Thailand Retirement Mistakes To Avoid

Retiring in Thailand is a major life decision, and with so many moving parts involved in relocating overseas, it’s easy for retirees to overlook important details and make costly mistakes. It’s a big difference from taking a holiday here where it’s all about fun. You’ve got your itinerary.

It’s a discrete period of time and then you head back. Now, when you come here to live, you’ve got all kinds of different challenges and you got stuff that you need to do from the mundane of prescriptions, finding a doctor, getting a driving license. So, all of a sudden, your perspective and your time have completely changed.

So I think the biggest mistake is not putting in the work before you come over here to live and understanding what all your options are and how things work and getting involved with example for Facebook groups where people have blazed the path in front of you. It’s stressful enough like we get into that old part of our brain our amygdala hippocampus when everything’s new and it feels threatening. the more knowledge you get and the more work you put in before you get here, I think the more stress free it’ll be once you’re here because you know what’s coming and what you need to bring here, but also know what you need to leave set up in your home country to make life easier for you.

Test Living In Thailand First

Testing living here first can often get that out of the way. So before you go through the bureaucratic headaches of organizing visas, moving money over, all the logistics, you can just hop over here on something like a multiple entry tourist visa, which is a six month visa, and test out living here.

Get yourself a condo, get set up, start walking around the neighborhood, try to meet some people, talk to other retirees and groups, and you’re going to now get that experiential side out of the way so you’re not shocked by everything at once. And that’s the big one, Because it is a big difference moving here. Huge difference.

I think pace of life. I think the way people communicate and look, I love it here, and you can come in even on a tourist visa or visa exempt.

Right now it seems everyone’s talking about it changing and there’s a lot of clickbait out there on that. But right now it’s 60 days plus another 30 and you can do that twice. I mean that’s like almost 6 months here and there is a lot of clickbait on that.

Reliable Visa Information

Even the official websites, right, for the Board of Investment or immigration may be outdated, The government’s not always updating things. I know that I got into an argument with a guy who wanted a long term resident visa, a 10 year LTR visa, and he’s telling me all of the things he needs to collect, and I said no. So, you’ve got that. Even different consulates will actually have different listings on them. I like the one you referenced when we spoke the last time, the Los Angeles consulate.

Very up to date there. Good information if you’re looking for a source of information in the United States. Even the people at Ministry of Foreign Affairs will tell you, oh, it’s the same across the world and it’s all consistent and it’s not. It changes. Look, Thai government officials are imbued with a certain amount of discretion on how they interpret the law.

I would say two things about good sources of information. Somebody you trust who’s been through the process recently and talked to them about what their actual experience was or I’ve got a bunch of Thai lawyers here and they’re at Board of Investment, they’re at immigration every day and even though the law says X the way the officers are actually implementing it is Y and we’re happy to host like a free consult but talk to somebody who’s recently been in front of those officers and they’ll tell you how things actually work. The other thing is you’ve got an expat community and people are understandably proud of the fact that they’ve figured out how to navigate the system. And so what they do, they’ve got their non O retirement visa or they got their particular way of doing things and that’s what works for them. And they will tell you, oh that’s going to that’s what’s going to work for you. But one size does not fit all.

I would tell people don’t sweat the small stuff, And I give you an example of that. We took a couple in and they lived together. They were not married, so they couldn’t do one visa as a family. So, they were both applying for a non O retirement visa. They had exactly the same documents, including exactly the same documents on where they were living. Same lease. One went to one desk, the other one went to another officer.

One got approved right away, and the other one was asked for some additional documentation. Now, the person that had to go get the additional documentation, you could approach that two ways. You can get frustrated, which is never a good thing to do with any government official, but particularly here in Thailand, where your attitude and your energy will be reflected back at you. Face culture, you really want to maintain face within Thailand. It’s always pleasant, smile, respectful, respectful, And it’s how the society functions. You know what you do? You go get that other thing and you put it in. Then you get your approval.

Retirement Visa Documents And Patience

For the retirement visa, you need 800,000 Thai baht in a bank account or the foreign currency equivalent, If you’re applying for the 90 day non O overseas. Now, the embassies have all stopped verifying income. And once the embassy stopped verifying income, that put the onus on immigration to figure this out. As a practical matter, down at main immigration in Chaeng Watthana, they hate this. And so even though you may have come in and maybe somewhere in the provinces your 65,000 baht a month works for you, don’t assume that’s going to be the case because the situation on the ground changed and the immigration officers down at Chaeng Watthana just don’t like it. So you got to show the 800,000 baht.

