International Retirement Migration from Germany to Thailand: Balancing Lifestyle Aspirations with Managing Risks
Keywords:
International retirement migration, Lifestyle, Old-age poverty, Reflexive modernity, Risk societyAbstract
This study examines the phenomenon of international retirement migration (IRM) from Germany to Thailand, interrogating idealized views of lifestyle and amenity migration. An increasingproportion of German retirees participate in IRM to mitigate risks such as old-age poverty, social isolation, and monotony. This research is based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 15 German retirees living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a city favored by expatriates and tourists. It investigates whether their migration decision was motivated by authentic desires for lifestyle changes or primarily functioned as a coping strategy to mitigate age-related challenges. It also evaluates whether the individuals effectively incorporated a desired style into their new lifestyle or simply reproduced previous life conditions in a different setting. This research used Ulrich Beck’s idea of reflexive modernity to analyze the experiences of the studied group within the context of a risk society, assessing whether IRM might serve as a strategic means of risk aversion. This
study’s findings indicate that IRM functions as a transnational approach for navigating uncertainties intensified by processes of modernization. Nonetheless, although IRM may enhance the retirees’ quality of life, many remained trapped in the risk society, where associated risks have evolved or transitioned to other forms rather than being entirely eradicated, underscoring the inescapable
condition of the participants.
References
Auswärtiges Amt. (2022, February 7). Partners for Sustainable Development: 160 years of diplomatic relations with Thailand. German Federal Foreign Office. https://www.auswaertigesamt.de/en/aussenpolitik/laenderinformationen/thailand-node/diplo-beziehungen/2510452
Auswärtiges Amt. (2025, February 14). Germany and Thailand: Bilateral relations. German Federal Foreign Office. https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aussenpolitik/thailand/229500
Bauman, Z. (2001). Community: Seeking safety in an insecure world. Polity Press.
Beck, U. (1992). Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. SAGE Publications.
Beck, U. (2006). Living in the world risk society. Economy and Society, 35(3), 329-345. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085140600844902
Beck, U. (2007). Beyond class and nation: Reframing social inequalities in a globalizing world. The British Journal of Sociology, 58(4), 679-705. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-4446.2007.00170.x
Beck, U. (2008). World at risk: The new task of critical theory. Development and Society, 37(1),1-21. https://s-space.snu.ac.kr/bitstream/10371/86706/1/1.%20WORLD%20AT%20RISK%20%20THE%20NEW%20TASK%20OF%20CRITICAL%20THEORY%20%20%5BULRICH%20BECK.pdf
Beck, U., & Beck-Gernsheim, E. (2001). Individualization: Institutionalized individualism and its social and political consequences. SAGE Publications.
Bender, D., Hollstein, T., & Schweppe, C. (2017). The emergence of care facilities in Thailand for older German-speaking people: structural backgrounds and facility operators as transnational actors. European Journal of Ageing, 14(4), 365-374. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-017-0444-1
Bender, D., & Schweppe, C. (2019). Care facilities for Germans in Thailand and Poland: making old age care abroad legitimate. International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, 13(2), 115-143. https://doi.org/10.3384/ijal.1652-8670.18421
Bender, D., & Schweppe, C. (2022). “Between heaven and hell”: Love, sex, and intimacy-international retirement migration of older men to Thailand. In C. Schweppe (Ed.), Retirement migration to the Global South (pp. 117-137). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.
org/10.1007/978-981-16-6999-6_6
Benson, M., & O’Reilly, K. (2009). Lifestyle migration: Escaping to the good life? In M. Benson & K. O’Reilly (Eds.), Lifestyle migration: Expectations, aspirations, and experiences (pp. 1-14). Ashgate.
Benson, M., & Osbaldiston, N. (2014). New Horizons in Lifestyle Migration Research: Theorising movement, settlement and the Search for a Better Way of Life. In M. Benson & N. Osbaldiston (Eds.), Understanding lifestyle migration (pp. 1-23). Palgrave Macmillan.
