I nearly stopped reading when you mentioned a "housing estate" . I have been to Phuket several times , the first time was just before the sunami, I was only there for a week and was not overly impressed.
Some years later I went to help with translation for a Thai friend who has a construction company and was looking to secure some building contracts with a group of Belgians initially and some English guys who were looking to build a few condos.
We were all over the Island looking for suitable building plots, again I left pretty much unimpressed, as did my Thai mate
I am perfectly happy here out in darkest Surin as are the few expats I associate with. plenty going on an never bored. plus the added bonus of no Indians or Russians or muslims and very very few tourists, what's not to love ? .
Ps Cats are free, dogs can be a little more expensive, if one bites they are a stray but if you do kill one they suddenly have 5 owners all asking for money, so best to just keep on going