Any downside to retiring in Hua Hin

[goreme]

We currently live in Hong Kong and deal with the Asian issues all the time.

What Asian issues do you have to deal with all the time?

[hhfarang]

Ok, I just read an article that represents my sentiments (and the mistakes I made) exactly. My life in Hua Hin had every one of these negatives, some in the early years of my 10 year stay, some in the later years, and some a constant throughout my time there.

"10 Retirement Spots to Avoid"

"Retirement spot deal breakers

It can be difficult to tell if a retirement spot will meet all of your needs until you live there. And your retirement needs will change as you get older and require more services. Here are some signs that a retirement locale won't be a good fit as you age.

Few health care facilities

It's a good idea to live near places with major medical care facilities and doctors who specialize in geriatric care, so you can effectively deal with any new health problems that arise in retirement. Also check out local options for in-home care or assisted living in case you ever need those services.

A car-dependent area

Many retirees eventually reach a point when they cannot or no longer want to drive. When this happens, a reliable bus or train system or a van or taxi service specifically for seniors can make it easy and affordable to get around. In areas without these services, it can be difficult and expensive to get to doctor's appointments or the grocery store.

Where no one knows your name

Living near family members in retirement can provide much-needed companionship and help with household chores and errands. Retirement is more challenging when you don't have children or grandchildren who can look in on you from time to time. A good social network of family and friends makes it much easier to find the services you need or even just someone to talk to.

High-cost communities

Don't buy a retirement home you can barely afford because it will leave little room in your budget to cope with other costs. While it may seem desirable to play golf or ski every day in a luxury retirement village, don't take up an expensive lifestyle if you can't truly afford it.

Constant heat and humidity

Many people want to escape winter in retirement, but you might trade in your snow shovel for sweltering summers and a huge air conditioning bill. Before moving to a new place, make several visits to ensure you can tolerate all the seasons.

Lack of amenities

While some hobbies, such as gardening or woodworking, can be done from almost anywhere, others are dependent on being in a specific place. If you want to fill your retirement years with swimming, fishing or hiking, make sure any retirement destination you consider has the facilities or natural resources you desire.

Few job opportunities

You might decide to go back to work in retirement to improve your finances or for the social and community benefits of having a job. In this case, you don't want to move to a place with a poor economy and few job opportunities, just in case you ever need to seek re-employment.

Frequent crime

You don't want to spend your retirement years worrying about robberies or your personal safety. Check out the crime rate and the types of crimes committed in any retirement community you are considering.

Too many stairs

Make sure any retirement home you consider has features that will allow you to live safely in that house. Key features to look for include a single-story home with few stairs, grab bars and other shower safety features, laundry services on the same floor you live on and accessible shelves and storage space you don't need to climb on a chair to reach.

An untested area

Don't buy a retirement home in a place where you haven't rented first. Renting for the first year can help you get a feel for the place, and it allows you to easily move on if you discover that the locale isn't a good fit. Get to know the area and make sure that it will meet all of your retirement needs before investing in a home."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-retir ... 39454.html

[Deep Blue]

James West nailed it with a lot of the points he made.

No need to slag him off.

The fact is, as foreigners here we are very much second class citizens with no rights at all.
We can be scammed, cheated and shaken down by the often very unprofessional authorities, many of whom think foreigners are just sources of extra income, this is not common, but it does happen. The rules and regulations that we have to follow here are not cast in stone and the goalposts are moved according to who is quoting and enforcing the rules. Often you just dont know where you stand, especially newcomers not yet accustomed to the Thai way of doing things.

I have been here for eight years, I can speak the language well and can read and write it too.
It actually makes little difference. Many times I wish I had not heard what is said sneakily behind our backs, and sometimes to our faces too, by Thais who really should know better.


We very often have to pay more than locals for the same service, I wonder why that is?

We are outsiders and always will be, it doesnt matter how long we have been here. The only Thais who can truly relate to westerners are those Thais who have been educated abroad and are fluent in English.

The main problem with retirement in Hua Hin, is boredom that sets in after the second or third year.

I dont drink and I dont play golf, I cannot get a work permit, there are no evening classes where I could learn or study. Other non drinking non golfing foreigners have the same complaints.

Hua Hin would be a good town to escape the harsh Northern European winters, but 12 months A year here is starting to drive me, and my Thai wife a little crazy. She also longs for the opportunities available in England to productively fill ones spare time.

Once you have travelled around the country and seen all the sights, you come to the realisation thast Hua Hin, as pleasant as it is, offers very little to engage the active mind, like most of Thailand.

It may be different for those with businesses here, but filling ones day becomes harder and harder the longer one stays here.

I wont even mention how the tsunami of development over the past few years has changed the area, and not always for the best.

I know quite a few long stayers who have had enough and left, and quite a few planning to leave, and I cant blame them after some of the experiences they have had at the hands of locals they thought of as friends. Ethics, loyalty and morality are qualities that can be very difficult to find here.

For those coming here to retire, think of it more as a holiday than as making a home here. Rent dont buy, and be just as suspicious of foreign owned businesses as of local businesses. Do your homework extremely well and be very careful who you trust and believe.

For most though, it can never be home, but it can be a pleasant way to pass a few years, providing your expectations are not too high.

Thanks, excellent.

[dozer]

A colleague of mine retired to HH a couple of years ago,with his wife of 25 years, an Isaan girl.

He loves it, but she tells my wife she is not happy, she travels to see family every couple of months and after 25 years in the US, she was hoping to live closer to them.

All seems a bit selfish to me, I think he could have been more accommodating.

I wonder how many other returning Thai girls, put up with living in a tourist town, rather than closer to their family

[dtaai-maai]

All seems a bit selfish to me, I think he could have been more accommodating.

You mean he should have retired to Isaan...?

[migrant]

My wife has been here 20 years, and we talked a lot about where to live when we retire (3 more months!!).

She wanted to be close, but not too close to her relatives in Cha Am and Tha Yang. We settled on Bang Saphan, a couple hours away.

She didn't want them next door, but close enough to visit, worked for me!!

[dozer]

DM

Not necessarily retiring to Isaan. He is well of financially, so I think he could have a place nearer to her family and a place in HH

[hhfarang]

^ That's what I did. I built a "primary" home in Hua Hin and a secondary one in Issan that her mother lives in, and that has a "comfortable room" specifically designed for us. Our bedroom is the only one with A/C and the house has two kitchens, a modern kitchen for us and a Thai kitchen on a porch in the carport for her mother to use. Works out well as we, even now, have a nice place to stay when we visit family plus a fall back position in case we (or my wife after I'm gone) need a rent free affordable place to live.