David Koh, Singapore’s first cybersecurity chief, retires on July 1

Voices

Lavish food, superb amenities and all-day karaoke at a fraction of the cost of retiring in Singapore. While the perks of spending one's golden years abroad might be tempting, CNA's Renald Loh says there's more to consider.

Having access to comfort food and drink at home is more appealing to the writer, when it comes to growing old, than various retirement villages he visited across the region. (Illustration: CNA/Leah Chakola)

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19 Jun 2026 09:30PM

Last year, my mother retired from a career in banking that spanned 40 years.

I no longer live with her, but from what I can tell, she's livin' la vida loca – Spanish for "living the crazy life" – however "loca" a Singaporean in her 60s can get.

She's been on five holidays in the past 12 months. She volunteers at a neighbourhood hospital. She's also been learning to cook and making the most of her Friends of Mandai Senior membership by acquainting herself with the winged residents at Bird Paradise every month.

While retirement is realistically still a long, long way off for this 30-year-old, my mother's post-corporate adventures got me thinking seriously about how I would like to go about my septuagenarian life.

Where would I want to live, and how would I want to fill my days?

In Singapore, perhaps the most aspirational vision of that is Perennial Living, a luxury assisted living development along Parry Avenue launching this year with the kind of amenities that make you forget you're looking at aged care.

There's a rehabilitation and wellness centre on-site, a 1.5ha adjoining park as your garden and a private lift to your doorstep.

But its suites cost between S$8,900 (US$6,900) and S$17,000 a month. So unless I start making bank soon or perhaps win the lottery, I don't think I'll be spending my last years in luxury.

Look abroad, however, and it feels like you can get more bang for your buck.

For instance, there's Johor Bahru just across the Causeway, where one in three Singaporeans say they may eventually retire, according to a 2024 survey by Blackbox Research and Qualtrics.

In fact, retirement villages across Southeast Asia told me they've been experiencing what they call a "Singaporean tsunami" of inquiries in recent years, with some receiving anywhere from 15 to 40 in a month.

A suite in a repurposed five-star hotel in central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, runs to about RM9,900 (S$3,200) a month, while a Swiss-owned premium residence in Chiang Mai, Thailand, starts at around US$3,300. Both offer assisted living services with exceptional service to boot.

So it's no surprise that these retirement villages report growing interest from Singaporeans looking to make the most of their nest eggs.

Last year, I visited about a dozen such senior living facilities across Southeast Asia in my role as a reporter. With every senior I interviewed at each facility, I pictured myself in their shoes and observed them a little more keenly than what my job required.

Visa issues notwithstanding – might a retirement village overseas be a good fit for me?

SWISS ALPS IN CHIANG MAI

Many of these retirement villages know how to appeal to potential clients. One in Seremban, Malaysia had a pristine pool with a view of a glorious hill; another in Thailand would build a custom patio for you if you requested it.

Everything you could possibly want in your old age is provided. In many instances, I was sold.

A view of a swimming pool at the Millennia Village in Seremban, Malaysia, on Dec 13, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong)

But not everyone I came across looked like they were living the dream.

I recall seeing some solo foreign nationals tucking into their farm-fresh gourmet meals or sitting alone on their patio, perhaps longing for some connection.

The most common question that retirement village operators hear from potential overseas clients is: "Are there people from my home country living there too?" And if the answer is no, that interest often wanes.

At one particular Swiss-owned luxury retirement village in Chiang Mai, around half of its residents are, unsurprisingly, Swiss nationals.

Plastered along the walls of the main lobby are large paintings of the Swiss Alps and photographs of the Swiss city of Bern – little anchors of home while thousands of kilometres away from it.

The most common question that retirement village operators hear from potential overseas clients is: "Are there people from my home country living there too?"

At another Thai retirement village, I met a man in his eighties.

He was born in China but lived in Canada for 60 years, and spent a long time searching for a place to retire in the West before choosing to settle in Chiang Mai.

He spoke to me in fluent English for about an hour until he found out I could speak Mandarin too. I remember the way his face lit up when he realised we could continue our conversation in his native tongue.

WHERE WILL I RETIRE?

Of all the seniors I spo…