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Best place to live in Thailand


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I am looking at settling in Thailand, I have been to Patong, Hua Hin, Chang Mai, Chang Rai, Koh Samui and Isaan.

Patong,ok but expensive for accommodation and not really Thailand, Hua Hin, didnt feel like Thailand, Chang Mai, liked the feel of the place but would a beach location, Kou Samui, too quiet and limited as it is an island. Isaan, mm no.

I would like a quiet beach location with the option of having a walk about for a few beers and shops, accommodation with a proper kitchen where I could have internet and decent TV.

I have been advised to stay clear of Pattaya although I will have to go for a look myself.

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Try Krabi ...close enough to Phuket, if that suits you...and direct, often very cheap flights to BKK and Chiang Mai. Lots of reasonably cheap housing options within easy reach of the beach.

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If you don't like Hua Hin, how about Cha Am or Pranburi. Both have beaches but still remain 'Thai' to a degree but are located close enough to good shopping and facilities for when you need to stock up on tea bags and farang food.

Having said that, some find Cha Am a little boring but if you're looking for the quiet life it could be for you.

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Don't go to Pattaya.

Don't take this "Lucifer" character seriously; he is not even playing 'Devil's Advocate', for Pete's sake ! ! !

I have happily lived "near" Pattaya (10 minutes from my home to down-town) for 20 years (with my brilliant Thai' wife, who's a lawyer) and, because I need to be near a large body of water, since I am an avid yachtie') I love it here ! I also spent about 1.5 years (working) in Hua-Hin and that, to me, has got to be one of the more boring places in Thailand, with predominantly Scandinavian expats, crappy beaches (love the horses though !) and totally unfit for yachting .

"Living-in-Pattaya" does not mean that one has to frequent the "exciting areas" all the time; in fact I never see the Walking Street, unless I have overseas visitors here and then it's sort-of fun for me too, because I hadn't been there for ages.

Look; Pattaya has a lot of stuff and one simply has to be selective:

1. Brilliant Restaurants

2. Brilliant Shopping

3. Easy access to Int. Airport & Bangkok

4. Easy access to places like Koh Samet, Ban-Chang, Ban-Amphur etc. etc.

5. 4 Great Hospitals within easy reach

6. A huge variety of Nationalities, with limited, yet large number of 'real' folks.

7. Last but not least: The sailing around Pattaya and its access to soooo many beautiful locations is endless

As long as you're selective; Pattaya is a great place to live and it is also considerably cheaper than most other "destinations" in Thailand, where the sea is close & begging ! ! ! !

PS: If you decide to check it out; jut PM me and I'll point you in the right direction; with pleasure.

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Some like it ..some don't

It is a rather large tourist trap..and the locals treat you as such.

I find the focus on bars and gals a bit over the top, but don't mind a short visit.

For me...I would like to consider Ban Chang. A quieter life, but close enough to Koh Samet/Koh Chang and Pattaya.

Too long in Pattaya grates at the soul and shatters my nerves.

Edited by slipperylobster
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Maybe Chumphon would suit your tastes? Not touristy by any means, yet developed enough for an expat to hold their own. But only one or two flights daily from Bangkok only. So you need to get there via car, train, or coach bus (which run frequently). We have a couple of beaches out here; primarily Thung Wua Laen Beach in Pathio. Quiet most of the time, but some of the restaurants open for breakfast and in the afternoon/night there are a few bars around if that's your thing; definitely NOT even close to the scale of Patong/Pattaya. But the water is clear most of the time. There are 300 baht/night all the way to 4000 baht/night places. Some decent long stay options from 4-12k baht/month and even more depending on what you want. Not a whole lot of double-pricing out here, and 20 minutes into the town by motorbike or song-thaew.

See: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/509800-maats-guide-to-living-near-chumphon-town/

And you need to go to Pattaya and see for yourself. I do have to admit, whether you like the nightlife or not, the city is easy and cheap to navigate to do your shopping and easy to access Bangkok. Patong/Kata would have been much easier place to live with an organized baht bus system, especially between the beaches and Phuket Town and between Patong/Kata/Chalong. I wonder what it would take to see a baht bus system installed in that area?

Edited by 4evermaat
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I agree with Patong not being a great place but than you will not like Pattaya either, however Phuket has much more to offer than only Patong!

I have owned and lived on and off with Phuket being my Home base, in BKK, Hua Hin, Pattaya, Khao Lak , Samui and Krabi and for me Phuket is it and has all I need, Island life but not to small, Great Shopping if you want it, Bars and Night Life if you need it and some great ( some less great) Beaches!