Some people will tell you down in Hua Hin they’ll accept it. And if your local immigration office does accept it, then talk with them about the means of proof, How do they want to see that come in? And it has to be for 12 consecutive months. If you have the 800,000 Thai baht in the bank account, you’re golden. And if you’re trying to do it another way, just make sure a the immigration office will accept it and b the way you’re bringing it into the country works for them. A big factor here is you want to go with the simplest straightforward route that is favored.

Give you another example of that. So for the LTR visa, you can either buy insurance, health insurance with a policy limit of $50,000 or you can show a $100,000 equivalent in a bank account for 12 consecutive months. The simplest thing is just give them the insurance policy, As opposed to 12 months of bank statements. They will find a reason to reject the 12 months of bank statements. We’ve had this with many clients. They’ll grudgingly accept it eventually, but also why not have health insurance here?

At the end of the day, there are right now, I think, 50,000 US expats here. The trail has been blazed. It is possible, but sometimes you need to walk an extra step or two to get to the finish line. And you do it, to your point, with a smile on your face. Behind that, maybe a little bit of why do I have to do this? But as long as you keep smiling and stay positive, you will get to the finish line.

It’s the right approach to thinking about, patience is important and it’s just dealing with bureaucracy. You know, bureaucracy in any country will test your patience. Yes. Just anticipate it. And say, you know what, not the end of the world, I had to go get another document. And that’s where that online information can be very misleading because it’s become very popular to publish all the negative stories about bureaucracy and people’s experiences and you’re getting a tiny fraction of the real experiences.

If 50,000 expats, American only, live here in Thailand, well, that’s 50,000 that are navigating the bureaucracy, of course, successfully. Successfully, And of course, you’ll get some stories that trickle out of a negative experience there. But the problem with social media and media is they get amplified and they ignore the 49,500 that are totally fine and straightforward in favor of the squeaky wheel. Everybody pays attention.

Bank Accounts And Policy Changes

And there’s been these reports, oh, Thailand’s making it harder to stay here. when in point of fact the amount of money you need to have in the bank for your non O retirement visa the 800,000 despite the fact there’s been something called I think it’s called inflation that’s been around for hasn’t changed right they’ve added two significant new visas the DTV visa which is for anyone over the age of 20 which was a game changer and then the LTR visa it hasn’t now it’s actually one of the few countries in the world that’s made it substantially easier to stay here long term all the noise online is all about how it’s harder. And a lot of that stemmed from the banks getting some more regulatory oversight and therefore requiring additional documentation because there were some banks that were opening bank accounts when they shouldn’t have been. And that happens. And then the Bank of Thailand said, “Wait a minute. There’s too much money laundering and other nefarious things going on. ” Okay.

Well, now I have to submit three or four additional documents. At the end of the day, you can get it done. If by the way, if you’re going to the bank, bring a Thai speaker with you because even though people speak English at immigration and at the Board of Investment, at the banks, if you’re dealing with Thai staff, it really helps to have a native Thai speaker with you, Just as a matter of, I don’t know, efficiency and ease, but you can get it done. And as long as you’re I call it coming in the front door, we are guests in this country. As long as you’re coming in the front door and doing it the right way, you’re building yourself a solid foundation. And at the end of the day, you’re going to get to the finish line. It just may take you a few more documents and another couple of days to get there.

The information side is that you get a lot of announcements in Thailand, It can make headline news, but most of the time it does not amount to anything. I’ll give you an example of that. Last year they announced the electronic travel authorization ETA and it was a big deal and it was going to be this form you filled out and get permission to enter Thailand and they realized it was such a speed bump such an impediment to for people that they just cancelled it and they replaced it with something called the TDAC which was remember that arrival card that you filled out on the plane and this is the electronic version of that which made a lot more sense and takes about 5 minutes, you can do it three days before you travel, That actually became the truth, But everybody still, if you look out there, there’s still stuff out there about the ETA and it doesn’t exist. And that happens with a lot of policy here. The government policy process is very different from most Western countries where they make an announcement about a possible policy and then they wait for the feedback, Those announcements don’t mean anything. It’s a preamble to even thinking about making a change.

So whenever you see a government announcement in Thailand, it does not mean that that is going to be a policy. It means that somebody in a meeting had an idea. Had an idea, And then they said, let’s leave the meeting and tell everybody about our idea. Then they go out and they tell everybody about their idea. And each time the news headlines pick it up and act as if it’s about to happen. Thailand government is about to do something. Wait a moment. Right? And that’s a very cultural thing here is cohesion and agreement.

