# Retirement In South East Asia



## Arlee (Jul 28, 2016)

Hello Everyone,

I am seeking to know the best point of contacts to rent a small house or an apartment in either Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam and possibly the Philippines for a reasonable short term rental of 3mo to 1yr. My wife and I are planning to take a sample retirement trip and we want to try to experience the lifestyle of living in Asia at a medium comfort level and not live as tourist. We are both experienced in traveling to Asia based on 2 weeks to 1 month periods but we would like to hear opinions of others.

Please know we are middle aged (40's) and we are trying to prepare for our retirement, since we both feel America might be to expensive when we are at our senior years. Plus, we do not have children or other family members we can depend on when we reach old age. Any information anyone may have in regards to Health Insurance, medical insurance, cost of living, Expat clubs and organization etc, please respond..."Thanks

Respectfully,
Arlen


----------



## lisatr12 (Mar 13, 2017)

Maybe you should consider Sri Lanka. The country is underrated and it has amazing beaches.


----------



## jlceau (Nov 12, 2016)

Arlee said:


> Hello Everyone,
> 
> I am seeking to know the best point of contacts to rent a small house or an apartment in either Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam and possibly the Philippines for a reasonable short term rental of 3mo to 1yr. My wife and I are planning to take a sample retirement trip and we want to try to experience the lifestyle of living in Asia at a medium comfort level and not live as tourist. We are both experienced in traveling to Asia based on 2 weeks to 1 month periods but we would like to hear opinions of others.
> 
> ...


I noticed you are already an expat in Malaysia (in South East Asia). To me:

Thailand - My top choice to retire except for the language barrier. It's a good balance between cost effective, safe and convenient infrastructure. But the language barrier can really get in the way. Bangkok if you like the hub-bub and convenience of a large city. Hat Yai or Chiang Mai if you wanna get away from it all.

Malaysia - Taiping is a nice retirement town that is cheaper than the rest of Malaysia. As is Kota Kinabalu / Kuching in Borneo. Kuala Lumpur is too much of a congested modern city but the suburbs like Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya could be nice. Having lived there awhile, credit cards, banking facilities and insurances are accessible to newly arrived retirees especially if you came on the Malaysia My 2nd Home Program which makes it very attractive for expats like us.

Singapore - The infrastructure, english speaking and safety really is very attractive to me. But it's the most expensive city of the whole of ASEAN.

Indonesia - Jakarta/Bandung/Jogja/ is a no no. Only Bali can be considered nice for retirement. But be prepared for tourist prices.

Phillipines - Too dangerous and run down for my liking. But at least they speak english. Going to the more expat and retirement friendly places outside of Manila can get more expensive because they also tend to be tourist places.


----------

