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What do you mean? All international insurance is self-insurance; I was talking solely about self insurance. It is mostly not possible to enroll in national insurance of a foreign country unless you worked and lived there before retirement, ie, paid contributions for a certain (high) number of years into the national insurance system.
I know that I won't be self-filling anything, but I will be thinking about it, so I still don't want complexity.
You can still enroll here in Ecuador as a senior (unless something has changed). There are also private insurance companies that are more expensive but still reasonable --- about $200 a month I hear, rather than the $80 we pay for both of us. But we consider that a catastrophic policy and pay out of pocket for more complex stuff we don't want to wait around for. Medical care is so cheap, we can handle that, and pick the best doctors. We could not afford international policies.
Yep, it IS all beaches and coconuts and sand and palm trees. Except for the gangs/prison riots in the big cities. CNN seems to have a lot to say about that. Poor, "once-tranquil" Ecuador....
I hear your dilemma though. There are no retirement homes here, so not sure what we'd do if we needed "assistance". Throw myself on the mercy of California, where I'm from.....
I read about some "safe, inexpensive" retirement homes in Mexico, as someone else suggested. They charged about $2,500....
The issue with planning to retire to Asia is that area is the part of the world developing the fastest. So the economic advantages for westerners are likely to keep diminishing as their economies and standard of living continue to advance.
This. OP, what is your age if you don't mind mentioning (apologies if I missed it)?\
ETA: Nevermind; I think I just saw that you are 64.
Last edited by southkakkatlantan; 04-23-2024 at 01:01 PM..
Also it's getting hotter. Might want to consider a location at elevation rather than close to sea level.
An earlier poster shared a link to a forum for Thai expats that I briefly looked at.
One of the first threads had a story about a Swiss tourist who had passed out from the heat.
"..The scene comes with Thai meteorologists and academics warning that the country is facing a future of higher temperatures. An official survey published over the weekend shows that 72.6% of the Thai public are now either moderately or severely concerned about the trend..."
Also it's getting hotter. Might want to consider a location at elevation rather than close to sea level.
An earlier poster shared a link to a forum for Thai expats that I briefly looked at.
One of the first threads had a story about a Swiss tourist who had passed out from the heat.
"..The scene comes with Thai meteorologists and academics warning that the country is facing a future of higher temperatures. An official survey published over the weekend shows that 72.6% of the Thai public are now either moderately or severely concerned about the trend..."
Maybe it won't matter if OP's in a nursing home though..? In my mom's facility, residents were never ever taken outside. Only the ones that smoked for daily smoke breaks.
This is a topic of high interest to me. Those that know my story know I'm a caregiver to a parent that had a stroke and became disabled/wheelchair bound. I moved her in with me from her nursing home and we took a month long trip to Portugal the end of last year. I thought Portugal would be the place I planned to move to, to retire in and also to receive long term care for my mom now and for me if I needed it down the line. However, that trip has me questioning things now (I won't go into all of the details but I do still love PT, just not sure I'd want to move my parent/myself there). With that said, we had excellent, and I do mean excellent care from the "CNA" that cared for my mom in-home (in-hotel, really) while we were there.
OP, have you lived in Thailand before previously?
What is the specific criteria you are looking for in a place to move to for LTC purposes? Are you sure you want to focus on facility care only over live-in care?
All you can do is plan for the worst case scenario and expect changes, so having a Plan B and C would seem wise. Both the primary and the backup plans might just change over time though depending upon how close your timelines are to moving. Just how soon are you planning to go? Only when you need LTC? Within the next year or 2? Further down the road?
My personal experience with LTC having taken my mom out of a facility is that having someone who can advocate for you is most important. It sounds like you have that person but I'm not sure how they'd be able to advocate for you from abroad. That is essential in case facility staff is found to be incompetent and/or negligent/abusive (very common in the US and many other countries) - in facilities staff turnover can be high* and even if it is low there's still a chance you're dealing with multiple people all of the time which raises the risk of a bad apple being in there somewhere. In my mom's facility many (the majority?) of the staff were not people you'd want caring for you. But part of that IMO is just based on how our culture treats the elderly, invalid, etc. I do believe you are smart to plan to relocate for LTC in a place where there is a higher level of quality of care/respect for the aging/disabled which 'might' lower the risk of being in a place where you end up mistreated/not cared for properly/etc. Of course, bad things happen everywhere though so there's that.
