Retire In Thailand

Retire at 54 years of age and be happier?

Well aged 54 and separated from my wife and seeing my friends gain weight and have health problems made me think. I was gaining weight also, I was not happy with the direction my life was headed, so what can I do? I starting thinking of the alternatives.

Retirement? No one wants to talk about it or even think about. Perhaps it makes us feel older if we do that. So years go by and things do not change. We do the same things, eat the same foods until the doctor tells us to make some changes, and we carry on like we will live forever. Unfortunately we won’t live forever and we should be thinking of retirement before we kick the bucket. After all what did you work all those years for anyways?

Well to cut to the chase I was thinking of going to the Dominican Republic to live. But after going there twice I found that the power was unreliable, there were safety concerns, doctors and dentists were not easily accessible and it was pricey.

With time on my hands I sat in front of my computer and did some research. and discovered that Thailand was a popular retirement destination. In fact I read that Chiang Mai was the most popular retirement destination in all of South East Asia.

Hundreds of hours of research later by methodical, planner George and he has come up with the best retirement country and also the best retirement city in all of South East Asia and perhaps the world. Chiang Mai, a city of several hundred thousand inhabitants. Located about 420 miles north of Bangkok and less polluted, less expensive, and with less traffic than Bangkok and also cooler than Bangkok. Chiang Mai, unknown to most of North Americans yet visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists yearly, and home to thousands of foreigners who have visited there, found it to their liking and decided to make this their new home.

I arrived in Bangkok on Nov. 23, 2004 and that is where we will start our real life experiences, adventures and misadventures.

After the tiring trip I decided to stay over a few nights in Bangkok. Then well rested I was ready to continue onwards to Chiang Mai.

A quick one hour plane flight or a relaxing 13 hours train ride which one was it to be? With the extra luggage I was bringing including computer and golf clubs I decided on the train. The bumpy ride in a very comfortable reclining seat (2nd class A/C) set me back all of $15 dollar U.S. and this included two meals, a refreshment and a pastry. It was a bumpy ride with little to see but the forest. But I had all my luggage aboard, no extra charge, and the bumpy ride was just what my legs needed for their circulation.

My research enabled me to be well prepared for my journey and I am not one to leave things to chance. Things went as planned and I arrived at Chiang Mai train station and had reserved a room for 21 days at the Bossotel Inn which was directly across the road from the train station.

Like a normal tourist eh? Yes, I am Canadian how did you know?

I think in total I spent something in the neighborhood of 600 hours of research on the internet and I learned what I could but there was more, much more to learn.

I lived like a tourist at first living in a hotel, eating my meals there. I played pool before breakfast at a snooker establishment behind the hotel. After breakfast TV was the norm and then later in the day I would walk to the Night Bazaar shopping and tourist district about 30 minutes away. The walk there was good exercise, it gave me a chance to see the people and businesses along the way and get familiar with the city. Walk, look around, pop into O’Malley’s pub for a cool drink and to meet Scot, a fellow Canadian, and the owner.

The hotel rate was $16U.S. a night with taxes and breakfast included. I wanted to stay in a serviced apartment later but did not want to book it until I had seen it first. I was favorably impressed when I visited the apartment and proceeded to book it. So three weeks at the hotel and then on to the serviced apartment which would run about $250 a month with utilities and water included, and breakfast extra. The apartment had internet available in the rooms at an extra fee, or internet on site, massage spa on site, rooftop pool, motorcycle rental, beauty salon and restaurant which had entertainment in the evenings. The TV has a large selection of channels by way of satellite, there was free parking on site, and a great location near the Central Mall. So it had it all

Other retirees recommend staying in a condo or serviced apartment for 6 months or more to get familiar with the city before proceeding with any sort of long term rental arrangements.

I met a lovely lady name Nichaya. She was a hairdresser during the day and my tour guide, companion, means of transportation during the evenings. Although I weigh more than twice her weight we rode around town on her motorbike. Her driving the motorbike and me on back. This may seem odd but it is not uncommon. Unless you know the city and really know how to drive a motorcycle you shouldn’t. These motorcycles are 100 and 110 cc engines which means they are not powerful but they are very economical in terms of fuel. We could drive around all week all over town for only $2 U.S. in diesel fuel.

To learn more about living in Chiang Mai one has to live with the people. Find out what they eat, where they shop, what they do daily.

By this time Nichaya or Wan her nickname which everyone has here and I were becoming very close and fond of each other. I invited here to Patong a beach resort for a weeks holiday. She refused but each day I would ask again. Finally she relented and agreed. Have any of you heard of the December, 2004 tsuanmi? Well guess where I was at the time? Right. Right there.

