The Top 7 Places to Live in Thailand (Ranked for Retirees)
Video Overview & Insights
If you're looking to Rent a Condo in Bangkok, or buy a Villa in Koh Samui then email me directly at connect@retiredworkingforyou.com
Hat Yai/Songkhla missing as usual. Great place to live. 3rd largest city of the country, 5th busiest airport, but a lot cheaper than Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai. Access to clean beaches (30 min drive from the city centre). Major downside: Peak rainy season (November and December) to be avoided.
and I’ll personally connect you with a trusted local agent.
Here's the link to the private video inside Fah's Virtual Thai Classroom with me as one of the students: https://www.thailanguagechallenge.com/a/2147830744/LuoaQmdG
A few years ago, for Westerners, Thailand seems like a great place to retire. That has all changed. Now, your own country may be the best. Be very careful. Rent, don't buy anything.
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Dont tell anyone ( i love the peace)...Isan.
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My husband and I stumbled across your videos today and we watched a couple and we think you are hysterical! 😂 yet you provide really good sound information. Love your channel.
We will be visiting at the end of January and staying a month in a couple of cities with a desire to live at least for a year to 18 months. Appreciate all the information you provide.
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It's pronounced Pah-tah-YA
3️⃣ Looking to Rent a Condo in Bangkok? Buy a Villa in Koh Samui?
Email me directly at connect@retiredworkingforyou.com
My wife is from Thailand, married 50 years, she's been in the US since 1976! We go back every 2-3 years, I am both military retired and SS retired and we are tired of all the expense and BS in our country. But one thing for sure we have in commond with you is your 1st, 3rd, and 4th choice. We have been discussing our final golden years and been making plans to make a final move! Thank you so much for being straight up with your viewers, we have followed you since your 1st trips to thailand and you have been a great inspiration to many! Maybe we will get to meet you and your family when we take that next step. Keep enjoying your life and god bless you and yours! Joseph & Pleonpit Martinez!
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Why youI stop to watch the video when I saw you gave all price in bath rather than $.
This video is #7 of 15 videos in my Complete Guide to Moving to Thailand. In this one, it's the ultimate battle. Bangkok vs Chiang Mai. Phuket vs. Samui. Hua Hin vs. Pattaya. Let's see which place is right for your lifestyle.
From cost of living to navigating the Thai Visa landscape, this series will give you everything I know about relocating to the best place on Earth. I hope you find it helpful and now all you have to do is retire and move here!
I’m going to give The Big Mango a try for the first year and see where I go from there. Definitely side trips to the islands, Railay Beach, Chiang Mai, etc.
0:00 Intro
0:28 What We'll Cover
Chiang mai is the place. Cosmopolitan and traditional !! Easy to move around.
Smoking season? Time to move around the globe !!
1:10 Bangkok
7:20 #2 on My List
from 64 and watching
8:37 Pattaya and Jomtien
13:06 Phuket
Bangkok and Pattaya appeal to me and match my lifestyle, I like Chiangmai but spent too short time there to rank, islands are beautiful but I would probably feel trapped and bored, Hua Hin at present nice but quiet. Rural and Phuket definitely not for me.
16:38 Koh Samui
19:53 #1 on My List
Can you not say DIGITAL NOMAD...? The cheddar quotient on this is off the richter
21:08 Hua Hin
23:34 Rural Thailand
Actually I found many items cheaper in Porto Alegre due to increase probability of having sales and competition than in smaller cities and the countryside.
28:10 Chiang Mai
31:38 #3 on My List
Jomtien is my number 1
32:52 Real Estate Agent Recommendation
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Great video! Thank you! I love your T-Shirt! Where did you get that?
