Hi everyone! (sorry for long message)

I am returning to Thailand this April and am hoping to stay 6 months this visit.. I'm a US citizen and am planning to arrive on an O visa, good for 90 days, and am interested in applying for a Retirement visa; however, my son who is in a Thai university told me that there have been some changes to the Retirement visa requirements recently, so I'm wondering if anyone could help me know what the requirements currently are as the Boston Thai Consulate did not have that info for me..

What I can tell you is that I receive $1400 in my bank account per month from SSDI, and have a savings of $6,100, but it's very likely I could borrow from a family member to bump my savings up to $7,000/$8,000 for the visa process if $6,100 is not enough..

My other option is to come on a Tourist visa and visit Laos and Vietnam for a spell to fill 6 months.. Or while there find a school and apply for an Education visa (from the US or, if allowed, apply from Thailand?).. But ultimately my goal is to find a visa where I meet the requirements and that would allow me to stay on a long-term basis..

Any help is appreciated as I feel a bit lost and overwhelmed with this part of my plans, and really rely on the expat community for a lot of various questions I don't have the answers to..

Thank you so much in advance for any help you think you could provide.. :)