10 replies to this topic

[Orion]

I have been coming for holiday to Thailand every year since 1995. I missed only 2003 when I was recovering from a car accident. I have spend most of my time in Bangkok or Pattaya. I guess you'd call me a sex tourist, since I never had much interest in Thailand beyond the bars and boys, but a tourist who always dreamed about retiring with the life partner to Thailand when we reached retirement.

I will be retiring in October. My parter passed away two years ago. But I am having second thoughts about moving permanently to Thailand for several reasons: (1) the cost of living in Thailand has really escalated in the past 5 years (2) the political situation seems very unstable and (3) the bloom may be off the rose for gays in Thailand. I am seriously considering Brazil as a better alternative.

I would appreciate hearing from new or old expats on the question: If I had to do it all again, would I pick Thailand as the place to retire ?

[Khor tose]

Good question.

I am considering moving back to the states depending on how this government turns out. I will not be comfortable living in a country like Burma, no matter how cheap or how cute the boys are. I strongly suspect that most gays would stay, as all they care about is cheap sex. Well, I may be a bit cynical.

[TOQ]

You might want to consider coming here for 6 to 8 months and then see how you feel about retirement here after that period of time. I am glad I retired here and I actually don't see me living anywhere else.. I am content

[Hedda]

If I had to do it all again, would I pick Thailand as the place to retire ?

Probably yes, although I might consider keeping that condo I sold because I was never there. No, I'm not about to click my ruby slippers and head for home, but some of the things happening in Thailand today make a calm port in a storm look more attractive than it did 20 years ago. Yes, it's far more expensive to live here now, but that's probably true of virtually any other place I'd consider retiring.

If Thailand recedes back into its past miseries of royalist dictatorships with civilians acting as fig leaf prime ministers, this is not going to be a country where it's happy to argue politics or criticize authority, both of which are second nature to me. It's not beyond the range of possibilities that boards like this could disappear if some of the Boys in Bangkok have their way. That's certainly not a happy state of affairs to contemplate living in.

On the other hand, my guess is that the sex industry might actually start to boom again under authoritarian rule, as its done in the past, because corruption and army rule seem to have a symbiotic relationship in Thailand. My problem is that I'm getting too old to see any real advantage in that.

[mauRICE]

I would appreciate hearing from new or old expats on the question: If I had to do it all again, would I pick Thailand as the place to retire ?

What are you looking for in your life as a retiree? What's important to you?

[Gene]

What are you looking for in your life as a retiree? What's important to you?

I'm not sure if that was intended to be facetious, but my experience is that 99.44 % of the gay men who retire in Thailand do so in order to have an active sex life with attractive and affordable young men, either as a "boyfriend" or trick for the night - or both. Over the years, I have met a few gay men who regularly come here to visit but not for sex but they are very rare.

[mauRICE]

I'm not sure if that was intended to be facetious,

No, it wasn't intended to be facetious. I thought Orion's post could be better addressed if we knew what his wants and needs were, which might not be the same as the next guy's. He's familiar with the bars and the boys, as he says, but he has not ventured much beyond that, so he might not know what Thailand has to offer beyond the commercial sex industry.

[mauRICE]

You might want to consider coming here for 6 to 8 months and then see how you feel about retirement here after that period of time.

That's a good suggestion. You could do October to March in Thailand and April to September at home (I'm assuming you're from the northern hemisphere). Whatever it is, don't rush into anything. Rent before buying, rent before committing. Try working things out for yourself and with the help of a cross-section of Thai and farang friends, as well as forums like these, instead of relying on any one Thai person. From my observations, farangs who cling on to one Thai, are the dullest and appear the most 'old' and hapless. They've surrendered their emotional and intellectual independence and can't even flush the toilet without getting their boyfriend's approval first.

We also don't know how old you are. Some people retire in their early 50s and in my opinion Thailand can get a bit 'old' quickly for you to spend the next the thirty years of your life in. Thailand will always have her share of political drama but at the end of the day, those of us who were born and bred here know that it has always been the case of one step forward, three steps backward in the Land of Smiles. The political 'developments' that you've seen in recent months are nothing new and if you want to live in Thailand you might just have to accept her moribund existence.

I don't think Thailand is a bad option, all things considered, provided you make an effort to do some regional or international travel from time to time. Airfares are ridiculously inexpensive now and it's amazing how many Thailand retirees I've met who've never been anywhere. It's as if they've got out of the rut of Middle America and transplanted themselves into the rut of Fringe Thailand.

[UncleSam]

If I had to do it again, I'm not sure I'd retire. Who can afford it these days ?

[mauRICE]

If I had to do it again, I'm not sure I'd retire. Who can afford it these days ?

True. I'm in my mid 30s and already planning Career B for when I turn 50, assuming I can't or don't want to keep my current one. My grandfather is in his 80s and still pops into the office twice a week and writes a popular weekly column for one of the local newspapers.

[Kirkland]

It's interesting that quite a few of the older farangs I know who retired to Pattaya for La Dolce Vita now find themselves enjoying less sex because they just can't afford it with the increased cost of living here. I took a look at some old bills I have from 2004 and my utilities are almost double what they were then on the house I rent. My impression is that food costs in the markets have increased about the same, but the cost of dining in the better restaurants has gone up even more. Same goes for the bars. When you add to that that our euros, sterling or dollars buy less than 70% of what they did six years ago, expats on fixed incomes have got to cut somewhere to make ends meet.