Assisted living at Dok Kaew Gardens at McKean

[ataloss]

"garden suite (36 sq metres + 8 sq metre terrace) at 45,000 Baht single occupancy"

I guess these prices even the baht at 32-33, are geared more for foreign budgets rather than Thai's.

The Sunday bike club visited McLean's about 4 years ago and I thought the place looked run down. I hope at the prices they are asking they have improved it a lot.

Agreed. This facility occupies part of an island which was used to house and treat lepers. All those tiny cottages were used to home these stricken folks. Where they are now is any one's guess.

I have not been back for a decade or more but having looked at the pictures of those now being provided for, it is not my idea of a fun place to be in my old age.

At first glance when DOK KAEW GARDENS was first advertised I had thought it might offer a refuge for me one day were I old-age-impeded. Now I believe the atmoshere there, despite their obvious caring attitude for the aged, would quickly expedite my demise.

Any home for the aged however they now spin it would do the same for me.

As a highschool 'Junior Kiwanis' I had, amongst our other activities like telephone gatherings at the city telephone company pitching for blood transfusions for the Red Cross, visited homes for the aged to try to 'cheer-up' those there: I had left cautiously pondering what my future may hold. Here in Chiangmai years ago I'd arranged a private academy's weekend student trip to a nearby old-folks home on the right on the road to the Mae Ngat Dam: the folks there appeared genuinely pleased with their young visitors. On leaving, the students obviously forcing their smiles I do recall their disquiet, which had closely mirrored mine at their age.

Obviously I cannot speak for others, but as I gaze outwards from within myself, my inner-being so to speak, I never perceive myself as 'aged'. As has been mentioned elsewhere, seventy is now the new fifty!

My entire life's journey from childhood through adolescence to now - approaching seventy - is a timeless fusion in which I really do feel ageless. In this, the autumn of my years, I consider every moment wasted as one less 'Livin' la Vida Loca’ . Anything detracting from this 'crazy' life, such as the interminable waiting at immigration for a 90-day stamp, is one misspent second too much. I know, I hear you, there are some who enjoy the 'comraderie' there in the economy-class seating indulging in whatever - all the best to them.

You get the idea....

My intention is to remain in my home with my extended family, my pets and my fusion of memories. If needed, a quintet of nursing caregivers at 8-hour days plus time-off is relatively speaking, not all that expensive.

Sorry...did run on a bit... in closing kindly remember this:

If you're lonely when you are alone, you're in bad company. - Jean Paul Sartre

[NancyL]

There are other places here much cheaper with far bigger apartments where you can get room cleaned, laundry done, all meals downstairs or delivered to your room ...taxi to reception to pick you up.....etc etc.

Please name a few so I can check them out. Thank you.

Any of the high-rise condos in town, especially the ones in the Huey Kaew/Nimman area, plus on the other side of town you have Riverside, Floral and Rim Ping, although they're in neighborhoods that aren't as pedestrian-friendly.

The problem comes if you live alone, can't manage your finances or medications. I really wish someone would develop a "home health service" where a professional nurse would do a daily visit to people living alone in these condos to see that the client was OK, had taken their meds, measure BP and BS and help with bathing and dressing (if needed) all the while the person enjoyed independent living in their own apartment.

Edited October 15, 2014 by NancyL

[northernjohn]

There are other places here much cheaper with far bigger apartments where you can get room cleaned, laundry done, all meals downstairs or delivered to your room ...taxi to reception to pick you up.....etc etc.

Please name a few so I can check them out. Thank you.

Any of the high-rise condos in town, especially the ones in the Huey Kaew/Nimman area, plus on the other side of town you have Riverside, Floral and Rim Ping, although they're in neighborhoods that aren't as pedestrian-friendly.

The problem comes if you live alone, can't manage your finances or medications. I really wish someone would develop a "home health service" where a professional nurse would do a daily visit to people living alone in these condos to see that the client was OK, had taken their meds, measure BP and BS and help with bathing and dressing (if needed) all the while the person enjoyed independent living in their own apartment.

