What’s the best area in Thailand for expats to settle for long-term living?

[GypsyT]

newnative,

When I was living in Lake Maprachan we never got to Central Bic-C or Jomtien in less than an hour in traffic. One way. Traffic sucks all the time!

HiWay was slower than surface "Porn Rd"....

 

Otherwise you know well Pattaya. You also have better nerves than me.

 

[GypsyT]

6 minutes ago, Prubangboy said:

Just moved from Chiang Mai to Suk, Soi 11.

Good choice - 3 hospitals within 15 min :-)

Also, 2 parks to walk.

 

[Prubangboy]

Also, for a solo person, it's pretty hard not to fall into a few conversations a day here.

 

[NativeBob]

7 hours ago, sandyf said:

Cha Am is ok but limited, does not have the same level of facilities and access as BS.

Personally I would much rather have a day out or an overnighter in Pattaya than Hua Hin.

Although we stay in Bangkok, Bang Saen is/was the perfect place for weekend. easy to get, nice beaches and quite. Love it!

[connda]

On 9/12/2024 at 2:24 PM, Conan The Barbarian said:

I am planning to settle in here love the culture.

Rural Thailand.

[GarryP]

8 minutes ago, connda said:

Rural Thailand.

Put your crash helmet on. You're about to get a bashing. 

[connda]

31 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Put your crash helmet on. You're about to get a bashing. 

I've lived in Bangkok, Korat, and Chiang Mai.  Now live in rural Lamphun.  So my suggestion is rural Thailand.  I've got about a rai of fenced (walled) land, a main house, and a guest house.  Beautiful jungle-like garden.  Great scenery with mountains on all sides.  Fruits and veggies that I don't grow myself out here are dirt cheap.  it's quiet.  What's not to love unless you've got an alcohol problem and consider Thai hookers to be great companions.  Did that too for awhile, but it's not a long-term life-style choice unless you plan for a short life-span.  Settling down is good.  Settling down in rural Thailand?  Even better! 

Rural Thailand.    Get some!

 

 

[GarryP]

4 minutes ago, connda said:

I've lived in Bangkok, Korat, and Chiang Mai.  Now live in rural Lamphun.  So my suggestion is rural Thailand.  I've got about a rai of fenced (walled) land, a main house, and a guest house.  Beautiful jungle-like garden.  Get scenery with mountains on all sides.  Fruits and veggies that I don't grow myself out here are dirt cheap.  it's quiet.  What's not to love unless you've got an alcohol problems and consider Thai hookers to be great companions.  Did that too for awhile, but it's not a long-term life-style choice unless you plan for a short life-span.  Settling down is good.  Settling down in rural Thailand?  Even better! 

Rural Thailand.    Get some!

There are a lot of haters of the rural life in Thailand. I moved up to North Kalasin about 18 months ago after living and working in Bangkok for about 40 years. Very different lifestyle, but not too rural (living on the edge of a very small district town). I love the countryside up here and exploring on my MTB. However, it is certainly not for everyone. While loners (recluses) may be okay with it, it must be difficult for those who don't speak the language and have to rely on others for everything. Having a social life and a natter with other westerners can be quite difficult too as there are so few and no local watering holes to meet up where I am. Luckily for me language isn't an issue, so I have the opportunity to shoot the breeze with the locals every now and then.   

[newnative]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

You should write for a travel magazine.

🙂

Nothing negative but the constant traffic now probably worse then ever, tour buses everywhere, constant road construction, air quality during the high season is terrible, the quality of tourists jamming up every where are probably the lowest of the low who visit. And possibly most important are the accidents and crime.  Fights, stabbings, drugs, theft, etc. seem to be reported daily if in town got to be very careful.

The place is not Nirvana just sayin.

      I don't think any place is going to be Nirvana.  Just saying.  Certainly traffic can be bad--I've often posted about it.  Knowing that, as year-round residents, my spouse and I tend to avoid some busy areas at some busy times.  We'll try to go to Central Festival or T21 during the week rather than the weekend, for example.  

      In order to live in a place with all the things I mentioned in my earlier post, that my spouse and I want, a city needs to be a certain size.   And, when a city becomes big enough to have all those things we want, it will also have some negatives.  You weigh the pros and cons and make your decision.  For us, the pros far outweigh the cons.   The fact that Pattaya is booming points to others coming to the same conclusion.  It simply checks more of our 'wants' boxes than any other place we have been to in Thailand.  