https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137328670_1
Benson, M., & O’Reilly, K. (2015). From lifestyle migration to lifestyle in migration: Categories, concepts and ways of thinking. Migration Studies, 4(1), 20-37. https://doi.org/10.1093/migration/mnv015
Braun, R., & Thomschke, L. (2017). Altersarmut - heute und in der Zukunft [Old-Age Poverty: Present and Future]. Bericht im Auftrag des Deutschen Instituts für Altersvorsorge. Empirica AG. https://www.dia-vorsorge.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/170620_DIA_
Studie_Altersarmut_final.pdf
Buslei, H., Geyer, J., Haan, P., & Harnisch, M. (2019). Starke Nichtinanspruchnahme von Grundsicherung deutet auf hohe verdeckte Altersarmut [Low Utilization of Basic Social Security Suggests Significant Hidden Poverty Among the Elderly]. DIW Wochenbericht,
(49), 909-917. https://doi.org/10.18723/diw_wb:2019-49-1
Deutsche Rentenversicherung. (2024, November 25). Rentenatlas 2024 [Pension Atlas 2024]. https://www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Statistikenund-Berichte/Rentenatlas/2024/rentenatlas-2024-download.html
Gambold, L. L. (2018). DIY Aging: Retirement Migration as a New Age-Script. Anthropology & Aging, 39(1), 82-93. https://doi.org/10.5195/aa.2018.175
Geyer, J., Haan, P., & Ludwig, A. (2021). Mindestrente: Absicherung gegen Altersarmut und notwendiger Baustein für weitere Reformen [Minimum Pension: Protection Against Old-Age Poverty and a Necessary Component for Further Reforms] (DIW aktuell No. 72). Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW). https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.811089.de/diw_aktuell_2021-0072.pdf
Giddens, A., & Pierson, C. (1998). Conversations with Anthony Giddens: Making Sense of Modernity. Stanford University Press.
Haan, P., Stichnoth, H., Blömer, M., Buslei, H., Geyer, J., Krolage, C., & Müller, K.-U. (2017). Entwicklung der Altersarmut bis 2036: Trends, Risikogruppen und Politikszenarien [Development of Old-Age Poverty Until 2036: Trends, Risk Groups, and Policy Scenarios].
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), & Bertelsmann Stiftung. https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/fileadmin/ files/BSt/Publikationen/GrauePublikationen/Entwicklung_der_Altersarmut_bis_2036.pdf
Hall, K., Ono, M., & Kohno, A. (2021). British and Japanese international retirement migration and creative responses to health and care challenges: A bricolage perspective. Comparative Migration Studies, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-020-00217-x
Hayes, M. (2014). ‘We gained a lot over what we would have had’: the geographic arbitrage of North American lifestyle migrants to Cuenca, Ecuador. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 40(12), 1953-1971. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183x.2014.880335
He, K., & Sasiwongsaroj, K. (2024). International retirement migration-related real estate in Thailand: Global context, current situation, and industry outlook. Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Geographischen Gesellschaft, 165(1), 167-198. https://doi.org/10.1553/moegg165-090
Howard, R. W. (2008). Western retirees in Thailand: Motives, experiences, wellbeing, assimilation and future needs. Ageing and Society, 28(2), 145-163. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x07006290
Howard, R. W. (2009). The migration of Westerners to Thailand: An unusual flow from developed to developing world. International Migration, 47(2), 193-225. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2009.00517.x
Huber, A. (2003). Sog des Südens: Altersmigration von der Schweiz nach Spanien am Beispiel Costa Blanca [Pull of the South: Retirement Migration from Switzerland to Spain, the Case of Costa Blanca]. Seismo.
Husa, K., Vielhaber, C., Jöstl, J., Veress, K., & Wieser, B. (2014). Searching for paradise? International retirement migration to Thailand - A case study of Hua Hin and Cha-Am. In K. Husa, G. Rückert, & C. Wohlschlägl (Eds.), Southeast Asian mobility transitions: Issues and trends in migration and tourism (pp. 137-167). Department of Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna.
