Thai Visa (dot) com

I think this is the BEST ‘expat’ source of information for people who:

– LIVE in Thialand

or,

– are considering MOVING to Thailand

or,

– are simply thinking about VISITING Thailand

http://www.thaivisa.com/

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I’m often asked the QUESTION …

“Why did you retire early, and why in the hell did you choose somewhere like Thailand, for God Sake?”

——-
First a brief background:

I followed my Dad into the Engineering / Construction business ’cause I wanted to be like him.

http://jonsfamily.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/62-son-of-a-shoemaker-becomes-a-shoemaker/

Even with it being a very stressful job in a very stressful industry, I LOVED the work.

However, as I was approaching my 57th birthday, I recalled my Dad retired at age 60, and dying, much too young, of a heart attack at age 61.

I simply wanted/NEEDED more time for ‘me’.

So I pulled a Roberto Duran “NO MAS!!”, and flew out of Amman on my birthday; and ain’t looked back, not once.

===
The Decision on Where:

I knew I couldn’t risk going without medical insurance, and I knew I couldn’t afford medical insurance in the States without working, so returning wasn’t an option.

I then looked at some alternatives: Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Argentina, the Philippines, Indonesia (Bali), and Thailand.

All seem to check out very well on quality of life, cost of living, and health care.

 

But in the end the decision was EASY: I LOVE Thailand and I truly LOVE the Thai people.

https://seattle99.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/chiang-mai-buddhism/

***

I can honestly say, “Every day in every way, my life is getting better, and better, and better”.

‘4 of 4’ – broken left femur (20-month?? post-op)

 I’m doing really, really, really, well; i.e. I’m walking 4-5 miles a day, with NO limp, NO pain, NO nothin’.

***

TRUE STORY:

 The other day, I had soreness in my hip; and I thought for a moment, “Oh my Gawd, I hope there isn’t anything wrong with my new hip”.

I then realized, it was my right hip which was sore.

Old age, huh?

 ========

As I said in ‘1 of 4’, I owe it all to wonderful care I received at Bumrungrad Hospital, Bangkok.

‘1 of 4’ – broken left femur

Sub-title: ‘Health Care and Medical Insurance in Thailand’

—-

In early September 2007, I came down with dengue fever; which morphed into vertigo resulting in a fall which broke the tip of my femur; which resulted in a full hip replacement surgery.

Sucks, huh?

***
Well that was the BAD NEWS; the GOOD NEWS is it happened while living in Thailand.

HIP REPLACEMENT:
– Three weeks in the hospital
– 2.5 hour surgery with a U.S. board certified doc
– Top notch nursing care and physical therapy

The hospital was Bumrungrad in Bangkok which has a Joint Commission International Accreditation (JCI). It serves over 400,000 international patients annually.

http://www.bumrungrad.com/Overseas-Medical-Care/about-us/overview.aspx

MEDICAL INSURANCE:

I pay $130-$140 USD per month, which covered 100% of the costs: hospital, surgery, meds, PT, etc, etc, etc.