Retirement life in Thailand

The golden years and retirement life in Thailand for those with a pension fund of USD 4,166 and above

Cost of living i.e. accommodation, food, leisure and other activities
Retirement visa
Health insurance
Cautions on health issues, i.e. food poisoning and heat stroke
Coping with emotional instability, loneliness and caution on swindler in Thailand
Hospital and accessibility to medical services
Nursing home
Death – preparation for functions related to death/funeral
Expat communities
Transportation within the city
Transportation across the cities in Thailand

1. Cost of living in Thailand, i.e. accommodation, food, leisure and other activities.

It is undeniable that Thailand is one of the most popular destinations for retirement due to the lower cost of living compared to other countries but at the same time offer higher quality of life at a lower cost. With a pension fund of around THB 150,000 or USD 4,000 a month, you will be able to live comfortably in Thailand with a luxurious lifestyle full of great facilities and entertainment. The land of smiles is filled with fancy shopping malls and restaurants with food from a Michelin star chef that you could experience at the cost of around USD 500 or even lower. If you are not a fan of fancy restaurants, there are also local food, street food, and international food that you could have access to all the time at a very low price starting from USD 1 !! Not to mention the taste and quality of food it has to offer which is known to be extraordinary here. Apart from all the food you could find here, Thailand also has a lot of entertainment and sport facilities including theatre, golf club, rock climbing, fitness, cooking class or school that conduct in English if being a chef has always been your dream. These facilities will only cost you around USD 10 for theatre, USD 20 for fitness facilities per day, and USD 30 to USD 100 (fancy one) for cooking classes. If indoor activities are not your jam, we also have all the parks that you can be embedded in nature which some parks do also offer a huge cycling and running trail as well.

Getting into more serious business like accommodation. The rental price for accommodation in Thailand is ranging from USD 600 to USD 1,600 per month for a condo in the heart of Bangkok like Phrom Phong, Asoke, or Sukhumvit. The price starting from USD 600 would be a fully furnished one studio bedroom with full amenities and common area facilities. However, at around USD 900 you will be able to get a fully furnished one bedroom with separate living room area and kitchen with full amenities as well. For the rental above USD 1,200, you will be able to get a proper suite room and at a higher price for two bedrooms and two bathrooms suite with separate kitchen and living area. These mentioned condos or apartments are in the city centre where all the malls, metro, sky train, public transportation ,restaurants, hospitals, and other facilities are very easy to access and within walking distance. If you prefer a bigger space like a house, there is also a housing community which is packed with expats in Thailand called Nichada Thani situated in Nonthaburi province which is right next to Bangkok (suburban area). This housing community does offer houses and condominiums for sales and rental. We can say that it is literally a town of expat since they do have their own shopping and restaurants plaza, facilities including tennis court and olympic size pool, salon, medical clinic, spa, and even one of the most famous international schools in Thailand, International School Bangkok (ISB), is also there. The rental costs there are around USD 1,000 for a two bedroom two bathroom suite condominium, USD 1,700 for a three bedroom 260 sqm house, and USD 3,000 for a four bedroom 399 sqm house. Since it is a town/community of expats, you will be able to make a lot of new friends in your neighbourhood with a lot of great facilities and centres to hangout and network with your new friends. Apart from Bangkok and Nonthaburi, cities like Chiang Mai and Hua Hin are also famous amongst expats for retirement. The rental cost of a condominium or a house in these two cities are ranging from USD 320 for a condo and USD 550 for a two bedroom house. These two cities are also known as a tourist destination so it is filled with shopping malls, restaurants, facilities and entertainment so you can still live comfortably with fun and activities but at the same time can also indulge in nature and peace these (smaller) cities have to offer.

2. Retirement visa

If the above information does pique your interest in moving to Thailand for a retirement life, one of the most important things (and indeed very essential) is your visa. Thailand does offer a retirement visa (non-immigrant O), in which you can apply directly by yourself at the Thai Embassy in your country or by coming in with a tourist visa then convert it to the retirement visa (non-immigrant O) at the immigration office in Thailand. You can refer to the list of requirements and required supporting documents in this link from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Thailand. Alternatively, you can also obtain the visa/stay permit through the visa agency company to avoid all the fuss when it comes to administrative documents and details. There are many legal and trustworthy visa agency companies in Thailand which offer you a service to go through all the processes starting from preparing and reviewing your supporting documents.

