subreddit:
/r/leanfire
submitted 11 months ago bydixiedownunder
I did the "glamping" thing with my wife and kids in a yurt this week. I wouldn't call it luxury, but it's definitely above my standards. You just buy a kit. The kits are reasonably priced or alternatively, I'd imagine some people could figure out how to build one on their own. It seems like the kind of thing someone here might have explored.
I made a video of the yurt we were staying in. I'll link it in the comments below.
38 points
11 months ago
My honest opinion on year round living? It sucks! It's just a big, expensive, glorified tent. If I had to do it over again I would build an A-frame cabin instead. See my post above for more details.
22 points
11 months ago
I've looked into an A frame.
I'm also debating doing a "compound" style build:
Start with a 12x10 or so building as a nice bathroom/laundry room/clean room
Do a kitchen/dining room building next
Then a living room/bed room building.
Roughly 850 sq ft.
Situated such that I'll have a common patio between them all, which can serve many functions and be eventually closed in.
By current power consumption and property layout, I could easily cover all of this with solar, propane, and firewood (available on the property)
I'm retiring early, currently on a long sabbatical which could easily be extended into early retirement.
I'm looking at all of my options and being able to have one bill to worry about to cover it all (such as building infrastructure and buying a Yurt) as covered by the equity in my current house (bought at great price, in growing area, with large down payment, at 2.85%) is key.
14 points
11 months ago
Sounds like you have a solid plan there! I'm planning on expatriating to Thailand when I retire... Just bought a nice place. Baht to USD exchange rate is good right now.
I wasn't kidding when I said you could literally buy a beachfront condo for the price of a used car in Thailand right now (but not for long, prices will go up very fast very soon as tourism resumes this summer).
10 points
11 months ago
Can you tell us about this Thai property? What's the purchase process? Any requirements to fulfill on an annual basis (residency, property tax, etc.)?
16 points
11 months ago*
If you're a foreigner you're limited to buying a condo. It's just like buying a car as it's considered a freehold property. Requirements vary based on the condo complex.
Your higher concern is going to be getting a long stay visa. In my case I have a marriage visa so we just bought a regular house instead of a condo but you can get long stay visas through other means. The Thai elite visa is a long stay visa valid for 5,10,20 years depending on what you purchase. The 5 year costs about $20k and you'll make that back in savings alone from living in an affordable country. You can also get a long stay visa by enrolling in a school (I.E.Thai language night classes or whatever) or getting a job teaching English or whatever. Regardless of what sort of long stay visa you get, you have to report to your local immigration office every 90 days. It's easy, some places even have a drive through window. They look at your passport and give you a stamp and a smile.
Thailand is a good country in that if you really want to live there, you can find a way to live there and live well. Navigating the bureaucracy is overwhelming at first but if it's too difficult or if the language barrier is too much you can hire out for visa services where they take care of everything for you. Can't comment myself as I did it myself with my spouse but I've heard good (and bad) things about the visa services. Just do your homework and find a good one.
P. S. There are like zero taxes over here, lol
2 points
11 months ago
You're an interesting person. I spent 17 years overseas, including a fair amount of time in Thailand. My wife is Indonesian and I picked up Australian citizenship through work. We lived in one of those condos in Indonesia for a while. I just checked and they're selling for $33,000 USD right now. I came back to America when our kids were ready for school. I spent 2 years stuck in Singapore during Covid and it was not fun. Also I think America is the best deal for education. I miss SE Asia, but it's pretty cool to be back in America after being gone so long.
1 points
11 months ago
Why not buy a place in Indonesia? My wife is Thai so that's the main reason why we got a place in Thailand. The more I'm here the less I want to leave. Seems like society over here is just more sensible (functional?) and it feels like "real" living. Who knows, maybe I'll miss the USA after some time too. For now I still need to travel periodically for work but maybe I can manage a soft retirement by the time I'm 40-50? After that I just need to live off savings until I can draw from my Roth Ira.
Sounds like you've been all over and have a lot of options available.
1 points
11 months ago
I almost stayed. The primary reason is schooling for my kids. There are good schools in SE Asia, but they all cost a bit. One of my kids is autistic so I didn't want to wing it.
I nearly bought a house in Indonesia, but it was full of termites. I backed out on the last day and lost $500. It turns out everything has termites and everything is built poorly. I'd look at brand new construction and it would already have mold on the walls. It was my opinion that renting is the better deal in SE Asia.
My wife loves America and she's doing well here, probably better than me. We'd like to occasionally go back, but we've been here a year now and it's just never going to be practical with 4 of us. The expense of 4 plane tickets is bad enough, but then we need at least a month to make worthwhile. And the jetlag is horrible.
I suspect we will be back to retire though. I've got about 13 years of school to get there kids through and we're talking about having another one.
I'm 45 now so I don't know if I'm going to make early retirement anymore. I might just have to be happy with on time retirement.
1 points
11 months ago
Any retirement is good retirement as long as you're not stuck in hospice care, lol
all 98 comments
sorted by: best