My husband and I are new to expat focus, and I've been reading quite a few post to try to figure out which city would be best for us to live in. We are coming on a retiree visa, from the USA, and I'd like to be in a small community, where we have both sea and mountain access, have other english speaking residents for conversation, and neighbors, at the same time enjoying the fruits of Thailand living , as the locals do. We're not big into night life, but an occasional outing would be fine, we love to snorkel, hike, dine on new foods, have a local market with in walking or moped distance. I keep thinking I found the "right city" and than something new comes up that I like better. So confusing really, having never visited. But, I have researched living in Thailand for 2 years, along with other areas, this is the best area for us after all the research. My sister-in law has lived in India for 10 years now and loves to travel to Phucket during their off season and India isn't my choice, no water close to where they live. So the point is, we'd get to see her more than once a year here in the states. So, I'd love to hear the pluses and negatives of others who are living there, no matter which area of Thailand. It doesn't matter if your inland, on the Adaman sea, or in the Gulf of Thailand somewhere, I'd love to hear about "every place" expats are currently residing. We leave here September 25th and land in Bangkok. No plans have made yet to fly out of Bangkok, as we'd figure we'd explore on the way down either the Adaman coast, or down through the golf. No time limit or need to get anywhere fast. Thanks for the advice you can give me, and I'm looking forward to the pros and cons of where you live! Thanks for the time.  

Hi,
Following are some places as per your liking. You need to stick to around the coast (to get the sea!!)
1 Bangsaen a seaide resort just off Chonburi city. There are quite a few expats for you to be neighbor with. Also Sri Racha a small town with a good mixture of farang but not as busy as in Pattaya.
2 Pattaya or nearby places such as jomtien. sure there are lots of farang (foreigners) aound. good selection of nightlife.
3 Sattaheep moved further along the coast from Pattaya, Still close enough to Pattaya.
4Rayong, further along the coast. Again further along the coastline
5 Then you may opt for Chantaburi or Trad still further along the coast. but the further you go the less likely of farang in the area.

Or you can choose the other side of the coast starting from
6 Cha am sea side resort along the other side of the gulf. good mixture of people and facilities.
7 Further down the coast Hua Hin
8 and from that point you can explore down the east side of the peninsula outhward towards the south of Thailand.
9 Phuket as you suggested. An island so sea is not an option but rather a compulsory factor. This is on the Andaman side.
10 There are other smaller town around the coast but as I said before the further you get from the tourist spot the less likely you will find farang for neighbors.

Other places like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, would fe very far from the coast up northward. A lot of mountain though! These places there are a lot of foreigners residents at lease in the city areas.

Hope this helps. If you need further assistance post your questions to me.
Affinity One.  

Your information is much appreciated, Thank You, I'll look into the places you mentioned, as some of these little towns or city's aren't on the map I have.And this is the kind of information I was looking for. I love the idea of living in a big city, but my vision is living as the locals do. As a couple, my husband and I are very laid back, and enjoy the simple life. Night life is great for shows and plays, and a nice dinner out every once in a while, but we're moving for a reason. We want to enjoy a life we can't find here in the USA, I love the Thi people and their easy going way of life. If I have any questions, I will surely post back for your expertise. If you think of anything else, please advice me. One other question before I go, my sister-in-law is currently in Kamala, She resides in India, but was on holiday to Thailand, and ended up having a medical emergency, and is currently on a medical extension visa. She say's Kamala is great. I don't want my family to dictate where we decide to lay our heads, which is why I'm reaching out to others, what is your opinion on Kamala, honestly ? Thank You. Jami from Florida, USA  

hi
ivs; lived in Thailand for 4 yrs; best move i ever made, the county is beautiful, the thai people r very nice always polite, helpful & friendly.i live in Korat (Nakhoratchasima)in the north east (no sea) fairly large town,lots of nice houses just outside the town, lots of expats in area good centre to se
e the county,also about 1,000 mtrs; high tend to get a breeze.
on the coast i like Rayong fairley quite town.best of luck on yr; move.
eddie in thailand.  

Hi again, Jami,
Nice to be of assistance. I am not sure if money is a restricting factor to you and your hasband. If you could spare some, a short trip would be adviseable to both Thailand and India for that matter. Otherwise you may get a shock of culture when you actually make the move. Then you could travel around in short stay at each place and get a feel of what you'd get for the long stay. I know it will be tiring, say stay one night at each place. Starting from Chantaburi or Trad the east most coast town and work your way westward towards Bangkok then out to Cha am and further south. That is if you choose sea. Then you amy fly out to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai for the north and other bigger cities in the northeast such as Nakornratchasima (Korat), Ubonratchathani, Udonthani, Nogkai, Khonkhaen etc. to get the taste of the Esan (northeastern) life style.
But as for Kamala, India I have nothing to offer honestly. Only that India is a place with really vast differences. Suggest also a trip to get a feel of it.

Affinity One  

hello again, As for India, I'm not looking to move there, we've done our homework and have decided on Thailand. It's a matter of where to settle once we land in Bangkok. Money isn't a problem, we're retired and have a nice monthly allowance, including the savings we've been building for the move. Our tickets have been purchased and we leave here September 25th. We have a hotel room reserved at the Novotel Suvarnabhumi, in the vicinity of the airport. We're going to explore Bangkok, not sure of how long, than head down to Phucket, and do some roaming around there. All these city's you've told me about sound so nice, it's hard to make a decision at this time. And yes, I do agree, I think we'll take a week in the city's that interest us the most, and than make the choice. I feel grateful to have you supplying me the information, like I said, the maps I can get my hands on , thru the internet, don't have every city listed. I'd need a state map, fully detailed, and have yet been able to find one on here.
We currently live in a hot, humid climate, and I love it, I hate COLD weather, and we live 3 city blocks from the Atlantic ocean. I'm in Florida. ( And no , we have no oil on our beaches, as of yet. What a terrible mess. But that's not the topic here.) I miss the mountains, and would love to have the best of both worlds and I know Thailand offers that.
If anything else comes to mind that you feel would help us out, please write, all advice is greatly appreciated. I know the culture shock is going to be a little intimidating, buying groceries, language, knowing who to trust, getting use to using baht as currency, just living in a new land. It's very exciting, and as I said this has been in the making for 2 years. Thank you for the advice and I look forward to more, if you have anything else you think will help. Thank you, Jami  

Hi jami,
Obviously you've done a lot of the homework on Thailand. As for the map of Thailand try this one map.longdo.com/. It is in Thai but you can choose to change the places name into English by choosing the 3rd line of the dropdown menu on top right hand corner of the map section. The map is pretty comprehensive. You can enlarge to the very nitty gritty details. And It should have all that you need. I don't know how adventerous you two are. I would suggest once you've got to Phuket (you would have been here in Thailand for at least a week or so), you rent a car and purchase your self a GPS. Most model have English menu and interfacing including sound. You can drive back up to Bangkok and then off eastward.
With this GPS it should bypass the language difficulty in traffic signs. This would enable the first timers to navigate their ways through the country easily.
In most city there are supermarket and stores in the way that you are used to. That would be a factor that could ease your culture shock a little. But if you choose to live as the locals do, then you can choose the normal local markets, but mind you, you may think it is dirty. Gets some getting used to.
As for currency, it would be easier but what you will find is that the number is higher (than in US$) but a lot of things would be cheaper, some a lot cheaper.
As for language, yes it will be great fun for you to learn but think like a baby learning to speak for the first time. They never need translation nor they need spelling.
If you think of anything else which I can help you with, don't hesitate to write. Here is my personal email address norwich @ sanook.com and my name is Tavit. Love to hear from you.