     I will say that in 14 years living in Pattaya I have never witnessed your 'fights, stabbings, deaths, drugs, theft, etc.'  Never.  But, remember, I am not a tourist.  I live here.  I'm not drunk on Beach Road at 2am sporting a big, flashy gold necklace for all to admire--and possibly steal.  Pattaya is a big city and there will be some crime,  Also true for other big cities in Thailand.  And, elsewhere.  I feel safer, though, in Pattaya than the small city where I lived in America.

      Instead of being a tourist, I'm living a normal, resident life, doing the same normal, resident everyday things I'd be doing in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, or wherever.  And, I am not the only one.  There are lots of us, mostly not on display and mostly living away from the busy tourist spots.  You can live a very nice life in Pattaya and never set foot on Walking Street, Soi 6, and the like.   As I said in my earlier post, I think Pattaya is actually better as a place to live rather than to visit as a tourist.

     Speaking of places to live, my spouse and I also have a Bangkok condo.  And, guess what?  Sometimes the air is bad there, too.  Sometimes, like Pattaya, there is crime in the news.   And the traffic?  Well, after one of our short stays we're happy to have the much easier traffic of Pattaya.  Everything's relative.  

     

 

[Mayhem11]

8 hours ago, black tabby12345 said:

The best place for long-term settlement in Thailand?

All up to what you want.

 

If you are a Beach Goer, Scuba Diver, southern regions with easy access to the clear sea.

 

If you are after this nations' biggest Red Light District, Pattaya.

 

If you want quite life with low-cost of living, Chiang Mai.

 

Anyone, any other suggestions?

 

I agree Chiang Mai best place in Muang Thai.

 

 

[beautifulthailand99]

Nowhere but if you must Jomtien.

[geisha]

On 9/12/2024 at 10:22 AM, Rhys said:

For quiet... The southern beaches before the Phuket area..

There’s lots of pretty nice places to live in Thailand , but they would bore me stupid after a month. Holiday, yes.

[arick]

22 hours ago, newnative said:

   For long-term living I would choose Pattaya hands down.  I often say Pattaya is actually a better place to live than as a tourist destination to visit for a few days.   It has all the things you'd want in a place to live, either year-round or for shorter terms.  Great selection of neighborhoods, each with its own vibe.  You can choose beach side, with a number of different choices.  Or, you might want the quieter, less touristy Darkside, with lots of terrific housing projects to choose from. 

   Great selection of housing choices at all price ranges--hugely important in a place to live--whether you are renting or buying.  You can, and my spouse and I have, live in everything from a studio condo on the beach to our current 4-bedroom pool villa.  As our housing needs changed, Pattaya easily accommodated us.  Tremendous choice.

   Also so important, very good health care, eye care, and dental care available with a number of large hospitals and clinics. Terrific shopping choices with two very good shopping malls, furniture and hardware stores like Home Pro and Index, good grocery store choices, a large number of car dealers offering a wide brand selection, and a huge number of different restaurants.  Plus, cinemas in English, golf courses, scuba, snorkeling, fishing, badminton and tennis courts, etc.  

     And, the added bonus of being an easy drive on the 4-lane Motorway to both a big city and two major airports.  Three if you count U-Tapao.  The cherry on top is the large and diverse expat community living here.  You'll likely make some new friends--we have.  

All of that within 45 mins of chaiyaiphum 

[MarcelV]

My friend just moved from Australia to the city of Chaophraya Surasak five months ago

He would recommend it to anyone. Clean air, western comforts, not too touristy, and good connections to other places in Thailand, most notably Bangkok.

Chaophraya Surasak, people, check it out!

[Mike Teavee]

20 hours ago, GypsyT said:

newnative,

When I was living in Lake Maprachan we never got to Central Bic-C or Jomtien in less than an hour in traffic. One way. Traffic sucks all the time!

HiWay was slower than surface "Porn Rd"....

 

Otherwise you know well Pattaya. You also have better nerves than me.

 

Meet up with friends who live Near Regent School every week & from Wongamat it usually takes 25-35mins each way... E.g. Met at Pa Boon Cafe for lunch yesterday & it took 30mins to get to Wongamat beach at approx. 2:30pm.

