After going back 10 pages in this forum I have determined that if there are many foreigners living in Surat Thani they are a quiet or very busy bunch. Besides Sister Whiplash, or someone who resembles that title, I've seen few regular posters. (no offence Whiplash...if you're still there). I'm living much further north and am considering making Surat Thani home for a while. Though I seek a certain amount of solitude for work, and to embrace local culture, it would be so nice to meet up for a beer with other farang on occasion. So, please, are you there my mysterious expats? ...you don't all have to respond, actually. a representative would do or a local in the know.

I don't live in Surat Thani. I don't even live in Thailand, but I have visited there many times because my wife used to live and work there. As you probably are aware, Surat Thani is a province which includes Koh Samui. Thus there are very many foreigners living in Surat Thani since many foreigners are living in Koh Samui. Now if you are talking about Ampur Muang then yes there are not too many foreigners that live there. You will find many foreign tourists in town on their way to other destinations such as Koh Samui and Koh Tao. Nevertheless, there are still probably more foreigners in this province than the province where my wife is from which is Phatthalung. Even there, when I visit, I typically bump into a handful of foreigners living around there.

I'm sure others that actually live in Surat Thani will be on here shortly to tell you they are out there.

I live 80kms south from Surat Thani near Don Sak. There are a few Farangs around but not many. As to Farang bars I have not found many yet. The nearest reasonable one to me is a further 30kms south in Khanom!!!

I live between Surat and Krabi in the sticks.

Nearest 7/11 30 ks, nearest ATM too, no farang bar anywhere.

Going into my 6th year now and perfectly happy here.

I envy your resilience, hiro. I have none myself and occasionally have pangs for (gasp) tesco/lotus, 7-11 and such conveniences. i don't think i will graduate to your level anytime soon either im afraid. but it is what it is. meanwhile, i need to find a suitable place to live in that area for 6000 or less...okay, preferably less, with a computer connection for work. any suggestions for a apartment/home in or near Surat Thani? or general clues?

My wife comes from Surat.

I have visited many times and although my wife would like to live there, because of her family ties I don't feel that I could be happy there.

Not enough foreigners to interact with for me...and it always seems so darn hot

I'll stick with CM..at least for 10 months of the year

Yeah there are quite a few foreigners living in Surat town (Bandon). The majority are teachers. Also unusually there are quite a few youngish farangs (20s-30s). There are a couple of bars that people hang out in..in particular a place called GMs. It's a nice little scene there. Lots of places to go on weekend trips etc. I guess just not many of them are forum regulars! I used to live and work on Samui so got to know a lot of them then. I would say it is probably one of the best cities in the south to live and work if you are a younger farang looking for a similar age grouped people.

In the south as with the north there are a surprising amount

of farangs living in the bush and enjoying it. They aren't looking

for city excitement. They like the bush as we would say in Canada.

Enjoy working outside, their family, maybe internet and a few friends.

I have gone into the mountains and found farangs that don't particularly

enjoy being with other farangs for an extended period of time.

I live in Khanom. This is around 80 kilometers south of Surat Thani city.

Here we are quite a few farangs enjoying life from all parts of the world but basically from Scandinavia and northern Europe.

We have some of the best beaches in Southern Thailand!

In Khanom you will also find bars, pizza and western dishes.

Surat Thani City is way too big for me, but nice for going shopping in Big C and Tesco/Lotus.

Yeah there are quite a few foreigners living in Surat town (Bandon). The majority are teachers. Also unusually there are quite a few youngish farangs (20s-30s). There are a couple of bars that people hang out in..in particular a place called GMs. It's a nice little scene there. Lots of places to go on weekend trips etc. I guess just not many of them are forum regulars! I used to live and work on Samui so got to know a lot of them then. I would say it is probably one of the best cities in the south to live and work if you are a younger farang looking for a similar age grouped people.

Thanks for the info re Farang bar. My wife comes from' Ban na dom' but we have a new townhouse in Surat, we live on Samui as her business is at Cheong Mon, but visit so i will try to find GM's.............any more around ?