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My last visit to Bangkok in 2004, in July, was a complete disaster. 90-95 degree temps with 80-90% humidity almost had me crashing to the sidewalk. I spent most of my time in the hotel near the pool. I bought a cheap scattered rate to get there, and it was unalterable. Who on earth would you want to retire there???
That low cost of living is not going to last long as the fertility rate keeps dropping in Thailand (1.8) and they're now seeking immigrants from Myanmar and Cambodia to fill the gap, and when their fertility rate drops, then what? Just like Mexico, fertility rate down to 2.2 and falling.
I have a cousin who retired over there and he doesn't even have to tell me why, I had to take him off Facebook, as it generated 100's of Friend Requests from young women in Thailand, and just like in the Philippines, or Mexico, you marry one these women and you're going to end up trying to support their immediate and not so immediate family members. And love, where art thou?
Of course it's subjective but retiring to Thailand is attractive to me because there is great food, friendly people, warm weather, much safer than Latin America, it's got a nice laid back vibe that many other countries in Asia lack (Philippines has it too), and yeah it's cheap.
Thailand's birth rate dropped from the levels typical of a developing country back in the 70s and 80s. PwC projects their GDP per capita to go from $19,900 in 2020 to $25,400 in 2030 which is hardly indicative of some massive expansion in future standard of living costs. In my opinion it isn't population changes that will drive a slow evening out of world costs of living, it's the nature of work and how tied together the global economy is. In other words (and to oversimplify) when there are lots of qualified skilled computer programmers in Thailand their cost of living will rise.
There is no requirement that if one retires to Thailand/Philippines/Mexico they are required to marry a local, so who cares? I can't imagine someone basing their retirement destination decisions on fears they'll end up supporting a local family due to unwise marriage decisions.
The fly in the ointment for retiring abroad for most Americans would be..... HEALTH INSURANCE
There are health insurance policies available in other countries, and expat policies that are much cheaper than USA health insurance because they limit the number of days annually in USA.
My wife and I use high deductible travel insurance when overseas since that covers catastrophic medical care and includes evac to USA if needed. We also maintain an ACA policy in USA so that if we do get medivac we have something covering us there as well.
Thailand leads the pack in medical tourism, especially for cardiac care. A lot of uninsured Americans go there for treatment because even with travel costs, it's cheaper than the same work in the US, and many of the doctors are US-trained.
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.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue Wave
The fly in the ointment for retiring abroad for most Americans would be..... HEALTH INSURANCE.
...
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.
Try that in USA Deeper Doo-Doo if in USA and HAVE Cancer or Heart attack (under / uninsured). 5 (under insured) USA friends have lost their homes (due to medical expenses) , left their spouses impoverished, then died (Another died last week)
well... Health insurance is WHY many of us are retiring overseas (Thailand included). Several countries recognized the VALUE of retirees (bringing CASH and adding Money and services to their economy) and are offering HC to USA medical refugees (People over age 50 - age 65))
Join 15m been getting HC overseas for over 50 yrs! (especially from Eurozone - home of national healthcare https://patientsbeyondborders.com/
Quote:
Originally Posted by lieqiang
There are health insurance policies available in other countries, and expat policies that are much cheaper than USA health insurance because they limit the number of days annually in USA.
...
This^^^ (and recognizing that some countries (with national healthcare) will not ALLOW their covered citizens with known health risks to travel to USA! too much RISK!!! might need to see a Dr!.
An 80 YO couple we stayed with in Scotland have been trying to get permission to travel to the USA for over 10 yrs. (Healthcare issues won't allow them to come, or only At their own risk (buying travel insurance with evac should work if available). We spent $1200 for a Yr of very good travel insurance. Our A(?)CA is that much every 2 weeks (=25x as expensive) (Should we choose to enroll)
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 10-27-2018 at 11:06 PM..
Several countries recognized the VALUE of retirees (bringing CASH and adding Money and services to their economy) and are offering HC to USA medical refugees (People over age 50 - age 65))
Italy, France, and Spain have program options for USA medical refugees (within national rules)
Other countries have programs for expats to join their National HC
C-D posters using Columbia and Ecuador and Philippines.
You can always bring enough bucks (invested capital) and even go to NZ or Australia.
Buy / bring a high tech business and employ nationals, that is a good way to get accepted as a resident by Foreign Gov.
Many countries you can actually AFFORD to buy your own private insurance and pay OOP for HC. (Thailand). I get my procedures quoted and done there and lived 3+ yrs (off and on). Dr and hospital visits were very cheap, and oh so efficient! (and pleasant). Typical visit was under 30 min and included the following:... New patient entry, new health cards, billing, admission nurse, diagnosis Dr, follow-up nurse, prescription. DONE--- out of there!
Bottom line... USA Seniors and retirees are worth a LOT of dough to bring to your community / country.
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.
The cost of medical care is not even close to what it costs in the United States. What's important is to have some retirement savings, such as a 401K. Medical care is not that much better in the United States, and in terms of actual value, is so obscenely expensive in this country that I'll happily take my chances in a country like Thailand, and I can withdraw my savings before I'm 59 1/2 for medical costs without a penalty.
I've been to Thailand. The people there are incredibly friendly. The country is absolutely beautiful. There is much to see and do outside of where the losers are hanging out with young bar girls. I would love to live there someday and just might in the near future. You have to get used to a new culture, but for those with an interest and respect for other cultures, the prospect is exciting.
It all depends on your intentions and inclinations and whether you are well informed before you decide. A certain percent of expats who go end up "going native" because that was their inclination in the first place. They're the same folks you see stateside starting their cocktail hours after lunch.
A small city I visit in Mexico which is filled with expats I have scratched off my list because the last time I was there the pretty little park by the beach was filled with seedy expats looking for a handout. These were 60 or 70-something men still dressing like college boys.
I don't think that they would have fared much better in the States because obviously their priorities were skewed. The process is just probably accelerated where the "high life" is more accessible.
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. According to this, there is a growing problem of homeless Americans who have made themselves destitute and don't have the means to return to the US and, having given up everything to move to Thailand, have no place to return to. I wonder if it is something that happens in other dream cheap retirement destinations as well, or is the article sensationalizing a not-so-common problem. The scene of the drunk ex-pat hugging the bar in an exotic locale is almost a movie cliche isn't it?
That seems to be could happen to people who retire to Miami. It seems silly to me. I've been drinking since I was 14, pretty sure if I had the genes to make me an alcoholic they'd have made themselves known by now. That to me sounds like men who might have moved there not to be comfortable in retirement but moved there to partake in Thailand's rather lax rules and instead fell prey to that lifestyle. I highly doubt those guys were playing shuffleboard here before then.
I don't think most who move to foreign locales to retire do so in big tourist areas.
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