Tale of the carefree life of pensioners in Thailand

If the rankings calculated by Forbes magazine and other international rating agencies are to be believed, Pensioners in Thailand are among the happiest senior citizens in the world.

There are, however, slynesses in these results, as in any statistic. Life in retirement in Thailand is good if the pensioners will spend there the old-age allowance earned in Europe or even in Russia, and common in the homeland, the phrase “working pensioners” forget, as they will not work there. Demonstrate our “tale” of carefree life in Thailand by comparing the prices of utilities and taking into account some of the daily expenses of retirees themselves.

Living costs for retirees in Thailand

Let’s try to calculate what Russian pensioners in Thailand can count on, but again, with some assumptions. Let it be an elderly couple with a standard pension of 12 thousand rubles each, which rents “one room” on the outskirts of Moscow for 25-30 thousand rubles of this money to pay the pensioners spent about 4 thousand rubles, then they have in their hands every month is about 45 thousand rubles.

Pensioners in Thailand and other Russian cities.

The cost of lodging in Thailand, located on the second line from the sea (within a kilometer), will cost pensioners a maximum of 12 thousand baht. For electricity they will give on average 600-800 baht, for water – 400-500 baht per month. If they are advanced retirees, they will also want high-speed internet (more on Internet in Thailand) to communicate with the grandchildren via Skype. That’s another 800 baht a month on average.

Meals in Thailand will cost retirees somewhat less than in Russia. This is especially noticeable with regard to fruit and seafood. Meat and meat products are also relatively cheap in this country. Average expenditures for food, if you eat mostly at home and sometimes in a cafe, will be about eight thousand baht per month. It is advisable to shop in large Thai supermarkets or at the markets, but for this it is desirable to know how to trade with Thais.

For all kinds of household needs of pensioners living in Thailand, it will take another 400 baht or so, and for cellular phones 300. If they will actively explore the space and move around Thailand, the transportation costs will be about 800 baht per month, for example, in Phuket or in Pattaya, basically, you have to ride a three-wheeled Thai minibus, called “tuk-tuk”. And one of the favorite resorts for retirees is considered safe city of Hua Hin.

As you can see, there is a certain amount of savings for pensioners, even taking into account the current exchange rate of the ruble to the baht. What are the other advantages of living in retirement in Thailand?

One of the significant plusses of living in Thailand is the ability to buy an apartment for a much lower price than in Russian cities and even more so in Moscow. If retirees have at least some savings, they will have good reason to spend it on Thai real estate. In this case, their monthly budget will have an even more positive balance.

The cost of medical care in Thailand

Medical care often “eats up” a large part of the budget. This is especially noticeable in the EU countries. But Thailand will delight retirees with relatively low prices for medical insurance. So if you want to spend most of the year in this country, buy a policy of Thai medical insurance companies. By the way, may be interested to read about plastic surgery in Thailand.

Weather conditions in Thailand

Pensioners can save a lot of money on medical expenses by taking into account the peculiarities of the climate in a particular area of this country. For example, in the largest city in the north of the country Chiang Mai during the hot dry season (spring) there can be extremely high temperatures, but there is less rainfall than in tourist Phuket.

It is not uncommon for older people in Thailand to notice an improvement in their well-being. Their joints stop hurting and their blood pressure normalizes. Acclimatization in Thailand is simplified by the evenness of the daily temperature – at night or during the day it is almost the same.

Get-retirement-visa-in-Thailand

If the above arguments about the relative cheapness of living in Thailand have convinced you, then there remains one more question to solve: how to settle there for a long enough period? The Thais have thought this through, because they are interested in retirees leaving their savings with them. There is a special Pension Visa in Thailand for Russians. It is valid for one year. Any pensioner over fifty years of age with an account of 800 thousand baht in a Thai bank may obtain it. Based on this, we can conclude that the move to Thailand for permanent residence can be afforded only by wealthy old people.

Thailand is saturated with Russian tourists, they create a significant part of the tourist budget of this country. Therefore, retirees should not feel uncomfortable not knowing Thai, but this does not mean the optional knowledge of English. In the streets of resort towns there are many placards in Russian, and many cafes and restaurants have russified menus. This greatly simplifies social adaptation in the new society.