Thread: Panama, Malaysia or.......................????????

Yep, it's hard to decide. The guy you spoke to in Malaysia hasn't got his facts right though. You can buy any type of property in Malaysia, only criteria on that front is a minimum spend which varies from territory to territory, most are RM 250K and one or two RM 500K. Out of all in that area they have the best thought out retirement visa option (for my tastes at least) without the need to report or whatever. It's just meeting the criteria for some.

I've not crossed Thailand off my list but it's not high. I always felt that as an outsider it was ALL about getting money, everywhere. I also like the thought of Panama but I'm not 100% sure. I don't want to live in some outback shanty town, I don't really want to live anywhere that requires high fences and guard dogs (I'd go to South Africa if I did) and I'm not sure I want the full on hustle of a major city, so it's a case of looking and looking and seeing which places get closest to what I'm after and go and check them out. I'm focussing on the Malaysia research at the moment but have to say that while Panama is appealing, I'm not sure I've come across anywhere that ticks the boxes yet.

>>Wrong...MM2H allows visa holders to own almost any type of real estate..this is an absolute fact and not in any dispute.

Apparently my PHD Chinese Malaysian citizen doesn't know what he's talking about. I've never looked into it nor do I have time to look at your posted link. Have you tried to buy beachfront land as a foreigner?

>>Apparently there are 16000 western retires living in Chiang Mai...must get very busy at the local immigration office since all retires need to report there every 90 days.

Where did you find that statistic? Thai immigration still doesn't know how many foreigners from each country live here as quite a few actually just fly out every 90 days to see something different.

Originally Posted by Templar

Yep, it's hard to decide...

I don't want to live in some outback shanty town, I don't really want to live anywhere that requires high fences and guard dogs (I'd go to South Africa if I did) and I'm not sure I want the full on hustle of a major city, so it's a case of looking and looking and seeing which places get closest to what I'm after and go and check them out. I'm focussing on the Malaysia research at the moment but have to say that while Panama is appealing, I'm not sure I've come across anywhere that ticks the boxes yet.

Yep its all about ticking boxes...for me it clearly comes down to 3 choices...based on ease of visa, property ownership, language (English) and the booty factor.

• Malaysia...Good visa conditions yes, real estate yes, language yes, booty somewhat.
• Ecuador...Good visa conditions yes, real estate yes, language no, booty somewhat.
• Panama...Good visa conditions yes, real estate yes, language somewhat, booty hell yes.

Indeed. I didn't look too much at Malta to be honest. I think it might just be 'somewhere else' for me, I fancy different, exciting, and pleasant company. I do like and get on with hispanic people (and it has to be said that hispanic women do have an air of excitement, passion and fire about them which is very attractive and makes for very pleasant company, not to mention the hair, smile and eyes - fond memories of 20 years ago and a secluded Mallorcan beach ). Don't want to create the wrong impression but I don't want to spend the rest of my life on my own and I have always, and I mean always, genuinely preferred and enjoyed female company. If I was happy that the I could find the living environment I'm after it would be a no brainer. It may well be there, I need to come and see.

I do like the far East too though, I have a lot of Chinese friends and even speak a little Cantonese. Chinese girls (by which I mean anyone from 18 - 50, they just seem to look like young girls most of their life) are good fun to be around too, brilliant cooks (mostly) but I always declare a nuclear zone and give a wide birth if they fall out with each other !!!!!!

Well, taking the first plunge on an exploratory trip I am off out to Malaysia on 19 April for 3 weeks. I've even started off a blog to diarise my experiences and possibly help others. It's primarily for my own use as sometimes I find it helps to write thought processes down and any findings in one place, esp with such a big move as relocating. The blog is here: Pick of Penang

Panama is still not off the list though. I need to come and check it out. At the time the flights were more reasonable to Malaysia too and I had an offer of an apartment to use there in Battu Ferringhi at a very good price. I need to research Panama more and try as best I can to ensure it ticks my boxes before coming to check it out.

GL Templar...i had a read of your blog last nite and liked it, found a link on the MM2H forum. I'm planning a Penang visit for July...as time goes by Malaysia looks to be a better option (if you dont have a need to be close to Nth America), better Banking and investment options, better food, more travel options with cheaper fares, less corruption, far less language issues and thus communication/s, TV and entertainment etc.

As I posted earlier in the thread, I have an upcoming trip (3 weeks & counting down!) to Thailand, then Panama. I'll try to remember to come back here & compare/contrast what I found.

While I am sure the Visa thing might get annoying in Thailand, I dont see it as a major problem. Climb on a bus, take a day trip over to the border, then come back, problem solved.

The property ownership thing could be an issue long term, but I seem to recall reading that you can own a corp that in turn owns property. That said, I'm not looking to tie up my capital by buying anyway. Renting for a few years is just fine by me. And at the end of that, I can just own a condo if I want to go that route.

As I've said, my biggest issue would be the distance from my family. I still have my parents and a brother that I would prefer to see more than just once every few years. 6 hour plane ride? No problem. 24hr+ plane ride? Definitely a problem.

I am very interested to hear back from everybody's trip and comparisons to Panama. I would personally love to just travel to a different country every 90 days. India has always been of interest to me.

Originally Posted by So_Cynical

GL Templar...i had a read of your blog last nite and liked it, found a link on the MM2H forum. I'm planning a Penang visit for July...as time goes by Malaysia looks to be a better option (if you dont have a need to be close to Nth America), better Banking and investment options, better food, more travel options with cheaper fares, less corruption, far less language issues and thus communication/s, TV and entertainment etc.

Thanks. I plan to update the blog most days when I'm there. I have put a link to it which shows up under my profile here (Homepage). Plan to hit a few areas to check property out.

I have the same feeling as you re Malaysia. I have a few family members in Australia so better on that front too. I also think for me that it's closer to places I do want to visit (India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand & China etc etc). While some might not bother about the visa situation in Thailand (actually if you get a retirement visa you only need to turn up at the local police station every 90 days) it would become a bit of a bind I think. I also get the feeling that Malaysia is a bit more geared up and multi-cultural than Thailand, albeit Thailand has some key attractions

From reading some experiences posted elsewhere, getting the 90 day re-stamp can be a little annoying indeed, but much easier handled in some places than others. Evidently the high-density tourist meccas come with a certain amount of calousness and gruffness to the officials... but hitting a different area can yeild much easier results. Lesson being... make a weekend trip of it, get out of town, take your teelak to a new place to see some sights and get the paperwork handled by a less busy and much friendlier town.

Actually if you're on a retirement visa or working visa in Thailand, you don't need to leave the country at all, but rather check in at your local immigration office every 90 days and usually you're out in 10-20 minutes. Leaving every 90 days to go somewhere else is just an option, but many people prefer just to check in locally at immigration. To each their own!

Hey templar, you told me before, here or in another thread, that buying a house in malaysia isnt a problem. Do you know if same goes for starting a business as a foreigner?

I think apart from these real hard issues like buying houses, visas, etc, we often omit to consider the people, the culture there. The people and the feel you get from them vary - Thai, Malaysians, Pinoys, and of course Panamanians - are all different. That can affect to a large extent, the quality of life there.

Originally Posted by Liont

I think apart from these real hard issues like buying houses, visas, etc, we often omit to consider the people, the culture there. The people and the feel you get from them vary - Thai, Malaysians, Pinoys, and of course Panamanians - are all different. That can affect to a large extent, the quality of life there.

That is a very good point. In my opinion, your new neighbors and how you get along with them, is one of the most important factors in determining what is going to make you happy in the long run.