you haven't checked out Uruguay, you might want to.

Whilst it might be easy to get residency etc in Uruguay, it is not cheap.

Compare the costs of living in Bangkok with living in Uruguay.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Thailand&country2=Uruguay&city1=Bangkok&city2=Punta+del+Este

$25k/yr may be livable if you are single and don't splurge--many falang English teachers are living on half that.

And if you don't plan on getting sick, and if you don't plan on getting old, you should be fine.

well, my money is on he doesn't stay here forever, but even on $25k you could save and and buy insurance, if you have the frugality, and if you will follow my second post, I even tell him how to supplement his income.