3. Health Insurance

One of the requirements for the retirement visa in Thailand is health insurance. Retiring in Thailand requires you to have basic health insurance coverage. Non-immigrant type “O” visas are required to have a health insurance policy with a minimum coverage of USD 100,000 and the health insurance must cover the entire duration of your stay in Thailand. Even if it is not a part of the visa requirement, it is crucial to have your health insurance coverage in Thailand or anywhere in the world. Different insurance providers offer different coverage benefits but do opt for the insurance provider that offers extended hospital stays and boarding fees, optical and dental care, regular checkups, medications, physical therapy and provide global/international coverage in case you are travelling outside the country. The cost of insurance for expats in Thailand are varied depending on the scheme and coverage but the cost will be a minimum of THB 35,000 or USD 1,200 annually. Below are the list of insurance companies in Thailand that offers at least the coverage and scheme that would be enough to apply for the retirement visa and coverage that is suitable for seniors

THAI HEALTH INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
LMG INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
THE FALCON INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
AXA INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
ALLIANZ AYUDHYA GENERAL INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
THE VIRIYAH INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
THE THAI SETAKIJ INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
THE NAVAKIJ INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
PACIFIC CROSS HEALTH INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
BANGKOK INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
DHIPAYA INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED
THAIVIVAT INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED

Source: https://longstay.tgia.org/companiesoa

4. Cautions on health issues, i.e. food poisoning and heat stroke

Speaking about health insurance, another topic which is very important and that you should be conscious and aware of when first moving to Thailand is health issues that come with the change of your environment like weather and consumption of food and water. Food poisoning and heat stroke seems to be very common amongst expats who have just moved to Thailand or even been living here for a while. It is known that Thailand is full of many street foods and an infinite number of restaurants. You can find food from everywhere and we even have countless number of food trolley and food trucks here. Although it is very tempting to try everything here and introduce all the new spices to your taste bud, please be very careful at first of where you pick your food from and start mildly without being too adventurous. This is because your body and gut is still not familiar with all the new bacteria and biomes that you could not find in the other part of the world. Even when you cook your own meal, please be extra careful of how you preserve your leftover since the heat here will easily spoil your food or some bacteria could grow in the food without you realising it if some type of food is left outside the fridge for few hours. The symptoms of food poisoning can include stomach cramps, nausea and sweating then following with most likely both vomiting and diarrhoea. To avoid food poisoning as much as you could, these are the foods/things you should be aware of.

Street food – Please choose wisely when it comes to street food since all the food is cooked in an open kitchen or not even a kitchen. Do go for food that is freshly cooked with heat, not something that has been sitting there for a long while.
Uncooked/ fresh vegetables – When it comes to uncooked vegetables, it is better to watch them before you eat so I would recommend you to buy uncooked vegetables and watch them at home before eating.
Water and Ice – Tap water is not drinkable in Thailand and when it comes to ice it is best to have ice that you can buy from a grocery store that comes in a sealed package (at least for your first few months here) but if you can avoid it totally then that would be great.
Chilli and all the new spices you have never tried – Please slowly introduce chilli and new spices to the gut by taking them in small amounts at first to have your stomach adjust to it and not to be too harsh on them.
Leftover food – As mentioned earlier, please be careful of how you preserve your leftover food or even all the ingredients that you buy for when you are to cook at home by putting them in the fridge and not keeping them for too long. Due to the weather, something that you are familiar with might not be able to be preserved the same way when you are in Thailand. All the curries and anything with coconut milk in it is very easy to spoil and contaminated when left in hot weather and it does not take long at all so it is better to not keep curries overnight.

Another health issue that you should also be very aware of is heat stroke. Due to this drastic change and difference in the temperature in Thailand and in Western countries, it is more likely that expats from the colder part of the world will be more prone to heatstroke. Heatstroke is caused by the failure of thermoregulation or the maintenance of a constant body temperature due to high body temperature when exposed to high temperature, dehydration, and high humidity environments. To avoid heat stroke please avoid exposure to heat and the sun without proper access to shade or water for too long because your body will become dehydrated and eventually overheat. The dangers of heat stroke can include brain and heart damage, as well as kidneys, muscles, and liver damage. For first aid when heatstroke happened, put ice packs around the armpits, neck, back, and groin.

