Where In The Isaan Region Would I Fit Best

[dennis13]

hi guy's

i'm 28 and living in rayong and pattaya for about a year now.. and i'm planning to stay a while in the isaan region now.

i not yet been to the region and was wondering where i would feel at home best.

pattaya is becoming alittle to busy for me and rayong alittle to quiet.

any info would be appreciated..

thanks guy's

[jumnien]

Nong Khai, Khon Kaen or Ubon Ratchathani should do you fine.

[longstebe]

All of the above and maybe Udon Thani.

I think you have to be careful to go from one extreme to another.

Enjoy Issan

[coventry]

Depends on what you want in life.

Edited June 4, 2009 by coventry

[Thai Chi]

Depends on what you want in life.

State your needs.....Dennis

[Lite Beer]

I would say Udon Thani. It does have some life but not too much.

Suggest you have a look around Isaan and see.

[dennis13]

want some nightlife.. but no pattaya anymore

and i like my peace but not quiet like rayong..

will have a look around thnx guy's

[coventry]

Suggest you have a look around Isaan and see.

That should take up the rest of the OP's life.

[loong]

Take a tour and see what suits.

A lot of people like Khon Kaen, it has a lot going for it and easy to get round. Never been to Rayong , so I don't know how it compares. I think that there are more farang orientated places in Udon.

[coventry]

want some nightlife.. but no pattaya anymore

and i like my peace but not quiet like rayong..

will have a look around thnx guy's

Korat ain't bad, even has it's own forum www.koratfarang.com if you need more info

[maxjay]

want some nightlife.. but no pattaya anymore

and i like my peace but not quiet like rayong..

will have a look around thnx guy's

If you think Rayong is quiet... At least in Rayong you can get in your car or on your motorbike and 45 minutes later have some nightlife available.

I can only speak for Udon. Udon is a married/couples/family type of city, IMO. Oh, there is somewhat of a bar/nightlife scene here, but it is a sad, sad scene. And, I really don't think a 28 y.o. will find much in common with the majority of the ex-pats here.

But, don't take my word for it, come on up and check it out for yourself.

Perhaps, Vientiane, Laos might better suit you. As long as you are going to be up here...you might as well go across the border and check the city out.

It may be none of my business. But, I'm old and don't give a crap. How does a 28 year old manage to live in Thailand for an extended amount of time without working?

Edited June 4, 2009 by maxjay

[ballbreaker]

I think at you age Bangkok would be a better choice if you don't mind the big city.

[Thai Chi]

want some nightlife.. but no pattaya anymore

and i like my peace but not quiet like rayong..

will have a look around thnx guy's

Buriram Surin may suit then

Why not go and have a look around at ALL of the great NorthEast....and then decide..it will, I am sure, be a fun trip

[barryloei]

I think Udon Thani would be the best starting point , if you find that does not have enough for you then Isaan is not for you . Udon has tesco , big c , carrfour , makro , a few restaurants with very good Farang food , cinema , ten pin bowling , gyms , golf courses and as previously mentioned a little bit of a bar scene . Khon Kaen is similar but not so good on the bars and restaurants IMO .

[Chaimai]

pattaya is becoming alittle to busy for me and rayong alittle to quiet.

any info would be appreciated..

thanks guy's

Hmmm. if Rayong was too quiet, you may find going to bed at 9.00 pm a bit dull.

Still, you could join the local knitting circle or an ex-pats group if you want some excitement

[dennis13]

want some nightlife.. but no pattaya anymore

and i like my peace but not quiet like rayong..

will have a look around thnx guy's

If you think Rayong is quiet... At least in Rayong you can get in your car or on your motorbike and 45 minutes later have some nightlife available.

I can only speak for Udon. Udon is a married/couples/family type of city, IMO. Oh, there is somewhat of a bar/nightlife scene here, but it is a sad, sad scene. And, I really don't think a 28 y.o. will find much in common with the majority of the ex-pats here.

But, don't take my word for it, come on up and check it out for yourself.

Perhaps, Vientiane, Laos might better suit you. As long as you are going to be up here...you might as well go across the border and check the city out.

It may be none of my business. But, I'm old and don't give a crap. How does a 28 year old manage to live in Thailand for an extended amount of time without working?

got into a motorbike accident a few years back, insurence pay every month.. it's not much but enough to live here

[rick75]

I am 33 and found Surin nice, it has a nightlife both night clubs and girly bars. Nice friendly people.

[citizen33]

All the most likely places have been mentioned already, but if you are going to do the Isaan tour take in Roi Et and Mukdahan which are both nice in their own way.

