Thailand Still Ranks in Top Ten for Retirement

[Dodger]

I've been reading International Living's Annual Retirement Index for years - starting back when I was first thinking about retirement and glad to see that Thailand still ranks in the Top Ten.

Interesting that the person who wrote the section on Thailand in the International Livings 2026 Index is an American from Florida who is now retired and living in Jomtien Beach.

The author mentions the yoga classes which are conducted on Jomtien beach every morning - which I see myself during my frequent visits to Jomtien Beach - and for those who remember YaYa's Bar in Sunee Plaza back in-the-day, these yoga classes are actually provided by Yaya himself who still sports the same gleaming smile...

I agree with everything the author is saying about life in Thailand.

See article here:

https://internationalliving.com/the-bes ... to-retire/

[Gaybutton]

I think it is important to remember that retirement in Thailand does not always work out for everyone. I would recommend living in Thailand for a minimum of six months before final commitment. Until you have lived in Thailand for at least that long, better still a full year, make sure to leave yourself an escape route and avoid burning your bridges in case it does not work out for you.

One example happened less than two years ago when a relatively new board member was telling us he has been dreaming of living in Pattaya for years and now he was ready to do it. We responded to all of his questions. I met personally with him, along with a couple other long-time retirees, to help him get started. He was delighted and all set to go.

Then he had some sort of minor run-in at a Jomtien Complex bar. Three days later he left Thailand and none of us who met him have heard a word from him since.

While choosing to retire in Thailand has been the best decision I have ever made and if I had to do it all over again I would again choose to live in Thailand, I also have to bear in mind that is not necessarily the same for everybody.

[Jun]

No matter how long I spend here on holiday, it's never going to be a proper stimulation for living here.

Little things like getting a coffee machine, motorised transport and some exercise equipment would make a considerable difference.
I currently spend a lot of time walking around and I visit 3~4 coffee shops per day. The moment I get a coffee machine, that at least halves.
Then 3~3.5 bar visits per week on holiday, which would fall at least slightly as a permanent resident.

As for the top 10 countries list:
1 Again, the list includes countries where getting residency is not easy.
2 They ignore important factors, such as the availability of boys.

[Dodger]

I think one of the advantages that farang have is that most (not all) have been holidaying in Thailand for many years before retirement and know the lay-of-the-land well.

I've only seen a few occasions where an expat decided to leave Thailand and return to his home country after retirement and it was always related to medical concerns, thus the reason having health insurance in Thailand is so important.

Funny story:

I have a business associate who retired on the island of Maui in 2015. and from all accounts loved it. Being gay, he decided to come to Thailand for a vacation in 2016 and ended up spending 10 days in Pattaya. He then returned to Maui...immediately canceled the lease on his beach-front condo...and returned to Thailand and has been here ever since. He currently resides in Phuket with his Thai boyfriend.

Moral of the story: For a gay man, visit Thailand at least once before you make a decision where you want to retire.

[Gaybutton]

I think one of the advantages that farang have is that most (not all) have been holidaying in Thailand for many years before retirement and know the lay-of-the-land well.

I'm sure you don't need me to explain that holidaying in Thailand, no matter how many times, no matter how many years - that is a far cry from living in Thailand. That is why I urge actually living in Thailand long enough to be certain this is what you want. Just make sure you leave yourself an escape route until there is absolutely no question that living in Thailand is what you truly want - and believe me, it's going to take at the very least 6 months.

Also, living in Thailand does not necessarily mean living in Pattaya. I received a message just today from a friend telling me how much he likes Hua Hin. Meanwhile I've been to Hua Hun and while it's a nice place to visit, for me the idea of living there is out of the question.

Even Dodger lives outside of Pattaya and he loves living where he is. For me it's different. For me, the only reason to even go to that area is for the seafood restaurants.

And for me, I too live just outside of Pattaya on "The Dark Side" and I love living here. Meanwhile most farang I know don't understand why I like it so much and very few would even consider living in my area.

Of course that could also easily mean they have nothing against "The Dark Side", but just want to make sure they are living nowhere near me . . .

[Dodger]

.......Also, living in Thailand does not necessarily mean living in Pattaya. I received a message just today from a friend telling me how much he likes Hua Hin. Meanwhile I've been to Hua Hun and while it's a nice place to visit, for me the idea of living there is out of the question.

Good point.

I know several farang who decided to "go native" when they retired and now live in very rural/remote areas like the mountains of Chiang Rai or remote jungle villages along the Mekong, etc. I love traveling to places like this for the experience but would not be happy living there full-time.

It's not "THE PLACE" as much as "THE ATTITUDE" that influences a farang's level of happiness the most when they retire in Thailand. If a person is happy and well-grounded to begin with...has a positive attitude towards life in general... and can accept the vast differences in cultural aspects in Thailand without expecting the world to rotate around them, that's a pretty good start.

Moving to Thailand will never make an unhappy person happy, and it certainly won't stop a complaining person from complaining. And I honestly see these personality traits as having the greatest influence over a farang's success at being happy with their choice to retire in Thailand.

Home is what you make it.

[Jun]

In some respects, I prefer places like Hua Hin or even Nakhon Ratchasima to Pattaya.

For example, the latter is less crowded & has almost no Indian or Arab tourists. It still has some very nice coffee shops and the choice of Thai vegetarian food is far better than Pattaya.
However, there is almost no gay scene. Even for a massage, the one place with male masseurs has the "wrong type" of boy and the pricing was rather ambitious.
Also, theoretically, being on the coast ought to reduce the extremes of temperature in Pattaya. In practice, onshore breezes often make walking by the beach more comfortable.