Definitely Phuket

One lesser known (but in my opinion huge) benefit of the LTR is tax free overseas income.

Last time I checked there are only 2 licensed agents for LTR visas - might be worth checking whether the people you met are one of those

I’d suggest sell and rebuy: new technology is way cheaper than you may remember it 10 years ago - transport / insurance / import duties / worry etc just not worth it

Try Bangkok Bank in Central Embassy Mall in Bangkok

Not financial advice but if it was me I would buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana

Most people here never cool the entire house - living rooms during the day, occupied bedrooms at night. Single split systems, one per room is standard.

There will be a huge difference in energy consumption between new 5 star energy rated appliances through vs older appliances.

And of course the area of Thailand you choose will make a difference.

An average house in Thailand is a standard 1,500 square feet 2 storey 3 bedroom moo ban house. My wife and I rented one in Phuket that was about 5 years old (so pretty efficient appliances) with our son (so 2 bedrooms chilled overnight and living room during the day) and a typical electricity bill was 3k-5k per month.

If you are buying or building a house you can upgrade your appliances to 5 star, add solar and your bill can be close to zero.

Or you can buy a larger house with old appliances and your bill will likely be 15k per month or more.

As the Thais like to say, ‘up to you’.

@Michael *****

lots of people are saying that - I’ve lived here for over a year and haven’t had anything other than positive interactions. Lots of eye candy too 😉

Michael let me know if you are end up in Phuket - most happy to guide you as best I can :)

At this time of year the air is pretty awful all over the region, but other than this brief period Phuket / Krabi / Phang Nga have very clean air and a temperate climate year round.

I don’t think you need to worry about being taxed on your pension in Thailand - not a tax lawyer but that seems to be the consensus.

Farang bashing in the media is a current fad - will pass and return from time to time, but doesn’t affect daily life.

Immigration is straightforward if you understand and follow the rules.

In short, I think your’re worrying about nothing much

As you grow older your health insurance premiums will rise - decent inpatient cover for a 50 year old will cost THB70k a year and will steadily rise year on year.

As most people have stated there is a huge range of standards and costs of living here.

GBP200k is about THB9m - in popular expat areas such as Phuket / Samui / Hua Hin that will buy you a house or decent condo and a new / near new car without any / much change.

GBP1600 is about THB70k per month. Say 10k for health and 15k per week for everything else. Depends what you like doing: a nice meal with wine can cost 2k-3k, a round of golf 2k-5k, a night in a cheap beer bar with food maybe 1k. A massage 300-700, an afternoon at the beach 500, an afternoon / evening at a beach club 3-5k, the list goes on.

So in summary I agree with you, the GBP200k/1,600 per month is a bit tight. Double that and you’re very comfortable, triple that and you’ll have a fantastic life