Exactly. But until it’s printed in the royal gazette, Until the royal family has said this is the law, it’s not the law. It’s an idea that’s being floated. It gets picked up by social media. It gets this momentum going. Questions come up all the time. Have they changed?

No, they haven’t changed it yet. When are they going to We don’t know. They may change it, but it is best to wait until it is in the Royal Gazette.

Budgeting Retirement Costs

I do. And there’s when you get to be a certain age, your spending habits aren’t going to change. And if you’ve always been thrifty and you’ve always been a saver and you’re careful with your money, that won’t change when you come here. And by the way, Thailand’s great for finding value, If you want to eat local food and take public transportation, that you can do all day.

You don’t need to buy a fancy car, go to Michelin star restaurants. But if you want to splurge every now and again, or you’re somebody who likes to splurge, that’s available to you, too. So, I think in terms of budget, there’s lots and lots of information out there. Use that as a baseline and then what really elevates your life with the kinds of things that make your retirement worth doing.

You’re going to have to add those things in and that’s going to be a learning process here. So, how many beach trips are you taking? How many spa days? You know, what are you doing in addition to that baseline and how many meals are you treating yourself or rooftop bars are you going to, And as you build a circle of friends, as you build your social networks, also those expenses tend to go up.

There is great value here in Thailand, but prices for Western products can actually be even higher for Western imported food. Go to the Sky Bar, you’ll be paying about the same amount for the drinks in Western countries. So depending on what your lifestyle is, you may go way above what you might think you’re spending. But if you’re frugal and you’re going to live in a local area, eat locally, you can spend very little.

And I think the housing cost is the big break. An apartment in Los Angeles, 2500, three grand a month is baseline. $2,500 to $3,000 here is a luxury opportunity in the central city. It’s just a completely different scale when it comes to housing and putting a roof over your head.

Upfront Visa Health And Lease Costs

There are upfront expenses for people thinking about coming over here. There are some upfront expenses that you need to frontload that you may have money socked away that you’re going to need to pull out and do a little strategizing. One is you need to show the government hundreds of thousands of baht. So the DTV which is basically a 5 year super tourist visa allows stays of 180 days at a time 500,000 baht equivalent right in a bank account somewhere. It doesn’t have to be here, but somewhere for three statement periods. So 134,000, something like that.

800,000 baht for the non O retirement visa. If you’re married to a Thai person, it’s 400,000 baht. Now, a couple things about this. It can never be crypto. It can’t be in an investment account. It’s got to be in a bank account, regular savings, or as we call it in America, checking account.

So the Thai government says okay these are immediately available funds the money remains yours and like once your DTV visa is approved that 500,000 you can reinvest it you could use it to spend on your life you can give back to your parents if that’s what you were doing to get into the country I think a few people might be using that strategy might be might be right auntie and uncle are helping me out here but the money remains yours it’s just a matter of strategizing and for retirees getting it out of that investment account and putting it into your bank account, It won’t work for you for those 3 months, but so be it. The other expense is if you buy health insurance here, the premiums are due upfront. Those are due one time when you buy the policy ahead of that policy year. So that may be another slug of money that you’re just cutting a check. but you’re just taking that money, you’re buying that upfront for the policy year. So those are two upfront expenses.

And then the final expense is that for a non O retirement visa, you got to show them a lease for a year. Right now that’s about as long as I would do to when you first come here because there’s how many neighborhoods in Bangkok alone plus all the other parts of the country. So when you enter into your lease, you’re going to need first and last month’s rent and a deposit. So, you’ve got this group, this money for the visa, you’ve got your health insurance money if you’re buying health insurance, and I recommend that you do, and then you’ve got this slug of money that you’re going to need for your lease. So, even though your monthly may be X, you’re going to need some money above X. I would say that first month, you’re going to encounter higher costs.

So, immediately, you probably want to just double that monthly budget. on your first month if you’ve never lived in Thailand, you’re going to be in a hotel or service department figuring it all out. I think that can be a big mistake that people make if they try to cut corners. Yes. In the initial move, they’ll end up in the wrong place, the wrong location, and those problems will compound over a whole year. Whereas, if they just took the time upfront, spent a bit more money, and really figured out the life they want here, they will have a smoother time later.

