Retire in Issan?

[old-timer]

Now. don't get me wrong - I love Udon Thani it is where my home is, according to my well fit, and can be a bit of a handful, Thai wife. However, the question is would I spend the rest of my life here, in Udon Thani? Personaly speaking I could say yes to that question, providing i could nip off elsewhere from time to time. But I cannot imagine staying in Udon, day in, week in, month in, year in and year out on a retirement pension for the rest of my life - not that I have one anyway.
I would suggest that anyone considering retirement in Udon Thani to make sure they have the fittest bird from a remote village and is up for it and doesn't know what a US dollar looks like. that's all.

OT...

[patriot]

Interesting point OT. In short "Yes".
By the time I have finished working, my roaming tendencies will have diminished somewhat. I, like you, am in the lucky position where I am working 2-3 months on/off, and therefore appreciate my time here, but still get the urge to hit Bangers or Phuket to hook up with friends after a few weeks.
I see my existence here as practicing for retirement and am pretty sure I'm going to be damn good at it

[grozza]

i want the best of both worlds when i retire, when its winter in australia i want to be in thailand.but you can't beat australia in the summer.thats my personal opinion anyway.

[Texpat]

and doesn't know what a US dollar looks like.

If she does, you don't stand a chance anyway, so no worries.

[old-timer]

Here is the checklist if you are considering retirement in the great Udon Thani:

1. WFB
2. Unlimited resources


OT...........

[jingjai]

According to this study:

..."No place scores a perfect 100," Sheridan stresses. "Even Ecuador, our No. 1 retirement destination, earns a score of only 79. The best, but not perfect. If you're trying to pick a place to retire, keep that in mind. There will be good points and bad, no matter where you go. Realizing that ahead of time will help eliminate disappointments later."...

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Re ... ?GT1=33013

Ecuador is #1, Australia at #10, Thailand comes in at #19, the U.S. at #22, and at the bottom of the list are the U.K. and South Africa.
Good article.

[douglas]

Hi,
WFB Shes a lot fitter than me.
Unlimited resources. Only got my pensions and can live quite well on then, fly back home every 2 years, have at least two good holidays in LOS every year. Even though the B has gone down from 71B to the GBP five years ago, when I first retired, to 48B today. I was lucky and did something I was told by many people not to do, thank god I did not listen to them. I was told not to buy a house but rent. I bought a new house, three B/R etc, at !MB about 14,000GBP at the then exchange rate. Now the same house at 1MB would be 20,000GBP. Also the same houses are selling for 2MB or 40,000GBP today. Which is great for me.
Glad I retired out here YES, had five very good years so far and looking forward to many more. Would never have be able to afford a new house, new car and new motor bike if I stayed at home. And the wife does not like the cold.
Cheers Doug.

[Prenders88]

We bought a lot of property from the bank when it was 70baht to the pound, glad I did for the same reason as Doug.
I have a good pension, and property that I rent out in the UK. Had the same doom mongers back in the UK, telling me not to come. One guy even said "They are farkin savages, they eat with sticks". The w@nker has only ever been as far as Spain. Obivously an expert on Thailand. They still sit there, a bunch of blinked, frightend men, living humdrum lives, and one day their jobs will be outsourced to be flung on the scrapheap, 50+ guys trying to compete with 21 year olds in a jobs market where there is nothing. Even if you did keep your job, who wants to work until they are nearly 70?

[WBU ALUM]

We bought a lot of property from the bank when it was 70baht to the pound, glad I did for the same reason as Doug.
I have a good pension, and property that I rent out in the UK. Had the same doom mongers back in the UK, telling me not to come. One guy even said "They are farkin savages, they eat with sticks". The w@nker has only ever been as far as Spain. Obivously an expert on Thailand. They still sit there, a bunch of blinked, frightend men, living humdrum lives, and one day their jobs will be outsourced to be flung on the scrapheap, 50+ guys trying to compete with 21 year olds in a jobs market where there is nothing. Even if you did keep your job, who wants to work until they are nearly 70?

Prenders88, that pretty much summed it up for me.

The choice was a no-brainer. Either enjoy the rest of my life while I still can, or work until I drop just to be able to afford a retirement in the US that I would NOT be able to enjoy.

[kjellsnell]

It is God to live in in Thailand....

I transfer my small assets in to a Thai bank when i start to live here four years ago. As an effect of the thai bath compare to the value of money in my homecountry Sweden today.......i have the same assets in my bankaccount if i change back to Swedish whitout doing nothing.......and i really live a god life in Thailand. If i go on and count intressed rent and the small businessprofit whith gold and houses i by 3 years ago in Cha Am and Hua HIn......then i think i come to the best country in the world.....if i also count that i am one of this lucky guys only have god experiences about wife and family.....then i think i come to heaven on earth!

