Is it boring? Interesting? I guess the beach is cleaner than in Pattaya...

I need some advice thank you

Its cool beaches have less  human waste but can get oil pollution from Mataphut ,good place to live , nearby sirikit hospital  can be in Pattaya or Rayong in  30 mins , some good shops  robinsons mall, some good bars and restaurants

 Phala beach is worth a look but the best beach by far is Sattahip area Nang Ram beach, 20 baht on a motorbike, free if cycling

Depends on your age. 

Looking at it on Google Maps I would say it'll be a boring, provincial place with no sophistication at all.

3 hours ago, liddelljohn said:

Its cool beaches have less  human waste but can get oil pollution from Mataphut ,good place to live , nearby sirikit hospital  can be in Pattaya or Rayong in  30 mins , some good shops  robinsons mall, some good bars and restaurants

I always feel cynical when people are describing a location as being a good place to live, and they tell you how long it takes to get somewhere else. ???? How is Sukhumvit to drive these days, my recollection was of slow going and a lot of traffic?

21 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I always feel cynical when people are describing a location as being a good place to live, and they tell you how long it takes to get somewhere else. ???? How is Sukhumvit to drive these days, my recollection was of slow going and a lot of traffic?

some nice Thai restaurants in Ban Chang/Phala area, Phala beach is good, Lotus's needs a refresh, but some good well priced local Thai shops are available in Phala, a couple of shops to get expat foods, fresh produce is in several locations, Robinsons mall is a new addition, nearest Makro is in Sattahip as well as a large big C with food outlets,

Suk can be avoided, as you get closer to Rayong they are in the process of upgrading it to a wider concrete road, Sattahip to beyond Ban chang with some new overpasses is completed

Great infrastructure now with the end of the 7 Motorway terminating at Ban Chang, Sukhimvit through Ban Chang all complete concrete now (just wish they would get the white lines finished), international schools, quite a lot of new restaurants in the last couple of years. Decent food options at the beaches but the beach quality can be hit or miss depending on the season, hugely popular on holiday weekends though. U Tapau airport on the doorstep set to expand in size and service, access is good now. New hotels also in the last couple of years. So many new 7/11, miniC, Tesco etc. everywhere. Robinsons is a bit of a white elephant, not the same as Robinsons in Rayong, the one in Ban Chang is a "lifestyle Centre" quite small and limited - but the Cinema is popular with the locals. Many golf courses on the doorstep. But because of all the above....land and property prices are getting a bit crazy!!

 

4 hours ago, Freddy42OZ said:

Depends on your age. 

Looking at it on Google Maps I would say it'll be a boring, provincial place with no sophistication at all.

Pretty amazing you can tell that from a map.  ????

Interesting topic for many expats, who had enough of the horrible traffic in Pattaya, and wish to stay in a quieter area.

 

How about condos and apartments for rent?

Any advice?

 

 

I quite like it there. Phala beach, Phayun beach, the strip of bars (maybe seen better days) etc.

 

It always seemed like a place that was better to visit for a weekend than to actually live there though.

 

 

I used to visit Bang Chang often as I had a mate living there, I like it, Restaurants on Phala beach, others overlooking the sea The Lord Nelson for one. The Blue Parrot Restaurant, and the infamous bar strip, Go stay a few days, Sova Nova Hotel 500b a night, near the bars, with undercover car park. I recently drove past/through BC and now highway 1035 duel carriageway that runs parallel to H 3 you can avoid driving through the Centre  no Traffic lights, free flowing but a lot of new overpasses under construction, easy drives to BKK, Pattaya, Rayong (only about 45min) and  Koh Chang.

4 hours ago, Freddy42OZ said:

Depends on your age. 

Looking at it on Google Maps I would say it'll be a boring, provincial place with no sophistication at all.

Please enlighten us on your Idea of sophistication in Thailand.

4 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I always feel cynical when people are describing a location as being a good place to live, and they tell you how long it takes to get somewhere else. ???? How is Sukhumvit to drive these days, my recollection was of slow going and a lot of traffic?

Read my post.

I've seen some beautiful bargain houses for sale in the Ban Chang area, near St. Andrews School I think they were. What would worry me, though, is that with the plans for an enormous expansion of the nearby U-Tapao-Pattaya-Rayong airport in the coming years, the number of flights taking off and landing will also increase greatly as will the road traffic to Pattaya, presumably mostly along the new motorway. How is this likely to affect life in the town, will the noise from the aircraft become unbearable, and will the local roads be choked with Chinese and Russian buses and minivans?