And even things so much less stressful. So much less stressful. Things like contacting a law firm, an agency, making sure that you’re getting all that bureaucracy. You might not want to deal with it in the first year. You second year, third year, you could probably adapt, but the more you put on your plate when you arrive, the more likely you’ll get frustrated and you’ll encounter more and more problems and that will start to change your perceptions.

Outsourcing Bureaucracy And Healthcare

I would say the time value of money to get assistance with things is well worth it for most retirees. And then they’ll actually bring you through the whole testing process and you’ll actually do it with them, And so that’s great advice. That’s great advice. It’s very similar I find when people make move, especially I would say older people that maybe have a little bit more money and don’t want to have to adjust. You know, as you said, people do get a bit set in their ways, That’s just the nature of life. Everybody does.

Do you want to have to figure everything out on your own? I would advise against it. And that’s one of the value propositions is it isn’t expensive normally because everything is cheaper, And so you outsource a lot of these things. It’s like getting, you can get a nanny here, you can get a maid, very inexpensive. So it’s a way of thinking about making the move that you might not have thought about when you’re living. Like in Canada, we barely outsource anything, We just do everything ourselves.

There’s not a big advantage to outsourcing it and the costs are way higher. Here there is a big advantage to outsourcing and the costs are way lower, and like anything else things become more familiar they become easier and you’re going to put certain things some of that bureaucratic stuff you’re going to do it once and put it away for a while and then you can tackle other things but when you first come here you’ve got all of that to deal with and some stuff will be easier and some things will be tougher like getting prescription drugs in this country very easy. You go to a hospital where you’re getting concierge service in the United States going to see a specialist. You’ve got to go through your GP, you’ve got to get insurance approval. It’s all these steps. In Thailand, by the next morning, I’m in front of that specialist. And you can pick the specialist, which is one of the nicest parts. You can actually, that’s something I recommend. You can look up doctors with significant backgrounds, say in the United States, because a lot of the doctors will have done residency and worked in Western countries. They’re specialists that are top of the field and you can actually choose the doctor. Message them directly, right, and have an appointment within a day or two.

In any event, the medical stuff can be easier in some respects. And then getting a driving license can be a little harder, but you’ll figure that out. And that’s a good way of thinking about the all of life here. There’s a lot of convenience. And then there’s some bureaucratic hurdles, but your day to day life is more defined by the convenience. And then you occasionally interact with the bureaucratic hurdles.

I mean, you go outside here in Bangkok, there’s food. I had two 7 Elevens in my new condo I only have one, but my old condo I had two and four restaurants. Now I have three below me and one 7 Eleven. That’s what you’re looking at on the convenience of day to day life. And it extends to all aspects of life here, whether it’s the health care, going out for food, the public transportation system, but you got the bureaucracy, And that’s it’s a good way of not getting annoyed. Embrace the positive.

Freedom Convenience And Responsibility

With that greater freedom and with the greater choices comes greater personal responsibility so Canada the US the UK the same way, very legal, with a lot of liabilities a lot of constraints I walk home and almost every night I see a group, two groups, three groups of friends sitting out in front of the 7 Eleven they’re cracking open Leo or Chang beers with a bucket of ice. There’s somebody selling meat on a stick there and they’re just having a laugh and a conversation and just enjoying their evening. So, there’s just a greater sense of freedom here. There’s a little more chaos and a little more self responsibility because if something goes wrong, you’re not going to have those legal avenues and so on. So, take care of yourself.

But the freedom here is just terrific. It’s interesting for people from Western countries that we often embrace a culture of freedom. You know, we want freedom. And when you compare often to countries around the world like Thailand, we would think, oh, that government, they’re not as free. Actually, your day to day life is far more free and you’re far more open to making your own decisions.

For example, prescription medication is a big one, the headache that I have to deal with in Canada just to get an antibiotic cream, I am going to have to go see a doctor, but it’s not like I can walk in and see the doctor. I am going to have to make an appointment. And it’ll be days while your skin infection just runs rampant just to get a cream when you know exactly what you have to use. So, you can use it to make poor decisions, for example.

You could make poor decisions, but they are your decisions. So libertarians ostensibly would really love Thailand compared to most Western countries because you are more free to make decisions about your own life. They could be good or bad and you live with them and you live and you live with those consequences. That’s where you know you want to come with the mentality that you don’t want to make the bad decisions.

You want to make the good decisions, but as you say, when you go into a pharmacy here, the pharmacist will help you. Like they’re actually very knowledgeable and they’ll look at something, and they actually are very good. Yeah, they’re terrific. And the other thing is you can lose perspective, Everybody’s talking about this 300 baht tourist fee for airline arrivals.