5. Coping with emotional instability, loneliness and caution on swindler in Thailand

As important as physical health, mental health is something you will need to be aware and taken care of as well. Due to the new environment or hormonal change that comes with age, it is possible that you will feel extra emotional and lonely. It is very normal that the chemical in your brain plays a big impact on your emotions and mental health without you being aware of the root cause of this uncontrollable loneliness or sadness inside of you. But why are we talking about this here? This is because by being emotional and the feeling of loneliness can make you become a victim of people with bad intentions or swindlers. There are many foreigners who come to Thailand and fall victim to the swindler in the country which is not only local Thais that you should be becareful of but also any strangers or new friends you have just met. It is best to keep your personal life (especially your financial situation) private and be very cautious when making new friends. Sometimes emotions could cloud your judgement and that is completely normal since we are all human after all.

6. Hospital and accessibility to medical services

In relation to the above topic and for the fact that this is one of the top things you should be thinking about when moving to a new country for a retirement is accessibility to medical services. In Thailand, Hospitals are everywhere and medical services are very easy to access. Although in some cities or towns that is not Bangkok or big cities and tourist destination, you will still be able to find local hospitals or medical clinic. However, if you are planning to live in a city that is not Bangkok or tourist destination, accessing to medical service is easy but the thing you should be aware of is language barrier since staff in the hospital might not be able to communicate with you fluently but the doctors are able to speak English since Medical degree in Thailand conducts in English. However, if English is not your strength when it comes to medical terms then language barrier should also be taken into consideration. Apart from language, smaller cities will also have less number of hospitals compared to Bangkok and it might not happen to be close to where you live and requires logistics. So choosing your accommodation near hospitals if you have health issues or specific medical conditions should be taken into consideration as well. If you have health issues and accessibility to medical service is your major concern, living in Bangkok would be the best option since Bangkok have so many hospitals with the best doctors. There are hospitals which specialise in certain areas as well, for example, eyes and optical like Rutnin Eye hospital. Because people from around the world also fly to Thailand just to seek medical services specifically, these hospitals do have staff and doctor that can speaks other languages, including English, French, German, Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese. Hospitals that foreigners and expats usually go to are as follows;

Bumrungrad International Hospital
Samitivej Hospital
Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital
MedPark Hospital
Bangkok International Hospital ( Bangkok, Pattaya, Hua Hin,Phuket, Koh Samui etc.)
Rutnin Eye Hospital

The cost for medical services from the mentioned hospital generally starts around USD 90 and starts around USD 3,700 for surgery or operation. These hospitals are also specialised in providing services to tourists, foreigners, and expats as well so you can rest assured that you are in a good hand as they will provide the best service.

7. Retirement/Nursing home

Apart from medical services and hospitals, Thailand also has many retirement homes and newly established retirement homes that are becoming more popular. You can find retirement homes in all the popular cities like Bangkok, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Phuket which specialise in providing services for foreigners. The cost for these nursing homes is around USD 800 – USD 1,700 per month depending on the number of additional services you want to go for. However, from the research, the most popular nursing homes that foreigners usually go for is in Chiang Mai and to be more specific, Baan Lalisa (also available in Phuket and Pattaya), Care Resort (Chiang Mai), Homerly Senior Living (Pattaya), Prosana (Hua Hin), Bangkok Senior Living (Bangkok), and The Senior Ratchayothin. These retirement home are more like a hotel but they provide services and facilities as follows;

Rooms – Fully furnished with air conditioning and international television channels
House cleaning
Facilities – Gym, swimming pool, spa
Food – Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Medical care/ medical service – in-house medical care for health checkups and basic treatment. For serious illness, the caretaker will take you to hospital
Transportations – Private transportation when you want to go outside the centre.

For some services under medical care and transportations, they also provide additional service with additional cost as well. For example, they do provide a full time nurse which will additionally cost around USD 1,100 per month or 8 or 16 hour care by nurse in which the price will be lower to around USD 750 to USD 380 respectively. Since most of the retirement homes in tourist locations like Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Hua Hin, and Phuket are more like a luxury hotel/resort with all rounded services, you will feel like you are on holiday all the time.

8. Death – preparation for functions related to death/funeral

Since we are on serious topics, let me jump into one more serious topic which is not very joyful – death and funeral. At any age, it is undeniable that the day has to come and when you are away from home, this is something that you need to plan as well. It is important that even if you are in a retirement home or not, you will need to write a will for your family or relatives. Apart from that you should assign a NOK (Next of Kin) and inform them in advance that in case anything happens, what would be your last wish when it comes to the funeral. However, if the arrangement of funerals from the other part of the world sounds too complicated for you, there are many companies that provide funeral services for you. The services include funeral services, cremations, burials, and also if you would like to be sent to your home country for funeral functions, they also provide services to contact your Embassy and send the body home and could also assist in obtaining forensic reports and death certificates. Some of the companies that provide such services are run by a lawyer or are a law firm so they also provide a service of will drafting. The cost for Local cremation and disposal of ashes are around USD 833 to USD 1,100. For the return to home country, the cost is around USD 2,777 to USD 3,333. The company that provides the services will be the funeral director so your NOK can just liaise with this local funeral director on all the necessary processes including all the paperwork.

