Apart from Pattaya, where would you choose to live ...

[CheshireTom]

Apart from Pattaya (if for whatever reason it wasn't an option), where would you choose to live in Thailand, and why? What would be your priorities? Accommodation? Girls? Medical? Beaches? Transport? Proximity to borders? Food? Farangs?

[bigmick]

I think after Pattaya I would look at outskirts of Bangkok or Hua Hin. I am not really a country person son - so Issan is not really for me unless it was in one of the bigger cities like Udon. I looked at Udon earlier this year but was shocked at how expensive it is there for just about everything.

[TheFiend]

I intend retiring "up north"..... Won't be too far from an airport for cheap flights down to Sin City and there's already quite a few falang up there.

 

Not really a big city person,I much prefer the easygoing life of a small provincial town.

[marleyboy]

Theres not much wrong with somewhere like Chiang Mai!

For me, as Im (aren't we all!) getting older! the drinking every night would become much less of an issue! Id be happy going out a few nights a week. The beach? Well as the beach in Pattaya is crap anyway! That wouldn't be much of an issue either.not much of a beach to miss! Its much more "laid back", in Chiang Mai (and lots! of other places in Thailand too!) than in Pattaya, Sometimes its a bit too frenetic in Pattaya for me (I don't live there .....just a month a year Im in Thailand!).

 

I went to Chiang mai for 4 days earlier this year, I will be going for another 4 days in January next year too. (just booked my ticket today! yayyyyyyy!).

Personally? I think Pattaya "may"! be "too busy" for me to live................(come retirement age that is!).

 

When I was in my 20s, I used to go to Samui, for 4 months every winter. Ive not been there since 1991 though! I "imagine" it would be too expensive now, or I "imagine" there would be too many backpackers yuppies! etc for my tastes now!

 

In reality. I think I could live in most places In Thailand. Obviously as I get older, things such as...hospitals , ease to get to Bangkok in case of emergencies etc!, ease of transport especially, for getting visas etc etc. While I do like the beach , I rarely go to the beach (go to swim and sunbathe in swimming pools instead!) in Pattaya, as the beach is crap and dirty water.PLUS! too many people trying to sell me everything under the sun, (even pretending to be asleep wont work! they just waken you!), I think places like Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Chumphon, Pattaya would be fine.

 

Of course! If money was no object its another story altogether!

[Wings]

Cambodia

[LocalYokul]

I used to enjoy living in Banchang, but it's been ruined. I think nowadays I'd prefer Chiang Mai. I started out hating the place, but after a year I was not wanting to leave.

[nkped]

A long way from it being a serious question for me, but Udon Thani would have its attractions. It has a fair number of farang friendly amenities including a Bangkok Hospital franchise and an Asia Books outlet. Also, over the winter, it occasionally gets cool enough at night for a light jacket to feel good. Of course the trade-off is that in the spring, it gets hotter than hell. The scuba diving sucks, but Air Asia has direct flights to Phuket.

 

If I was solely going for the view, it would be Nakhon Phanom. Looking out over the Mekong towards Laos is still one of the great visuals on the planet for me.

[Nightrider]

Fuck Thailand it's getting 2 expensive , i would go and live in the mountains in Vietnam......Nice place , very quiet and friendly people and there are some beautiful girls up there , yum yum......!

[js007]

Pattaya is an easy place to live, but I'm not sure it would be my first choice. I like Phuket, but the public transportation system there sucks, and the real estate can be overpriced. I like Bangkok. I've thought about buying a place there for a base of operations for travel around Asia.

[captcraig2]

I did enjoy living in Korat.

[chas]

Here you go NKPed:-

 

 

[nkped]

Here you go NKPed:-

Sigh

[Alphonse]

Spent a few days in Hua Hin last spring and going back this November. Important for me: decent beach, a small number of available ladies, laid back tempo, farang-friendly. Will also check out the smaller towns south of HH. Chiangmai is nice but no beach alas.

[jacko]

I couldn't really specify a place. Never having spent any appreciable length of time elsewhere. Well perhaps Korat, Nan, Tak, Phuket, and her village in rural Korat....bugger all there. When I first retired, we went on a few extensive tours of Thailand, with a mind to finding a place I wanted to settle. Nearly a decade later, perhaps some of the places I did not select would perhaps be more worthy now. But Pattaya ticks a lot of boxes, and I think I made a good choice back then.

