News Forum - Top 10 troubles you will find during retirement in Thailand

[Thaiger]

The transition into retirement can be an intricate process, particularly if contemplating spending your later years in Thailand. Crafting a thorough strategy for this subsequent stage of life is crucial to facilitate this changeover, and vigilance of potential hurdles is vital to preserve balance during these years. In the domain of financial investment, for example, … …

The story Top 10 troubles you will find during retirement in Thailand as seen on Thaiger News.

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[WilliamG]

The 'Full Story' did not mention the 65k per month option, or the Combination Method allowed by some Immigration Offices, like mine.

And Dual Pricing occurs for ALL falangs, not just retirees.

[ChicagoExpat]

I think it's a helpful article overall.  Too many guys come here unprepared... a few weeks of vice and beach are not a good reflection of reality.

 

[Pinetree]

My comment would be that to retire in Thailand you need to know this country well, have spent a good deal of time here, not just on holiday, have a real empathy for living in Asia and in a very different culture.  This is very unlike moving to a European country and needs time to understand before a commitment is made. Just being married to a Thai, or having a Thai g/f won't cut it. Finally, you need money to retire here, maybe lots of it, a full bank balance and a regular, predictable income.  Get it out of your head that its cheap here.  Unless you want to live like a local laborer, its far from cheap for a farang with a wish to maintain a good life style in a nice location.  

[Khunmark]

Learning some Thai would be the advice I would give. It allows you to be less reliant on your partner and is generally appreciated by the locals. And the ‘wai’. Thais love it when you perform the wai- a simple but respectful gesture.

[Marc26]

14 hours ago, Pinetree said:

  Get it out of your head that its cheap here.  Unless you want to live like a local laborer, its far from cheap for a farang with a wish to maintain a good life style in a nice location.  

I don't know about that.......it can still be pretty cheap, especially if you are keeping an eye on your budget.

 

I know good friends that live in Phuket and Samui and their rent is 15k/mo for decent places (i'd want a bit nicer but even 30k would be considered "cheap" in western terms)

 

example 25k for a very livable 1 bdrm

 

https://www.thailand-property.com/ads/1-bedroom-condo-for-rent-in-kamala-falls-condominium-kamala-phuket_56d58a4a2ad6-783f-8736-5446-2d4b52f2

 

 

I was just in Koh Chang and ate at a tremendous Italian place 

4 beers, a salad and pasta..............700 baht w/ tip, that is absolutely cheap by westerns standards for that

 

 

A lot of my retired friends have a very enjoyable life in desirable destinations for 60-70k/mo

 

 

So I guess it all boils down to what we consider "cheap" to be..........

 

 

I have also argued Thailand can be as expensive as "home" is as well

 

 

So it really all how you live but you can live a good lifestyle for relatively cheap, IMO

[Vigo]

15 hours ago, Khunmark said:

Learning some Thai would be the advice I would give. It allows you to be less reliant on your partner and is generally appreciated by the locals. And the ‘wai’. Thais love it when you perform the wai- a simple but respectful gesture.

Wais are subject to social position. One does not wai to a person in the service industry or occupying a lower social status, even if "older".  I will give a small wai for some friends and a formal wai to senior officials or senior academics, but I will not wai to most Thais.  We occupy different social positions. That doesn't mean that one need not be polite. Politeness with a thank you and some smiling and never yelling or talking down to people can go a lot further than a wai. More important is to understand the concept of "face".  Causing someone to lose face can be an expensive proposition.

[Marc26]

3 hours ago, Vigo said:

Wais are subject to social position. One does not wai to a person in the service industry or occupying a lower social status, even if "older".  I will give a small wai for some friends and a formal wai to senior officials or senior academics, but I will not wai to most Thais.  We occupy different social positions. That doesn't mean that one need not be polite. Politeness with a thank you and some smiling and never yelling or talking down to people can go a lot further than a wai. More important is to understand the concept of "face".  Causing someone to lose face can be an expensive proposition.

I don't Wai simply because it's not my way/culture of greeting and I don't know all the intracies as you pointed above

A smile and nod does the job

 

But I also think a lot of farang make a big deal out of other farang "waiing" wrong, even a new tourist waiing service staff

Sure the Thais know that the tourist is wrong but more times than not, I don't think they think much about it and just think the person is being nice 

[Pinetree]

1 hour ago, Marc26 said:

I don't Wai simply because it's not my way/culture of greeting and I don't know all the intracies as you pointed above

A smile and nod does the job

But I also think a lot of farang make a big deal out of other farang "waiing" wrong, even a new tourist waiing service staff

Sure the Thais know that the tourist is wrong but more times than not, I don't think they think much about it and just think the person is being nice 

A awful lot of tosh told about the Wai.  Very many higso Thalis Wai terribly, almost with distain, to those considered below them, just watch Thai TV News to see that .  Its simple to get it right, you just have to follow the simple directions. I wai to those who wai me and to my consultant, who returns it politely. 

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, Pinetree said:

A awful lot of tosh told about the Wai.  Very many higso Thalis Wai terribly, almost with distain, to those considered below them, just watch Thai TV News to see that .  Its simple to get it right, you just have to follow the simple directions. I wai to those who wai me and to my consultant, who returns it politely. 

