Hello from newbie with big plans

[mwbrown]

Hello everyone! My thanks to the folks who take the time to post all of the great information here! I'm working my way through and will post if I have any questions. So, here's a bit about me.

I currently live in California, I'm Canadian but have U.S. dual citizenship and have lived more than half my life in the US now. I'll be turning 50 next year so I had been thinking about retirement prospects but at least 10 years into the future if I stayed in the US or Canada. Everything changed for me in September when my wife died after her long battle with Huntington's Disease. The next phase of my life is upon me, so I've decided to retire to Thailand.

With my long career at IBM and personal travel, I've been to 46 countries and lived in Canada, US, Australia, Germany and Scotland. My wife, 8-year-old son and I backpacked for 8 weeks through Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand on our way home from living in Australia in '96, and I was in Koh Samui last month to spread my wife's ashes there in the sea as she wanted, so I'm familiar with the region / country and what to expect. I feel comfortable packing a bag and flying somewhere on a moment's notice, exploring the world and all it has to offer.

Why Thailand? Well, I'm hoping that the cost of living makes it possible to retire at 50, given investments plus my expected Social Security payments when I hit 62. What I'm looking for is a small city, near but not too near to Bangkok, on the mainland, close to the water, not too touristy, decent rental apartment, a bit of golf, etc. I'm also hoping for a good ex-pat community I can hook up with as needed, but I intend to blend into the Thai life as much as possible, including learning the Thai language which I am starting now. My needs are minimal, don't need a large, fancy place right on the beach. My research so far has led me to Hua Hin and this forum.

I'm thinking about going in on a Retirement Visa to avoid the problems of finding an employer and going through all of the Work Visa paperwork, but if I get bored I may do some programming-for-hire over the Internet, or convert to a work visa and get into solar power like I do here, or convert motorbikes to electric drive, similar to what I did with my Porsche 914. I would consider moving to another country in the region like Cambodia or Vietnam, but I know less about them at this time.

I gave a 1-year notice to my manager and plan to move next December. I'm working on selling everything I own to make the trip over painless, just a couple of suitcases, and begin my new adventure

So, that's it. I look forward to reading through the forum and collecting all the information I need to make things go smoothly. Thanks in advance for everyone's help.

Mike Brown

[richard]

Welcome Mike

You seem to have it already well planned so I can only say good luck and hope we meet for a beer or three

[PeteC]

A man with a plan, and it appears a good one. I'm sorry to hear about your wife, but your attitude about everything is great. I think you'll do well here. Ask away when you have questions. Welcome to the forum. Pete

[Bristolian]

Welcome to the Forum Mike

Looks like you have done your research already and developed a plan that is flexible enough to be successful

[MrPlum]

Love your travel background and attitude and only have one observation. You're over-loaded with luggage.

[mwbrown]

Wow, thanks everyone for the very fast welcomes! And to MrPlum, I will do my best to cut down to a single suitcase...

Mike Brown

[richard]

I'm working on selling everything I own to make the trip over painless, just a couple of suitcases, and begin my new adventure

Mike, I'm assuming you are talking about property but are you sure you want to do this so soon?

I and others I know sold up (burnt our boats) and moved here only to regret that we no longer have an exit route if things here go tits up

Bit negative I know, but I've seen it happen in Zimbabwe. Politics can turn paradise into hell overnight. I'm too old and long in the tooth (yes I still have a couple) to worry but your still a youngster

[Farang]

I realize it's none of my business, still: I would not move to Hua Hin any more. HH has tripled in size and population since I moved here, gone from a peaceful fishing village to impersonal and greedy tourist-processing plant and seems to get worse by the day. Traffic jams during the weekend have turned into gridlocks, incessant construction is not only noisy and pollute the air, it also breaks the roads and blocks the traffic. Soon the heavy machinery is replaced by inhabitants and their vehicles and it all gets ever worse.

There are very few points where HH is now improving, on most of them everything is getting worse. Were I you I'd stay here a while and would definitely look southwards to less overrun places. I would not rush into anything binding before having been in HH at least six months.

And yes, I know I am part of the problem. I'd be a part of solution and improvement would I but go south.

[MrPlum]

Farang. I think you make some good points and I wonder myself whether Hua Hin will eventually turn into Phuket or Samui. For the moment though, despite the traffic which I avoid at peak times or use a motorbike to zip past, I believe Hua Hin is a super place to live. Where else do you suggest?

There have been several POLLS asking if people are happy here and of those who answer, most are. Maybe re-reading them will remind you of the plusses.

[Dannie Boy]

Hi Mike and welcome to the forum. In a short time you've been given a fairly wide range of advice and whilst I don't really disagree with anything anybody has said, at the end of the day only you can decide whether HH is for you or not. Probably the best bit of advice already given is that if at all possible, don't burn all your bridges back home just yet - give yourself six months or so surveying HH in a rented place and then make your mind up. There are lots of people very happy here and whilst it may be getting busy, especially at weekends, I for one don't feel the need to be out and about all the time so much of the traffic can be avoided.

Good luck!!

[Farang]

Farang. I think you make some good points and I wonder myself whether Hua Hin will eventually turn into Phuket or Samui. For the moment though, despite the traffic which I avoid at peak times or use a motorbike to zip past, I believe Hua Hin is a super place to live. Where else do you suggest?

There have been several POLLS asking if people are happy here and of those who answer, most are. Maybe re-reading them will remind you of the plusses.

You're right, it's not all doom and gloom in Hua Hin. Despite the constant and ever-speeding erosion Hua Hin still is a good place to live, one of the best. My point is that I think there already are better places than Hua Hin now is. I'd think everyone now moving would like to move to the best of all the possible places with the best possible future. Hua Hin does not fit this bill.

IMHO HH no longer is the very best and what is really worrying is the obviously unavoidable HH turning into Pattaya/Phuket without the advantages of either. The trend is more worrying than the situation just now.

I'd look into all the places between Prachuap Khirikhan and Chumpon. I feel this stretch in its isolation is not going to be stampeded by the future hordes of Asian and Russian tourism. Well, at least I hope it is not.

[richard]

HH will never become a Phuket or a Pattaya whilst the Summer palace is frequented by Royalty

[jingjoe]

I never here of any body mentioning beach towns like khao kalok?
20min drive to market village nice beach in the shade of a mountain,tescos 20min drive, a few resorts,and restaurants,no traffic.
Do most people think its too far to travel?
Another 20min down the road is sam roi yot,still close enough for a once a week visit to hua hin if needed.
Maybe these places don't have a lot of bars like hua hin,but i find the bar scene in hua hin dismal any way,walking down those dark backstreets,full of empty bars ,i think i would rather save my sleaze up for the odd visit to places that do it right, like pattaya or bangkok

[Farang]

HH will never become a Phuket or a Pattaya whilst the Summer palace is frequented by Royalty

Yes, I, too, know the repeatedly parroted cliché. How many years do you give the current state of affairs?
Neither do I believe HH'll sink to the bottom of same pit as Pattaya/Phuket. Surely HH will hover an inch above both of them.

[MajorBloodnok]

HH will never become a Phuket or a Pattaya whilst the Summer palace is frequented by Royalty

Richard, coudn"t agree more!

Surely HH will hover an inch above both of them.

Farang, NO! A YARD above them!

Regards,

MB