9. Expats Communities

Moving on to a more light hearted topic, according to the Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour, from 2020, there are a total of 2,459,785 foreigners in Thailand and this is only the record of the number of those who have work permits. With this large number of expats, you will surely be able to make a lot of new friends from around the world and even from your home country. Although it is good to have some local friends, being in a community of expats will surely be able to share with you the information and experience that local Thais might not be aware of since it might not be applicable or essential to their circumstances. It is easier to make new friends and networking these days thanks to social media but if social media is not your jam, there are expat communities like InterNations which is a global expat community that also regularly organise events in Thailand due to the large pool of expats here. They organise events or even trips to different places every month for expats to join and get to know each other and also provide a platform for expats to share information, experience and ask questions. They also have groups for each nationality of expats in Thailand that reside in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and many other places throughout the country. Even without a proper platform or formally established expat community, you will also be able to make friends with your fellow expats from a bar or a gym that you regularly go to, or sports club or diving club that is famous amongst expats.

10. Transportation within the city

When it comes to living in a foreign country, another factor to be considered is transportation which does contribute to the daily cost of living. Although the perk of living in the warm and sunny Thailand is that you can walk anywhere for most of the time, sometimes it might be faster and less sweaty to hop on public transportation. Thailand and specifically Bangkok has varieties of public transportation that are very cheap compared to most of Western countries and I would say even compared to most countries in Asia as well. The type and company of public transportation are as follows;

Taxi and motorbike
Grab (application which offers taxi, private car/van and motor bike with driver)
Bus
Sky train and Metro (BTS and MRT) (only available in Bangkok and Nonthaburi)
Muvmi (only available in some area of Bangkok but usually all the city centre have it)

Starting with taxi and motorbike, these are the most common and widely used public transportation in Thailand due to its convenient and easy access. You will be able to see a large number of taxis and motorbikes on the road in Thailand. The fare of a taxi is USD 1 as a starting price and then the fare gradually works its way up to less than USD 1 (THB 2) roughly per km. The fare for going within a few kilometres is about USD 2 or slightly less. However, it should be taken into consideration that some taxi drivers speak very little English. Another thing to take into consideration is taxi scams. Some taxi drivers overcharge the fare and you should confirm with them first before hopping on their car that the fare price is according to the metre and that the metre is on. Another option is motorbike for when you do not want to get stuck in traffic or in a rush. As there is no metre system, the fare is around USD 2 for a few kilometres but during rush hour that traffic is terribly bad which happens most of the time in city centres like Sukhumvit, Phrom Phong, Asoke, the fare could go up to USD 3 – USD 4. But please take into consideration the safety of being on a motorbike. You have to take good care of yourself and make sure not to fall because the driver’s mindset (and indeed their skills) is to get you to the destination at the quickest and they would do anything and everything including squeezing themselves (and you) into tiny spaces between cars. Most people literally hop out of their car and jump on a bike because they are running late due to terrible traffic and that is why the motorbike driver drives like their life depends on it (well, yeah).

The next one is Grab which is an application for transportation including taxi, motorbike, private car and van. Grab is easier than taxi in a sense that you do not need to risk having your driver unable to communicate with you due to language barrier since you can select the destination on the application which also comes in English. With the application, it also shows you the fare price before you request for the car so you do know the exact fare price before making your decision and do not have to risk being overcharged. With Grab taxi, the price is not so much different from the normal taxi but if you want to opt for a car or van option, the fare is between USD 3 to USD 15 (usually for the van).

As for bus, this is the cheapest option with the fare of less than USD 1. However, you will need to know the bus stop that you need to hop on and which stop at your destination to hop off. But if you are using the bus to travel somewhere close or to familiar places that you go regularly, then it would not be too complicated to learn where the stops are at and which stop to take.

