Olddaddy

How right you are ! I was shocked yesterday to have a gay friend visit me from Australia's "red neck " State of Queensland. How times have changed,he told me him & his bf kiss openly in their city of Cairns in North Queensland. I started to tell him " well 30 years ago you couldn't do that , especially in Queensland Australia,but times have changed nowadays and for the most gay people are it seems & I can't say "accepted" .....but "tolerated" I guess .

I read on some expat forums around $200 US a month for expats insurance and that's apparently the lower side of insurance! Even if you "self I sure" will it be enough for major treatment if you ever need it? I guess you would have to keep a residence in your home country and go back if needed for treatment As for other reasons expats are not retiring to Thailand.....

So what's happened? There must be more people indentify as gay now more than ever so what's happened to the gay tourists?

What's the USA social security like , I think 62yo they get there ? Unlike us in Australia

Love to see your report on Bali when you g, so close to Australia but I always go past in on my way to Thailand

My next trip will be Malaysia , probably in the new year

Same with me , Sydney has been nothing but cold the last 8 months average like 16 degrees ,.my old bones doesn't like it

I don't think there is "gay exclusive" hotels in Bangkok nowadays I stayed in several in Cambodia a few years ago , there was 2 next to each other ,I think it was Steve & Paul's or something,it was good but I ended up moving to the one next door at half the price !

Probably, good chance I won't ,even though I lift weights everyday sometimes twice a day ,and I really hit it hard doubt it's good for my health actually to push weights hard at my age but I do it more for mental health ,sometimes I lift for more than 2 hours at a time ,just put my headphones on and lift My blood pressure is also high, probably caused by the testereone injection I take monthly ,yesterday 158/17..had to restart blood pressure medication again , my weight 108kg , stay off salt said the doctor ,it's the salt he said ,salt? Could be anything that can cause high blood pressure in reality I'm back on 5mg Amlodipine a day ,see if lowers it although he did make acomment that 17 reading is good? But not the 158 This is why it's important to try to do things like travel more etc instead of trying to hoard more money away . If your getting on in years it's no use hoarding your money away giving it away to nephews you never see much when you depart

I used to like the BBB inn ,who remembers that? Of course I shouldn't be talking about the past , I always was critical of older folk who talked about the past when I was younger now I find I do it myself 😂

I liked the Arcadia beach Condominiums ,same Soi as the Sansuk sauna. Studios there range from 1.2 million onwards , 24 hr security,gym,very long resort pool, However one must think carefully about if you can cope with living in a 21sqm room forever , it did have a separate bedroom It may be better to rent first . Another hidden gem even though some may consider it "low class " is the Flybird Condominium up near third road ,studios around 32sqm sell from 400,000 baht upwards ,no lift however . Hard to weigh up the pro's & cons of renting vs buying . Factors in such thing as age of yourself are important too

Very true , I thought about this after you last wrote it and I noticed many other posters quoting what you wrote . The excitement and looking forward ,even the planning etc , but you know you get the both of both worlds if you live in farangland and travel there two or three times a year . I actually asked a expat who moved to Pattaya what he looks forward to in regard to travel now ,and he really couldn't come up with anything except Cambodia. Last month I actually met a former Pattaya business owner who was now living in his home country and visiting Thailand,he gets far more enjoyment in visiting twice a year than living there ,although at his age of 72 he is finding the travel can be tiring. He actually lovess to work and still works full time in his home country so can afford to travel rather than as he puts it " hibernate in a room in Pattaya by himself all year long" " been there done that" he said I wont say who it is but he was running a business back in the early 2000's in Pattaya ,a nice guy

It didn't mean to come out that way ,my apologies 🙏 I mean being a realist and 60yo I'm probably not going to be here in 30 years , that's the way it is , Sad fact of life but most of us will go between 80-85 . I hope that doesn't upset anyone

I guess at your age with 8- 10 years left it's not worth it your right 👍

Times are changing, seems this generation of farangs are not overly interested in the gay scene and money boys . Wait another 10 years and there will be less gay farang interested

Wish Sunee plaza would come back ,but with apparently the short leases on offer I'm guessing bar entrepreneurs are not keen to open. Obviously something is happening in that area , must be waiting for a sell off of the area .

I would say Jomtien area ,close to everything.

Can someone tell me if it's correct in the USA they get the old age pension at 62? Unlike Australia and UK where we have to wait until 67

$200 (US) a month is a lot particularly if you never have to use it . And especially a lot to those guys living in Aussie or UK government pensions .

This a good option , 6 months in each place and even better if you can work in your home country for 6 months at that time. 6 months in Thailand low season and 6 months in your home country sounds good

Yes the cost of healthcare How does one afford that living on the Australian pension of roughly 40k a month ? Many I would say just don't have health insurance, and it is expensive and takes a big part of the budget .

If you had or did move there , what would you routine be like, would it be different to what you do in London Would you become bored with that lifestyle night after night bar hopping

I guess my food bill would be more than 150b a day ! 😄 I did eat at SINT cafe a few mornings , and Dolce Vita but yes eating farang food would go over your budget if you have to scrimp by. I would have to have Air Con though , wouldn't be able to live in a fan room.

Yes , sometimes I tend to get the impression that farangs think by somehow moving to Thailand will solve all their problems being lonely. Some move for a boyfriend only to fall out with them later , then the boredom of hiring money boys just becomes a business transaction and not exciting anymore as you negotiate prices " how much you pay me " becomes mundane

Look , I met many farangs in Pattaya who were happy in 50k a month One man who I spoke to regularly in a bar was on the Australian pension of 44k a month and told me he still saved money He rented a studio in jomtien and told me he cooked all his own meals. I didn't ask him how much rent he paid and he didn't offer ,I imagine the 10k mark??? Apparently bought most ingredients from the markets and cooked himself ,had a hotplate in his room ,he had vegetables with him when I was talking to him and doesn't buy at supermarket,he was complaining Foodland at jomtien were robbers so never shops there he filled his day with Netflix he told me ,mind you he was in his early 70's . Not sure the cost of Netflix in Thailand but I did notice him use the bars wifi so maybe he just buys a drink to use the wifi 😄 He hadn't been to a Go Go bar in years because of prices He seemed to frequent the same bars so may have got a discount perhaps,he seemed to go home at around 8pm to He told me over the course of a few meetings he bought used shoes from the bukhao market for 100 baht and t shirts 40 b and they looked good too I must say He goes to the sunday markets up on some busy road Thappraya? Buys all his food from some markets ,he told me there was some French bread shop up near the traffic lights in jomtien that sold 2 bread in the evening for one price ,and he buys chicken and rice for 40 baht so anyway obviously he knows how to survive I guess he has the requirements of 800k in the bank So he said to me he spends less than 44k a month So that's his life I guess ,living in a studio room and it may suit him , he looked happyhe says he sits on the small balcony every morning with his coffee But me , I probably would get bored during the day ,wake up in the morning go to the gym ,then what ,? Watch Netflix like he does ? Whether that is a life for all of us I don't know ,I guess it's better than living in Australia or the UK though