I love your channel!! You present the most relevant and realistic views of living away from the US and also living in Thailand. I’m 60 and single and believe I would truly feel safe and comfortable living in Thailand. I pray I am able to retire there in a few years. Please continue to share your experiences and knowledge. Many blessings to you and your husband. Maybe I’ll get to meet you guys one day. Take care.
So happy you're back! You are living the life I dream of living. Being able to pick up and move around every 90 days from country to country is spectacular!
Welcome back! Would love to hear more about your visa process. Headed there in Dec and would love to explore idea of moving to BKK. Love your informative videos.
Thanks for the update. I think part of the issue is that you still have wanderlust and realize there are so many places you would like to visit/experience before you settle in one place. Bangkok is a great city! How are your Thai lessons? How do you deal with the extreme heat and air pollution?
Not having a schedule (i.e., a job) makes it fairly easy to deal with the heat and air pollution. The air quality (usually the worst from January to May in Thailand) is partly what led to our decision to check out Da Nang. As far as the extreme heat, it takes some getting used to for sure. I'm not spending as much time as I'd like outside. It'll always be a work in progress, just like my Thai language learning.
So glad to hear from you again! We almost messed things up too a few months ago trying to revisit life in the US again. It lasted about three months and we almost gave up our permanent residency in Ecuador! So glad we didn’t do that. I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one who experience the feelings you described. Also thought about slow travel as a way to not feel stuck in one place. We have gained a new appreciation for where we’ve lived for the past 3.5 years. Still want to travel a bit, but not move.😊
Hey Barbara, it's definitely a process. And making sense of the fact that we no longer live in the US is its own challenge. We were fortunate to have a really nice, albeit stressful, life there. Our life now is nicer in many ways, but we sometimes mourn what was. Time definitely helps. All the best to you in Ecuador 😍
@BarbaraCurry6958 what are things like in ecuador? I really wanted to go to Ecuador as the beginning of my trip but I was worried about the Civil unrest. I can't find any information about life for expats there right now. Do you mind sharing a little bit about your experience?
Hello KIRSTEN I’m happy to hear that you have come back to Thailand I’m looking to come and visit the country I hope to meet with you and your husband I’m looking for a country to retire in I have two more years to go and I’ll be free well until next time take care
OMG!!! Welcome Back here Dear! I was soo missing seeing you and hoping everything was OK with you and your hubby. Thank you for posting again. 😊 I am soo happy you are back on here 🎉✨️😇🌟💥🎊
Hello Kirsten. We really missed you and was wondering how things were going with you on your journey. I hope you continue to make content for us to enjoy; we love watching your videos. Vietnam looked beautiful and we hope you are able to show us your stay there. Love you sis!
What an incredible journey you two are on! I love your love for each other, and to be able to experience this ride together. You may decide in another 2 years you want to experience living someplace else, and that is okay. We are not trees, so we can pickup and leave whenever we want to. You do not need anyone's permission to be happy or to define what Joy looks like for you. Keep living your best life and keep sharing your moves with us! Many blessings to you and Mark!
There are a lot of different visas (Elite, Retirement, LTR, etc.) for Thailand (and I'm no expert) but they all basically require money. The requirements for the different visas can even vary between different immigration offices. Visas can be applied for both inside and outside of Thailand. We initially applied for a Non-Immigrant O visa based on retirement, which is good for 90 days, and then can be extended for one-year. We are currently on our second one-year extension. I recommend you check your local Thai consulate website to see what is required for the different visas. There are also a couple of good facebook groups dedicated to Thailand visas, definitely worth a search. Hope this helps.
I'm soo glad you made this video! I've been working my entire life 1-2 jobs since I was 12. As my hubby and I plan our retirement in couple of years, he was like are you gonna be ok with nothing to do?? I was like yeah! Because I'm finally gonna have to time to read, re-learn the piano, and meditate :)
Hi Kirsten, I was wondering what happened to you because I haven't seen your videos. Now I know why! This is perfect timing for me to see this video because I officially retired as of yesterday. I was just like you, worked and worked but I didn't get a chance to travel that much. Now I am planning for trips. I am coming to Thailand this winter for sure. However, I am planning to work part time with my own schedule. Thanks for the insight, and welcome back to BKK.
