katongkaren

a few people mentioning Singapore to retire but it actually does not have a retirement scheme for foreigners unless you can invest a large sum of money (I mean serious money - millions of dollars). In order to stay in Singapore long term you need to obtain Permanent Residence and that is not always easy to do. Malaysia of course does have a retirement scheme for foreigners.

Gnut Kracker

Malaysia would be at the top of my list but I am biased because I was born there and my parents lived there till I was 20, and I still visit whenever I can. I wouldn't even consider the other two. I'm definitely considering the 'Malaysia my second home' scheme, though I'd probably only spend about 6 months of the year there.

Gnut

Token Ginger

How about Johor, just over the causeway from Singapore? There you'll have the benefits of Singapore (including healthcare) on the doorstep, but the living costs of Malaysia

ozrag

For me it is Penang in Malaysia. Good food and lovely beaches up north.

ex reg

Hmmm.
Not for us as I've noted in the other thread.

Marc C

Is anyone concerned about the growing threat of Dengue Fever which is reaching almost epidemic proportions in SE Asia?

ex reg

Haven't heard that about Dengue.

But there has been a lot of rainfall in Malaysia this year which might aid mosquito breeding.

Marc C

Not sure of the actual death figures, but even Singapore has not been able to keep Dengue at bay. 3 years ago there were I believe 10 deaths on Penang.

james770

HI, my first entry to this site, I have a Filipina bride now of three years, we live half the year in UK and the other half in Cebu in the Philippines. On the subject of retirement I have to say I think that I will be retiring to the Philippines. It does have high crime, it does have corrupt people and all the other problems there, but it also has a wealth of things to draw me there year upon year. Good signs are all around of investment, that brings problems but its going towards being the holiday island of the area and its a great all round place to be. The only reason why we dont live there all year is my wife loves the long summer evenings in the UK and so do I. Its the one thing missing here in Cebu.

The people here are great, they have to put up with some very rotten foreign invaders and their impression of us is limited by the expsure they have had from others, I enjoy helping the local school with rugby training, supporting the airsoft teams here by playing and bringing in gear, living a great life with new friends.

My advice would be if thinking of serious retirement is to go there, see people who live their dream now and then ask yourself is this for you. Then when you find it, look at how you get there. If you like the Philippines drop me a line we can show you around and you can see the worst bits as well as the fun bits.

James

Kooky.

Wow James can you turn your font down a bit, it's way too loud for me.

Singapore for retirement - katongkaren is right, you can't just move and settle here without the right paperwork, and it's not a cheap place to live out your retirement unless you've made your millions. Property prices are going through the roof at the moment, too. You can go live in a gated community in JB but do you want to live somewhere you need to be guarded? You can get carjacked going to Tesco.

Dengue Fever - well I guess it's a fact of life if you want to live in Asia but it's not nice at all. We live in a Dengue hotspot (ten minutes' drive from SG city centre!) and it put my husband and me in hospital last July - him for 5 days and me for 3 - both on IV and unable to eat a thing. Great way to lose half a stone in a few days. Unable even to clean our teeth in case we bled to death; my husband's platelet count was so low they were threatening a transfusion.

It's like the worst flu you'll ever experience, the fever and headache are terrible and the rash (and subsequent peeling) has to be seen to be believed. My husband looked like he'd stuck his feet in a vat of burning oil. We were very unwell for a month, no energy at all, and the after-effects can be long term. I have an autoimmune disorder and my liver all but gave up living (resulted in a biopsy); a couple of months after the illness, both of us started losing our hair. The disease specialist says it could take a year to fully recover! And we only had one of the milder strains - if we get it again, we have a much higher chance of haemorrhaging. Needless to say I am a bit neurotic now, every time I get a bite.

You might find this interesting: ttp://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=2865

In Dengue season, which I think is just starting, that site produces weekly stats.

sunnydays

Wow, Seasider you certainly had a rough time of it. I considerred Singapore a "squeaky" clean place, certainly when I visited a few years ago it seemed like that, ashtrays on the pavements and laws against water holding places on your patio etc.
Thankyou for sharing your experience with us.

Peter

Kooky.

Singapore is far from squeaky clean once you get out of the tourist areas. I live in Geylang, for one thing. I've also done voluntary work with out of school/at risk teens and I could tell you tales to make you cry - the rich are rich, and they're damned if they're sharing it with the poor.

james770

is this any better

sorry for being so loud it must be the English in me

James

Marc C

Seasider,

Thanks very much for the warning. I always knew dengue was unbearable but you make it sound even worse than I imagined. I will continue to monitor the internet for progress on a dengue vaccination - I don't blame you at all for feeling neurotic. It's a pity se Asia is my favourite part of the world.

Good luck,
Liz

Kooky.

Ah Liz, I figure if we want to live here (and we do - it's our home) we can't worry too much about it. Anyway, if the mozzies don't get me, the JI will.