Live In Hua Hin Or Cha-Am?

[hinhua]

Hello,

just joined and wanted some advice about where to live - Hua Hin or Cha am? I'm planning to be here for a while, at least 6 months, and have some friends in both towns. I've already visited both places but can't really decide where I like more - the peace of Cha am or Hua Hin. There's pros and cons of each I guess. Maybe somebody that's been living here for a while can comment why they prefer one over the other? Cheers.

[stgrhe]

If you like tranquility and at the same time access to Western type of food and restaurants I would recommend Pran Buri, which has a much nicer scenery than both Hua Hin and Cha Am. Pran Buri has also very little corruption in the local municipality.

[Borzandy]

I'm interested to move permanently to Pran buri. (I live in Pattaya)

Any suggestion???

[paulandmaneerat]

I moved to Hua Hin late in 2008 (after 8 years in Bangkok). I love it. Cha Am is also nice, but I think the quietness would get to me after a while. But it's nice to go there for a break now and then. Hua Hin has so much going for it. Yes, it's a bit touristy, but there are some nice restaurants and reasonably priced houses and apartments. It's busy without being overpowering. The Market Village has a very comprehensive range of quality shops, as well as a Tesco. The traffic gets busy on holidays because half of Bangkok visit Hua Hin, but that's just a few days a year. After the school runs are over, between say 9am and 4pm, the roads are fairly quiet. And the beach is only 5 minutes from anywhere in the centre. I checked out Pranburi too. Very nice city. But again too quiet for me. I like the option of going there when I want to, but it's nice to return to Hua Hin. we have good bus connections too - direct links to Chiang Mai, Isaan, Phuket etc. And a railway station.

So my recommendation is Hua Hin for something of everything - unless you want to be in bed by 7pm each night. Then Cha Am or Pranburi is a good second choice.

P&M

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

I prefer Cha Am to Hua Hin, but then I like a small town atmosphere. HH traffic can be a real mess and I don't see it getting any better in the near future. HH has the mall and CA has a very nice and low priced outdoor market for fresh foods of all kinds.

CA has the best beach as it does not disappear at high tide like it does in HH. CA has little night life, so if you like going to the pub HH is probably for you.

They are both nice but very different. Try them both out for a while and see which one you are more comfortable with. CA is less expensive in most things. HH has a better selection of most things.

Personally HH traffic is bad enough to make me choose Cha Am.

Good Luck and Enjoy yourself.

[bankroll]

Why don't they pedestrianise the whole centre walking street area around the bars - make sure deliveries are done by midday and then we can all walk about a bit more easily without having to avoid motorbikes, elephants and other hazards! :-) I think Hua Hin is a good compromise - yes it's too busy sometimes but it's got pretty much everything. Anyway you can get to Cha am in 12 minutes on a motorbike if you're doing 120+ the whole way! so it's not that far....

Most people seem to move to Hua Hin and either stay or move later on if they find they don't like it. Have a friend in Cha am who couldn't stand HH and he lived here a year, but I think it's the other falang that he didn't get on with LOL. So it's not everyone's cup of tea.

[stgrhe]

I'm interested to move permanently to Pran buri. (I live in Pattaya)

Any suggestion???

If you want to be close to the beach have a look at Pak Nam Pran, but if you prefer a more centrally located area Wang Pong might suit you. Pran Buri is, compared to Hua Hin, a fairly well run community.

[SiamKitt]

HinHua... I get many ex-pats now asking me about Cha-Am being an option to living in HH on account of it being cheaper.

A few yrs ago I was talking to some retired men in C/A and they agreed house-rentals were much cheaper in C/A. Also there were enough ex-pats to meet up with for walking,cycling etc during the daytime,+ going out for a beer with at night. Many older men in HH are feeling the pinch financially now and ARE considering moving out, but not to far away...Cha-Am IS it seems a slightly cheaper option to HH.

[kmj]

Personally HH traffic is bad enough to make me choose Cha Am.

+1 Staying in Cha-am with HH only 20mins down the road was the best choice for us when we lived in the area.

[johnwboy]

HinHua... I get many ex-pats now asking me about Cha-Am being an option to living in HH on account of it being cheaper.

A few yrs ago I was talking to some retired men in C/A and they agreed house-rentals were much cheaper in C/A. Also there were enough ex-pats to meet up with for walking,cycling etc during the daytime,+ going out for a beer with at night. Many older men in HH are feeling the pinch financially now and ARE considering moving out, but not to far away...Cha-Am IS it seems a slightly cheaper option to HH.

Ok now the real question. For a retired SINGLE expat with around $1,500.00 USD per month, where would be best to locate?? Also how much is it to play golf in the area?

Thanks

John Boy

Edited August 4, 2011 by johnwboy

[hhfarang]

^ My retirement pay is more that double that and it's not enough for us (3 people) to live the comfortable (western) lifestyle we would like to live here. If you are single, don't intend to drink or indulge in the ladies too much, and like Thai food you can probably get by here on that... but forget about golf at most courses. A day of golf on one of the area private courses will set you back between 3k baht and 5k baht (100 usd to 160 usd), depending on what course and if you require an electric cart in this heat or not. There are a couple of cheaper courses but the conditions on them are not very good. During August and September (golf festival) prices are reduced to a reasonable rate but I had to pretty much give up the game due to the cost the rest of the year.

[Davies96]

^ My retirement pay is more that double that and it's not enough for us (3 people) to live the comfortable (western) lifestyle we would like to live here. If you are single, don't intend to drink or indulge in the ladies too much, and like Thai food you can probably get by here on that... but forget about golf at most courses. A day of golf on one of the area private courses will set you back between 3k baht and 5k baht (100 usd to 160 usd), depending on what course and if you require an electric cart in this heat or not. There are a couple of cheaper courses but the conditions on them are not very good. During August and September (golf festival) prices are reduced to a reasonable rate but I had to pretty much give up the game due to the cost the rest of the year.

hhfarang, Sorry for prying, but do you own your home in Hua Hin?? The reason I'm asking is because I was thinking about moving to Hua Hin and I'm going to have roughly the same bucks as you to live on, although I'm single.(but you never know) i was planning on buying a condo and I'm not concerned so much about right now but with inflation/exchange rates, I could be up the creek in 20 yrs. By the way, I'm new to the forum but been spending my winters in LOS for 15 yrs.

Edited August 12, 2011 by Davies96

[hhfarang]

Yes, I own my own home, but I admit I got carried away when building it with not only the size of the home but the size of the garden as well, as the exchange rate at that time was 44 baht to the dollar. Plus the other two people I support are female which generally require more "maintenance" than males. If you're single and buy a modest condo, you should be fine on that amount of money. I would be if I were single.