Expats living on their pension in Thailand, why the negativity?

[MaeJoMTB]

Agree. Yes I am one and I don't live in Thailand but have done temporarily and will again eventually. That is why I absorb as much as I can from this forum, the good with the bad. Thus I consider all posts on here because it is all experience that leads to every opinion however ill considered or harsh.. Also my experience is limited so I'm happy to defer to others who do live in Thailand, I think I will come forewarned of many things, and I thank the members for sharing whatever,although there are many contradictory posts. I hope that leads me to a less judgmental position, however I do challenge when I read what I think are obviously wrongful, aggressive or prejudiced posts.

Cheers to all.

The longer you live in contact with the real Thailand, and the more you understand the language, the more negative you become.

(post count probably correlates to time here)

Part-timers love everything, and those that have insulated themselves from reality love it.

Various ways to avoid the reality, interact entirely through a Thai wife translator, live in a walled estate, suffer from dementia, etc.

I know it's a shit-hole, but I love the cheap women and the hot weather.

As long as you keep your cash safe, and outside the country, you can have a really great time here.

Edited October 13, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[sandyf]

It get 50.000bht a month and i live great here but if i lived in Camerons uk i could not live there anymore,beer in the uk is about 3.50 a pint we get for just over a pound here,yes some food is more expensive,but i can live like a king, if i was back in the uk i would be in the gutter.my only moan is i pay english tax but do not get index rises in A pril out here

"Cameron's UK" - what's that got to do with the price of fish? Do you think living costs would be any lower with another party in the chair?

Beer in the UK may be around £3.50 a pint in pubs but where on earth are you buying beer in Thailand for a little over a pound a pint? Let's call 60 baht a little over a pound, to be generous. One pint = 568ml and a small beer here is 330ml. 330 divided by 568 = 0.58 x 60 baht = 34 baht. Can you can buy a bottle of beer in a Bangkok pub or bar for 34 baht? Unless you are comparing the price of beer in 7/11 to the price of beer in pubs in the south east of the UK, which would be a stupid and unfair comparison, you are talking absolute rubbish (or drinking Red Horse or some other vile brew).

BKK is an unfair comparison. There are many bars in Pattaya selling large bottles of Chang at 70 baht, I think I am doing well in BKK at less than 150.

Around Chonburi 80 for a large Leo in a restaurant is normal, don't usually get Chang.

Yesterday in the south of Samui I was 90 baht for a large Chang at a restaurant.

[ignis]

What is 'cheap charlies' ? or are they being money wise ?

Am I a cheap charlies because I waited for the October sales at the Slumberland factory, bought last week delivered Friday, to me why pay 88,000 baht for a nice mattress when you can get 80% off........ or wait for the big sales at Home Pro, Index and so on, bought many things at a very reduced price...

[Thunderbirds20]

I am living in Thailand on a very small pension from Canada, .. it is a joke but it is not funny! I could not even rent a dingy room for a month in Canada on what my pension is. I would have to be homeless to be able to eat, ..after a lifetime of paying in to the system. Yet, our Government gives new arrivals more than 4 times what my pension is, ... spends 5 times my pension to incarcerate rapists and murderers, .... but I have to live in a third world country to survive, because I can not afford to live in my own country. ... and they make me file income tax returns every year but deny me the right to vote!

[Naam]

What is 'cheap charlies' ? or are they being money wise ?

Am I a cheap charlies because I waited for the October sales at the Slumberland factory, bought last week delivered Friday, to me why pay 88,000 baht for a nice mattress when you can get 80% off........ or wait for the big sales at Home Pro, Index and so on, bought many things at a very reduced price...

only a brain-amputated person pays $2,500 for a mattress

[rgs2001uk]

What pisses the old duffers of, is easy enough, their money cant but them back their youth or golden years.

Thankfully modern medicine now gives little blue pills, but it aint enough to give their teerak what she wants, hence why the motocy taxi driver or brother is always hanging around the house.

Over on another thread is 54 pages of teenage angst, why is the Brit Gov't ripping me off, why cant I get Thai citizenship, I cant speak a word of Thai.

Spend 35 years down pit lad, paid me union dues an that, sold me two up two down in Donny, came here and scored some lass no decent Thai man from village would look at.