[Acer1]

my experience:

Korat: lived there 3 years, boring for a single young man. No active expat bar and most like to be for themselves. Not easy to make friends there, and if single even more boring im my opinion. Seems like the city close down 8pm, not many people out after that. A few disco. Ladies not to keen to make contact with farang (some years ago though) Would be my last choise.

Udon: stayed there 3 months, have expat bars and ago-go (or had). One road near the shopping mall where you find drinking bars and live music. I was bored there as single. But choosing form these 4 cities, it would be my 2 choise.

Khon Kaen: visited many times and just moved here. Big city and easy get around with many songtaew 8B. I think very easy to make contact here and plenty of beautiful smiling ladies. When I walk with my missus, get many smiles and eye contact. This city would be my choise if I was 28 and single. Rent a apartment for 4-6.000 baht and you will get many university girls next door, not a bad start. Helpful expat community here, web forum and expat bars.

Surin: just short stay there, have expat bar and restaurant, people seem friendly, but smaller city than the 3 above.

Take a tour before moving, test each city 2-3 days. We all have different likes and dislikes so go take a look before you move.

[Geekfreaklover]

I moved to Isaan when I was about 26 years old. I was living there because it was where the ex mrs family were from. I ran a succesful business against the odds in Surin. But honestly if you had the choice why would you want to live in Isaan? You would have come into contact with many working girls from Isaan in Pattaya, but you have to understand that the girls working in Isaan bars are working in Isaan bars for a reason. They don't like farang. The gossiping is relentless. Anti-intellectuism is rife. Racism is widespread. Yet the local people are very friendly on the surface.

I've lived in surin and Korat. Both very boring Topography, flat as a parched pancake (apart from Koh Yai) and not much in the way of entertainment. Many expats have that defeated look about them and a narrow view on thai life. It can be VERY depressing.

If I had to move to Isaan, I would probably consider Loei or Khon ken.

Since moving to Bangkok, I've never looked back.

Just some advice from someone around your own age

[Dave the Dude]

Whilst all the above posts might give you a bit of insight, I think they also prove you need to find out for yourself.

There is only one person who knows how you want to live your life (and it aint me or other posters)!

Dave

[MJP]

I moved to Isaan when I was about 26 years old. I was living there because it was where the ex mrs family were from. I ran a succesful business against the odds in Surin. But honestly if you had the choice why would you want to live in Isaan? You would have come into contact with many working girls from Isaan in Pattaya, but you have to understand that the girls working in Isaan bars are working in Isaan bars for a reason. They don't like farang. The gossiping is relentless. Anti-intellectuism is rife. Racism is widespread. Yet the local people are very friendly on the surface.

I've lived in surin and Korat. Both very boring Topography, flat as a parched pancake (apart from Koh Yai) and not much in the way of entertainment. Many expats have that defeated look about them and a narrow view on thai life. It can be VERY depressing.

If I had to move to Isaan, I would probably consider Loei or Khon ken.

Since moving to Bangkok, I've never looked back.

Just some advice from someone around your own age

Have to agree. Now I'm a little older and like doing the garden out in the sticks, this is the life for me. Roi-Et is a very pleasant town.

Personally, at 28 I'd stick around Rayong, but not Pattaya.

[capco1]

Another thing to take into consideration is that English is not spoken very often and at times you really need to search out a person who can understand you. I found the girls to be pleasant but with the lack of speaking skills they became bored very fast! I also believe that most Thai's really could care less about a farang in town and would much rather hang out with their Thai friends!

[BigSnake]

Nong Khai, Khon Kaen or Ubon Ratchathani should do you fine.

Conucr, adding Yasothon to the list.

[gazzasore]

Come to Khon Kaen because of the East West Corridor Khon Kaen is about to Boom

I got this off Lexens website http://www.lexens.com/

Check this out

The Future Importance of the East West Corridor

With the opening of the bridge over the Mekong at Muhkdaharn in 2007, Thailand completed it initial stage of the evolving super highway that will eventually run from Da Nang in Vietnam to port city south of Yangon in Myanmar. This road will be known as the East-West Corridor and is a major part of the infrastructure development program by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). After the 1997 currency crisis ASEAN planners realized that inter Asian trade was potentially more important than trade by any one ASEAN member with USA, Japan, Europe or China, but that this potential was significantly handicapped by lack of infrastructure within the region. So efforts are being undertaken to improve ports, highways and rail systems. The standard gauge rail width was adopted by all 10 ASEAN countries and a new line will eventually run from China down the Vietnamese efast coast with major links across Cambodia into Khon Kaen in the center and into Bangkok in the upper south.

