I am from the Canadian prairies and lived in Jomtien Beach for a few years after I retired. Used to be a couple bars on Soi7 owned by a BC guy, Penticton and his Thai wife. Lotta guys from BC and other Canadians hung out there. Not many from Vancouver as it is very ethnic Asian now. Each for their own reasons everybody seemed to love it there. If you were looking for a quiet place there are hundreds of miles of coastline in Thailand that are sparsely populated and provide what you're looking for. Na Jomtien for example. Once the grandkids get a bit older I plan on moving back there as I really enjoyed it.