I've lived in BKK and Rayong for a decade, and then we moved back to the home country. In the mean time we've bought a house, a farm, and expanding the land in not that far frmo the Huai Kha Khaeng wildlife sanctuary on the Nakhon Sawan / Uthai Thani boarder. It's an hour from Nakhon Sawan city. It's a lovely place and I have spent quite a bit of time there and dengue aside, I enjoy it there. But when it comes to living there in retirement, I'm not so sure.

I would welcome insights, thoughts, perspectives from others living in NS or that area please.

I’ve lived in Nakhon Sawan for 11 years, It is slowly becoming more of a boom town area and the suburbs where I live are non stop housing and restaurant development, A recent Central, Several large private Hospitals, golf course. Nice people here & proud of their City. There are a fair few places to visit but once you’ve done all that one or two times it can become boring.

Uthai Thai is especially one of my favorite provinces, with endless Mountain View’s & beautiful places of interest to visit

Thanks - Our land is right on the border with Uthai Thai in Mae Poen and yes it is lovely there.

I went there and found the area rather dull. Isaan in general is pretty crap.

8 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

I went there and found the area rather dull. Isaan in general is pretty crap.

Huai Kha Khaeng

5 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Huai Kha Khaeng

I read Sakhon Nakhon. Time to lie down.

15 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

I went there and found the area rather dull. Isaan in general is pretty crap.

Isaan? Got to call out your expertise on this one. Nakorn Sawan is nowhere near Isaan, its 280K due north of Bangkok, Considered to be lower northern Thailand. C'mon Rocky boy......🤣

8 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

I read Sakhon Nakhon. Time to lie down.

I do the same, and need to read twice sometimes,😉 or should read twice

2 minutes ago, Hummin said:

I do the same, and need to read twice sometimes,😉 or should read twice

I saw S and N and skipped the other letters. Speed reader.

On 7/3/2026 at 5:49 PM, boldface said:

In the mean time we've bought a house, a farm, and expanding the land in not that far frmo the Huai Kha Khaeng wildlife sanctuary on the Nakhon Sawan / Uthai Thani boarder

Nakorn Sawn/Uthai Thani border pretty hard to mess that up with speed reading. Especially for an expert who has been to more than 50/60 Thai provinces.

48 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

I saw S and N and skipped the other letters. Speed reader.

🤣🤣🤣... Nice Try....

I live 200km NW of Nakhon Sawan, on the Phichit/Phisanalok border, 15km from the nearest 7/11, 30km from the nearest Macro/Tops mall in Phichit.

If you run a car and motorbike, get on with the locals, and participate in the local community it all depends what you want out of life, personally, I love it.

I've found most of these backwater places have small expat communities if you want/need help, info, or just people to interact with from your home country, up to you, as they say.

Healthcare I've found is excellent, most Thai small towns have general MD's for run of the mill ailments, local hospitals are also good, or you can pay silly money in the private ones.

You can either hack life out in the sticks or you can't, 3 years and counting here, and I'm happy as a pig in do-do.

4 hours ago, Rockyroad said:

I saw S and N and skipped the other letters. Speed reader.

Bloody reed speader!

7 hours ago, Jeff the Chef said:

I live 200km NW of Nakhon Sawan, on the Phichit/Phisanalok border, 15km from the nearest 7/11, 30km from the nearest Macro/Tops mall in Phichit.

If you run a car and motorbike, get on with the locals, and participate in the local community it all depends what you want out of life, personally, I love it.

I've found most of these backwater places have small expat communities if you want/need help, info, or just people to interact with from your home country, up to you, as they say.

Healthcare I've found is excellent, most Thai small towns have general MD's for run of the mill ailments, local hospitals are also good, or you can pay silly money in the private ones.

You can either hack life out in the sticks or you can't, 3 years and counting here, and I'm happy as a pig in do-do.

Its an interesting dynamic. I don't yearn to spend time with people from my home countries - its multicultural, meeting new people, understanding new cultures that I like, and that the thing I guess. There being completely immersed in Thai culture is fine but I suspect it will tire me as much as being completely immersed in my home country. I read a thread from someone else talking about the choice of city life and visit the country side, verses Country life with visits to the cities. I'm no multi-millionaire so as much as I would love to live in NS and each week or month visit a new city or country its not going to happen.