Not sure how it works.

My sister recently had a massive heart attack. She is on meds Her daughter managed to some how rig her phone to ring at certain times as a reminder to take her meds.

[northernjohn]

"garden suite (36 sq metres + 8 sq metre terrace) at 45,000 Baht single occupancy"

I guess these prices even the baht at 32-33, are geared more for foreign budgets rather than Thai's.

The Sunday bike club visited McLean's about 4 years ago and I thought the place looked run down. I hope at the prices they are asking they have improved it a lot.

Agreed. This facility occupies part of an island which was used to house and treat lepers. All those tiny cottages were used to home these stricken folks. Where they are now is any one's guess.

I have not been back for a decade or more but having looked at the pictures of those now being provided for, it is not my idea of a fun place to be in my old age.

At first glance when DOK KAEW GARDENS was first advertised I had thought it might offer a refuge for me one day were I old-age-impeded. Now I believe the atmoshere there, despite their obvious caring attitude for the aged, would quickly expedite my demise.

Any home for the aged however they now spin it would do the same for me.

As a highschool 'Junior Kiwanis' I had, amongst our other activities like telephone gatherings at the city telephone company pitching for blood transfusions for the Red Cross, visited homes for the aged to try to 'cheer-up' those there: I had left cautiously pondering what my future may hold. Here in Chiangmai years ago I'd arranged a private academy's weekend student trip to a nearby old-folks home on the right on the road to the Mae Ngat Dam: the folks there appeared genuinely pleased with their young visitors. On leaving, the students obviously forcing their smiles I do recall their disquiet, which had closely mirrored mine at their age.

Obviously I cannot speak for others, but as I gaze outwards from within myself, my inner-being so to speak, I never perceive myself as 'aged'. As has been mentioned elsewhere, seventy is now the new fifty!

My entire life's journey from childhood through adolescence to now - approaching seventy - is a timeless fusion in which I really do feel ageless. In this, the autumn of my years, I consider every moment wasted as one less 'Livin' la Vida Loca’ . Anything detracting from this 'crazy' life, such as the interminable waiting at immigration for a 90-day stamp, is one misspent second too much. I know, I hear you, there are some who enjoy the 'comraderie' there in the economy-class seating indulging in whatever - all the best to them.

You get the idea....

My intention is to remain in my home with my extended family, my pets and my fusion of memories. If needed, a quintet of nursing caregivers at 8-hour days plus time-off is relatively speaking, not all that expensive.

Sorry...did run on a bit... in closing kindly remember this:

If you're lonely when you are alone, you're in bad company. - Jean Paul Sartre

This line has nothing too do with DOK KAEW GARDENS it is for the other place

"garden suite (36 sq metres + 8 sq metre terrace) at 45,000 Baht single occupancy"

Completely different accommodations and price at Dok Kaew Gardens

I agree with all that you have said. How ever that is for you. Many of us realize that are personal attitudes are what really make the difference. For instance I can not imagine living with my family and having to have a constant rotation of nurses. I know it is an accepted practice if not close to a demand here in Thailand but I personally would not enjoy watching what I could not participate in.

Dok Kaew Gardens when you visited was not for old age or care. That has been set up in the last 8 years. Perhaps the accommodations are the same but when I visited a friend there who was recovering from an operation they were clean and decent. Not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination but adequate. We are all different with different attitudes but some things we have no control over. When I was 70 I was going to live for ever. That is still my plan but it no longer includes perfect health. The last two years unasked have brought on the onset of disabilities that I know can not be reversed hopefully delayed. Fortunately they are not life threatening ones but they do affect my attitude towards things.

On a side note the other place talked about with the figures you mentioned sits on 12 acres not the 12 1/2 I had mentioned earlier. This is another issue beyond my control more senior moments. It most assuredly affects my outlook on life at times. So I try to enjoy what I do have and am looking forward to new experiences to augment the ones I do have. When and if life hands me a lemon I will endeavor to make lemonade out of it.

