Where is the most comfortable place for westerners to live in Thailand?

[Promula]

1 hour ago, wolf81 said:

I kinda wonder why Pattaya isn't recommended more in this post. I believe the air should be relatively clean all year round right? As long as not driving in city center, staying close to the beach (e.g. Jomtien area). .

 

 

I went there in January and could see the smog moving south east and out to sea. There's a lot of arable land nearby that gets torched.

Edited September 29, 2020 by Promula

[Nout]

Pattaya. It has everything. Phuket is dire.

[Nout]

Just now, Promula said:

I went there in January and could see the smog moving south and out to sea. There's a lot of arable land nearby that gets torched.

Nah no torching anywhere near here. I not you watched the smog moving out. Pattaya has a gigant green lung in the form of Pratumnak,  the whole city has its own microclimate and it nestles behind jungles and mountains.

[Promula]

4 minutes ago, Nout said:

Nah no torching anywhere near here. I not you watched the smog moving out. Pattaya has a gigant green lung in the form of Pratumnak,  the whole city has its own microclimate and it nestles behind jungles and mountains.

A small hill with some trees on isn't going to stop thousands of square kms of smog that's built up in rural Chachoensao from moving south east.

[spidermike007]

19 hours ago, Gulfsailor said:

Phuket fits your preferences. If you’d like a less mass touristy feel then Samui will fit. You could go even smaller, but then you’d have to compromise on access and things to do.

I prefer Samui over Phuket, mainly because I don’t like mass tourism and high rise, and the rainy season is only 1-1.5 months. 

I tend to agree. Also less Russians. Now, both are dead, but that has it's upside too. Samui has great weather. Cooler and windy when in stormy season. I love that weather. And a gorgeous interior, away from the Ring Road. Of you can afford a home on one of the hills, the views are stunning.

 

Phuket gets alot more rain. Also, as over developed as Samui is, it is still less than Phuket. And if you want quiet, Koh Phangan is amazing. Gorgeous. 

 

The big advantage of Phuket is the ability to fly anywhere reasonably. Bangkok Air's near monopoly on Samui is unnecessary, heinous and obnoxious. 

 

The second advantage of Phuket is the Andaman. It is beautiful. Local seafood is better. Water is far deeper and cleaner. The diving is the best in Thailand. The Gulf pales by comparison, on nearly every level. 

Edited September 29, 2020 by spidermike007

[murraynz]

19 hours ago, scammed said:

phuket and pattaya are the only two that comes to mind,

having that much white boys that is has caused companies to import

western food.

phuket has better beaches and pattaya is cheaper

Phuket,is ridiculously expensive.

Pattaya has everything.

There is no need to live in the middle of noisy nightlife areas.

Could be jomtien,Naklua,or even on the darkside..many foreigners like that area..

[Promula]

Singapore is ridiculously expensive. Phuket isn't. I think it's higher quality than Pattaya (apart from public transport) and worth a bit extra.

[Hanuman2547]

 

•  

 

Since the original posted that these are important factors in choosing a place to live

- has fresh air year-round

- has good infrastructure and plenty for a foreigner to do

- has good airport links

- Is near the sea, as beaches and islands are the best thing about the tropics

- Has mountains and forests rather than endless flat rice paddies

 

I would think the very first criteria would rule out Thailand.  Some of the dirtiest air in the region.  Mountains could be found up north but no beaches.  Yes, Phuket has one big hill but hardly qualifies as a mountain.  I wouldn't say "no" to Phuket but I would probably avoid Patong.  Having a car would be good to avoid the extornist rates of the local taxi/baht bus mafia.  

 

Others have mentioned Pattaya.  It is definitely cheaper than Phuket but the beaches aren't that great with all that filth and raw sewage being dumped in the sea.  Perhaps a little further south in Bang Saray or even over in Rayong might work.

 

One of the biggest drawbacks to me is the poor air quality which is why I will never live full time in LOS.  I'd prefer just 4-5 months over the northen hemisphere winter.  

 

[hackjam]

Jomtien ticks most boxes, great for cycling and walking, beach, a Baht bus ride over the hill to Pattaya, great availability of Expat food, draught beer and all the local Thai markets. A few reasonable and good quality saunas and lots of massage joints, bus terminal for Airport, Foodmart. All within walking distance. High end restaurants to street food shacks.

[Promula]

6 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

 

•  

 

Since the original posted that these are important factors in choosing a place to live

- has fresh air year-round

- has good infrastructure and plenty for a foreigner to do

- has good airport links

- Is near the sea, as beaches and islands are the best thing about the tropics

- Has mountains and forests rather than endless flat rice paddies

 

I would think the very first criteria would rule out Thailand.  Some of the dirtiest air in the region.  Mountains could be found up north but no beaches.  Yes, Phuket has one big hill but hardly qualifies as a mountain.  I wouldn't say "no" to Phuket but I would probably avoid Patong. 

 

One of the biggest drawbacks to me is the poor air quality which is why I will never live full time in LOS.  I'd prefer just 4-5 months over the northen hemisphere winter.  

 

I've been in Phuket six months and haven't seen any air quality problems get. The US AQI is 21 today https://www.iqair.com/th-en/thailand/phuket

 

Do you have any info on what causes what you refer to? I'm aware that smog may blow in occasionally from Indonesia, but it's likely to be only a few days per year. There's nothing locally that could cause significant problems.

[hotchilli]

On 9/28/2020 at 11:22 PM, Promula said:

I've chosen Phuket and I can't think of anywhere else that suits my needs. Anyone who thinks somewhere in Thailand would better suit my needs, please say so, or alternatively give your personal preferences.

