In 2023 - where in Asia is the best place to retire.

[pong]

For me;NO-and also NO other ASEAN country. Having once had to stay for a full yr in TH never again in that hot+humid time after Songkran. Very content-and certainly now after the 3 yr gap- with the 3-4 wintermonthes. The rest of the yr in EURope and making short trips from there. Small extra thing is that our country lowers the state pension if you happen to stay in what are classified as cheaper countries-TH is among those, but that would be much less in total as airfare today is.
From what I remember in mainstream media-understandably not necessarily aiming the gay market as such- Malaysia often comes out best as all-round combo, or at least for wesetrners-much easier for visa etc as TH with its utter burocraziness.

[Dodger]

Small extra thing is that our country lowers the state pension if you happen to stay in what are classified as cheaper countries-TH is among those, but that would be much less in total as airfare today is.

Thailand is a very affordable place to live if you can afford to live here.

Sound like a play-on-words?...it really isn't.

The requirement for a foreign expat to have a minimum monthly income of 65,000 THB of hasn't changed in decades. Some of the friends I have over here have it...some take the option of freezing 800,000 THB of their savings in a Thai account to comply... - and others prefer (or are forced) to pay for the services of a Visa Agent to obtain their annual visa extensions.

The reason I'm mentioning this is because the retired expats I know who comply with Thailand's financial requirements seem to be living stress-free, and rarely if ever complain about Immigration. Conversely, those who lack the sufficient funds to live here on a permanent basis (without the use of an Agent) frequently seem "stressed" and often complaint about Thai Immigration.

I think it would be wise for anyone who's planning to retire in a foreign country to make sure they can comply with a countries financial requirements - before even taking the next step and counting how many gay bars they have. Just a thought!