Eight Countries That Offer Elder Care $500 - 2500/month

[t0oL1]

Thailand  9:42

 

[Suckrates]

12 minutes ago, t0oL1 said:

Thailand  9:42

 

 

The U.S. sucks in many respects, especially in the neglect of its elderly.....  These other countries would be GREAT,  but its very difficult of SENIORS to pick up their lives and relocate at this stage of life....  They have established relationships with family, friends and DOCTORS that need to be maintained....  Unfortunately for many, relocation is NOT an option....  It wouldnt be for ME.  

[Mavica]

Interesting video.  lot more research would be required before relocating and I'll suggest a miniscule percent of the demographic would consider leaving the USA, Canada, etc. for this purpose.  Visa requirements will be difficult for many ailing seniors to meet.  

[t0oL1]

Just imagining accessing my USA tax information from Thailand and trying to file every year in the USA.

Couple years ago someone posted on Sawasdeeabout a home in Pattaya charging $1000lmonth plus extra charges (diapers?)

[Keithambrose]

17 minutes ago, t0oL1 said:

Just imagining accessing my USA tax information from Thailand and trying to file every year in the USA.

Couple years ago someone posted on Sawasdeeabout a home in Pattaya charging $1000lmonth plus extra charges (diapers?)

By way of comparison,  a 'good' private home in the UK is at least £50,000pa, and up. There are local authority homes, but, unfortunately,  they are usually fairly poor. Often cheaper to have live in care, as long as there are no serious medical issues. 

 

[t0oL1]

Bier should open rooms upstairs for us at NIghBoys with an elevator...

[Travelingguy]

One of the costs that he doesn’t account for is medical insurance. The amount that you pay to the care home is not going to cover your doctor visits or hospital visits. Getting medical insurance in Thailand can be difficult and complicated. And that problem only gets worse as you get older and sicker. I’m sure this is a similar problem in these other countries.

[Keithambrose]

4 hours ago, Travelingguy said:

One of the costs that he doesn’t account for is medical insurance. The amount that you pay to the care home is not going to cover your doctor visits or hospital visits. Getting medical insurance in Thailand can be difficult and complicated. And that problem only gets worse as you get older and sicker. I’m sure this is a similar problem in these other countries.

In UK, NHS still functions, just!

[PeterRS]

7 minutes ago, Keithambrose said:

In UK, NHS still functions, just!

The NHS may function but try care homes. I have a friend sadly suffering from Alzheimers. He has a good pension from his company. But it would in no way cover the cost of elder care facilities - that is if there is a place available. The problem is that care homes in the UK are now enormously expensive! He and his partner moved to Chiang Mai!

I'd be interested to note what the visa situation is now in Vietnam. It used to be possible to get a one year visa and I know an Australian who sold up in Thailand and moved to a villa by the beach in Danang. Then the maximum visa was changed to three months after which a visa run is required.

[bkkmfj2648]

Thanks @t0oL1.  This video is very timely - as this is the year that I turn 65 and I had to recently make my USA SSA Medicare election - remotely from here in Thailand - which is not an easy feat - as their ssa.gov site is not always available from Thailand - so it requires many attempts and that can be anxiety producing.  Anyway, I made my Medicare election for Part A = YES and Part B = NO - as I don't see myself ever returning to live/retire in the USA.

The estimate of $9,500 USD per month for assisted elder care is very accurate, as that is the amount (more or less) that my mother had to pay during the last 3 years of her life for assisted elder care in Long Island, New York.  It was during that period that I knew that I could never afford to have assisted elder care in the USA - as that greatly exceeds my monthly income sources.

Last year, I had the opportunity to "live" in Cebu, Philippines for 2 months and 4.5 months in Da Nang, Vietnam and those 2 opportunities helped me to understand where I might want to finish the last years of my life - during the assisted elder care phase - hopefully not for another 6 to 12 years out.

Da Nang had been my first choice, but after being there for 4.5 months I realized that it just would not be sustainable - because, contrary to what he said in this video, there is no 1 year visa - there is only the 90 day tourist visa, where you need to either take the Da Nang to Laos bus (an all day 12 to 14 hour affair) or fly out to a nearby country and then return some days later.  Having to do this 4 times per year in an assisted elder care phase of life is just not practical.