Tools to help you move to Thailand:
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Good 😊 video enjoy 😉 info like few real warm , cheap friends w some Asian …
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All what he is telling you about Jomtien is correct. My Thai wife and me we live in NaJomtien/Hua Yai in our house only 20 km distance to Jomtien Center. It is like paradise, peaceful and far away from tourist entertainment and beach firework madness. If we want to have the city life we need only 25 minutes to get there, to the beach we need 10 minutes. For a big bike lover like me it is a dream to ride 50km without any traffic lights. I thank god that he leaded me for the last decades of my life to this place in Thailand
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Hello,I am a73 year old retired Polish/US dual citizen who has lived in Thailand for the past 16 years-one year in Songkhla,2 years in Hat Yai and 13 years in Chianyai,Nakhon Sri Thammarat Province.I think it would be #7 on your list.The population is about 46,000 people but it is spread out.Very very very few tourists and foreigners here.Very little English is spoken.However within a 10 minute walk from my house is most of the things I need (food,post office,computer repair shop,restaurants,clothing stores and 40 kms. away on a mini-van will get you into Nakhon Sri Thammarat where you can get everythinhg you can get in Bangkok except for the tourists).My rent for a house is 2000 baht a month and I don't even lock my doors.
More User Perspectives
I'd love to see Uncle Jim in Pattaya - without Aunt Madeleine 😂
@michaelb2388I spent about 1 week in Pattaya. There were some good 80's Rock/Metal Bars in Tree Town, not intimating or Rough. Soi 6 is rather in your face, If you smile and are playful, the Ladies will have fun with you and pull you into the bars. I'm not much of a drinker though and I prefer the Thermae Cafe type of environment. Pattaya has some great fishing too. They import large fish from the Amazon for catch and release fishing. It was nice. I had 2 poles, a personal fish handler/netter; an airconditioned personal hut with an outdoor hot tub, fridge with beer and snacks and a food menu. I think Jomtein is known for their Gay bars and community.
@9StickNateIn a tunnel under the Cambodia border that way we have the freedom to come and go.
@aussie-kiwiYou think Chiang Mai is bad during burning season, try Northern California during for profit forest fire season. Unlivable. We have beutiful rivers here but the fire season destroys the tourist industry here.
@richardbayne7566I'm 43, so thankyou for making this video just for me 🤣🤣
@kahlzunKrabi/Ao Nang - area is missing in the list for me.
We still live in Europe, coming to Thailand every year. We fell in Love with
#1 exploring countryside, Issan Mukdahan, Nong Kai, Chayaphum,…
#2 Ko Lanta (relaxed and beautifully layed back)
#3 Ko Samui (a mix of everything)
#4 Bangkok (Options)
I am Australia, 71, considering retiring to Thailand AND THIS WAS VERY VERY HELPFUL- SO JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU - IT IS A VERY WELL PRODUCED VIDEO AND YOU SEEM LIKE A REALLY NICE BLOKE.
@chrisfenton7196I love Chiang Rai, Mae Chan and 5 weeks on The coast Hua Hin side to Karabi. Then hop a jet to Da Nang, Vietnam for another week! I’m from Los Angeles So Bangkok is what I’m running away from! I had a couple of Hot Ladies there great jobs, one had a new town house but could not leave up North! Chiang Mai is a good get a way from Chiang Rai! Chiang Mai is two crowded too many Fariangs and Tourist and Police sniffing your every move same as Bangkok! I have 100% more Freedom where I live and get Cool weather Five months a year something you don’t get! I live on my yacht in California three months a year for the last twenty three years! It is no big deal when you live there and it’s Hot and that never goes away! You can have it! It’s more SPECIAL to go for five weeks and stay at little places on the Coast for an Adventure! So BKK and CM are at the Bottom of my List! Your wife get excited by High Society Life, I’ve been there done that, I’ve had my Three top of the line Mercedes S Class automobiles and Audis A Eight Quattro No BFD for me! I will be in BKK To pick up our new TESLA Model Three! Comfort and no farangs or tourist Rocks Bro! Enjoy what think is Bitchen! But you have No Idea!, Not a Clue!