I am interested in the condos that have room service. That is for later in life if needs be. At the moment I am still enjoying what I have.

[Konini]

The problem comes if you live alone, can't manage your finances or medications. I really wish someone would develop a "home health service" where a professional nurse would do a daily visit to people living alone in these condos to see that the client was OK, had taken their meds, measure BP and BS and help with bathing and dressing (if needed) all the while the person enjoyed independent living in their own apartment.

Now there's a business opportunity for somebody. In the UK, the government employs an ever-growing army of care-workers who mostly work 20 hours per week (therefore keeping them off the unemployment statistics, clever, eh?) who have mostly fairly minimal training and go out to tend to their 'patients' once, twice or sometimes thrice a day - not the same person obviously, it can be any one of however many in the bank in that particular area. My husband's granddad was very poorly with Alzheimer's on top of a couple of not very serious other things. Each morning, someone would come out and get him up, wash and dress him and feed him breakfast, family were always around during the day to tend to him and every evening someone else would come to put his pyjamas on and help him into bed - family also stayed on at night, ensuring that there was someone there with him 24 hours a day, but they were unable to wash and dress him, and most of the time he wouldn't take food from them either - he simply wouldn't allow his daughters or granddaughters to help him with most things. Fortunately for future governments who want to massage the unemployment figures (and it's become a national sport in UK) there is a never-ending supply of new clients thanks to Father Time. I think payment has to be made if there is money available, I know there wasn't any in this case though.

Given the large number of aged and aging expats here in Chiang Mai, and the growing middle class of Thai's who have to live and work in Bangkok, I think it would be a very astute move for anyone wanting a business to get off the ground with I would imagine very little upfront capital. Of course there are problems with staff being lax or criminal, but this seems to be not as big a problem as I would have thought it would be (or perhaps I just have very low expectations from humanity as a whole). Someone who could organise a daily visitor to ensure that you're alive and haven't fallen during the night and can't get up, helping with laying out daily medications, help with shopping for those fit enough to still be able to make light meals for themselves or organising deliveries for those who aren't, as well as shopping for toiletries and other such things, making sure that there isn't an electricity or internet bill sitting unpaid - all of those kind of things. It would only take someone who is able to organise very thoroughly and very closely supervise staff to do it, and this would free up some of the resources of your organisation to help those without the financial means to do so.

It's such an obvious idea, there must be a million reasons why it hasn't already been done, because I can't believe anyone from UK if nowhere else hasn't thought of it before me.

(And NO - I'm happily retired and living comfortably without any responsibilities, but there are plenty living here, some surely with the necessary skills to set this nice little earner up, with either a need for an income stream or a desire to have more to do during the day).

Just my 2 cents worth.

[Trujillo]

The houses in my mooban are small, but average about 9,000 baht a month. A few are even cheaper. Hiring a caregiver is what? 6,000 to 7,000 a month, more or less?

If it's just "assistance" that is provided by these places (excluding bathing and dressing), then the cost is laughably high.

I thought one of the nice things about Thailand was that you could hire a personal assistant (maybe even two) for 24-hours a day for next to nothing, compared to back in the old country.

[northernjohn]

The houses in my mooban are small, but average about 9,000 baht a month. A few are even cheaper. Hiring a caregiver is what? 6,000 to 7,000 a month, more or less?

If it's just "assistance" that is provided by these places (excluding bathing and dressing), then the cost is laughably high.

I thought one of the nice things about Thailand was that you could hire a personal assistant (maybe even two) for 24-hours a day for next to nothing, compared to back in the old country.

You are right about the cost of hiring care givers. Not sure how many years ago it was though.

I do believe as uptheos said you could get a house for 10,000 baht. Get one with 2 bedrooms and hire a full time care giver for say 15,000 baht and include the living expenses and it would still be cheaper than a care home.

