7 Reasons to Retire in Thailand

[jingjoe]

Corruption used to annoy me too,now i embrace it and look at the good side of it.
You don't have to waste time at immigration,any fines can be taken care of on the spot,any paperwork for purchase of properties legal docs are done hassle free,if i need my internet serviced immediately i can,i think of it as VIP express service!!

[Frank Hovis]

extremely poor infrastructure

I hear people saying this a lot.

Does it mean 'poorer than highly developed western countries' or 'poorer than it ought to be for a country with a GDP per capita of about 3500 dollars' or something else entirely?

What exactly is meant by this and how does it affect, say, a retired couple ?

[Ratsima]

I think the infrastructure here is quite good. I spent most of my adult life in a place with an unreliable electrical supply, water that was highly corrosive and non-potable, horrible Internet, crummy roads, middling health care, expensive and crappy cable TV, and absolutely dismal and pricey shopping. The only thing that worked well was the telephone system. And this was a US territory.

For me, moving to Thailand was a huge step up in the infrastructure department.

[MrPlum]

Corruption used to annoy me too,now i embrace it and look at the good side of it.
You don't have to waste time at immigration,any fines can be taken care of on the spot,any paperwork for purchase of properties legal docs are done hassle free,if i need my internet serviced immediately i can,i think of it as VIP express service!!

Well said.

Having spent my life living by the rules, only to see the wealthy and connected enrich themselves, while avoiding any sanction, I have less of an issue with corruption than I used to. If my credit card provider can stiff me for 30%+ and the myriad of taxes ('cough up or go to jail') extracted by the State highwaymen, leaves me with little left to live on, then an additional 'tax' here or there, in Thailand, is little different.

If I can avoid points on my licence with a 200 thb bung, I'm all for it. If I can sort my visa with a little tea money, yes please. If I can pay to stay out of jail, show me the ATM. If I can get a child into a better school with a 'donation', then I will do it.

There are very few taxes on us here and state employees aren't paid very well. It may not bear an official stamp but I see it as just another 'tax', that I can (mostly) choose to avoid or pay.

[Vital Spark]

Life can be pretty easy here if you are prepared to do it their way. Yeh, it's a bit hot sometimes, but I prefer heat to cold. We don't want to buy a property, so don't have the hassle of builders, etc. We can download programmes to watch from the net without worrying about a knock on the door. Our utility bills hardly make a dent in our monthly income. We can save some money, while still having a good time. We can eat out (if we want) every night of the week, and it won't break the bank. I'll stop rambling...

Thailand suits us (and our personalities), but it's obviously down to individual expectations and tolerance.

VS

[nanyang]

Life can be pretty easy here if you are prepared to do it their way. Yeh, it's a bit hot sometimes, but I prefer heat to cold. We don't want to buy a property, so don't have the hassle of builders, etc. We can download programmes to watch from the net without worrying about a knock on the door. Our utility bills hardly make a dent in our monthly income. We can save some money, while still having a good time. We can eat out (if we want) every night of the week, and it won't break the bank. I'll stop rambling...

Thailand suits us (and our personalities), but it's obviously down to individual expectations and tolerance.

VS

Do you envisage being in Thailand in, say, ten or even twenty years time - or do you have plan B in place?

[dtaai-maai]

Thailand suits us (and our personalities), but it's obviously down to individual expectations and tolerance.

I agree.

One thing I don't understand is the difficulty some people have accepting this.
Some like to have every possible disaster carefully planned for, others are much more happy-go-lucky. That's life.

I've come across quite a few expats who, having decided to leave Thailand for one reason or another, seem to expect or want others to want to do the same.

[migrant]

Our plan is to retire to Thailand. I've spoken with HHF and TIGR as well as others about life there and have made adjustments in our plans accordingly. My (Thai) wife has been here in the states for almost 20 years so even she is unsure if we will like Thailand long-term.

One reason I've delayed our retirement is to ensure (hopefully) that if we get there and decide it's not for us, we can come back to the states.

One thing I enjoy is something new and at 56 I figure I've many years of exploring around Asia from a home base in Thailand to keep me busy!

[Vital Spark]

Do you envisage being in Thailand in, say, ten or even twenty years time...

Yes.

...or do you have plan B in place?

Not really. But if everything goes wrong, we'll make sure that we have enough money to relocate. I can think of nothing worse than living in a place you hate, and not have the means to escape.

VS

[BOZ]

Corruption used to annoy me too,now i embrace it and look at the good side of it.
You don't have to waste time at immigration,any fines can be taken care of on the spot,any paperwork for purchase of properties legal docs are done hassle free,if i need my internet serviced immediately i can,i think of it as VIP express service!!

I agree, leverage it to your advantage where and when you can, or need to....

[Pleng]

Thailand suits us (and our personalities), but it's obviously down to individual expectations and tolerance.

I agree.

One thing I don't understand is the difficulty some people have accepting this.
Some like to have every possible disaster carefully planned for, others are much more happy-go-lucky. That's life.

I've come across quite a few expats who, having decided to leave Thailand for one reason or another, seem to expect or want others to want to do the same.

