Retirement,Bobs done it !

Why cant you live like Bob?

I don't think it's a question of not being ABLE to, but not WANTING to. Sounds like a pretty fucking depressing existence to me. I certainly want more than that out of my golden years.

[bigben]

I have to agree with BG on this one.

Why in the world would I want to spend every night in a fuckn' bar.

And eat street food as the routine?

Thailand has so many wonderful places to visit and live.

Believe it or not.........there is more to life than Sunee Plaza.

I guess it really come down to what makes you happy. If you are happy

dealing with drunk Farangs every night in a bar setting........then this may be

your dream come true.

Sincerely.......Good luck to you.

[bedbugy1-old]

the monthly cost
my shop house 2 bathrooms 2 balcony large area at back 2 bedrooms huge kitchen area 4500 baht a month
cable tv including bbc 45 channels 350 baht a month
water 85 baht a month
electric 570 /590 baht a month
phone including fast broadband 950 baht a month
thats my basics just to live in thailand

the monthly cost
my shop house 2 bathrooms 2 balcony large area at back 2 bedrooms huge kitchen area 4500 baht a month
cable tv including bbc 45 channels 350 baht a month
water 85 baht a month
electric 570 /590 baht a month
phone including fast broadband 950 baht a month
thats my basics just to live in thailand

That is very cheap for electric. Aren't you running an a/c?

[bedbugy1-old]

no air con

no air con

Wow. By choice, or for reasons ofeconomy?

I personally think 40 to 50 baht a month is all you need to live pretty well in Pattaya if you have bought a home in Thailand. Much better than just existing. Lots of restaurant meals and entertainment. People who need to get drunk every night and off a new boy every night won't live long anyway.

[gearguy]

4000-5000 baht profit from his bar; is that per day or per month? If per month, that a pitiful return on an investment of 600,000 baht. He could make more money investing that in very safe investments.

But I also don;t see the 120,000 baht per month for retirment in thailand either. That's about $3500 USD a month. I live in the US and my monthly bills don't add up to that and I have a home, two cars, with mortgages and insurance and all the rest.

So that 120K baht would fund a very nice retirement in Pattaya I would expect.

4000-5000 baht profit from his bar; is that per day or per month? If per month, that a pitiful return on an investment of 600,000 baht. He could make more money investing that in very safe investments.

He wouldn't be able to afford to drink anywhere else if he didn't have his own bar...I suspect that's part of the equation. That, and forcing his boys to "audition" for him saves him money on offs and tips.

[bucknaway]

you guys seem to have many needs. don't any of you ever stay at home?

wx makes an interesting point about retiring in Pattaya.
I have chosen to retire in Pattaya and can speak to some of those issues.

I truly believe Pattaya/Jomtien is the best place in the world for an older gay man of moderate wealth to retire!

If you have found a Thai mate (I haven't) why would you want to stay in whore house city and if you haven't is whore house city really a good place to find a decent Thai mate?

I think it is a challenge to find a non mercenarary Thai mate in a mercenary place like Pattaya, though clearly possible, as so many have. The question is to quality of these relationships over time. Pot luck I suppose like relationships anywhere.

So why stay in Pattaya after finding a Thai mate?
Pretty much the same reasons as without a Thai mate:

easy access to Bangkok for big city attractions, hope it will get even easier over time

easy access to crappy new airport

living near the water, with very pleasant breezes

the fun of living is an urban resort city, same reason people move to places like Miami Beach or Acapulco

excellent well priced restaurant scene, farang and Thai, getting better every year

some of the best access to farang groceries in Asia. Trust me, you won't want to eat street pork noodles and Pad Thai for every meal. Sometimes you will want good European bread, peanut butter, wine, or pretty much whatever you crave from your food memory.

living in a changing resort that is getting much more diverse, especially with so many Russian families

cinemas and large shopping mall, more to come soon with Bangkok style attractions

excellent choice of housing and condos to buy or rent, much more affordabble than admitedly more lovely (but less isolated) than Phuket

excellent availability of world class health care at moderate prices relative to paying retail in the West

incredible tolerance for gay people, and older farang, younger Thai relationships, both from Thais and tourists

for movies lovers, the copy DVD scene for all kinds of farang movies, illegal but convenient

BTW, Chiang Mai is not a rural place and because of bad air quality due to burning, the population has some of the highest rates of lung diseases including cancer in the world.

The reality is it is romantic to imagine to move to the sticks with Somphat, but that is something that very few farangs can really take for very long! Pattaya is more like it for farangs, it is very popular for very good reasons, and will get even more so over time.

People who don't move to Pattaya because they are afraid of what people will THINK about them are foolish. I truly believe that the majority of people who bash people who live in Pattaya wish they lived there themselves but feel the need to maintain a "respectable" face for various reasons. And BTW, Pattaya is most definitely in Thailand. Anyone who knows Pattaya, the totality of the area, knows this quite well.

And BTW, Pattaya is most definitely in Thailand. Anyone who knows Pattaya, the totality of the area, knows this quite well.

Well well well, I bet there are a few thousand visitors to Pattaya who are pleased that you have posted that little gem. It will save them disembarking at the wrong airport.

The problem is not that Pattaya is in Thailand but the fact that it is not Thailand. It is for the geriatric akin to Disneyworld for kids.

I can think of no worse place to live than somewhere like Pattaya where the infirm and perverted are in abundance and are morally bankrupt especially when it comes to abusing underage children which when looking at the activities of the farangs in Sunne Plaza appears to be their prime purpose for visiting or living in the city.

