Retirement what to do?

[Milton60]

I have been visiting Thailand every since 1991. It has been my ambition to retire in Thailand. In 2011 I lived in Pattaya for six months and enjoyed my stay with only a few relationship challenges. Now I am ready to make the move. But where in Thailand should I settle. Reading Pattaya one news, Pattaya seems like the Wild West. Great for a quickly, but every day for years ? What to do? Comments welcome form all even the trolls.

[timmberty]

so you have been going to thailand for 22 years and are asking other where you should live !!
i smell a bad one.

[Milton60]

Your right, I should know by now. Even though Thailand has change much in the last 20 years, wise advice from those who have made the move ought not impact my decision. The move would be expensive and family members will complain. I was hoping for a dialogue with those of us who have face a similar decision.

[Manforallseasons]

so you have been going to thailand for 22 years and are asking other where you should live !!
i smell a bad one.


Well, there is your first troll!

This article turned up in my Twitter feed this week http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatl ... haven.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/10361650/Our-happy-retirement-in-a-Thai-sex-haven.html)

[scottish-guy]

Oh I love this part of the article from the Torygraph:

(Pattaya) was just a small fishing village back then (1982), but they loved the fact they were by the sea, it was sunny every day and the people were polite.

"It was like England in the 1950s,тАЭ says Felicity. тАЬThe children would curtsy to you."

Just think - maybe if they swap Pattaya for Rwanda the kids will kiss their feet for a handful or rice, and Felicity can play Lady Bountiful to even greater effect.

Tiffin, anybody?

:occasion9:

[lonelywombat]

Milton 60 I suggest you rent for 6 months but never buy wherever you locate to eventually.

There are stories here every month or two about rural cities. Work your way and visit them in turn.

Pattaya is still attracting huge numbers of tourists, just not gays any more

[rincondog]

In 22 years is Pattaya the only place in Thailand you have visited? If you have visited other areas in Thailand and after 22 years you are not sure where to live, then maybe Thailand isn't the place for you.

If you are still intent on retiring in Thailand try living for a few months in several different areas and then decide before making a commitment. After all you are really the only one that really knows what you enjoy and what will make a happy retirement for you.

[ikarus]

There is absolutely no doubt that Pattaya is changing and hardly to the better. Nevertheless, it is still IMHO the best destination for the retirement in Thailand.
Here are the main advantages:
1. Good and relatively inexpensive nightlife
2. Relatively good health care (including a choice of hospitals).
3. Good infra structure: food stores,restaurants, internet, choice of TV programming, relative proximity to BKK with its cultural life, airports etc.
4. Pattaya (so far) has never been hit hard with floods or other natural disasters to the extent BKK, Chiand Mai or Phuket were.
I actually would consider (unlike what others said) to buy a condo. For one thing paper assets nowdays getting riskier and for another if you choose it right can be a good investment. The one thing is very important to notice: there is no way to enjoy your retirement in Pattaya on the cheap. And the cost will rise with the time.
What many potential retirees and expats do not understand is that Thailand as a destination is not exempt from economic or other laws of nature but Pattaya (to some extent) does because it is planned to be a dream one ... But to avoid trivialities of life you need to have a solid retirement base (i.e . your retirement should be very well funded).

[cameroncat]

I think it all depends on what you like:

If you like a Big City life? then it's Bangkok. If you want a Party town, then it's Pattaya or Phuket, you want peace and quiet? Then Chiang Mai or Hua Hin. I personally think I would pick the Big City life for all the amenities and vacation in all the other places. :)

[Milton60]

Thank you gentlemen. Your insights are reasonable and helpful. Very salient points have been presented. I agree, retirement in Pattaya can not be done on the cheap. I hope my several thousand dollar per month pension will be adequate. City life,party town, or peace and quite: or little bit of all? Now there is an intriguing option, if the budget will allow. Thanks once again. I really appreciate the dialogue .

