Moving to Thailand in 2017 - Questions

[Digitalwolf2017]

Thanks guys. Honestly some great advice!

[Mweiga]

Originally Posted by Digitalwolf2017

I think you guys are right. So renting is the only choice then?

How does the 50 retirement visa work currently?

Thanks.

Having bought land and built my own house seven years ago with a Thai partner (in whose name it all is) I can reliably advise you in your situation to rent , as others suggest. Forget building on leased land which holds endless potential logistical and financial perils for an expatriat.

The type O non-immigrant "retirement" visa for over 50s is very straightforward. If you go for the 800,000 baht in your account option , you have to hold this minimum account balance for three calendar months before making the visa application , then the first time you get a visa it's valid for 15 months (12 months + the 3 months your money has been lying in the account). Annual renewal of this visa just requires that your account has a minimum credit balance of 800,000 baht for not less than 3 calendar months prior to your renewal application - at the moment ! Thai visa rules have a habit of being changed from time to time without warning but I would expect the retirement visa rules in principle to stay in place for a few years yet.

[Newforestcat]

Hi


As long as corruption in any forms quite openly expected and accepted and lack of political stability are still the case, everything you have in Thailand can vanish quite easily overnight. Despite my gloomy words, I would like to think it is unlikely going to be that extreme. IMHO, people are wiser when they have seen the wider world, they should not tolerate any regimes or individuals that worsen the ways and quality of life. What Thailand has been going through should eventually unite us because we have no other options. There are possibly going to be more confrontations, but I think people are having quite enough and want to deal with the multi-colour issues heads-on.

Anyway long-term corruptions are the real cancer here.

It is easy to get money out from my Thai bank, just a passbook, bingo! I am never asked for my ID. Maybe because they know of me, but that makes me less trusting. Also rural banks can be slow work-wise and casual/inadequate security-wise. When I say rural, I mostly exclude big cities and all Muang Districts. Banks in KPP's Muang districts, only 25kms away, are VERY professional and open SEVEN days a week, not exciting for retirees though! Their exchange rates are better than what I would get if I transferred money to Thailand via my UK banks. No fees, just run in there with your $$ notes and an ID, unsure if same rules apply to farangs. Maybe when you know a very and honest Thai, they exist somewhere but possibly won't be the first you meet

In BKK, the exchange rates are horrid, sometimes fees applied, based on my past experience.

Thai Govt no longer compensate anyone if their Thai and foreign banks go bust. Not surprising, Thailand is barely liquidate!

You can move here without bringing all or a lot of money with you. Why risk it in the sun?! I use HIFX to move our funds to Thailand. I believe that you can move your $$$ to Thai bank accounts, too. If you know how much you need every three to six months, do two or three large transfers each year. The higher the amount per transfer, the better the FX rate, no fees either ends. HIFX is guaranteed by UK Financial Service like most UK-based financial institutions, they have separate clients deposit accounts. But you need to check their terms based on your requirements. Keep your US debit/credit cards, if you can, they are saviours if you cannot get money out the usual ways. Even Paypal or credit card cash advance can save your backs in despair!

If you have approx $500-600 per month minimum, not taken into account rent/mortgage payment/car finance/the unexpected (hospital and vet bills, ect.), you both should have a relatively comfortable life.

If you are an utter control freak forever with ideas like me, do something, teach English, grow kitchen garden, etc. Maybe set up a fat-farm bootcamp, with your military background! You only need some Thai PE students/instructors who must speak some English. Anything that beautifies and enhances the appearance sells like drugs in Thailand.

I find CM a little polluted, the forest fires cause thick lingering smog/fog. I don't trust most Thai drivers, so fog, no foglights or street lights during foggy daylight, casual/brave/foolish/stupid attitudes towards safety are a disasterous combination. I said to my brother once that I was well-impressed seeing more people with crash helmets. He told me to look closely, most people only put them on their heads leaving the straps undone. They are more concerned about the fines! He said it was possibly the same for drink driving. Well, rarely Thai govt policies work. I insisted that my cousin wore a seatbelt when travelling with us. I stressed how she could kill us and herself, she got really annoyed. Well, no more free rides for her, in every sense. She did not even know the basic rules:- my car, my rules or walk.

Living in Chiang Mai, depending on your lifestyle, could be a little /a lot more expensive than, for example, Kamphaengphet where I am. You can get a very yummy bowl of noodles for under $1. A bowl of noodles in CM must be at least $1.50. I know for a fact that poor people around KPP live on no more than $7 a day. I am not saying you must be mean to yourselves or when in Rome... KFC, Pizza Hut, Swensens, cinema with original soundtracks, Big C supermarket, Makro and Tesco Lotus
( supermarket) have arrived. But it is so dead quiet here! Most of the time it is a good thing.

As regards to the housing needs, rent and then maybe buy a little leasehold apartment. Or rent a plot of land, then build a bling bling log cabin or static mobile home- one that can be dissembled and reassembled if needed such as traditional Thai houses which are meant to be erected or re-erected in a day or so! STILTS are a must, snakes can kill you more often than floods. But snakes come with floods! Just don't go crazily too high from the ground though, feel sorry for your pets or your future older selves. If you need your space, this is the only way! Or come and rent a house with land in a farang community I want to build some day. I also strongly think that if possible give yourself an option to grow your own food and have your own water supply. I will even look into making my own electricity!

Good house, good air, good food, good companies, good beer/wine, good books or e-readers!/ good old money, peace, ticked!

[Cer]

In the bankletter I use for my extension, they always write on my request, the total amount of money that has been received from abroad during the last year.
Will never be any problem to prove that my money is received from abroad,I do have 7 of these annual letters now.
B.t.w. if you have a long good bankrelation,they will help you with this without a problem.