which will be the best place to retire to
 

Hi All,
I have health problems which means I will need to retire to a hot place in the next ten years i have artritis in my knees and back and was told by my DR to look at asia for the heat. any help of which place is best for me i have looked at thailand,Vietnam and malaysia all have pros and cons which country would give me the best exchange rates for my pound and CAD
thanks
firefox

Re: which will be the best place to retire to
 

Snot only the money side though.

You have to feel comfortable in the culture, whether or not you surround yourself with ex pats.

You'll get some guidance from this site, not from me on those countries though, but you have to experience some time in each country yourself to make up your own mind. And I don't just mean a week's holiday.

Whatever you decide I'd also say don't sell off any UK property.

There are so many things you have to think about that it's probably not something you should finalise quickly, i.e. within a year.

Re: which will be the best place to retire to
 

Currency exchange rates go up and down all the time, so there is no long term answer to that question.

Once you have visited each country and narrowed down your search, you should look into the medical facilities available in case your condition, or any others that develop in the meantime, need treatment.

I live in Thailand and the private hospitals are of a very high standard - but they're not cheap. Reasonable, but not cheap.

Re: which will be the best place to retire to
 

When you say you have looked at, have you visited any of the countries or just internet looking? As Ex-Reg said, that is the first step, if you've never been there. Also take a look at the different retirement visa schemes. Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines all have visa schemes.

Once you've made your choice, why not sell your house in your home country? I've never really understood why people say this. Why would you want the burden of a house in a country several thousand miles away, pipes freezing up in Winter, council tax to pay? If things don't work out, you can always buy again in your "home" country.

If you can afford to do it, a lot of retirees spend their summers in the UK then winter over in Asia.

Re: which will be the best place to retire to
 

Many countries are nice for a visit - but it's a different story being a resident there.
Language should also be a consideration - you will want to be able to communicate your needs, for example for medical assistance.

I heard South Africa is also not as expensive as UK. Thought about going there ?

Re: which will be the best place to retire to
 

most people leave south africa, cant think of a worse place to go! crime capital of the world!

Re: which will be the best place to retire to
 

As previous posters have said ref Thailand, SE Asia. Plus Thailand doesn't make it easy for people to immigrate. Long-stay visas are the first hurdle. If you are 50 when you want to move, you are eligible for the retirement visa, as the rules currently stand. But age isn't enough - you have to prove means, by showing a minimum monthly income, or by depositing a sum not far short of £20,000 in a Thai bank, or by a combination of both, if your retirement pension drops short. This sum has to be in the Thai bank for three months or so, not falling below the minimum level, before each annual visa renewal date.

Buying property isn't straightforward either. 'Farangs' cannot own land, nor can they own the property itself except by complicated shenanigans involving starting a property company in which you are only allowed 49%, and have 'sleeping' Thai partners.

You can own a condo, but these are only leasehold of course.

Yes the cost of living is comparatively low in Thailand, but prices are rising, and with the £ dropping, it's no longer the supercheap destination it once was.

You can rent a nice small condo for £250-300 pm. Electric etc doesn't cost much, but aircon can rack up the bill. If you don't eat out all the time, and when you do, you avoid the Western restaurants, you can eat cheaply. A substantial meal from one of the food stalls can still be had for £1.

Cars - new and second-hand - are surprisingly expensive, the equal of prices in Europe. Bikes (motorcyles)? Death traps, given the way people drive over there (it's even worse in the likes of Cambodia). Public transport? Depends where you are. There are the 'baht buses' everywhere in the towns and cities, approx 50p for any trip inside city limits. Otherwise tuk-tuks are an option, from £1 to £2 for any journey around the likes of Chiang Mai.

You mentioned going for your health - the pollution inside Bangkok and Chiang Mai is terrible. Plus you would need private health cover. There are international schemes, but you would need to check out the clauses ref. pre-existing conditions. Private Thai schemes are relatively cheap, but again, beware of the cover - I would get some advice from expats on the spot who have had policies and needed to use them.

Finally, moving to SE Asia, as others have suggested, is one hell of a culture shock. I'd been an expat in different countries around Europe for nearly two decades before spending three years in Thailand, and nothing I'd experienced in Europe prepared me for life in Thailand. Ok I loved nearly every minute - but you need to be very streetwise, to be able to adapt to the Thai way of life and not expect them to adapt to yours, to take the rampant corruption and croneyism you see regularly in your stride. Living in some parts of SE Asia really is like living on another planet, in many ways. And Thailand is relatively civilised to the likes of Laos and Cambodia. I've been on several trips to the latter, and although I really enjoyed my stays, and even if it's easier to get long-stay visas, I wouldn't choose to live there - too anarchic. A lot of expats who are starting to find life in Thailand too expensive are looking towards Vietnam these days.

Re: which will be the best place to retire to
 

Agree with the majority of what frogblogger says (what a great name!) but would like to correct that you CAN legally own a property in Thailand in your own name(s). You just cannot own the land that it is on - you have to lease the land.

I haven't found prices increasing very much in Thailand the last couple of years. It's still cheap. For Brits though, with Sterling income, everything outside UK will seem expensive as the value of Sterling has dropped so much. That is the problem.

Re: which will be the best place to retire to
 

You can own a property via a company in which you hold 49%, with Thais as sleeping partners holding the majority yes, but I'm unaware of any method by which a Brit can be a majority shareholder in a property.

As for rising prices, I've heard the Thais themselves complaining a bit, but agree that for anyone coming from Europe (but not the UK), the euro-baht rate has held pretty steady in recent years. Many things are still a lot cheaper in LOS, without a doubt.

Re: which will be the best place to retire to
 

I'm not talking about companies or shares. A foreigner can legally own a property in their own name(s). The land it is on will however be leasehold (separate legal agreement). Granted that some people would not be happy with this. We've not encountered any problems with this (so far) but in the process of selling a property so I'll let you all know if there's any probs ;)

Re: which will be the best place to retire to
 

you can try the philippines. You can choose Makati (the central business district) which also has the Makati Medical Center a world class hospital.

If you want somewhere slightly cool and not too hot, you can stay in Tagaytay and have an overlooking view of the lake, within a volcano, within a lake.

There are also lots of exclusive high-end subdivisions and areas that are being developed by Ayala Land. These are comparable in looks and quality to what you have in the UK.

Re: which will be the best place to retire to
 

Just to clarify, in Thailand condo's are usually freehold not leasehold - you get a share of the freehold when you buy an individual unit. You must bring in money from abroad with documentation to buy one.

30 year leases registered at the land office are not bogus but the flaw is that if the land owner does not want to renew the lease for another 30 years all he has to do is sell the land to a relative and the renewal becomes void.

The Thai government is cracking down on companies set up to buy land by foreigners. The trick is for the foreigner to get majority voting rights whilst only having 49 percent actual shareholding. As mentioned the government is cracking down on these legal entities and you could lose the land on the whim of the local land office.

If you are unwell, you will have to avoid all the highly polluted cities and also some of crazed humidity places like Pattaya.

Re: which will be the best place to retire to
 

Thanks for the clarification ref condos - as I understand it, in registered condo buildings it is correct that 49/100ths can be sold freehold to foreigners. 51/100ths have to be sold to Thais or Thai-run businesses. It is then possible for these to be leased on to foreigners.