I have been thinking about you off and on for months. I find it curiously hilarious that I had been thinking about slow travel as well as spending time in more than one SE Asian country within one year while you and Mark were hitting up Da Nang, one of the cities on my radar. No need to worry about what to do and just do you until you find your way. Hope to hear more soon...
I love all your travel destinations! My sister works for the airline as well, I wish I would be blessed with some airline benefits but ....Sometimes when you stop working, especially when you are in a career of caring for others, we can tend to feel there isn't a purpose in our lives and that is important. I love Vietnam and loved DaNang! I'm glad you figured out where you really want to be and also got a chance to do a bit of travel.
Yeah, those travel benefits fueled our love for the spontaneous getaways for sure. The hardest part for me is to realize that I am my purpose. It's about me now without all the pressures and demands of that work life. But it's also figuring out how to live without all the money that the work life provides. I don't have to tell you it's a process. We loved Da Nang, but Bangkok has spoiled us for so many things.
I'm glad that you're back in Bangkok! You seem really happy there. Have you thought about volunteering a few hours a week to give yourself a sense of structure to ease the restlessness?
@jeanessa78 we are glad we're back here too 😁 I've thought about and looked into volunteering. My goal right now is to concentrate on myself. I've spent my life serving others and I want to spend some time serving myself 😍
@DreamofThailand yes, it is something I wanted to do many years ago. Now, I enjoy language exchange and always happy to help friends practice English 😃
Hi 👋🏻 just a quick note here. There are couple of restaurant/bar in BKK that try to decorate theirs place to mimics beach life kinda vibe. Maybe you can check them out if you miss the beach 😊 and from BKK the closet real beach probably 2 hrs away. You can also go to the Island called ko-land. I think that island is the closest beautiful Beach from BKK. Anyway, enjoy Thailand ❤
Hi! I am so glad to have you here in Thailand. May I suggest to you two try one more thing? I don't know if you two have ever tried it or not. But I would be grateful if you could consider it. I would like you to try participating in Vipassana meditation and practicing mindfulness in Buddhism, once At Wat Pah Nanachat, Ubon Ratchathani Province where there are many foreign forest monks. You will find another form of happiness you may have never encountered before happiness from the inside, superior to any external happiness you ever received. This kind of practice has been happening to me. I assure you it will change both of your life forever. I don't mean that you both convert to Buddhism, because Buddhist meditation is only a practice that anyone can do, to end suffering. Many foreigners still follow their old religion and attend training here. They came out from the practice without renouncing their former religion.
I think you have not figured out what you actually want to do with your time. It's internal and changing locations won't help until you know your desires for this part of your life.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.. I feel you.. I'm sure some of us need more time to get rid of some habits and restlessness after having lived the same rythm for so long. Eventhough I'm looking forward to early retirement, having all this freedom of time and space, able to travel all the time yet it makes me a bit nervous too because I don't know how it feels like in reality and if I'm going to love the country hopping as much as I so many vloggers do. Leading up to our retirement next year I presented hubby some planning for the next 2 or 3 years. He said I sue love to travel with you dear as long as I have a central spot to call home. I don't mind going back and forth. So if you had that planned I'm ok with it. Like your husband he's been retired for 3 years. He is easy going but more of a homebody. btw... I'm glad you followed your heart...did you go back to the same place on return to Bangkok?
It's definitely a process to break out of that long-term rhythm. I even considered going back to work for awhile, even reached out to someone about a job, but that was the old rhythm talking. For me, it's been learning that there's more to life than travel and working, because that's all I used to do. Sounds like you're an overthinker like me. You'll figure things out as you go, just don't be too hard on yourself. Freedom of time and space is a wonderful problem to have.
@@whatsupwkirsten It takes one to know one..😂😂😂, doing my best to let things go that are beyond my control and even the things I can control I must let some things go.. 🥂to life Kirsten😊
Hi Annabeth, do a quick search for cost of living Thailand as there have been several recent YT videos that break it down. It really depends on where you live and your lifestyle.
