What are the best alternative countries for expats considering long-stay retirement visas similar to Thailand's Non-OA?

@Ken ******

I thought he could at least offer a wide scope of options with sound reasons why those are viable, but if you are looking for more specific info on Phils, you can check out < The Filipina Pea> ... If you look at the list of her videos, she speaks on many specific areas in Phils and what makes those areas inviting and sometimes also covers the things to watch out for... Hope this helps.

@Glenn ****

yes!

@Ken *****

Yes I have the AQI app and look at it every day. It looks like air is ok there and they maybe dont burn agriculturally. Maybe they don't have monitoring stations. I was wondering from someones personal experience what they have found.

@Steve *********

14

@Steve *********

WHO standard is about 17, Thai set standard ar about 34, but bangkok recently many days at 90-100 or more

@Petrouchka *****

I haven't experienced a y smoke or heavy pollution issues when I have visited. But I have heard they do have similar issues as the north of Thailand. Plenty of beaches along the Mekong 🤔😀😀😀

@John *******

I'm happy in Udon matey. Never had any pollution where I have stayed and yes I have heard there health care is not up to scratch.

There’s killing’s daily in Thailand. I was there 2022-2023

Guarantee all Caucasian’s

And it’s the idiots that don’t respect the country 👊🏽

@Brandon ********

about three per month, is it too bad i dont know? get killed and no worry on no money to retire, and why majority americans and britons?

@Brandon ********

Some Farangs need to stay in their own countries

@Mac *****

STFU

@Mac *****

facts ? Please share your links where the government puts immigrants in luxury hotels and gives them money. These are not facts, they are lies.

@Ken ******

thanks for that, would you say it’s possible to avoid the rain from typhoons, maybe on the far west areas???

@Ken *****

I'm in Kampot and it's like going back in time. Totally safe 🙏 Obviously petty theft exists like everywhere !

@Paul ******

I'm unsure also; this is my first year. I'm thinking of it this way; you must fill out a return for your SS, no matter what. So if you make more than "x" you will pay taxes. If you pay less than "x", you are still filing a return, even if you pay no tax. It's that you are credited the amount you owe by the federal government. So even though you don't pay anything, you are still being taxed. Also, the amount you pay into SS is already being taxed at your income level. That's how I think about it. I could be wrong. But like I said, no one really knows what's going on, and there is no hard and firm rules yet, so I'll worry when someone spells it out and I can see what, if any, liability I have. I don't think Thailand will tax SS and retirement income. The amount they make from taxing retirees will be nowhere near the loss they will realize when thousands of falang retirees move to Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, or the Phillipines, etc.

@Stephen ******

What argument? I haven't seen one. I've lived in Thailand for 15 years and haven't witnessed any "farang bashing" but I know a few sensitive precious people who believe Thais hate them. Sometimes people need to grow a backbone!

And if you manage to get your wife to the U.S.A., her income in the U.S. belomgs to the family in the Philippines. So, the necessity for two household incomes in the U.S.A. to enable a family to maintain a decent standard of living, comes into confliect with the familiy's needs/wants in the Philippines. Those in the Philippines assume that since their daughter is in the U.S.A., she's like any OFW in the Middle East- that nearly all income can be remitted back to the Philippines on a monthly basis. This allows for immediate family members to retire and live off of that remitted income. Best to marry a daughter whose parents have a successful business, and that they are supporting their childrens' education, or that adult children have their own careers and are self-supporting. In a poor family, the eldest daugher is normally responsible for supporting her siblings through high school and college.

Grandparents' hospital/medical expenses; roast pig celebration for every birthday in the family; new shoes for a niece or nephew to attend school; money to set up sari-sari store (most never make a profit anyway). It never ends. Ladies from wealthy families don't chase foreigners, not even their own local men (if the men are poorer). The rich or well-off marry into families with similar economic status. They won't allow their sons to marry a poor provincial girl for the same reason. They don't want to share their wealth or money. It's unfortunate that this is the way it is. In the Philippines, the money circulutes, or stay within the minority of those who have better economic status. It doesn't blend, or trickle down to the average person, particularly those in the provinces.

@Keith ***********

wtf? What bad air? Where???