Jeez CH, you dont know the half of it.

Gawds gift to women couldnt even afford a BUS TICKET to Bkk return, free loaded off his mates.

Never mind, what about the money seasoning technique, or money in money out trick to satisfy immi,, money from one acount tx into another, hang on gramps, its the same moeny going round and round.

Great stuff, head up your local boozer up my way and bitch and moan your pension aint being updated, you would be chased out the place, with glases flying, living the dream in these times of austerity, piss off gramps..

^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^

The anti-old posts none of you have seen!

Here it is!

Not anti old at all.

Anti those with a sense of entitlement, anti those who think Thailand should change its laws to accomodate them and their poor life style choices.

Wasnt there once long running thread on here called Grumpy Old Man?

Yes there are plenty of old guys living here, some of them living well and others living very well.

Proper planning and due diligence goes a long way to living here.

[rgs2001uk]

What pisses the old duffers of, is easy enough, their money cant but them back their youth or golden years.

Thankfully modern medicine now gives little blue pills, but it aint enough to give their teerak what she wants, hence why the motocy taxi driver or brother is always hanging around the house.

Over on another thread is 54 pages of teenage angst, why is the Brit Gov't ripping me off, why cant I get Thai citizenship, I cant speak a word of Thai.

Spend 35 years down pit lad, paid me union dues an that, sold me two up two down in Donny, came here and scored some lass no decent Thai man from village would look at.

Jeez CH, you dont know the half of it.

Gawds gift to women couldnt even afford a BUS TICKET to Bkk return, free loaded off his mates.

Never mind, what about the money seasoning technique, or money in money out trick to satisfy immi,, money from one acount tx into another, hang on gramps, its the same moeny going round and round.

Great stuff, head up your local boozer up my way and bitch and moan your pension aint being updated, you would be chased out the place, with glases flying, living the dream in these times of austerity, piss off gramps..

You must have taken exams in bullshit , because you certainly write enough of it

You should get out more, or widen your circle of friends.

As for BS, I can gives names and places, I write from experience.

[ignis]

What is 'cheap charlies' ? or are they being money wise ?

Am I a cheap charlies because I waited for the October sales at the Slumberland factory, bought last week delivered Friday, to me why pay 88,000 baht for a nice mattress when you can get 80% off........ or wait for the big sales at Home Pro, Index and so on, bought many things at a very reduced price...

only a brain-amputated person pays $2,500 for a mattress

So say the 5* Hotels buy a lot of these or the 55,000 baht ones... guess they get a good discount as they buy a lot at the same time.

anyway it is a very nice mattress, so believe 17,600 baht I paid was well worth it......... million times better than the normal Thai hard lump mattress it replaced.

is it any better than the Ikea Pocket sprung @ 16,990 baht ? no idea, but has a good name Slumberland, never heard of the name of Ikea's mattress

[mrlila]

Don't really get the point of the question here.

The widespread stereotype of "pensioners" is that they are old and not rich.

As pensioners age, they indeed do get even older and because their incomes are usually fixed, even poorer.

Of course not everyone fits the stereotype.

Some people receive earlier age pensions and many pensioners are wealthy due to various personal circumstances.

Is this rocket science? Socially, old is not cool. Poor is not cool. Double those ... doubly not cool.

Of course someone in their 20's can be dirt poor and very cool ... the youth trumps.

Next ...

You know what's interesting...old people don't have a lock on getting old. We will all be there someday, that is if we live long enough. The trick is to get there with a healthy mind, healthy body and healthy wallet. If you can do that, life is not too bad and it is still enjoyable. I speak from personal experience. Of course, a little fuel left in the tank helps.

[Cypress Hill]

Rubbish

Most old boys don't party and those that do definitely don't cut a rug up in the way ANY young man would want to emulate; you can trust me on that

Surprised you can remember that far back ............ you're 47, aren't you?

And young men are under 30 years old.

Indeed I am but that only shows that my argument isn't self-serving.

I think age and experience are invaluable but, unlike so many of the silly old men on TVF, I don't kid myself as I'm growing older that youth and vitality become proportionally less important.

I love young people - they keep my outlook young. I don't get why older folks view them with such disdain especially when it's the folly of their own peers that have screwed the world for the generations that follow

The longer you live in contact with the real Thailand, and the more you understand the language, the more negative you become.

