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Hi there,

I am wondering how it works in Samui to lease a small shop (approx. 50 square metres would be enough (size of a small coffee shop). I'd be looking at somewhere with very good location for foot traffic, such as the main strip of lamai or chaweng, or the main strip in BoPhut, or even at the entrance area to big buddha or prime spot near ferry in nathon. I am curious as to the cost to rent a small commercial space in an area like this, and also how the sytem works there. is there key money involved or just monthly rent? how long is a typical lease?

If anyone has any information they could share with me, it would be very much appreciated. thanks.

I would check out either samui sanctuary, or samui emerald. one is a small development of villas, the other more of a condo. i met the guys who run both those when i was looking there last winter, and thought they were honest to deal with and offered good value anyways. for me, i had dreams of the '2 rai with my custom-built home' but then when we started getting serious, my wife and i both thought that since we'd be away more than we are there, it is a better idea to be in a project that takes care of the place when you are not there. there are lots of those around all over the place. some seem more reasonable than others.....

good luck.

Last time I was here, I had the best duck soup from a restaurant in a small series of cheap Thai restaurants on the ring road just heading out of lamai (if going north) near the lamai market. Now he is gone. I have heard rumors he took his delicious duck soup to Maenam, but cannot find him. anyone know where he is, or where to get good, cheap duck soup??? thanks....

that is just for the place. the sweeter the better. what is the best i can get (closest to the beach too) for 60,000 for the four weeks. i am open to suggestions....thanks for the help so far.

I am heading to Samui, and was going to just find a place when I get there. Was wondering if anyone here has, or knows about, a good place to stay. I could do a bungalow on the beach or a small 1 bedroom villa (away from the beach if need be). My budget for the whole 4 weeks is about 60,000 baht. 80,000 maximum. I am travelling with my wife and daughter so am looking for a nice place, with communal pool.

Any help or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

i am going to samui with my wife and daughter (5 years old) from December 17 until January 13. Anyone have any recommendations for a place to stay? We are looking for a place that has one or two rooms. Two beds is ideal. We would like to find a place that is nice and quiet with a communal pool as well. Anywhere on the island would be okay as long as the place is nice as we'll have a vehicle while there.

We'd love to find a place for a total of 80,000 baht or less for the 4 weeks we'll be there. Any recommendations???

Thanks.

what is the fastest way to get to vang vieng from samui? getting there quickly is more important to me than cost, as my time is limited.

also, any good recommendations of a NICE place to stay along the river in vang vieng?

can anyone recommend the best way to get from samui to laos by air, and how much it is. i need to fly, as i want to stop in laos for about a week on my way out of samui this winter. Also, if anyone can recommend a beautiful place to spend a week in Laos, it would be appreciated. thanks.

Try looking into Samui Sanctuary or Samui Emerald.

www.samuisanctuary.com

www.samuiemerald.com

I have had good dealings with a guy there named Scott. I like the sanctuary, and almost bought there, but have decided to delay my move to the island for a couple of more years...

good luck.

you people that say all the negative shit about samui make me laugh. what losers you must be to sit here on the internet and spend your time reading forums about a place you hate....what a pathetic life you lead.

i am off now to find a forum on the internet somewhere about broccoli, so i can tell everyone on there how much i hate it.....

losers man. the worst kind....

Nothing wrong with owning a condo on Samui. There will always be nay-sayers (particularly on this board), but hey, if you do your research, you'll most likely end up with a nice condo to enjoy for many many years. This forum is filled with people who think all condo projects are a ripoff, but think about it. There must be many many happy condo owners all over thailand who spend the winter down there, and enjoy the hel_l out of it. That's my plan one day. I'll do my homework, pick a good project, and enjoy my condo.

So.....what's the update? Any more word on samui sanctuary? i am curious to know....that place looks interesting

if you go to the website www.samuisanctuary.com and look under the prices/availability section then click on the condo units themselves, the prices come up i think.....

I am interested in buying a condo on samui. I have seen some reasonably priced condos but not sure about location etc. One was on Cheong Mon which I never really liked but seems to be a center of recent development. I would appreciate if anyone here could drop me a line with an update on the current market conditions in Samui as well as names of any interesting condos that they know are being buil - not only on paper.

My budget is approx 2-4 million baht. Iappreciate your help.

Try out Samui Sanctuary.

www.samuisanctuary.com

It looks nice, and is in a well established area. Seems they have condos that fit in your price range.....

