I will be eligible for my mention in May next year to considering where I want to live for rest of my retirement. Looking at 2 options-Australia as I've travelled there a lot or Thailand which I've heard a lot about.

I am NZ citizen born in NZ. How difficult to get a Visa-what kind of Visa would I need to be able to live there & how much would it cost & where would I apply?

I can see that I could probably rent an apartment for 10,000 THB per month roughly but what about all the other expenses-what does it cost you to live there per month-power/internet/insurance/I would have a motorcycle to get around so fuel/eating out (as apartments generally have no cooking facilities). Do you need medical insurance? Doctor?

If you want to meet someone around your age to get married how sincere are they-loyal, or are they jsut after your money? Where do you start?

Basically I would just want to be able to afford to live comfortably with tidy apartment maybe Hua Hin, meet someone nice & do some touring around the country & occasionally go on an overseas trip-provided it's affordable. It sounds like maybe some people make it happen but are they relying on extra savings or investments to survive or can they manage on their pension as obviously you can't work on your visa over there ,whereas in Australia I would probably keep working doing what I'm doing in NZ.

Hi , this is a bit of an " everything else " post . In the last 16 years i have spent approx 3 years on the ground in Thailand on the Tourist visa system . I have just this year obtained the Old Age Pension in Australia and can now leave the country and live overseas . Since coming of OAP age i have been in the "dreaming phase" about leaving this country and making the move to Thailand long term . But now things get a little more serious . I dont own my home , i rent , i'm single and have no dependants.

So now i am heading into the " Planning Phase " and suddenly there is a lot to consider , letting go of all my possessions ( car , motorbike , household goods ) How to maintain bank accounts and the reissuing of debit cards ( do they send them overseas ? ) , how and should i maintain my Aussie Drivers License , medical considerations ( i have no major medical problems , although the knees are starting to complain about the extra weight i am now carrying ) and many questions i haven't even thought of yet .

I'm sure i will find the answers to many questions on here and on the internet as a whole but the one thing i am interested in is the experience of people who have done this already and how they felt leaving everything behind . Any regrets , anything you forgot to do after leaving , how difficult or easy was it making the move . I have friends in Thailand , i speak a small amount of Thai and love the place in general so i am fairly comfortable over there . 👌

Sorry for the long post and i would appreciate any sharing of experience no matter how small or seemingly insignificant . Sometimes it's the small things we forget that can have a large impact. 🤔 ........ Thanks .