(post count probably correlates to time here)

Part-timers love everything, and those that have insulated themselves from reality love it.

Various ways to avoid the reality, interact entirely through a Thai wife translator, live in a walled estate, suffer from dementia, etc.

I know it's a shit-hole, but I love the cheap women and the hot weather.

As long as you keep your cash safe, and outside the country, you can have a really great time here.

You're just incredibly bitter, MaeJo but I'll bite; what "reality" are you referring to?

Edited October 13, 2015 by Cypress Hill

[arunsakda]

There is another angle to this coming from the US where some right-wing ideolougues ridiculously question even the patriotism of US expats. One of their perennial talking points is privatization (read theft by Wall Street interests) of Social Security. "Wacko bird" even suggested voting rights should be curtailed. Nothing to do with anything really but GOP's constant efforts at voter suppression as data shows expats are more educated then average and thus tend to vote more liberal, as a general cohort.

Cruz would never suggest overseas US military who tend to vote Repub have to be disenfranchised, and he doesn't want anybody to get SS benefits at all!

"If someone turns their back on the United States, should he still be able to take advantage of the benefits of citizenship? I think this should be examined.” - Senator Ted Cruz

Sent from a series of tubes

Edited October 13, 2015 by arunsakda

[1BADDAT]

Doesn't really matter what you post - you'll always have that one (or more) types that will always respond negatively because that's just who they are and what they do.

That is not true and you are an idiot.

[Linzz]

Doesn't really matter what you post - you'll always have that one (or more) types that will always respond negatively because that's just who they are and what they do.

That is not true and you are an idiot.

Thanks guys, a really enlightened discussion going on here. Maybe I should stay in my home country after all !

[Jingthing]

Doesn't really matter what you post - you'll always have that one (or more) types that will always respond negatively because that's just who they are and what they do.

That is not true and you are an idiot.

Thanks guys, a really enlightened discussion going on here. Maybe I should stay in my home country after all !

You won't regret it!

[Linzz]

There is another angle to this coming from the US where some right-wing ideolougues ridiculously question even the patriotism of US expats. One of their perennial talking points is privatization (read theft by Wall Street interests) of Social Security. "Wacko bird" even suggested voting rights should be curtailed. Nothing to do with anything really but GOP's constant efforts at voter suppression as data shows expats are more educated then average and thus tend to vote more liberal, as a general cohort.

Cruz would never suggest overseas US military who tend to vote Repub have to be disenfranchised, and he doesn't want anybody to get SS benefits at all!

"If someone turns their back on the United States, should he still be able to take advantage of the benefits of citizenship? I think this should be examined.” - Senator Ted Cruz

Sent from a series of tubes

Interesting that a senator of the USA should judge someone's motives for seeking a better life elsewhere. Sounds like a jilted girlfriend! Short memory of the input given to the USA previously by way of taxes etc. Democracy is becoming lost in that country in it's drive towards totalitarianism through the hunt for taxes at any level??

Edit: If you are born a US citizen and voting rights are curtailed and Thailand won't let you be a citizen or even PR either, where does that leave you? Stateless? I thought that kind of stuff happened in Burma

Edited October 13, 2015 by Linzz

[Cypress Hill]

Just for Cypress....

You'll have to excuse me but I don't get the point you're trying to make

[F4UCorsair]

Yes well we live here on my pension , our son is in uni and we rent a condo for him in Bangkok , so its easy to live here on a pension ,oh and we sold our quite large house in the UK and my wife earns quite a lot of money in real estate , it does help

Ps to the young guys who always go on about us getting a pension and to Cameron

ITS NOT A BENIFIT ,I PAID IN FOR IT ALL MY LIFE .,SO THERE.

It is a benefit in Australia Claudius, not so in the UK as I understand it. I may be wrong, but I read that the UK has no national superannuation scheme, and everybody receives an aged pension regardless of their financial position, purely because they paid income tax for a working life.

I paid more tax than most in Australia, and find it offensive that I have no entitlement to an aged pension.

Consider a person on a low income, paying almost no tax, and when he retires, he receives more in a pension than he ever paid in tax over just a few years, and then future generations of taxpayers fund him. If he lives overseas, he pays nothing into the coffers via indirect taxes.

