@John *********

not sure i agree. DVT seems to be much easier to manage. I am 55 but still working (remotely) . Idea of keeping 800K Baht in Thai Bank is not to appealing to me. DVT is like long long term tourist visa. It can be used to "test" if Thailand is what you want/like. in 5 years if all is good - no problem applying for retirement visa. I think we should all be grateful for this DTV visa- not many countries offer anything close to this visa.

in 5 years DTV might not exist. get 1st DTV first. we will see what future brings.

if you're in the USA, consider putting your money into a high-yield checking or savings account (4%+ interest). It might sound odd, but make sure the bank has the word "Bank" in its name.

If you use an account with a brokerage like Schwab, immigration authorities might consider it an investment account rather than a checking or savings account. I ran into this issue when applying for a DTV.

Bask Bank (just as an example—this isn't an advertisement) currently offers a savings account with a 4.3% interest rate.