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  1. #1
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    Its not expensive to live in Phuket as some people claim

    Patong is the dearest place to stay, you can pay 500 baht for a serviced room in a guest house or 10,000 baht for a five star resort
    Sabia Sabia restaurant opposite the C&N hotel up a lane on the second road has a excellent range of western meals for under 200 baht or you can pay up to 3500baht in a resort if you want to

    In chalong i saw a sign for a room with Wi FI, cable and air-conditioning for 3800 baht a month, that price would be plus electricity
    A 2 bedroom furnished house with Wi Fi, cable and aircons can be rented for 14,000 baht a month on a 6 month or 1 year rental agreement, you pay your own electricity and water bills

    Food in The Chalong/Rawai areas varies in cost from 60 baht at a road side stall to around a 100 baht in a Thai restaurant, Kallots restaurant where we have been eating breakfasts and some times lunch for 5 years charge up to about 200 baht for western meals and 100 baht for Thai meals, Nikita's restaurant would be the dearest in Rawai with meals up to 500 baht, it is a tourist trap but not to expensive
    Rents are cheaper in north Rawai near the Chalong circle and more expensive at the southern beach end of Rawai varying between 14,000 and 24,000baht for a 2 bedroom furnishes house or apartment with no swimming pool

    As far as transport goes like all of my expat neighbors we have our own transport and only use paid transport when going to or from the airport and its only a minor expense

  2. #2
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    Yeah away from the tourist traps it's just...Thailand.

    25 years ago you could just walk inland around the corner from the Bangla area for a couple of minutes and get a standard priced meal.

    That's what has changed: how far you have to go.

  3. #3
    Thailand Expat Jofrey's Avatar
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    I stayed near Nai Harn for xmas.

    Decent little condo-hotel room for 600 B a night with a small pool literally at our doorstep. breakfast about 150 B at the nearby Frog resto. decent western food all around...went to the Islander bar a few times...Sunday roast about 300B i think?

    It's ok but way too many tourists. I'd rather go find a quiet beach on Ko Lanta.

  4. #4
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    We went to Kho Lanta about 6 years ago in the low season, there was no one there even the resort hotels had closed at the end of the high season and the township was tiny with most shops closed
    Spent about 4 hours driving around then Headed to the beach resort area of Krabi to stay overnight
    It did not do anything for us and i will not return again, popular with the Scandinavian people at that time though

  5. #5
    R.I.P. Luigi's Avatar
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    Are the taxi and songteow guys still charging the GDP of medium sized nations for a 3km ride, and hacking each other up with machetes?

  6. #6
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    Of course, if you know the traps, you can avoid tourist prices in Phuket. But it is still more expensive than any other part of Thailand excepting probably central Bangkok. Examples:-
    up a lane on the second road has a excellent range of western meals for under 200 baht
    Decent, but a place in Jomtien, Tequila Sunrise- does burger & chips & other basic stuff, 70bht; Daily roast & pizza 100bht. Don't know how they do it frankly. But loads of bargains around here- off for Friday special Dory, real chips, mushy peas, slaw & lettuce garnish, 139bht quite soon. Welcome Inn, Soi Khao Noi.
    room with Wi FI, cable and air-conditioning for 3800 baht
    You can get such 'rooms' around east Pattaya from 2500 bht if you look. Pretty basic though.
    60 baht at a road side stall
    The Horror! More like 30 bht around here. Shanty place just around the corner (Soi Siam Country club) does a quite acceptable moo or gai noodle soup for 25 bht, you can even sit down and watch the traffic go by. Never tried it, but another place advertises steak for 69bht. Doubt it's USDA.

    Dunno about Phuket, but Pattaya seems to have got cheaper to me over the last few years, at least for expats- but of course you can spend up big too.

