DEAR YOUNG AND RETIRED TRAVELLERS!
I wrote this article cos soon you will retire and get your pension and I have one profitable variant for you. You can also read the following info if you work on freelance in Internet or have any passive income (from leased property or profitable business).
If you have a retired pension or have some realty for rent, which will give you passive income 600-800$ a month not working, then pls read my article about the cheap and luxury life in Thailand. If u are a young freelancer and work in Internet – read also.
If u get the bigger sum, then life in Thailand is the № 1 possibility for u to save money not working.
600-800$ a month is enough for good life in Thailand near the sea, this article is about Pattaya city. Phuket is 30% more expensive.
The rent of condo (1 room flat with or without kitchen) costs in the most luxury district 500$ a month (long lease). Regular price is 300-400$ a month. Town-houses and villas are more expensive. There are plenty of them on the suburbs.
On picture Naklua Pattaya – the best district of Pattaya city.
For 600-800$ a month you will afford very good food-cort and restaurant food with great choice. The price of 1 meal on food-cort is 1,5-3$. I lived the most cheap variant and was spending 5$ a day for food, water and road and never was hungry.
Thailand offers very affordable dentistry, cosmetology, plastic surgery, medicine care… in tourist zone u will find euro style and air-conditioners everywhere, but not in local one.
I lived 1.5 years in Pattaya, 2 hours road on modern bus from Bangkok, the ticket costs 5$. Pattaya’s population is 1 000 000 people (500 000 locals and 500 000 tourists). U can also reach Bangkok on comfortable minibuses that run there a few times a day for 3$ in one direction.
You will be able to visit very cheap neighbor countries – Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Mianmar + cheap flights to Bali, Indonesia, Singapore and Philippines. Thailand offers birds forests on the North and amazing islands on the South + river trips and diving.
For instance you need only 1$ to get on a little ship and reach the nearest to Pattaya island, same trip on a brand new private motor boat costs 3$. One piece of ice watermelon is 30 cents, pinapple and coconut – 60 cents, espresso – 1$, huge glass of ice coffee – 1$, shashlik of hen tails or other parts of chicken – 30 cents, tempura shrimps – 1,5$, good fried rice plate costs 1,5$, a bottle of water 0,5 l – 30 cents. These are street food prices, food corts are 20% more expensive or same.
The food is very fresh, healthy and tasty. Pattaya offers over 7 brand new megamalls and hypermarkets with food-corts and cinemas, Asian people prefer not to cook at home. But u can, if you want.
Pure unifluenced Buddhism makes people friendly and smiling. But be careful, mafia will shot u down with the same Buddha smile.
Monks in orange never wear shooes, they walk every morining to vendors and bless them and their business… people for this give monks food. Monks cant touch women, literally.
You will not find any old car in Thailand. A few motor-plants were established recently and nowadays all Thailand enjoys only brand new cars. South East Asia’s peculiarity is the absolute absense of pedestrians. A few people use public transport, 20% cars, 80% scooters. 1 month scooter rent is 150$.
Thailand offers the most attractive visa law in the world for long stay.
NEGATIVE ASPECTS:
1. Sharp segregation on local (Thai) zone and tourist (farang) zone. You will see brutal contrasts – luxury and poverty together extremely close, which in the beginning really shocks. For instance in Pattaya Bentlies ride among local homeless, poor street vendors and prostitutes, that sleep and live on street. Or once I saw a beggar boy under the balcony of cafe with dining fat foreigners, that gave him nothing. Or very little children begging on the entrance to luxury casinos on the Cambodian border.
2. Country-wide prostitution – women, men and ladyboys – locals and escapees from poorer Laos and Cambodia. And country-wide enormous corruption.
3. Sex-tourists – the most disgusting people on the Earth, including child sex-tourism (especially developed in poorer Laos and Cambodia). The horrible aspect of this is that for many absolutely uneducated youngsters prostitution is the last resort. When I was in Laos for visa-run I saw a sign at the hotel – “Report police about child prostitution”.
4. Info for women. Thailand is the land of retired people from the develped countries, but mostly men, not women. Marriage on an expat is the golden dream of every Thai woman. Due to this fact men often misbehave – like mites on economical woonds of the society. A few start families with locals.
5. Local zone – in colonial style houses usually live 3-5 locals in 1 room. The salary in Thailand for 6 days working week is 250-400$ a month. Top-managers earn 600$.
6. If you come in spring or summer – you will die from the heat, autumn and winter seasons are all right, but your first summer will be the Hell, but even this is good if u are overweight, like I am. And, by the way, every condotel where u will rent a condo offers a big free swimming pool.
This article is about Pattaya – sex city of the World (where by the way prostituion is prohibited by law and local cops dont know this fact). I also read, that Philippines are same attractive for retirement, as Thailad. Philippines people are native English speakers, most of Thais speak not so good, but I had no problems in understanding. I heard about widely spread kidnapping of foreigners in Phillipines and also about the highest rate of deaths of journalists despite of the Freedom of Speech. I also know that German retired people somehow prefer Goa.
WARNING: In Thailand u will not find the Freedom of Speach. The King made a law saying that for criticising him and his regime any will go to jail for 5 years. One American blogger is already there. For reference I want to tell you that the King of Thailand is one of the richest men on the Earth and all the beaches in Thailand belong to him according to his law. Aboritons are illegal + 6 days working week for local people with average salary 300$ makes people strive to easier life of prostitutes, sell their bodies, risk their health… and ladyboys after the operation drink hormones daily till end of their days to sell their bodies more expensive. U meditate about this.
But on another hand the nation is young, Thailand is the most economically developed country in South East Asia now and keeps on growing, offering very cheap labor and possibilities for foreign investments in property and business.
For marijuana you will go to jail 5 years, for heroin – death. But all the drugs dealers will offer u openly when u walk on the street.
This letter is for low-income retired people or for yourng who want to travel a bit.
When I lived in Thailand during 1,5 years I worked there on freelance as books translator via Internet and lived for 400$ a month in local zone (including all), I payed 150$ a month for rent of 1 room flat. My neighbors were prostitutes – gays that every night got drunk and sold themselves to old farangs, under me lived a prostitute girl, that told me she saves this way money for studies in Bangkok university… I was robbed etc. But I am super grateful for this experience – I learned to respect every cent and my education.
This building will soon be finished in Pattya + a few the same luxury and hightech. To buy own condo there u need 50 000 – 70 000 $.
Vika Lebedinskaya
