Retirement: Thailand vs Spain

[huawei]

I have never been to Spain, but I would imagine anyone retiring there would have to be rich.

Thailand must be a lot less expensive, and is nowhere near as crime infested as some would have you believe.

For the average working class UK person, Thailand has to win hands down. This is only my personal opinion.

Who is single and lonely...spain doesn't offer as much..

[BuaBS]

The EU completely f up Spain and other club med countries. It used to be much cheaper in Spain and lower taxes.

The spain of 20 - 30 years ago was much better to retire and buy a house . No reporting of a second home to your country.

With all those unemployed and a lot of african immigrants , crime is certainly worse than Thailand.

Even under the junta here , Thailand is a much free-er and more relaxed country. The "manjana" attitude is different from the "mai pen rai " in Thailand.

Then if you keep your money in a Spanish bank , the riscs of bail ins , is big. Just ask the Brits on Cyprus how much fun that is.

And Spain is becoming a fascist state :

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-13/1984-comes-europe-end-freedom-speech-spain

Again , if Spain was like 20-30 years ago , I would not be in Thailand!

[giddyup]

I'd take Spanish food over Thai any day. Plus there's more to see in places like Madrid, Granada and Barcelona.

Edited August 8, 2015 by giddyup

[realenglish1]

Living in Panama City Panama is cheaper. You only need to show 12,000 USD per year for income in retirement Earnings of shore and not taxed. Rent is about the same Cars are cheaper

The Panamanian woman are fantastic . Strong western infrastructure No reporting every 3 months Easy to get work permit much easier than in Thailand No minimum income required to pay yourself if you have a corp

I an seriously considering moving there after 12 years here in Thailand East access to the USA and Europe . Currency is the US dollar Panama has never issued their own currency .

You can own property 100% No double standard like Thais pay one price and you pay a higher price

[laislica]

who says you have to be 183 days in spain after you become resident in spain?

taxes compared to uk are now around 60 % of uk depending on source of income

residency in the eu means you can always return to the uk with out being treated as a leper

learning numbers is easy ie.que precios answer either mas barato ( more cheaper) mas caro (too expensive)

and the other most important phrase to open with is "hablas ingles" the reply is always poco

as for the chefs depends on whether you tipped last time

if you have a thai wife schengen visa is easy and free

of course all the above is what i have heard about as i live in thailand most of the time!

Who says?

Spanish immigration - I asked them.

The visa for a Thai wife is easy if you are already an EU citizen and registered in Spain.

When she arrives with you in Spain, there are many hoops to jump through and more than six months of time to get her a Spanish ID for Foreigners.

If you are an EU citizen, you can transfer your social services resources to Spain and thereby get full national health cover for both of you.

Taxes used to be less than the UK but I checked last year and they are now equal to or greater than the UK - for me at least and I am a 70+ pensioner.

We just took a few days touring France, to Paris and the cost of food and drink there was at least double what we pay in Spain.

You are not a Farang in Spain!

The Spanish do not discriminate about your Thai wife either.

The biggest con is that your wife will miss all her family and friends but you can buy a subscription on Skype that lets her chat to any Thai mobile phone for about £100 per year - bargain.

[THAIPHUKET]

endlessly more things to do and to see, Arabic culture mixed with Spanish style. Just going there will make you realize what is missing here. Fiery music, hot dances , smell of a Bodega, Architecture , window shopping, your senses will all of a sudden feel gruesomely starved.

Winters can be wet-cold.

Edited August 8, 2015 by THAIPHUKET

[TheAppletons]

Well, I've never been to Spain

But I kinda like the music

[HerbalEd]

1M Brits living in Thailand?? That's hard to believe. What is your source for this number?