[pong]

Rent for at least first year. Just buying without more local knowledge is to throw money out of the windows.
You did not tell anything about that you what like to do daytime-for me PTY is just utter boring then. Would you like to be with a group of same countrymen-if yes, what country? Some small scale job-or een volunteering in a worthy case? Are you familair with the Thai visa rulings?-retirement visa etc.
Alternative is to rent for a few month in the other likeable places as kind of try out-mostly that would be Chiang Mai. if you like big cities and can live with that-BKk of course. If more of nature/beach- Samui/Phuket.
If with moreorless steady BF-you may even think of living countryside in a small town near to his family-but make very, very sure you can stay independent of them. Do you need or expect soon to need special care/special medical treatment? or rather have a big assortment of all kindof gay life?
On the other forums notably Gaybutton is always very eager to assist and give neutral advice to those like you willing to do the big step over. It would also be very wise to not just check with PLU-but a neutral and haveing info from about anywhere forum like Thaivisa is there to be perused.

[fedssocr]

Personally I don't think I could retire to Thailand. It's fun to spend a few weeks there but I think it would wear on me over a long period. Especially hot season weather. And I wish I had a gift for languages, but I don't. So that would probably frustrate me quite a bit...not being able to easily learn the language and communicate better. I suppose being there all the time you pick up little things over time.

I think the advice to rent is sound. That way you're not stuck if you decide you want to move on.

I suppose being there all the time you pick up little things over time.You can get crabs anywhere mate. Short time long time doesnt matter.

[Dboy]

The only way to approach this is to know yourself and your own behavior. Do you speak Thai? After coming to Thailand for that many years you should be fluent. If you are not...why not? Being a tourist is different from doing holidays. I lived in Pattaya for a year (2008). That helped me figure things out. In my case, I determined that Pattaya is for fun, Bangkok and Chiang Mai are for living (that's just me). Quality of life is important to me, and therefore Pattaya just isn't for me a a semi-permanent thing. To do Thailand long-term, you need stuff to do..that's the biggest thing I learned. Don't turn into one of those Pattaya drunks. They are not something to envy. Also, make sure you have enough money. There's nothing glamorous about being poor, especially not in Asia. Asia will eat you alive if you don't have money.

What a load of crap. The first generation Chinese immigrants in my home town speak just enough English to get by. They socialize in their ghetto. Why should Westerners in Thailand be any different?

[ikarus]

Quality of life is important to me, and therefore Pattaya just isn't for me a a semi-permanent thing. To do Thailand long-term, you need stuff to do..that's the biggest thing I learned.
Dboy, I would be interested if you elaborate on your experience in Pattaya. Why cannot you do "stuff" in Pattaya? Do you mean you need to have a job? One big drawback I see in Pattaya is a lack of cultural life (in comparison with BKK) but you hardly expect that from "brothel on the beach" with corresponding contingent of visitors and expats. On the other hand, debilitating traffic jams and very high temperature making BKK unacceptable for me ( it is just difficult for me adequately function over there). I read somewhere that Pattaya is now number two city in Thailand (i.e. ahead of Chiang Mai). Chiang Mai definitely has its advantages (e.g. it is much cheaper than Pattaya) but overall the place is too provincial for my taste...

[fedssocr]

What a load of crap. The first generation Chinese immigrants in my home town speak just enough English to get by. They socialize in their ghetto. Why should Westerners in Thailand be any different?

Would you want to hang out with just Westerners in Thailand?

I'm not sure I agree that some one who has been visiting for many years for holidays should be fluent in Thai. If you don't use it every day I don't know how anyone would retain enough to be fluent.

In my case my ear just isn't attuned to the tones which are a huge part of most Asian languages.

Would you want to hang out with just Westerners in Thailand? Of course I only want to hang out with Westerners. Do you really think I can discuss the following topics with Thais:
Who really killed ...?
What's going to happen when ... dies?
Do you think ... is a lesbian?
Has ... really got HIV?
Does the army provide ... with his own squad of strapping young men?
Do middle class Thais really think all Thais who go with Westerners are prostitutes?
How much does [name any government official] get in "tea money"?
What's the place of spirit houses in Buddhist spirituality?
Was that money boy last night worth it?

