Have recently retired and my Thai wife and I would like to get out of Bangkok to somewhere quieter, cleaner but still within reach of civilisation ie cable TV , Phone , supermarket, normal infrastructure etc etc.

I have had some good reports re Suphanburi ..any comments re this area or any other that has the above attributes.

We would consider building but an existing house and renovation seems a safer course.

My wife told me there are a lotus and big c now in supanburi, ubc would be to way to go for tv, phone lines should be no problem.

If your wife is from there and has friends/relatives you can give it a go.

I myself would not consider to live there, there are more beautiful places to retire than supanburi.

Building or buying a house: I have bought several houses and build one ( I designed it and hired a contractor) and would rather build a house than buy unless you can buy a new to build house from a land developer and you can specify the colors of the walls, the floor/wall tiles, the power outlets....

good luck, rono

Suphan is quite nice if a little dull and flat.

Why not have a look at Kanchanaburi? Just 'down the road' and all together more inviting.