The Thai baht is not high or overvalued
" Increased costs across the board are hitting many retirees in Thailand where it hurts, as is the high baht......"
It really is time we got away from the delusion that, somehow, the Thai baht is "high" or "overvalued". It's NOT.
As Westerners, many of us seem to have an ingrained sense of superiority that extends far beyond the usual - education, worldliness, earning power etc - to the status of our home currencies. The 2008 financial crisis was a game-changer; global central banks deliberately debased their currencies (which were already overvalued anyway) with ultra-expansionary monetary policies. THAT is why GBP, EUR, CAD. AUD, SEK etc are worth less against the baht.
This situation isn't irreversible but it's going to take more than a few impecunious pensioners leaving for destinations with cheaper living standards to prompt the Thai central bank to emulate its Western counterparts by debasing the baht.
My advice would be to hope and pray that the next economic catastrophe strikes in Asia before it erupts in the West; then convert as much as you can while the baht is depressed. If it happens the other way around, all bets are off.
Chok dee
Ray