I've never seen pollution in Thailand even in Bkk 🤔

What you talk about???

@Keith ***********

being an asthmatic I have already.

@Keith ***********

Keith let the OP decide as many places in Asia suffer from bad air. Turtle beach DOESNT have bad air.

@Damo **********

definitely lol

@Brandon ********

me too!

@Michael *****

because you still have uk mind bring to Thailand 🇹🇭 when you move you have to forget all uk BS and go with the culture of Thailand 🇹🇭 always keeping a open mind

@Stephen *******

Do your own research

@Chris **********

interesting your profile says you live in KL…

Yes Malaysia has better cleaner infrastructure than Thailand does

@Chris **********

? Wow that’s crazy. Something tells me Thailand is also going to be upping the stakes in terms of how much you have to put down to live in Thailand. And I don’t just mean the Elite visa, the LTR one or another of their special visas. I mean Non-O visas for retirement or through marriage or any other long-term visa.

@Ken *****

far better English in Cambodia ! 🇰🇭

@Ken *****

more English speakers in Siem reap than most places I went to in Thailand. There’s two cinemas in Siem reap and a dozen or so in Phnom Penh

Honestly, it ranks higher than Thailand in English proficiency in many surveys..

@Ken *****

Good point , I wouldn’t know sorry but I imagine that English is not commonly spoken. Just relaying what my friend has told me. I’ve never been and he does speak Thai and very accustomed to the culture so easier for him to settle. Just saying for him the visa situation is very simple and easy way of life.

@Kenny ******

same as Thailand if you like the locals.

@Mac ********

is this a heat map? Yes Siem Reap is hot

Thanks fo4 info

@Mark *******

none. The travel agency did it all for me. I slipped them an extra $20 to keep it painless. I have an ordinary (E-type) visa. You pay $5 extra at the airport or border for it. At a local travel agency they extended it for me for 6 months for about $160, which includes a multiple entry permit so I can leave and come back as much as I want. The time to process this can be 1 to 10 days depending on the backlog. After the 6 months you can extend for another year for $290, and you can do that indefinitely. I believe for a retirement extension you can do it for another year right away

@Chris ***

I have an ordinary (E-type) visa. You pay $5 extra at the airport or border for it. At a local travel agency they extended it for me for 6 months for about $160, which includes a multiple entry permit so I can leave and come back as much as I want. The time to process this can be 1 to 10 days depending on the backlog. After the 6 months you can extend for another year for $290, and you can do that indefinitely. I believe for a retirement extension you can do it for another year right away

@Alma **************

Hi Alma I’m not sure how food without spices can be anything but bland. I did say there were exceptions, Bicol Express comes to mind. Please understand I was answering someone’s query for a suitable country to live in long term. I can tell you I had some great times in the PI, including a visit to Cebu. But there I met a German guy living in nice home with a jetty by the sea but his yard was surrounded by a high security fence topped with electrified wire and he told me he had a weapon he would fire twice. The second shot being the warning!

Btw like you, I was wary of MSG until this series of posts but I've since learned that the US FDA now states it is safe to consume, in moderation of course. Mabuhey!

@John *****

“Pilipino cuisine” is a true oxymoron.

@John *****

I have to admit I found dinuguan to my liking but not much else and definitely not balut!😆

@John *****

filipino food is not as bad as people describe it, but surviving on it full time would be tough

@John *****

. Bland is being polite. It's tasteless rubbish.

@John *****

there is a very good reason there aren't filipino restaurants around the world. The food is awful.

@Symon ********

there are some beautiful places there.

@Symon ********

Not me!

@Terry *******

yes. Most residents cannot speak English, surprisingly

@Terry *******

easier than in Thailand, Chinese/English translation apps are brilliant.

@Sam *******

Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin are all great cities

@Kace ******

each to their own based upon who they know and their connections.. thank God I'm fluent also

@Ken *****

@Sam *******

No you can’t own property

@Sam *******

the Visa comes with quite a few privileges. Much easier than Thailand.

@Dave *********

sounds like a personal dispute carried over to social media.

Get together behind the barn like real neandrithal

@Dave *********

there's many farang that don't respect thai culture or people. Not all but many

@Steve *********

not very active on Social media then?

