tsigane

In Philippines, you can stay with a tourist visa for 4 years without leaving the country. Your list focused on ASEAN countries only. But there are many other regions with similar or better climate. South and Central America havel super popular retirement destinations. Many have special benefits for seniors. I am not aware of any having laws prohibiting foreigners from owning land. I know quite a few very happy expats living in Colombia, residency obtainable by purchasing real estate over 200-300 k USD (or opening a shell company with much less $ or living with a Colombiana). In Ecuador, you get residency by depositing 20k USD in a bank for 5 years. Farangs (dirty/sex-crazed, as Thai minister of Health labels them) marry Thais, support their whole families and can never get residency.

A good summary of what retiring in Thailand is all about. I wish I did my homework and followed posts of people who had lived in Thailand for years before I bought condo and transferred money to Thailand - a BIG mistake. Climate is of utmost importance for me, but there are so many countries with similar climate. Just how many people would retire in Thailand if it were not for women?

I'll give them one more year to figure out a way to entice me to go there. I'm neither desperate nor deluded to jump through their hoops. Keep Thailand for Thais, I'll go to more welcoming countries meanwhile. ????

So well said. Tons of places in the world where one can get many things Farangs in Thailand can only dream of. Over the 13 years that I spent in Thailand, I've seen steady trend in decrease of "bang for the buck" index of everything, from hotel rooms to food and entertainment; increase in experiencing scams and bad attitude every time I refuse to throw money at sellers/service providers, and tightening of requirements for legal stay in Thailand. The biggest mistake was buying a place there and taking money into Thailand. I could never, ever, recommend someone to retire in Thailand. Visiting or going back for a few months a year may be ok, but never plan on living there permanently.