Best City In Thailand For Expats

[JurgenG]

I was wondering where is the best place to live in Thailand. Not for a 2 weeks or 3 month holidays, but to live full time. Usually people complain that every subject has already been discussed 100 times but I wasn't able to find any thread, any poll about this subject in the entire forum ...

While I try to learn how to make a poll, I would appreciate it if people here could help me with a few points.

First the list of cities. We can't include every single village of course but it would be a shame to forget some nice corners of the Kingdom just because they are not on every travel agency "must visit" list.

Then the criteria. What points are important when deciding where to finally put down our suitcases ? Small city / big city / middle of nowhere ? International school ? Bar scene (or the absence of it) ? Golf course ? International airport ? "Identity" of the city ? Sport facilities ? First class medical facilities ? Job opportunities ? Affordable accommodation (flat / house ?) ?

What else ? What did I forget that was important to you when you decided to settle down where you are now ?

[GM1955]

Pattaya.

[JurgenG]

Pattaya.

Pattaya has two faces. What are the reasons of your choice ?

[soihok]

If job opportunities is on the list, it will be a short list.

[mjnaus]

Pattaya.

Good one!

Now seriously, I have always very much enjoyed living in Hatyai (Songkhla province). It's the largest city in southern Thailand and it has pretty much everything to make life pleasant:

- low prices / cost of living (since Hatyai is not extremely popular with the western package tourists, prices have remained low over the years)

- small expat community (my guess is several 100's of foreigners are living here, just enough to meet some for a beer if you want to, but not that many that keep running into foreigners everywhere you go)

- plenty of shopping facilities: Carrefour, Big C, Tesco, Robinsons, Central and a few other malls

- lot's of good restaurants and bars (a few are mostly visited by the expats, most are there for the locals and Asian tourists)

- some of the best beaches in Thailand are only a few hours away, this makes for awesome weekend trips or short vacations every now and then

- only one hour from Malaysia, ideal for border runs

- only a few hours away from Penang island in Malaysia, ideal for visa applications (tourist visa's only though)

- a 10 hours bus drive / 1.5 hour flight away from KL, allowing for some very cheap flights to Australia and Europe

- some of best seafood restaurants I have ever visited in Songkhla, for prices you wouldn't believe

- nice and friendly locals, not completely messed up by the hordes of annoying tourists - no real issues with double pricing (although it does happen on occasion, it's nothing compared to other places around Thailand)

I am sure I can come up with more, but it's a start!

I've been to pretty much every other spot worth visiting in Thailand, but wouldn't want to live anywhere else....

Edited November 20, 2010 by mjnaus

[welsh1]

Pattaya.

can just about manage a stay of 4 days and longer

[WinnieTheKhwai]

It's completely impossible to answer this, mostly because we don't know your likes and dislikes. I would recommend to spend an extended time in some different parts of Thailand, different size cities, then decide.

But to give you my personal answer : Chiang Mai by a mile.

[welsh1]

Pattaya.

can just about manage a stay of 4 days ..then got to get the hel_l out of there

Edited November 20, 2010 by welsh1

[welsh1]

It's completely impossible to answer this, mostly because we don't know your likes and dislikes. I would recommend to spend an extended time in some different parts of Thailand, different size cities, then decide.

But to give you my personal answer : Chiang Mai by a mile.

i iive and work in khon kaen ..and having just come back from a trip and spending a week in chiang mai thats where i will be heading to next if it goes tits up down this neck of the woods. lovely place

[GM1955]

Pattaya.

can just about manage a stay of 4 days ..then got to get the hel_l out of there

You live and work in Khon Kaen, you have no choice do you, I do.

KK is alright, Little sister is in the last year of uni there so I have spent quite a lot of time there, I have a house 146Kms from KK city too, but I've also been in Pattaya for 20 years, I like it up country, but as I'm writing this post my condo Balcony doors are wide open and I'm looking out over the sea, the Beach is just over the road and is well kept and inviting.

I'm lucky to have choices I guess.

And if I wanted get the hel_l outta here, I would jump into my car and do just that.

Edited November 20, 2010 by GM1955

[DP25]

Chiang Mai, Hua Hin and Bangkok would be my top choices. Most places would be ok though except Pattaya

[GM1955]

Chiang Mai, Hua Hin and Bangkok would be my top choices. Most places would be ok though except Pattaya

Interesting choice.

Chaing Mai over Pattaya why ? I've been to CM a few times, can't comment on what it's like to live there as I have never lived there, I've heard the traffic is horrendous, the air quality is <deleted> during burning season and you roast in the hot season. Lovely....

Bangkok over Pattaya, maybe if you have to work, if not, I can't see it myself, they are close enough to have easy access to each other, I can't imagine wanting to live in Bkk all the time though, just too much traffic and too hot, I guess that depends on your accomodation though, do you get good wind levels on upper floors of condos in Bkk? I'm on the 13th floor here and it's almost always very breezy, in fact sometimes its incredibly windy ! I'm at Wong Amat beach, I can't imagine trading this for Sukhumvit or CM.

Each to their own though.

Can't comment on Hua Hin, been there a few times years ago, not lately though. Maybe when I'm old I'll give it another shot.

Edited November 20, 2010 by GM1955

[welsh1]

Pattaya.

can just about manage a stay of 4 days ..then got to get the hel_l out of there

You live and work in Khon Kaen, you have no choice do you, I do.