Yeah like I said above

I think farangs worry about someone "waiing the wrong person"  way more than Thais do

 

I often see tourists do it to staff at restaurants and hotels

And I just think it's nice, they are reciprocating what they see as a nice gesture and trying to be respectful of the culture 

How anyone can make fun of that is beyond me.....

 

And to get into this whole "social position" discussion is just pure nonsense to me ,personally, and I stress personally....

"Social position" is just not something I subscribe to be in my life and it doesn't matter where I am

[Marc26]

22 hours ago, Khunmark said:

Learning some Thai would be the advice I would give. It allows you to be less reliant on your partner and is generally appreciated by the locals. And the ‘wai’. Thais love it when you perform the wai- a simple but respectful gesture.

My Thai is horrendous after being with my Thai wife for close to 20 years

It's embarrassing really.....

My only excuse, and there isn't one, is that it was more important for my wife and stepson to learn English than me Thai 

 

But I am understanding Thai better and better every year 

We were just in the village and we went out one night with friend and had a good time

I could follow the conversation but my wife had to translate what I was saying

 

If we are going to spend time in the village when retired I want to be able to speak Thai better 

 

Although my wife and I both agree we are perfectly fine with how it is now ......

 

 

[Pinetree]

1 hour ago, Marc26 said:

My Thai is horrendous after being with my Thai wife for close to 20 years

It's embarrassing really.....

My only excuse, and there isn't one, is that it was more important for my wife and stepson to learn English than me Thai 

But I am understanding Thai better and better every year 

We were just in the village and we went out one night with friend and had a good time

I could follow the conversation but my wife had to translate what I was saying

If we are going to spend time in the village when retired I want to be able to speak Thai better 

Although my wife and I both agree we are perfectly fine with how it is now ......

I have never made any real effort to learn Thai, bar a few phrases and odd words.  One, I'm not good at languages, two, I wouldn't spend time learning a language only spoken by circa 70 million in the World, three, I've not found the need. In the past, I did make a real effort to learn Mandarin, as my life might have depended on it when flying through Chinese Airspace.  In Taiwan, where I lived and worked, English is widely spoken, so no real need, but despite my level of fluency after a good few years of study, being politely described by my Chinese colleagues as 'challenging for the listener', it was useful. So chasing any degree of fluency in Thai, in the remaining years of my life, is a vain hope.  

[Khunmark]

Women are more likely to try and learn the native language than men, in my experience. I suspect this maybe because they (women) tend to be less inhibited. I believe men are more likely to feel embarrassment if they don’t have full command over their domain. Ego, is a factor in this. Plus, as a rule women seem to have an innate flair for language. I know this is a generalisation but I have witnessed this here and in my own country.

 

As a retiree now, with plenty of time on my hands, honing my Thai language skills is a constructive activity that keeps the mind sharp. And learning a new language has given my a greater appreciation of those who are bi/multi lingual. It’s a significant undertaking, and I’ve found it more complex than earning a masters degree.

[Khunmark]

1 hour ago, Pinetree said:

I have never made any real effort to learn Thai, bar a few phrases and odd words.  One, I'm not good at languages, two, I wouldn't spend time learning a language only spoken by circa 70 million in the World, three, I've not found the need. In the past, I did make a real effort to learn Mandarin, as my life might have depended on it when flying through Chinese Airspace.  In Taiwan, where I lived and worked, English is widely spoken, so no real need, but despite my level of fluency after a good few years of study, being politely described by my Chinese colleagues as 'challenging for the listener', it was useful. So chasing any degree of fluency in Thai, in the remaining years of my life, is a vain hope.  

I live in a tourist area, so the need to learn Thai is not pressing. I have found it does enhance the experience of living here. 70 million people speak Thai as you point out, however it’s the dominant language where you live. I’ve always felt that it’s the ‘others’ (non-English speakers) that are assumed to make the sacrifice when it come to language.

In Australia if an ESL speaker wanted to converse with me it would be assumed by both of us that conversation would be conducted using the English language. If I have a conversation with a native Thai in Thailand the same assumption applies and I don’t necessarily sit comfortably with that.

 

[Pinetree]

26 minutes ago, Khunmark said:

I live in a tourist area, so the need to learn Thai is not pressing. I have found it does enhance the experience of living here. 70 million people speak Thai as you point out, however it’s the dominant language where you live. I’ve always felt that it’s the ‘others’ (non-English speakers) that are assumed to make the sacrifice when it come to language.

In Australia if an ESL speaker wanted to converse with me it would be assumed by both of us that conversation would be conducted using the English language. If I have a conversation with a native Thai in Thailand the same assumption applies and I don’t necessarily sit comfortably with that.

And that's why it's imperative, essential, vital, to the future prosperity of Thailand,  that Thai children are taught correct English, by competent, qualified  teachers,  all through their schooling.  Other Asian countries are miles, years, decades ahead in doing this.  So, throw out all the none native English teachers here, unless they are truly bi-lingual,  put qualified English teachers into every School, (so pay the going rate),  let retired first language expats teach part time if they wish to do so,  without needing a WP, or paying tax on that income.   Do this, and maybe the country will get somewhere.  Like it or not, English is the international language of commerce, business, technology. aviation, travel, IT, etc. etc.