Posted: 12/8/2024 1:29:24 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Admiral_Crunch][Edited]
Nice little subforum you got here. I’ll ask a question to help kick things off.  Recently I’ve gotten interested in traveling to Southeast Asia to see more of the world, and I’ve even kicked around the idea of possibly relocating there once I retire early in a few years, if my travels go well, and I find a place I love. Thailand and the Philippines are the two I’ve researched the most, but I’m very open to other places. I’m really just getting started, and those are just where I started looking first. So I guess what I’m looking for is interesting/fun/cool places to visit as a tourist/vacation spot, but I also want to look at places that an English-speaking expat can make a go at living long-term and maybe using as a base to travel and see more places. As far as budget in retirement, if I sell my place here, I should have a few hundred K in the bank and about an 8K/mo pension to start. (US dollars). After a few more years, I can also start drawing from my 401K and Social Security, so I should be sitting very pretty. I know a lot of people move for the lower cost of living and to make better use of limited funds, but that is less of a concern for me. Although cheaper living is always a bonus. But I won’t shy away from higher-price housing if it fits my needs. |
"I keep hearing 'must have a dialogue,' but I keep being told to shut up when I speak." -Sand_Pirate
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“I’m starting to think the Internet was a terrible mistake.” -Subnet
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I have lived in Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines. Thailand changes immigration and tax laws like people change underwear, but I loved BKK, Pattaya, and Phuket 20 years ago. I spent a couple of years in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and loved it, but it's booming now. Corrupt as fuck, and 1 party rule. I love the Philippines, and plan to retire here, and have called it home for 15 years while I was actually in hot, sandy, and less pleasant places for most of that. It's much easier to get by here, although it is difficult to impossible to work here. Vietnam, especially Da Nang is beautiful and cheap, but the government is still Communist, although their capitalism is going gangbusters. |
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| Thanks! Any specific places in PI you’d recommend? Anywhere you’d avoid? (I know parts of Mindanao and the Sulu Sea are considered a no-go zone.) |
"I keep hearing 'must have a dialogue,' but I keep being told to shut up when I speak." -Sand_Pirate
“I’m starting to think the Internet was a terrible mistake.” -Subnet
“I’m starting to think the Internet was a terrible mistake.” -Subnet
|
Have been in Thailand for about 2 months now and love it. I have a budget of 2500 USD a month and have a bunch leftover, if I don't go to the bars. Lovely place, traffic can be hell, even more so if a festival is going on. People are friendly, food is good, many different types of restaurants. Can check out these threads about Thailand. https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/Go-to-Thailand-they-said-it-will-be-fun-they-said-/5-2460732/?page=1 https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/MADMAXX-Said-To-Go-To-Thailand/5-2764928/?page=1 |
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Originally Posted By Admiral_Crunch: Thanks! Any specific places in PI you’d recommend? Anywhere you’d avoid? (I know parts of Mindanao and the Sulu Sea are considered a no-go zone.) Everyone goes to Boracay. It is THE vacation destination. That also means it's crowded. I live on Mactan, the small island where Mactan Cebu International Airport is located. There are about 10 5 star resorts here, and a lot of smaller ones. We're 15 minutes from Cebu City across the bridge, so all major malls, etc., are accessible. Lots of great diving, water activities, and great food. We're known here for our roast pig, called lechon. Bantayan Island is much less crowded, but harder to get to. You have to take a small plane or a ferry. I would have recommended Negros Occidental until yesterday afternoon when Mt. Kanloan erupted. 87K people were evacuated, and ash is falling throughout the area. I lived there for a year and love it down there. Everything is much more laid back. Baguio in northern Luzon is cooler, being up in the mountains, and is very picturesque. Burnham Park was designed by the same guy who designed Grant Park in Chicago. Davao and Cagayan del Oro in the Christian areas of Mindanao are fine. Stay the hell away from Zamboanga and western Mindanao. Palawan has several resorts, excellent diving, and lots of natural attractions. Bohol has a lot of endangered wildlife, and great beaches and diving. Bonifacio Global City and Makati in Manila are ultramodern, and fantastic for shopping. |
Kick Ass.
Take Names.
Repeat As Necessary.
Take Names.
Repeat As Necessary.
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Great info, thanks! I’ve been doing some reading and watching YouTube vids, and I’m learning a lot. Does living that close to the airport cause issues with noise? Or are you far enough away? It’d be a little while before I visited, so something like the eruption wouldn’t be an issue, unless the area is prone to frequent recurrences. Baguio seems like a cool place to visit, but I’m not sure I’d want to live there. Seems very up and down to get around, which isn’t surprising, since it’s in the mountains. Are landslides an issue? I guess I’d have to see it. The cooler weather is appealing. Places like BGC and Makati are appealing for the modernity and cleanliness. But I’ve also heard them described as a bubble, and they might be insular or artificial feeling? If that makes sense. Plus, I’m not sure I’d want to be in a very large city. Still, they could serve well as a home base, and I could venture out into “the real Philippines” to travel. A beach/resort setting would also be good, as long as the location is clean with good shopping and restaurants nearby and not hours away from the nearest hospital. Garbage, pollution, excessive stray animals, and beggars are probably my biggest concern, and I know they’re very present in a lot of the PI. But I don’t think I can have an accurate idea of how that aspect really is until I actually visit. Maybe it would be a problem with choosing PI. I’m not sure. Or maybe it’s just something to get used to, or my concern is overblown. Maybe it’s just an issue in the bigger cities. Thailand may be a better choice, since it seems more modern, for lack of a better term. But the reduced use of English is a concern there, and I’ve also heard more than a few people say they liked the Filipino people better. If I chose Thailand, I’d definitely want to invest time in trying to learn the language. But that would give me something to do. But I won’t really know until I start visiting. Guess I’m just apprehensive about the whole thing still. I tend to overanalyze.