Anyone have experience of Nakhon Sawan Town / City as a place to live? Other option we are exploring it to live there which is close enough to the sisters in the village, but something for us both to do. To be clear, the wife gets bored in the village after a week although she does not admit it. Then there is the dengue - had it the first time, and don't really relish the second hit.

1 hour ago, boldface said:

Its an interesting dynamic. I don't yearn to spend time with people from my home countries - its multicultural, meeting new people, understanding new cultures that I like, and that the thing I guess. There being completely immersed in Thai culture is fine but I suspect it will tire me as much as being completely immersed in my home country. I read a thread from someone else talking about the choice of city life and visit the country side, verses Country life with visits to the cities. I'm no multi-millionaire so as much as I would love to live in NS and each week or month visit a new city or country its not going to happen.

Anyone have experience of Nakhon Sawan Town / City as a place to live? Other option we are exploring it to live there which is close enough to the sisters in the village, but something for us both to do. To be clear, the wife gets bored in the village after a week although she does not admit it. Then there is the dengue - had it the first time, and don't really relish the second hit.

GeographicReference

I have enjoyed Nakhon Sawan when visiting or servicing my bikes. There are a few good restaurants, recreation areas, and decent day trips in the area. It is practical for heading north, Bangkok is not that far by Thai standards, Kanchanaburi is within driving distance, and you are also on the useful side of the highways if you want to get down toward Hua Hin. Not to forget reaching North Chiang Mai etc

There are a few interesting neighbouring cities too. Not the worst place to move in Thailand, but it still depends on you, your expectations, and how much you are willing to spend to get comfortable. Being social with other expats in places like this can also be challenging if you do not enjoy the ordinary chit chat and meeting up for beer. You might be lucky and find some like-minded people around your area.

Good luck.

On 7/3/2026 at 5:49 PM, boldface said:

In the mean time we've bought a house, a farm, and expanding the land in not that far frmo the Huai Kha Khaeng wildlife sanctuary on the Nakhon Sawan / Uthai Thani boarder. It's an hour from Nakhon Sawan. I enjoy it there. But when it comes to living there in retirement, I'm not so sure.

Define your daily life (exercise, walks, keeping busy (daily house chores), what the extracurricular are?

What your near future needs may be.

(Health Issues, help with family needs, Dental issues, etc)

Why did you buy a house, land, farm in that location?

I believe half of this post is figuring out if your wife can find enough to do, a purpose and live in that area.

Embrace country side & village living it's fantastic. Like you we had been visiting the wife's village for 30 years and while I enjoyed the stays I was a city guy and never ever thought of living there.

Then I retired and it was decision time. I have no real diehard hobbies and the thoughts of how will we cope living in an apartment in Bangkok with not much to do versus going back to my home country and spending heaps just to live basically in a place that I didn't really want to go back to and still have nothing to do hit me. So the wife said why dont we live up in the village for a year while we decide.

5 years later I'm still here. Renovated the house got the veggie garden growing, renovated the sister in laws restaurant (free lunches forever), help out on the village projects etc. and became part of the community. We never lock the house, everyone knows me and the kids drop by to practice their English. Neighbour's drop a couple of bottles off if I've cut their weeds for them or sit in on an impromtu bbq for a bit of banter. It's like living in suburban Australia during the 60s. I swim regularly in the city pool for 10 baht and meet up with some mates and their wives every 2 weeks. We eat oht a few times a week patronising local restaurants. I take the dogs for long walks in the jungle on Sunday mornings where they go mad chasing squirrels and lizards (but rarely catching one). I learn Thai online. We go on road trips to visit off the beaten track places and stay in small guesthouses. Right now Im sitting on my front verandah looking over the garden deciding what chores I will do today but not stressing if they dont get done.

Essentially for me, this is the way it will be for the final chapter in my life and I am very very ok with that. Retirement is slowing down and once you come to terms with that it becomes an exciting adventure. BUT you must have something to do to keep yourself busy.

Try it for a while. It's not for everyone but maybe you'll get lucky with the decision like me and love it.

Chok dee.