To work as a RN she would need a license unlike working as a English teacher. Not that long ago a RN from Khon Kaen, Thailand stayed at my place in NYC for close to two months. Someone I know from there told her to contact me. Anyway before she came here she chat with me a number of times while on her job. She worked the night shift in the emergency department. Her schedule was 16 hours a day six days a week. She lived in a dorm next to the hospital. Her salary was around US$800/month. I checked with agencies here but they need a nursing license for New York which she doesn't have. She currently works as a cook in a couple Thai restaurants where she makes more money than what she was making as a nurse. She had no social life there. And whenever her patients died she took it personally as a failure. The one good thing is in the medical records they write in English the names of the medication. And of course like here in the US the dosage of the medicine are documented using the metric system like cc or ml and mg=milligrams. That can come in handy working as a cook when making the correct measurements.
As a Thai who worked as a nurse both in Thailand and US, I can say working as a nurse in Thailand is extremely hard with low paid. Teaching English is definitely a good choice in Thailand. I recently retired from nursing in US. I can never work as a nurse in Thailand again. But I will volunteer and do mission work in Thailand.
I am going to retire soon, and Thailand is definitely my first choice on the list.
I love your channel!! You present the most relevant and realistic views of living away from the US and also living in Thailand. I’m 60 and single and believe I would truly feel safe and comfortable living in Thailand. I pray I am able to retire there in a few years. Please continue to share your experiences and knowledge. Many blessings to you and your husband. Maybe I’ll get to meet you guys one day. Take care.
So happy you're back! You are living the life I dream of living. Being able to pick up and move around every 90 days from country to country is spectacular!
Hahaha it sounds great, but the reality for us was an exhausting hassle. Happy to be back!
Welcome back! Would love to hear more about your visa process. Headed there in Dec and would love to explore idea of moving to BKK. Love your informative videos.
Glad you are back! Your husband, fellow retired veteran, is a super cool dude. We are coming to Bangkok in September. Agape. Sam and Kayla
I agree, he is super cool 😍
I'm so glad you found a place that works for you. I can't wait to visit Asia. I hear nothing but good things about Thailand.
Thank you for sharing!
Welcome Kristen I hope you enjoy your life and be happy with your wonderful journey.
Thank you 😃
Thanks for the update. I think part of the issue is that you still have wanderlust and realize there are so many places you would like to visit/experience before you settle in one place. Bangkok is a great city! How are your Thai lessons? How do you deal with the extreme heat and air pollution?
Not having a schedule (i.e., a job) makes it fairly easy to deal with the heat and air pollution. The air quality (usually the worst from January to May in Thailand) is partly what led to our decision to check out Da Nang. As far as the extreme heat, it takes some getting used to for sure. I'm not spending as much time as I'd like outside. It'll always be a work in progress, just like my Thai language learning.
So glad to hear from you again! We almost messed things up too a few months ago trying to revisit life in the US again. It lasted about three months and we almost gave up our permanent residency in Ecuador! So glad we didn’t do that. I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one who experience the feelings you described. Also thought about slow travel as a way to not feel stuck in one place. We have gained a new appreciation for where we’ve lived for the past 3.5 years. Still want to travel a bit, but not move.😊
Hey Barbara, it's definitely a process. And making sense of the fact that we no longer live in the US is its own challenge. We were fortunate to have a really nice, albeit stressful, life there. Our life now is nicer in many ways, but we sometimes mourn what was. Time definitely helps. All the best to you in Ecuador 😍
@BarbaraCurry6958 what are things like in ecuador? I really wanted to go to Ecuador as the beginning of my trip but I was worried about the Civil unrest. I can't find any information about life for expats there right now. Do you mind sharing a little bit about your experience?
Hello KIRSTEN I’m happy to hear that you have come back to Thailand I’m looking to come and visit the country I hope to meet with you and your husband I’m looking for a country to retire in I have two more years to go and I’ll be free well until next time take care
OMG!!! Welcome Back here Dear! I was soo missing seeing you and hoping everything was OK with you and your hubby. Thank you for posting again. 😊 I am soo happy you are back on here 🎉✨️😇🌟💥🎊
Hey Tonya! Thanks so much for the warm welcome back 🤗 All good here, and excited to make more videos 😁 Hope you're doing well 😘
Hello Kirsten. We really missed you and was wondering how things were going with you on your journey. I hope you continue to make content for us to enjoy; we love watching your videos. Vietnam looked beautiful and we hope you are able to show us your stay there. Love you sis!
Welcome back I’m so glad you’re staying in Bangkok for another year!😊
Hi, yeah, no more foolishness here. Let's get together when you guys get back!
