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.. EXPAT RANKINGS - Thailand 4th in SE Asia


brutox

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Too bad there is not a site that allows you to add your own weight value to each topic.

But without adding prostitution or the availability of girls to the equation then these sites are just a guideline.


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  • 6 months later...
On 07/09/2018 at 18:30, Tarl said:

Amazing results really. Thought Cambodia would be up there.

Same here. Guess I have to read this...

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On 27/09/2020 at 13:21, LASportsNut said:

But without adding prostitution or the availability of girls to the equation then these sites are just a guideline.

Heh... yes. Most important variable!

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Realize this is dated, but shocks me to see Buenos aires and Sau Paulo on the list(albeit down quite a ways) and yet Medellin does not seem to be on the list.  I have "lived" in in BA, Rio, and just had over 3 months in Medellin and would say Medellin is the best by far.  Rio would certainly be my choice over Sau Paulo too.  Noted that Cape Town way down list too and think it much better than some of these others.  

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On 25/09/2020 at 06:39, brutox said:

Hey, dragonrider.

I did not intend to lump you in with guys I have met here surviving only, with "daily struggles" (one in particular, a friend, whose last years here were gawd-awful miserable).. a more appropriate description for your situation right now might be surviving here with "end of month struggles" .. I apologize.

And yes, you do seem to be "doing pretty well on [your] $2,000/month" .. a lifestyle for many, but one that is not exactly carefree, or without grave risks beyond not too many few years from now.

Your thread is a candid view for many on living a Thailand retirement lifestyle on a budget .. a generous real-time sharing, for which many should be grateful .. @bokek is I think one of those.

You quite often write about what you can and cannot afford based on a strict budget .. the cost of things and getting good deals is a common subject in your posts .. we all have budgets within which we live (or, should have, regardless of wealth) .. you have to admit that you often post with relief the arrival of your end of month bank transfer (counting the days before you can buy something for which you haven't the budget) .. because that monthly event is even noteworthy in your thread is to me an indication of not so secure financial comfort.

There are other times you have to pick between a 'need' and a 'want' .. and a not so big a 'want', amounting to relatively few THB (like buying higher quality/quantity food at end of month .. dining out/cooking at home .. settling for a blowjob v. getting laid) .. all signs that you appear to live month-to-month.

Perhaps you have a mongo stash somewhere, about which you make no mention:

  • USD 15,000 to buy a second hand vehicle;
  • USD 5,000 to pay for cataract surgery;
  • USD 15-20-25,000+++ for a major medical event (a debilitating stroke, coronary bypass surgery, major hospitalization from a road accident .. all now within the immediate range of possibility at this stage in your life);
  • USD 500/month for permanent in-home convalescent care; or,
  • USD 25,000+ medical evacuation back home if you hit rock bottom.

An undercapitalized retirement is not so good, dragonrider .. your budget is it seems suitable for a pre-retirement lifestyle, before complications of health, inflation, surprises .. but, not a permanent retirement plan.

I sort of see a retirement lifestyle as yours as the same as a return to youth .. living in the moment and ignoring tomorrow (so, whuh-hoo! .. who doesn't want to return to those days, eh?) .. getting laid as much as possible .. attending to classes as little as possible .. bicycling about town .. strong as a bull ox, gonna' live forever .. a future wide-open to choices that you can get to when you get to them .. invincible .. but, that is not a retiree's reality.

A different lifestyle, and different budget needs eventually arrive.

In our youths, the cost of a major economic failure here and there was survivable .. out here, as end-of-career seniors living on the periphery of the Thai Vortex with no family support, the cost of failure can be devastatingly ruinous .. nightmare stuff to ourselves and to anyone who is close enough to be dragged down with us.

