Retiring To Phuket

[chickencurry]

Will be retiring to Phuket later in the year. Did some pertinent searches on another website for Chalong, Rawai and Nai Harn. Chalong and Rawai searches brought up a large number of news items about murders, muggings, etc. Are these dodgy towns and maybe not suitable for an early retiree? Nai Harn didn't seem to have the same level of violence just a load of drownings. Anyone living in these areas and can comment if they're great or not.

[thaigerd]

Why not come a few days/weeks and check out all these areas by yourself and make up your mind.

You could invite some Phuket members for a beer one night and discuss all questons "live".

Welcome to the club!

Gerd

[dogblower]

Love the Chalong area myself and would like to live there again some time. I like to party down at Rawai sometimes but have never lived there or Nai Harn so can't comment. I certainly never saw or experienced any violence in any of these areas.

[stevenl]

I would personally always prefer Nai Harn and Rawai over Chalong.

Have not seen or experienced any violence, and have been living in Rawai now for 4 years.

[baabaabobo]

The news items you cite are Thai to Thai & rarely affect expats - For me the south of Phuket is the best area to live. As Thaigerd said come and check it out for yourself.

[chickencurry]

Thanks for all the comments. We have had two short trips to those areas already and they all look good (particularly Rawai and Nai Harn) but of course you cannot learn everything about places in just a few days - good to hear from people who are actually living there. We'll be back for more research trips before the big move.

[mike1963]

Will be retiring to Phuket later in the year. Did some pertinent searches on another website for Chalong, Rawai and Nai Harn. Chalong and Rawai searches brought up a large number of news items about murders, muggings, etc. Are these dodgy towns and maybe not suitable for an early retiree? Nai Harn didn't seem to have the same level of violence just a load of drownings. Anyone living in these areas and can comment if they're great or not.

Hi Curry, I live in Kamala at the moment, to the north but not too far from anywhere really, some like it, we do

Chalong is a good location as it is very central to all the places you want to go to (I go to school there)

Rawaii is lovely and some great restaurants ( better for seafood than chicken curry!) and Nai Harn nice too (quieter than Rawaii, well that's what I think but residents of Nai Harn may have different opinions)

Gerd is right that you really need to spend time in each place to get the feel of it and everyone is dfferent e.g. some love Patong some hate it.

Re crime etc, you hear so many different versions of what goes down and what doesn't, try the Phuket Gazzette http://www.phuketgazette.net/ a good online info service

I've been living here nearly 3 months and I haven't seen too much crime, sure it happens and bad stuff goes down (recently some murders in Kamala) but in Blighty there was someone getting murdered all the time, mobile phone muggings, my mate's son got threatened with a knife in UK 2 weeks ago! I feel a lot safer here than I did in UK - good luck to you wherever you end up

Mike

[tarzan1]

Just be aware that alot of the crime and violence in phuket which is increasing at a scary rate rarely get mentioned in the media as its not a good look for attracting tourists....................so the authories curb alot of info that would otherwise get printed.

I would be extremely cautious before making any move. make sure you check out the situation/place first hand.

[baabaabobo]

Just be aware that alot of the crime and violence in phuket which is increasing at a scary rate rarely get mentioned in the media as its not a good look for attracting tourists....................so the authories curb alot of info that would otherwise get printed.

I would be extremely cautious before making any move. make sure you check out the situation/place first hand.

<deleted> - Phuket is safer than many places in the world and trying to frighten people away is irresponsible IMHO.

Which scary part of Phuket do you live in?

[Wolfie]

Being a recent Ex resident of phuket i would have to confess that Chalong/Rawai are great locations. In the (nearly) 5 years i lived there i never one encountered any problems or felt threatened in any way.

Rawai is fast becoming an entertainment area, with respect to the many bars and restaurants that have opened there in the last few years, these are growing in number by the day. Chalong is more 'thai' by nature and is a little cheaper in living expenses (rentals etc) I would highly recommend either area or maybe go check out Nai Harn as well. Southern Phuket is great, you can have everything from relaxed evnings at home, to fine dining, great bars and partying! Definitely worth living there as opposed to Kata/Karon/Patong (just my opinion)

[LivinLOS]

Do yourself a big favour by spending time in some short term rentals and experiencing the locations you are considering.. You will get an eye for the market, find what suits your lifestyle.. Etc etc etc.