For me, Cebu was too urban for my liking - even over at the beach side at Mactan Newtown.  Consequently, I plan to research other areas (Boracay and Palawan) in the next years and I will apply for the "for life" SRRV retirement visa next year.  Since I retired from a type of employer that is included in the SRRV Courtesy option, I can obtain the SRRV Courtesy visa where the requirement to lock up funds in a bank account is only $1,500 USD instead of the normal requirement of $15,000 USD.  Consequently, I have decided to obtain this SRRV Courtesy visa even if I will not live in the Philippines full time.  https://www.srrvguide.com/

Regarding Thailand, in the video, he did not discuss the other long term visa options that are available, which are the 1.) Elite Privilege and 2.) BOI LTR Wealthy Pensioner visas.  In the video he considers as a negative the need to renew the 1 year Vietnamese visa (which is false as it does not exist) but does not mention this same negative when he spoke about the Thailand traditional non-immigrant O retirement visa - which is a 1 year visa that needs to be extended each year.  For the Bronze Elite Privilege it is valid for 5 years and the BOI LTR Wealthy Pensioner visa is valid for 10 years but needs to be extended at the end of the first 5 years.

Below is a well written article regarding affordable senior care for the Philippines vs. Thailand.

https://medium.com/@dennis_13378/philippines-vs-thailand-which-country-is-better-for-affordable-senior-care-5c01325ff845

In Thailand, there is a high concentration of excellent elder care facilities being located in the Chiang Mai area.  Unfortunately, my desire is to finish my last years near the seaside.  Very near to where I live here in Pattaya - there is an elder care facility - which is very close to the beach - but the building is a low level structure and there are no sea views and it is already full.  They are expanding in other areas of Pattaya but these new facilities are farther away from the beach.  Below is their website:

https://www.pattayanursinghome.com/?lang=en

If anyone knows of any other elder care facilities that are near a beach anywhere in Thailand - please let me know so that I can go and check them out.

 

6 hours ago, t0oL1 said:

Just imagining accessing my USA tax information from Thailand and trying to file every year in the USA.

@t0oL1 I am already here in Thailand and I have successfully filed 4 different tax years of USA 1040 tax filings.  I have never had any issues accessing my USA tax information from Thailand.  I use the fantastic DHL office here in Jomtien to have my 1040 delivered to the IRS - and it has a great package tracking service.

My most stressful issue so far is being able to successfully log into mySSA account for Social Security and Medicare related issues - as the web site, ssa.gov is quite finnicky and can take several attempts over many days to finally enter into mySSA account.  Also, the Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) that assists us USA citizens is located in Manila - as there is no FBU unit here in Thailand.  The Manila FBU team tends to be very responsive - but sometimes when I have issues with the ssa.gov site they send me to a 1-800 number that is back in the USA - and that experience tends to be not so pleasant.

 

[unicorn]

It's fairly common for US seniors who need assisted living to do so in Ajijic, a lakeside community not far from Guadalajara. One does need to get Mexican residency (not too tough to obtain) and Mexican healthcare insurance, since Medicare isn't valid abroad. San Miguel de Allende is another common place for assisted retirement. I personally have long-term-care insurance, which will pay for in-home care (and my husband hopefully will also be able to help when the time comes).

https://www.nursinghomelakechapala.com/servicios

[Mavica]

Though those two Mexican communities may have limited assisted living opportunities, neither is particularly known as destinations for such services by the vast majority of expats who relocate there .... from what I know.  The residency visa requirements to live in Mexico require either substantial investments or monthly income in excess of US$50K annually - and the requirements rise yearly.  A couple of additional challenges to living in much of Mexico is finding healthcare and facilities that compare with what's more easily found in either the USA or Canada, and the inability of many expats to speak/understand Spanish. 

[Travelingguy]

16 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

 I am already here in Thailand and I have successfully filed 4 different tax years of USA 1040 tax filings.  I have never had any issues accessing my USA tax information from Thailand.  I use the fantastic DHL office here in Jomtien to have my 1040 delivered to the IRS - and it has a great package tracking service.

Why not file electronically?  Is there a block on that from overseas?  Would a VPN help or hurt with the ssa.gov website?

[Olddaddy]

If you go to the gym no need for elder care 

Dance 🕺 lift weights 🏋️‍♂️.mix with young people, can add being gangbanged in the sauna too 

 

[bkkmfj2648]

6 hours ago, Travelingguy said:

Why not file electronically?  Is there a block on that from overseas?