Already Vietnam is almost finished their section of the East-West Corridor and Cambodia is well advanced. Within 3 years a journey from Khon Kaen to Da Nang, which today takes 12 hours, will only take 8 hours. Eventually that trip will be possible in 5 – 6 hours as compared to the time required to go from Khon Kaen to Bangkok of 4 -5 hours today.

The 3 major Thai cities along the new froute are Muhkdaharn, Khon Kaen and Pisanulok. The planners have specified that Muhkdaharn shall be developed as an infternational trading port, Khon Kaen as the administrative and logistical center and Pisanulok with assume the role as the Agricultural distribution center. Khon Kaen’s importance flows from it being the geographic center of South East Asia. It is the point where the East-West Corridor crosses the existing super highway that runs from Singapore in the South to Vientienne at Laos in the North. Within the next 5 years this highway will be extended into Yunnan China to give access to China’s central western region.

The planner realize that the 2 most populated countries in world and the same 2 whose level of trade is increasing the most, India and China, can not access each other’s markets directly because of the Himalayan mountain barrier. So their trade must for the next 150 years travel down these important highways to Khon Kaen. From there the goods can be diverted to all South East Asia as well as the Pacific and Indian Ocean countries.

Dr. John Nigel-brownlee, the Managing Director of Lexens (Thailand) Co., Ltd., has been lecturing on the strategic importance of these developments at universities in Khon Kaen and in Bangkok for the past 10 years. His estimates are that the city of Khon Kaen will within the next 20 year increase from the current 350,000 people to 750,000 people. This, he advises, will require major investments in power, water, sewerage and transportation. There will be an increasing demand for construction labor and for service support. New industries – especially logistic management, transportation, container handling and all such related industries will evolve. As the population increases hotel and accommodation and support services such as hospital restaurants and entertainment must increase. Land values will rise, farmers will sell small uneconomical holdings and come into town where work will be readily available, and there will be a major influx of Indians and Chinese merchants who move to Khon Kaen in order to look after this end of the new trade routes.

Since English is the universal business language common to both the Indians and the Chinese, those firms or employees who have mastered that language will be well positioned to benefit from these changes. Companies who have built partnership or joint venture relationships with foreign entities will have access to the capital and staff that will be required to exploit the opportunities that these changes will bring.

Dr John warns that the businesses which fail to anticipate the many changes he foresees will not survive, as their competitors will be able to dominate their markets and exploit the opportunities that are to occur.

In Pisanulok changes in the areas of green house management, irrigation distribution, organic framing and flowers, fresh fruit and vegetables and perishable produce distribution will undergo massive changes. Each activity will be capital intensive. So he warns that firms should be preparing now if they intend to benefit from such opportunities and avoid such risks.

Edited June 16, 2009 by gazzasore

[glegolo]

hi guy's

i'm 28 and living in rayong and pattaya for about a year now.. and i'm planning to stay a while in the isaan region now.

i not yet been to the region and was wondering where i would feel at home best.

pattaya is becoming alittle to busy for me and rayong alittle to quiet.

any info would be appreciated..

thanks guy's

----------------------------------------------------------------

If rayong is a little too quiet. Than Isaan is NOT the place for you.

Yong boys up here , will not do fine.. Life is slow and boaring for you..

Glegolo

[BigSnake]

Loei might be a great place to live for a while also have made a few visits there, nice lay back little place, not to many Farangs yet to spoil the place, several 4 star hotels, very decent food, lovely ladies.

[citizen33]

Loei might be a great place to live for a while also have made a few visits there, nice lay back little place, not to many Farangs yet to spoil the place, several 4 star hotels, very decent food, lovely ladies.

Yes, Loei is a nice city. It even had the Robotech nightclub with its coyote dancers for the younger set last time I visited. What I must have missed though is all the 4 star hotels. There is the overpriced Loei Palace (a good walk across the park from the town centre) and then quite a step down in quality to the town hotels such as the King Hotel and the Royal Inn, which I doubt would rate even 3 stars. My impressions of Loei City include; scenic and clean, a few farang residents and a couple of Western-owned restaurants, a sprinkling of reasonable Thai bars which however would probably get boring quite quickly, one interesting Thai cafe (i.e. sing song establishment) with very nice but rather unfriendly singers; an unusual number of traditional massage parlours which nevertheless conveyed an impression of ambiguity as to the services on offer; a very nice central park; an adjacent new KFC and unfinished Tesco-Lotus store (which according to legend will never open); limited shopping in Thai-style stores. I think I will visit again but am not sure about living there.