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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat
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    Where to Retire for $1200 Per Month

    http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/RetirementandWills/RetireInStyle/RetireInStyleDyn.aspx?cp-documentid=24594846&GT1=33013

    Penang looks like a pretty good option according to this. Getting residency in Thailand is a difficult now. I know people who have been waiting for years for theirs to come through. Right now I have a work permit so its no problem and I can get a marriage visa after I stop working. But what if the marriage goes to hell? Ok, there's always a retirement visa but US Social Security is on shaky ground and Thailand keeps moving the target with income requirements so it's good to have options.

  2. #2
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    Where to Retire for $1200 Per Month

    Kabul



  3. #3
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    Malaysia seem to offer an awful lot more than Thailand does. It also seems to welcome people rather than put up with them because they have money/education.

  4. #4
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    Malaysia is a nice country but $1,200 may leave you counting the pennies.
    Another option is Jogjakarta, Indonesia where 12 million will allow you to live well assuming you don't like going out getting pissed every night. That's expensive.

  5. #5
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    can get a marriage visa after I stop working. But what if the marriage goes to hell? Ok, there's always a retirement visa
    Unless you've money in a Thai bank, at 0% interest, you aren't making enough to get a marriage or retirement visa.

  6. #6
    or TizYou?
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    I wonder what advantages/disadvantages Penang might have over Malaysian cities such as Kota Kinabalu.

  7. #7
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    Langkawi does not have the urban variety of Penang, but it is more beautiful, relatively unspoilt and, importantly, booze is duty free there- booze elsewhere in Malaysia is pretty obscenely priced. That would be my first pick, Penang second.

    LOS, ain't no problem to live on that comfortably enough in the Provinces. Bkk, Pattaya, Phuket no sir.

  8. #8
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Humbert sums up my worries about Thailand changing the income requirements. I get nervous every year when I go to immigration.

    I have been considering an extended visit to Pokhara, in Nepal, in the future to find what living there would be like. Plenty of things to do there and many international restaurants. I don't know about the health care situation, though. Climate is great.

    Living costs would certainly be lower than $1200 per month.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by TizMe
    I wonder what advantages/disadvantages Penang might have over Malaysian cities such as Kota Kinabalu.
    Penang was British built...

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog
    Penang was British built...
    I think Chinese built but British owned

  11. #11
    I'm in Jail
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    SE Asian countries are getting more expensive, logically as major currencies got hit and world growth is shifting from Europe to Asia, which put additional pressure on inflation and currency.

    Between inflation and currency fluctuations, Thailand has become 75% more expensive than it used to 10 years ago.

  12. #12
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    .

    Quote Originally Posted by Butterfly View Post
    SE Asian countries are getting more expensive, logically as major currencies got hit and world growth is shifting from Europe to Asia, which put additional pressure on inflation and currency.

    Between inflation and currency fluctuations, Thailand has become 75% more expensive than it used to 10 years ago.
    But not that much more expensive than it was pre 97 crash when it was around 25 to USD and 40 to GBP. IMHO holders of foreign currency have had it good for the past 13 years, well I Know I bought my first property here in early 98 when it peaked at over 94 to GBP, but I have always based my predictions for retirement requirements on pre 97 exchange rate rather than fool myself.

    Many retirees have made the mistake thinking that 45 to USD / 68 to GBP was the norm and are now suffering accordingly, especially the Brits who have now been informed that their state pension is no longer Index Linked.

    Not sure what income I would need to generate to consider retirement but I assure it will be more than 30K / Month.
    Said Hamlet to Ophelia, I'll draw a sketch of thee,
    What kind of pencil shall I use? 2B or not 2B?

  13. #13
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    About $1,200 a month "buys a comfortable life here," covering an $800 rental apartment and $100 each for food, utilities and entertainment, Peddicord said. Full-time household help would set you back $130 a month.

    Wow, what a bargain ! Paying 800 bucks out of a 1,200 budget leaving an awesome 100$ monthly budget for food (that's about 3 ringgit for 90 meals) and another 100 for entertainment (that would mean one fuck each month as whores in Penang cost 200 ringgit , but I doubt you still feel sexual urges if living on 3 ringgit meals so that's ok )

  14. #14
    I am in Jail

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    Can't imagine retiring outside the United States? Never fear. In an upcoming column I'll highlight five cheap places to retire in the U.S.

    I can hardly wait for a new list of locations where I can happily starve and wank

  15. #15
    I'm in Jail
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    Costa Rica is supposed to be the best of the lot,

  16. #16
    Days Work Done! Norton's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang
    Langkawi does not have the urban variety of Penang, but it is more beautiful, relatively unspoilt and, importantly, booze is duty free there- booze elsewhere in Malaysia is pretty obscenely priced. That would be my first pick, Penang second.
    I had the opportunity of spending a lot of time in Kuantan. To me it had the perfect mix of natural beauty, western friendly culture, and urban convenience.

    If I were to relocate, it would be to the Kuantan area.

    Cost of housing and rentals about same as Thailand.

    Also, believe it is now a duty free area for booze.
    "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect,"

  17. #17
    RIP
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    I considered Malaysia but the 'cash in bank' restrictions were somewhat worse than Thailand for a retirement visa

  18. #18
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    Anywhere you can live for a total income of USD 1,200 a month including healthcare, safety, a good night out twice a week and savings for a rainy day would be full of chavs and trailor trash...Who the fuck would want to live there??

  19. #19
    Thailand Expat
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chairman Mao View Post
    can get a marriage visa after I stop working. But what if the marriage goes to hell? Ok, there's always a retirement visa
    Unless you've money in a Thai bank, at 0% interest, you aren't making enough to get a marriage or retirement visa.
    Not particulary worried about the income or savings requirements. It is the instability that worries me. My understanding, unless something has changed recently, is that a retirement visa requires an income of 65,000 baht monthly. A marriage visa carries a requirement of 40,000 baht monthly. I think the point you were trying to make is that $1200, as stated in the article, does not fit either requirement.

  20. #20
    Thailand Expat
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    ^
    For retirement,

    a combination of the two, 1200$ monthly and 350.000 ThB in a Thai bank account.

  21. #21
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    1200$ monthly
    Under 40,000b at the moment. About 38 or so.

    Doesn't meet the visa requirements if he's basing it on monthly income.

  22. #22
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    Stay in the states, with that you get food stamps, and your covered by madicare.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by mellow
    your covered by madicare
    he gunna need it living there forever and ever and ever and ever.....

  24. #24
    Enjoys sheep
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeremia View Post
    Anywhere you can live for a total income of USD 1,200 a month including healthcare, safety, a good night out twice a week and savings for a rainy day would be full of chavs and trailor trash...Who the fuck would want to live there??
    Not true. His cash translates to about Rp11,000,000/month so a move to Indonesia would allow the OP to live well.
    Consider a villager would expect Rp400,000/month and a top teacher, Rp3,000,000.

    11 million/month gives you pretty good living. A place like Jakarta gives you western whatever but Jogja is far cheaper and you still get most things easily.
    A nice house can cost as little as 5 million/YEAR and food, sod all if you want or more if you want pizza every day.
    The only killer is booze costs hard if you like getting pissed.
    Be happy dudes. It's a lot more fun than crying.

  25. #25
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    Consider a villager would expect Rp400,000/month....
    This sort of caper should not be allowed.

    It's like ajarn.com going on about how Thais earn 5000b a month, probably 3000 in the villages, so 20,000 is more than enough to live on.

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