  

[Chadnik]

22 hours ago, black tabby12345 said:

 

Songkhla, another nice place; not touristy and lower cost of living due to big student population.

 

Songkla is kinda expensive for what it is due to Malaysians. It's pretty bucolic outside hatyai.

[frank83628]

On 9/12/2024 at 3:09 PM, BigStar said:

Pattaya has everything, look no further. Ignore the bashers; they know only a few streets. Large, diverse area; choose your lifestyle. 

Pattaya is in the news for violence, thefts, deaths, scammers, drugs or motor accident almost weekly

[Hummin]

42 minutes ago, arick said:

All of that within 45 mins of chaiyaiphum 

And no traffic 

 

Pattaya to much traffic, pain in the butt

[BigStar]

2 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

Pattaya is in the news for violence, thefts, deaths, scammers, drugs or motor accident almost weekly

 

We heard that already and it's been answered.

 

19 hours ago, newnative said:

I will say that in 14 years living in Pattaya I have never witnessed your 'fights, stabbings, deaths, drugs, theft, etc.'  Never.  But, remember, I am not a tourist.  I live here.  I'm not drunk on Beach Road at 2am sporting a big, flashy gold necklace for all to admire--and possibly steal.  Pattaya is a big city and there will be some crime,  Also true for other big cities in Thailand.  And, elsewhere.  I feel safer, though, in Pattaya than the small city where I lived in America.

 

Such incidents are dug out and dramatized for page views. The forum is kind of a low Brit tabloid, come down to it.

 

Pattaya's a mid-sized city with a vast number of tourists coming in and workers supported however indirectly by the tourist industry:

 

Ms Urai shared the encouraging news that Pattaya saw a remarkable 9.32% increase in tourist arrivals from January to June 2024 compared to the same period last year. “We welcomed 12.69 million visitors, up from 11.61 million in 2023. This growth includes 7.20 million Thai tourists and 5.49 million international visitors,” she reported.

     --Pattaya sees 9.32% tourism growth, exciting events coming in 2024

 

Packed into a small area. So that's very little crime, relatively. (Traffic, yes, but can be worked around.) I never hit bar areas, so like @newnative, in over 2 decades I've never seen any 'fights, stabbings, deaths, drugs, theft, etc.' Nor did I see any in my early days when I was familiar with the bar scene and Brit yobs ran rampant.

 

SO not a worry. Life's good.

 

Yah, the imagined crime wave has ALWAYS been a source of Pattaya bashing from hysterics, doomsters, and hand-wringers, none of whom actually live here, expecting Sarasota, FLA, USA, or champagne on a beer budget. Here it is in 1997.

 

There are two types of articles appearing in the Pattaya Mail with regularity: those where business and political leaders decry the decline in tourism and propose ways to improve the situation; and a steadily increasing number of reports of tourists being insulted, assaulted, drugged, robbed and extorted . . . . Pattaya is being inundated with rude obnoxious thugs who do not care about the city or its visitors. . . . They are driving away the tourists and the income and jobs that they bring. Inevitably, this rabble will win as they reduce everyone to their level of poverty. Meanwhile, tourism to Cambodia is increasing by 50% every six months... [emphasis mine]
     --Lawrence Neal, "Down on Pattaya," Pattaya Mail, Vol. V No. 5 Friday 31 January 1997 - 6 February 1997

 

And that hyperbole and dire prophecy proved utter nonsense in the course of time; precisely the opposite happened as the city experienced explosive growth. Turned out that many of the tourists themselves were the rabble.🤣

 

Pattaya bashers have ever continued the rhetorical tradition, however, and they always will.  As I noted earlier, pay no attention and choose your lifestyle in this large diverse area.

 

[Hummin]

14 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

Packed into a small area. So that's very little crime, relatively. (Traffic, yes, but can be worked around.) I never hit bar areas, so like @newnative, in over 2 decades I've never seen any 'fights, stabbings, deaths, drugs, theft, etc.' Nor did I see any in my early days when I was familiar with the bar scene and Brit yobs ran rampant.

 

 

Pattaya bashers have ever continued the rhetorical tradition, however, and they always will.  As I noted earlier, pay no attention and choose your lifestyle in this large diverse area.

