On the one hand Bangkok has recently been listed among the top twenty tourism destinations in the world, which should make a property investment there a good one. Dig a little deeper however and you find that capital appreciation, -- previously strong in Thailand -- along with all factors to be considered before investing, have been affected by the recent political turmoil. But as a matter of facts political wrangling, military coups etc. are almost normal in Thailand and it wont affect anyone

unless you go right into a demonstration or similar. The political wrestling is almost all the time limited to some areas in Bangkok and not really visible elsewhere in Thailand, its just some kind of folklore.

The exception is the Muslim dominated stretch on the southern Thai border with Malaysia. There are clashes between insurgents and the Thai people almost everyday. A specialty of the Muslim insurgents is to burn down Buddhist schools, Buddhist temples and harm Buddhist monks, several Monks even have been killed by the Moslem insurgents. But again this turmoil is limited to the border area between Thailand and Malaysia since the insurgents have their save backyard in Malaysia. Never the less Thailand is still among the best Asian countries for foreigners to retire and invest in, there is no inheritance tax or gift tax, capital gains tax is charged like income tax at the standard rate, and foreigners can own condominiums freehold. There are other ways for foreigners to buy in Thailand but a condominium purchase is the easiest. And even with the political turmoil as it is rental yields are still around the 8% mark in top tourist destination, Bangkok.

Another rising star in Asia's tourism industry for retire is the Thai island of Koh Samui, which has been largely unaffected by turmoil on the mainland, and where potential investors will find mostly resort property. As tourism expands on the island, and it begins to attract more of the high end market, as oppose to primarily back-packers, these resort villa properties can fetch yields of 10-12% quite easily, and capital appreciation is conservatively estimated at around the 15%-20% mark. Total transaction costs are a moderate 10% - 12.3% in Thailand, but there is a little complication over the computation of buying costs; specific business tax and stamp duty are paid on whatever is higher, declared or assessed value -- both parties must have their own solicitor. Overall a Thailand property investment can be a very rewarding endeavor, especially if you are purchasing a holiday home with a view to renting it out when not in use, Thailand property investment.

- As the sun goes down and the temperature drops just that few degrees

to make me realize how warm it has been all day I sit in my hammock on my balcony sipping a tall glass of freshly squeezed lime juice over ice with just a splash of vodka. I look back at the last few months and realize I have been lucky, lucky enough to chase a dream and catch it, lucky enough to realize life in the rat race can be escaped, lucky enough to finally find somewhere comfortable. I am a recent ex-pat you see, more specifically an Englishman living upon a

small tropical island named Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand. Until eight months ago I was slogging along in a 9-5 job as an IT manager. Now I am a ‘farang’ living a less complicated life amongst the friendly Thai folk.

Thailand is a surprisingly easy place to re-locate and retire too, a yearly non-immigrant visa can be obtained from the Thai Consulate in the UK, you are required to leave the county every thirty days and re-enter, this is something we term a ‘visa run’ and consists of hopping over the nearest border and back (Malaysia for me).

A significant amount of Thai people speak enough English so that day to day affairs are not too much of a struggle and the amenities and infrastructure in Thailand, even my remote location, are fairly good.