East coast (Languan, Sichon etc) for rural living?

[simon43 7,546]

I'm currently living temporarily in Ranong, having recently returned from working in Burma. I'm not working in Thailand, so am very flexible about where I live.

 

My plan was to relocate up to north Thailand, but I'm really losing confidence in this idea due to the air quality in that region. I monitor the AQ website and it is not good all over the north. (It's also a long way for site visits).

 

I previously lived in Phuket, which usually has much cleaner air.  But I'm not at all keen to move back to that island (for various reasons!).

 

Ranong is the wettest province and I don't have easy beach access.  I much prefer a Thai-style, rural community, preferably close to a beach for exercise, relaxation etc.  I speak Thai. I buy my own food (salads, fruit etc) and don't need access to western food and/or commodities.

 

What about the east cost of the Thai peninsula? What's Pak Nam near Langsuan like?  How about Sichon?  

 

I live alone, have a car and an income.  My only nighttime forays are singing (badly) Thai and Morlam songs in the rural Thai karaokes...

 

What suggestions do people have? 

Edited February 10 by simon43

[Stocky 938]

That's certainly the sweet spot as far as trying to maximize your chances of breathing clean air. North of Chumphon you've an increasing chance of getting haze from Bangkok, south of Nakorn Si Thammarat you've an increasing chance of getting haze from Sumatra and Kalimantan.

 

Not that familiar with Pak Nam, though Chumphon is a good source of supplies, Sichon I've driven through, beaches are a a bit better further north near Khanom.

 

I would suggest a field trip is in order.

[vinniekintana 1,382]

What's wrong with Ranong (air-wise)?

 

[LivinLOS 3,774]

Personally, living in the north, I think air quality outside of some special hot zones / micro climates, is OK for 9 or 10 months a year.. Theres really only a peak of bad air and it even can be only a couple of weeks within that 2 - 3 months thats terrible. So while I do acknowledge its an issue, I think its one of those things that people love to fixate on. 

Other than that, I am quite a fan of the Khanom area and the bit between donsak and nakhon si.. Given your stated need to not need much western goods, its a very appealing coastal region. But you could stick a pin in any one of a number of places from Chumporn south and it work to that stated need. Much more of an effect is being lucky with neighbours, being lucky with a good village / mentality, etc etc.. Very similar places can be great or terrible simply by the influence of a few local factors which have very little correlation or ability to pick. 

 

[Stocky 938]

3 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

I think its one of those things that people love to fixate on.

My wife is asthmatic, so air quality is an issue, even if for just a few weeks a year, so for us the peninsular is more appealing than living up north; a pity as I prefer mountains to beaches.

[simon43 7,546]

What's wrong with Ranong (air-wise)?

 

That's actually not the problem for the province, but there are a couple of factors that don't make it a choice for long-term stay for me:

 

- My current rental house is in a useful location (sports field opposite for jogging), but suffers from noisy traffic and pollution/dirt.

- Ranong is the wettest province in the country.  Rain is OK, but a lot of rain+ high humidity plus lack of coastal breeze (accommodation is not on the coast) is an issue.

- There is no accessible beach.

 

On Sunday I drove over to Lang Suan and Pak Nam beach.  The beach area/beach road was definitely suitable for running/exercise and with a nice cool breeze.  Just inland from the beach there is a rural area, all very quiet.  No immediate sign of suitable properties to rent, but I'll take another trip over there.

[cornishcarlos 13,692]

Khanom or Sichon are both good spots.

More going on in Khanom though.

[phuketsub 508]

I live in Ranode, which is just on a little strip of land between Songkhla Lake and the Gulf...there is always a nice breeze here and I would reckon we have the best air quality in Thailand -- as long as one of my retarded neighbor doesn't decide that 'today is the day' to burn plastic garbage.

 

The weather on this side is overall much nicer than Phuket because of the monsoon reversal, which leaves Phuket rainy most of the year.

 

It can really come down here in December and January, and we had really bad flooding the last two years. Most of was due to bad land use planning, though. We've been lucky this year as the only serious weather we got was that overblown storm Pabuk, which got way more attention than it deserved.

 

The people here are typically nice and accommodating, albeit a bit excitable. I lived in Phuket for 15 years and it was nice to come over here and not feel like I am getting ripped off at every turn.

 

The public transport here is very good overall, though some of the drivers are reckless.

 

There are only a few farang living here, but we all keep in touch to some degree. Songkhla Town and Hat Yai are other nice options if you want something with nightlife and an expat theme.

[ethos 0]

I live near Pak Nam Lang Suan, on the beach. I've been here for 8 years and know the area pretty well. Feel free to call me on +66958972001

[ELL 27]

Try Bang Ben beach, near Laen Son National park, 40 km south from Ranong.