Places to live coming from U.K.

[phannam31]

Will not be till mid 2019 to end 2019 but me and my future wife looking to move to Thailand. We have been looking at Chiang Mai and ubonratchatani based on friends recommendations from visits, but looking for practical experience of areas as in living in a place. Ideally we would like to be out of major towns and near a beach/coast ...quiet /but not with little

To do in striking distance.. obviously safer the better for newbie ex pats and areas where can tie up with others to gain experience of area and settle in.

 

Suggestions appreciated. As regards places to live we are ideally looking at 10000 baht and below but that is open ended a bit.. just an idea of a figure of decent areas where we can settle ? Thanks .

 

 

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[Andrew108]

Impossible to say because you need to come over and find out for yourself. I lived in Phitsanulok and really liked it. My friend lived in Phuket back in 1998 and thought he had found heaven. Places change. People change.

10,000 to rent a house is very doable. The biggest problem is keeping yourself busy. 

[MrTrip]

You mentioned Chiang Mai and Ubon which are about as far away from beaches as you can get in Thailand. Both very interesting cities with masses of interesting places within a short distance.

I actually love Ubon and the area to the west out to the Mekong, fascinating countryside but no real beaches unfortunately.




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[phannam31]

Hope not change too much in 12 months.. thanks for input .. yes I aim on going to look at places first .. hence why asking so can pinpoint after suggestions and research maybe 3/4 areas and suss out when there .



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[phannam31]

You mentioned Chiang Mai and Ubon which are about as far away from beaches as you can get in Thailand. Both very interesting cities with masses of interesting places within a short distance.

I actually love Ubon and the area to the west out to the Mekong, fascinating countryside but no real beaches unfortunately.




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Thank you... yes those two areas I’ve friends who have visited for a few months at a time and love them but different living there? Hence as per my other note was going to get some beach type/ coast options and research and then choose maybe 3/4 areas to take a physical look at and see how feel in each... or have too many options and never get around all and spend time in each to get a feel..
yes ubon a lot rate highly it seems.


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[MrTrip]

I’m sure you’ll get a hundred suggestions, I can think of several but we’re all different and as mentioned you’re gonna need to check them out for yourself.

My wife’s family live an hour from Ubon so we’ve visited plenty and even spent a week there a few years back during the candle festival. I love the place and generally I hate cities but it’s quite chilled and loads of culture, history and beautiful countryside.

Regarding beaches

Places i would avoid like Phuket, Koh Samui, Hua Hin & Pattaya.
Places I would suggest because I like Koh Chang, Rayong, Prachuap Kiri Kan, Chantaburi, Pang Nah oh the list could go on.

We’ve actually talked about renting houses in various places for 6 months at a time in the future as I think you need to spend a while in a place to really get a good feel for it. We’ve driven around a lot and there are so many areas that I’d like to visit for an extended period. Maybe when we’ve eventually retired we’ll get the chance




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[jacko45k]

You need to do your research about deciding where to live. It's personal and an important decision. You mention 2 places hundreds of Km from beaches and then state you want a beach life. Hua Hin springs to mind, or someplace on the Eastern seaboard, Bang Saray as an example. Other people don't know what you and your partner like, nor do you mention much about yourself. Are you a golfer and/or womaniser? A socialiser or someone who would be happier carving models in the shed?If you are physically fit do what I did, I went touring all over Thailand for some months and decided based on that. Even that has issues, after you settle down the grass-is-greener effect comes into play.

[Mooner]

Rayong area. 1hr ish from Pattaya if you need Western comforts and entertainment. 

Some ok beaches on the mainland. 

Ko samet on the doorstep. Ko Chang. Ko Mak and Ko Kood a few hours away. 

[TSF]

20 minutes ago, Mooner said:

Rayong area. 1hr ish from Pattaya if you need Western comforts and entertainment. 

Some ok beaches on the mainland. 

Ko samet on the doorstep. Ko Chang. Ko Mak and Ko Kood a few hours away. 