The tsunami hit a few days before we were scheduled to return to Chiang Mai. We lost a camera, some clothing, some pictures but found each other. She handled the situation calmly and we were unharmed. In case you are interested this is what happened.

Tremor about 3 a.m. Woke me up and I wondered whether it was an earthquake. Around 4:30 a.m. another tremor. Awakened me again. At around 7 a.m. a large boom sounded like a shotgun blast and then a minute later another such loud boom.

I thought it may be terrorists out by the pool area and I recommended staying in the room. Nichaya told me to get out of the room. We grabbed a few valuables, passport and ran out of the hotel. Our hotel room was on the lower level facing the pool area which is about 6 feet lower than the lobby area of the hotel. We ran by the pool, up the stairs to the lobby and out the front entrance. Just as we crossed the road water gushed out from the hotel and on to the street. So the water level needed to be at least 6 feet high just to reach the lobby area. Motorcycles, vehicles were being carried down the streets in all directions by the sudden gush of water. We were on higher ground across the street and took off our shoes and I rolled up my pants.

After an hour or so the water level began to recede. It was about this time when a motorcycle policeman drove by and alerted everyone that there would be another wave coming shortly. He was right. Another similar wave went through the lobby and on to the streets again. Now the water level was back to where it was before and we could do nothing but wait.

The day before the tsunami hit we were on a boat cruise to Phi Phi Islands. Two days before the tsunami hit we rented motor boats at the beach. If this had happened a day earlier or at a different time then you would not be reading this article.

When the water level receded and it deemed safe we re-entered our hotel lobby to find a young boy who was in the pool when the tsunami hit lying of the floor with someone trying to resuscitate him. Unfortunately the boy did not make it. The hotel staff were totally unprepared. Nice people as they are they did not have a clue what to do. Guests were yelling out, Call a Doctor, Have you called a Doctor? The hotel staff smiled politely but either did not understand or were unable to reach anyone.

When we approached our room we found it was devastated. The outside window smashed by the water, the door broken, mattress and furniture upside down and the room inaccessible.

Hotel guests were taken to higher ground by buses and trucks. We sat by the roadside on higher ground waiting. The hotels found alternate accommodations in nearby Phuket which was about one half drive away from Patong. We left the others who sat by the roadside and went to some hillside shacks where Wan was able to greet the people, speak their language and explain the situation. They offered us refreshments and a place to lay down and wait.

Only when we reached the airport a day later did we realize the true extent of the devastation. There were tourists at the airport with cuts, bandages, broken bones but worse yet there were many people unaccounted for.

Wan and I were unhurt but learned something about each other through the experience. We showed how we react in emergencies and also we learned something about hotels and Thai people. After writing to hotel management at the Patong Merlin hotel on at least 6 occasions to that location and to their sister Phuket hotel which was undamaged by the tsunami we received one reply after 5 weeks. They did not try to clean any of the clothes left behind, did not try to return any of the contents, did not even try to contact us with a letter or e-mail saying sorry about this experience. We stayed there for a week at $100 U.S. a night and will never stay in a Merlin hotel again.

Would it have been handled differently or better in North America?

Well a one hour flight back to Bangkok for some shopping and then the short one hour flight back to Chiang Mai, my new home.

Now life is different. Wan and I live in her townhouse with her daughter and mother. Her husband passed away and she has been the one they rely on. Wan has a beauty salon downstairs in her townhouse.

What is different now?

Well I have learned how to live here on less. There are accommodations to be had here from $80 a MONTH and excellent accommodations can be had for $200 U.S. a month. By excellent I mean similar to a hotel room, TV with cable or satellite, pool, restaurant on site and in a good location with twice weekly or weekly cleaning.

I eat Thai food now with chicken wings, French fries, and some homemade potato soap several times a week. I read that Thai’s can make anything taste delicious. That is TRUE.

They use fresh ingredients in their cooking. There are many farms nearby and the produce from fruits, to vegetables is abundant year around and very cheap. There is also a fantastic selection of seafood’s to pick from. You can buy the seafood from the market or from a large grocery store where the selection is varied and fresh. If you want you can pick out a live fish, continue with your shopping and when you are checking out pick up your cooked fish to take home for dinner or lunch.

I recently bought pineapples at the large grocery store. Large, fresh, mouth watering pineapples. Ten baht each or .25 cents U.S. each. They will cut if for you and put it on styrofoam with cellophane wrapping for free.

