Where To Live?

[machans88]

My( thai wife) and myself are expecting a child in 6months,at the moment we live in a condo on jomtien beach.We would like to rent a house in the next few months,but are not quite sure where to live.We have investigated chiang mai and quite like it,not sure about hua hin,will go there in a few weeks as well for a look.Our requirements are 2 or 3 bedroom house for rent good sized garden,reasonably modern ,within 30min drive of hospital for prenatal and birth of child,i would like to be walking or push bikeriding distance from beach,but short drive is ok,near golf courses( to escape my parental duty!!)A nice family environment,not too far from shops,and later good schools.Is there any where close to pattaya worth looking at??I was thinking hua yai maybe?Any other suggestions.Around the 20000bht a month rental mark is the limit,chiang mai ticks most boxes for me,but i really want to be near the beach,not so much for swimming,but i enjoy jogging along the beach,great stress relief.

[Richb2004v2]

I strongly recommend buying. Ban Chang is 40 minutes east of Pattaya and has all the things you mentioned, including schools, beaches and hospital close by. It just so happens my own house is for sale at a very competitive price.

[machans88]

I strongly recommend buying. Ban Chang is 40 minutes east of Pattaya and has all the things you mentioned, including schools, beaches and hospital close by. It just so happens my own house is for sale at a very competitive price.

The problem for me with buying is australians interest rates are around the 6 to 6.5 % mark,so the return i get on the cost of outlaty for a house plus maintenance etc etc in thailand means im better off renting,so at the moment not looking to buy.Is there a hospital down that way,plus any language schools to transfer my ed. visa to,40 min drive to pattaya 3days a week might be too much.

[Phil Conners]

Have you had a look at "the darkside", i.e. the part of Pattaya east of Sukhumvit? This is where most locals/expats live. There must be hundreds of villages to choose from, some very nice, some not so nice, all within 15 minutes of downtown Pattaya. For 20K/month you should be able to find a very nice house with very little effort.

If you're interested in other areas, i.e. Chiang Mai or Hua Hin you'd probably be better off asking in their local forums.

[PattayaParent]

I strongly recommend buying. Ban Chang is 40 minutes east of Pattaya and has all the things you mentioned, including schools, beaches and hospital close by. It just so happens my own house is for sale at a very competitive price.

The problem for me with buying is australians interest rates are around the 6 to 6.5 % mark,so the return i get on the cost of outlaty for a house plus maintenance etc etc in thailand means im better off renting,so at the moment not looking to buy.Is there a hospital down that way,plus any language schools to transfer my ed. visa to,40 min drive to pattaya 3days a week might be too much.

There's 3 hospitals near Ban Chang, Queen Sirikit at Sattahip, King Mongkul at Map Ta Phut and Bangkok-Rayong in Rayong.

Plenty of golf courses and schools to choose from, and beaches.

Don't know about language schools but the drive to Pattaya and back is not that bad. Maybe reschedule your lessons times to morning to give yourself plenty of time to play golf in the afternoons.

[machans88]

Have you had a look at "the darkside", i.e. the part of Pattaya east of Sukhumvit? This is where most locals/expats live. There must be hundreds of villages to choose from, some very nice, some not so nice, all within 15 minutes of downtown Pattaya. For 20K/month you should be able to find a very nice house with very little effort.

If you're interested in other areas, i.e. Chiang Mai or Hua Hin you'd probably be better off asking in their local forums.

I have had a bit of a look at the darkside,didn't really take to it.I have researched chiang mai and am looking at hua hin in a few weeks,i guess before i move a long distance away i thought i would gather some information on areas around here.I like jomtien,but theres not much in the way of houses,ban chang i never reallly considered,the only knowledge of bang chang is the stories other golfers tell me of their infamous bang chang crawls,i'll have to go for a drive out that way.The area around the phoenix golf club is appealling,anyone have any knowledge of hua yai or areas near,is the beach at ban amphur ok.What about the beaches at bang chang.

How far is hua yai from rayong and bang chang

[LennyW]

Huay Yai is a massive area to the south east of Pattaya, it starts more or less from the railway line on Chaiyapruek 2 (sports stadium road) all the way east to the other side of the 331 Highway, and south to the 332 Highway, you could say Pheonix golf club was smack in the middle - roughly.

Good beaches and resturants in Ban Amphur.

[Rimmer]

Have you had a look at "the darkside", i.e. the part of Pattaya east of Sukhumvit? This is where most locals/expats live. There must be hundreds of villages to choose from, some very nice, some not so nice, all within 15 minutes of downtown Pattaya. For 20K/month you should be able to find a very nice house with very little effort.

If you're interested in other areas, i.e. Chiang Mai or Hua Hin you'd probably be better off asking in their local forums.

I have had a bit of a look at the darkside,didn't really take to it.I have researched chiang mai and am looking at hua hin in a few weeks,i guess before i move a long distance away i thought i would gather some information on areas around here.I like jomtien,but theres not much in the way of houses,ban chang i never reallly considered,the only knowledge of bang chang is the stories other golfers tell me of their infamous bang chang crawls,i'll have to go for a drive out that way.The area around the phoenix golf club is appealling,anyone have any knowledge of hua yai or areas near,is the beach at ban amphur ok.What about the beaches at bang chang.

How far is hua yai from rayong and bang chang

Phoenix area is a very nice quite backwater and not in any way representative of the big cities close by. It is also very convenient for all the places you mention.

[seanog]

Go to Bang Saray information on www.bangsaray.com

[soihok]

How about Korat, Pak Chong, Kao Yai ?

[Richb2004v2]

Have you had a look at "the darkside", i.e. the part of Pattaya east of Sukhumvit? This is where most locals/expats live. There must be hundreds of villages to choose from, some very nice, some not so nice, all within 15 minutes of downtown Pattaya. For 20K/month you should be able to find a very nice house with very little effort.

If you're interested in other areas, i.e. Chiang Mai or Hua Hin you'd probably be better off asking in their local forums.

I have had a bit of a look at the darkside,didn't really take to it.I have researched chiang mai and am looking at hua hin in a few weeks,i guess before i move a long distance away i thought i would gather some information on areas around here.I like jomtien,but theres not much in the way of houses,ban chang i never reallly considered,the only knowledge of bang chang is the stories other golfers tell me of their infamous bang chang crawls,i'll have to go for a drive out that way.The area around the phoenix golf club is appealling,anyone have any knowledge of hua yai or areas near,is the beach at ban amphur ok.What about the beaches at bang chang.

How far is hua yai from rayong and bang chang

Oh it is but a stones throw. Anyway, about the price of my house in Ban Chang......

[FarangBuddha]

Sri Racha might also bear some investigation...several good hospitals, some retail at the Robinson mall complex, some good restos, and on the beach. Also, only 25 minutes or so from the bright-lights of Pattaya.

[thrilled]

Chiang Mai,is really hard on resporitary system,"lungs" Ya want to try A nice area check these out Khon Kaen,Udonthani,and Nong Khai.Give Korat A look while your at it.

A beach maybe Koh Phangan,"full moon party"every month.

[Panhandler007]

How about Korat, Pak Chong, Kao Yai ?

Pak Chong is `nice` COOL breeze., ckean air. Its just a little boring. As far as I know there are two Thai schools. They both have an English Program.

Also, the place at time seems as if it;s swarming with CHRISTIAN EVANGELICALS! Trying the educate the heathens!