+1 for Rayong, also Chantaburi, Trat. Plenty of beaches & islands, good provincial capitals with plenty of shopping, not far from Pattaya & Bangkok.

[BritManToo]

3 hours ago, phannam31 said:

Ideally we would like to be out of major towns and near a beach/coast

Most of us came to Thailand for the cheap women, the beaches aren't all that good.

I'd suggest Spain, better beaches and free health care with a free EHIC card.

 

Vietnam and the Philippines also have better beaches than Thailand.

[cooked]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Most of us came to Thailand for the cheap women, the beaches aren't all that good.

I'd suggest Spain, better beaches and free health care with a free EHIC card.

 

Vietnam and the Philippines also have better beaches than Thailand.

That would maybe have started better with "Speaking for myself".

Some of the best beaches I have ever seen are in Thailand but I'm not going to tell.

[BritManToo]

6 minutes ago, cooked said:

Some of the best beaches I have ever seen are in Thailand but I'm not going to tell.

Too many bitey creatures in the sand, and the water is often dirty.

Never has those problems in Spain.

[baansgr]

Before deciding  where,  have you firstly looked at the visa requirements  and secondly depending on your age health cover.  Health cover for you both depending  on your age could be as much as £10.000 .Retirement  extension requires £20.000 per person tied up in a Thai bank account.  Just a few points to keep in mind

Edited January 6, 2019 by baansgr

[steve187]

8 hours ago, phannam31 said:

near a beach/coast

Hua hin or Rayong

8 hours ago, phannam31 said:

Chiang Mai and ubonratchatani

miles from any beaches

40 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Retirement  extension requires £20.000 per person tied up in a Thai bank account

no it doesn't it requires one to have the 800,000 or and income of 65,000, and then the wife/husband piggy backs 

[Spidey]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Too many bitey creatures in the sand, and the water is often dirty.

Never has those problems in Spain.

Me neither. Just the constant hoards of Lucky Lucky men.

[phannam31]

no it doesn't it requires one to have the 800,000 or and income of 65,000, and then the wife/husband piggy backs 




ThNks I thought that was the case....


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[baansgr]

2 hours ago, steve187 said:

Hua hin or Rayong

miles from any beaches

no it doesn't it requires one to have the 800,000 or and income of 65,000, and then the wife/husband piggy backs 

 

2 hours ago, steve187 said:

Hua hin or Rayong

miles from any beaches

no it doesn't it requires one to have the 800,000 or and income of 65,000, and then the wife/husband piggy backs 

Correct, but they are not married as of yet so she/he dosn't qualify  as a dependent 

[phannam31]

Correct, but they are not married as of yet so she/he dosn't qualify  as a dependent 

We will be married before going to Thailand.


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[wgdanson]

7 hours ago, BritManToo said:

and free health care with a free EHIC card

Until March 2019!

[steve73]

OP... unless one of either you or your "wife to be" is over 50, you won't bee able to get a retirement visa/extension, and you both will need the Elite visa. (5yr for 1/2MM bt, or 20yr for 1MM, I think)  

[Rimmer]

An off topic troll post from the usual suspect has been removed

[BritManToo]

55 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Until March 2019!

EHIC isn't a common market initiative, it's a private agreement between the UK and some European governments.

[phannam31]

OP... unless one of either you or your "wife to be" is over 50, you won't bee able to get a retirement visa/extension, and you both will need the Elite visa. (5yr for 1/2MM bt, or 20yr for 1MM, I think)  

I’m over 50... thai elite visa I understand is 800000 baht for five years and covers me and wife ? Not sure if that visa was obtained if you still need the 20k in U.K. money in bank also?


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[MrTrip]

Too many bitey creatures in the sand, and the water is often dirty.
Never has those problems in Spain.

Haha that’s so true[emoji1787]
And I even suggested Rayong where in one day several years ago I received 80+ sand fly bites[emoji85][emoji85][emoji85]


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[phannam31]

Mr trip

Are you trying to get me to
That area so the bugs got me to
Lunch on lol


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[MrTrip]

Haha, no not really. I learnt that if you sit on a beach with no sun cream or insect repellent then you should suffer the consequences accordingly. By the way, my wife and son didn’t have a single bite. The sand flies obviously like pale white Farang skin.