Part of my pension income comes from the UN pension system, which does not have an EIN (Federal Tax ID number) - as the UN is exempt from this requirement for all nationalities except us Americans.  Consequently, the page(s) of the IRS 1040 filing that require the EIN to identify the source of that passive income is NULL - thus blocking my ability to file electronically - as an EIN is a requirement to be able to file electronically.  Therefore, that page of my 1040 needs to be printed manually and then a footnote entered onto the tax return, which states that this passive income originates from within the USA but without an EIN due to the treaty signed with the UN Common System.  In the many countries (outside of the USA), most governments exempt UN pension payments from taxation.

6 hours ago, Travelingguy said:

Would a VPN help or hurt with the ssa.gov website?

Yes.  When I need to try to login to the ssa.gov website I need to use the VPN as if I am from within the USA and to use the FireFox browser - as all of my other browsers (Explorer and Chrome) never work.  However, the above strategy only works occasionally - thus needing to do it several times in a day and/or spread out over many days.  I am not sure if there is an issue with the time difference between Thailand and the USA?  I seem to have better luck when I try to enter in the night time here in Thailand when it is early morning in the USA.

 

[bkkmfj2648]

4 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

If you go to the gym no need for elder care 

You are still too young to talk about elder care:

                    

I agree with you about physical fitness - which I still do.

But, going to the gym won't help our mental fitness for those of us who may encounter Alzheimer and/or dementia later in life - we may get lost in the gym or on the way to the gym 🤪🤔😟 

[unicorn]

19 hours ago, Mavica said:

Though those two Mexican communities may have limited assisted living opportunities, neither is particularly known as destinations for such services by the vast majority of expats who relocate there .... from what I know.  The residency visa requirements to live in Mexico require either substantial investments or monthly income in excess of US$50K annually - and the requirements rise yearly.  A couple of additional challenges to living in much of Mexico is finding healthcare and facilities that compare with what's more easily found in either the USA or Canada, and the inability of many expats to speak/understand Spanish. 

If I'd have to guess, I'd guess that those Americans who avail themselves of those services are somewhat comfortable in Spanish, though the facilities are bilingual. The cost of assisted care in the US exceeds $50,000 per year, so if you don't have that meager income, you'll be destitute quite quickly. Many people don't realize that after Mexico, the US is the country with the greatest number Spanish speakers. Certainly in Los Angeles, it seems to be a language one uses often (and when I was working in northern California, one I used every day at work).

You are right Ajijic and San Miguel de Allende aren't the place to get advanced cancer treatments, etc., but those are available under Medicare in the US. What Ajijic and SMdA offer are assisted living for people who have memory problems, or are wheelchair bound and need assistance with transfers (i.e. bed to wheelchair), etc. My father suffered a stroke in his early 80s and would have been in deep trouble if his wife weren't physically capable of transferring him and cooking his meals. He did eventually lose most mobility, and ended needing extended care. My mother had memory problems and couldn't even tell time, much less cook a meal or take care of her basic needs. She had long-term care insurance and spent her last days at a pleasant assisted living facility. 

If I need only assistance with transfers and/or meals in my old age, I trust my husband would provide these for me. I've told him that if I lose my marbles, I have long-term care insurance, and he should get me a place at Belmont Village.

https://www.belmontvillage.com/losangeles/

If I didn't have those options, Ajijic and SMdA would be good options I'd consider (and yes, I'm fluent in Spanish). 

[unicorn]

12 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

If you go to the gym no need for elder care 

Dance 🕺 lift weights 🏋️‍♂️.mix with young people, can add being gangbanged in the sauna too 

 

While staying physically active certainly helps, and I either walk at least 3 miles/5 km and/or swim 30 laps every day, eventually time catches up with anyone who lives long enough. My step-mother is in her mid 90s, and her accumulating orthopedic problems have also made her look for a place at Belmont Village (in her area), as it's becoming very difficult for her to get around and prepare meals. My oldest friend, who's now 106 (yes, she was born in 1919!) also needs help, although she remained fit even in her old age, windsurfing in the Potomac River near DC into her late 80s, and playing tennis into her early 90s. However, age catches up to everyone eventually, even if we follow our physicians' advice diligently (especially with respect to diet, exercise, etc.). My old friend was proud of winning windsurfing competitions in her 80s--although she was the only person in the octogenarian category! 😉 Quite a person with amazing stories to tell, including climbing over the Pyrenees Mountains to escape Nazi-occupied France in 1940, eventually making it to the Belgian embassy in Madrid, and later to the Congo, to wait out the war (she had both French and Belgian citizenship).