Too many tourists there in 2000 when I first visited. Can't imagine what it is like there now, let alone live there. 

7 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

Shall we discuss the incinerator and the plastic problem on the island.

And the water shortages  last time I was there.

2 hours ago, Swimfan said:

Careful. My mother comes from Blackpool

That really is a  dump.........and that was 35 years  ago I last went.

Damn, I remember when Samui and Koh Pa Ngan were the best islands for travelling hippies. 

Damn that Thai Lust Lines.

24 minutes ago, gunderhill said:

That really is a  dump.........and that was 35 years  ago I last went.

How can you call somewhere a dump that you have not been for 35 years ? 
The suburb I live in in Sydney was a dump 35 years ago. Now it’s fully gentrified and one of the most popular places in the city. 
 

34 minutes ago, Swimfan said:

How can you call somewhere a dump that you have not been for 35 years ? 
The suburb I live in in Sydney was a dump 35 years ago. Now it’s fully gentrified and one of the most popular places in the city. 
 

Guess  what, I  still have some friends  there.

14 hours ago, Chill27 said:

I've spent a lot of time in Samui over the past year, mainly at Silent Beach in Maenam.

My family home is near the beach in Queensland, and I have spent a lot of time in Pattaya mainly, also Krabi and Phuket.

Silent beach is right up there on a sunny clear day. 

I'm seriously considering building a home in Maenam. Once you head inland from the ring road, the scenery is stunning.

The things that concern me are, smoke pollution, and a lack of things to do.

I think I'd need to get involved in boating, jetskiing, or something.

An easy place to eat too much, drink too much and generally become very lazy.

I built my home on Samui in 2007 and have been extremely happy with my investment (41 baht/$ back then).  I was thinking of adding a guesthouse with pool.  Please let me know what you hear about Building Permits.  Someone told me he paid 300k baht for one before building his house.

On 4/23/2021 at 7:12 PM, SoilSpoil said:

Hard to find a secluded beach on Samui. The island is overbuilt, and completely in decay. We spent 8 days on Samui last week, and can not imagine to retire there.

You need to get away from Chaweng and Lamai. WIthin 15 minutes of my home are some beautiful beaches that are completely empty.

On 4/23/2021 at 9:12 PM, SoilSpoil said:

Hard to find a secluded beach on Samui. The island is overbuilt, and completely in decay. We spent 8 days on Samui last week, and can not imagine to retire there.

Yes just shows you the <deleted> some these magazines write. The author has probably never set foot on the island or any of the others they mentioned. 

On 4/23/2021 at 10:32 PM, SoilSpoil said:

I love going to Samui as well. We always go to the same resort, read loads of books and relax. For retirement, I think Phukt or Krabi have better facilities and better beaches. The osland as a whole, is in dire straits though.

Phuket/ Kamala fantastic retirement lived there 6 years.

On 4/24/2021 at 11:02 AM, lopburi3 said:

Travel publications never get it right in my opinion - it is not cost effective to be honest.  It is always the greener pasture.   Read with a huge grain of salt.

 

A review of the reviewer:

https://infolific.com/money-management/retirement/international-living-review/

I would second that, I subscribed to International Living only to find that the glowing recommendations appeared to come from people with 2 - 3k a month to support them, my pension doesn't come close as I found out when I visited some of these "fine" places in South East Asia. After being stuck on Samui for nearly 3 months last year March to June I saw enough to even cross the Island off my list for even a 2 week visit.