the most idyllic places to live

[nidieunimaitre]

I don't understand the OP.

We are all here because Thailand is cheap.

Cheap comes at a price though.

Of course many are in denial, or have experienced nothing but their home town and Thailand.

If money is not a problem, why would anyone want to live in Thailand? Why would anyone put up with Thai culture and lifestyle , Thai laws, the humid season?

[merlen10002]

Give Thailand a miss try Queensland Australia, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns, and others , would play Thailand off a brake, with the sort of money you are talking about you would do very good there, all you have to do get a visa to live there and that is another matter .

[JLCrab]

Whether this topic or others, I enjoy reading about all the places people prefer to live except Thailand -- as long as they can bring their Thai wife or girlfriend along with them.

[simple1]

Give Thailand a miss try Queensland Australia, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns, and others , would play Thailand off a brake, with the sort of money you are talking about you would do very good there, all you have to do get a visa to live there and that is another matter .

I now live in Noosaville on the Sunshine Coast with my Thai wife. She much prefers this place to

Thailand for good Thai & Western food, scenery and quality of life.

Enough Thais if she wants to socialise in her language. If needs be direct flights to BKK from BNE.

Affordable on OP's budget for fly in / fly out visa etc

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=noosaville&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRyv2YqOLJAhWCyoMKHV-qADkQsAQIcg&biw=1366&bih=595

Edited December 17, 2015 by simple1

[geisha]

For what it's worth, people with that kind of money do not ask those questions.

[JLCrab]

For what it's worth, people with that kind of money do not ask those questions.

That's right -- fire up the G550:

[HenryB]

People come for the opposite sex 20 to 30 years younger that is the only reason

I guess you forgot that or never knew that

[JLCrab]

People come for the opposite sex 20 to 30 years younger that is the only reason

I guess you forgot that or never knew that

I at least did not come for that -- but I maybe stayed for that.

[crazygreg44]

i suggest you look into the Andaman Sea side of Thailand, and I do not talk about Phuket. I am wondering why nobody here considers renting and living in Khao Lak , and the area north of Khao Lak up to Takua Pa. It is a very beautiful scenery, and in Khao Lak itself you can get everything a farang needs, plus international restaurants. Plus from this location you can set out on boat trips endlessly. There are hot springs nearby and cool forests.

I find very good all the advices about renting instead of buying. Buying will nail you down at one location that will maybe bore you after a few years, and then you will find out that you cannot sell.

Buying in Thailand holds the risk that some development will unexpectedly arise in front of your estate and you can't stop it, or a karaoke bar opens across the street.

. . and the next best advice is the one who points you to the Sunshine Coast - and the Withsunday Islands. I bet you will love that. I have never been there, but i suggest you take out to a holiday there. English speaking folk and probably one of the most beautiful spots on Earth (opinion based on me googling it from time to time)

Edited December 17, 2015 by crazygreg44

[joeyg]

Hawaii. What you're looking for doesn't exist in Thailand.

Funny you say that. Been living here a little over a year. Although been good fun I don't see it as a good place for an old guy really.

I have spent my fair share of time on the Big Island and in Maui. So I kind of know the place. I'm thinking a couple of more years in Thailand at most. I'm a healthy 63 right now. Super active, swim 4 to 600 meters a day often walk 10 kilometers.

Having said that, been laid up now 2 days with foot/ankle injury from overdoing it on the heavy bag.

In Hawaii I'll have clean beaches and full free VA coverage. So it's party on, for a while...

[joeyg]

i suggest you look into the Andaman Sea side of Thailand, and I do not talk about Phuket. I am wondering why nobody here considers renting and living in Khao Lak , and the area north of Khao Lak up to Takua Pa. It is a very beautiful scenery, and in Khao Lak itself you can get everything a farang needs, plus international restaurants. Plus from this location you can set out on boat trips endlessly. There are hot springs nearby and cool forests.

I find very good all the advices about renting instead of buying. Buying will nail you down at one location that will maybe bore you after a few years, and then you will find out that you cannot sell.

Buying in Thailand holds the risk that some development will unexpectedly arise in front of your estate and you can't stop it, or a karaoke bar opens across the street.

. . and the next best advice is the one who points you to the Sunshine Coast - and the Withsunday Islands. I bet you will love that. I have never been there, but i suggest you take out to a holiday there. English speaking folk and probably one of the most beautiful spots on Earth (opinion based on me googling it from time to time)

Fantastic idea. I'm 3 months into a year lease in Naklua but it Koh Lak sounds just like what I may be looking for. I'll definitely look into both Khao Lak and Takua Pa. Any other suggestions with beaches appreciated...

