Many people visit Thailand and after a marvelous holiday, expect everyday life to be exactly like their holiday.
As soon as they return home, start planning for selling everything they own and moving to Thailand full-time.
Many do not plan, thinking they will find a financial way forward once they have already moved here. How wrong they are and many will be sent packing back home to Mom and Dad’s, realizing Thailand is not an easy place, but an almost impossible place to make money.
The biggest mistake is moving for the here and now, and not for the how do I survive financially 20 years from now.
Not only do you have to financially survive, you won’t be paying into any pension plans and probably not saving anything for retirement.
Doom is inevitable, it is only of matter of how long will it take you to reach it?
There are always exceptions to every rule and you might be the 1 in 10,000,000 that manages to pull it off. Or you might not be.
Short of waiting until retirement age, where you have a full pension that is enough to live in Thailand, the odds are not in your favor.
Before ever planning to move, ask yourself what you will need 20 years from now and see if you can put together a viable financial plan that guarantees you will get there.
The magic of Thailand soon wears off when you have limited funds to do anything. Your 1 room condo becomes boxed in, street food starts to taste horrible, you miss family and friends, and you are stressed and annoyed you cannot afford the things you want and need.
Sorry, but just being or moving to Thailand does not make everyday a holiday, unless you can afford it.
Money directly influences the quality of life here.