[ I am sad to say, my friend in this situation did not fight hard for his life when he hit the wall and succumbed.. his was not a good death, at all. ]

If you think about it, the concept of a comfortable independent retirement is a relatively new idea, really .. maybe only in the last two generations has it been a realistic possibility, before which it was merely a dream .. before very recent generations, people relied heavily on family for support in their old age .. still do so in all but a few countries in the world.

With no such family support as in the old days, underfunded end of life years seem a struggle (month-to-month, and then day-to-day) before an unceremonious end, perhaps earlier than necessary .. with the way the world is devolving (economically, and socially), maybe the comfortable independent retirement dream is passing and a return to the way it has been for all of modern human history is in our futures.

My intent is to point out to members contemplating a retirement here, that the costs are not as many rumors would have them believe .. a USD 2,000/month budget works within certain lifestyles (dragonrider makes a very good accounting .. his call).

A month-to-month budget is risky to retirees without a major stash to cushion a major economic shock, or a cash flow that hedges mad currency swings and inflations to which imperfect economies as Thailand's are vulnerable.

My Bangkok cost of living has changed dramatically in the last 20 years .. I am prepared for it to go higher as I encounter age-related medical needs .. retirees should, too.

 

I agree with all you have to say here. However, care to enlighten us on your views of an adequate budget for a decent retirement living in Thailand ?   Something comfortable with few worries but not excessive ?

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Like others said early on in this thread, retirement in Singapore would seem to be prohibitively expensive, although I really enjoyed the couple of days I spent there. 

Lots of mentions of Cambodia, but my impression (never been there) is that infrastructure lags well behind.

I REALLY want to visit Vietnam, but don't think I would want to live there.

To me, besides the climate, the huge advantages for Thailand and Singapore are BKK and SIN airports. You can get just about anywhere with one-stop or less.

 

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This makes sense to me,  and I think Thailand didn't do as well because of the visa situation before the pandemic. 

Both Vietnam and Malaysia had easier Visa requirements.  

I'm looking to try Malaysia if this pandemic ever ends, because I have heard many great things about Malaysia from people who work remote from there. 

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The survey on which this thread was based when I posted it is now almost three years old and dated .. the InterNations website from which the survey is sourced has been updated and changed for greater precision.

https://www.internations.org/expat-insider/

There is no longer a "single best" expat place to live, but each nation and city is now ranked against a variety of measures which have differing importance to different people .. sexpats v. global nomads v. students v. etc.

A much more useful assessment of Thailand, beyond the few hours in their life getting laid each week v. the many, many more hours in their week going about their daily lives.. despite the initial appeal, sex-on-tap is not enough to live a fulfilling, purposeful life here.

Readers might be a bit dismayed how Thailand ranks across the many categories that fill our daily lifestyles .. some categories will be more important to some people than others .. Thailand is bottom 10 in many categories affecting our daily lives here, every day.

Tradeoffs are made, as in any city you choose to live within the comfort and familiarity of your own country .. when you make that reach beyond your native country, the tradeoffs become much more pronounced .. much of the resident expat posts here are more about lifestyle than sex-on-tap.


 

Edited by brutox

 

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23 hours ago, momo5 said:

I agree with all you have to say here. However, care to enlighten us on your views of an adequate budget for a decent retirement living in Thailand ?   Something comfortable with few worries but not excessive ?

Whuh .. well .. "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?" .. way, waaaay too many variables for me to suggest a decent retirement budget, momo5 .. as many budgets as there are lifestyles .. sorry, but I could not begin to suggest anything meaningful.
 

 

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I assume this survey is mainly done by and for working expats (I am member of Internations) and I would indeed not list Thailand very high. Singapore is close to perfect for a working expat like me but not necessarily for retirement (costs)....

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On 25/09/2020 at 03:39, brutox said:

An undercapitalized retirement is not so good, dragonrider .. your budget is it seems suitable for a pre-retirement lifestyle, before complications of health, inflation, surprises .. but, not a permanent retirement plan.

Really enjoyed reading this. Guess I'm going to have to work a little longer than planned...

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