Yes, we are discussing how to retire in Buri Ram. Many expatriates who are married to a Thai have moved to Buri Ram to retire. There are a number of options in Buri Ram as many decide to rent or build a house rather than rent or buy an apartment in the city center. Buri Ram is far from Pattaya or Bangkok. However, the inter-city buses in Thailand are very good at covering the outlying cities in Thailand. Buri Ram is close to Nakhon Ratchasima. If you want to problems retiring in Thailand, then read on.
The average rent in Buri Ram is pretty low compared to Pattaya or Bangkok where you would be looking at about $130 per month for a low-end apartment in the city while it is about $100 per month outside of the city. Many however do build a house in Buri Ram in the name of their Thai wife. As you are aware that foreigners can’t own land generally speaking. See also the retirement in Thailand facts for more information.
You can register a usufruct over the property or a superficies where your Thai wife owns the land but you own the buildings on the property. This way you will always have a right of habitation after a divorce. The building is a bit more difficult as you will require a building permit in Buri Ram and you will need to speak to a lawyer about this. Rents are very cheap in the rural areas in Thailand and even renting a house might set you back only about $3-400 per month.
If you are married to a Thai national with a marriage certificate. Likewise you can see your options such as Thai permanent residency. See what it takes to get PR in Thailand unless you are looking at Thailand ltr visa on here.
So you want to live in Thailand. See the overview of the PR status in Thailand. Thi covers the 10 year LTR visa for Thailand that might also interest you if not the PR status. So read more on this here.
If you retire in Thailand, then you are the option of a retirement visa for Thailand or a marriage visa for Thailand. Note that if you are a Muslim then a traditional Muslim marriage is not enough if the marriage has not been registered. The retirement visa requires a Thai bank balance of 800,000 THB or a letter from your Embassy showing monthly retirement funds of 65,000 THB per month. The marriage visa needs 400,000 THB in a Thai bank account or an income of 35,000 THB per month. Speak to an immigration attorney about these requirements.
The cost of living in Buri Ram would be on par with the cost of living in Nakhon Ratchasima or other more rural cities and provinces in Thailand. The cost of living as seen below is very similar to other cities in Thailand.
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant | 1.67 $ |
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course | 10.65 $ |
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) | 6.09 $ |
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught) | 1.67 $ |
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) | 2.13 $ |
Cappuccino (regular) | 1.14 $ |
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle) | 0.46 $ |
Water (0.33 liter bottle) | 0.24 $ |
You can see that the cost of living in Buri Ram is pretty low and that even on a small pension you are able to live in the area. This is one of the advantages when you retire in Buri Ram. You can visit the area and see what type of properties are available but investing in property in the area would be very difficult. Those types of properties are mainly for areas such as Bangkok and Pattaya.