Is This Still A Top Place to Retire in SE Asia



Lifetime Membership Price and Benefits:
https://vagabondbuddha.com/best-places-travel-cheap/beta-promotion/

Ko Samui Thailand Retirement Update:
https://vagabondbuddha.com/retire-early-on-865-usd-month-koh-samui-thailand/

๐——๐—ฎ๐—ปโ€™๐˜€ ๐—™๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—˜ ๐—˜-๐—•๐—ข๐—ข๐—žโ†’ ๐—™๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—•๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ
https://vagabondbuddha.com/fire-your-boss-travel-world/

๐——๐—ฎ๐—ปโ€™๐˜€ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒโ˜†โ˜…โ˜†
https://vagabondbuddha.com/

๐——๐—ฎ๐—ปโ€™๐˜€ ๐—ฅoad Map to Freedom Overseas (Retire Overseas Course)โ˜†โ˜…โ˜†
https://vagabondbuddha.com/courses/the-retire-overseas-course/

๐——๐—ฎ๐—ปโ€™๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ $$$ ๐—ข๐—ป๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—›๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—ฏ๐˜† ๐—–๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜€e
https://vagabondbuddha.com/courses/the-hobby-income-course/

Health Insurance I Bought (Free ebook, Video, Agent, not affiliate link):
https://vagabondbuddha.com/expat-health-insurance-ebook/

What kinds of risks are you taking if you move overseas?
https://vagabondbuddha.com/our-liability-disclaimer-the-risk-is-on-you/

๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿป ๐…๐Ž๐‹๐‹๐Ž๐– ๐๐ˆ๐€๐๐† ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿป
๐Ÿ’๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ ๐‡๐Ž๐๐Ž ๐•๐„๐๐“๐”๐‘๐„๐’ โ€“ ๐๐ˆ๐€๐๐† ๐‡๐”๐ˆ
ใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธ
๐Ÿ“น ๐™”๐™Š๐™๐™๐™๐˜ฝ๐™€ ๐˜พ๐™ƒ๐˜ผ๐™‰๐™‰๐™€๐™‡: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmXq0ZRIyR3eX9OhTrNHisA
๐Ÿ“Œ ๐˜ฝ๐™‡๐™Š๐™‚ : https://hoboventures.com/
๐Ÿคณ๐™„๐™‰๐™Ž๐™๐˜ผ๐™‚๐™๐˜ผ๐™ˆ : https://www.instagram.com/qianghui

โ€ผ๏ธ๐‹๐ˆ๐€๐๐ˆ๐‹๐ˆ๐“๐˜ ๐ƒ๐ˆ๐’๐‚๐‹๐€๐ˆ๐Œ๐„๐‘โ€ผ๏ธ: While we have done our best to share our gathered data with you, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained using this information. All information is provided โ€œAS-IS,โ€ with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness, or for the results obtained using this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will we be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information for any consequential, special or similar damages. Any reliance on the information is strictly at your own risk. Instead, you should consult with legal, medical, financial, tax, and/or other such appropriate professionals familiar with your unique and detailed factual situation before taking any actions.

โ€ผ๏ธ๐‚๐Ž๐’๐“ ๐Ž๐… ๐‹๐ˆ๐•๐ˆ๐๐† ๐ƒ๐ˆ๐’๐‚๐‹๐€๐ˆ๐Œ๐„๐‘โ€ผ๏ธ: Our cost of living estimates include only the cheapest food, rent, and local transportation. It does not include medical insurance or any other expenses. Before moving here, you must do a temporary exploratory site visit in order to accurately calculate your personal cost of living here for all costs for your lifestyle and needs. Plus, make sure you have access to significant additional savings in case you face an emergency.

๊ง ๐•๐€๐†๐€๐๐Ž๐๐ƒ ๐€๐–๐€๐Š๐„ ๊ง‚ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐›๐ž ๐œ๐ก๐š๐ง๐ง๐ž๐ฅ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐•๐š๐ ๐š๐›๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ก๐š.๐œ๐จ๐ฆ

โ˜†โ˜…โ˜† ๐…๐Ž๐‹๐‹๐Ž๐– ๐Œ๐„ โ˜†โ˜…โ˜†

๐Ÿ’๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ โžช ๐•๐€๐†๐€๐๐Ž๐๐ƒ ๐๐”๐ƒ๐ƒ๐‡๐€
ใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธใ€ฐ๏ธ
โ˜† ๐™๐˜ผ๐˜พ๐™€๐˜ฝ๐™Š๐™Š๐™† ๐™‹๐˜ผ๐™‚๐™€ โ˜† :
https://www.facebook.com/vagabondbuddha/

