Thinking Of Relocating To Cha Am Or Further South.

[aka_jack]

Hi would like some feed back on living around this area. I am currently living in central thailand and am thinking of moving further south some where a little bit touristy but not to much, i was thinking of some where not to far from the beach within 1 hour drive. I have been looking at the map and i am thinking of somewhere between phetchaburi and chumphon.

What i would be interested in is house rental prices, what the schools are like, general feelings of the areas. Would be looking to rent a 1 or 2 bed house. Also nightlife in these areas?? what is it like are there many expats around etc etc. I will be doing a 2 week recon in december not long i know but it is all the wife will give me as it is nearing xmas!! Any information or opinons would be greatly appreciated.

[justwilliam]

To help us with your questions, perhaps you could provide a little more information, for example:

You mentioned schools. Are you a teacher, or do you have children? If the latter, how old are they and are you seeking Thai or International schooling?

Regarding nightlife, are you seeking to find it, or avoid it. If the former, are you seeking Thai or farang night life?

Do you speak Thai? In Phetchaburi, for example, there is almost no English spoken.

Here's my purely personal take on the major population centres:

Phetchaburi is a beautiful, ancient Thai city, with traditional ways. But it has no International schools, and no farang night life (but plenty of Thai night life). And as I indicated above, it is better if you can speak Thai.

Cha-am is (was) a predominantly Thai family resort. Lots of tourists, but mainly Thai families (although that seems to be changing these days). The farang night life is often criticized for being slim. I'm not aware of any International schools -- perhaps others can help.

Hua Hin you can forget. It's a tourist resort (although a very nice tourist resort), which you indicate you are seeking to avoid.

I'm not familiar with Pranburi, except the beach areas, which although very tranquil, are isolated and separated from the city by a dangerous 15km road.

Prachuab is an attractive, sleepy provincial capital, with a beautiful natural harbour and several military establishments to the south of the city. Like Phetchaburi, it has few farangs and little English spoken. It's a rather small place, and I don't know about schools, but I doubt there would be any International schools there.

I don't know about Chumpon, although judging by the members of this forum, there are quite a few farangs living there who could advise you.

Given the nature of this forum, I expect you will find alternative viewpoints on all these places.