The situation in Oz is complex. Strong union demands Aussie crew even on foreign flag offshore vessels and do not easily except foreign licenses, except from certain other Commonwealth countries.
EU/EEA countries have an open internal labour market (One of the 4 pillars of the EU) but none-EU seafarers has a harder time, depending on their country of origin.
Still, there are a lot of Filipino and none-EU East Europeans working on European ships in inter-European short sea trade. (Even in coastal and inland water trade)
Valid IMO STCWā10 licences are excepted by most members of IMO, with one notable exception, USA.
Iām sure as an American I would have a hard time trying to break into the EU labor market, especially these days. The fact I speak German be damned, eh?
Work visas or permanent resident permits arenāt issues based on which language(s) you speak, or know.
In EU there are many different languages used but there are freedom of movement and a common labour market. (sort of)
Unless you are seeking citizenship in a particular EU/EEA country language skill in the national language is not a prerequisite. (Employers may do though, but usually basic English ability will do)
Sorry, itās an older thread but I didnāt want to start a new one. While I donāt think the gentlemanās lifestyle will be for me in my retirement Iām sure thereās many other mariners who will daydream about this article for a while.
This guy seems to be happy in Phuket. I was there once and it seemed like a tourist trap but it works for him. $2500/month can support a decent lifestyle in many countries. But there are tradeoffs. I distinctly remember spending an entire day in the Dominican Republic looking for one PVC pipe fitting.
His opting out of Medicare is moronic. Though Thailand has some world class medical care it can get expensive. A trip back to the USA to avail of Medicare is a relatively inexpensive plane ticket.
Itās funny, because I know of people that flew to Thailand for surgery and dental work. One acquittance had a hip replacement at a fraction of the US cost and it was done by doctors trained in US medical schools. Its nice to have options though, so I agree that opting out of Medicare is a bad call.
Thailand has some world class medical care. People from all over the world go there for treatment. When I was in Bangkok rich folks from Kuwait, Australia and Saudi Arabia were getting medical procedures there. But, one needs to have all options open. Medicare gives a USA retiree a chance at good medical care for a small premium, if needed. It is only a plane ticket away.
Of the few people I know(n) who moved to Thailand & Phuket all loved it. Unfortunately 2 of them died over there well before they should have died statically speaking. One was obese & the other who was a close friend of mine had alcohol & sex addiction. Kudos to the guy in the article, heās made it 12 yrs, to 80 & still doing it. Maybe him not being mariner increased his odds?
Thatās the problem with Phuket. Old guys trying to reclaim their youth. It takes a toll on them. Going toes up having fun might not have upset them though.
The big guy who I only knew through work died at home in Thailand with a heart attack. The other guy who was my friend for over a decade died after a battle with liver disease during Christmas 2010. Both were in their 50ās. The big guy had to have an addiction to food to be +300 lbs & I already mentioned about my friends addictions. I guess the take away is donāt go to Thailand or into retirement with an addiction that can kill you because you wonāt have the career or societal restrictions to keep you from killing yourself.
Agreed, the friends iāve had who retired and moved to Thailand and the PI havenāt survived long for the same alcohol and girls reasons. One managed close to a decade before his liver gave out. But his messages to me were all happy, so good for him.
People go there to get ācosmeticā surgery done cheap, and it is.
The reconstruction industry in Australia, Plastic Surgeons, are saying its becoming a major part of our business fixing cockups from Thailand and of course lots cant be fixed once botched.
Besides being stationed in Yokosuka Japan for 2 years running harbor tugs all of my port stays in Asian countries. were for liberty calls, and Iāve been to most of them. Good thing the ship had to get U/W after a period of time or I might have not made it back alive.
Lots of high quality medical care available in many countries. But one must be careful in selecting quality doctors and clinics. For every good one there are 10 mediocre and three bad, same as in the US.
Well, you got to drop dead somewhere. I run across expats in SE Asia all the time and most are quite happy living well on relatively very little money. However, I can tell the ones who wonāt last long but had they retired in their home countries they would not have lasted long either.
I remember being in shipyards in Singapore and Korea with US sailors when a new build was almost done. Most of these guys had never been out of their home states. Geez, we just wanted to get the ship out of the yard before these yahoos caused an international incident.