โ˜† ๐Ÿ“ฉ ๐˜พ๐™Š๐™‰๐™๐˜ผ๐˜พ๐™ ๐˜ฟ๐˜ผ๐™‰ โ˜† :
https://vagabondbuddha.com/contact/

๐‘ป๐’‰๐’‚๐’๐’Œ ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’‡๐’๐’“ ๐’˜๐’‚๐’•๐’„๐’‰๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ,
๐‘ซ๐’‚๐’

โœฉโ˜…โ˜† ๐˜ผ๐™‰๐™Š๐™๐™ƒ๐™€๐™ ๐™๐™๐™€๐™€ ๐™š๐˜ฝ๐™Š๐™Š๐™† ๐™„ (๐˜ผ๐™ˆ) ๐™ƒ๐˜ผ๐™‹๐™‹๐™”โ˜†โ˜…โœฉ
https://vagabondbuddha.com/i-am-happy/

source

41 thoughts on “Is This Still A Top Place to Retire in SE Asia”

  1. Lifetime Membership Price and Benefits:

    https://vagabondbuddha.com/best-places-travel-cheap/beta-promotion/

    Ko Samui Thailand Retirement Update:

    https://vagabondbuddha.com/retire-early-on-865-usd-month-koh-samui-thailand/

    ๐——๐—ฎ๐—ปโ€™๐˜€ ๐—™๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—˜ ๐—˜-๐—•๐—ข๐—ข๐—žโ†’ ๐—™๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—•๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ

    https://vagabondbuddha.com/fire-your-boss-travel-world/

    ๐——๐—ฎ๐—ปโ€™๐˜€ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒโ˜†โ˜…โ˜†

    https://vagabondbuddha.com/

    ๐——๐—ฎ๐—ปโ€™๐˜€ ๐—ฅoad Map to Freedom Overseas (Retire Overseas Course)โ˜†โ˜…โ˜†

    https://vagabondbuddha.com/courses/the-retire-overseas-course/

    ๐——๐—ฎ๐—ปโ€™๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ $$$ ๐—ข๐—ป๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—›๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—ฏ๐˜† ๐—–๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜€e

    https://vagabondbuddha.com/courses/the-hobby-income-course/

    Health Insurance I Bought (Free ebook, Video, Agent, not affiliate link):

    https://vagabondbuddha.com/expat-health-insurance-ebook/

    What kinds of risks are you taking if you move overseas?

    https://vagabondbuddha.com/our-liability-disclaimer-the-risk-is-on-you/

    Reply
  2. Hi in most of your videos about Thailand you keep saying cost off living is under 1000$ and to obtain retirement visa first thing they tell ( Thailand embassy ) you is youe income should be 2500$ !!! would you please explain it to me how does it work ??thanks

    Reply
  3. So in response to what you said, two tips to avoid card fraud:
    1. Never physically give them your card or let them swipe it on a second machine. Just tell them to set it up and then you tap, or swipe it yourself if it needs to do that. If they insist they need to physically take the card or do a double swipe, then shop elsewhere or use cash at that store. Also be discerning about what shops you use the card at ie Starbucks is fine. But a dodgy looking place, no.
    2. Get two cards from two different banks. One for airfares and the like, and one for daily use. Get the daily use one from a bank that has a card freeze option in the app, and if you're worried about card fraud just freeze the second card every time after you do a transaction in a shop. Only put a small amount on the second card as required, and make the second one a debit only card.

    Reply
  4. Excellent as usual Dan. Was so nice to watch you and Qiang share your knowledge and first hand experience. I am returning to Puerto Galera Philippines early in January (soon). It is primarily for my love interst there. If not I would likely consider a move to a place like Ko Samui or Dengang Viet Nam (which you are also big on).
    Nica has updated her visa so we may visit some of those places any way nearby in Thailand, Nam and who knows:)!
    BTW, I did get my new DJI mini drone. I got the DJI 4K and am still learning all the functions. Can't wait to film on the beach and elsewhere in the islands in the coming months.

    Reply
  5. Looks great! I think one thing that those of us who aren't huge fans of humidity forget is that air movement is a significant factor in how heat feels. Chiang Mai appears to have very stagnant wind conditions most of the year whereas Koh Samui looks like a guaranteed comfortable breeze every day of the year according to Weatherspark data. I think I could handle that. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Reply
  6. Great video, learned a lot. Many retirees say they need an English speaking country, to know the locals. But an alternative is living in an expat-rich community where you'll meet interesting English-speaking people from around the world.

    Reply
  7. This is a long one. Best get a cuppa Coffeee.

    Full disclosure…

    I've lived here on the island of Phuket since 1998. Why Phuket you ask…? Back in '98, it was for the marinas and access to the Andaman Sea. I owned and lived aboard my sailboat before I built my house here on Phuket.