Back to the cooking. The reason Thai food is so delicious is partly the freshness of the ingredients but mainly the sauces. Simple cooked rice with fried vegetables becomes a delicious meal with the right sauce added. Something to watch out for if you do visit here. Two small bowls are presented with many of the meals. One has a green paste/sauce and the other a red colored paste/sauce. These are added to fish or meat by way of dipping or by placing a small amount on a tablespoon from the bowl and then on to your food. WATCH OUT!!!! The red is spicy hot and should be added in measured quantities. The green should not be added at all unless you are Thai or Mexican in my opinion. The green one is the hottest of the two and can make you perspire, reach quickly for a glass of water and visit the washroom in the middle of the night and not to brush your teeth.

Fantastic food and bargain prices.

Great accommodations and bargain prices.

Friendly people who go out of their way to make you feel at home.

So many things to do that I can not even list them all.

Cable TV with 54 channels for $8.25 U.S. a month. Installation cost of cable was around $7 U.S. and $2.50 extra for the second TV. Internet and telephone for about $20 U.S. a month total .

People work hard. Many have their own businesses and work 16 hour days 7 days a week.

The business may consist of setting up a table and a few chairs and selling noodles, cooked meat, fruits or a small convenience store with home cooked foods on the side.

I see the parents take their children to school which is expensive here. About 80,000 baht or $2,000 U.S. per year for schooling, clothing and textbooks for a 7 year old. They teach the children English even at this age. The parents have to work damm hard to pay for the schooling but they are doing this in hopes of their children obtaining good jobs and having a better life with more to look forward to.

Cats and dogs here are numerous. Just about everyone in our neighborhood has either a cat or dog or both. Our neighbor has 6 cats plus 2 kittens and he does not have a fulltime job. It is difficult for him but I know he loves the cats. He has offered to give us a few but we do not have the space.

So to sum things up. It isn’t perfect here. You can find something to complain about if you look hard enough but for me it is as close to perfection as I will find.

I can tell you about one or two things that I do not like and I could tell you about the hundred things I like. I am a picky person so if I like it here and have very little or nothing to complain about then I am sure others will love it here also.

So enamored by Chiang Mai am I that I have created a website to help other retire here. First to come here on vacation and then to retire here.

If you want you can retire here on less than that, but to live a comfortable life here that is all that it takes.

Visit our website for Thai foods and recipes, to learn more about living here, and to see pictures of Chiang Mai.

So from a healthier, happier George who is living here on less and enjoying it

Khop Khun Khrap or thank you in Thai for reading the article. If you come here on vacation or to stay long term give me a call and we can go to a buffet and watch them make sushi, where you can select the ingredients of a soup they call Suki, where you can eat an unlimited amount of fresh salad with a choice of dressings and shredded chicken on the side, pick from an assortment of cooked meats, noodles, or fish, and then top it off with a variety of desserts and the best cup of coffee I have had in years for $2.50 U.S. after taxes and tip. The best selection of freshly prepared food and lowest priced all you can eat buffet restaurant in Chiang Mai in my opinion.

How to retire in Thailand

When most people think of Thailand the first thing that comes to mind is a third world country where most of it’s population lives in acute poverty. These same people would never consider living in Thailand for fear of living without the necessities of life.

I moved to Thailand in November, 2004 and decided to make it my new home while in retirement. Now that I have lived here for approaching two years I can tell you exactly what it is like to live here versus Canada where I resided for 53 years.

Climate:

For starters I am now living without the drastic change in temperatures that occur annually in Canada where half of the year it is warm or hot and other half of the year it is freezing cold. The temperature differentials require residents to buy clothing for all seasons. To live in Canada you need summer jackets, winter coats, sandals, shoes, boots, and suits and overcoats and the list goes on including hats, gloves and scarves.

Here in Thailand you have your different seasons but basically the temperature is either warm or hot, and for three months of the year you will see virtually no rainfall at all and during the rainy season you will witness rainfall almost daily. The type of clothing that I wear during the seasons does not change one iota.

One gets used to the heat here just as one gets accustomed to the cold weather in Canada. Surprisingly the evenings are cool and during the night with the window open a blanket would be necessary during most months of the year.

So if I had my choice where to live in terms of climate alone it would be here in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Score Thailand 1 Canada 0

Food:

In Canada I ate my share of fast foods and junk foods. Potatoes in one form or another were present in most meals from hash browns in the morning, to french fries at lunch, to mashed or fried potatoes at dinner.

Now I still eat potatoes which are priced higher here than in Canada but I do not eat them as regularly. French fries or potato soup now and then and I am content.