Oh and frankly even the most chatty boy doesn't have much to say with my cock in his mouth.

[Milton60]

Thanks for the morning pep talk K. Lol:-)

[Jellybean]

Well, I keep a record of my posts for a few days, so I am able to re-post my reply to a post made by ikarus, which I also copied. In re-posting I have made one alteration which, I believe, makes the point I was trying to make a little bit clearer.

Ikarus wrote: Thanks for your response. I understand what you are saying. I have never stayed in Pattaya for longer than three months and one thing that bothers me I found it difficult to concentrate on what I needed to do professionally. I do plan a longer plunge and this time I will try to figure out whether it is a place where I want to retire. Typically I have no problem to adjust to local routine and I usually fill better when I return home but it never a productive time. This time it should be different in this respect and if not, I will probably will pull the plug on my retirement dream...

Jellybean replied: I hope your next trial retirement period is an unqualified success ikarus. But if, at the end of the day, you are not entirely sure, then I personally would not pull the plug on your dream entirely as it doesnтАЩt have to be an all or nothing decision. You can, of course, also consider just spending only part of the year in Thailand, as I do. It certainly works for me, although I accept it doesnтАЩt for the many ex-pats (and forum members) who have chosen to move out lock, stock and barrel.

I tend to spend between 4 and 6 months of the year in Thailand, mainly the winter months, and found that this length of time is about right for me. I am excited about coming out here and yet, at the end, although feeling a little sad about leaving, I am also excited about returning home. When I return at the end of April, the clocks will have been moved forward, the dark nights will be over, it will be spring, the temperature will be bearable once again and I can look forward to seeing friends and family again. Now donтАЩt laugh, but I shall also be looking forward to catching up on all my recorded TV programmes on Sky+ and getting back into a routine again, like reading the Sunday paper. :-)

The longest IтАЩve ever stayed out here is 9 months, but I felt that was too long. It was the one time I had rented out my small apartment in the UK. Legally the minimum period, to protect the tenants, had to be 6 months and my agent had to give 2 monthsтАЩ notice to quit. On the plus side, I had extra, and very welcome income coming in, and no Council Tax or Water Rates to pay. On the negative side, I did worry about the condition of my apartment on my return, although apart from a missing frying pan and a duvet, all appeared to be well. But I chose two females in professional employment, thinking, rightly in this case, that they would be more inclined to take care of my apartment. I also had to use a storage company to keep all my personal belongings and pay an agent to look after things for me. And, I had to pay Income Tax on my rental income. :-(

But even when I am not renting my UK property, I am still saving on gas and electricity bills in the winter months, the subject of which is very much in the news at the moment because of the continuing price increases.

Now whether you will wish to rent or buy in Thailand is another subject entirely, and I intend to post about my experiences of buying property in Thailand in a few weeksтАЩ time.

[Sooty]

I spend about one month in Thailand out of four and I have a home swap arrangement where an ex-pat with decent sized apartment in Bangkok swaps for my smallish flat in London. I spend that month playing the stockmarket and that works well as the FTSE opens around mid-afternoon Bangkok time and closes around the time I'm ready either for bed, boys or very occasionally bars. I'm certainly not ready to retire but I can envisage a transition where I spend longer periods in Thailand and maybe get my own apartment.

I would never buy - local building standards (sorry, Alan) are pitiful to non-existent and bodies corporate can't or won't enforce by-laws and maintenance levies. There's the ever-present threat of civil unrest and being forever treated as a temporary entrant with no rights in the local community (maximum one-year visas, for example, however "renewable"). As well I despise "Asian values" with their lack of accountability and scientific curiosity and total reliance on who you know because no-one trusts anyone except family and even then ...

And don't get me started on "face"!

[loke]

I know several foreigners that hardly speak a word Thai but claim they have been living in Pattaya for 10 years or more.

Its the choice of life , try to move to rural Isaan and you will feel helpless without speaking a word of Thai.

We have the fine example of cdnmatt to inspire us in that choice loke.