More Westerners retiring in Southeast Asia

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techall at 01:33 PM JST - 17th November

seesasw:

Perhaps xpompey8 has only frequented the sleazy parts. Thailand has become a favorite retirement spot because of the low cost of living and housing, I know a lot of retired military who chose Thailand over the Philipines. Malaysia is well on it's way to becoming one too and is absolutely beautiful.
seesaw at 01:45 PM JST - 17th November

thanks techall...yea..xpompey8 should explore more of both countries....:)

I think so too that Malaysia is going to be a popular retirement spot...of course provided the Westerners abide by the Muslim Law of the country...:) because it applies strongly in some parts of the country.
norinrad21 at 02:49 PM JST - 18th November

on the outskirts of Manila or the outskirts of Malaysia for me. 30 now and another 37 years or so to go before i retire
JeffLee at 02:55 PM JST - 18th November

No one has mentioned lifestyle. No one would want to retire in Japan because the lifestyle/culture is for mascochists. Thailand and Malaysia are places where millions of people from around the world go every year to relax and be pampered.
Patrick Smash at 04:47 PM JST - 18th November

Well Paddy boy will be retiring to Thailand. Where could be better? The weather's good, the beaches are nice, the people are fine, the girls are lovely, the prices are good, the healthcare's okay. You can rent a nice condo at a good price in many nice parts of Thailand, and money will buy you anything you want.
Nessie at 05:43 PM JST - 18th November

I think some people are also forgetting the sleazy sex tourism of j-women to SE Asia. It ain't just fat old white guys.

Moderator: Stay on topic please. The subject is Westerners retiring to Southeast Asia, not sex tourism, which is a completely separate issue.
helloklitty at 06:17 PM JST - 18th November

Previous poster, you are a bit off the mark. While Thailand will enthusiatically satisfy just about any visitor vice ... Malaysia is not at all 'sleazy' - obviously you've never been.

I love Malaysia. It's so easy to strike up a conversation with just about anyone. In Thailand, they beg for a tip if they give you directions to the bank.
techall at 06:25 PM JST - 18th November

I'm taking a train from Singapore to KL next week (7 hours and about $20) and I am really thinking about retirement here.
555Book at 11:50 PM JST - 18th November

Personally I think the country where you want to retire should be one which is stable, has reasonable standard of living and are open and accommodative to people who look different and come from different cultural backgrounds.
Cos at 09:31 PM JST - 19th November

I have friends from Europe that retired in Thailand, part of the year, they keep a house in their country. They are not into sex tourism : they go there in couple and with grand-children 3 months a year. They mostly appreciate beaches and hot weather at prices very affordable for them. Compared to a similar second house in the South of Europe, it's cheaper. Well, you must like "hot" weather to appreciate it. When you get older that's getting harder to live in heat and humidity.

Well, foreigners can not easily retire here. Japan does not want to give visa to retired people. That's a huge problem for a friend that tried to bring his mother to live with him here. The Immigration : "She is not your dependent because she is not a wife or a child under 18. She should find a job and apply for work visa.". At 90 ?!
helloklitty at 11:31 PM JST - 19th November

Asia has the strongest economy for the future which will allow this trend to continue.

As Zaichik wisely pointed out, health insurance is a major concern. I suppose traveler's insurance is the way to go for those who want to stay in Japan 3-4 months while "visiting" SE Asia the rest of the year.
Athletes at 10:42 AM JST - 20th November

Malaysia is more prosperous than Thai. Infrastructure is better. Population is smaller too. However they have no equal opportunties for all the ethnic communities. There are some cultural sensitivities too.

Recently Thai got some polical unstability. Not everyone there can communicate with english. Some bad travel agents, retailers & taxi drivers want to rip off the tourists too. Soliciting & touting on the streets are annoying in the most tourist cities. Those industries needed to be regulated for better image.

In the future, Laos, vietnam or Cambodia may become the retirement destination due to the low cost of living & nice weathers. They lack the infrastructure and medical facilities. Overtime, it may be improved. Currently they have more stablities.
gaijintraveller at 07:08 PM JST - 20th November

One of the problems with Thailand is the purchase of property. Foreigners cannot own land. There are ways round this, but they could lead to problems. Quite a few are moving to Cambodia from Thailand. Personally, I think Vietnam could be interesting in the future.
ptolemy at 11:45 AM JST - 23rd November

Vietnam is a fantastic country. The people are genuinely hospitable, the food is delicious, and the cities are easy to get around in. Even if you travel through the rural areas renting a car is cheap, my wife and I paid about 2000 yen a day in June. We were both able to drive on our Illinois licenses. Something you can't do here. The only bad thing was music blaring publicly everywhere we went in cities.
rickyso at 02:22 AM JST - 25th November

some tips in retirement in south east asia. indonesia - best place is still jakarta due to its modernity and very cheap cost of living, having usd1500 to usd2000 monthly for ordinary folks can live very comfortably, but certainly not in bali. thailand - if you dont like the hustle and bustle of bangkok and the chaos, try pattaya, pukhet (night life is good)or better still chiangmai or chiangrai (slow and tranquail) but people speak few english. malaysia - best place still kuala lumpur and if you like beaches, penang and langkawi (resort island) will be fine, and the country's east coast is beautiful. people speak good english, good infrastructure but no culture of maintenance. usd 2000 a month will do you good. i was in cambodia and vietnam for six months and i dont recommend both for the time being, lack of infrastructure, rich poor gap too far, people are very nice but speaks few english, always having communication problem but few year from now will be good, probably 5 to 8 years. philipine - no comment, never been to that country, but heard beaches there are beautiful. brunei - dont go, nothing there!