Just another option for those who don't want to live in the city. For those who do get a Condo.

[harrry]

The houses in my mooban are small, but average about 9,000 baht a month. A few are even cheaper. Hiring a caregiver is what? 6,000 to 7,000 a month, more or less?

If it's just "assistance" that is provided by these places (excluding bathing and dressing), then the cost is laughably high.

I thought one of the nice things about Thailand was that you could hire a personal assistant (maybe even two) for 24-hours a day for next to nothing, compared to back in the old country.

You are right about the cost of hiring care givers. Not sure how many years ago it was though.

I do believe as uptheos said you could get a house for 10,000 baht. Get one with 2 bedrooms and hire a full time care giver for say 15,000 baht and include the living expenses and it would still be cheaper than a care home.

Just another option for those who don't want to live in the city. For those who do get a Condo.

You would be lucky to get anyone at all for an eight hour day for 10000 a week with one day off .

[Dante99]

You would be lucky to get anyone at all for an eight hour day for 10000 a week with one day off .

Harry,

What kind of care giver are you referring too at 10,000 a week with one day off (40,000 Baht per month)??

There are all kinds of care givers at all kinds of prices, just wondering what this one is. Thank you.

[harrry]

You would be lucky to get anyone at all for an eight hour day for 10000 a week with one day off .

Harry,

What kind of care giver are you referring too at 10,000 a week with one day off (40,000 Baht per month)??

There are all kinds of care givers at all kinds of prices, just wondering what this one is. Thank you.

[harrry]

You would be lucky to get anyone at all for an eight hour day for 10000 a week with one day off .

Harry,

What kind of care giver are you referring too at 10,000 a week with one day off (40,000 Baht per month)??

There are all kinds of care givers at all kinds of prices, just wondering what this one is. Thank you.

I did mean a month but this would be a totally unskilled person who could give very very limited care.

Nursing assistants more like 15000 a month and they will do little other work. Barely quallified Nurse 25000 a month say 10rs a day 6 days a week.

It is also very very hard to get any Thai in Chiangmai to take this kind of work. I doubt very much that you will be able to get a reasonable carer daytime only for what I gave.l

Visit from a hospital with a nurse for about one hour to give a drip 1000 baht. Visit from a hospital doctor at home (nurse too) 2500 baht.

Edited October 15, 2014 by harrry

[NancyL]

The thing about hiring a "caregiver" for 7000 baht per month is that someone has to supervise that caregiver and you're going to need more than one. Keep in mind that people in need of caregivers usually aren't capable of figuring out what to do when a caregiver doesn't show up to work or isn't able to figure out if the caregiver is stealing from them. The best in-home set-ups I've seen have 3 caregivers who rotate and someone who is "in charge", like a spouse or maybe an RN to checks in every day to see that the caregivers are doing what they're suppose to be doing. The cost for all that is going to be more like 40,000 baht/month -- more if you have to hire the supervision.

And if the person in need of care is heavy, difficult, cranky or in need of caregivers with English language skills -- well, it's going to be difficult to hire people for 7000 baht a month.

[Lone Ranger]

Thank you all for your very helpful contributions -it is very much appreciated ! Looks like my bed ridden friend cannot afford the costs quoted over here so we are hoping to repatriate him back to UK soonest where he can live in a free NHS government care home.

[Lone Ranger]

I have just suggestedto BUPA HO in Thailand that they start a new policy worldwide for care nurse/care home services...they responded they woud consider the idea in due course....can't understand why these private health insurance co's don't see the endless possibilities here to a] make even more money & b] save millions of people unnecessary stress from worryng about what will happen to them & their families when they are disabled/bed ridden.Someone, somewhere, sometime, is going to make a lot of money......

[Rancid]

Aged care is a growing business due to Baby Boomers. Also the fact that Western governments with their low interest rate policies to bail out criminal banksters is making retirement for many difficult as bank deposits pay peanuts.