Phuket is it, for my end of days, although in Hanoi/Vietnam for a couple of years of well paid work just now!

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I agree that you need to take a look at Pattaya for yourself because it does have all the amenities anyone would need.

It is tainted though and there are many downsides to living there.

If it has everything on your "Top Twenty" list of things that YOU need to hve then it is worth considering.

You need to make Pattaya work for you and not the other way round.

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Trat has some good points...

1. Easy Access to the Border

2. Quiet

3. I love Koh Chang....It has quiet beaches, but also some pubs, restaurants, and beach activities as well. Beautiful.

However....it is quite a distance. You would want your own transportation, of course.

Trat is very small, but friendly enough. The town was about twenty minutes to the ferry.

I could behappy there....but am looking at Ban Chang.... would like to be close...but not in....Pattaya.....

as well as have some variety further south ... at the many beaches and Koh Samet. Koh Chang would be about 4 hours further.

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There is nothing wrong with Pattaya. If you like quiet you can live in Jomtien or on the East side. If you want more action you can live in town. Sattahip is also very nice, but much more quite than Pattaya. The nice thing about Pattaya is that there are things going on all the time if you are looking for things to do. Also, it is only a 2 hour ride to BKK. Pattaya has 4 hospitals and numerous shopping areas. Central Festival is as good as it gets for shopping malls.

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Trat! ...........not too far from here is a beach area called Hat Chao Lao. A nice stretch of coastline.

The beach is around 25km from the main Sukhumvit Highway, so not easy to get to for the average tourist. Resort prices ar cheaper Sun night to Thurs night as this is predominently a Thai destination, easily denoted by the facy that prices shoot up Fri and Sat nights, as tour buses full of Thai arrive for the weekend.

I have never checked out property prices here so can be of little help there.

Shopping is in Chantaburi, some 25km away. And please note, this resort area dies at 9pm due to the fact that i's pretty well empty except for Fri and Sat nights.

Nevertheless, if you're looking for a pleasant beach area, not full of the seedier side of life found in Pattaya, and definitely quiet (let's say dead, some of the time), then you're in the right place.

You really do need your own transport to stay here. Clean water, clean beaches. The resort road is set back maybe 200mtrs from the beach, so no motorbikes or cars disturbing your sunbathing.

Why not check it out, nice resort to try is http://www.hadtuen.com/home.html it's a Thai language site, so open in Google Chrome and translate.

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I have lived in Chiang Mai for three years, but come from Hawaii and missed the ocean, so I went looking down south. I spent a month in Lamai, Kho Samui checking it out. Not as bad as Pattaya and Patong, but there is a Russian invasion. I'm not anti-Russian, but too many of any one nationality clustered together changes the ambiance of living in Thailand. I spent a few weeks in Aonang. Beautiful place. I met the man who pretty much owns Aonang, and he won't let the Russians in. Many Swedish and Finland expats. The rents go down farther inland. I really like Koh Phangan. I need good internet reception, and it's pretty iffy there. Kho Tao is cool, especially if you like diving. Cha-am may be the best place to invest - it could be another Pattaya in 10/20 years, but right now its a bit boring for my taste. My best choice: Aonang.

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I have happily lived "near" Pattaya (10 minutes from my home to down-town) for 20 years (with my brilliant Thai' wife, who's a lawyer) and, because I need to be near a large body of water, since I am an avid yachtie') I love it here ! I also spent about 1.5 years (working) in Hua-Hin and that, to me, has got to be one of the more boring places in Thailand, with predominantly Scandinavian expats, crappy beaches (love the horses though !) and totally unfit for yachting .

I would suggest that compared to Pattaya, Hua Hin's beaches are pretty good. Apart from anything else, they have sand ... whistling.gif

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I'm looking for a non-touristy place near the sea. Someone mentioned Trat. Any thoughts out there?

Klaeng, Chantaburi....

great quiet places near the beach

I myself live in Ayutthaya, away form the hustle and bustle of Bangkok

but close enough for a night out on the town!!

Edited by jumbo
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Don't go to Pattaya.

Glad your not coming ,everything you could want here ,as long as you dont live in the town , easy access to BKK , ect ect,good beaches not far away ,good food ,people who have only come here as "tourists" and only know the town dont know what their missing.

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I agree...Pattaya is a great place to live.

Everything you want is here.

And you dont have to live right in Pattaya. We live in Jomtien, and its awesome.

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