Thai people eat rice the way I ate potatoes. It is evident in almost every meal. I seldom ate rice when I lived in Canada but I enjoy it now particularly because of the sauce that is added. A rather ordinary fried vegetables with rice dish becomes a very tasty meal with their secret sauce added to the dish.

Overall I eat much healthier foods now, more rice, less potatoes, more vegetables, seafood and fresh fruit and less junk food. So on the basis of health, and taste Thailand scores another point, and that is not even taking into consideration that the food is priced much lower here than in Canada. Expect to pay about 60-70% less on groceries here and yet eat as much or more of foods that are delicious and fruits that are locally grown.

Score Thailand 2 Canada 0

Transportation:

In Canada my main means of traveling from point A to point B was my car, something most people in the world cannot live without, well at least if they stay where they are.

Because of the distances between places that I would normally go to in Canada a car was an absolute necessity for me.

For most North Americans the car is a necessity and an expensive one. It isn’t just a means of transportation but also a status symbol. If we get a raise at work we reward ourselves with a new car, the neighbor gets a new car prompts us to do the same, and a sporty car is always necessary to impress the girlfriend.

The actual cost of operating their motor vehicle in total is unknown to most drivers, and I estimate that the depreciation or lease cost, insurance, gas, repairs would add up to over $10,000 for most decent vehicles. Now think about this. I can show you how to retire here in Chiang Mai, Thailand on less than $10.000 and live comfortably, eat healthy foods and enjoy yourself. Does your motor vehicle contribute as much to your life?

If you live here you do not need a car. The tuk tuk (three wheeled motorcycle with bench seat at back) or Red taxi (pick up truck with covered back section with bench seating on two sides) can get you around town for next to nothing. Should you want to go out of town then on those occasions you can rent a car.

So forget about a car if you live here. Forget about the insurance costs increasing every year and also expensive fuel costs. Forget about speeding tickets, parking tickets and car washes.

The advantage here definitely goes to Chiang Mai. Getting around town is both quick and inexpensive. For those residents that buy a vehicle it is normally a pick up truck as the pick up trucks are taxed less by the Government perhaps many are manufactured here and thus become more affordable. Auto insurance costs here are about 33% of what I would pay in Canada and if you did not have any accidents in the first year then expect a reduction in your premium which would reduce the cost to 23% of what you would pay in North America for very good coverage on a decent vehicle.

So sorry Canada, another point for Thailand.

Thailand 3 Canada 0

Living Necessities:

Don’t know about you but internet access 24 hours a day and a TV are absolute necessities in my life. I can live without food for 24 hours but I am not sure if the same could be said for TV and internet. In Canada I had hi speed cable for $50 monthly, and cable TV for another $50 monthly for a total of $100 a month.

Doctors and dentists are living necessities. You would never want to live anywhere for an extended period of time without both easily accessible. In good old Canada one has to make an appointment to see a family doctor, if after repeated visits the family doctor doesn’t know what ails you they will finally make an appointment for you to see a specialist who will probably know in 15 minutes what the problem is and how to treat it. Unfortunately the appointment to see a specialist is normally a 6-8 week wait.

What else is a necessity? Hmmm.. Accommodations. In terms of accommodations in Canada houses prices have ballooned as elsewhere in the world in the past few years. And we all know what can happen to balloons. When house prices go up it is accompanied by or followed by an increase in rental prices. So why shouldn’t the apartment or condo owner not get a chance to gauge the consumer.

Let’s see how Chiang Mai fares versus Canada in these categories.

I have internet and phone here for about $22 Canadian monthly. The internet speed is slower than what I had in Canada but I can upgrade to a faster speed if I want, at present this speed is perfectly satisfactory on most occasions and a bit slow when there are more users on line in the late afternoons or early evenings. We had 54 channel cable TV installed recently. Not as many sports or movie channels but the monthly cable cost for 2 TV’s is about $ 9 Canadian. So for telephone, cable TV and telephone the total is $31 compared to $130 in Canada. Canada wins out on having better channels, but with cost included as a factor I would call it a tie. As for internet the speed is fine with me and the cost much less that I give the point to Thailand.

Medical care is CHEAP here. I will probably be treated by a doctor who received their training overseas and who speaks excellent English . A doctor can be seen the same day and a specialist within a few days. I can expect to receive prompt treatment for a fraction of the cost in North America. A dental cleaning here was $9 versus $50-$100 in Canada and repairing a broken veneer set me back a whole $18 here and I would guess it would have cost me $100-150 in Canada. So a sure point for Thailand.