17 hours ago, boldface said:

To be clear, the wife gets bored in the village after a week although she does not admit it.

This comment surprised me. I would definitely explore this issue thoroughly with your wife as, in my opinion, if your wife's not comfortable in the village, that's gonna be a make or break issue. Is your wife from there or is this going to be a totally new location for her? If your wife IS from the village and she's saying she's bored or doesn't like it there, chances are it's because there's some history there between her and whoever which you also need to get to the bottom of. I assume your wife is Thai, but it's not 100% clear if this is the case.

If she is Thai and the village is totally new to her and she's not from there, that could be, in terms of social adjustment, tough sledding. Don't expect that just because she is Thai, that everyone is going to treat her like family or a lifelong friend, when you and her suddenly drop out of the sky into the village. If you and your wife are both not Thai, even if you are exceptionally outgoing and have stellar Thai language skills, I would expect a Western couple to struggle socially in a village setting.

I've lived in a province bordering Nakon Sawaan for 23 years.

Edited July 6Jul 6 by Gecko123

2 hours ago, damian said:

Embrace country side & village living it's fantastic. Like you we had been visiting the wife's village for 30 years and while I enjoyed the stays I was a city guy and never ever thought of living there.

Then I retired and it was decision time. I have no real diehard hobbies and the thoughts of how will we cope living in an apartment in Bangkok with not much to do versus going back to my home country and spending heaps just to live basically in a place that I didn't really want to go back to and still have nothing to do hit me. So the wife said why dont we live up in the village for a year while we decide.

5 years later I'm still here. Renovated the house got the veggie garden growing, renovated the sister in laws restaurant (free lunches forever), help out on the village projects etc. and became part of the community. We never lock the house, everyone knows me and the kids drop by to practice their English. Neighbour's drop a couple of bottles off if I've cut their weeds for them or sit in on an impromtu bbq for a bit of banter. It's like living in suburban Australia during the 60s. I swim regularly in the city pool for 10 baht and meet up with some mates and their wives every 2 weeks. We eat oht a few times a week patronising local restaurants. I take the dogs for long walks in the jungle on Sunday mornings where they go mad chasing squirrels and lizards (but rarely catching one). I learn Thai online. We go on road trips to visit off the beaten track places and stay in small guesthouses. Right now Im sitting on my front verandah looking over the garden deciding what chores I will do today but not stressing if they dont get done.

Essentially for me, this is the way it will be for the final chapter in my life and I am very very ok with that. Retirement is slowing down and once you come to terms with that it becomes an exciting adventure. BUT you must have something to do to keep yourself busy.

Try it for a while. It's not for everyone but maybe you'll get lucky with the decision like me and love it.

Chok dee.

My plan entirely as well

Living in Bkk has been a lot o fun etc- but living in a sleepy village in Udon Thani has a great appeal

We will start building a new home later this year - and I feel very settled- the first time for over 20 yeras

13 minutes ago, Legal Lifeline said:

My plan entirely as well

Living in Bkk has been a lot o fun etc- but living in a sleepy village in Udon Thani has a great appeal

We will start building a new home later this year - and I feel very settled- the first time for over 20 yeras

No beaches in Udon and not much to do.

I live in a quiet lovely area a few minutes away from a hot springs, plenty of 40thb noodle joints in the area for lunch and even a few 2000thb Michelin tasting menu shops run by top chefs.

Oh, also 15m from the airport, which means I'm 90m from Suvarnabhumi airport and any international flight.

Why the heck would you want to live in a bad location

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION ⭐

If you don't speak the language you will be totally dependant on some one else for almost everything. Not a position I would like to put myself in.

23 hours ago, Rockyroad said:

No beaches in Udon and not much to do.

True- but it is always nice to go away for a long weekend and take in a beach etc

I love the peace and silence at night- I think perhaps I spent too long living hard in Bkk?

3 minutes ago, Legal Lifeline said:

True- but it is always nice to go away for a long weekend and take in a beach etc

I love the peace and silence at night- I think perhaps I spent too long living hard in Bkk?

I've spent about 3 months in Udon over the past 4 years. Pleasant city but fairly one dimensional. It does not have the charm of the north or the beaches of the south.