No doubt why we are seeing get aged care places popping up here. I looked at it for my mum with dementia, but that was much pricier, still cheaper back home.

Expect it to be big business here in due course.

[cardinalblue]

I think some of you live in a fantasy world regarding your world of health and the aging process...

The longer you live the more levels on intervention an care one needs. Don't agree with the USA cost structure and Thailand is underdeveloped in financial models. That said assisted living fills a great need and will continue to grow as western societies continue towards living alone models...

Probably not the best model chosen for those who live into 70's - 90's...in the absence of family or family's shunning you guys, assisted living of different graduation is your best option to maintain some level of safety, security medical and basic care necessities...

Just like plastics, it's the wave of the future for those who come from western cultures....

[cardinalblue]

In the model that nancy presented of home health care costing 40K for 24/7 or something approaching that. One has to throw in rent utilities cleaning fin maintenance supplies food etc you are looking 60k...

You will be paying much more at home than at an assisted living facility probably at a muck lower level of care and social interaction...

Remember, you will not see a better health day than today..

[jingjoke]

There are other places here much cheaper with far bigger apartments where you can get room cleaned, laundry done, all meals downstairs or delivered to your room ...taxi to reception to pick you up.....etc etc.

Thanks for that mikey88.

Names, locations and their prices would be appreciated. Cheers

[NancyL]

There are other places here much cheaper with far bigger apartments where you can get room cleaned, laundry done, all meals downstairs or delivered to your room ...taxi to reception to pick you up.....etc etc.

Thanks for that mikey88.

Names, locations and their prices would be appreciated. Cheers

What he's probably thinking about are the many high-rise condos around town where for about 15,000 baht a month you can rent a nice studio unit (or bigger) and inside the building you'll find a laundry service, restaurant or two, mini mart, maybe massage, beauty salon-- all of which you could (in theory) phone from the comfort of your room for delivery or service in your room. That is, if you're on good terms with the service providers, can still use a phone, speak some Thai and handle your own affairs. And then there's Meals on Wheels and Food Panda for meal delivery. They also can deliver mini-mart items. Rim Ping grocery will handle phone orders from good customers, also.

These are buildings like Hillside 4, Nakorn Ping, Riverside, Floral, Rim Ping and probably a host of others I don't know. These buildings all have large populations of those over age 75 for these reasons outlined above.

These can be a convenient solution for someone who is relatively healthy or temporarily incapacitated. It is not a long-term solution for the frail elderly who also need help with bathing, dressing, organizing and taking medications, preparing healthy meals -- plus the need to be able to walk in a safe area without the gazillion obstacles we have on the footpaths here.

Some of you may not believe it -- but there may come a time in your life when you'll find it difficult to use a mobile phone, figure out the TV remote, keep your medications organized, keep track of when to do your 90 day report, etc. That's when a place like Dok Kaew Gardens makes sense.

Edited March 14, 2015 by NancyL

[villagefarang]

I was truly impressed with how expensive care was for my parents during their final years in the US. They were paying a little over ½ million baht per month for the two of them. They started off around 3,500 dollars in an independent living facility. As they progressed through assisted living and on to a nursing home the price went up to around 8,000 dollars each. They both lived into their 90s but those last several years were not pretty.

The experience has drastically altered my views on longevity.

[Lone Ranger]

"garden suite (36 sq metres + 8 sq metre terrace) at 45,000 Baht single occupancy"

I guess these prices even the baht at 32-33, are geared more for foreign budgets rather than Thai's.

The Sunday bike club visited McLean's about 4 years ago and I thought the place looked run down. I hope at the prices they are asking they have improved it a lot.

Agreed. This facility occupies part of an island which was used to house and treat lepers. All those tiny cottages were used to home these stricken folks. Where they are now is any one's guess.

I have not been back for a decade or more but having looked at the pictures of those now being provided for, it is not my idea of a fun place to be in my old age.