[dotpoom]

Sneak robberies are high in Spain...ie., nipping in to your condo while your in the shower. In my opinion food is not cheaper than Thailand. You might like to listen to this prog. aired yesterday. Two main points of interest...Jenson Button's case of being gassed in his home (not in Spain) and this type of robbery on the rise....but have a listen to the story of the man who was locked up in Las Palmas prison on remand for two years and while in there the police commandeered his boat and changed it's ownership title over to a policeman's. How his bank locked his a/c after he closed his pub business. According to him, when this is all over he is hightailing it out of Spain never to ever set foot on it's shores again....I know corruption is high up the list. If you want to play the prog. when you open the link just press "Latest show"......http://www.rte.ie/radio1/liveline/#1947680

Edited August 8, 2015 by dotpoom

[giddyup]

endlessly more things to do and to see, Arabic culture mixed with Spanish style. Just going there will make you realize what is missing here. Fiery music, hot dances , smell of a Bodega, Architecture , window shopping, your senses will all of a sudden feel gruesomely starved.

Winters can be wet-cold.

Yes, I agree. Really, besides a few (a lot), seen one, seen them all, temples, what is there really to see in Thailand. For a first time tourist the elephant and crocodile shows are probably OK, but once is enough. Where are the museums, art galleries, historic buildings etc?

Edited August 8, 2015 by giddyup

[Caspersfriend]

if you are receiving the state pension its not frigging frozen.

if me and mrs meat had a choice now we would live in maspalomas.

The rolling sand dunes offer many places to hide away. Those with a weak stomach should always beware of the nudist section.

[craigt3365]

Well why don't you check below:

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Spain&country2=Thailand

I would say that is pretty spot on. Definitely cheaper here, and the weather is warmer. For better or worse. We were there in early spring and it was cold. Jackets for sure. But that was Madrid and Seville. Same with Southern Portugal and north from there. Plus, S. Portugal was dead, dead, dead.

There are many great things about Spain. And some issues. Corruption is still an issue there.

[ozyjon]

I am now in Spain, i am here 183 days exactly (but how do they know)

there are no borders i drive into Gibraltar, i go to Portugal (consider

Portugal retirement, not as strict as Spain) then off to Thailand,,the

sun, no pollution, quick flight back to the UK appeals to many.

[TIMMMMM]

Wow. I wonder if those African refugees are only in big cities or EVERYWHERE in Spain now. I thought they all moved to Calais.

[sprq]

1) In Spain the cultural fare is far more interesting: art, music, theatre, architecture, etc, etc are some of the best in the world, and far superior to the dummy arts that you find in Thailand.

2) You can have damn good conversations and fruitful discussions with Spaniards, things which are extremely rare in Thailand.

3) In Spain, many kinds of alcohol and especially wine are far cheaper and far easier to find than in Thailand.

Those are the three things that come immediately to mind. I'd move to Spain if I could afford it, but I can't.

[GuestHouse]

There are a number of other very clear plus points for Spain over Thailand.

Property rights, welfare/healthcare rights, and rights to residence.

Appart from these rights, every other criteria I can think of is subjective.

It is quiet clear that many do not regard the above rights, or lack of the above rights in Thailand as important, but then that's a personal subjective decision.

[robertthebruce]

Well, I've never been to Spain

But I kinda like the music

You mean "Una Paloma Blanca" ........

Translates to "One white dove"......

That was a real corker of a song in the 70's, no castanet was left unturned.....

[robertthebruce]

if you are receiving the state pension its not frigging frozen.

if me and mrs meat had a choice now we would live in maspalomas.

The rolling sand dunes offer many places to hide away. Those with a weak stomach should always beware of the nudist section.

Maspalomas ??? Been there and done it....

[abrahamzvi]

I have never been to Spain, but I would imagine anyone retiring there would have to be rich.

Thailand must be a lot less expensive, and is nowhere near as crime infested as some would have you believe.

For the average working class UK person, Thailand has to win hands down. This is only my personal opinion.

Join the club!!!!! And I do know Spain!

[Jaggg88]

1) In Spain the cultural fare is far more interesting: art, music, theatre, architecture, etc, etc are some of the best in the world, and far superior to the dummy arts that you find in Thailand.