@@whatsupwkirsten yes let's we might be staying a bit longer when we come back later this year, haha! 😊
Hi! I just found your channel and I'm enjoying listening to you talk about your adventures, I think I'm going to like it here 😊
Welcome, and thank you 😍
What an incredible journey you two are on! I love your love for each other, and to be able to experience this ride together. You may decide in another 2 years you want to experience living someplace else, and that is okay. We are not trees, so we can pickup and leave whenever we want to. You do not need anyone's permission to be happy or to define what Joy looks like for you. Keep living your best life and keep sharing your moves with us! Many blessings to you and Mark!
So nice, thank you so much ❤️
So glad you’re back! You’re working through so many of the concerns I have about retirement (hopefully soon). Your videos are so helpful. Thank you!
Thank you, happy to be back!
Thank you for your video.
Could you please elaborate a bit more about the visa situation for expats?
Thank you.
There are a lot of different visas (Elite, Retirement, LTR, etc.) for Thailand (and I'm no expert) but they all basically require money. The requirements for the different visas can even vary between different immigration offices. Visas can be applied for both inside and outside of Thailand. We initially applied for a Non-Immigrant O visa based on retirement, which is good for 90 days, and then can be extended for one-year. We are currently on our second one-year extension. I recommend you check your local Thai consulate website to see what is required for the different visas. There are also a couple of good facebook groups dedicated to Thailand visas, definitely worth a search. Hope this helps.
@@whatsupwkirsten Thank you kindly.
I'm soo glad you made this video! I've been working my entire life 1-2 jobs since I was 12. As my hubby and I plan our retirement in couple of years, he was like are you gonna be ok with nothing to do?? I was like yeah! Because I'm finally gonna have to time to read, re-learn the piano, and meditate :)
There are so many things to do it's overwhelming to choose. It's a nice problem to have 😍
Hi Kirsten, I was wondering what happened to you because I haven't seen your videos. Now I know why! This is perfect timing for me to see this video because I officially retired as of yesterday. I was just like you, worked and worked but I didn't get a chance to travel that much. Now I am planning for trips. I am coming to Thailand this winter for sure. However, I am planning to work part time with my own schedule. Thanks for the insight, and welcome back to BKK.
Congratulations on your retirement!
I have been thinking about you off and on for months. I find it curiously hilarious that I had been thinking about slow travel as well as spending time in more than one SE Asian country within one year while you and Mark were hitting up Da Nang, one of the cities on my radar. No need to worry about what to do and just do you until you find your way. Hope to hear more soon...
I love all your travel destinations! My sister works for the airline as well, I wish I would be blessed with some airline benefits but ....Sometimes when you stop working, especially when you are in a career of caring for others, we can tend to feel there isn't a purpose in our lives and that is important. I love Vietnam and loved DaNang! I'm glad you figured out where you really want to be and also got a chance to do a bit of travel.
Yeah, those travel benefits fueled our love for the spontaneous getaways for sure. The hardest part for me is to realize that I am my purpose. It's about me now without all the pressures and demands of that work life. But it's also figuring out how to live without all the money that the work life provides. I don't have to tell you it's a process. We loved Da Nang, but Bangkok has spoiled us for so many things.
Glad you found that place that feels right for you.
I'm glad that you're back in Bangkok! You seem really happy there. Have you thought about volunteering a few hours a week to give yourself a sense of structure to ease the restlessness?
Teaching English 👍
@jeanessa78 we are glad we're back here too 😁 I've thought about and looked into volunteering. My goal right now is to concentrate on myself. I've spent my life serving others and I want to spend some time serving myself 😍
@DreamofThailand yes, it is something I wanted to do many years ago. Now, I enjoy language exchange and always happy to help friends practice English 😃
@@whatsupwkirsten Where do you go for language exchange?
Welcome back to Thailand. Thank you so much. Enjoy leaving in Bangkok again.
Thank you, so happy to be here 😃😍
Glad to see you back, take care of yourself.
Hi 👋🏻 just a quick note here. There are couple of restaurant/bar in BKK that try to decorate theirs place to mimics beach life kinda vibe. Maybe you can check them out if you miss the beach 😊 and from BKK the closet real beach probably 2 hrs away. You can also go to the Island called ko-land. I think that island is the closest beautiful Beach from BKK.