@Serengeti777Not to troll, and preference is preference. However Koh Samui and Phuket are tourists traps, and are not “real Thailand” I understand the sentiment, but these are not authentically Thai, they are fully westernized with still plenty of Thai stuff, but telling yourself that they are not different to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Isan is slightly wrong. If you like it that fine it’s preference, but they are not standard Thailand. Living in Isan can be entertaining in self always something going on in the village, cost savings are huge and you can free up money for travel. When I retire I’ll base my myself there with spells in other cities when I get bored. As you state everything is personal preference and choice and you can pick and chose who you live.
@marcusbwwThere is no turd more effluent than a Septic in Bangkok.
@RaySpencer-k4nBangkok is a mix of extreme poverty and wealth. People living in tin shacks under the freeway overpass. It's far too crowded and traffic is crazy. It's nice for a visit now and then, but there are other better options for older expats.
@BluekarmaLAChang mai for me !...😮 ❤ 😊
@MarciaKIPPPlease, need to see U.S. equivalent!!!...Thanks 😊 ❤
@MarciaKIPPThankyou NICE! 15 year in Lampang 100km from Chiang Mai. It is ok, here is everything, but just a normal night life for normal people. lampang have not get seek from Tourist money. But my favorite is Cha Am. Much smaller and much better and cheaper then Hua hin. Just my opinion, we all think different.😃👍 Ulf. Sweden.
@ulfgudmundsonThanks for the heads up, you covered some great locations!👍🏾 would you have any info about living / retiring in Nakhon Phanom..?🤔🤞🏾🙏🏾
@kipbrown1160Good video. Im a Norwegian live in Bangpu,with the sea. I have bean all over Thailand befori chouse Bangpu..Its expencive It's quietly and very central. I like to travel around and it's nice that it only takes 35 minutes to Suvarnabhumi
@frodemarkhus3692Chiang Rai is nice too
@injeellionBeen visiting Thailand for over 30 years. Of course it has changed, everything changes, but for me, a real negative change is the amount of miserable expats that certain areas are full of. I realised that I definitely need to go somewhere where the expats are more positive, open minded and less transactional. I have found some great spots, but I thought that I should share this point of view, as I can't be the only person to have made this observation. My favourite place isn't on your list, which I'm happy about ; )
@Bodorgan19I’m 48 watchn damnit!
@Kingfrostbyte78Showwww
@alexandrerocha1392Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Bangkok for me; the rest are for vacation. 😆
Not on the list is Chiang Rai, which I love for its cooler weather and stunning landscape.
I'm a girl, and I have no interest in nightlife. I don't drink alcohol. I love the variety of food, cafes, arts, and nature.
PS Pattaya area is much more than Pattaya city. If you live there, you'll get tons of good restaurants and seafood. All East Coast's beautiful beaches are within a 0-3-hour drive from Bang Saen to Rayong to Trat. It's so amazing! There are so many quiet, hidden beaches to explore in this part of Thailand.
But of course, Hua Hin is also my favorite vacation spot. ☺
Chang MAI WILL BE it….thank you!
@BevOlsenYes…I want nature, calm, beach,…children to spoil
@BevOlsenI was leaning hard into Cha-am but I retired with Bangkok money so Bangkok it would be.
@dirkdisco2316Hey Chris...I'm seriously considering moving to Thailand in 2035, can you hook me up? giggle....
@TheStoneWhispererI just can't get enough of this Canuck accent! LOL - Love you videos Chris! Do that snake strike for us again Chris! hehehehehe
@TheStoneWhispererBangkok has bad air quality. Too many cars, etc.
@michaeldavidson9630I´ve been to Phuket and Samui several times and I prefer Phuket. But your right about the russian thing. That´s why I´m going to Bangkok and Pattaya for the first time this vacation! Can´t wait.
@MrSit87Koh Lanta much better affordability wise than koh samui.
@markanderson5343Koh Samui so overpriced
@markanderson5343Bangkok is like eating Durian (or Olives for those who don’t know Durian). The first time, it’s like “What the helk is this?!?!”. Then you go back for another taste…and it’s like….hmmm …interesting…and then without you realizing it, you start to crave it and then you can’t get enough of it. That’s Bangkok.
@JackSmith-gm9gs