@Bent ************

Learn Thai and pay the discounted price as i have for years.Im pretty sure if you think farang bashing is a factor you may need a safe place .25 years only trouble ive had in Thailand was mean women.555 .oh and getting my butt kicked in MuayThai.

@Declan *********

"unfair" blows mind when Farang think that way. The whole reason their here is because life is unfair, in their favor. But when life becomes more fair, they're the first to cry.

@Nigel *************

this is everywhere in the world. forums all over are full of cynics and people bashing one another all the time. need to either get off social media or just accept it for what it is. ‘be a goldfish.’

@Nigel *************

Don’t you mean farangs bashing Thais? It’s all in the news

@Nigel *************

I agree, many a westerner makes smart arse comments to a reasonable question.

Also many like to deride the Thai people making fun of their customs and ways.

What are they like in their own country?

A small % of farang have no sense.

@James **********

yes, I don’t think his views are justified, but as you say, I guess cambodia didn’t agree with him. I’m sure it’s not for everyone 😮

@David *********

I'm under 55 and got my retirement visa no issues.

@David *********

55 in Cambodia for retirement visa, 50 in Thailand

@Marc *******

I've been in the "community" group for Siem Reap for years. I had considered moving there as an option as well. Numerous people have moved from Thailand to SR and they seem very happy. Is life more simple than in , say Bangkok? You bet. That's why they love it.

@Marc *******

I feel differently about Cambodia than you do, so we are obviously both looking for different things. I’m not looking for convenience or I’d just stay home, and I don’t see life in Thailand as convenient when you have to continuously leave the country and worry about whether they’ll let you back in. It sounds like Michael is having issues with Thailand as well, so this is really an irrelevant conversation 🤷🏼

@Marc *******

love SI. PP not so much

@Marc *******

Id hate to need their hospitals

@Marc *******

good point. Cambodia is not as convenient as Thailand, in some ways...some ways its more cinvenient..

I have been currently living in Cambodia for 10 years, now retired.

Some ways Cambodia is more convenient:

You can get a retirement visa easily. Only reqirement is you must be 55, and be registered on a new App system showing where you live. However, this is done once a year, not every 90 days. No 90 day reports are necessary, only a yearly registration.

Once you have an address and your retirement visa, you can open a bank account, however, in some cases you can get a bank account before you have the retirement visa. You can have as little or as much in the account as you choice. No required amount to get a retirement visa.

Another advantage is you can take tuk tuk ricshaws on a smartphone app, much cheaper than Thailand. How ever, there are no skytrains or metro systems.

Alcohol is much cheaper here than Thailand, food is not. However, there is a much bigger selection of western type restaurants here in Cambodia.

Rents are up and down depending where you live.

Currently I pay 350$ per month for a one bedroom flat with a lift, but no pool.

Electric is much more expensive here compared to Thailand. Running an AC daily can add 150 -200$ more a month.

Food stores and markets are abundant, but lack the s.

Air quality is bad, but maybe better than Thailand. ( PP vs BKK) However, Phnom penh is one of the most dust filled cities I have been in, even comparing to places in Mexico.

Continuing on the flip side:

Noise is awfully bad, day and night..construction and music.

Service industries suck, but craftmanship brillant.

Cambodia lacks weekend get aways or places to holiday while you rent. Islands are more limited and expensive than Thailand, and the coastline is now littered with casinos. Bus lines here are inferior to Thailands.

Lastly, the country of Cambodia is run by much younger people, even often children. It can be fatiguing.

Back to the topic of retirement visas, Cambodia' s rules are far easier and convenient.

@Marc *******

I just spent two months in Chiang Mai and I’ve been going there the last 26 years… I am now in CME Cambodia my sixth trip… Don’t know how you got so disillusion? The food prices here are about the same for high high-quality, clean western food, even cheaper than Thailand… The street food is great, not as good as Thailand, but I love both countries and you are wrong about the prices

@Marc *******

some aren’t simply looking for convenience, they wanna live a more cowboy life..plus, if you wanna open a business, laws are more lax in that area in Cambodia than Thailand…