2) You can have damn good conversations and fruitful discussions with Spaniards, things which are extremely rare in Thailand.

3) In Spain, many kinds of alcohol and especially wine are far cheaper and far easier to find than in Thailand.

Those are the three things that come immediately to mind. I'd move to Spain if I could afford it, but I can't.

If you avoid the obvious tourist spots then Spain is cheaper than Thailand. Meals out are more expensive but wine is far cheaper ( I get a very decent wine from the Bodega for about 1.20 euro / 45 bht) Many Spanish people think my Thai wife is Spanish and always speak to her in Spanish, much to my pleasure as she doesn't speak a word of their language. My wife is a British passport holder so we get all the benefits of EU citizenship. They do get cold weather in the winter - it was wet and only 4c when we were there in February but just a week later it was 23c. The infrastructure is first class (paid for by EU grants) trains, boats, buses, motorways/freeways and airports. The schools are also very good. I also feel much safer on a ferry in Spain than Thailand.

The bottom line for me though is that my wife wants to be near her family so Adiós España and Hola Tailandia.

[dunks]

Spain.

[goreme]

There seems to be far more petty theft and road violence in Spain than Thailand. Feel perfectly comfortable leaving helmet/personal belongings on scooter in Thailand but never in Spain.

[MAJIC]

Below is based on Global retirement index, Thailand no 10 and Spain no 7:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-best-countries-to-retire-in-2015-170424541.html

Spain can be cold during the winters so as mentioned, if one can afford to share the time between the 2 countries that would be ideal.

If you can live in Thailand as a Thai, eating Thai food only, Thailand will be cheaper to live in(I can't, LOL).

I don't know what cars/bikes cost in Spain? If you stick with Thai made cars/bike the price is cheap for me here in Thailand.

I work in oil off-shore and pay 0% tax here in Thailand and save app 30-40% of my income for retirement, not possible if living in Spain.

A speeding violation in car/bike is about 500-1000baht here, it would likely be the same in Spain but in Euros, he-he.

As a EU citizen many advantages of living in Spain as mentioned: Stay as long as you like, no visa's to worry about.

Buy a house and own it 100%, no bullshit as here.

Easy to tour EU from Spain.

And so on.

Best to go there and look around, check the prices yourself and see if you like it generally.

Except Spain is notorious for building houses with no planning permission,building on land not fit for building on. Houses bearing illegal land papers, beware! many people migrating have been ripped off,and forget the EEC,they will not get your money back.

[watcharacters]

Ask Billy and Peter but they will never come across with the truth.

Maybe you can nudge them a bit. I hope so..

They both love Spain..

[Linzz]

Not sure if I would want to risk being part of the Eurozone and it's penchant for economic totalitarianism and what taxes they can dream up to confiscate your money....anyone want to try Greece?

[misterphil]

Pros for Thailand.

Thai pussy is tighter than Spanish.

Cons for Thailand.

Jet ski scams

Pros for Spain.

Can rent jet skis

Cons for Spain.

Too many lucky lucky men.

So if you prefer jet skis over nice pussy Spain is for you.

[pmarlowe]

Well, I've never been to Spain

But I kinda like the music

You mean "Una Paloma Blanca" ........

Translates to "One white dove"......

That was a real corker of a song in the 70's, no castanet was left unturned.....

Never been to Spain...Three Dog Night

[tancred]

Don't get ill in Thailand.

[tancred]

Don't get ill in Thailand.

[Wadan]

just google int'l living , you will see that both Spain and Portugal are much cheaper than Thailand. You don't run the risk of getting liquidated by mafia and have police cover up. you don't have this high incidence of questionable suicides. There are more safety measures in place. Traffic is better organized and less road fatalities. Cleanliness is of a much higher standard. At least you can drink the tap water. You have freedom of press and expression. too many pluses for spain and too many negatives for Thailand. i choose Spain any day and anytime.