Popular Post tingtongtourist Posted September 9, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 9, 2014 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 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tingtongtourist Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 Correction as the show is called dateline and on now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BookMan Posted September 9, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 9, 2014 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 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuppa Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David48 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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. . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiebrian Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 No problem seeing here http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/602005/n/Paradise-Pensioners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borzandy Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Is it a TAT coup ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tingtongtourist Posted September 10, 2014 Author Share Posted September 10, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmccarty Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Some people "live it up" for much less than others! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertthebruce Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Thailand is not cheap now..... Honestly if you are living a good life , it burns the money for sure... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuppa Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marquis22 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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 :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post kinmaew Posted September 10, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 10, 2014 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. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spock Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookMan Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David48 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuppa Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plutojames88 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwisailor Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaitakeaway Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdiddy Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigermoth Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwisailor Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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 getYour 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaitakeaway Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipperylobster Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iamemjay Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 David48 - Thanks for the Hola tip - at last I have found one that actually works!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cats4ever Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlen10002 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlen10002 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debrakfurlow Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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