Ron, the alternatives are:

1. 10,000 ringgit (US$2800 or 98,000 baht) per month income OR

2. deposit 150,000 ringgit (US$42,000 or 1.5m baht) for the 1st year, and 100,000 (US$28,000 or 980,000 baht) after that.

Very similar to the Thailand alternatives for retirement extension ie

1. 65,000 baht (US$1850) per month income OR

2. 800,000 (US$23,000) in the bank

Well I've settled down and I wonl be going nothing new with that. But the program is attractive, becuase he visa time is much longer. I still want to ride there next year. English widely spoken so I have been told and we will find out.

It's really not an option for guy with kids in school here I would think. That being said things can go wrong here nice to know there is a reaonable back up plan.

Loas offers the best economic siutuation adn not much different then Issan except for the infrastructure. Malayasia best infrastructure in the region, english widley spoken, good immigration plan. My guess is it will be more expensive to live there, compared to Udon.

The only way to really find out is boots on the ground I would think several times to get a feel for it. Easy you can drive to it.