KK is alright, Little sister is in the last year of uni there so I have spent quite a lot of time there, I have a house 146Kms from KK city too, but I've also been in Pattaya for 20 years, I like it up country, but as I'm writing this post my condo Balcony doors are wide open and I'm looking out over the sea, the Beach is just over the road and is well kept and inviting.

I'm lucky to have choices I guess.

And if I wanted get the hel_l outta here, I would jump into my car and do just that.

just stating about myself i could not live in pattaya.so how by saying i live and work in khon kaen means i not have any other choice? .

[GM1955]

just stating about myself i could not live in pattaya.so how by saying i live and work in khon kaen means i not have any other choice? .

Well, if I was working in KK, it would be one heck of a daily commute if I wanted to live in Pattaya. 1000 Km round trip !!

Hence I would have no choice but to live in KK.

Edited November 20, 2010 by GM1955

[james24]

Not Phuket!!

[GM1955]

Not Phuket!!

[GuestHouse]

First the list of cities. We can't include every single village of course but it would be a shame to forget some nice corners of the Kingdom just because they are not on every travel agency "must visit" list.

My advice to anyone who's found a sweet little corner of paradise is to keep quiet about it.

I have a good friend who found one such spot, blogged about it on the ANOther Thailand Forum and was within the year surrounded by people he'd spent his life trying to escape (all members of that ANOther Thailand Forum).

[james24]

I so dont miss it there. Tuk tuk mafias, the shootings, the unrepaired roads, I dont know how I lived there for a year.

The food is pretty good though but it is more expensive too

[IanForbes]

Everyone has different tastes. Some people like the beach while others like the mountains. Some like the activity a city supplies while others prefer the quiet of the rural atmoshere. Personally, I enjoy it all, but choose to live in Chiang Mai. That's because it's small enough to walk around and yet large enough to never learn it all. It also has a bit of everything. You couldn't pay me enough to live in Bangkok, but that is where most business centers operate from, and if that is your interest then Bangkok is the place to be. As a second choice other than Chiang Mai, I would pick Kanchanaburi.

If a person is fluent in the Thai language then there are many other options, but for us one language old foggies, it's a given that we'll choose some place where we can converse with other people.

[Patong Bob]

I'll second Hat Yai for all the reasons mentioned above. Also most people you will interact with have some command of English.

If you are have a reasonable level of Thai, then Trang on the South-West coast is beautiful.

Consider Patong or Pattaya only if you are a drunken old degenarate...(hic !!}.

Good Luck.

[Jingthing]

Pattaya (and surroundings of course, Jomtien, Naklua, etc.) has everything and you can live here without a vehicle economically at many locations, if you choose. The major weakness here is that that the foreigner oriented hospitals are shameless money extractors. I will ignore the usual uninformed stereotypes of Pattaya Derangement Syndrome sufferers. It is a diverse place for everybody now (for example, Bangkok people travel HERE to enjoy the restaurant scene HERE). The place has changed a lot in recent years, some things are better, some things are worse, and so it goes.

Edited November 20, 2010 by Jingthing

[jazzbo]

Whatever place I live in being able to 'look out over the sea' will have nothing to do with it -- I lived near the California Coast line for too many years with 3 meter waves 24 hours a day -- I am not interested in looking out at or swimming in water that is flat.

[Jingthing]

Whatever place I live in being able to 'look out over the sea' will have nothing to do with it -- I lived near the California Coast line for too many years with 3 meter waves 24 hours a day -- I am not interested in looking out at or swimming in water that is flat.

I appreciate that, but in a tropical country like Thailand, COOL ocean breezes are not to be sneezed at.

[GM1955]

Whatever place I live in being able to 'look out over the sea' will have nothing to do with it -- I lived near the California Coast line for too many years with 3 meter waves 24 hours a day -- I am not interested in looking out at or swimming in water that is flat.

Yeah, it's terrible and that sea breeze that I get every day is absolutely awful.

[elliss]

not udon thani . a lot of self righteous, judgemental farangs .

not a friendly lot , for newbees .

i,m up there cos my DARLING , ex whore is from issan . LOL :jap:

[JurgenG]

^ probably a very controversial question, but does anybody decided to live in Isaan because of personal preference ? And not just because the Mrs is from there ?

To make everybody comfortable, my gf and I bought a piece of land near Pak Chong just because we like it.

[astral]

Poll added.

Drop me a PM if you want a city added to the list.

[tim armstrong]

As you are a city person, I'd say 1. ChiangMai, 2. Pattaya, 3. Bangkok. But why live in a city at all ? Country life in the right places is way ahead of the cities. We have everything we need, and if we want to dip into city life its only a few hours drive.

[Ulysses G.]

If a person is fluent in the Thai language then there are many other options..

Despite what all the Thai Visa expert linguists suggest, IMHO there are VERY few of us Westerners who are fluent enough in Thai to have more than a very rudimentary conversation with anyone but the wife or partner (Sabaijai excepted).

Lots of us can get by in a pinch, but a real conversation with a casual aquaintance or a stranger is not very likely.

Edited November 20, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[JurgenG]

It's completely impossible to answer this, mostly because we don't know your likes and dislikes. I would recommend to spend an extended time in some different parts of Thailand, different size cities, then decide.

But to give you my personal answer : Chiang Mai by a mile.

I don't want you to tell me what is the best place for me. I just want to know what is the best place for you and why ?

If I had to chose the best answer so far, it would be post #5, from mjnaus