 

When you move somewhere, you move there because it has something to offer, and when those areas are packed in traffic those times you want to visit, is it a problem? 

 

Just the energy in Pattaya puts me off, and I'm pretty much done after a few days now. Like to come down for a few days visiting friends, dinners, but now at 55 and married I'm not especially up for clubbing anymore which was one of the reasons I thought Pattaya was worth a visit before. 

 

Everything else that attracted me to Thailand is better than other places, so If I need a city vibe I have learned to enjoy BKK more and more the later years, especially Silom. 

 

For those who want to live in Thailand and move here, I would say, do the Pattaya and tourist places first, and then find a good place for a quiet life and a solid base you can travel from when you need changes or get bored. A good base need something to offer for you to do on daily basis, and not only hitting the bar for socializing. 

 

Paradise cease to exists at once you live there for most. Doesn't seem to happen to the most hardcore Pattaya enthusiasts, but for most

[bkk6060]

22 hours ago, GypsyT said:

Good choice - 3 hospitals within 15 min :-)

Also, 2 parks to walk.

 

That is the last area I would want to live in Bangkok. Black man harassing you around there, bums, drug addicts, thieves,  alcoholics and hookers.  You will see them all as you walk to those beautiful parks.

[GypsyT]

1 hour ago, frank83628 said:

Pattaya is in the news for violence, thefts, deaths, scammers, drugs or motor accident almost weekly

Pattaya is a big area. I stay at Jomtien and  rarely go to "the other Porno-Pattaya". Only to Big-C and similar stores.

 

During about 7 years,  2-4 months at time, I never have seen any fights etc on Jomtien.

I don't say there isn't but I don't stay late at night, no bars or night life.

To me it's 1000x safer than Los Angeles! Or any big/medium city in the States.

 

 

 

 

[Hummin]

4 minutes ago, GypsyT said:

Pattaya is a big area. I stay at Jomtien and  rarely go to "the other Porno-Pattaya". Only to Big-C and similar stores.

 

 

How is your daily routine living in Jomtien? What do you do to fill your time? Age is maybe important to now to to understand the activity level needed. 

[GypsyT]

Can't say it's very exiting but my main reason is to escape harsh winter.

The second is to try to find a lady for life...

 

I walk along the shore every day ones or twice, 6 to 10km daily, starting 4-5am. Same in the evening 6 to 8pm.

I stop to talk to fishermen, street food ladies and interesting bums...

I've ordered EPL, F1, MotoGp etc  so I watch them all.

 

Ladies keep me busy too. On line dating is full time work!

 

I tried Gran Canaria, Spain, but it's so damn expensive!

Thailand, and specially Vietnam where I spend more and more time, are by far the best places to be snow bird.

 

[ChipButty]

I prefer to be near the beaches, kind of grounded in Phuket, I have known people who used to live here and move to CM and wished they hadn't, 

Recently I know a couple of guys move to Khao Lak, hell of a lot cheaper to rent than Phuket, been there many times years ago I always found low season to be very low, I don't know if it's still the same, but the beaches are good, 

[newnative]

22 hours ago, GypsyT said:

newnative,

When I was living in Lake Maprachan we never got to Central Bic-C or Jomtien in less than an hour in traffic. One way. Traffic sucks all the time!

HiWay was slower than surface "Porn Rd"....

 

Otherwise you know well Pattaya. You also have better nerves than me.

 

    I wonder when you were living there that it took so long.  My spouse and I live near Lake Mabprachan and we can be at Terminal 21 or Index in about 20 minutes or so, Jomtien in a half-hour.  We are on the side of the lake near the Motorway so perhaps a much shorter distance to town than where you were. 

    We jump on the Motorway near the Gems Mining Resort and from there its only about 3 minutes to Sukhumvit.   If we go left on Sukhumvit and use the Underpass there isn't even a traffic light until we get to Big C South Pattaya. 

    Twice a week we exercise at Centara Grand Resort in Wong Amat and it's usually only about a 30 minute drive, going down North Pattaya to the Circle and then using side streets to Centara.  We go in the morning and drive times can be longer at busier times, such as weekends and holidays, which we try to avoid.

    One thing that surprised us living in our area of the Darkside was how quickly we could get to many of the places we frequent often--Index, Home Pro, lotus's, T21, Big C Marina, Boonthavorn, etc.  We used to live on the beach in south Jomtien at Lumpini Park Beach and it could take as long or longer from there getting to some of the places mentioned.  