I've only so far met one person who had enough and wanted to leave and yes, he seemed very much to want others to feel the same way. Nothing against him he's a great guy and good friend of mine. We arrived here about the same and for the first few months time riding the "finally made it" wave so became good friends. I remember our first conversation where he alluded to the fact he wasn't entirely happy. He explained his frustrations and asked if I was feeling them. When I said no there were a lot of "but what about...."s.

The next occasion I saw him it was in a group and I noticed he was asking the same questions and doing the "but..."s to pretty much everybody in the group who was here long term.

At the end of the day I guess nobody likes to feel alone. And if you're frustrated and the only one feeling it, it must make the frustration all the more unbearable.

That being said, I'm not surprised that HHFarang notes that "over the ten (nearly) years I've lived here the very best friends I've made have ALL gone back or are in the process of". If you're living somewhere and hating it, you're very unlikely to be drawn to the company of and become close friends with people who are genuinely enjoying their time here, as they're likely to annoy the living hell out of them. Similarly, people who are happy here are unlikely to enjoy the company of somebody who has nothing but negative things to say about the place.

At the end of the day I'm only new to this. I'm almost done with my second year of living here. I'm not retired (unfortunately!) and if I was there's plenty of side projects I'd want to be getting on with anyway. I didn't burn any bridges, or lay all my eggs (don't got many eggs!) in one basket, so I still have plenty of ways back if I ever decide that I need out should I ever find that the appeal of this place wears off.

[STEVE G]

Being of the generation that now apparently has to work until we're at least seventy, I presume our only requirements for retirement will be a sufficient supply of Ovaltine and carpet slippers and as long as we can get them, I don't suppose we'll be bothered by all this other stuff.

[StevePIraq]

Interesting you post this when you've written of your disaffection and still list your location as 'Hua Hell'.

Having a change of heart?

Nope, just wanted to see the discussion and see if anyone else noticed the lack of detail about the reasons NOT to retire in Thailand. So far, I guess everyone else is ok with the oppressive year round heat, extremely poor infrastructure, having to report to immigration every time you change your mind , corruption (government and private), dual pricing, constant battle with varmints (like rats, snakes, and property developers ), impossibility of foreigners to legally own a home (except a condo) etc., etc., etc. The writer mentioned if you didn't like the heat there was always air con, but he didn't mention that if you use that you cannot live here on the budget he proposed.

I also noticed the only two specific places mentioned were Chiang Mai and Phuket. While I loved and would have considered living in Phuket 20 years ago, it is now ruined (which is rapidly happening to Hua Hin), but I do like Chiang Mai except that with my asthma, the annual sugar cane burn that can last up to 4 months with the inversion that traps the smoke over the city will not allow me to live there.

My tag line of "Hua Hell" refers more to the climate than anything else. As far as Thailand goes, Hua Hin is probably one of the best places to live if you want to be in a city/town with western food and amenities available, but it has been changing for the worse as it has grown, in my humble opinion, at an alarming rate over the last 10 years with no end in sight.

Mate most of your points fall under the thread if "have you decided to leave Thailand" yes there are a lot of negative points but YOU and I will not change them, one must accept or forever be bitter. Today I have had some real bad issues and I am PISSED with Thailand, tomorrow will be another day so one needs to make up ones mind stay or go, sometimes I get oh so confused with this question.

[Bristolian]

More than 7 good reasons given already, but these are my favourites

1. Don East Stand - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!!!
2. Jingjoe - As much as its a cliche....the girls find me handsome here
3. Jingjoe Corruption used to annoy me too, now I embrace it and look at the good side of it. I think of it as VIP express service!!
4. Vital Spark - Life can be pretty easy here if you are prepared to do it their way. Income, we can save some money, while still having a good time.
5. Vital Spark - We can eat out (if we want) every night of the week, and it won't break the bank
6. migrant - One thing I enjoy is something new and at 56 I figure I've many years of exploring around Asia from a home base in Thailand to keep me busy!
7. StevePIraq - Today I have had some real bad issues and I am PISSED with Thailand, tomorrow will be another day

After more than a decade here in Thailand my love for Asia and Thailand has not changed. For me it’s the freedom, the relaxed atmosphere, of course the lower cost of living, strangely perhaps - the challenges or more precisely - overcoming them, the higher level of service, the comparative safety - never having felt threatened and finally (for now ) the level of support and friendship provided by Thai working colleagues and friends.....Maybe I have been lucky!

[Takiap]

1. You don't need to visit a National Park to see packs of wild animals - plenty of soi dogs
2. You can be exempt from wearing a helmet for as little as 200 baht per decade
3. You can ride/drive on any side of the road
4. You can get "special" fast track service for a small fee
5. You get women your own age telling your kids they fancy you
6. Young maidens smile when you smile
7. Police smile when they're giving you a fine for breaking the law


Do I even need to continue?


Seriously though, it's like Vital Spark has said. Her response sums it up perfectly, and like her and her other half, I will be here until my trip to the temple bonfire. I guess i'm just one of those people who haven't become frustrated and annoyed by the country's quirks. Instead, I've grown to love them. I love the weather (apart from the rainy season); I love the chaos; I love the confusion; I love etc, etc, etc.


Actually, there are only two things in Thailand that really get to me:

1. Cloudy skies day in and day out during the rain season
2. My bloody MIL

Everything else I can laugh about.