Retirement in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia or Thailand?

[Mr Natural]

A couple of members have recently posted comments in other threads conserning living in or moving to other countries in SE Asia.
I'm interested in your opinion of what the pro's/cons of living in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia or even Malaysia are as apposed to Thailand. What are the retirement visa requierments of these countries? Better or worse? Is forgien land ownership possible in any of these countries?

[Aardvark]

Thanks Mr Natural, I for one will be looking forward to the replies you recieve.

[WBU ALUM]

Never been to Cambodia, but I have spoken to many who have. They have told me that Cambodia's infrastructure lags far behind Thailand's. The same friends have expressed some apprehension about Vietnam due to inflation being a big problem right now in their economy.

[darwinian]

Laos does not allow aliens to buy property but it is possible in Cambodia and encouraged in Malaysia.
Cambodia is still very cheap but with the discovery of oil off the coast I guess things will get more expensive soon.
Seaside towns such as Kep and Kampot are worth looking at.
You should make a visit to see the places for yourself.

[aznyron]

I have been following the Vietnam Dong very good return for the USD much better than thai baht
as for inflation it world wide not just limited to one or two countries so for my vote I vote Vietnam over all of them including Thailand and you get a year visa no B/S like Thai. you can own property business with out the B/S of native name

[saint]

is all this not just a case of the grass is aways greener the other side of the fence ? look at the choices, vietnam , communist country with raging inflation , so you get more for your buck but you spend more. loas, not even in the same league as thailand , and certainly to become a chinnese province or nano state given time . cambodia similar to loas without chinnese support . malaysia, well mainly muslim , enough said i think !!!!!! thailand has its faults but overall its the best and safest bet in this region . the main gripes i see are the visa and owning land issues, well if you stick to the rules and are in a stable relationship, i dont see a problem . unfortunately a lot of posters cannot tick these two boxes, there lies the problem . but they assume these problems will go away in another country . does the term wake up and smell the coffee mean anything to you guys ?

[nola-udon]

My only wish is that Immigration would come up with one set of rules nation wide and remove the requirement that says the immigrant officer can ask for whatever the hell he wants...Year after year of the same old BS gets to be very frustrating, at least in Nong Khai.

[WBU ALUM]

I agree with saint and nola-udon. I think that overall, Thailand is the safest and best place in the region; but consistency in the immigration policy would be welcomed.

[Gozzo]

is all this not just a case of the grass is aways greener the other side of the fence ? look at the choices, vietnam , communist country with raging inflation , so you get more for your buck but you spend more. loas, not even in the same league as thailand , and certainly to become a chinnese province or nano state given time . cambodia similar to loas without chinnese support . malaysia, well mainly muslim , enough said i think !!!!!! thailand has its faults but overall its the best and safest bet in this region . the main gripes i see are the visa and owning land issues, well if you stick to the rules and are in a stable relationship, i dont see a problem . unfortunately a lot of posters cannot tick these two boxes, there lies the problem . but they assume these problems will go away in another country . does the term wake up and smell the coffee mean anything to you guys ?

Well said Saint. Thailand is the country that I fell in love with. Have not been to Vietnam but I have heard bad reports, Laos seems too strict, and Cambodia I have seen and I would not go back there. I have been to many Asian countries and Thailand is the only country to attract me to living there.

[38nholding]

Well I know of one spot that one automatically gives a six month visitors visa on arrival, so in reality you only have to do a border run once a year. A tourist can purchase land, or start a business. if you marry one of the local gals (or guys) you can apply for permanent residency and immidiately be entitled to all benifits of the locals including free medical. In three years (out of five) you are issued a passport of that country.

[aznyron]

Well I know of one spot that one automatically gives a six month visitors visa on arrival, so in reality you only have to do a border run once a year. A tourist can purchase land, or start a business. if you marry one of the local gals (or guys) you can apply for permanent residency and immidiately be entitled to all benifits of the locals including free medical. In three years (out of five) you are issued a passport of that country.

38 I am looking to find out what country that is you failed to let us know
Best Ron

[aznyron]

I will take educated guess is it cambodia ?

[bigwavedave]

Malysia.... Unfonately its fast becoming a muslm country like Indo... Nothing wrong with muslims i know many, but the unfortunate thing is that radicals always worm their way into power... Then you are guaranteed to lose your investmets house etc etc, I believe malaya did this stunt before also where you can own houses etc etc .....Then they took it bak!!!! So the grass isnt always green i believe

[aznyron]

Malysia.... Unfonately its fast becoming a muslm country like Indo... Nothing wrong with muslims i know many, but the unfortunate thing is that radicals always worm their way into power... Then you are guaranteed to lose your investmets house etc etc, I believe malaya did this stunt before also where you can own houses etc etc .....Then they took it bak!!!! So the grass isnt always green i believe

Thank you Dave but you can always protect your self Don't buy LOL as for the Muslim issue the only thing that concern me is my safety I do not want to be a candidate like I saw on the film were they cut off the guy head
and B.M is having night mares now because he watched it LOL but I did a visa run there little over two years ago went to Penang it was very nice & clean I would consider living there and also the ringit does not fluctuate like the bot it stays around 3.25 to 1 USD and also the train go there from BKK I remember they gave me 3 months when I got off the plane no visa just walk in great
Chow friend Ron/Jun

[bigwavedave]

I think apart form chun individual mansions in hong kong, the best indian food around is in litle india penang... and 24 hours too..mmmm,,,,im just guessing malaysia here, by the way..

[aznyron]

yes they had a large Indian community in fact the man that did my visa was a Indian. the weather concern me it very hot there much hotter than BKK or Pats

[cali4995]

My only wish is that Immigration would come up with one set of rules nation wide and remove the requirement that says the immigrant officer can ask for whatever the hell he wants...Year after year of the same old BS gets to be very frustrating, at least in Nong Khai.

My gut feeling, as the tourism numbers continue to plummet, and many of these
business owners start crying to whichever gov't officials will listen, is that they
may start getting more "user-friendly", with all these billions of THB in lost revenue.

[aznyron]

My only wish is that Immigration would come up with one set of rules nation wide and remove the requirement that says the immigrant officer can ask for whatever the hell he wants...Year after year of the same old BS gets to be very frustrating, at least in Nong Khai.

My gut feeling, as the tourism numbers continue to plummet, and many of these
business owners start crying to whichever gov't officials will listen, is that they
may start getting more "user-friendly", with all these billions of THB in lost revenue.

Cali IMO they are all deaf when it comes to immigration rules they like the power they hold over us
Chow Ron/Jun

[38nholding]

Oh ,and I forgot ,home prices start at about 700,000 bhat and up , of course depending on location. great infastucture ,schools and hospitals. And the great thing is if you happen to be European ,or British ,Australian ,or from New Zealand,your welcomed with opened arms.. But I do like the idea that on a tourist visa one can own property,titled ,in your name.You dont need a wife to put the land or condo or home into her name and then hope like hell you dont become a divorce statistic .
And with a bit of paper work ( a lot less than getting an "O" visa. )you become a permanant resident and are entitled to all the benifits of the locals. As I said ,including some of the best health care in the world.
A buddy of mine just bought a three bdr house with garage on about (half acre ) for 750,000 bhat .

[38nholding]

Sorry i forgot to mention that the immigration standards are the same for everyone.No drama, not up to certain individuals to hold power over you.Automatic 6 month visitor visa for everyone.No tossing your passport back in your face . Yes ,the cost of living may be a little higher than , say living in Vietnam and worrying about the Dong.But food and booze is about the same.