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"I keep hearing 'must have a dialogue,' but I keep being told to shut up when I speak." -Sand_Pirate
“I’m starting to think the Internet was a terrible mistake.” -Subnet
“I’m starting to think the Internet was a terrible mistake.” -Subnet
|
I spent my last week in BGC before returning to the US. I’d agree with what you said; it’s a bubble. More expensive and it felt like just some random city. I like being able to go a block or so at most and get some street food, and have the”vibe.” Instead, I found a Texas Roadhouse, a Buffalo Wild Wings, a Sbarro and a Denny’s. There were other places that seemed to be locally owned but they were also expensive. Food was literally overall cheaper on the beachfront in Boracay. If I were going to take someone to experience the Philippines, I wouldn’t take them to BGC. I much preferred Cebu IT Park, if you need stronger infrastructure such as solid internet. |
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Originally Posted By Admiral_Crunch: Nice little subforum you got here. I'll ask a question to help kick things off. Recently I've gotten interested in traveling to Southeast Asia to see more of the world, and I've even kicked around the idea of possibly relocating there once I retire early in a few years, if my travels go well, and I find a place I love. Thailand and the Philippines are the two I've researched the most, but I'm very open to other places. I'm really just getting started, and those are just where I started looking first. So I guess what I'm looking for is interesting/fun/cool places to visit as a tourist/vacation spot, but I also want to look at places that an English-speaking expat can make a go at living long-term and maybe using as a base to travel and see more places. As far as budget in retirement, if I sell my place here, I should have a few hundred K in the bank and about an 8K/mo pension to start. (US dollars). After a few more years, I can also start drawing from my 401K and Social Security, so I should be sitting very pretty. I know a lot of people move for the lower cost of living and to make better use of limited funds, but that is less of a concern for me. Although cheaper living is always a bonus. But I won't shy away from higher-price housing if it fits my needs. I live very nicely on less then 1/3 of that with my lady friend and I frequent the bars. My advice is rent a condo with a 1 year lease. Do not buy. Visit the area of your chosen condo at midnight as that sleepy little bar you saw at 3 PM across the street might be thumping out music at 9 PM until 2AM. |
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Originally Posted By MADMAXXX: With an 8K/ month pension you could live like a king in Thailand. I live very nicely on less then 1/3 of that with my lady friend and I frequent the bars. My advice is rent a condo with a 1 year lease. Do not buy. Visit the area of your chosen condo at midnight as that sleepy little bar you saw at 3 PM across the street might be thumping out music at 9 PM until 2AM. That’s my plan. From everything I’ve read, the pros/cons of renting vs buying are very heavily on the renting side. It would take many years to break even on the purchase, another condo building could come along and ruin your view and hurt resale value, you could get crappy neighbors, building maintenance might slide, etc, etc. Renting seems far safer, since you can easily just move if anything starts to suck. And since a lot of places are furnished, it makes moving a hell of a lot easier. The only pros to buying I can see are possible future cost increases and appreciation and maybe it would improve the feeling of “home” if you aren’t used to renting. So I’m very firmly in the rent camp. And yeah, great advice on checking at different hours. That’s great advice in the States as well. Visit at different times of the day and on weekends and during the week. |
"I keep hearing 'must have a dialogue,' but I keep being told to shut up when I speak." -Sand_Pirate
“I’m starting to think the Internet was a terrible mistake.” -Subnet
“I’m starting to think the Internet was a terrible mistake.” -Subnet
|
How is Thailand the last week of October or the first couple of weeks of November? If I aim for the transition period from rainy season to high season, would that catch things as the weather is getting better but the crowds haven’t hit yet? I’ve decided to visit Thailand for my first venture to SEA. Now I just need to figure out when and exactly where. |
"I keep hearing 'must have a dialogue,' but I keep being told to shut up when I speak." -Sand_Pirate
“I’m starting to think the Internet was a terrible mistake.” -Subnet
“I’m starting to think the Internet was a terrible mistake.” -Subnet
|
Originally Posted By Admiral_Crunch: How is Thailand the last week of October or the first couple of weeks of November? If I aim for the transition period from rainy season to high season, would that catch things as the weather is getting better but the crowds haven’t hit yet? I’ve decided to visit Thailand for my first venture to SEA. Now I just need to figure out when and exactly where. I actually arrived here on October 17th, last year. I've seen it rain maybe 3 times since then (Pattaya). The only time I've really noticed the crowds is around festival times. Other than that, it all seems the same crowdedness to me. |
| Thanks. I actually just saw a video from someone in Pattaya who mentioned that high season last year seemed noticeably slower and less crowded than usual. Not sure if that was a fluke or caused by general economic conditions. |
"I keep hearing 'must have a dialogue,' but I keep being told to shut up when I speak." -Sand_Pirate
“I’m starting to think the Internet was a terrible mistake.” -Subnet
“I’m starting to think the Internet was a terrible mistake.” -Subnet