I am married to the best women in the world and her family is the best! We have a wonderfull 3 year old daughter and life is god. I belive in a long life and a god future in this country and when i hear about other expats losing everything and so on, so on.......i am thinking.......are we really on the same planet or are they missing something about how to live in this country. There are many ways of living in Thailand and i find my way and i belive theres god place for many other to live a god life her to. It is up to every individual person to create a god way of life.

People in this forum often blame thai people for there bad luck in this country but it isnt simple as that. You are what you do and you dig where you stand.....maybe somebody dig in the wrong place... i dont know....but....the way to live a god life in Thailand depends on who you are, what you are doing and how you treat other people.....and one thing i know.... you cant find luck in any barsoi and you cant find luck looking future in an emty beerbottle....i see many people try but nothing god comes out of it!

[WBU ALUM]

Excellent, kjellsnell! =D>

People in this forum often blame thai people for there bad luck in this country but it isnt simple as that. You are what you do and you dig where you stand.....maybe somebody dig in the wrong place... i dont know....but....the way to live a god life in Thailand depends on who you are, what you are doing and how you treat other people.....and one thing i know.... you cant find luck in any barsoi and you cant find luck looking future in an emty beerbottle....i see many people try but nothing god comes out of it!

[udonuk1]

It is God to live in in Thailand....

I transfer my small assets in to a Thai bank when i start to live here four years ago. As an effect of the thai bath compare to the value of money in my homecountry Sweden today.......i have the same assets in my bankaccount if i change back to Swedish whitout doing nothing.......and i really live a god life in Thailand. If i go on and count intressed rent and the small businessprofit whith gold and houses i by 3 years ago in Cha Am and Hua HIn......then i think i come to the best country in the world.....if i also count that i am one of this lucky guys only have god experiences about wife and family.....then i think i come to heaven on earth!

I am married to the best women in the world and her family is the best! We have a wonderfull 3 year old daughter and life is god. I belive in a long life and a god future in this country and when i hear about other expats losing everything and so on, so on.......i am thinking.......are we really on the same planet or are they missing something about how to live in this country. There are many ways of living in Thailand and i find my way and i belive theres god place for many other to live a god life her to. It is up to every individual person to create a god way of life.

People in this forum often blame thai people for there bad luck in this country but it isnt simple as that. You are what you do and you dig where you stand.....maybe somebody dig in the wrong place... i dont know....but....the way to live a god life in Thailand depends on who you are, what you are doing and how you treat other people.....and one thing i know.... you cant find luck in any barsoi and you cant find luck looking future in an emty beerbottle....i see many people try but nothing god comes out of it!

Great story, but ALWAYS ALWAYS keep an eye on Thai lady ! Never give them any large sums of money. Personally , i have NEVER met a good one, but i like stories like yours ! Thai ladies like us ONLY for our money, they are very charming deceitful people, behind our backs they call us birdshirt, stupid, kee niao , NO EXCEPTIONS !

UdonUk - A realist

[thrilled]

After im at udon over A eek or so I get A littlke bored.Then off I go to other places,in and out of the country.Maybe it'll change in the future.

[jimboLV]

According to this study:
"No place scores a perfect 100," Sheridan stresses. "Even Ecuador, our No. 1 retirement destination, earns a
Ecuador is #1, Australia at #10, Thailand comes in at #19, the U.S. at #22, and at the bottom of the list are the U.K. and South Africa.
Good article.

Most of these "Best Of..." articles are crap but this one (with my limited knowledge) seems to be spot on. I notice Panama is rated number 3. I did extensive research on retirement places a few years ago and Panama came out tops, along with Costa Rica and Belize. Then I visited Thailand a few times and got hooked, and here I am. Never regretted it. Panama would still be my backup plan should things go sour here, but I don't anticipate that happening. Ecuador deserves a second look also. I didn't consider it at the time I did my research.

I would quarrel with the ranking of the US; it should be much lower down on the list IMHO. According to the chart, health care costs for the US are ranked equal with Thailand. No way, healthcare is much less expensive in Thailand.

[LoveDaBlues]

It is God to live in in Thailand....

I transfer my small assets in to a Thai bank when i start to live here four years ago. As an effect of the thai bath compare to the value of money in my homecountry Sweden today.......i have the same assets in my bankaccount if i change back to Swedish whitout doing nothing.......and i really live a god life in Thailand. If i go on and count intressed rent and the small businessprofit whith gold and houses i by 3 years ago in Cha Am and Hua HIn......then i think i come to the best country in the world.....if i also count that i am one of this lucky guys only have god experiences about wife and family.....then i think i come to heaven on earth!