[johnsmith1]

I never thought about Australia and the gold and sunshine coasts ,seen them on tv etc looks wonderfull but I think maybe a bit too western for me and wifey ,

its quite amazing how little Ive seen of the world when I read some of the posts here , I thought I knew quite a lot about Thailand but there are are places

I never heard of being mentioned (Petchabun) ,one thing I have learnt is the choice is huge and lifes too short ,well done to everyone whos tried this done that

lived there ,I never really had the time or guts until now to make a big life change maybe good quality hotel life will suffice for a year or two ,keep my base in the uk until

I find "the place " to finally sit down and relax ,many thanks to you all i,ve got a lot of research to do

[henry15]

There are many idyllic places in Krungthep ra Parimonton, you can buy a house in the 49b t 150 million range in one of te High End gated commmunites or buy an

650M2 . 45 millionn duplex appartemt in a parc on the banks of the Chao Phaya river. Sorry yoy can't buy such an appartement because they don't allow foreigners in that Building

[djlest]

hes only got a millon pounds, probably from the sale of a house in london, its not much these days and every tom dick and harry can be a millionaire in london these days, your mum dies and leaves you a house, the value goes up to 1 million even though its a hovel. seen it a million times... Chav millionaires... can always spot em cos theyre proud...

[JLCrab]

Hawaii. What you're looking for doesn't exist in Thailand.

Funny you say that. Been living here a little over a year. Although been good fun I don't see it as a good place for an old guy really.

I have spent my fair share of time on the Big Island and in Maui. So I kind of know the place. I'm thinking a couple of more years in Thailand at most. I'm a healthy 63 right now. Super active, swim 4 to 600 meters a day often walk 10 kilometers.

< snip>

You'll have no problem swimming here, then. Lots of guys have 4 meter pools.

Edited December 17, 2015 by JLCrab

[Krataiboy]

One sure way for people like me to destroy the idyllic place where they live is to tell others where it is. Sorry, mate.

[johnsmith1]

No inheritance and chavlike no ta just a straight talking hard working lucky Yorkshireman . Never thought about it but one poster says if you find sonewere great dont tell anyone .people will come and ruin the place .exactly what happened in my home village .people dont like the sound of cockerills etc etc but want to live in the countryside one of the reasons im off

[Thian]

No inheritance and chavlike no ta just a straight talking hard working lucky Yorkshireman . Never thought about it but one poster says if you find sonewere great dont tell anyone .people will come and ruin the place .exactly what happened in my home village .people dont like the sound of cockerills etc etc but want to live in the countryside one of the reasons im off

Cockerills can ruin any very idyllic place....they go on all night, terrible...and worst of all is that they are totally useless.

[MaeJoMTB]

well, you do what most all well off folks do.

buy a bigger house and more land and start building what you need there. what makes you happy? it could be an amusement park, pool, racetrack, wine cellar?

sooner or later you wont need to go out much and it wont really matter WHERE you are. you will also eventually find that if you can afford everything you could want any dissatisfaction is coming from within.

I don't think really rich people are generally all that happy.

Anyway, really rich people wouldn't live in Thailand, they need rule of law to protect their money.

Me,

If I were really rich I'd probably be in the USA, Sanibel Island is nice so is San Francisco.

[farangmick]

Much as I like living in Thailand, with that sort of capital, and income, I would never consider it. Great place for those of us with a modest income, the money goes a lot further. Personally, and this is only me, I'd love to be able to take the family to NZ. Good education for the kids, temperate climate to make the wife happy, Or California, outside of the cities. Most farang I know are happy here, but all would leave if they had serious money.

[JohnDodd]

With that amount available, I would not be in LOS, but living in a traditional stone house on a hill above the small town of Demenate in the mid-atlas about 150kliks N.E. of Marrakech.

[nidieunimaitre]

With that amount available, I would not be in LOS, but living in a traditional stone house on a hill above the small town of Demenate in the mid-atlas about 150kliks N.E. of Marrakech.

...with a great view of Daesh coming closer every day.

[JHolmesJr]

Phuket has some ridiculously plush villas.

[rgs2001uk]

There are many hi-so expensive moobaans in BKK but you won't see them from the main roads.

You can just go there uninvited and see the baan-office. The salesgirls will drive you around in the golfcarts and show you the houses.

