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You don't have to go that far for medical tourism, a 16 hour flight from L.A. on Thai Air to Bangkok!
Tijuana has a medical tourism facility in the Zona Rio area, the Angeles Hospital, and they're geared up to do anything. The Orthopedist I saw there told me a number of Canadians go there for hip/knee replacements.
I realize that, but the OP was about Thailand and many people posted that they would worry about medical care living there.
I have several friends in southern CA who go to Mexico for dental work. Much cheaper and just as good.
I'm confused, how are they homeless and broke when the S.S. check keeps coming?
Perhaps they had big gaps in their employment history. Perhaps that's part of the reason they go to Thailand in the first place: to make the most out of a small SS check.
I know someone who lives in a rent-controlled apt in California who, to my knowledge, has never held a job. He sells stuff that his relatives give him and they provide him with other things as well. Even though Thailand and the beach life sounds perfect for him, I don't think he'll be able to afford even that.
The fly in the ointment for retiring abroad for most Americans would be..... HEALTH INSURANCE.
By the time many people are in their 50s, they have at least a pre-existing condition or two which would make qualifying for international health insurance very difficult.
Medicare also won't cover you if you live overseas.
So what happens if you get cancer or have a heart attack abroad without insurance? You're in deep doo-doo.
In more evolved countries, "pre-existing conditions" is not even a thing. There are no health checks to go through; simply sign up for the national plan. Here in Ecuador, we pay $80 a month for both of us (age 63). We've both been through the system and it is just fine. Care is every bit as good for a fraction of the price. No co-pays; no deductibles.
Savvy travelers get traveler insurance, which we do when we return to the U.S. or go to Europe. If you retire here, health insurance is required.
I was reading an article in the doctor's office the other day. It was about Americans who are lured by the promise of comfortable retirement on a Social Security check, in Thailand. Many, it seems, fall prey to the tourist bar life and quickly squander their monthly checks, become alcoholics and get evicted from their rentals.
How do you squander a social security check?
I've been to thailand numerous times, there are plenty of western ex-pat retirees doing just fine.There's only a very small few who end up homeless after blowing their entire nest egg
To think Thailand is exclusive to any other country where a retiree can blow his money or that medical insurance or costs would be high is hilarious.
The entire POINT of moving to thailand is due to its cheap cost of living, tropic weather, exotic culture, and cheap healthcare costs. Yeah there's young women looking for a payday man to marry if you want it, but that's not what thailand is about. The bar scene is only a very small part of Thailand exclusive to tourist destinations/big cities
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue Wave
So what happens if you get cancer or have a heart attack abroad without insurance? You're in deep doo-doo.
What happens if you get cancer or have a heart attack in America without insurance?
Believe it or not, gasp, there are health insurance policies for ex-par retirees. I know, what a crazy concept.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tijlover
My last visit to Bangkok in 2004, in July, was a complete disaster.
I actually considered Thailand for retirement for a while before nixing the idea. It does have several advantages for folks with a limited budget & an adventurous nature. First & foremost is financial - someone with only $1K monthly income can live a very acceptable & fine altho modest life. Someone with more money can roughly multiply 3X their net worth once they move there & live quite well in a modern tolerant nation that is a hub for regional travel.
There are pretty large Western expat centers in at least Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya, Hua Hin & each has their own character much as The Villages, Las Vegas, Tucson & the Ozarks are reasonable financially but different "cultures" for retirees. The health care is mostly first rate, American trained board certified physicians in the cities, but they typically are cash. The costs are so low though that I have heard of guys having heart surgery, cash first, for less than it would cost in the US with coverage. One can also get international insurance.
The sex tourism is a thing but old dudes with only SS will have to find a real partner soon unless they want to go broke quick, some "older" & uneducated country women (probably with a kid or two) hook up with them for security that is probably impossible to find elsewhere. I think they figure they will outlive the old duffer & have his money for their old age. (I understand the real sex tourism is actually along the border towns by highways with truckers mostly from China.)
There is some tiny percentage of dead-enders that just drink themselves to death or homelessness... some have "accidents" from high-rise condos. But most are fine. I found Hua Hin & Chiang Mai to be hospitable for couples & even single women & lots of younger people are flocking to Chiang Mai in recent years.
I finally decided that hot & humid isn't my first choice & financially things are OK for elsewhere.
I actually considered Thailand for retirement for a while before nixing the idea. It does have several advantages for folks with a limited budget & an adventurous nature. First & foremost is financial - someone with only $1K monthly income can live a very acceptable & fine altho modest life. Someone with more money can roughly multiply 3X their net worth once they move there & live quite well in a modern tolerant nation that is a hub for regional travel.
There are pretty large Western expat centers in at least Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya, Hua Hin & each has their own character much as The Villages, Las Vegas, Tucson & the Ozarks are reasonable financially but different "cultures" for retirees. The health care is mostly first rate, American trained board certified physicians in the cities, but they typically are cash. The costs are so low though that I have heard of guys having heart surgery, cash first, for less than it would cost in the US with coverage. One can also get international insurance.
The sex tourism is a thing but old dudes with only SS will have to find a real partner soon unless they want to go broke quick, some "older" & uneducated country women (probably with a kid or two) hook up with them for security that is probably impossible to find elsewhere. I think they figure they will outlive the old duffer & have his money for their old age. (I understand the real sex tourism is actually along the border towns by highways with truckers mostly from China.)
There is some tiny percentage of dead-enders that just drink themselves to death or homelessness... some have "accidents" from high-rise condos. But most are fine. I found Hua Hin & Chiang Mai to be hospitable for couples & even single women & lots of younger people are flocking to Chiang Mai in recent years.
I finally decided that hot & humid isn't my first choice & financially things are OK for elsewhere.
That's great info, thanks for sharing that. I've long thought the same thing and am seriously considering a move there myself in the next couple of years. I know my money will last over there, but I don't know whether or not I'll end up homesick and the culture will not be agreeable enough for the long term. There is only one way to find out, I guess.
odanny it's a lot easier to be social these days because the internet makes it possible to discover groups or activities that suit you. In Chiang Mai there are all kinds of organizations that do everything from meet for lunch to chat, hiking in the hills around the city, investment clubs, foodie stuff, board games, etc. There is also volunteer stuff like helping get soi dogs sterilized, treated, and adopted.
My wife often goes to some over-40s expat ladies group that meets in some park where they walk then get coffee, I call it the menopause club which irritates her. I attend a language exchange every Saturday where I get to speak Chinese with folks from China but lots of people there just speak English and enjoy helping others practice while learning new things about other cultures and making friends.
There are modern malls, good movie theaters with same movies as in US played in English with Thai subtitles, and in a big benefit over Latin America endless streets, alleys, and markets to explore on foot without worry about security issues.
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