*Not sure how turnover is in facilities outside of the US - maybe in some other countries it's not like it is here.
Here the emphasis is on the economic issue as a priority. But I ask... and the emotional factor? You'd be on the other side of the world, thousands of miles away from your loved ones. No one is going to visit you; at least regularly.
I do not think you are ever going to need one. But, I understand why you want to plan for the worst case scenario.
I would rather search to get cheap here in the US if it came down to that.
The other consideration is that the top of the boomers is 76. By the time if you were to end up in a nursing home we could have quite an oversupply that pushes the prices down here in the US.
Also, if I was that F'd up that I needed to be stored in a nursing home in a foreign country I would just do Euthanasia and spare myself the trouble.
Today one can live in a USA-based nursing home or congregate care place and still feel like you are in a different country.
An estimated 142,000 undocumented immigrants serve as childcare workers, personal care aides, and home health aides. In the nursing home and home care industries, immigrants make up 19–25 percent of the nurses and aides on staff.
Today one can live in a USA-based nursing home or congregate care place and still feel like you are in a different country.
An estimated 142,000 undocumented immigrants serve as childcare workers, personal care aides, and home health aides. In the nursing home and home care industries, immigrants make up 19–25 percent of the nurses and aides on staff.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Teak
Have you lived in Malaysia? Have you filled out the forms to retire in Malaysia? Unless you have done so, I can restate your premise as: C-D replies flourish from those who are ignorant.
I spent 17 years working in Malaysia and checked out the Malaysia My Second Home Program for retirement. ... Have you seen how Malaysian housing is built?
At the end of the 6-month application period, I gave up. It was a P.I.T.A. and I decided to return to the USA and work for another 11-12 years in order to build up my savings, earn a pension, and add to our SS.
...Malaysia changes the terms and conditions about every other year. They seriously only want very wealthy people to move there, buy their over-priced and poor quality housing, and keep their mouths shut other than eating out. If you want to partake of the cheaper medical care, take a 2-week medical vacation, but don't even think about living there.
And only 10 minutes to cross the bridge between Singapore and Johor Baru? Clearly you have NEVER made that trip.
Sounds like you suffer from ExPat fatigue. It's very common (even here in USA!)
'
Sometimes you just get tired of the BS and want to be home.
Friends and coworkers who retired in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, often get burned out from the petty hassle, but usually take long breaks away. (2 remain in Malaysia, in spite of the problems.)
It's just another option (as there are many for OP.) None will be simple, but the USA may not be possible, or desired. Certainly if OP does not have an engaged HC advocate. (required in USA system).
Crossings to Singapore to Malaysia? Yes, I've done hundreds / yr probably thousands in total. (30% of my 32 intl yrs were based in Singapore) I tried to cap my trips to Malaysia to 3x / week, seldom on a Friday (except for night buses and trains). Some projects required 6x / week crossings. Some were burdensome, some were a breeze. OP is speaking as a FT nursing care home resident, doubt they'll be doing too many crossings. Many of my friends still do it daily.
I was fortunate to be company sponsored, so only spent immigration / paperwork time in Thailand, Philippines, and Spain (plenty burdensome = expat fatigue)
I'm a hospice volunteer in USA, so have assisted and watched way too many people die unnecessarily. to drink the Kool-Aid of the USA being most suitable location to age.
Thus the options... Expat retirement. Not for the faint of heart, but nonetheless.... and option. (Except for those caught up in YCDT!)
Maybe it won't matter if OP's in a nursing home though..? .
Maybe, maybe not. My wife and I briefly discussed this recently, with me taking the side you're offering above.
She was thinking it'd be nice to be in a warmer location than Alaska for her final years while I was arguing that when someone is inside 99.9% of the time, what difference does it make if the outside temperature is 30 or 60F? But then, both of us are currently inclined to be outdoors more than the average person so perhaps we will retain that inclination until the end.
For those who don't like the dry and cool air resulting from air conditioning- and that would be both me and my wife- living in a hot area might not be enjoyable because of that feature.
Ironically it might actually be too cold for me in SE Asia, living in an air conditioned facility. I would hope that the temperature is turned up a bit for an old folks home. Already, walking from the outdoors Hawaii environment into an air conditioned store can sometimes be uncomfortably chilly.
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