If you have never been into a moobaan then do it, it's not comparable with the rest of BKK.

Also don't get fooled by the pictures they put on their websites, they are all photoshopped.

LOL, so true about those golf carts.

I live in one, its great, no bloody karaoke joint next door, no Somchais motorcycle repair yard round the corner, no packs of soi dogs running wild, no itinerant vendors flogging ice cream or rice.

No upcountry types with their barking yappy dog farms, no motorcyle gangs tearing up the sois, no graffiti, no fake monks etc etc etc, how the other half live, blissful.

Beautifully manicured lawns, clubhouse, gym and swimming pool, all for 20 baht per tw per month, money well spent.

[NeverSure]

I don't understand the OP.

We are all here because Thailand is cheap.

Cheap comes at a price though.

Of course many are in denial, or have experienced nothing but their home town and Thailand.

If money is not a problem, why would anyone want to live in Thailand? Why would anyone put up with Thai culture and lifestyle , Thai laws, the humid season?

Er, there are those who go for the women including but not limited to those found in bars.

I agree. I can't live in Thailand full time when I have a nice home in a nice town in a first world country. I enjoy my visits and then I'm ready to go home.

Cheers.

[Seann]

The celebs on television always have homes built inside large compounds. Always wondered how they are not totally bored to death.

[nidieunimaitre]

I don't understand the OP.

We are all here because Thailand is cheap.

Cheap comes at a price though.

Of course many are in denial, or have experienced nothing but their home town and Thailand.

If money is not a problem, why would anyone want to live in Thailand? Why would anyone put up with Thai culture and lifestyle , Thai laws, the humid season?

Er, there are those who go for the women including but not limited to those found in bars.

I agree. I can't live in Thailand full time when I have a nice home in a nice town in a first world country. I enjoy my visits and then I'm ready to go home.

Cheers.

The women are no exception to my opinion:

Some people go to Thailand for the cheap women, after all, if you can afford it, there are women all over the world.

I went to Thailand when I was 57 - got a nice small house and swimming pool for 1.000.000 baht, eat all the seafood I can possibly want, and have a huge garden.

That's cheap! I could not dream of that in Farangland.

And to top it off... when Thainess gets too much for me to handle, we are off to Europe for half the year.

[crazygreg44]

I went to Thailand when I was 57 - got a nice small house and swimming pool for 1.000.000 baht, eat all the seafood I can possibly want, and have a huge garden.

That's cheap! I could not dream of that in Farangland.

....you definitely can't get this any more for 1 million Baht ! You pay 1 million for only the swimming pool nowadays! How long ago was that?

Reading that the thread starter has money, he could however afford renting for 35,000 Baht a month a nice house, garden and swimming pool, anywhere in a Bangkok mooban, on one of the islands, along the gulf or at the andaman sea shores.

Being a hard working Yorkshireman, he will probably be clever enough not to waste his hard earned money on a villa which he never will be able to sell.

Edited December 18, 2015 by crazygreg44

[KonaRain]

Great posts..

Lots of fishing in Hawaii also.

Smelly, Diesel oil boats, so I prefer to buy my fish..

Plenty gardens and Avocados..

About that Million dollar visa..

And hey, I hitch hike with millionaires everyday and yes, they ask the same questions.. and are very thrifty!

That's how they got their fortunes.

Trust fund babies are much more fun!

<smile>

Alohz

[Guy360]

The OP asked a very simple question in a well stated post. Certainly the world is one's oyster when you are not confined by a budget. There are magnificent places in the world to live and spend whatever time you wish in that location and then move on to the next.

However, the OP wants to settle in Thailand. His choice as he has a Thai wife, a home in her village and has experienced living in Bangkok as well as checking out Phuket.

The ability to purchase a 36,000,000 property allows that individual to live anywhere he damn well pleases. It will always come down to what rocks his boat. Entertainment? Shopping? The Mountains? The Oceanside? Rural? Urban? I guess only he would be able to answer that for what is good for any of the readers, including myself, may not be what he wants.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, money is not a problem with me. I can afford anything my tastes require. I found that Na Jomtien gave me exactly what I needed. I am here about 8 months per year and return to San Francisco for 2 months per year and travel to various locations the other 2 months of the year.

Na Jomtien has lovely homes and condos, is close to the beach, close to U-Tapau airport which will be a fully functioning international airport within 5 or fewer years, 2 hours to Bangkok and 10 minutes to the insanity of Pattaya. Perfect for me. Probably not so good for others.