Thread: Hi all! I'm a Thai student doing a research on retirement of Westerners in Thailand

Originally Posted by klong toey

Been up and running for a while seems the study started, Wed Nov 04, 2015 11:55 pm on another forum.

It has been posted on several other forums.

DAVIS KNOWLTON...
I can't imagine anyone else being interested.[/QUOTE]

Warm weather , beaches and affordable quality health care are top three...but then again I'm pretty easy going.

I'm not married and had no plans to put children on earth after 40...insured by vasectomy.
I'm with the oldest gf I've ever been with in Thai and she is 22 years my junior.

It's strictly a pleasant business situation for me as I could not afford to enjoy retirement after a divorce in America. (My fault of course.)

^Yup. Weather and affordability for me too. Having lived a subsistence lifestyle in UK purely for the benefit of others, I cannot complain much about the existence here.
Peachy.

Davis, other than easier visa regs, what made you decide to retire in the PI? It has horrific traffic from what I have seen and pretty much the same environment as Thailand.

This is not a survey.

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Davis, other than easier visa regs, what made you decide to retire in the PI? It has horrific traffic from what I have seen and pretty much the same environment as Thailand.

This is not a survey.

Language and wife's family. Traffic's not horrible outside of Manila.

Fair enough. A wife's family does seem to take priority.

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Fair enough. A wife's family does seem to take priority.

I believe you'll find this to be true in a high percentage of situations...

It's the only reason I still live here.

Originally Posted by thailazer

Thailand is a military dictatorship with a very uncertain future and that hardly makes it an attractive retirement destination for most.

That hardly makes it unattractive to the serious expat from America. The choice for me seemed to come down to Thailand or Ecuador. Much higher crime rate in Ecuador. So, one thing you forgot to mention is the uncommon honesty in just about 100% of the population. Secondly, compare it to Nepal. Thirdly, how does the government, be it military, dictatorship or democracy affect your everyday life. I see much fewer police on the streets and no military presence at all, except for those on leave, than any other country I can think of.

Anybody who finds Thailand unattractive for an expat life either is very rich, not serious about leaving their homeland for good or doesn't like the weather.

Davis hit the negatives right on the mark, although I certainly don't understand how The Philippines beats Thailand in all those negative aspects except for the language barrio. Oh yeah, very few of those in Thailand, EH?

nobody has yet mentioned the eventual and certain mind numbing dullness and creeping disappointment that comes after living for a prolonged period of time in a lawless, corrupt and justice free society amongst 60 million childlike ego centric stubborn and often arrogant people most of whom dont have an original or thought provoking idea in their heads, have been brainwashed by the authorities and their their elders into thinking thailand is the center of the universe, have little idea of the concept of morality or ethics, are world champions at shifting the blame and evading any form of personal responsibility, love nothing more than the sound of their own voices and who would happily sell their souls and that of their neighbours if there was a profit of 100 baht at the conclusion of the deal and where money and the right surname can buy you influence, power and immunity from the law

oh, and the somtam is good, there is lots of sunshine, and if you are that way inclined their women are mostly available.

Originally Posted by wjblaney

...how does the government, be it military, dictatorship or democracy affect your everyday life. I see much fewer police on the streets and no military presence at all, except for those on leave, than any other country I can think of.

Indeed.
Easier for most to absorb the make-believe surface attention than to understand everyday life and goings on.

Stereotypes and myths tend to gather without reasoned thought behind the claims.

Let's get real. While a few retire or have retired to enjoy the cheaper life, the majority come for young vagina. Usually twice or 3 times younger!

PhD Student
Report to any Thai immigration office at 9am on any weekday morning. I'm sure you will find what you are looking for.
Gratis

Originally Posted by Jesus Jones

the majority come for young vagina.

your circles, perhaps.

Originally Posted by taxexile

and if you are that way inclined their women are mostly available.

I am sure the men are likely to accomodate your tastes as well

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Indeed.
Easier for most to absorb the make-believe surface attention than to understand everyday life and goings on.

Stereotypes and myths tend to gather without reasoned thought behind the claims.

Right. For example, I didn't note that as a foreigner with a retirement visa, there is a very simple process for Americans to go through for renewing a yearlong Thai visa. As a consequence, there is very little interaction with the immigration bureaucracy, which, of course, is a governmental office. Would a democratic government simplify the process for the other visas?