Edited October 19, 2013 by jacko

[ozibill]

I have lived outside Pattaya for over 6 years - I live in the Rayong province - there is good shopping in Rayong , plenty of good clean beaches , costs about 10% less than Pattaya , and it is only 30/45 minutes drive to Pattaya . And none of the frenzy of Pattaya .

[LocalYokul]

I live in the Rayong province - there is good shopping in Rayong ,

 

In Rayong City, yes. In Bahn Kai, Rayong, not so.

[Gary]

It all depends. As long as I have my Thai wife, I could live nearly anywhere in Thailand except in a big city. If I were single, I'd have to find a farang ghetto because of my pathetic command of the Thai language. It's not as if I have not tried to learn the language, it's because there is no way that I can I hear the difference in tones and Thai is a tonal language.

 

if I were single I could get by in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

[baht_miser]

I would live in Chiang Mai, it is cooler, pretty and very relaxed.

[cbrib]

Pattaya is getting a bit over crowded, Bang Sarae and Baan Chang are nice options. As far as a big city goes i think Bangkok is great. i like it up in Chaing Mai but prefer southern Thailand. I like Phuket alot esp Nai Harn, Rawai, and Chalong.

[wacmedia]

Hi,

 

I like to live by water. Pattaya fills that criteria. Otherwise I'd like somewhere on the Mekhong like Nakhon Phanom or Nong Khai.

[Fireman Sam]

I would not live in Pattaya now, stayed there in the early eighties, doesn't hold much attraction for me nowadays, only visit occasionally to see friends and old neighbours. Stay one to two days max now.

 

Been living in Nakhon Phanom for the last seven years or thereabout. Main reason for coming to live here was my wife (or wifey as some BM would say) hails from here, but really happy living here. Reasons I like it, it feels like Thailand, not too many farangs (well initially), really really friendly locals, relatively low crime rate, I have more Thai than farangs friends, very little traffic which is great getting around the place, also pretty safe for my sport of road cycling, great cycling club here as well, fantastic river views over into Laos, very little English spoken by the locals, great climate, cooler in the cool season, hotter in the hot season than Pattaya, reasonable transport links, two flights a day from Bangkok one from Nok and one from Air Asia. all pluses in my opinion.

 

As everywhere though things are changing in Nakhon Phanom, these are all minuses in my opinion :- more and more farangs living here. They are in the process of building a BigC, Makro, Robinson lifestyle centre and also extending the Tesco supermarket. I prefer it with all the original mum and pop stores which support the local community. Also the medical services here in the government hospital receives mixed reviews, no private hospitals here.

 

Travelled around most of Thailand maybe apart from the South, Phuket doesn't really count as the South does it. I would consider staying in either Chaing Mai or Chaing Rai, mostly for the road cycling scene and climate in these places.

 

 

Regards

Edited October 19, 2013 by Fireman Sam

[spike]

Apart from Pattaya (if for whatever reason it wasn't an option), where would you choose to live in Thailand, and why? What would be your priorities? Accommodation? Girls? Medical? Beaches? Transport? Proximity to borders? Food? Farangs?

Cheers CT...

 

I've been pondering this very question...

 

I want to have a hobbie other than bar girls in retirement...so, I'm looking at Hua Hin because of the beaches and clean water and more laid back lifestyle.

 

The area seems to offer a lot of things that are important to me...the many different areas for fishing, affordable housing not far from the beaches and good medical facilities.

 

The centralized location makes Hua Hin not to distant from Bkk or Koh Samui and the city offers a pretty decent nightlife for when I feel like running around.

 

This is the plan anyhow.

[bratpack]

+ 1

I think my choice would be Huan Hin,if i ever get fed up of Pattaya.10 years in jan 2014 and still very happy with my life and can avoid anything or any place i dont like,walking st for instance.Got quite a few friends here,plus mates are here all the year round,miss my mucker Bruiser though.

Cheers CT...

 

I've been pondering this very question...

 

I want to have a hobbie other than bar girls in retirement...so, I'm looking at Hua Hin because of the beaches and clean water and more laid back lifestyle.

 

The area seems to offer a lot of things that are important to me...the many different areas for fishing, affordable housing not far from the beaches and good medical facilities.

 

The centralized location makes Hua Hin not to distant from Bkk or Koh Samui and the city offers a pretty decent nightlife for when I feel like running around.

 

This is the plan anyhow.

[pattayaman2001]

Udon Thani.

 

Decent bars and easy border runs.

[BigDUSA]

BKK for the medical facilities.