   

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, Hummin said:

Just the energy in Pattaya puts me off, and I'm pretty much done after a few days now. Like to come down for a few days visiting friends, dinners, but now at 55 and married I'm not especially up for clubbing anymore which was one of the reasons I thought Pattaya was worth a visit before. 

It's not mandatory to go to bars and clubbing, but many think that's all there is

[BigStar]

2 hours ago, Hummin said:

When you move somewhere, you move there because it has something to offer, and when those areas are packed in traffic those times you want to visit, is it a problem?

 

Let's see how realistic this labored contention would be w/ regard to your living in Pattaya. What is that you think must be offered for you to live contentedly? What times do you feel an urgency to visit those "areas?" Would you ever tire of them? Where are they located in Pattaya?

 

2 hours ago, Hummin said:

Just the energy in Pattaya puts me off, and I'm pretty much done after a few days now. Like to come down for a few days visiting friends, dinners, but now at 55 and married I'm not especially up for clubbing anymore which was one of the reasons I thought Pattaya was worth a visit before. 

 

Plenty of quiet areas in Pattaya, e.g., Wong Amart, Pratamnak, Naklua, Na Jomtien, Lake Mabprachan & the Dark Side, nearby beach towns such as Ban Amphur or Bang Saray. Or even Beach Road. Nobody's ever said, in all these years, "I sure hate living at Markland" or "I can't wait to leave Northshore."

 

The fact that you don't know any of this means you didn't do "the Pattaya" and just believe stereotypes.

 

2 hours ago, Hummin said:

Everything else that attracted me to Thailand is better than other places, so If I need a city vibe I have learned to enjoy BKK more and more the later years, especially Silom. 

 

Whenever I visit an old friend of mine in BKK, I'm happy to leave and return to Pattaya. I'll even make it a day trip sometimes.

 

2 hours ago, Hummin said:

For those who want to live in Thailand and move here, I would say, do the Pattaya and tourist places first, and then find a good place for a quiet life and a solid base you can travel from when you need changes or get bored.

 

In Pattaya itself, obviously. Perfect base for travel.

 

2 hours ago, Hummin said:

Paradise cease to exists at once you live there for most. Doesn't seem to happen to the most hardcore Pattaya enthusiasts, but for most

 

But you see Pattaya doesn't have to be paradise more than any other place. That's merely a diminishing exaggeration. It's sufficient to be all considered the best place in Thailand to settle down, and it can be.

 

 

[newnative]

50 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

It's not mandatory to go to bars and clubbing, but many think that's all there is

    Yes.  They come to Pattaya, stay a few days, rarely venture beyond a small area, and then cluelessly and endlessly post on AN whenever any thread shows up remotely related to Pattaya.   I love the ones that start, "The last time I visited Pattaya in _______ blah blah  blah . . ."  Fill in that blank with a year at least 10 and sometimes 20 years or more ago.  My favorite, though, is the poster who always says he's never visited Pattaya, has no plans to ever visit Pattaya, but still must throw his two cents in.

[newnative]

59 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

Let's see how realistic this labored contention would be w/ regard to your living in Pattaya. What is that you think must be offered for you to live contentedly? What times do you feel an urgency to visit those "areas?" Would you ever tire of them? Where are they located in Pattaya?

 

 

Plenty of quiet areas in Pattaya, e.g., Wong Amart, Pratamnak, Naklua, Na Jomtien, Lake Mabprachan & the Dark Side, nearby beach towns such as Ban Amphur or Bang Saray. Or even Beach Road. Nobody's ever said, in all these years, "I sure hate living at Markland" or "I can't wait to leave Northshore."

 

The fact that you don't know any of this means you didn't do "the Pattaya" and just believe stereotypes.

 

 

Whenever I visit an old friend of mine in BKK, I'm happy to leave and return to Pattaya. I'll even make it a day trip sometimes.

 

 

In Pattaya itself, obviously. Perfect base for travel.

 

 

But you see Pattaya doesn't have to be paradise more than any other place. That's merely a diminishing exaggeration. It's sufficient to be all considered the best place in Thailand to settle down, and it can be.

 

 

+1!