How has your attitude to Korea changed?

It is pretty obvious Korea is governed by old men.

East Asia respect elders (they know more than young people).

In America, where they worship youth and look down on elders, society is collapsing. Anyhow, we won’t miss you when you go. You can take all your hatred for this country and simply get out of this country! Easy!! It’s good for everyone.

Yeah, clear lack of development from 1950 to 2022.

But hey, nothing says progress like Thailand.

You been to Thailand?

I used to love living in Korea. The nightlife, the pay, the girls, the
proximity to S.E. Asian destinations. It was great. Then I started
noticing old people here. It made me shudder and still does.

Aside from the endemic and appalling poverty of old people in
Korea, there is just the fact that Korea sucks for retirement. Imagine
when your older, waking up to a -15C winter. WTF are you going to
do?

I have my sights set on Thailand.  My wife says, how can we do that?
Well, Thailand is MUCH cheaper than Korea. So financially it will be easy.
Wake up, have coffee and fresh mangoes. Go for a swim in the ocean.
Go for walks. Cheap Thai food. Kick the feet up on a bungalow balcony.

F@*( Korea.

PS: Don't get me wrong. Korea has been good to me. But it is no country
for old men.

That is how my attitude has changed.

Thailand is much cheaper than Korea and there is an abundance of fresh fruit and veggies all year round. However, the Thais aren't the most welcoming people. But if you're going with your wife you won't be one of those guys trying to steal a Thai woman. Honestly, I have lived in SE Asia for a long time. I would choose another country over Thailand. The south of Vietnam is very nice.

Having said that, learning to speak enough Thai to get around is quite easy and the least effort is always met with exuberant praise, something I never experienced in Korea. Chang Mai is gorgeous with great weather and a large ex-pat community. No beaches though.

You been to Thailand?

Haha, obviously not.

Thailand is much cheaper than Korea and there is an abundance of fresh fruit and veggies all year round. However, the Thais aren't the most welcoming people. But if you're going with your wife you won't be one of those guys trying to steal a Thai woman. Honestly, I have lived in SE Asia for a long time. I would choose another country over Thailand. The south of Vietnam is very nice.

Having said that, learning to speak enough Thai to get around is quite easy and the least effort is always met with exuberant praise, something I never experienced in Korea. Chang Mai is gorgeous with great weather and a large ex-pat community. No beaches though.

I have friends on Koh Samui. They have been there for years. I have no interest
in acquiring a Thai woman. One Korean woman is enough to last me a lifetime.
I have been to Chang Mai many times. Great place, but I would miss the ocean.
One of my Koh Samui friends worked for the UN for years. Banked all of his cash
tax free. Now he is full time on the island. He pays about USD400 a month for
a bungalow about 200m back from the beach in the jungle. His neighbors are
Thai. He says they're great. Like I said, Korea has been good to me but I have
worked hard here and received nothing for free. I just don't see it being a good
place for retirement.

But hey, nothing says progress like Thailand.

i know this was supposed to be an epic haha gotcha moment or w.e but afaik thailand had been progressing pretty well (before the pandemic ofc)

i know this was supposed to be an epic haha gotcha moment or w.e but afaik thailand had been progressing pretty well (before the pandemic ofc)

Sure, but considering where it was at 1950 and where it is now vs. Korea, well, there is a marked gap in results. If indeed what he claimed was true, then Korea should be as it were and Thailand should be light-years ahead. That isn't the case.

Whether one has been to Thailand or not does not change the significant gap in development and change that has taken place. Unless one is seriously trying to put Thailand on par with where Korea is now and asserting that in Korea, in fact, nothing changes as is evidenced by the past 70 years.

No one out there in serious academic/professional circles is claiming that Korea hasn't changed significantly since 1950. Only a few disgruntled waygooks who seem to associate "development" with "fun for me."

Sure, but considering where it was at 1950 and where it is now vs. Korea, well, there is a marked gap in results. If indeed what he claimed was true, then Korea should be as it were and Thailand should be light-years ahead. That isn't the case.