[F4UCorsair]

If self funded pensions OK.

Not jealousy from me, with an income many times the aged pension, but a degree of disgust.

I worked 43 years, never drew a cent from the government, provided for myself, and am a self funded retiree. I live in Australia, mostly, so continue to pay GST, and other federal and state indirect taxes.

Somebody who paid a lot less tax than I did, and continue to do, receives an aged pension, and then leaves the country, contributing nothing further. I think if a recipient is not living in the country that pays his state funded pension, it should be reduced by what tax that pension may attract if the recipient was living in his home country...... start at about 25%, but possibly more.

Paying income tax is not the same as paying into a private superannuation fund.

Yes'but those oldies aren't clogging up the roads,public transport and hospitals.Norway woke up to this ages ago.A lot of people can be as clever as you and do the best they can in life.Why be disgusted with somebody you have never met.I live here,self funded but the Aust govt still tax me,from zero, 32 and half % on my meager earings from my house rental.They conveniently make me a non-resident even though still a citizen.Legal thievery.

So paying somebody $250 a week, with nothing coming back via indirect taxes, is the price to pay so 'congestion' is reduced on our roads?? You need to be a lawyer defending in the magistrates' court with an imahination like that.

Legal thievery when you pay no indirect taxes on your pension?

If you had organized your affairs so that your property was part of a super fund, maybe sell and buy shares, there is no income tax.

[rgs2001uk]

Head straight to 3:30.

More of the same.

[rgs2001uk]

Same same but different.

Hardly what I would consider, living the dream.

[nithisa78]

@robertthebruce I already live in Thailand and my wife and I built a home in the northern region. I am not near a pension age so we are living off other investments. I was just curious why I had read many negative responses about "pensioners" in Thailand. But I am with you, I think if anyone can pull it off they should go live it and it shouldn't be viewed in a negative light.

and i am just curious where you read these negative comments. i'm an active member of TV since nine years and can't recall a single one.

I can recall a few ... but very few. However, as to cynical whiney posts about other subjects ... esp. about Thailand & Thais ... I recall many hundreds.

Some people are just plain cynical, find fault in virtually everything, and don't know how to be happy. And like old dogs, some get worse and worse as they get older and older.

Malcontents. Wherever they might be on Earth.

[mankondang]

Yeah, really? Well I'm a pensioner but I'm not old and I'm far from poor, plus I have the advantage of experience. I'm also quite handsome and I'm over here, so go eat your hearts out youth, whoever you may be!

You modest words:

You're NOT old?

You think you're smart enough to have turned your experience into an advantage?

Your also quite handsome?

The truth:

No, no, no. Look in the mirror

Your totally delusional.

[chiang mai]

Yeah, really? Well I'm a pensioner but I'm not old and I'm far from poor, plus I have the advantage of experience. I'm also quite handsome and I'm over here, so go eat your hearts out youth, whoever you may be!

You modest words:

You're NOT old?

You think you're smart enough to have turned your experience into an advantage?

Your also quite handsome?

The truth:

No, no, no. Look in the mirror

Your totally delusional.

I just looked in the mirror and can confirm that what I wrote is correct, I also asked my wife and she agreed. I then went on to check my bank account balances and pensions which are very healthy, I also checked my passport to confirm my long term visa in intact. So check check and check and BTW, age 65 is still defined as middle aged these days so check yet again.

Next!

Edited October 13, 2015 by chiang mai

[Gecko123]

Same same but different.

Hardly what I would consider, living the dream.

If the demographic group described in the videos you posted continues to grow, Thailand will have little choice than to make retirement visas more restrictive in the future. Thailand has a rapidly aging population of its own, and I am deeply skeptical that it has the resources or inclination to accommodate large numbers of uninsured Westerners with limited resources to care for themselves.

[MaeJoMTB]

age 65 is still defined as middle aged these days so check yet again.

Not many foreign guys make it to 70 in Thailand.

I'm 60 ..... that's old ...... I don't expect to break the 70 barrier.

Look around you, I'd rather be dead than one of the guys that did beat 70 in CM.

They're infirm, they suffer from multiple health problems, their reasoning is going or gone ....... it's just a nasty way to live, if you can call it living.