On BTS (skytrain) and MRT (Metro), the fare starts from less than USD 1 to USD 3 which can take you from one side of the city to another (1 hour journey). The fare calculator is also available in this link if you are interested to know more. The BTS and MRT are a good option for transportation since it is convenient and not too complicated when it comes to all the stations. Due to its availability all over Bangkok, you can travel from one part of town to another that are very far away from each other without having to get stuck in bad traffic. You can save hours on the road by using skytrain and metro since when the traffic is bad in Bangkok, it can be really bad.

The latest type of transportation in Bangkok is Muvmi which is a transportation application as well. It is basically an electric car in which they offer both cars with air conditioning and without air conditioning. But the availability of the air conditioning ones are a lot more than the other ones. The fare rate for Muvmi is starting from less than USD 1 as well and at around USD 1.5 it could take you from one place to another that are a few kilometres away. Muvmi are running on the stop system like a bus well. You will need to input your place of origin and destination to see where the closest stop is but it is easy since the application will show you the nearest stop with its photo. You can also choose if you want to share the car or have a whole car by yourself (the fare rate will be higher). However, Muvmi is only available in some parts of Bangkok, mostly city centre and they categorised each area into districts in which you cannot use Move across the districts and can only use within the district that you chose as a starting point.

11. Transportation across the cities in Thailand

Since you would not want to stay in one city all the time, transportation across cities for a change of scenery or for holidays would be something you need to consider as well. These are the means of transportation that people usually go for when they are travelling across cities/towns in Thailand.

Private car/van rental
Bus
Train
Plane

Starting with a private car with a drive. This option is good when you are not travelling somewhere far, for example, from Bangkok to Pattaya or Hua Hin or the other way around. There are many companies who provide the car with driver service to take you from your doorstep or right from the airport straight to the destination. The rate is depending on the number of hours you want to have the car and the driver. For example, if you want to have the driver with you for 10 hours from the time of the pick up, it will be around USD 100 but if you want to have the driver with you for 1 day or 2 days including to take you around then drop you off, it will be around USD 250 and USD 300, respectively. This is the rate for a car but for a van, it will be slightly higher.

The next option is a bus which is suitable when you are travelling anywhere far and the logistic cost is your concern. A bus from Bangkok to Phuket or Chiang Mai or the other way around, will cost you around USD 20 and you can opt for first class bus that would cost you around USD 30 only. The famous first class bus is from the company called Nakhonchai Air but they are routing to and from the northern part of Thailand only. They offer a first class bus which has a huge individual seat with enough space for you to not feel like you are being squeezed together. There are many other companies that offer VIP/first class buses to many different routes across Thailand as well. However, the downside of the bus is that you will have to spend around 10-12 hours on the bus (from Bangkok to Chiang Mai or Phuket) but if you are taking the bus at night then you can just sleep through the whole journey and you will arrive by the morning. Another thing to be considered is that you will have to take yourself to the bus station or bus centre to get on the bus.

Another interesting option is the train. Train is becoming more famous since it is a good way to get to enjoy all the beautiful sceneries along the way while you are heading to your destination and the fun can start from the logistics part. Below are the fare rates of different types of trains from Bangkok to Chiang Mai from Thailandtrains website. Going by train will also take around 10-13 hours as well. Please do keep in mind that the sleeper fan train could be extremely hot as well. However, if you want to get to experience the fun of hopping on a local train in Thailand without wanting to spend many hours on there, you can also take train to somewhere near like Kanchanaburi (from Bangkok) or Hua Hin as well or even taking a train from one place to another within Bangkok.

On to the next one which is the fastest way to get to your destination is plane. The most convenient way to travel across Thailand would be by plane since it is the fastest way to get to your destination that is far away. From Bangkok to Chianmai or Phuket, it will take you less than two hours but please bear in mind that the fare could be quite high for all the famous and touristic location like Phuket and especially during the peak season the price could go up to almost USD 300 but other than that the domestic flights will cost you around USD 80 but depending on your destination and airlines as well.

So these are all the basic information you need to know if you are planning to have your retirement life in Thailand. Afterall, Thailand is a perfect location for retirement considering cost of living, accessibility to all the facilities and entertainments, world class medical services that is very easy to access, retirement home that is more like a luxury hotels that make you feel like forever on a holiday and last but not least you can find the balance between peace and lively fun life here. With amazing nature in many parts of the country, Thailand can offer you a peaceful life in the middle of beautiful nature but if it gets too boring sometimes you can easily move to other parts which are full of fun and all the facilities you could ever think of. With all of these combinations, you can make the best years of your life here in the land of smiles.

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