Jaisuekun, K., & Sunanta, S. (2016). Lifestyle migration in Thailand: A case study of German migrants in Pattaya. Thammasat Review, 19(2), 89-104. https://sc01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/tureview/article/download/105438/83731
Janson, M. (2021, August 11). Staatliches Rentensystem zunehmend unter Druck [Public Pension System Increasingly Under Pressure]. Statista Daily Data. https://de.statista.com/infografik/25320/verhaeltnis-von-altersrentnern-zu-beitragszahlern-in-der-gesetzlichen-rentenversicherung
Jöstl, J., & Wieser, B. (2011). Auf der Suche nach dem Paradies? Einblicke in eine Studie zu “Amenity Migration” in Cha-am und Hua Hin, Thailand [In Search of Paradise? Insights from a Study on “Amenity Migration” in Cha-am and Hua Hin, Thailand]. ASEAS - Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 4(1), 166-172. https://doi.org/10.14764/10.aseas-4.1-11
Koch-Schulte, J. J. (2008). Planning for international retirement migration and expats: A case study of Udon Thani. [Master’s thesis, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg]. University of Manitoba https://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/b6460f89-4c11-44a4-869c-813f4361abf8/content
Korpela, M. (2014). Lifestyle of freedom? Individualism and lifestyle migration. In M. Benson & N. Osbaldiston (Eds.), Understanding lifestyle migration (pp. 27-46). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137328670_2
Laksfoss Cardozo, A. E. (2024). Norwegian snowbirds, retired migrants and offshore elderly care in Alicante. In I. Calzada (Ed.), Retirement migrants and dependency (pp. 165-189). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43658-8
Lardiés-Bosque, R., Guillén, J. C., & Montes-De-Oca, V. (2015). Retirement migration and transnationalism in northern Mexico. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 42(5), 816-833. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183x.2015.1086632
Levitt, P., Sun, K. C.-Y., Paul, R., & Dobbs, E. (2023). Transnational Social Protection: Social Welfare across National Borders. Oxford University Press.
Lupp, P. (2018). Tourist auf Lebenszeit - Rente und Pflege im Ausland als neuer Trend [Tourist for Life - Retirement and Care Abroad as a New Trend]. In P. Heise & M. Axt-Gadermann (Eds.), Sport- und Gesundheitstourismus 2030 (pp. 115-130). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-16076-0
Moss, L. a. G., Glorioso, R. S., Krause, A., & Stauffer, K. (2009). Understanding and managing amenity-led migration in mountain regions. Banff Centre Press.
Moss, L. a. G., & Glorioso, R. S. (2014). Global Amenity Migration: Transforming Rural Culture, Economy & Landscape. The New Ecology Press.
Nier, H. (2017, June 26). Infografik: Das Risiko für Altersarmut steigt [Infographic: The Risk of Old-Age Poverty Is Rising]. Statista Daily Data. https://de.statista.com/infografik/9957/altersarmut-in-deutschland/
Ono, M. (2014). Commoditization of lifestyle migration: Japanese retirees in Malaysia. Mobilities, 10(4), 609−627. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2014.913868
Rainer, G. (2019). Amenity/lifestyle migration to the Global South: driving forces and socio-spatial implications in Latin America. Third World Quarterly, 40(7), 1359-1377. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2019.1587291
Repetti, M., Phillipson, C., & Calasanti, T. (2018). Retirement migration in Europe: A choice for a better life? Sociological Research Online, 23(4), 780-794. https://doi.org/10.1177/1360780418782243
Repetti, M., & Calasanti, T. (2023a). Escaping economic precarity. In M. Repetti & T. Calasanti (Eds.), Retirement migration and precarity in later life (pp. 46-66). Policy Press. https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781447358213.003.0004
Repetti, M., & Calasanti, T. (2023b). Escaping ageism. In M. Repetti & T. Calasanti (Eds.), Retirement migration and precarity in later life (pp. 67-88). Policy Press. https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781447358213.003.0005
Rodríguez, V., Fernánde z-Mayoralas, G., & Rojo, F. (2004). International retirement migration: Retired Europeans living on the Costa del Sol, Spain. Population Review, 43(1), 1-36. https://doi.org/10.1353/prv.2004.0009
Salazar, N. B. (2014). Migrating imaginaries of a better life…until paradise finds you. In M. Benson & N. Osbaldiston (Eds.), Understanding lifestyle migration: Theoretical approaches to migration and the quest for a better way of life (pp. 119-138). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137328670_6
Sasiwongsaroj, K., & Husa, K. (2022). Growing old and getting care: Thailand as a hot spot of international retirement migration. In K. Husa, C. Ramingwong, & P. Breckner (Eds.),
Migration, ageing, aged care, and the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia: Case studies from Thailand and Japan (pp. 53-84). Department of Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna.