Accommodations are a hands down winner in Chiang Mai. Not only are the accommodations CHEAP I repeat CHEAP but they also provide me with everything that need and want. Shortly arriving in Chiang Mai I stayed at a serviced apartment for 2 months at $250 Cdn. monthly for rent which includes water, utilities, cleaning and change of linens and towels twice weekly and also cable TV. The serviced apartment had a swimming pool on the top floor, massage on 4th floor, restaurant, beauty salon, motorbike rental on main floor. It was clean, comfortable, the owners were extremely hospitable and it was located within walking distance of the largest mall and also numerous restaurants many of which had superb entertainment in the evenings.

Food is another necessity. Even though I resided in the Niagara Peninsula area of Canada which is blessed with an abundance of fruits, and vegetables the point here goes clearly to Chiang Mai. Many fruits are grown locally here also, and you get the added benefit of fresh seafood, So adding up the score Canada ½ point for the tie on TV, Thailand 1 point for doctor and dentist, one for accommodations , 1 point for internet and ½ point for TV.

Score Thailand 6 ½ Canada ½

Things to Do:

I lived most of my life in and around Toronto, a city that has a reputation for being very clean and safe, a city which is home to a diverse population that intend to stay in Canada and a city which is in a great location for both summer and winter activities. Niagara Falls is but a 1 ½ hr. drive away, lakes for boating and fishing a mere 1hr. drive north of the city, and skiing in the winter a short 1 hours drive away. Overall, a great city in my opinion and one that fares well in surveys of best places to live.

But looking at it honestly I can do all that I could do back there except for the skiing here and do it for less money. A trip to the reservoir here is similar to going to a trip to the beach in Hamilton. The children swim, play with inner tubes, the drive there is quick and without traffic, there are areas to walk around, and the restaurant food by the side of the reservoir is plentiful and inexpensive. So after I leave the reservoir I have paid for the meals, drinks, entrance fee, inner tube rental and this is what I would have paid for the parking to gain entrance to the beach in Canada.

The singers in the restaurants and nightclubs here copy local hit songs to perfection. The malls have the latest movies at the theatres. There are pool halls, bowling, an abundance of restaurants, and many things to do from shopping for bargains at the Night Bazaar, hot springs, elephant rides, Chiang Mai zoo, parks, many fine golf courses and much more.

There is something amusing that I want to share with you. We were watching a new program on TV where three singers go on stage and each sings a song. The same song is performed by all three but only one was actually singing and the others were merely pretending. So then the judges guess who was the real singer and explain the logic behind their decision. This one night they played a Patsy Cline song. I swore Patsy had come back to life God rest her soul. One performer was in her early twenties, one in her late twenties and one merely a child who looked like she was only 11 years old. I quickly discounted her as the song required a mature voice and the hosts of the program were just trying to put a member of the family on TV so I thought. Well, wrong again. After the judges finish guessing the three performers go back on stage and sing the same song at the same time and then gradually one stops singing and then another leaving the actual singer left singing the song. Well I could have bet a dollar to a donut as the saying goes that the youngster was not the singer. Glad I didn’t. A very entertaining program.

Oh and a Thai movie that we rented recently came to mind not that I speak Thai but it was rented for the amusement of the others in the family. To get to the funniest part of the movie, you have two groups approaching a bridge. Both want to cross first. One group is a funeral procession and the other a wedding procession. A Buddhist monk comes to the rescue. He suggests that one group cross in single file on one side of the bridge while the other group crosses at the same time on the opposite of the bridge. Well it works but what is amusing is that one group is smiling, joyous and happy while the other is sad, crying and grieving. The more the grieving side sees the other side laughing the more they cry. I guess you have to see it for yourself to appreciate it.

The final score for those of you who are keeping track is Thailand 7 ½ and Canada ½.

When I was in Canada I viewed it as a fantastic place to live. It was safe, clean, with a reasonable cost of living, and with numerous activities through the year. Now that I have lived here in Chiang Mai, Thailand in all honesty I have to say I feel safer here, it isn’t as clean but it’s not nearly as bad as some would lead you to believe, and the cost of living here is so much lower that you can actually live here comfortably, and happily for less than you ever imagined.

So for the benefit of those who thought they would never want to live here for fear of living without I would say the following.

Chiang Mai, Thailand is already home to thousands of foreigners who have realized that this city has all that they need and want, and best of all they can also live here affordably with many things to do in and around this beautiful city that in Thailand is commonly referred to as “The Rose of The North”. What I am living without now are the snow, freezing cold temperatures and high costs of living and these items I can live without.

Retire in Thailand