Tonight on Austalian TV (sbs) is a report on the so called new trend of the aussie male flocking to Thailand to "live it up on just a few dollars a day"

Or similar such words reported on advertising.

Maybe we can inform of more reasons than just cost if living.

as for me i do not hope for this type of show to be broadcast on tv (foriegn correspondent) as it seem to attract the few idiots aussies that be an unfortunate embarassment to the rest of us..the way they carry on and give all a bad name

anyway if u are in aus catch it at 930 tonight

Correction as the show is called dateline and on now

Correction as the show is called dateline and on now

SBS has a catch up service. Your IP address needs to be located in Australia. Add https://hola.org/ to your browser to watch it

Just finished watching the programme. To be honest I wan’t very impressed, it certainly wouldn’t have inspired me to consider the idea of retiring in Thailand any further. The focus seemed to be mainly on the cheaper living & more an advert for http://www.thailandretirementhelpers.com (without actually mentioning them) than anything else.

Correction as the show is called dateline and on now

SBS has a catch up service. Your IP address needs to be located in Australia. Add https://hola.org/ to your browser to watch it

Mate ... great tip.

.

No problem seeing here http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/602005/n/Paradise-Pensioners

Is it a TAT coup ?

Yes cuppa, probably nearly bet the ones talking up the retirement business side are friends or have interest in this business.

I was not impressed either, i think sent the wrong message and once again the sexpat theme gets thrown out again.

they obviously try to capture the seedy side of everthing as usual...going to pattaya and including interview with the older desperado type expat.

maybe have females working in the editing side of production.

I did have to laugh at the half pissed guy talk about the cheap Hienekin and he says " treat the women with respect and they will treat you like GOD"

hahaha

Some people "live it up" for much less than others!

Thailand is not cheap now.....

Honestly if you are living a good life , it burns the money for sure...

This interview was broadcast on the Australian ABC radio a couple of weeks ago & may be of interest. We heard the broadcast (I think this is an abbreviated version) & it my wife responded to it by suggesting we look into the idea a bit more which set us on the path of exploration which brought me here.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/a-baby-boomers-guide-to-expat-life/5699160

Correction as the show is called dateline and on now

SBS has a catch up service. Your IP address needs to be located in Australia. Add https://hola.org/ to your browser to watch it

Thanks, just what I needed :-)

I saw the show its no surprises. The cost of living in Oz is getting out of control. Whether it be Thailand or some other cheaper location I will be there for sure. We are inundated with Chinese buying property here like there is no tomorrow. "I have 10M and I need a house can you help?" this was the actual quote coming from a Chinese student to a real estate agent and friend of mine overheard. This pushes up the price for first home buyers and many are even now priced out of the rental market. I will be in Thailand for sure but not sure where. Patts is fun but realistically I could not see how you could live there permanently its just too crazy. The choice of women is also dismal in your mid forties in farangland, I would just be so bloody bored with them around my age so somewhere in SE Asia is the only solution.

Do any Australians know the eligibility regulations regarding receiving the pension overseas? I seem to remember reading that you had to have worked in Australia for 35 years (do part time/casual work years count?) but when I attempted to find information about eligibility recently, the only provisos that I could find was that the person had to have lived in Australia 35 years (formerly 25). Does anyone know the true criteria?

That show was not too bad. Good to see some female Aussies in retirement and a focus also on Chiang Mai.

It all sounded pretty good

Do any Australians know the eligibility regulations regarding receiving the pension overseas? I seem to remember reading that you had to have worked in Australia for 35 years (do part time/casual work years count?) but when I attempted to find information about eligibility recently, the only provisos that I could find was that the person had to have lived in Australia 35 years (formerly 25). Does anyone know the true criteria?

Dr Spock ... a whole 46 pages entirely devoted to your question here ... http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/163135-australian-aged-pension/

Do any Australians know the eligibility regulations regarding receiving the pension overseas? I seem to remember reading that you had to have worked in Australia for 35 years (do part time/casual work years count?) but when I attempted to find information about eligibility recently, the only provisos that I could find was that the person had to have lived in Australia 35 years (formerly 25). Does anyone know the true criteria?

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/spw/customer/publications/resources/rt010/rt010-1404en.pdf

Page 24

Sydney for example is very expensive .

Consider say a Friday and Saturday outing to watch sport eat a meal and take a taxi a few kilometres home.

Or attending a dinner engagement or movie ?

Cost of food , transport .

Hobby .

Retirement is not cheap .

Thailand is a few things .

But one thing is sure .

It's very much cheaper than Sydney or for that Matter Australia in general.

I believe the cost of living were you to strip away at things in say Pattaya , is a fraction of the cost.

A condo at say 8-10 thousand baht .

Food and clothing 6 thousand

And social interaction and even more 10 thousand

It translates into less than a thousand dollars a month.

Though I would recommend $1500 a month at least for a comfortable existence.

Point is what would be a struggle in Australia to make ends meet for elderly people , suddenly becomes an easy alternative that includes social contact .

For that reason only Thailand has to be seen in a better light to those with limited means

Don't know about Aus but in NZ there is a universal pension (eg no means test) BUT you have to be resident in NZ for at least 6 months each year to receive it. Out of the country for 6 months and 1 day means paying back all of your pension for that year, no ifs, buts or maybes! Suspect that Aus has similar rule but pension is also means tested (and subject to complex rules on residency and working years).

