Choosing Thailand
George Bedell, UCLA

After retiring (early) from UC in 1994, I taught at a university in Japan until I retired for real about two years ago. My wife and I thought seriously about what we would do, and decided to move to Thailand. One reason was financial: we can live at a substantially higher standard here on our limited income than we could in California (not to mention Japan).

The other reason is academic: I have much better access here to my primary research interests (minority languages spoken in the mountainous region between Myanmar and India). I am finally able to devote as much time as I want to this research. In addition to the low cost of living, we enjoy the people, climate and cuisine of Thailand.

Of course living here requires holding your nose with respect to certain things, but that is no different from other places, including the USA. The most serious problem is distance from family and friends.

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