InVinoVeritas

Nothing fails to surprise me. Do you have any more information on this trend BB?

bakedbean

Not sure it is a trend. Just know a few folks who are rumoured to be moving North. Know a couple of folks moving back to ol Blighty too. But still quite a few newbies moving into Penang too. I guess we all move around a lot. I'm quite happy here anyway.

Stuurman

I think that would be me and my wife (or are there others as well BB?).
To be honest when we moved from Europe to SEA in 2009 Malaysia wasn't our first choice, actually Chiang Mai Thailand was but because we were both under 50 at that time and we didn't want to get into endless visa hassles we opted for #2 on the list: Penang. In the mean time due to work we have also lived in Hong Kong and Singapore but are now back again in Penang. All great although I'm starting to get concerned about the political stability in Malaysia. I think change is eminent but the current government will not go without a fight. True, that might apply to Thailand as well but I have more confidence in Thailand in that aspect than Malaysia. But that's not the main reason we want to move out of Malaysia. It's much simpler, next year I will be applicable for a Thai retirement visa and we have the feeling we have seen enough of this part of SEA so again another move. Live is to short to spend it to long in one place

the troubadour

There was a program on Australia's ABC weekly show Dateline, just the other night, regarding the ever increasing number of Aussies and residents moving to South East Asia.

Penang was mentioned but more in passing and Chiang Mai was clearly the focus. There are dementia facilities catering for westerners at a cost the price found in many countries. It did seem almost a bit of a sell with very contended refugees from insanely expensive Australia finding their paradise in the sun.

The only warning was to ensure enough funds as to not be forced to be homeless on the beach. A few words about the over consumption of alcohol but everything else good.

I can imagine it captured the attention of hordes more considering retirement options.

Stuurman

Here is the program. We didn't choose Chiang Mai for the dementia facilities btw

SBS Dateline | Paradise Pensioners

bakedbean

Crikey, your ears must have been burning Welcome to the forum, Mr Stuurman. Yes there are others. I know of a couple moving to Phuket. Well....for Phuket, I say Very good luck to them

bakedbean

This is absolutely true in my opinion. Or at least until you get to maybe 70ish OR have some health issues. As you know, one of the BBs has had some serious health issues and ongoing situation, so for that reason alone we wouldn't be shifting from Penang in the near future.

But I still enjoy it here anyway. I like the fact that there's so many options to doing things here. I've only been here 4 years but my life in 2014 is very different to my life in 2010 when I arrived. Just involved in different things now so....that is a change in itself.

Do you think that Thailand is cheaper than Malaysia these days? When we first shifted from Thailand to Malaysia, we thought that prices were comparable. Some things a little bit cheaper in Thailand and some things a little bit cheaper in Malaysia. Has that changed, do you think?

Not quite south east Asia (by a mile) but was daunted to hear that Cyprus has become quite expensive now. Just what I read. That was at the top of my Plan B list

Stuurman

Thanks for the welcome BB Yes if I were in your position it would be different I think I would make sure as well that I would be near some very good hospitals. As for Phuket, it has never been even on the longlist although with the recent cleanup things might get better there too. We have visited Krabi area several times in the last years, from Penang it's about a 7/8 hour drive so easy to get there. Great as a vacation area, we have another visit to Ko Lanta planned in December, but to quiet to permanently live there. As for prices we had the impression it was cheaper or same price, we went to a couple of supermarkets to compare. Eating out definitely cheaper than Penang (food courts excluded, but we hardly visit them). The north seems to be even better value, especially housing seems to be very affordable. I think northern Thai food is great as well, can't wait to set my teeth into some Sai ua (Northern Thai pork sausage).

bakedbean

Another friend visited CM recently (not sure if you know her....maybe). She told me she really couldn't live there as she would put on 100 kilos

NeonHippy

Hi Stuurman, interesting that you feel Thailand is the best choice for you on reaching retirement (or is just retirement visa age?). We have been looking at Thailand for many years whilst waiting to retire but now the time has arrived for us the 90 day reporting criteria and additional burden of having to qualify my wife separately was too much. Villas in Thailand are amazing for the price but that is probably because you cannot legally own one. Rental prices are high compared to the capital value so if you bank your equity and try to rent from the proceeds it will eat into your capital much faster than in Malaysia where rental cost seems low compared to capital cost. From the UK my pension still gets taxed by the UK government whilst resident in Thailand but in Malaysia the pension is untaxed.
So for us it looks like living in Penang with frequent visits to the land of smiles.

Stuurman

Hi, I'm not that interested in how rental prices relate to the (highly inflated) property prices in Penang. I'm just looking at what I get for my money and looking at that Chiang Mai seems to be much cheaper for the similar houses then Penang, unless you know where in Penang I can rent a large new detached house with security and facilities within a 10/15 drive of the city centre for 1500-2000 RM?

As for 90 day reports for a small fee a visa-agent can take care of those.
I don't know about pensions, it will be years before I get any of those (if by that time there is still some money left) but from what I have read online Dutch pension holders get taxed the same way both in Thailand and Malaysia.

There is a nice interesting topic going on about pros and cons of Malaysia on Scots MM2H forum.

NeonHippy

Thanks Stuurman I will check it out. One thing I forgot to mention, that is not well advertised is that if you leave Thailand for a break your visa will expire unless you pay for a re-entry visa. An expensive mistake that you will only make once.

bakedbean

You can pay for multi entry when you renew the annual Thai retirement visa. I guess Stuurman's visa agent will be savvy on that.

bakedbean

But not nice for jerks eh

InVinoVeritas

So you're a lurker there too