Anyway, enjoy Thailand ❤
Hi Shiki 👋🏾 thanks for the suggestions. So many spots to explore here in BKK and so many beautiful beaches in Thailand 😍🇹🇭
Glad to have you back ! ❤
Thank you ❤️😃
How's the air quality in Bangkok? I heard it is polluted.
You can check it out here: aqicn.org/city/bangkok
Hi! I am so glad to have you here in Thailand. May I suggest to you two try one more thing? I don't know if you two have ever tried it or not. But I would be grateful if you could consider it. I would like you to try participating in Vipassana meditation and practicing mindfulness in Buddhism, once At Wat Pah Nanachat, Ubon Ratchathani Province where there are many foreign forest monks. You will find another form of happiness you may have never encountered before happiness from the inside, superior to any external happiness you ever received. This kind of practice has been happening to me. I assure you it will change both of your life forever. I don't mean that you both convert to Buddhism, because Buddhist meditation is only a practice that anyone can do, to end suffering. Many foreigners still follow their old religion and attend training here. They came out from the practice without renouncing their former religion.
I think you have not figured out what you actually want to do with your time. It's internal and changing locations won't help until you know your desires for this part of your life.
You are correct, I haven't figured out what I want to do, but I'm getting there 😃
Thanks for sharing your experiences.. I feel you.. I'm sure some of us need more time to get rid of some habits and restlessness after having lived the same rythm for so long. Eventhough I'm looking forward to early retirement, having all this freedom of time and space, able to travel all the time yet it makes me a bit nervous too because I don't know how it feels like in reality and if I'm going to love the country hopping as much as I so many vloggers do. Leading up to our retirement next year I presented hubby some planning for the next 2 or 3 years. He said I sue love to travel with you dear as long as I have a central spot to call home. I don't mind going back and forth. So if you had that planned I'm ok with it. Like your husband he's been retired for 3 years. He is easy going but more of a homebody. btw... I'm glad you followed your heart...did you go back to the same place on return to Bangkok?
It's definitely a process to break out of that long-term rhythm. I even considered going back to work for awhile, even reached out to someone about a job, but that was the old rhythm talking. For me, it's been learning that there's more to life than travel and working, because that's all I used to do. Sounds like you're an overthinker like me. You'll figure things out as you go, just don't be too hard on yourself. Freedom of time and space is a wonderful problem to have.
@@whatsupwkirsten It takes one to know one..😂😂😂, doing my best to let things go that are beyond my control and even the things I can control I must let some things go.. 🥂to life Kirsten😊
there are many great cities in Thailand. travel short weekend trips to them.
Welcome back 🇹🇭
You forgot that side trip to San Diego CA USA😉😉😉
Coming in October 🎉
How much living in Thailand costs per month ? It is beautiful country. Much more interesting than Portugal.
Hi Annabeth, do a quick search for cost of living Thailand as there have been several recent YT videos that break it down. It really depends on where you live and your lifestyle.
I love this video 💙🩵
Ain't nobody got time for that
make more videos please!!!
But I still miss ya’ll😭😭😭😭😭
We miss you too ❤️❤️
Why didn't you work in Thailand as an RN, English teacher or an RN instructor? to kill the boredom and pass the time and give back. just saying.
To work as a RN she would need a license unlike working as a English teacher. Not that long ago a RN from Khon Kaen, Thailand stayed at my place in NYC for close to two months. Someone I know from there told her to contact me. Anyway before she came here she chat with me a number of times while on her job. She worked the night shift in the emergency department. Her schedule was 16 hours a day six days a week. She lived in a dorm next to the hospital. Her salary was around US$800/month. I checked with agencies here but they need a nursing license for New York which she doesn't have. She currently works as a cook in a couple Thai restaurants where she makes more money than what she was making as a nurse. She had no social life there. And whenever her patients died she took it personally as a failure. The one good thing is in the medical records they write in English the names of the medication. And of course like here in the US the dosage of the medicine are documented using the metric system like cc or ml and mg=milligrams. That can come in handy working as a cook when making the correct measurements.
As a Thai who worked as a nurse both in Thailand and US, I can say working as a nurse in Thailand is extremely hard with low paid. Teaching English is definitely a good choice in Thailand. I recently retired from nursing in US. I can never work as a nurse in Thailand again. But I will volunteer and do mission work in Thailand.
You're just a miserable person you'll never be happy anywhere. IMO.
If this is what miserable feels like I'll take it 😍