Savaş, E. B., Spaan, J., Henkens, K., Kalmijn, M., & van Dalen, H. P. (2023). Migrating to a new country in late life: A review of the literature on international retirement migration. Demographic Research, 48, 233-270. https://doi.org/10.4054/demres.2023.48.9
Savaş, E. B., & Spaan, J. (2024, May 30). The risks and rewards of international retirement migration. NIDI. https://nidi.nl/demos/the-risks-and-rewards-of-international-retirementmigration/
Schneider, S. (2010). Rente und tschüss?!: Deutsche Senioren verlegen ihren Ruhesitz ins Ausland [Pension and Goodbye?!: German Seniors Move Their Retirement Abroad] (Forschung Aktuell, No. 01/2010). Institut Arbeit und Technik (IAT). https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/57243/1/631457577.pdf
Schönig, W. (2016). Altersarmut im Rentnerparadies − Zur Polarisierung der Teilhabechancen im dritten Alter [Old-Age Poverty in the Retiree’s Paradise − On the Polarization of Opportunities for Participation in the Third Age]. In L. Schirra-Weirich & H. Wiegelmann (Eds.), Alter(n) und Teilhabe: Herausforderungen für Individuum und Gesellschaft (pp. 17-38). Barbara Budrich. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvddzvbj.4
Schweppe, C. (2022). Falling through the net of social protection: The precarity of retirement migrants in Thailand. In C. Schweppe (Ed.), Retirement migration to the Global South (pp. 187-208). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6999-6_9
Seils, E. (2020). Wiederanstieg der Altersarmut: Eine Kurzauswertung aktueller Daten für 2019 auf Basis des Mikrozensus [Resurgence of Old-Age Poverty: A Brief Analysis of 2019 Data Based on the Microcensus] (WSI Policy Brief No. 45). Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut (WSI). https://www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_wsi_pb_45_2020.pdf
Shibuya, M. (2018). Japanese retirement migration in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Chiang Mai University Press.
Sommer, B., Pötzsch, O., Krack-Roberg, E., & Grobecker, C. (2021). Datenreport 2021: Ein Sozialbericht für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland [Data Report 2021: A Social Report for the Federal Republic of Germany]. Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb), Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis), Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB), Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung (BiB). https://www.bpb.de/system/files/dokument_pdf/dr2021_barrierefrei.pdf
Statham, P. (2019). Living the long-term consequences of Thai-Western marriage migration: The radical life-course transformations of women who partner older Westerners. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 46(8), 1562−1587. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183x.2019.1565403
Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis). (2022, September 13). More than one quarter of pensioners have a monthly net income of under 1,000 euros. Federal Statistical Office. https://www.destatis.de/EN/Press/2022/09/PE22_N061_12_13.html
Vapattanawong, P. (2019, April 12). Foreigners in Thailand. Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University. Archived at Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20190412025602/http://www.ms.ipsr.mahidol.ac.th/ConferenceXI/Download/Book/447-IPSR-Conference-A12-fulltext.pdf
Veress, K. (2009). Vom Sex-Touristen zum ‘Strandpensionisten’? - Eine Fallstudie zur männlichen Altersmigration nach Thailand am Beispiel von Hua Hin und Cha-Am [From Sex Tourist to ‘Beach Pensioner’? - A Case Study on Male Retirement Migration to Thailand, Focusing on Hua Hin and Cha-Am]. [Doctoral dissertation, Universität Wien]. Universität Wien. https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/detail/o:1257344
Vogler, C. (2015a). Change and challenges for foreign retirees in Thailand: An interview with Nancy Lindley. ASEAS - Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 8(2), 209-214. https://aseas.univie.ac.at/index.php/aseas/article/download/2629/2241/2630
Vogler, C. (2015b). Receiving and providing care abroad: Interactions between international retirement migration and the elderly care sector in Chiang Mai, Thailand [Master’s thesis, Universität Wien]. Universität Wien. https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/detail/o:1319541
Williams, A. M., & Hall, C. M. (2002). Tourism, migration, circulation and mobility. In C. M. Hall & A. M. Williams (Eds.), Tourism, migration, circulation and mobility (The GeoJournal Library, Vol. 29, pp. 1-52). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3554-4_1
World Population Review. (2025a). Thailand cities by population 2025. World Population Review. https://worldpopulationreview.com/cities/thailand?utm_source
World Population Review. (2025b). Chiang Mai Population 2025. World Population Review. https://worldpopulationreview.com/cities/thailand/chiang-mai?utm_source
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Thammasat Review
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The opinions and ideas expressed in all submissions published in Thammasat Review are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect that of the editors or the editorial board.
The copyright of all articles including all written content and illustrations belong to Thammasat Review. Any individuals or organisation wishing to publish, reproduce and distribute a particular manuscript must seek permission from the journal first.