Whether one has been to Thailand or not does not change the significant gap in development and change that has taken place. Unless one is seriously trying to put Thailand on par with where Korea is now and asserting that in Korea, in fact, nothing changes as is evidenced by the past 70 years.

No one out there in serious academic/professional circles is claiming that Korea hasn't changed significantly since 1950. Only a few disgruntled waygooks who seem to associate "development" with "fun for me."

You been to Thailand?

Why don't you answer the question?

Sure, but considering where it was at 1950 and where it is now vs. Korea, well, there is a marked gap in results. If indeed what he claimed was true, then Korea should be as it were and Thailand should be light-years ahead. That isn't the case.

Whether one has been to Thailand or not does not change the significant gap in development and change that has taken place. Unless one is seriously trying to put Thailand on par with where Korea is now and asserting that in Korea, in fact, nothing changes as is evidenced by the past 70 years.

No one out there in serious academic/professional circles is claiming that Korea hasn't changed significantly since 1950. Only a few disgruntled waygooks who seem to associate "development" with "fun for me."

I assume you haven't. You probably imagine it as some dirt-poor places like Myanmar, rural China, or sub-Saharan Africa. But it isn't that bad. Probably comparable to S Korea in the 1980s. Sure it hasn't kept pace to SK's economic trajectory, but not many places have.

If indeed what he claimed was true, then Korea should be as it were and Thailand should be light-years ahead. That isn't the case.

what claim? that korea is "obviously ruled by old men" or whatever? how does that claim relate to thailand and the retirement prospects there?

Whether one has been to Thailand or not does not change the significant gap in development and change that has taken place. Unless one is seriously trying to put Thailand on par with where Korea is now and asserting that in Korea, in fact, nothing changes as is evidenced by the past 70 years.

nobody said that.

No one out there in serious academic/professional circles is claiming that Korea hasn't changed significantly since 1950. Only a few disgruntled waygooks who seem to associate "development" with "fun for me."

nobody said that either.

in any case, thailand being less developed doesn't necessarily make it worse as a retirement destination, especially if youre an expat with a bit of money.

what claim? that korea is "obviously ruled by old men" or whatever? how does that claim relate to thailand and the retirement prospects there?

It is pretty obvious Korea is governed by old men. Problems that
never get solved and the lack of political will are symptomatic of
this type of rule.

As far as retirement prospects, plenty of countries have good prospects where the bulk of the population is NOT enjoying a standard of living that the average expat on savings would enjoy. I don't think that's really reflective of the development and governance of the country, unless you think "governance of the country" is based on the life it provides for expats, which frankly some expats seem to view it as.

That's the fact that he seems to compare retirement benefits as a Korean in Korea vs. retirement benefits as an expat in Thailand, which is odd considering that if he was making a comment on society and development it should be retirement in Korea as a Korean vs. retirement in Thailand as an average Thai. But hey, that kind of apples to apples comparison might be a bit of a downer when it comes to his tropical paradise.

As far as retirement prospects, plenty of countries have good prospects where the bulk of the population is NOT enjoying a standard of living that the average expat on savings would enjoy. I don't think that's really reflective of the development and governance of the country, unless you think "governance of the country" is based on the life it provides for expats, which frankly some expats seem to view it as.

That's the fact that he seems to compare retirement benefits as a Korean in Korea vs. retirement benefits as an expat in Thailand, which is odd considering that if he was making a comment on society and development it should be retirement in Korea as a Korean vs. retirement in Thailand as an average Thai. But hey, that kind of apples to apples comparison might be a bit of a downer when it comes to his tropical paradise.

What are you talking about now? Stop randomly mashing the keys. I've warned you about that before.

What are you talking about now? Stop randomly mashing the keys. I've warned you about that before.

Might understand if you weren't leading a life of restricting yourself to 14 units in between looking for "something to take the edge off."

Talking about 'taking the edge off', my knee surgeon just gave me some wonderful 'take the edge off' pills. Not only kills  all the pain, but they also make me smile, and have sweet dreams. Better than a pint of lager!

