Retire in Amsterdam or Bangkok? Help me decide!

[upsdreamer]

Hi guys was hoping you people could help me figure this out and anyone living long-term in the above cities can offer some perspective.

I'm in my late 30s and thinking of retiring in 5 yrs. Im an engineer in the oil & gas industry and saved up quite a bit. Since uni days I made the impt decision NEVER to have kids, a house/wife or a car in SG and that has translated to enough savings for me to even consider retirement. This is the ultimate dream.

I want to leave this island for good. I have NO burdens cos I never married or spent lavishly while working here. Ive saved bit by bit and waited patiently for this day. Now Im slowly nearing the end of my contract and dont intend to carry on.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Leongsam]

Why have you limited yourself to 2 cities... neither of which would be on my list of favourite places to retire?

 

[upsdreamer]

Why have you limited yourself to 2 cities... neither of which would be on my list of favourite places to retire?

Amsterdam- Having lived in SG for so long, if I'm gonna pursue happiness I might as well do it in a city that values liberty (more so than their North American counterparts). Tired of regulation and arcane penalties so this would be a refreshing change. I've went there before for 6 month stint and there truly is a sense of freedom on the streets... allowing oneself to indulge in all sorts of things that is not possible in SG. Citizenship considered.

Bangkok- Probably the same as Amsterdam; albeit a cheaper option despite the bribes involved to attain the same level of freedom. Visa runs considered.

 

[no_faith]

amsterdam for the coffee house, bangkok for the whore house.

 

[neddy]

Amsterdam- Having lived in SG for so long, if I'm gonna pursue happiness I might as well do it in a city that values liberty (more so than their North American counterparts). Tired of regulation and arcane penalties so this would be a refreshing change. I've went there before for 6 month stint and there truly is a sense of freedom on the streets... allowing oneself to indulge in all sorts of things that is not possible in SG. Citizenship considered.

Bangkok- Probably the same as Amsterdam; albeit a cheaper option despite the bribes involved to attain the same level of freedom. Visa runs considered.

I prefer Holland anytime.

Amsterdam:
Are you setting yourself up as the new Ah Kong*?
Do you mind having at least one cold meal a day - Dutch habit?
Excellent Indonesian food.
You have to speaak Dutch - game for a new language? free lessons for migrants.
How's your cycling skill?
Are you sure your decision is not influenced by the hot Dutch ladies cycling around town?
Nice coffee shops but too many loser migrants from africa.

Gateway to the rest of Europe.

 

[Fornicator]

It is Bangkok for me, to retire that is.

Amsterdam, rather go there for holiday only.

Cheers.

 

[wendypoh]

The first thing is whether you qualify to apply for PR status in Netherlands (aka Holland) or not.

If you do, apply for PR there.

If you do not, there is a back door to Netherlands or any other European countries such as UK, France, Germany, Sweden etc.

The back door is to apply for PR in one of the smaller EU countries. Small does not refer to size, because a small country like Denmark is well sought after. Small refer to countries like Malta. It is easier to get PR there, once you are in Malta for some time, you can apply for an European Union passport. With a EU passport, you can live all over Europe.

See attachment for information on PR in Malta.
View attachment Residence-09.pdf

 

[scroobal]

As a retiree within 3 to 6 months you may become bored. Here is something that many do if you can afford it. It pretty much time honoured among those who can operate 2 households.

Here is an example. The lady is a retired teacher and she has house in Dunbar Walk. She also moved to Perth where she has another house. She travels 3 times a year between the 2. She has 2 sets of friends and she does not have a monotonous life. Similar examples are found in JB where there is weekender or when you retire the weekender is the Singapore home. Thailand, China etc is also popular.

In all these scenarios, you are no confined by the politics or the negatives of an environment for too long. You tend to look for next trip as the einvironment dramatically changes.

Also pick up a hobby or part time job or create a consultancy to pay for fixed costs and remove the boredom.

Most people treat migrating as a zero sum game. It need not be.

Hi guys was hoping you people could help me figure this out and anyone living long-term in the above cities can offer some perspective.

I'm in my late 30s and thinking of retiring in 5 yrs. Im an engineer in the oil & gas industry and saved up quite a bit. Since uni days I made the impt decision NEVER to have kids, a house/wife or a car in SG and that has translated to enough savings for me to even consider retirement. This is the ultimate dream.

I want to leave this island for good. I have NO burdens cos I never married or spent lavishly while working here. Ive saved bit by bit and waited patiently for this day. Now Im slowly nearing the end of my contract and dont intend to carry on.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[po2wq]

... Any thoughts on this?

spring n autumn samster damn ... summer n winter bang cock ...

 

[neddy]

As a retiree within 3 to 6 months you may become bored. Here is something that many do if you can afford it. It pretty much time honoured among those who can operate 2 households.

Here is an example. The lady is a retired teacher and she has house in Dunbar Walk. She also moved to Perth where she has another house. She travels 3 times a year between the 2. She has 2 sets of friends and she does not have a monotonous life. Similar examples are found in JB where there is weekender or when you retire the weekender is the Singapore home. Thailand, China etc is also popular.

In all these scenarios, you are no confined by the politics or the negatives of an environment for too long. You tend to look for next trip as the einvironment dramatically changes.

Also pick up a hobby or part time job or create a consultancy to pay for fixed costs and remove the boredom.

Most people treat migrating as a zero sum game. It need not be.

Someone told me the same thing a while ago. There are many variations to this concept - one of which is why I am building a granny unit as a separate living space, esp for the grey nomads.

I just have another retiree who sold his Perth house, look for his son in the US and bought a RV bus to tour North America.

 

[woolsworth]

The back door is to apply for PR in one of the smaller EU countries. Small does not refer to size, because a small country like Denmark is well sought after. Small refer to countries like Malta. It is easier to get PR there, once you are in Malta for some time, you can apply for an European Union passport. With a EU passport, you can live all over Europe.

See attachment for information on PR in Malta.
View attachment 1746

While I'm sure you gave the opinion in good faith , the reality is that it is extremely Difficult for a pure Foreigner (i.e no blood ties to Malta) to ever acquire Malta citizeneship except on humaritarian grounds.

http://www.foreign.gov.mt/Library/Cit/CEA3-NAT.pdf

Malta PR, yes very easy ; Malta Citizenship - very difficult .

One should try other 'back doors' , esp via South America .

 

[tate]

Malta PR, yes very easy ; Malta Citizenship - very difficult .

Ok lah. Apply under Category A.

http://www.foreign.gov.mt/Library/Cit/CEA3-NAT.pdf

Do I qualify to apply for naturalisation as a citizen of Malta?

Provided that you are over eighteen years of age, you may submit an application if:

Category A:

You are a foreigner or stateless person and:

· you have resided in Malta throughout the twelve months immediately preceding the date of application; and

· you have resided in Malta for periods amounting in the aggregate to a minimum of four years, during the six years preceding the above period of twelve months; and

· you are of good character; and

· you have an adequate knowledge of the Maltese or the English language; and

· you would be a suitable citizen of Malta.

 

[LeMans2011]

Bangkok for asian kway... Angmohsterdam for ang moh kway... that is the reason behind TS's options :-p