Expats in Thailand

[siriusBE]

 

I think there are already enough threads about this topic, but I didn't find anything offhand... sorry.
This video doesn't show much new, but summarises everything well where the pitfalls are for expats in Thailand. I like the video

[Travelingguy]

I thought that this was well done.  Puts it all together in one place.  

[10tazione]

omg the guy in the video needs a few injections of optimism

[vinapu]

I liked what he stresses about never burning bridges to return home . Fortunately academic for me , as much as I love Thailand I'd never consider  living there permanently even if I had money for that. Simply too hot.

[PeterRS]

I became increasingly depressed as I watched that vdo. As the OP states, there is little there that has not been included in other similar videos. At one point I wondered if everyone he spoke to in the expat community is as downbeat on Thailand as his monotone delivery!

He certainly makes useful points, but in my view spends 35 minutes saying what could have been condensed into 6 or 7. His main point about knowing what you might be getting yourself into before commiting to retirement in Thailand is one that everyone must take to heart and mind. It has been stressed time and again on this Board. Thailand is not a retirement paradise unless you know quite a bit about the country and the part you wish to retire to. An understanding of how things can quickly change here is also important. The importance of an existing medical insurance policy prior to coming to Thailand and of not burning bridges and cutting oneself off from friends and family at home are other important points. And of course having enough cash to cope with emergencies which almost certainly will arise for some.

On the other hand, there are many expats who have come to Thailand and remain here, most being more than reasonably happy with their choice.

[floridarob]

7 hours ago, vinapu said:

I'd never consider  living there permanently even if I had money for that.

And you couldn't look forward to "Visiting" Thailand......  Your most insightful advice that stays with me, well that and "JUST GO!" 😉

[Olddaddy]

8 hours ago, vinapu said:

I liked what he stresses about never burning bridges to return home . Fortunately academic for me , as much as I love Thailand I'd never consider  living there permanently even if I had money for that. Simply too hot.

I guess Australia 🦘 is out too for you 😱

[floridarob]

4 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

I guess Australia 🦘 is out too for you 😱

Make him an offer he can't refuse 🤔

[vinapu]

7 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

I guess Australia 🦘 is out too for you 😱

not quite. I was in Melbourne at end of June and it was quite chilly, even in Alice Springs were quite manageable 20 something.

But I found walking upside down hard, so you right , Australia also no

[jimmie50]

I really don't think many of the things mentioned in the video are exclusive to Thailand.  The bottom line is regardless of what country you may decide to move to during your retirement years, you have to do your homework in advance.  Retirement in general requires careful planning, and when you add in the unknown of retiring in a foreign country you need to consider all of the positives and negatives.  Even if you are planning to retire in your home country, you have to do your homework and prepare for many unknowns.  

[Travelingguy]

I understand the desire to buy a condo so you have a place of your own.  But I would rent.  I think that is especially important early on due to not knowing what you don’t know about a place.  But it is also something that you can walk away from if you need to.

Like vinapu, as much as I have enjoyed Thailand, I would not want to live there.

[PeterRS]

6 hours ago, Travelingguy said:

I understand the desire to buy a condo so you have a place of your own.  But I would rent.  I think that is especially important early on due to not knowing what you don’t know about a place.  But it is also something that you can walk away from if you need to.

Totally agree with @Travelingguy's point. On the other hand, I chose Bangkok after visiting regularly (sometimes monthly) over two decades. It was a lot cheaper when I purchased my condo but I have an asset which has increased in value by around 200% and not thrown away 24 years in rent. Yes, I know that some will say by tying a wad of cash up in a condo purchase I missed other investment opportunities. Reasonable argument, I suppose, but I am no Warren Buffet and my investment decisions (sometimes made by so-called professional advisers!) have often lost money!! 

I think I wrote before that I did miss the boat on one investment I had considered. When I learned that Warren Buffet had taken a 10% stake and a seat on the Board in the Chinese battery and car maker BYD, I thought about buying $1,000 in shares. I didn't! Buffet paid US$230 million for his stake less than 20 years ago. By 2022 it was worth more than $8 billion!

[Olddaddy]

16 hours ago, vinapu said:

not quite. I was in Melbourne at end of June and it was quite chilly, even in Alice Springs were quite manageable 20 something.

But I found walking upside down hard, so you right , Australia also no

I didn't know you were in  Australia

, Alice Springs in Northern Australia ,lovely locals I heard especially Friday & Saturday nights 🍺🍺they love to party 🎉 And then 🥊

[vinapu]

13 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

 

, Alice Springs in Northern Australia ,lovely locals I heard especially Friday & Saturday nights 🍺🍺they love to party 🎉 And then 🥊

it's why I was there in beginning of the week, he, he

[vinapu]

15 hours ago, PeterRS said:

 when I purchased my condo but I have an asset which has increased in value by around 200%

that's nice feeling I can  relate to as I'm in even better position when increase in value  is considered but when I look at it with cold eye it means noting for me as I'm not planning to move from where I live so it won't be me who will harvest that paper gain. Sure they can sell it and use proceeds to pay for my nursing home But I'm not sure I will like to be in that situation 

[PeterRS]

6 hours ago, vinapu said:

that's nice feeling I can  relate to as I'm in even better position when increase in value  is considered but when I look at it with cold eye it means noting for me as I'm not planning to move from where I live

Certainly no one just making occasional if frequent visits should ever consider buying - unless they have an endless supply of cash. Equally, no one without having spent considerable time in Thailand should consider buying over renting in the first year ir two.

One point made in the video is the problem that anyone who buys can face: selling! Sometimes it's easy; sometimes fiendishly difficult. Two extremes from one flat in my own condo. For a dozen years living next to me were two retired English guys. For whatever reason they had purchased a large 205 sq. m flat with three bedrooms and bathrooms. To purchase a flat that large (my own is just under 80 sq. m) was in my view idiotic, but I just assumed they could afford it. Living on meagre state pensions, they depended on a large pot of cash.

With the 2008 worldwide recession and interest rates collapsing for more than a decade, they should have seen the writing on the wall. They didn't. When they finally realised they'd have to sell the flat around 2012 to raise some cash, selling took them 3 years. It was way too big for most Thais and expats generally look for much smaller accommodation. Even when they did sell, they had to drop their asking price by 28%. That meant over around 12 years they had realised a gain of only around 33%.

The next owner was English with a Thai girlfriend and son. After a year they found a another apartment nearby and also decided to sell. Within weeks they had sold it for a price that was 72% greater than their purchase price. That must have made the two guys who had earlier sold livid!

The reason, though, was partly quite simple. The two English guys had gone to one western estate agent. The next owner's girlfriend had registered with three Thai agencies. The couple who bought it have since only rented it out!

[Olddaddy]

10 hours ago, PeterRS said:

The reason, though, was partly quite simple. The two English guys had gone to one western estate agent. The next owner's girlfriend had registered with three Thai agencies. The couple who bought it have since only rented it out!

So because he was a "Western" real estate agent he wasn't much good but the Thai Real estate agent was better ?😳

[siriusBE]

1 hour ago, Olddaddy said:

So because he was a "Western" real estate agent he wasn't much good but the Thai Real estate agent was better ?😳

The Thai one could have had better ‘connections’ 🤷‍♂️

[PeterRS]

12 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

So because he was a "Western" real estate agent he wasn't much good but the Thai Real estate agent was better ?😳

Bascially yes but only as far as this condo in this quiet residential part of Bangkok is concerned. There are very few westerners in this 50-unit condo. The "western" agent is more used to handling considerably more up-market properties.