Edited October 13, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[chiang mai]

age 65 is still defined as middle aged these days so check yet again.

Not many foreign guys make it to 70 in Thailand.

I'm 60 ..... that's old ...... I don't expect to break the 70 barrier.

Look around you, I'd rather be dead than one of the guys that did beat 70 in CM.

They're infirm, they suffer from multiple health problems, their reasoning is going or gone ....... it's just a nasty way to live, if you can call it living.

"I'm 60 ..... that's old ...... I don't expect to break the 70 barrier".

You tell us you run Pilgrims Trail to Doi Suthep every week in 45 minutes, unless there's another aspect to your life or indeed, if that tale was an inflated one, reaching 70 and beyond should be a breeze for you I would have thought.

[Gecko123]

age 65 is still defined as middle aged these days so check yet again.

Not many foreign guys make it to 70 in Thailand.

I'm 60 ..... that's old ...... I don't expect to break the 70 barrier.

Look around you, I'd rather be dead than one of the guys that did beat 70 in CM.

They're infirm, they suffer from multiple health problems, their reasoning is going or gone ....... it's just a nasty way to live, if you can call it living.

Yikes! Can you be any more gloomy and pessimistic?

I'm hoping to make it into my 90's here; if I'm lucky maybe live to 100. I'm not gonna apply for social security until I'm 70. And here I was planning to invite you out for a drink when the first check arrives, but I guess you'll be dead by then. Oh well.

Edited October 13, 2015 by Gecko123

[ignis]

age 65 is still defined as middle aged these days so check yet again.

Not many foreign guys make it to 70 in Thailand.

I'm 60 ..... that's old ...... I don't expect to break the 70 barrier.

Look around you, I'd rather be dead than one of the guys that did beat 70 in CM.

They're infirm, they suffer from multiple health problems, their reasoning is going or gone ....... it's just a nasty way to live, if you can call it living.

felt a bit wobbly on the ladder today, not as easy as it was but not painted the house for 6 years inside, so at 65 maybe the last time, ?? things are getting harder to do these days. at this rate to do all the house will take a month or more...

Outside is a question, not at all sure will manage, my mind says yes, my body says no, guess my reasoning is still intact ? is about 8 or 9 years since I last did it..

[chiang mai]

age 65 is still defined as middle aged these days so check yet again.

Not many foreign guys make it to 70 in Thailand.

I'm 60 ..... that's old ...... I don't expect to break the 70 barrier.

Look around you, I'd rather be dead than one of the guys that did beat 70 in CM.

They're infirm, they suffer from multiple health problems, their reasoning is going or gone ....... it's just a nasty way to live, if you can call it living.

felt a bit wobbly on the ladder today, not as easy as it was but not painted the house for 6 years inside, so at 65 maybe the last time, ?? things are getting harder to do these days. at this rate to do all the house will take a month or more...

Outside is a question, not at all sure will manage, my mind says yes, my body says no, guess my reasoning is still intact ? is about 8 or 9 years since I last did it..

I can't do ladders any more either, it's a balance thing. But most other activities remain dooable, much of it is in the mind I believe.

[Linzz]

age 65 is still defined as middle aged these days so check yet again.

Not many foreign guys make it to 70 in Thailand.

I'm 60 ..... that's old ...... I don't expect to break the 70 barrier.

Look around you, I'd rather be dead than one of the guys that did beat 70 in CM.

They're infirm, they suffer from multiple health problems, their reasoning is going or gone ....... it's just a nasty way to live, if you can call it living.

felt a bit wobbly on the ladder today, not as easy as it was but not painted the house for 6 years inside, so at 65 maybe the last time, ?? things are getting harder to do these days. at this rate to do all the house will take a month or more...

Outside is a question, not at all sure will manage, my mind says yes, my body says no, guess my reasoning is still intact ? is about 8 or 9 years since I last did it..

Well I'm still painting my house (3 story) albeit slowly and still have to paint the roof a second coat using an abseiling rope and harness (no scaffolding, no plan B!). I was 69 yesterday and still thinking of coming to Thailand for the last leg (if I don't fall off the roof!). Hell I was thinking of coming after 70-71.but it looks like I should delay that if not many ex-pats reach 70 in Thailand......