Moving To Phuket

[clearkayak]

by your pic, I thought you were at least 100

bring me some farmers union iced coffee, balfours pasties, wini blues and 15 lites of vegemite and Ill pick you up from the airport

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Farmers Union, Balfours? You must come from t'other side. How about Coffee Chill and Mrs Mac? Always willing to post some vegi if you need it. As a non indulger can bring smokes in for others. Next trip is 20/12 if I don't break free before then..

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coffee chill? Mrs Mac? you must be from the other side.

Bloody ###### mate, thats a long wait, Ill have to pay $20 a tub at the farang deli - woe is me.... keep in touch mate and Be aware: rental prices go up/hard to get around November in Patong - rawai and the like, you shouldnt have a problem.

cheers!

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[clearkayak]

Hi there,

70,000 Bht per month should be plenty, even living in Patong.

Go to www.phuketgazette.net and look at the classified ads for renting a house.

Phuket is the most expensive place to live in Thailand, and Patong is the most expensive place in Phuket.

You may have to take something a bit smaller for around 12,000 to 15,000 Bht per month.

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Thanks Sir for your quick and helpful reply.

I have already scanned many real estate and newspaper sites to get an idea of availability and prices in Phuket. However, I guess I was hoping for more specific thoughts from people who live there regarding expat friendly areas. While not looking to move in next door to anyone reading this, I'd like guidence on particular areas providing a good mixture of low price, recreational facilities, services and the odd friendly Farang face at a local bar.

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Croc, I live in Patong which I love ! Done Pattaya, done Samui, Bangkok... Phuket gets the nod for me, in every department. You have certainly made the right choice !

Only down side to Patong is the tourists, not that there is anything wrong with tourists (they are the lifeline of many Phuket business's afterall) but the Thais will treat you like you have just stepped off the boat, the expats can be just as bad !

Many a time in Patong I have had a conversation with a LT expat and nearly every time the 1st thing they will say to you is "Yeah its great isnt it, I live here !" Assuming that the you will be overwhelmed with envy and reply "Oh you lucky bugger, I wish I was you" ! If its friendly expat life you are looking for then (in my opinion) Patong is not the place !

Plus point is in Patong you will never be bored ! Rawai/Chalong is very expat friendly but I would struggle to last more than a week, far too laid back for me !!!

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[clearkayak]

Looking for a little help, I am coming to live and work in Phuket (town) and need some advice and pointers in locating a 2 bed home in or close to Phuket Town. Have new business so am feeling a little tight around the wallet at the moment. Can anyone help? ... Cheers

[khall64au]

Again.... check out rentals on www.phuketgazette.net

Or......... check online rental agencies / real estate agents Phuket.

Another option is to wait til you get here, stay in a cheap guesthouse and scout around. The way to find rentals is usually to drive around an area that looks nice to you and look out for the "For Rent" signs posted roadside -or soi -side (the small streets are called soi's if u'r not in Thailand and aware of this).

Also many of the larger suburban supermarkets have notice-boards where you can find rentals flyers. That's how I found my house. Take the Chao Fa Rd from Phuket Town to Chalong; there are many nice areas along this route and am sure you will find a nice place. Don't forget to look at Cape Panwa (and even Koh Sireh)....... lovely spots and very close to town.

Phuket Town (and outskirts) is not in demand by tourists so you should find a good deal.

best of luck!

[clearkayak]

Thanks for that, I am not arriving in Phuket untill 6th November, work starts around 10th ! Will look up properties when I arrive as you advise.

I need a 20ft boat as well can you help with that ? ? ? ?

John

[solo siam]

Someone next to me in CHalong has a boat for sale outside their shophouse, Don't know how big or what type it is though, Looks about 18 feet or so. Go to the Chalong roundabout and head towards Chalong Pier, its on your left a few hundred metres down the road.

[cobra]

... plenty of choices outside of Patong, all close to the beach, no tourists pissing you off, better environment IMHO and there are also girls in all those areas servicing the old, the crippled, the fat and the ugly...

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Woo Whoo !!, Hey wait a minute, DOE!

[khall64au]

Thanks for that, I am not arriving in Phuket untill 6th November, work starts around 10th ! Will look up properties when I arrive as you advise.

I need a 20ft boat as well can you help with that ? ? ? ?

John

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Chalong Yacht Club......... best place to find out about boats. If you can't find it, go the the Lighthouse Bar on Chalong Harbour and ask directions.

Cheers!

[Nam Kao]

>>>70K a month, I live off half that, and thats with a Thai girlfriend in tow !!!

Sweet

What kind of internet connection can i get there? i need something fast (trader)

thanks

nam

[LivinLOS]

ADSL / IPStar / Dialup / GPRS..

[solo siam]

Or you could go to Island Technology and get a VDSL link, itrs basically a non-contended connection that doesnt use the phone line (they wire it to your house). Not available everywhere but its the most solid connection on the island (although its not perfect).

COstis 3,500 Baht + VAT for 1-3 users, so maybe get a neighbour to share the cots and buy a wireless router.

[Nam Kao]

Thanks guys, appreciate

nam

[LivinLOS]

Ben what real international speeds does that get..

To say real uncontended is a bit of a funny one as ALL bandwidth goes via the CAT at some point.. Given the CAT charges per Mbit of international bandwidth they would be losing huge sums of money if they are providing Mbit type sevice at those prices.

I have no problem with inter Thai bandwidth.. ISP speeds of 1Mbit are solid.. I get 400 - 800 international speed on my 1000 baht a month package (seems I got lucky lately) but always trying to research the best high speed options..

Even a 5:1 contention on 2Mbit costs 5 figures last I heard..

Its my understanding that there is a single 155 Mbit pipe out of Phuket.. If Island tech supply just 80 2Mbit connections thats ALL of phukets bandwidth.. At a cost of 80 x 3500 (280k) doesnt seem to add up for every byte the island has ?? and thats just the Island link.. The international links are much much worse and much much more expensive.. Domestic bandwidth means very little and in general is adequately supplied anyway.

Not trying to argue merely I doubt thier claims.

[LivinLOS]

http://iir.ngi.nectec.or.th/internet/map/firstpage.html

http://iir.ngi.nectec.or.th/internet/chart...ph-20051001.gif

Looks like we just crossed 6000 Mbit or 6Gbit for the whole of Thailand..

Some counties are providing Gbit to the home.. Single households getting 1/6th of Thailands international bandwidth !!!

Internet hub of asia !!!

[LivinLOS]

Just to add to the above.. The figure I just read is that for 1024 of international bandwidth CAT charges 25k.. Thats before the ISP has paid wages salaries services etc...

Hence a normal contention ratio is in the 50:1 range for 1024 'cheap' services..