I am married to the best women in the world and her family is the best! We have a wonderfull 3 year old daughter and life is god. I belive in a long life and a god future in this country and when i hear about other expats losing everything and so on, so on.......i am thinking.......are we really on the same planet or are they missing something about how to live in this country. There are many ways of living in Thailand and i find my way and i belive theres god place for many other to live a god life her to. It is up to every individual person to create a god way of life.

People in this forum often blame thai people for there bad luck in this country but it isnt simple as that. You are what you do and you dig where you stand.....maybe somebody dig in the wrong place... i dont know....but....the way to live a god life in Thailand depends on who you are, what you are doing and how you treat other people.....and one thing i know.... you cant find luck in any barsoi and you cant find luck looking future in an emty beerbottle....i see many people try but nothing god comes out of it!

Great story, but ALWAYS ALWAYS keep an eye on Thai lady ! Never give them any large sums of money. Personally , i have NEVER met a good one, but i like stories like yours ! Thai ladies like us ONLY for our money, they are very charming deceitful people, behind our backs they call us birdshirt, stupid, kee niao , NO EXCEPTIONS !

UdonUk - A realist

I bought 5.5 rai just outside of Udon Thani to build a house on; in the wife's name of course. Later, we decided to live in town so I bought another rai just 1km outside the ring road. When I transferred the money to build the house on the property close to town I was given some bad advice concerning some banking laws here. So, I put 2 million baht in the wife's accounts and 1 million baht in my account. This money was earmarked to pay for the new house. At that point in time the TW could have taken off with the 2 million baht (nothing I could have done about it) and of course she owns the 5.5 rai just outside Udon Thani. She would have been well set for a long time.

(oops......TW calling me for breakfast....must go now. Okay......back from breakfast....omlette w/ham,cheese,onions, plus two pancakes and OJ.....yummy yummy. Okay back to writing.....)

I'm writing this from the new house (just moved in June 14th). So you see, the right Thai lady CAN be trusted with a large sum of money. We're both very happy; the house came out well. In fact, this is the most content I've ever been in my life!

So in summary, you're WRONG to say there are NO EXCEPTIONS to the bad Thai ladies out there; in fact there are MANY EXCEPTIONS as I know many happy couples here in Udon Thani.

[thrilled]

I believe that one guy saying thai women can't be trusted,never met the right one.I know of farang thai relationships,where the farangs woman loves him to death.She wouldn't know what to do with herself without him.

[TJ]

Count me in as another westerner that is seriously thinking about retiring to the city of Udon Thani within a year or two. It offers good ambiance and an easy life style. Bangkok and Pattaya offerings are less than a half day's travel away. There are cheap residences and restaurants and sufficient social opportunities. For me finding a better Thai living environment is not worth the effort.

[udonuk1]

I believe that one guy saying thai women can't be trusted,never met the right one.I know of farang thai relationships,where the farangs woman loves him to death.She wouldn't know what to do with herself without him.

Thai ladies are the best actresses in the world. They only act like this as long as stupid farang spends money on her, she WILL know what to do if the money stops, alright, she will leave you, and take any house or business that stupid farang has given her.

T3, Udon IS a nice cheap place to live, good decision to live here

[udonuk1]

I bought 5.5 rai just outside of Udon Thani to build a house on; in the wife's name of course. Later, we decided to live in town so I bought another rai just 1km outside the ring road. When I transferred the money to build the house on the property close to town I was given some bad advice concerning some banking laws here. So, I put 2 million baht in the wife's accounts and 1 million baht in my account. This money was earmarked to pay for the new house. At that point in time the TW could have taken off with the 2 million baht (nothing I could have done about it) and of course she owns the 5.5 rai just outside Udon Thani. She would have been well set for a long time.

(oops......TW calling me for breakfast....must go now. Okay......back from breakfast....omlette w/ham,cheese,onions, plus two pancakes and OJ.....yummy yummy. Okay back to writing.....)

I'm writing this from the new house (just moved in June 14th). So you see, the right Thai lady CAN be trusted with a large sum of money. We're both very happy; the house came out well. In fact, this is the most content I've ever been in my life!

So in summary, you're WRONG to say there are NO EXCEPTIONS to the bad Thai ladies out there; in fact there are MANY EXCEPTIONS as I know many happy couples here in Udon Thani.

My conclusion that , in your case, she realised that there was MUCH more cash to come.
Recently i read about an Englishman dying of cancer in Chiang Mai, his relatives in UK transferred half a million baht to his Thai wife to pay the medical bills, well, she did a runner with the cash and the poor English guy died. BeWare of ALL Thai ladies !!!!

[trubrit]

What a shame you have such a negative view Udonuk.It will no doubt prejudice your chance of ever having a stable relationship with one. May I ask. What are you going to do , remain single, or look elsewhere ?