They probably were designed and most likely submitted. The laws re. pitched roofs changed during their initial construction stages to my knowledge. So this would involve lots of cost and extra time for the developer. Now, that said, the point i would be most interested in is whether or not the people with the penthouses still get their rooftop decks, or has the new Samui law changed that. Cause that would be a shame. And hey, from what I know, the people that run Sabai Thani are good people and definately on the level.

So, how much does everyone pay (per minute) to call back home (wherever that may be) from Samui.

And what method do you use?

Man, I don't really know how to give you directions. I can't remember where to turn off the ring road. But it is at the West end of Maenam, and just off the ring road about 100m closer to the beach. As you are driving through Maenam from Bophut towards Nathon, then just before the end of Maenam you will see a sign (I think) that says Gym and an arrow pointing to the right. Take the time to find it though.

Cheers.

There is a gym in Maenam called Hippo Gym and it is run by a nice german dude. Check it out. He is an old friend of mine and has set up a nice little spot there.

Quote tax

"unless you are looking for poor service , 100% humidity , a rising crime rate , disrespect for foriegners , crumbling infrastructure , flooded roads , out of control development , unlevel playing fields for foriegn investment , seedy shacks selling beer and sex , pavements that look like war zones , and roads that are racetracks.

Oh yeah. Give it all to me. Seriously man. I <deleted> ck ing love it!

I believe it is about 10,000 baht per month. This is for 9 - 3pm I think. Hope that helps.

Again, the school is really nice (facilities anyways - didn't meet the staff) and we will be sending our 3 year old daughter there for sure.

There is a preschool on the west coast, north of nathon. It is the group of funny shaped buildings. One is shaped like a boat. You can't miss it. My wife and I toured the place and it is nicer than where our daughter goes back home. I think they teach 50/50 Thai and English. Check it out for sure.

We are thinking of putting our daughter in that new school just north of Nathon a bit.

It is the weird looking one with classroom buildings shaped as boats and stuff.

We went by there just before they opened and it seemed like a really nice place.

And thanks for all the help people. I will follow up on the tips for sure.

If anyone else has any suggestions, keep em coming.

where in bang makham?

is it in a small 'community' of houses, or is it all on its own?

may be interested...

as for maenam, thanks for the tip. i do like maenam and am considering it too. do you know any place in particular?

thanks

I am moving to Samui and looking for advice from anyone on a good place to live. I am moving there with my wife and my daughter, who is 3 years old. We have friends in Lamai, and wouldn't mind living south of Lamai somewhere, but we are thinking somewhere between Bophut and Nathon (North and North West) would be better. Basically, we are looking for:

- 2 bedroom place

- safe and secure feeling (funny, before I had my daughter I would have NEVER lived in a 'gated community' but now that is what I want

- clean and nice landscaping, maybe a communal pool type-thing

- air con

- budget of 40,000 a month maximum

- internet comnnection would be nice

- furnished

- good for families

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. When I was in Samui last, stayed at Samui Garden Home (not sure if anyone knows that place) and that is just what we are looking for, but with 2-bedroom places (they only have 1-bedroom places).

Thanks.

Some of you people can be ridiculous! It actually makes me laugh at some of the negativity here.

You WILL get your house and land taken away! You are an idiot farang who is GOING to get ripped off here!

And the only string of evidence that you cling to is that, "Hey, check the Thai law. The government can take the land back anytime they want blah blah blah."

Well yes then, it is POSSIBLE that this could happen. But let's assume that we have brains, and we can use them. How many foreigners have now setup companies to own land and houses in Thailand? How many of them have had their land taken away by the goverment? How many of those are just stories that you HEARD from "a friend who knew somebody that it happend to"?

I would bet that less than 0.1% (1 in 1000) of foreigners that have bought here have gotten ######ed by the Thai law, and the other 999 have not had the government come and take their land, or house.

Why is this? Again, use your brains now kids, and not your cynicism, and think. Because it is much better for the Thai goverment to want to continue to attract affluent foreigners to come in there for semi-retirement and bring their big bucks to Thailand. But no, they will probably just take everyone's house one day, kick out all foreigners and never have another foreigner buy there again? I mean, really now.

Okay, you got me, yes it is possible, but you negative people who live your lives in fear of shit like this freak me out. I prefer to take the odd chance, check the cynicism at the door and 'go for it'.

And guess what, anyone (okay, most) who has done that on Samui or Phuket over the last 15 years, has made a good decision.

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