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CBinmore
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Post by CBinmore »

Hello everyone..

Colin & Jackie Binmore - Originally from the UK, just moved to work Jakarta after completing over 13 years in the Middle East.. We plan to retire early 2019 and are looking at Hua Hin / Pran Buri area are to lease a house. We found the Forum by trawling the web and have found it a great source of information.

We are looking forward to our next new exciting adventure in Thailand.

Colin & Jackie.
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Dannie Boy
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Re: New to the Forum

Post by Dannie Boy »

CBinmore wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 12:12 pm Hello everyone..

Colin & Jackie Binmore - Originally from the UK, just moved to work Jakarta after completing over 13 years in the Middle East.. We plan to retire early 2019 and are looking at Hua Hin / Pran Buri area are to lease a house. We found the Forum by trawling the web and have found it a great source of information.

We are looking forward to our next new exciting adventure in Thailand.

Colin & Jackie.
Welcome to the Forum, I too am from the UK and worked a number of years in the ME before retiring to Thailand, now living on the Cha Am side of Hua Hin. Between now and retiring I’m sure you’ll have lots of questions, so ask away.
CBinmore
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Post by CBinmore »

Hi Dannie Boy,

Thank you for your response..
Where abouts in the Middle East did you work and how are you finding your retirment in Thailand?
I must admit we are cautious about venturing to Thailand but we are keen to give it a go..
Colin
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Dannie Boy
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Re: New to the Forum

Post by Dannie Boy »

CBinmore wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 2:55 pm Hi Dannie Boy,

Thank you for your response..
Where abouts in the Middle East did you work and how are you finding your retirment in Thailand?
I must admit we are cautious about venturing to Thailand but we are keen to give it a go..
Colin
I worked in KSA, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and not quite the ME, but also Pakistan. I find Thailand fine, you just need to adapt to a different way of life and try not to let things get to you when they maybe don’t go quite as you would like. If you expect everything to be perfect, it could make adjusting a bit difficult.
CBinmore
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Post by CBinmore »

Sounds like Indonesia... We did 3 years in Dubai, 4 years in kuwait and then 6 years in Doha / Qatar. I was the Manger of food & beverage development for Qatar Airways.. I guess we understand how the locals work and don't expect too much..
We have ben to Pran Buri a few times and really enjoyed it. The last time we were there it was starting to be developed and get built up..
We are keen to find our own little quiet spot and just chill out.

Colin..
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Big Boy
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Post by Big Boy »

CBinmore wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:50 pm We are keen to find our own little quiet spot and just chill out.

Colin..
Maybe you should be looking a little further South, possibly somewhere like Bang Saphan?
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Post by migrant »

Big Boy wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 7:10 pm
CBinmore wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:50 pm We are keen to find our own little quiet spot and just chill out.

Colin..
Maybe you should be looking a little further South, possibly somewhere like Bang Saphan?
Yes Bang Saphan is nice, and quiet. A 2 hour drive to Hua Hin, beautiful beaches and blue water.
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404cameljockey
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Post by 404cameljockey »

HI Colin.

Sounds like you already made Thailand your choice? Leasing is a good idea if you're not sure which area you'd like to stay, or if you have a wandering attitude, maybe living in different areas over the years. It's easy to buy a house here but definitely not easy to sell at a good price; market conditions and the strong Baht make it hard at the moment. New developments are going up everywhere and sell more easily than used houses. The condo market I have no idea about.

My wife and I spent 12 years in Dubai before I retired here (she retired many years ago...). Life here is much slower than Dubai but not than say Doha! :) On a personal note, I like the locals here much more here than those in the Middle East.

You are used to a high levels of infrastructure, public services, hospitals etc. so maybe a town smaller and further south than Hua Hin might be a bit of a shock to you unless your other travel experiences have prepared you. Most things do run pretty well in HH, if you allow for the fact that it's not a rich Middle Eastern country with money to throw at everything. When things are a bit Heath-Robinson we just smile and accept the fact that we chose to live here!

15 months in we still love it here. You already know about authoritarian government's red tape so I don't need to warn you about that, and the serious consequences that can come of falling foul of it. Lead a quiet and peaceful life and you should have a lovely retirement here.

You'll read a lot of gripes on the forum from members, I'm sure you know that's what expat forums are like, take most with a pinch of salt. :)
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Post by VincentD »

404cameljockey wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 6:27 am You'll read a lot of gripes on the forum from members, I'm sure you know that's what expat forums are like, take most with a pinch of salt. :)
404CJ,
Not all are gripes.. Thing is, human nature is such that the good things seldom find their way into the public arena..
Will have been here as PR 30 years come mid-August.. :cheers:
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404cameljockey
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Post by 404cameljockey »

VincentD wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 10:00 am
404cameljockey wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 6:27 am You'll read a lot of gripes on the forum from members, I'm sure you know that's what expat forums are like, take most with a pinch of salt. :)
404CJ,
Not all are gripes.. Thing is, human nature is such that the good things seldom find their way into the public arena..
Will have been here as PR 30 years come mid-August.. :cheers:
Yep agree. For sure not all are gripes and I didn't suggest so, I only said 'a lot' (maybe I should have said 'some'), and it's actually true of expat forums in general. There are also very many people with good intentions here, willing to help with advice, interesting opinions and good humour.

The people who make regular negative/sarcastic/trolling posts are quite easy to spot but hard to ignore.

The main point is that having decided to live in Thailand, why keep bashing on about the things that you don't like but have no chance of changing (police, corruption, red tape, etc.) yet some members will always do it! Weird.
jrbkk64
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Re: New to the Forum

Post by jrbkk64 »

check your PM.

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Re: New to the Forum

Post by oakdale160 »

It is interesting--- English speaking ex-pats tend to retire here, may visit home country once or more a year but a solid 10m in Thai. There is another HUGE group of retirees--The Scandinavians. The majority of them are on a 6m/6m timetable.April- Oct in their home countries and 6 months in Thai. Incidentally their Health Care system back home, after an extra payment, covers their HC needs in Thai.
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