It is Thailand. A large, mature, international resort city in Thailand.
I guess you are one of those fools who say Miami is not the USA.
I think the Pattaya bashers are perverts who are fixated on perversion, when most people who live in Pattaya are much more balanced.

Look, everyone should live where they are happy. I'm a city guy and like the city life so Bangkok is where I would prefer to settle. BUT, I also love the beach. Although I would rather be on the beach in Phuket because it is a nicer and a prettier setting, Pattaya is convenient - so if I bought a second place it would probably be Pattaya.

As far as the cost to live anywhere, doesn't it depend on one's lifestyle. I cannot imagine living on what has been proposed here. I want a life in retirement not an existance. Realizing that everyones lifetime earnings are different, I would rather work a few extra years and have money to enjoy than retire early and exist. I want to be able to do things not just go from the beach to the bar or sit home at night. Some of these low end estimates of costs to live seem really low to me. They do not generally account for any outside expenses other than just living. What happens when the emergency flight home digs in to those budgets? What about taking the bf on a trip or going on a trip with friends. A while back there was a thread on costs associated with living in Thailand which seemed quite enlightening. Although everyone will have different needs these low end estimates are bare bones in my book. Further anyone that thinks having a Thai guy and expecting him to sit home night after night is headed for serious problems. His allowance is going to cost. Maybe an older farang can sit at home and watch tv or read books but when the Thai soap opera ends, he is going to want to go out and have a little fun at least a few nights a week or he will go nuts. Sorry but the above scenerio (which I assume is just another futile attempt at being funny), if one would want it, is totally unrealistic. Further 4-5,000 baht a month profit in a bar, please, no one would go thru the trouble even for the entertainment value for very long as the problems associated with the business would make you go nuts. Get Real!

[TrongpaiExpat]

I think the Pattaya bashers are perverts who are fixated on perversion, when most people who live in Pattaya are much more balanced.

Of course they have better balance, it's the lower center of gravity: "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down"

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weeble (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weeble) :blob2:

WX,

From my observations, Thais are much more sociable bunch that most westerners. Whether in the village, Bangkok, or Pattaya, they eat in groups, visit each others houses, and often just generally hang together. I was not suggesting any Thai partner needs or wants to go out to the disco or bar every night but staying home 7 nights a week seems somewhat extreme. Sure maybe if he is working full time at a good job he can live and not need monetary assistance but the labor rates for people who just work at average jobs is pretty damn low. So don't expect him to be able to pay his share for a nice trip to Singapore as he probably just does not make enough money. That's where the generally older, wealthier farang comes in. There are exceptions I grant you. But even with guys who have jobs don't make jobs don't make all that much and if they are helping the family there is another consideration.

As far as running a business, my current bf who once lived in Pattaya told me how amazed he was at farangs opening bar businesses in Pattaya and how often they failed. Running a business is not easy under any circumstances, much less in a foreign country with a corrupt police force. Running a bar is even worse and it is not an easy business to run as competition is great.

Even with your condo or house fully paid off there are still expenses. One could easily spend B8000 per month just on the basics of utilities, telephone, TV, condo maintenance fees, etc. Let's assume for a minute that you can get by on the B8000 that leaves you B12,000. If my math is correct, that is about 400 per day whether you eat at home or out it still costs. Sorry I just don't see it. If you can live on about $10 US a day, my hat is off to you. But to me that is an existence. Sorry that is my take on these low end budget estimates. So I hope you find that boyfriend who will help with the expenses. Good luck to you.

i prefer to cook at home and go to ,museums,

Cooking and museums? You're not turning into a white shoe-wearing woolly moof, are you?

[bucknaway]

You guys do seem to throw money around. I would imagine that living in Thailand is cheaper than living in Delaware. On a weekly basis I spend about $30 on entertainment, $35.00 on gas and I spend about $15.00 a week on restaurant food.

I own my home free and clear, I just paid my car off. My utilities come to about $300 a month in the winter and $40 in the summer.

If I lived in Thailand I would not want every day to be as if it were a vacation day. There will come a time when I will simply want to stay home... Sure you can live like a rich guy if you can but for me... I don't need much.

If I lived in Pattaya I would not go to the beach every day. There would be days that I would want to do as I do now. Relax at home and enjoy the company of friends from time to time.

[Dick]

There would be days that I would want to do as I do now. Relax at home and enjoy the company of friends from time to time.

You have friends?

OK, just kidding :-)

Another thing people should consider about retiring is their life expectancy.
I loved the comment from the American about working a "few" more years to have an even bigger pot of money.
This year I lost a 50 year old boyhood friend who was way fitter than me. In fact, he was a very well known outdoorsman. He died of a heart attack.
The super low estimates to retire in Pattaya are indeed too low for happiness for most.
The way high ones (like you need 2 million USD to retire at all) basically insure that you will die with alot of money.
The MIDDLE WAY folks. The middle way.

Another thing people should consider about retiring is their life expectancy.
I loved the comment from the American about working a "few" more years to have an even bigger pot of money.
This year I lost a 50 year old boyhood friend who was way fitter than me. In fact, he was a very well known outdoorsman. He died of a heart attack.
The super low estimates to retire in Pattaya are indeed too low for happiness for most.
The way high ones (like you need 2 million USD to retire at all) basically insure that you will die with alot of money.
The MIDDLE WAY folks. The middle way.