1) Hang on, did you get that knee replacement?
2) I wanna meet your surgeon--what mine gives me doesn't sound nearly as good!

Translate the prescription. Let us know what it is.

It is pretty obvious Korea is governed by old men. Problems that
never get solved and the lack of political will are symptomatic of
this type of rule.

Thailand is very welcoming for retirees. They have many visa plans
for the over 55. I'm thinking of the 90-day visa to escape the wonderful
Korean winter.

Korea has so many problems that even Koreans aren't making Koreans
anymore.

I have a friend who moved to Portugal after retiring and loves it. Worth looking into.

I have a friend who moved to Portugal after retiring and loves it. Worth looking into.

I have a buddy who bought an old stone barn in the south of France
and is renovating it into a house. Yes, a nice part of the world.

As far as retirement prospects, plenty of countries have good prospects where the bulk of the population is NOT enjoying a standard of living that the average expat on savings would enjoy.

okay, but as far as i'm aware the conversation was about retirement in thailand specifically. what's your point here, exactly?


 

I don't think that's really reflective of the development and governance of the country, unless you think "governance of the country" is based on the life it provides for expats, which frankly some expats seem to view it as.

again, nobody has compared the development and governance of korea to the development and governance of thailand.

That's the fact that he seems to compare retirement benefits as a Korean in Korea vs. retirement benefits as an expat in Thailand,

really? where did you read that?

Aside from the endemic and appalling poverty of old people in
Korea, there is just the fact that Korea sucks for retirement. Imagine
when your older, waking up to a -15C winter. WTF are you going to
do?

I have my sights set on Thailand.  My wife says, how can we do that?
Well, Thailand is MUCH cheaper than Korea. So financially it will be easy.

aside from the one brief mention of poverty of old people (which he specifically mentioned was an aside), i'm pretty sure cheaper prices in thailand and cold weather affects expats just as much as koreans, lol.

Speaking as one who has done the retirement thing in SE Asia (though I came out of retirement to work in Taiwan for a while), the best advice I can give is that you should have enough to pay for housing and transportation in cash. If you have to pay rent and rely on public transport for where you want to go, that can be a problem. In other words, if you plan to retire in Thailand or wherever, try to do it debt free or you can run into problems down the line, especially if you are on a fixed income.

I've had one done, and the left knee is basically bone on bone now. Hurts like crazy at times, and mobility and flexibility is dropping fast. I'm on a bit of a crash diet (no pie, beer, or bread) hoping to drop a shed load of Kgs so I can extend surgery until later this year. Exercise went out the door around New Year.

The local neurosurgeon gives me super powerful medicine. Infact way too strong for me. If I take it twice a day, no kidding, I'm floating around the house and have vivid dreams inbetween light sleep. Fun teaching, I tell you. I never get annoyed at my students. I pretty sure that they are opioid based, because I get minor withdrawal symptoms if I take them for more than 4 or 5 days. Also shocking constipation. I have no clue what they are called sorry.

My actual knee surgeon (in the city) gives me basically the same, but fractionally less potent. Still very good and while I'm still aware of my knee, the pills kill the pain and give me way more mobility. I complained that his original pills weren't doing the job, so he gave stuff with far more punch. He knows that I'm in pretty bad pain, and he knows I'm not ready to get another knee done just yet. The operation is incredibly painful, and recovery takes so long, so I think he's just like...ah, what the hell!
These ones are ok twice a day and no withdrawal symptoms that I'm aware of. Mind you, I'm taking them regularly at the moment, so I guess time will tell. Again, I have no idea what they are called, but they do make me float around happily, and give me lots of dreams. Luckily, no constipation.

Funny thing, I was actually thinking about how you were coping with the pain after your operation. It went through my mind that you may have not been given anything very strong, as is the usual way with pain management in Korea. I think you really have to push it to get the 'good stuff'.

Man oh man--good luck with the knee!  That replacement procedure looks very drastic.  One doc said that for my shoulder, so I found a different doctor.

As to meds, yeah, I got basically Aleve (Naproxen) + a muscle relaxer.