    Many years ago, my wife and I drove over to Don Sak to catch the ferry over to Koh Samui with our Golden Retriever for a "Look-See".

    We will never go back….!!!

    Checking into a 3 Star Bungalow on the NE Side of Samui with our Golden Retriever, we had originally planned and paid for 3 nights.

    The first morning, my wife and I tied-up our Golden Retriever on the front porch of the bungalow with her water dish and morning meal. No problem.

    My wife and I walked over to the hotel restaurant for our Breakfast, which was included in the room-rate that we had already paid. Giving our Room (Bungalow) number to the staff at the restaurant, we sat down and had our B'fast.

    Returning to our bungalow….. it wasn't long before we noticed something wasn't quite right. Items in our bungalow had been moved during our absence. It was not the cleaning staff, as it was obvious that our room had not been cleaned.

    I quickly noticed that the 10,000B I had brought with me was gone. Credit and ATM Cards were still there. My wife's Thai ID and Driver's License were gone…. along with a few small electronic items.

    Side note: I will never use "Electronic Banking Cards" for payment…. of anything. Cash Only. Using an ATM Bank Card to get cash is fine…. provided the ATM is located in a large Shopping Center or Bank, with Security Cams.

    Anyway…..
    I went to the Hotels front desk to talk to the manager. He basically ignored me, thinking that I was just another "tourist".

    I asked him to call the police. He refused. I asked him where the police station was. He said "It's far. You can not walk there". I told him that I would drive….. in my truck…. and file an official police report. The manager asked me whose truck I was driving and said not to file any report with the police.

    I eventually found the station , filed an official report and returned to the hotel….. with the police. They wanted to chat with the hotel staff, including the manager.

    A few hours latter, I had a chat with the owner of the hotel, who had coincidentally just arrived from BKK the night before.

    Long story….. but, it turned out that the manager of the hotel and his staff were working (stealing) from hotel guests while they were having breakfast at the hotels restaurant, when the staff knew that the rooms were empty. The restaurant staff simply used their mobile phones to contact their accomplices.

    My wife and I were so unbelievably pissed-off….. we decided to check-out that same morning. We wanted outta there and off Samui ASAP. Our request for a refund was denied, by both the manager and the owner.

    We left anyway and got off the island on the first ferry over to Koh Phang-Ngan.

    Take-Aways….
    Never, ever leave cash or any valuables in your room when not there. Trust nobody….!!!

    If you own a Golden Retriever and take it with you….. get a couple cans of "Black" spray-on Hair Dye and turn them into a German Shepherd for the duration of your trip….. Hotel staff might have second thoughts about entering your bungalow while you're not there.

    In closing, there is a great book by Herman Wok called "Don't Stop the Carnival" about an expat that left New York and headed south to the Caribbean to buy and renovate a hotel. It was published back in the 1960's and is a bit "Dated"…. but worth the read for any expat here in T'land.

    Reply
  8. @vagabond awake As usual, a very nice overview of Koh Samui. The thing about it that was lacking for me is that there is a restriction on high structure buildings (so you don't really have that choice). Wherever I go, I usually go Airbnb and lease condos on upper floors (20th + ) . These condos always have a pool and a gym and can be walking distance to food. Staying high, usually eliminates the noise factor, so you can sleep soundly and have all your amenities, pretty much in one place. You van get that in Phuket but for the money, Pattaya Jomtien . Actually, I am planning on going to Penang, Malaysia.
    I have heard that there is a nice Chinatown there and maybe you guys can tell me more about it.

    Reply
  9. You mentioned expats. Have you run into any decent size community of Japanese expats in Koh Samui any other beach side towns. We are headed to Thailand next month. My wife need Japanese speaking friends and i need a close in coral reef. We both old enough to want a decent hospital nearby.

    Reply
  10. Visa free period is always changing, I book for a 35 day holiday and the visa was set at 60 day free period,but a month before we were supposed to arrive it changed to 30 day visa free period โ€ฆ
    Now itโ€™s back at 60 days โ€ฆ๐Ÿ˜‚

    Reply
  11. Great information Dan and Qiang. I think the biggest issue I had there was getting around. ๐Ÿค” You were spot on with the walkability ๐Ÿ‘ itโ€™s a big island and tough to get around to see all itโ€™s beauty๐Ÿ™

    Reply
  12. Great information! Have you been to Krabi (Ao Nang) ? If so how does it compare to Ko Samui? My family is coming to visit in June 2025 to Bangkok, Krabi, chang Mai and Ko Samui. And hopefully coming back within the year to retire there to one of those places.. as a start. ๐Ÿ˜Š

    Reply

Leave a Comment