Or they talk about getting charged double at museums or monuments, And they’re instead of paying 20 baht, they’re paying 200 baht, 10 times that. it, but at the end of the day, it’s 200 baht. And what you’re paying for your housing, instead of 2,000 or 3,000 or $4,000 a month, you’re paying $600 a month. Just keep that in perspective.

Community And Isolation

I do sometimes. And I think one of the biggest mistakes you can make, there are large expat populations and there are ways to stay involved with your fellow expats. I think having a taste of home, having a feeling from home, having a conversation with a native English speaker is important. Similarly, when Americans or expats are coming here, Canadians, finding your community is important. And in central Bangkok, you can find your community. Phuket, Chiang Mai, there are communities to find. But if you go out into the hinterlands and if you have a Thai spouse who’s in Isan, Phetchabun, Loei or another rural area, you can feel pretty isolated pretty quickly. And then it becomes extremely important. Even if you go out like to outer Bangkok, you end up in like I’ve seen this a lot online where people will show condos that are in like I found a condo for $250 a month. There was this so I had a bunch of questions at one point like well what about Nonthaburi and Bang Na and I would recommend against it.

At least to start with. Exactly. To start with, you’re far better off choosing a central location, very easy access to public transportation, and you’ll meet people, You’ll build a small community, you’ll familiarize yourself with life here in a much more comfortable way, and then you could choose to move further out. And the other thing about living centrally, there’s Rotary clubs. I have friends who are part of the Rotary clubs. There’s something for Americans called Citizen Liaison Volunteers. You’re not working for the embassy or the consulate out of Chiang Mai, but it’s a community of people that if an American got into trouble, you’re trained to be the eyes and ears of the embassy. That’s a community of people that get together. We get online. We get together for trainings from time to time and build a community of American expats. Well, the Canadians, we have a there’s field hockey.

It’s actually at the British embassy or British club. And so that gets together, every week. Not on ice. Not on ice. No, there’s hockey, too. There’s a hockey league here, There’s ice hockey league. My friend plays in it. I would like to, but it’s been so long since I played hockey that I don’t even lace them up anymore. I don’t even know how I do because these are guys who have been really intensively in it. And you know what’s happening here now in terms of social activity?

Pickle ball. Pickle ball. Huge. Huge here. So, there are all kinds of opportunities. If you’re in central Bangkok, you can go out to Benjakitti Forest Park. these warehouses with indoor sports activities. And you walk in, volleyball, you got basketball, you got pickle ball, there’s indoor soccer, every sport you can think of, they have it right in central Bangkok. And you just step out. So if you’re well located here in the city, you’ll have access to lots of clubs and activities and ways to use gyms, including 24 hour gyms that you can go to here.

And if you’re a fitness guy and you like to go out, you’ll run into people and you’ll just start having conversations with people with like interests. Big one now is running. There have all the running clubs. So, Lumpini’s got a running club, Benjakitti has a running club and they’re mixed, So, you have some expats, some Thai and they get together some of them get together every day, some of them every weekend. You’ll see big groups of people. They typically organize on Instagram and Facebook. Same thing with cycling. Cycling too. So out by Suvarnabhumi, Hua Hin has a lot of beautiful cycling trails. We live up in Phetchabun in Khao Kho and you see groups of people doing the mountains which is my least favorite way to cycle.

I’m a little lazier. I like the flat lands, but there are cycling clubs that do that you can get involved with. I also think there’s if you’re in central Bangkok the chambers of commerce the Australian chamber which by the way is the most fun chamber. Sorry Americans, but you know and they have monthly events called sundowners at various hotels. You don’t have to be a member of the chamber and for I think it’s 1,600 Thai baht food drinks you know like-minded people having a laugh getting to know each other. So the chambers of commerce and they’ve got Canadian, Australian, American, British, you can attend those events and get to know some people. It’s one of the real strengths of especially living in Bangkok is the number of clubs and activities.

Choosing The Right Bangkok Location

A common mistake is people not thinking enough about the location when they first move here. What you like to do is come here, spend a bit of time, look around the neighborhoods that might interest you, walk around, see how walkable they are. Especially for older people, I would highly recommend this for retirees. You want walkable. Yes, there’s a lot of mobility issues. When you get to some of the outer areas like we’re right now in Ploenchit, fantastic area.