 

Actually cross Rayong off the list, I’d never go on that beach again [emoji1787][emoji1787]

 

 

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[robertson468]

On 1/6/2019 at 5:03 AM, MrTrip said:

I’m sure you’ll get a hundred suggestions, I can think of several but we’re all different and as mentioned you’re gonna need to check them out for yourself.

My wife’s family live an hour from Ubon so we’ve visited plenty and even spent a week there a few years back during the candle festival. I love the place and generally I hate cities but it’s quite chilled and loads of culture, history and beautiful countryside.

Regarding beaches

Places i would avoid like Phuket, Koh Samui, Hua Hin & Pattaya.
Places I would suggest because I like Koh Chang, Rayong, Prachuap Kiri Kan, Chantaburi, Pang Nah oh the list could go on.

We’ve actually talked about renting houses in various places for 6 months at a time in the future as I think you need to spend a while in a place to really get a good feel for it. We’ve driven around a lot and there are so many areas that I’d like to visit for an extended period. Maybe when we’ve eventually retired we’ll get the chance




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I assume you know nothing about Koh Samui!  Sure it has it's touristy areas, mainly up the eastern seaboard.  However, there are plenty of very quiet places down South with beaches with far less Tourists.  It also has very good infra-stucture, with shopping malls, cinemas and more restaurants (both Thai and European) that you could throw your hat at.  It also has it's own Airport and about 6 ferry terminals if you want to leave the Island.  More important, I find the Samui people very friendly and genuine.  Do PM me if you would like more info.  Be careful of going to Chainge Mai as it does suffer from unpleasant smoke haze for about 2 months of the year.  As you have suggested, travel arround and see what "floats your boat".  I visited Thailand no less than six times before I made a decision and up to now have never regretted it.

 

[sawadee1947]

Another one escaping Brexit???? 

[Megasin1]

Do you speak Thai? Once again an open ended question with so many possible answers. I would advise like a few have already stated, look before you buy and have a long test drive. How do you know that you will even like living in Thailand, a holiday is not living there, which is an entirely different thing. What is your first language? What will you do all day, every day if you don't speak the language. If your Thai is weak, then it's not necessarily easy to just pop to the cinema, market or whatever. Generally the busiest tourist areas have the best English ability, but do you really want to live in a tourist area? Are you being naïve stating that you are looking for somewhere for 10,000 a month, because that amount will not likely include water, electricity and general living, many people on here will tell you that they live quite well on 1 and 6 a month. All beaches are not necessarily the perfect white sand with glistening blue water that you may think. Its always a good idea to have an escape plan in the bag. If you are determined to go anyway, then at least have the sense to review all of your options including all countries within SE Asia and not just one, never mind then which region!! Get off the tourist track and see how you cope before you commit. Never, ever, ever trust a Thai in anything at all, you will see many comments on this forum about face and it is a potentially lethal outcome to anyone who doesn't understand it. My closest call was my ex wife who couldn't identify a snake variety, so just made it up and had me poking a king cobra to remove it from her house, so that's the last piece of advice, don't assume anything just because you are told so. Have fun and when the fun stops.....stop.

[BritManToo]

16 minutes ago, Megasin1 said:

What will you do all day, every day if you don't speak the language.

I just post on ThaiVISA ............... like everyone else.

While I was out walking in the jungle this morning, encountered 3 Brits, 1 Frenchman and at the Good View Cafe a Canadian and an American. Didn't meet anyone who spoke Thai.

Shopping for flour in YoK, took what I wanted off the shelf, walked through the checkout, no need to speak Thai.

When I got home, the gf speaks English, absolutely refuses to speak to me in Thai as I 'know too mut' already.

When my Thai son and daughter get home from school/university, they'll speak to me in English. 

 

Edited January 7, 2019 by BritManToo