Mayahani

I would like an honest opinion between Malaysia, Thailand and Phillipines which is a better place for retirement?? which country is offer better health treatments, education and etc.

Your suggestions is much appreciated.

Thanking you in advance.

paddythepilot

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Interesting question!

OK, these are purely my own personal views:-

The Phillipines would be my last choice, mainly due to relatively high crime rates, corruption (these things exist in Thailand & Malaysia too but to a lesser extent), and poor state of the infrastructure.

Thailand isn't bad, (lovely food and people), but you will find buying property there very difficult (i.e. many legal constraints) and getting a long term visa might be difficult......although I heard there is now some form of 'Retirement Visa' for Thailand now?

Malaysia would be the place for me! Why? Well firstly they have a proper legitimate retirement visa scheme, (called Malaysia My Second Home), which is simple enough to apply for. Secondly, English is very widely spoken and they have an English Common Law system so you can understand what is going on and read a contract (handy when buying property).

In terms of cost of living, I think you'll find the Phillipines probably the cheapest, Thailand second and Malaysia the highest......having said that, non are too expensive and if you are coming from the UK you'll find all three countries 'very reasonable' in terms of costs.

All three countries have great beaches, lovely people and good food!

Difficult choice......but it would be Malaysia for me!

Cheers & good luck.

Mayahani

Dear Paddy,

Thank you for your reply/comments. A lot of people that I've spoken to, also suggested Malaysia is the best place to retire due to a safer environment and better standard of living and english is widely spoken in Malaysia... (that is very important) plus its strategically located around other Asian countries..I can always go to Thailand, Phillipines, China and etc for holiday . I'm just spoilt for choices now.. I think the best thing to do is, do some homework/research. But I think Malaysia will be my top list followed by Thailand and Phillipines..

Thank you.

Jockstar

Heres a website/forum where people will answer your questions about Thailand.
thaivisa.com You will have to register. Its free. But do expect some smart arse comments. But many of the guys on there are retired or working there. Good luck. I love Thailand. So i'd say go there. Great people, great food and cheap. Good luck.

ejay1

The Philippines is probably the most westernized country out of the 3. And the asian country with the highest concentration of english speakers. But we did learn english from the Americans though, so that might pose an slight problem. An american would probably fit right in the Philippines. Just like an british person would probably find Malaysia more to their liking.

johnanawalt

This malaysia property portal tells where to find a place to rent if decided to go to malaysia to stay.
http://www.iproperty.com.my

NC Penguin

Bear in mind that the poster above is somewhat biased. I believe he/she is Philippino...




NC Penguin

VanTheMan

Hi Mayahani,

It all depends on your preference but let me tell you something about Malaysia.

Basically, it's a nice country. Lots of entertainment, Kuala Lumpur is nice and most of the called Malaysia as 'Food Paradise'. You can get almost anything you want here. The cost of living over here is reasonable.

As for the weather, it is typically hot and sunny most of the time. Sometimes, you will encounter heavy showers during the evening.

Feel free to message me if you would like to know more about Malaysia. I will be glad to help.



Rgds,
Van

ostaden

Well...our choise is and remains the northern part of THAILAND, where we live now for over 5 years.
It's a lovely country....fantastic people....correct prices....and to posess property or a visa is nothing more difficult as elsewhere.
The northern part is the best climate for the northern Europeans and in Chiang Mai is everything what one likes in ambundance for sale....and there is a great foreign community
I am Dutch...my English is not that well...in case you want more detailed info...please contact me [email protected] and please take a look in my website http://www.paradise.flappie.nl

rvquong

As a Filipino, of course I'd want to retire here in the Philippines, but I think for everyone else, I'd recommend Thailand. Thai people are naturally friendly, and the cost of living over there is so cheap. I don't know about Malaysia though. It seems too orderly there.

sunnydays

THe Philippines for the following reasons.
First financial: The UK has the Double taxation aggreement with the Philippine government and our state pension is allowed to be index linked there (very important).
Security: Appart from a small area on Mindanou island, all the Filipinos are Christian and live a similar life style to us Europeans. Choose a nice area to live with similar Filipinos families and all will be okay. Nice properties are within 7/24 security patroled areas. I've usually obtained good respect from the police when i've crossed their paths.....once was offerred a beer after refusing to pay an on the spot "jay-walking" fine!
Lifestyle: English is learnt by school children in Infancy and they smile when given the chance to use it. Menus, okay, not as varied as Thai/Malay but you can grow Lemon grass plants on your balcony and all the other makings are cheaply available. Religeon also effects the working day of its inhabitants, visit Hatyai on the Thai border and see the Malays enjoying the benefits that they can't get in their own country. Dress and behaviour culture is very different to our European way and should be considerred. Pointing your feet at people in Thailand for example or touching them on their heads is very bad manners.....easily done? Bar life in each of these countries is very different to Europeans. Women do not drink alcohol as a hole and the few bars around will be patronised by older men and the odd "good time" girls.
Manila is a sprawling down-at-heal city since the departure of the Americans and is only useful for shopping in the many marbelled glittery Shopping malls in Makatii (best shirt in the shop £3.00). Cebu and other Island major cities are more likely for setting roots down again and do not have the quantity of "Shanty town" areas that Manila has. There is a retirement programme for overseas retirees, take a look at www.livingingthephilippines.com for more info. ...Private medical insurance might be an issue and govern where you choose to live.

Simbo

undefined I live in Thailand, on my 3rd retirement visa now. It's not difficult to get a 12 month retirement visa. all you need is, Either a pension equivalent to 800.000 baht ( 11ooo pounds stirling ) or pension and money in bank to equal this.
Depending on where yo stay, Thailand has everything you could want.
Excellent hospitals at a price. Supermarkets as good as the west and very cheap. Schools are plentiful, run on western lines. It's hot, of course, but thats what we want.
I have a company pension, which fares me well here. In the uk, I would have to do some serious budgeting, but I have a better standard of life here than when I was working in the uk. There are many of us here, and we have a great ex-pats community, playing pool, darts, and generally doing what blokes do.
Hope this has been some help.

n_chica

Hi Mayahani,

One vote for Malaysia from me....

I have moved to the US for four years now because of my husband's job and I've missed Malaysia terribly since the very first day.

Malaysia is a diverse country, comprised mainly of Malay, Chinese and Indians. Therefore, you get different kinds of food (yummy!), culture and public holidays. Weatherwise, you will love Malaysia if you love warm weathers (throughout the whole year). Also, Malaysia is very advanced in their technology too.

I can go on and on about Malaysia but to summarize - sun, beaches, night life, high technology, good food !!!

Do e-mail me at [email protected] if you need more information on Malaysia. I grew up in Kuala Lumpur and I would be able to give you advice on accommodations, good restaurants and etc.

Good Luck to you!

Mayahani

Hi! everyone,

Thank you so much for your reply and I really appreciate it. Malaysia, Thailand and Phillipine are indeed very nice and fascinating country and we really love them all as we've been there.

Just to let everyone know that we've made our mind and we chose Malaysia is our second home due to the fact, and for the simple reason that Malaysia is offer better health treatment, better economy, education and a lot saver to live and that is very important to my family and I appreciate for those who reply my post thread, God bless you.

If everything goes well, my family and I will be moving to Malaysia middle of next year (2006) and at the moment I need to find out what are the procedures involved and get ourselves ready for MALAYSIA...

Malaysia here we come!!!

cheechow2003

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