Five minute walk to the BTS that’ll hook you up at the Asok MRT. You can get anywhere around town. The sidewalks are beautiful, flat, even. They even eliminated the overhead wires on wireless road, which is a little strange. Well, they’ve done a really good job down here in central Bangkok, especially all the way from Siam basically to Ploenchit.

They have redone all the sidewalks and they’re starting to get I feel ambivalent about them taking down the wires because that’s part of the charm of Bangkok. But I always think of the Blade Runner look with Bangkok, and it’s for me it’s artistic. That is not something they had to get rid of. The sidewalks though, improving the sidewalks will change. Friend of mine said Bangkok was a look down, not a look up city, Because if you weren’t looking down, you would be tripping on yourself, So if for retirees in particular, I would recommend this for everybody.

You know, where you choose to stay will define your life in this city more than most other cities. You don’t want to rely on cars and taxis. You’ll get gridlock traffic far too often. And motorbike taxis. I find them I used to own motorcycles when I was young. They’re just to me they’re a little terrifying.

I do see women coming out of the offices. They’re sitting side saddle on their phone like they’re sitting on a lounge chair. For me, I find religion every time I get on the bell. Like I’m praying. I avoid them now.

When I first moved here, I used to take them all the time. I had, no fear, I suppose. But the longer you stay, and I’ve noticed this with most people of my friends here, everybody slowly stops taking them, Or at least avoids them. But the BTS, the Sky Train, the MRT subway system, brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. And then you can always order up a Grab or a Bolt.

Property Buying And Long Term Leases

Yeah, I think you know seeing something you love like let’s say it’s a condo, And you jump right into the property market here and now you’re just anchored to a place. You may not know much about the neighborhood. It may not be the right neighborhood for you. There might be issues with the building or you may be thinking like you think about condos or real estate from your home country and it’s investment. You can certainly get your money back. It’s an overbuilt market here. People are always chasing the next new thing. Give yourself some time, Get to know the neighborhoods.

Bangkok is sprawling. The country has lots of different environments in which to live. You may fall in love with a beach community or you may want to move up to the mountains and here you are tied, to a piece of real estate and you really don’t know much about the market or about the neighborhood you’re buying into. So, just take your time on that. Yeah, it’s a good point. Overcommitting too quickly. Overcommitting to anything when you’ve landed here. It may feel like buying is better value.

I think we learned that in Western countries it’s a great real estate investment. It’s different here and in the states for example for your mortgage you get a tax benefit. Things work differently here. Plus, I would say that the rental market here is just so robust and it’s so easy to get in and out of places and then figure out where and what you love and what amenities and all of that that that start to make sense. So, rentals are just abundantly available here. I think it’s one of the most attractive aspects of living in a city like Bangkok. There are other cities that are similar is the availability of rental units. You could pick and choose.

I’ve lived all over the city and it’s actually nice. You know, you move from one location to the next to the next and you get a totally different experience and you don’t want to lock yourself in right away. You want the choice and the different types of condos that are available. You have the beautiful modern ones with all the amenities, they’re great. Smaller living space, smaller, but for somebody who’s just moving here, that might be very appealing just to get that taste of, the rooftop pool, full gym, concierge, all of that. I think a lot of the time that comes down to when you first move here, your first year, you’re probably going to spend a lot of time outside your unit. You’ll want to be exploring, enjoying, you’ll like the pool. And then by the second year, I’ve noticed a lot of people want more space. And they decide to go for an older condo and nest and have that moment of sanctuary away from it because Bangkok, like New York or London, there’s a lot of activity and a lot of energy, which is fine, but you want those quiet moments.

And if you have more space, home feels homeier. They are told to set up this corporation with nominees. And it’s just illegal. I mean, it’s unlawful. And the Thai government every now and again goes into an area and starts clamping down on that. And you basically risked your not only your investment, but your ability to live in the country. and that’s just not worthwhile. Now, there are ways to take a life estate or a long term lease.

Leases here up to 30 years. And if you’re a retirement age and you add 30 to your current age, that might be your lifetime, So, you can enjoy the property for your lifetime. If you have a Thai spouse, you can get other rights that you can record in the land department. So there are ways to protect yourself here and own the improvements, but just that underlying land is not going to be available to you in any lawful sense. Now, for a condo, there are condo projects where 49 percent of them are reserved and you can buy a fee interest in those condos. So get to know the market, get to know the neighborhood, get to know the country a little bit, and then once you’re completely comfortable after a few maybe several years, then go ahead and jump into the market.