Retire with a Smile in Bangkok

As the cost of living gets more expensive in the west, more and more retirees are coming to Bangkok. The cost of living is a quarter of the cost of living in most western cities.  Bangkok has been popular now as place for retirement among westerners.

Retire with a Smile in Bangkok

One can retire with a smile with what Bangkok has to offer with a retirement visa. Thai people are wonderful in general; they are polite and smile a lot. Food in Bangkok is great and there are a diverse number of people you can meet from all over the world. Bangkok has so many fun things to do and retirement suddenly becomes a lot more interesting.

Cost of Living

Bangkok is affordable, although not the cheapest place to live in the world but it offers a very affordable lifestyle for the amount of income that you have. However, maintaining a low cost of living in your retirement is only possible with self discipline. Bangkok offers to all classes and price ranges. Like in any city, location is everything, living near the commercial areas are considerably higher but there are also houses or condos near the sky train (BTS) or subway (MRT) but are cheaper. Condos start at 10,000 baht (310 USD) for one unit and 15,000 baht (475USD) for a separate bedroom, living room or kitchen.

Bangkok has some of the cheapest food in the world. Street food costs 30 baht – 90 baht (0.95- 2.85 USD). Restaurant prices vary based on location and what if offers. Price ranges from 200 baht to 1000 baht per meal. (6.5 USD- 32 USD)

Traveling around Bangkok offers variety as well. Sky trains and subways starts at 30 baht-52 baht. (0.95-1.64USD) per ride. Buses charges around 11 baht to 25 baht (0.35-0.79 USD)

Healthcare

Bangkok offers a lot of recreational activities, parks and amusement centers. Not to mention the wide varieties of fruit and vegetables in the markets and groceries stores. It is important to take good care of our health especially during retirement. One can walk in a park for free and join dance classes too for exercise. This is preventive care living during retirement. But if there is a medical attention Bangkok is a center for medical tourism and there are lots of great hospitals that are very affordable. A number of hospitals have ISO and American certification allowing for foreign insurance coverage.

New learnings

Living a retired life in Bangkok offers new room to learn a new language, meet new and interesting people from around the world. It may be challenging in the beginning but it helps to exercise the brain muscles and store new knowledge and reboot your way of thinking. When a person does something new every day, the brain has to revert back to a younger time and comes back to a learning mode. That forces one to think like a kid again even if one is in the retirement age already.

Volunteer opportunities

Bangkok is a hub for most NGOs in the region and offers a wide range of volunteer activities. You can teach English to some underprivileged kids or helping in building a house, or visiting an orphanage or homeless people.

Retirement in Bangkok is not only fun but a fulfilling one too. As you enjoy your simple lifestyle, you are helping the community where you live and sharing your time and life to those around you. That’s what you can really say retirement with a smile.