@Jan *****************

each to their own jan. when I weighed up the requirements of each retirement visa between Thailand and the Philippines, the fact that the Philippines srrv retirement visa did not require me to pay any tax on my foreign income, that did not require me to report to the Philippine authorities, that allowed me to import up to $7000 of household goods free of import tax, that automatically enrolled me into the Philippine public health system. That had created a special retirement authority to help retirees deal with Banks and government authorities. That only required a pension income of $800 per month. That allowed me to use my deposit of $10,000 towards buying a condominium anywhere in the Philippines.That had discount schemes for PRA members all over the Philippines. And finally, I didn't have to renew my visa every year (just pay $360 each year) without the necessity to visit any immigration office.

@Kace ******

fair play Kace, as long as you are enjoying living there, that's the main thing! I may be wrong, but I think you are a lot younger than I am, so my priorities are probably different from yours. I ran a business in Cambodia for 10 years and I can honestly say that the corruption of the police and the authorities nearly drove me into a mental asylum. As I said, I still have many friends there and enjoy visiting Phnom Penh but at my time of life, Cambodia just doesn't have enough to fulfill my interests and requirements, but I am really glad to know that you are enjoying living there..

Tony Daniels sorry Tony, but I think you missed the point of what I was trying to say. I have visited Thailand many many times over the past 20 years and absolutely love the place and the people. I fully intended to retire there, but when I looked at the conditions of the retirement visa, it became quite clear that Thailand was increasingly trying to attract the really wealthy retiree. I stand by what I say with regard to the whole picture of retirement in Thailand. Yes, there are things wrong with the Philippines, yes the bureaucracy can drive you mad at times, but when I weighed up the pros and cons of living in Thailand or the Philippines, the Philippine's seemed to offer a lot more. I will still continue to visit Thailand because I love the place and the people but I just don't want to jump through all the hoops that the Thai authorities have put in place.

@Kace ******

sorry, have to disagree with you kace, I lived in Cambodia for 10 years and even though I loved the country and the people, I wouldn't say it was the greatest place to retire to. Yes they have made it easier to retire too with regard to the visa, yes it is affordable, and the economy is definitely improving. However, the corruption is still ingrained, the Chinese influence is now massive e.g they have absolutely destroyed sihanoukville, turning it into a ghost casino town, and lastly I'm afraid I wouldn't exactly call it clean. Still have a lot of friends there though so I visit regularly.

It's why I decided to retire to the Philippines instead of Thailand, ridiculous rules, having to report to the authorities every 90 days! What do the thai authorities expect that every expat will rise up and overthrow the government if they only report once a year!! Arbitrary decision making about things like opening a bank account, and taxation on incoming foreign income. None of those things applied with a retirement visa for the Philippines, easy decision to make!