Do any Australians know the eligibility regulations regarding receiving the pension overseas? I seem to remember reading that you had to have worked in Australia for 35 years (do part time/casual work years count?) but when I attempted to find information about eligibility recently, the only provisos that I could find was that the person had to have lived in Australia 35 years (formerly 25). Does anyone know the true criteria?

I note @Cuppa and @David 44 have just supplied sources of info.

Here it is from the horse's mouth:

"If you depart Australia on or after 1 July 2014, you will usually need to have lived in Australia as an Australian resident for 35 years in order to continue receiving your full rate of Age Pension after 26 weeks. If less than 35 years, you will receive a smaller rate of Age Pension after 26 weeks outside Australia."

- directly quoted from this bloody-hard-to-find page on the Department's site:

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/centrelink/age-pension/age-pension-while-travelling-outside-australia

Thailand is not cheap now.....

Honestly if you are living a good life , it burns the money for sure...

Compared to Australia, Chiang Mai is around 1/10 the price on average

"living a good life" is very subjective too

Sydney for example is very expensive .

Consider say a Friday and Saturday outing to watch sport eat a meal and take a taxi a few kilometres home.

Or attending a dinner engagement or movie ?

Cost of food , transport .

Hobby .

Retirement is not cheap .

Thailand is a few things .

But one thing is sure .

It's very much cheaper than Sydney or for that Matter Australia in general.

I believe the cost of living were you to strip away at things in say Pattaya , is a fraction of the cost.

A condo at say 8-10 thousand baht .

Food and clothing 6 thousand

And social interaction and even more 10 thousand

It translates into less than a thousand dollars a month.

Though I would recommend $1500 a month at least for a comfortable existence.

Point is what would be a struggle in Australia to make ends meet for elderly people , suddenly becomes an easy alternative that includes social contact .

Agreed. One can live off the Australian pension in Thailand even with a wife to care for. My costs are about AUD$1500 a month but this does not allow for any luxuries and for only limited social contact. Thailand is not as cheap as everyone makes out unless you stick with street food, buses or trains, and accommodation costing no more than about $300 to $500 a month. Good western food is almost as expensive as it is in Australia and alcohol is not far behind.

Apologies!!! Just checked the NZ website and found that you can receive the pension overseas BUT you have to organise in advance

How much can you get

Your payment will be based on the number of months you’ve resided in New Zealand between the ages of 20 and 65.

If you've resided in New Zealand... You'll get... for 540 months (45 years( between the ages of 20 and 65 full basic rate for 120 - 540 months (10-45 years) between the ages of 20 and 65 1/540th of the basic rate for each month you have lived here between the ages of 20 and 65 for 120 months (10 years) between the ages of 20 and 65 120/540th of the basic rate

Don't know about Aus but in NZ there is a universal pension (eg no means test) BUT you have to be resident in NZ for at least 6 months each year to receive it. Out of the country for 6 months and 1 day means paying back all of your pension for that year, no ifs, buts or maybes! Suspect that Aus has similar rule but pension is also means tested (and subject to complex rules on residency and working years).

No bro. Thankfully Aussies can head wherever the hell they want to, once they've qualified for the Aged Pension, and keep having dosh dumped into their bank a/c once a month. Outer Mongolia, anyone?

For mine, I've already decided to become an economic refugee to Thailand by the end of the year. And a relationship refugee by contributing to the well being of a gem of a woman from Si Sa ket.

Who cares? I cannot see what difference it makes if these guys are enjoying a bit. They really are not going to steal the girls away with their pittance. Enjoy the Chang and the street food. Some gals to look at, and chat with your kindred spirits here.

David48 - Thanks for the Hola tip - at last I have found one that actually works!!

I saw the show its no surprises. The cost of living in Oz is getting out of control. Whether it be Thailand or some other cheaper location I will be there for sure. We are inundated with Chinese buying property here like there is no tomorrow. "I have 10M and I need a house can you help?" this was the actual quote coming from a Chinese student to a real estate agent and friend of mine overheard. This pushes up the price for first home buyers and many are even now priced out of the rental market. I will be in Thailand for sure but not sure where. Patts is fun but realistically I could not see how you could live there permanently its just too crazy. The choice of women is also dismal in your mid forties in farangland, I would just be so bloody bored with them around my age so somewhere in SE Asia is the only solution.

Good to see the xenophobes leaving Oz and no doubt adopting a peaceful and Thai lifestyle in LOS.

Thailand is not cheap now.....

Honestly if you are living a good life , it burns the money for sure...

If you think Thailand is not cheap your life style and living expenses must be out of control, you should get some financial help.

Report was much like it is for the people and places that were on the show, maybe the people that don't agree just don't like the truth, many Australian living different lives and in different places in Thailand to the one on the TV show.

Unless you live a very expensive lifestyle in Australia you will not find A 10% cost if living here. I don't how how this stuff gets started. Maybe 10yrs ago. The ads will tell you that a US citizen can live the high life in CM for $1200 month. Sure, If you never need medical care, a vehicle, descent apt. AC, groceries. I know people who can do it if you live more like the majority of Thai. There are plenty of articles about the people who move here that studied the place through rose colored glasses. I LOVE it here and very possibly not move back to US, but it's very hard to get realist information about anything in Thailand before you move here. Hey, what's the worst that could happen? You can always move back home. It's worth the try. Like everything else, it is what you make it.