Originally Posted by chassamui

Report to any Thai immigration office at 9am on any weekday morning. I'm sure you will find what you are looking for.

I'll be looking for a queue card to start with. That means waiting in a line for a long time in order to get a number which tells you your number in the line. WOW! Ignoring that arriving at 9 am will absolutely guarantee that you will have to come back the next day at any decent immigration office. Of course, when you've satisfied the the deskman, whom you will see once you're queue number is called, most probably you will have to leave the country in order to visit a Thai embassy in another country to complete the renewal process. That vastly expands, by a huge amount, the things to look forward to. Note: this post has been censored

Originally Posted by chassamui

PhD Student
Report to any Thai immigration office at 9am on any weekday morning. I'm sure you will find what you are looking for.
Gratis

I'd already been there in Chiang Mai, not 9am but 6.30am in the morning. The retired expat lady suggested me to go there to observe the situation. At 6.30am, there were already about 30+ people queue up for visa extension and 90-day reports. Some said the first person came at 2 am From what I saw, the big problem is that the office is understaffed, there were about only 6-7 officers, in which, only 1-2 officers doing retirement extension. People looked very upset, yet there were no screams, no yelling, or nobody broke the chairs.
I also talked to 2 officers, they're tired too and feel sorry for those expats who are mostly the retirees, however, increasing manpower is hard and changing the rules/visa requirements is the hardest.

Kanokwan , I really must compliment you. Where did you receive your mastery of English language skill ?

Originally Posted by wjblaney

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Indeed.
Easier for most to absorb the make-believe surface attention than to understand everyday life and goings on.

Stereotypes and myths tend to gather without reasoned thought behind the claims.

Right. For example, I didn't note that as a foreigner with a retirement visa, there is a very simple process for Americans to go through for renewing a yearlong Thai visa. As a consequence, there is very little interaction with the immigration bureaucracy, which, of course, is a governmental office. Would a democratic government simplify the process for the other visas?

Originally Posted by chassamui

Report to any Thai immigration office at 9am on any weekday morning. I'm sure you will find what you are looking for.

I'll be looking for a queue card to start with. That means waiting in a line for a long time in order to get a number which tells you your number in the line. WOW! Ignoring that arriving at 9 am will absolutely guarantee that you will have to come back the next day at any decent immigration office. Of course, when you've satisfied the the deskman, whom you will see once you're queue number is called, most probably you will have to leave the country in order to visit a Thai embassy in another country to complete the renewal process. That vastly expands, by a huge amount, the things to look forward to. Note: this post has been censored

He does not need a queue card to hand out questionnaires to farang. Arriving at 9am ensures he has a captive audience with fok all better to do than hang around waiting for their number to come up.

Originally Posted by PhDstudent

I'd already been there in Chiang Mai, not 9am but 6.30am in the morning. The retired expat lady suggested me to go there to observe the situation. At 6.30am, there were already about 30+ people queue up for visa extension and 90-day reports. Some said the first person came at 2 am From what I saw, the big problem is that the office is understaffed, there were about only 6-7 officers, in which, only 1-2 officers doing retirement extension. People looked very upset, yet there were no screams, no yelling, or nobody broke the chairs. I also talked to 2 officers, they're tired too and feel sorry for those expats who are mostly the retirees, however, increasing manpower is hard and changing the rules/visa requirements is the hardest.

I thought you were studying Farang, not overworked immigration officers?

Every office in the country is different. They each apply and interpret the rules differently. The only reason I suggested the immigration office is for the reasons stated above; i.e. a captive audience with nothing better to do.

I'll give it a go, bugger all else to do

Did it, I wonder what he will make of the results! I'd like to see them sometime

Originally Posted by PeeCoffee

Kanokwan , I really must compliment you. Where did you receive your mastery of English language skill ?

Both my B.A. (Communication Arts) and M.A. (European Studies) are English Programs, anyway I think I learn more from American movies

@chassamui western retirees in Thailand are the main focus of the study, but in order to study about the impacts of such international retirement migration (IRM), I also interviewed Thai stakeholders, including representatives from Thai public and private sectors, as well as, the local Thais.

Retirement.
Needs to be defined.