lot of questions on thailand.if anyone has the time.
Nov 11th 2013, 4:59 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 5
lot of questions on thailand.if anyone has the time.
i did however google it all but the info is a bit scattered .
1 . really wanted to retire early to china . but so many loop holes there , thailand 2nd option i guess.
2 buying a home . goverment etc. after hearing so many horror stories . its a daunting thing to me .
3 area. somwhere near the beach but noit crazy touristy
4 if anyone has been there for over a few years id really love to know how they got on at first . and any hecups along there way etc. cheers guys.
1 . really wanted to retire early to china . but so many loop holes there , thailand 2nd option i guess.
2 buying a home . goverment etc. after hearing so many horror stories . its a daunting thing to me .
3 area. somwhere near the beach but noit crazy touristy
4 if anyone has been there for over a few years id really love to know how they got on at first . and any hecups along there way etc. cheers guys.
Nov 12th 2013, 4:29 am
#2
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Buraydah , Saudi Arabia
Posts: 2,863
Re: lot of questions on thailand.if anyone has the time.
Hi George . firstly , welcome to the forum . I'll try to go through your points and then maybe someone else will come in with other bits to add or different ideas .
1) Retirement - first thing to be aware of is that to get a retirement visa you need 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank account or an income of 65,000 a month . Don't think you can combine the two anymore although I'm not sure on that . If you can't do that then you'll have to think about other kinds of visas which may mean travelling outside of the country regularly or studying . This may affect where you want to live .
2) Buying a home - in your position that is the last thing I would be thinking about at this stage . Travel around a bit , explore the country and find somewhere that you think you might want to live in for a long time . Then rent for a while and see if you really like that place . You don't want to get somewhere , buy a place , then 6 months down the line realize that that place or even Thailand in fact isn't for you . It can be difficult to sell property in Thailand .
Government - not sure what you mean by that but the goings on of the government will probably not make much difference to your life . Thai politics can be quite turbulent at times but it probably won't affect you that much . I lived in BKK during all the protests red/yellow and it didn't affect me in the slightest on a day to day level . You say you want to be near a beach so that would be far from BKK .
3) Area - So many different opinions on this but seeing how you want to be near a beach then somewhere down South is probably best . Depends what you mean by tourist crazy too . The best thing to do is to have a look around and see what you like . Everyone is different . Personally I like the area around Krabi , Trang , and Ranong . I lived in Ranong for 2 years and I loved it . Others might hate the place !
Some other points you might want to consider .
i) Don't burn all your bridges - many people sell everything imagining the great life that they are going to lead and then it doesn't quite work out the way they intended . Make sure you can go back if you want to . If after a few years you're really sure about what you want then go for it . Don't jump into anything .
ii) Come over for some extended holidays first if you can . There's a big difference from being on holiday for 2 weeks and living in a place . Try to imagine what it would be like to be in a place fulltime , doing all the boring stuff like weekly shops , laundry , being stuck in traffic etc .
iii) Come at different times of the year - the weather changes a lot in Thailand . It might be unbearably hot for you sometimes or too wet , or even too cold in some places .
iv) Think about why you want to come to Thailand and what you're going to do with yourself in retirement . Are there chances to meet people and make friends who share similar interests . What are you going to do all day basically ?
v) Language - try to learn some of the language , it will make life easier for you and will probably give you some insights into what Thai people are really like . The charm soon wears off when you find that the sweet lady who sells you noodles every day has got a mouth like a sewer and the friendly taxi driver is taking you for a ride . Stereotypes but something to think about .
vi) Health - if you're retiring , I take it you're of a mature age , think about what you're going to do for health insurance if something happens to you .
vii) Good luck - Thailand is a great country and I lived there for many years . Hope you find whatever it is you're looking for .
1) Retirement - first thing to be aware of is that to get a retirement visa you need 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank account or an income of 65,000 a month . Don't think you can combine the two anymore although I'm not sure on that . If you can't do that then you'll have to think about other kinds of visas which may mean travelling outside of the country regularly or studying . This may affect where you want to live .
2) Buying a home - in your position that is the last thing I would be thinking about at this stage . Travel around a bit , explore the country and find somewhere that you think you might want to live in for a long time . Then rent for a while and see if you really like that place . You don't want to get somewhere , buy a place , then 6 months down the line realize that that place or even Thailand in fact isn't for you . It can be difficult to sell property in Thailand .
Government - not sure what you mean by that but the goings on of the government will probably not make much difference to your life . Thai politics can be quite turbulent at times but it probably won't affect you that much . I lived in BKK during all the protests red/yellow and it didn't affect me in the slightest on a day to day level . You say you want to be near a beach so that would be far from BKK .
3) Area - So many different opinions on this but seeing how you want to be near a beach then somewhere down South is probably best . Depends what you mean by tourist crazy too . The best thing to do is to have a look around and see what you like . Everyone is different . Personally I like the area around Krabi , Trang , and Ranong . I lived in Ranong for 2 years and I loved it . Others might hate the place !
Some other points you might want to consider .
i) Don't burn all your bridges - many people sell everything imagining the great life that they are going to lead and then it doesn't quite work out the way they intended . Make sure you can go back if you want to . If after a few years you're really sure about what you want then go for it . Don't jump into anything .
ii) Come over for some extended holidays first if you can . There's a big difference from being on holiday for 2 weeks and living in a place . Try to imagine what it would be like to be in a place fulltime , doing all the boring stuff like weekly shops , laundry , being stuck in traffic etc .
iii) Come at different times of the year - the weather changes a lot in Thailand . It might be unbearably hot for you sometimes or too wet , or even too cold in some places .
iv) Think about why you want to come to Thailand and what you're going to do with yourself in retirement . Are there chances to meet people and make friends who share similar interests . What are you going to do all day basically ?
v) Language - try to learn some of the language , it will make life easier for you and will probably give you some insights into what Thai people are really like . The charm soon wears off when you find that the sweet lady who sells you noodles every day has got a mouth like a sewer and the friendly taxi driver is taking you for a ride . Stereotypes but something to think about .
vi) Health - if you're retiring , I take it you're of a mature age , think about what you're going to do for health insurance if something happens to you .
vii) Good luck - Thailand is a great country and I lived there for many years . Hope you find whatever it is you're looking for .