Vietnam

[Peterw42]

I think Pattaya ticks most of the boxes.

However, It is difficult to have any discussion about Pattaya without the usual rubbish being posted, usually from mums basement or a sexpat who visited once 10 years ago.

 

[Promula]

32 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Vietnam

More noisy and less developed than Thailand.

 

People there don't just ride their motorbikes on the pavement, they'll beep their horn at pedestrians to get out of their way. 

[jomtienisgood]

On 9/28/2020 at 11:36 PM, Gulfsailor said:

Phuket fits your preferences. If you’d like a less mass touristy feel then Samui will fit. You could go even smaller, but then you’d have to compromise on access and things to do.

I prefer Samui over Phuket, mainly because I don’t like mass tourism and high rise, and the rainy season is only 1-1.5 months. 

Try Belgium. 555555555

[Jack Batty]

On 9/29/2020 at 12:19 AM, Mops59 said:

Hua Hin fits top.

Been in Hua Hin for eleven months now, and it absolutely checks all your boxes. Great place.

[Jack Batty]

On 9/28/2020 at 11:48 PM, Promula said:

Krabi town or Ao Nang? I've been to neither yet. They're on my long weekend away list. 

Just got back from a long weekend there. Absolutely fantastic! 

[Pattaya46]

On 9/28/2020 at 6:37 PM, fdsa said:

take a look at Krabi.

Krabi is very nice in the cool season,

but so many rainy days on a full year  ????

 

PS: Rainy days: Krabi 171, Pattaya 106

[ncc1701d]

Would be interested to know why Penang isn't being considered, especially since already living in Malaysia. 

[Promula]

2 minutes ago, ncc1701d said:

Would be interested to know why Penang isn't being considered, especially since already living in Malaysia. 

Relationship with a Thai who doesn't want to live in Malaysia and can't work there.

 

I was thinking of doing 30 days in Phuket then Penang but impossible at the moment and probably not sustainable with constant visa exempt re-entry in the long-term.

 

If staying permanently in Malaysia I'd choose Borneo's Kota Kinabalu over peninsula Penang. It also has a an easier retirement visa than the peninsula.

[geriatrickid]

On 9/28/2020 at 1:19 PM, Mops59 said:

Hua Hin fits top.

Except for the air pollution which was pretty bad most of the year. The burning was ridiculous.

Otherwise good access to hospital, culture, shopping, dining, beach, quality residents.

The benefit of the old palace being there is that it keeps a lid on debauchery.

Unlike Phuket, no water shortages and the dengue epidemics are  usually less severe.

And soon a high speed train.

[Promula]

13 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

And soon a high speed train.

Don't hold your breath. It'll probably arrive around the same time as this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phuket_Island_light_rail_transit

[Hanuman2547]

13 minutes ago, Promula said:

Don't hold your breath. It'll probably arrive around the same time as this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phuket_Island_light_rail_transit

If it doesn't go to Patong then it really is missing a major hub on the island.

[Promula]

4 minutes ago, Hanuman2547 said:

If it doesn't go to Patong then it really is missing a major hub on the island.

Not really. The vast majority of the local population live on the east side of the island. Nearly everyone in Patong is either a tourist or an economic migrant from elsewhere in Thailand working in tourism. 

 

What they'll probably do is offer a free/cheap shuttle bus service from Patong to the LRT station in Phuket City, like Central Festival / Floresta in Phuket City currently offers tourists in Patong. 

Edited October 1, 2020 by Promula

[Promula]

^ Also, it's impracticable without building a tunnel. There's no flat route to Patong. 

[bloodyholly]

24 minutes ago, Promula said:

^ Also, it's impracticable without building a tunnel. There's no flat route to Patong. 

They’ll probably go for that....they’re experts at constructing tunnels/underpasses in Phuket????????????

[Promula]

3 minutes ago, bloodyholly said:

They’ll probably go for that....they’re experts at constructing tunnels/underpasses in Phuket????????????

Digging a tunnel under a mountain/large hill is a tad different to building an underpass under a crossroads on a bypass ????

[chinasimon]

On 9/29/2020 at 5:03 AM, Keyser Soze666 said:

I stopped reading after 'fresh air'

 

None of that here, except for maybe a few weeks a year up Norf.

Not true: 

https://aqicn.org/map/thailand/

[jvs]

On 9/30/2020 at 3:26 PM, Jack Batty said:

Been in Hua Hin for eleven months now, and it absolutely checks all your boxes. Great place.

I used to live in Hua-hin around ten years ago,moved away because the traffic was becoming terrible,it is worse now.Very hard to park any where and it takes a long time to pass thru the town.

Live outside Cha-am now and like it a lot better,most things cheaper and buying things in Ta yang makes it even better.

[Promula]

On 10/1/2020 at 9:24 AM, geriatrickid said:

Except for the air pollution which was pretty bad most of the year. The burning was ridiculous.

Otherwise good access to hospital, culture, shopping, dining, beach, quality residents.

The benefit of the old palace being there is that it keeps a lid on debauchery.

Unlike Phuket, no water shortages and the dengue epidemics are  usually less severe.

And soon a high speed train.

So there are lots of farms around the province that burn their stubble? Such a pity. As Phuket and the south in general lacks grain agriculture, it avoids this problem.

[Promula]

On 10/2/2020 at 8:19 PM, jvs said:

I used to live in Hua-hin around ten years ago,moved away because the traffic was becoming terrible,it is worse now.Very hard to park any where and it takes a long time to pass thru the town.

 

Why not change to a motorbike? Much easier to park and zip through traffic. I'd never want to own a car in Thailand. More trouble than it's worth.