Terrible, stay away.

Last thing we want is the place turning into a new "Dark Side"

 

The bar strip is also terrible.  Stay away.  ????

9 hours ago, jacko45k said:

How is Sukhumvit to drive these days, my recollection was of slow going and a lot of traffic?

In comparison to Pattaya (mini bangkok), anywhere else would likely be better, no?

Second road and Buakhao are gridlocked.

Pattayas roads can't cope with the traffic.

6 hours ago, Shop mak said:

Interesting topic for many expats, who had enough of the horrible traffic in Pattaya, and wish to stay in a quieter area.

 

How about condos and apartments for rent?

Any advice?

 

 

Yes there are some in town also down by the beach, many stand alone serviced apartments available, also Grand Garden hotel and New Kantaray hotel have serviced apartment options, lots of houses of various shapes and sizes, many rentals in a lot of the new developments around town.

5 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Read my post.

There are 8000+, really don't have the time.

25 minutes ago, Shop mak said:

In comparison to Pattaya (mini bangkok), anywhere else would likely be better, no?

Second road and Buakhao are gridlocked.

Pattayas roads can't cope with the traffic.

I agree, it has been particularly bad recently... a few of those huge coaches were about this morning too. Then again I have driven through Rayong and been gridlocked too, busy place. I contemplated living in Bang Saray years ago, when I was  regularly sea fishing... but I decided I would get bored there. 

Lots of expats in Banchang for years its popular and growing ,  some good international schools , I now live between Ban Sarey and BanChang , try to avoid pattaya  as much as possible , some very nice estates around  and prices are lower than Pattaya ,,  but not many condos  and the ones down by the beach are a bit run down but houses can be rented for less than Pattaya

On 3/6/2023 at 1:37 PM, scubascuba3 said:

 Phala beach is worth a look but the best beach by far is Sattahip area Nang Ram beach, 20 baht on a motorbike, free if cycling

20 thb extra for foreigners

Phala Beach and surrounding area is dreadful, recommend you stay in Patts

We moved from Bangkok to Ban Chang a year ago and have no regrets.  We're renting a nice house in a well managed village (not cheap though) and my son goes to the English Program school just down the road.  Lots of good restaurants, a big food market for the wife and an Expat shop just around the corner for me.  Lotus's is drab but useful and Robinsons is OK for Tops stuff that Lotus's don't sell.  The nearest beaches are OK (I wouldn't choose them for a holiday) and good for a spot of lunch or an early evening beer and sunset.

On 3/7/2023 at 10:19 AM, brianthainess said:

easy drives to BKK, Pattaya, Rayong (only about 45min) and  Koh Chang.

Disagree with you about drives to Rayong City and Koh Chang being particularly easy at the present time, thanks to extensive roadworks taking place on Highway 3/Sukhumvit to the west of the newish split-level intersection with Highway 363, which make getting to the local immigration office from where I live to the east of Rayong City a particular PITA at the present time. But I am reliably informed by a fellow Asean Now member who lives in Ban Chang that there is an alternative route to the immigration office from there, which avoids all this disruption.

 

@jacko45k - this may also be of interest to you.

 

3 hours ago, OJAS said:

Disagree with you about drives to Rayong City and Koh Chang being particularly easy at the present time, thanks to extensive roadworks taking place on Highway 3/Sukhumvit to the west of the newish split-level intersection with Highway 363, which make getting to the local immigration office from where I live to the east of Rayong City a particular PITA at the present time. But I am reliably informed by a fellow Asean Now member who lives in Ban Chang that there is an alternative route to the immigration office from there, which avoids all this disruption.

 

@jacko45k - this may also be of interest to you.

 

Yes I know that route duel carriageway runs parallel to highway 3 is/has been extended, to Map ta phut still some new overpasses under construction  but only one set of lights, completely missing ban chang center, no need to go back up to H3. 

On 3/12/2023 at 12:33 PM, EVENKEEL said:

Phala Beach and surrounding area is dreadful, recommend you stay in Patts

I want to give that dreadful area a visit but how do you pronounce Phala? I read it as Faa-la but the Thai spelling is not even close.

14 hours ago, ningnong said:

I want to give that dreadful area a visit but how do you pronounce Phala? I read it as Faa-la but the Thai spelling is not even close.

Pa La

Stayed there ten weeks.....very enjoyable.....would happily return.