# Considering moving to Thailand...



## Raineandpaul (Oct 3, 2015)

We were wondering where are some good places to live in thailand? It would be two adults and a 10 year old. We want to live by the beach and also have close access to local markets. Good air quality. Clean. Internet access. And of course safe. ? Any feedback is appreciated!


----------



## MELODY_G (Aug 26, 2015)

Hi
If you like the beach, may be you can stay in Chonburi. But for more opportunities in many ways and you don't mind I would suggest you to stay in Bangkok but Chonburi and Bangkok is not that far only 1 hour drive.


----------



## Pashugan (Oct 12, 2015)

I have been living in Phuket for about 3 years. There are expat areas on south of the island (Rawai, Nai Harn) and I personally think Nai Harn is the most beautiful beach in Phuket. There are many young Europeans training in Muay Thai camps around so it does not look like the classic place for the retirement. It could be not easy to find a house by the beach but within 5-10 min of driving there are lots of them. There are couple of condos in final stage of construction though or you can negotiate with the hotels around for a long-term contract. There are moving local markets and quite famous fish market and night flea market in the town. The drawbacks is that Phuket is considered as one of the most expensive provinces in Thailand, and is in one sense a country side with only few shopping malls but comparing to other provinces it's quite developed. Air is good except very few cases of forest fires in Indonesia. Internet can be unstable because it's an island but most of the time it's quite decent, mobile 4G internet is awesome and can be somewhat better option. Not that clean around but much cleaner than in most cities in Asia (except Singapore). And if you are respectful to locals it's safe. I saw many moms with baby carriage walking around the lake after sunset and never heard about serious incidents except caused by drunk bullies in bars.


----------



## paradiso (Oct 30, 2015)

I can appreciate you wanting to live near a beach, which is still a good thing, but I think you need to consider the situation with your child. Are you planning on self schooling? If not you need to consider the educational situation here.

Many expats prefer to send their children to an international school but these are very expensive. If you cannot afford this then the choices are less attractive. I presume your child is not Thai. Even regular government schools are not free and certainly would not be for a non Thai child and only teach in Thai. There are some bilingual schools and those with English programs but again these tend to be higher priced.

I have heard of plenty of westerners moving back home who were employed as English teachers and had kids, because they wanted a decent education and future for their children. They simply couldn't provide this on their salaries. Bangkok has the highest number and best quality schools in the country. There are international schools in expat strongholds like Phuket, Hua Hin and Pattaya. This may be another option.

As for beaches, I've been to many in Thailand but some not for a long time. Thailand gets so many visitors and has changed so much. Close to Bangkok I think the best beach is Bang Saray, about 15 km further on from Pattaya. It's a fairly quite Thai fishing village although there's some development going on as it's starting to get more expats. There's a market in the village and Thai and expat restaurants and coffee shops. The beach is really quiet during the week.

For more spectacular beaches you need to go a long way from Bangkok. I think the southern beaches are the best and my favorite was always Pra nang beach near Krabi, but I haven't been there in 15 years, it's probably changed a bit. I'm sure there's plenty of other stunning beaches around that region.

Depends what you want really. I think a lot of the southern islands get the backpacker crowd and this may not be what you want. You may prefer somewhere like Hua Hin or Cha am. It depends what you are used to. If you want easy access to facilities and entertainment then you are more likely to lean to an expat resort but if you like the quiet life then there are probably hundreds of beaches you could go to.


----------



## GabrielB (Nov 17, 2015)

I think Koh Samui or Phuket are worth looking into. Both have a good expat scene and have great beaches and a nice way of life.


----------



## Thai Bigfoot (Aug 29, 2009)

You've been given good advice.
Kamala is a small community 9km north of Patong. Nice beach and amenities. But, everything is much less expensive that Patong. I've lived her 6 years.
How do you plan to make a living?


----------