  7. #7
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    I do not use taxis mate except to go to the airport, and then i use my Son In laws passenger van and i pay him the same as i would have to pay anyone else
    I do not think hired transport is expensive here, with the traffic jams at Chalong circle and elsewhere at present it can take up to 5 hours on a bad day to travel to and from the airport, 3 hours on most days, that's if you are not leaving at 6AM in the morning to go there
    I pay him 1000 baht for the trip, the vehicle cost 1.4M is near new, fully serviced by Toyota and has full passenger insurance plus a good safe driver is a good cheap service in my opinion
    Of coarse i could pay him less or hire a cheap, uninsured, un-roadworthy vehicle with a driver that,s a idiot, but that does not interest me
    I suggested he put the fare up to 1200 baht it costs 400 baht a trip just for fuel

  8. #8
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    Some of the Phuket tourist attractions have different prices for Thais and foreigners/tourists,If you have a Thai drivers license a lot of these attractions will let you in for the Thai price if you show them your Thai driving license

  9. #9
    กงเกวียนกำเกวียน HuangLao's Avatar
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    Actually, residing/living and passing through for a short time are two different beasts and associated mindsets, Peter.

    Know and learn the variation.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Luigi View Post
    Are the taxi and songteow guys still charging the GDP of medium sized nations for a 3km ride, and hacking each other up with machetes?
    So who's the member who's 3 days over his 90 report?

  11. #11
    R.I.P. Luigi's Avatar
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    ^ See tomorrow's Phuket Daily, bud.

  12. #12
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    I suppose expensive to some people is cheap to others, Its definitely cheap compared to Australia the only other place i have lived, Probably expensive if you are poor or come from a east European country
    Pattaya does not interest me even if i could live there for free, about 1985 was my one and only visit, went up to Chonburi to see the new grandson in 2012 and could not be bothered going to sin city even though it was only a short drive away, 28,000 bar girls are of no interest to me, pro.s are the same everywhere but they are not so fussy about their customers in Thailand it seems

  13. #13
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    about 1985 was my one and only visit
    It has changed a lot! You might well not like the changes- but it's a sprawling city now, with a skyline. And most of the expat residents are not mongers (contrary to popular mythology)- alcohol & golf seem to be the main addictions. Probably no different in Phuket.
    Chonburi
    Awful place- competes with Saraburi for 'my worst thai town'.

  14. #14
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    Its slightly dearer to live in Phuket the same as Samui than Bangkok and Chonburu( Pattaya is just a city in Chonburi province) because most items at least 90% of things you buy in these places come from Bangkok by road transport and has to be stored for a second time before its sold
    Phuket is a tourist destination and caters to tourists mainly unlike Pattaya which is a well know red light area that's been operating as a red light area since the Vietnam war
    If your main interests in life are booze and bar girls and there is nothing wrong with that although most sexpats i have met deny they are one You are better of staying in Pattaya or Bangkok because booze and company and most other things will be cheaper there
    But if you are more interested in your lifestyle including some of the best beaches in Thailand, Infrastructural and available goods and services, climate and living close to a International airport for ease of travel, Phuket is hard to beat if you are a genuine expat who has made Thailand your home

  15. #15
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    Pattaya which is a well know red light area
    No, Pattaya is a city with several well known red light areas. Where I live (actually outside the 'official' city limits), everything shuts up at 1200 midnight- local law, 'cus it's a mainly upmarket residential area. The locals are more likely to be up early morning playing golf than mongering after midnight, although if they want that they know where to go. Like all cities, there is a lot more space devoted to residential & commercial than 'entertainment'.

    You do know that Rugby school is opening up a campus here later this year, don't you? Presumably to train hookers.

    Anyway, it's cheap- cheaper than Phuket, Bkk, Samui, and even Isaan for some things, such as fresh produce. No harm in that.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    No, Pattaya is a city with several well known red light areas. Where I live (actually outside the 'official' city limits), everything shuts up at 1200 midnight- local law, 'cus it's a mainly upmarket residential area. The locals are more likely to be up early morning playing golf than mongering after midnight, although if they want that they know where to go. Like all cities, there is a lot more space devoted to residential & commercial than 'entertainment'.

    You do know that Rugby school is opening up a campus here later this year, don't you? Presumably to train hookers.

