I am a 72 year old expat from Australia, formerly English. Have lived & worked also in New Zealand, Norway, Netherlands and Turkey. This post is to inform others of the things you are rarely told about Thailand.
This is what I believe is the case for the negative; apologies if some of this is not true or has been changed.
Despite all these disadvantages, life in Thailand is very relaxed and the people easy-going. Climate is pretty good.
1. There is no effective 'permanent residence' here, nor any chance for a farang to be granted citizenship.
2. You may not own land, nor a house; a condo unit may be 'owned' provided 51% of the total units are Thai owned. This is the ONLY country where I could not own property nor get residence.
3. You can own 49% max of a property shared with your Thai wife/ partner but cases are known where said partner has sold the property without your consent & kept all the proceeds.
4. Deportation may be very swift if you get into serious trouble with authorities. You may have no chance to dispose of assets.
5. You may not work without a special visa; amazingly, volunteer work also requires permission. No work allowed on a retirement visa, period.
5. "Lese Majeste"- an antiquated law which is still used [infrequently or vicariously] carrying appalling sentences, sometimes 60 years imprisonment.
6. Thailand is usually at No1 or 2 in road deaths per unit of population. Driving standards, drink-driving, bad roads and very little police enforcement are all to blame.
Having 500Bt million in a Thai account MIGHT help in
overcoming some of these problems...
I feel no long-term security here, so am leaving, with some regret but also relief. No more 90 day reporting, no more extension of stay on so-called retirement visa [one year at
a time]. Had I known these things I would likely have gone to Panama at 65 where 'Pensionado' retirement is for life.