At first glance when DOK KAEW GARDENS was first advertised I had thought it might offer a refuge for me one day were I old-age-impeded. Now I believe the atmoshere there, despite their obvious caring attitude for the aged, would quickly expedite my demise.

Any home for the aged however they now spin it would do the same for me.

As a highschool 'Junior Kiwanis' I had, amongst our other activities like telephone gatherings at the city telephone company pitching for blood transfusions for the Red Cross, visited homes for the aged to try to 'cheer-up' those there: I had left cautiously pondering what my future may hold. Here in Chiangmai years ago I'd arranged a private academy's weekend student trip to a nearby old-folks home on the right on the road to the Mae Ngat Dam: the folks there appeared genuinely pleased with their young visitors. On leaving, the students obviously forcing their smiles I do recall their disquiet, which had closely mirrored mine at their age.

Obviously I cannot speak for others, but as I gaze outwards from within myself, my inner-being so to speak, I never perceive myself as 'aged'. As has been mentioned elsewhere, seventy is now the new fifty!

My entire life's journey from childhood through adolescence to now - approaching seventy - is a timeless fusion in which I really do feel ageless. In this, the autumn of my years, I consider every moment wasted as one less 'Livin' la Vida Loca’ . Anything detracting from this 'crazy' life, such as the interminable waiting at immigration for a 90-day stamp, is one misspent second too much. I know, I hear you, there are some who enjoy the 'comraderie' there in the economy-class seating indulging in whatever - all the best to them.

You get the idea....

My intention is to remain in my home with my extended family, my pets and my fusion of memories. If needed, a quintet of nursing caregivers at 8-hour days plus time-off is relatively speaking, not all that expensive.

Sorry...did run on a bit... in closing kindly remember this:

If you're lonely when you are alone, you're in bad company. - Jean Paul Sartre

Truly wonderful to meet a kindred spirit !

I too feel ageless although not when I look in the mirror & like you have always felt that "timeless fusion" ..what a perfect description...thank you.

[4501]

I moved to Dok Kaew Gardens three years ago, but only now found the discussion on Thai Visa

One cannot understand Dok Kaew Gardens thinking of it only as a retirement community. Built eight years ago, it is only a small part of a much larger endeavor begun more than a century ago. Its' mission has changed with the passage of time to meet changing needs.

In 1907 Dr. James McKean, an America Presbyterian missionary petitioned the ruler of Chang Mai, Chao Inthawarorot Suriyawong , and was given the use of an island surrounded by the Ping River on the west and a small canal on the east to create a facility where leprosy patients could receive care and housing.

Through the years, with support from around the world, the community grew to include several thousand inhabitants, a hospital, clinics, schools, churches, farms, workshops, and several villages, all managed by the McKean center.

When effective medical treatment for leprosy was developed those resources were turned to physical rehabilitation, and other areas important to the welfare of the Thai people. The name McKean Rehabilitation Center was adopted. The Center is a service unit of the Church of Christ of Thailand.

Seven years ago, recognizing the needs of an aging population, McKean constructed the Dok Kaew Gardens complex which is comparable to facilities in western retirement centers. It occupies a 160 acre forested island extending two kilometers along the Ping River. Every level of care is provided from low to high, extending to nursing home, dementia care, and hospice care. There is a hospital on the campus. It is fifteen minutes by taxi from Chiang Mai's city wall. How fortunate it is that the land granted to Dr. McKean over a hundred years ago is such an extensive and green environment so well suited to the development of aged care communities.

Only photos can give you an idea of the sort of place it is. I took these while exploring our island on my electric wheelchair. The link below will take you to them. https://www.dropbox.com/sc/hikyrs6yieyouja/AAB_MLTlxESKnm5cf7N5SBxna

(When the photos appear, begin by clicking on the upper left photo. If photos dont appear, click the refresh icon.)