    Anyway, it's cheap- cheaper than Phuket, Bkk, Samui, and even Isaan for some things, such as fresh produce. No harm in that.
    am happy for you, personally i think Phuket is a cheap place to live and i would not live anywhere else in Thailand no matter how cheap it was to live there
    Patong is not Phuket either and i have not been there in the evening for about 9 years now and the last was on new years eve to watch the fireworks, probably last time ever

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by petercallen View Post
    Its slightly dearer to live in Phuket the same as Samui than Bangkok and Chonburu( Pattaya is just a city in Chonburi province) because most items at least 90% of things you buy in these places come from Bangkok by road transport and has to be stored for a second time before its sold
    Phuket is a tourist destination and caters to tourists mainly unlike Pattaya which is a well know red light area that's been operating as a red light area since the Vietnam war
    If your main interests in life are booze and bar girls and there is nothing wrong with that although most sexpats i have met deny they are one You are better of staying in Pattaya or Bangkok because booze and company and most other things will be cheaper there
    But if you are more interested in your lifestyle including some of the best beaches in Thailand, Infrastructural and available goods and services, climate and living close to a International airport for ease of travel, Phuket is hard to beat if you are a genuine expat who has made Thailand your home
    You live near a beach there?

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by petercallen View Post
    We went to Kho Lanta about 6 years ago in the low season, there was no one there even the resort hotels had closed at the end of the high season and the township was tiny with most shops closed
    Spent about 4 hours driving around then Headed to the beach resort area of Krabi to stay overnight
    It did not do anything for us and i will not return again, popular with the Scandinavian people at that time though
    Krabi has lots of natural attractions. The town areas are small. You went for the wrong things. Lanta is dead low season. Go in November or March. Much better and boat trips to Trang islands.

  19. #19
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    "about 1985 was my one and only visit"


    Sounds like a person saying he can't stand a particular kind of food but has never tried it.

  20. #20
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    Ummm...no, that would be 'I don't like it but I've never been there'.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by cisco999 View Post
    "about 1985 was my one and only visit"


    Sounds like a person saying he can't stand a particular kind of food but has never tried it.
    Which is all Thais

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dasher View Post
    You live near a beach there?
    Live in Rawai which is close to Nai Harn beach, go there on accessions for a walk along the beach
    We have our own swimming pool which has no jellyfish and other things that bite and sting you and do our swimming in it
    Most places on Phuket are within a 25 minute drive of a excellent western facing beach with clean, clear water

  23. #23
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    These are a few of the available things to see , do and use on Phuket
    Golf course's (plenty),Tennis and Squash clubs,10 pin bowling alleys 2,lawn bowling club,sports clubs, gymnasiums, fishing parks
    2 movie theater complexes, about 6 live shows some with restaurants, Aquarium, Zoo, museums, water park, bungee jumping, parasailing, surfing
    100's of restaurants and bars with no bar girls and a few with bar girls for those who want them, most located in Patong and Phuket town
    Probably the best National park in Thailand only 1.5 hours drive away in Phang Gna province, very scenic and worth the drive there
    The International airport where you can catch flights to anywhere in the world and in Thailand
    To name just a few things

  24. #24
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    [QUOTE=Dasher;3723842]Krabi has lots of natural attractions. The town areas are small. You went for the wrong things. Lanta is dead low season. Go in Nove
    Over the last 12 years i have driven to Krabi on average twice a year and stayed overnight 3 times, its more laid back than Phuket but the beaches are not as nice and it lacks the shopping and services Phuket has, especially the excellent private hospitals which i found out are essential if you are getting on in age 5 years ago

    If not Phuket my next choice of places to live would be Khao Lak its only about 50 minutes drive away from Phuket but only has a public hospital which does not have the same equipment or doctors as the private hospitals do in Phuket, the excellent doctors at the private hospitals in Phuket also do work in the public hospitals there
    I could have bought a 3bedroom2 bathroom house there on 600SQM of land in the main township area for under 3M there about 3 years ago but did not because of the time it takes to drive back to Phuket

  25. #25
    Days Work Done! Norton's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by petercallen View Post
    Khao Lak
    Lived in Phuket many years ago and agree with you. Great place to live. Bit more expensive than some places but hardly worth a mention. My biggest gripe was the electrical supply at the time I lived there was crap. Frequent long power outages. Probably ok now though.

    Khao Lak. The best beaches in Thailand but as you say, lacks amenities/facilities in Phuket.
    "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect,"

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