On 7/4/2026 at 6:44 PM, Jeff the Chef said:

I live 200km NW of Nakhon Sawan, on the Phichit/Phisanalok border, 15km from the nearest 7/11, 30km from the nearest Macro/Tops mall in Phichit.

If you run a car and motorbike, get on with the locals, and participate in the local community it all depends what you want out of life, personally, I love it.

I've found most of these backwater places have small expat communities if you want/need help, info, or just people to interact with from your home country, up to you, as they say.

Healthcare I've found is excellent, most Thai small towns have general MD's for run of the mill ailments, local hospitals are also good, or you can pay silly money in the private ones.

You can either hack life out in the sticks or you can't, 3 years and counting here, and I'm happy as a pig in do-do.

Great post. A "to each their own" moment. 👍

On 7/7/2026 at 5:05 AM, Rockyroad said:

I've spent about 3 months in Udon over the past 4 years. Pleasant city but fairly one dimensional. It does not have the charm of the north or the beaches of the south.

I agree with you- I am in a rural area about 45 minutes from the city- and here the peace is overwhelming- my blood pressure I am sure is lower than when I was living in Bkk

In the morning I feed the fish in our pond, play with the dogs, feed the buffalo, check out the wildlife (steer clear of the f**K off large spiders of course) and log on at 1 pm Thai time to my law office at 7am UK time

A leisurely stress free way to work and platy

But I agree with your reservations about the city of Udon Thani itself

I'd say location doesn't matter much when it comes to living/retiring outside of the cities, what you need to have is interests/hobbies/something you are passionate about (whatever it is) to occupy your time and no debts... retiring and doing nothing and not having interests is a recipe for problems, especially alcoholic ones or other vices. Some people love traveling, some like farming or opening a small business with the wife, some help with community projects, some teach, some do remote work, some work on their health or do sport, some jus tlike a peaceful routine etc.

On 7/6/2026 at 7:02 AM, damian said:

Embrace country side & village living it's fantastic. Like you we had been visiting the wife's village for 30 years and while I enjoyed the stays I was a city guy and never ever thought of living there.

Then I retired and it was decision time. I have no real diehard hobbies and the thoughts of how will we cope living in an apartment in Bangkok with not much to do versus going back to my home country and spending heaps just to live basically in a place that I didn't really want to go back to and still have nothing to do hit me. So the wife said why dont we live up in the village for a year while we decide.

5 years later I'm still here. Renovated the house got the veggie garden growing, renovated the sister in laws restaurant (free lunches forever), help out on the village projects etc. and became part of the community. We never lock the house, everyone knows me and the kids drop by to practice their English. Neighbour's drop a couple of bottles off if I've cut their weeds for them or sit in on an impromtu bbq for a bit of banter. It's like living in suburban Australia during the 60s. I swim regularly in the city pool for 10 baht and meet up with some mates and their wives every 2 weeks. We eat oht a few times a week patronising local restaurants. I take the dogs for long walks in the jungle on Sunday mornings where they go mad chasing squirrels and lizards (but rarely catching one). I learn Thai online. We go on road trips to visit off the beaten track places and stay in small guesthouses. Right now Im sitting on my front verandah looking over the garden deciding what chores I will do today but not stressing if they dont get done. https://bonuskaartonline.nl helps you save on everyday shopping, leaving more of your budget for travel, home improvements, and enjoying life in Thailand.

Essentially for me, this is the way it will be for the final chapter in my life and I am very very ok with that. Retirement is slowing down and once you come to terms with that it becomes an exciting adventure. BUT you must have something to do to keep yourself busy.

Try it for a while. It's not for everyone but maybe you'll get lucky with the decision like me and love it.

Chok dee.

I've been splitting time between Bangkok and the lower north for the last few years and know the Nakhon Sawan / Uthai Thani border area reasonably well. Your setup sounds nice proximity to the sanctuary is a big plus for nature and quieter living. The countryside itself is peaceful and the people are generally friendly, but like others have said, it can get dull fast if you don't have hobbies or projects to keep you busy. The farm and land expansion could actually be a blessing there plenty to do with gardening, small animals, or just maintaining the place.

Edited July 10Jul 10 by Anna2Kowalska