[evenstevens]

nice one

sincerely wish, many years to come, E/S

[northernjohn]

My friend and I were out there four months ago. Looked like a really nice place. They had a lot of old cabins that are no longer used. I have a friend who has his wife out there. She has full blown memory loss. Sorry I can't spell the word. It starts with al------. My friend goes out and visits her and brings her into town for a meal. He is very satisfied with the care she receives there.

[NancyL]

Great photos, "4501" Is it possible to post photos that show the inside of a typical room at Dok Kaew Gardens, the dining facilities, recreation area, etc. to give people an idea of what day-to-day life is like? Nothing that violates anyone's privacy, of course. Maybe a room that hasn't been occupied yet and is ready for a new resident.

[CMBob]

Also enjoyed the photos, "4501." What I especially like is the environmental setting of the entire complex out there. Extremely quiet and with the lovely little lake...

[anto]

o/p give careresort chiangmai a google. a brand new facility for the the retired etc etc

have personally seen the complex ,and its top draw and IMO the best in c/mai by lengths

and around the same figures as mentioned on this thread,

gosh astounded at a number ( on this thread ) for a massive illness etc etc,....3to 4 mil

sure hope that includes a gold casket,plus the best mattress and silk to rest in peace

Recently a friend had a quadruple heart bypass at the new Bangkok Hospital ,Chiang Mai .It cost B1,500,000 .

[mgbcnx]

Last year, following a forgettable week at Ram Hospital, I was still in questionable shape and agreed to convalesce for another week at Dok Kaew Gardens. From my own experience, the following pros and cons:

First, on the down side…

• Far removed from town, limited avenues of escape. Transportation to and fro has to be prearranged, and it isn’t cheap.
• Meal times (especially lunch and dinner) are bizarre—basically designed to keep the kitchen staff on a single, cost-saving shift. That said, the food was good (mainly Western menu)— but room temperature by the time it reached the table.
• After dinner at five o’clock there was absolutely nothing to anticipate until bedtime—beyond TV or the book you’re reading

And the pluses…

• An American administrator who calmly, capably, and rationally coped with myriad daily crises
• A caring and respectful staff who never once during my stay exhibited a lapse of professionalism
• Attractive grounds and immaculately clean interior spaces
• Medical attention and physical therapy just around the corner at McKean
• A comfortable room—not luxurious by any means, but perfectly adequate
• Wi-fi that usually worked
• Prices unbelievably cheap—when compared to similar institutions operating in the Western world

Of course I prefer living in my own apartment in Chiang Mai, fending for myself, and structuring my own day. But if the time ever comes that I cannot manage on my own, I will have no hesitation about returning to Dok Kaew Gardens.

Edited May 1, 2016 by mgbcnx

[wamberal]

Interested in some of the comments on this thread.  I am looking at retirement options.  My wife is Thai, I lived and worked in Thailand for some years, so have a pretty good understanding of the pros and cons.

 

i am interested in a full service retirement facility, ideally one that has all the bells and whistles, including a nursing home, if that is needed, eventually.

 

 

Neither of us has children, my wife has two younger unmarried sisters who still live in Thailand.  I want to make sure that all three of them (my wife and her two sisters) are adequately provided for.  

 

 

As Nancy said earlier (and this is definitely my wife's opinion), you cannot rely on paid help.   The only way to go is either totally independently (with whatever family/friend support you can rely on) or totally on some sort of contractual basis.  The latter is what I am interested in.

 

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.   I will have a look at Care Resort.

[NancyL]

This helpful document was produced by Cancer Connect Chiang Mai a last year and is posted on the website of Lanna Care Net.  It is a helpful summary of the care facilities in the region, with contact information.  I suggest you visit Vivo Bene and Dok Kaew, in particular.  

 

Care Resort is not on the list because they do not have a nursing home connected with the facility.  They are a resort with ability to care for the elderly, but not handle their needs for skilled nursing care.

 

http://www.lannacarenet.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/LCN-Care-Facilities-Survey-December-2015-Document-1.pdf