What's the attraction of living in Cha-am?

[PeteC]

The new Expat store thread made me think of this. Why does one decide to settle in Cha-am rather than in Hua Hin?

Is it more quiet and laid back? Not as much traffic? Are the housing prices less expensive? Better beaches?

When no direct experience with either place, a new person arriving in Thailand must have a reason for preferring one over the other.

[Big Boy]

My intention was to move to Cha-Am when relocating from the UK. Housing was a lot cheaper, and in my opinion the beach is better. Generally, cost of living is cheaper outside of Hua Hin.

It was only my daughter's insistence that she wasn't moving from Hua Hin, which persuaded me otherwise.

[Dannie Boy]

I’m sure there are pros and cons for both but generally speaking I’d say that Monday to Friday Cha Am is relatively quiet most of the time but that changes considerably at the weekends and public holidays- as the Bangkokians descend in their droves to the beach areas, but as I’m not a beach person that’s not a problem.

Shopping wise, there are no malls, but the Makro is adequate for most things and there’s a reasonable size Lotus and a Big C Market, and of course this new Expat shop. Restaurants are a plenty, catering for virtually all taste buds - price wise I doubt there’s a lot in it between the two but any marginal difference is likely to be in Cha Am’s favour.

No idea about how housing costs compare- we’re on our second home and I had both built to my design, so it was simply materials and labour.

Not a major reason for choosing Cha Am over HH, but depending on what side of both towns you live could save half an hour when you travel to Bangkok.

We don’t go every week, but when we need to go to HH, it a 30 minute journey from where we live so not a big issue, but the main reason we live here and not in HH, is because it’s my wife’s home town!!


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[joelle]

We chose Cha Am area because it is quieter and not too far from major towns.
Also we are at approximately 5 minutes from the nearest beach by motorbike.
In Europe we lived in the countryside, about 25km from the big town, so a little similar.
I wouldn't say it's cheaper than HH, although a few years back it used to be but has caught up since.
When we first came to Cha Am we liked the place and found a small estate (mu baan) where mainly thai people live, which suited us, had our house built and never really bothered to look further afield.
When I need the town feel I nip to HH have a wonder round and back home.

[Nereus]

We chose Cha Am area because it is quieter and not too far from major towns.
Also we are at approximately 5 minutes from the nearest beach by motorbike.
In Europe we lived in the countryside, about 25km from the big town, so a little similar.
I wouldn't say it's cheaper than HH, although a few years back it used to be but has caught up since.
When we first came to Cha Am we liked the place and found a small estate (mu baan) where mainly thai people live, which suited us, had our house built and never really bothered to look further afield.
When I need the town feel I nip to HH have a wonder round and back home.

Joelle is another attraction.

[joelle]

We chose Cha Am area because it is quieter and not too far from major towns.
Also we are at approximately 5 minutes from the nearest beach by motorbike.
In Europe we lived in the countryside, about 25km from the big town, so a little similar.
I wouldn't say it's cheaper than HH, although a few years back it used to be but has caught up since.
When we first came to Cha Am we liked the place and found a small estate (mu baan) where mainly thai people live, which suited us, had our house built and never really bothered to look further afield.
When I need the town feel I nip to HH have a wonder round and back home.

Joelle is another attraction.

[Big Boy]

Probably the biggest attraction for me when I was looking was property prices. A house in Cha-Am was about half the price of what the same spec would have cost in Hua Hin. Also a few years back, when Norseman moved to Cha-Am from Hua Hin, his rental property cost about 50% of what he'd have paid in Hua Hua Hin.

I wouldn't say it's cheaper than HH, although a few years back it used to be but has caught up since.

If the catch-up has been that rapid, there must have been a lot of overnight profiteering

[Dannie Boy]

Maybe (I really don’t know) but with the over supply in HH, their prices may have come down at the same time as Cha Am have gone up?


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[joelle]

Maybe (I really don’t know) but with the over supply in HH, their prices may have come down at the same time as Cha Am have gone up?


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Yes that's probably right

[STEVE G]

I like Cha Am and visit often but the one thing that I preferred about Hua Hin when I was looking at somewhere for a base was the plentiful expat social scene there compared with Cha Am.
I don't know if anything has changed but Cha Am used to be much more limited on that side of things.
Obviously, if going out in the evening is not a priority for you, Cha Am has a lot going for it.
( The same for Pranburi / Pak Nam Pran as well. )

[Ratsima]

I first visited Hua Hin in 1991 while waiting for a Lao visa with my late friend "Mr Huge", who was a member here. I loved the place and visited often. In 1997 Mr Huge bought a condo south of Cha Am, just north of the Regent Hotel. I loved that even more.

Why? It's quiet. It's not yet overdeveloped. Except on a very few days the traffic is light and generally manageable. The number of expats is small and the number of foreign tourists even smaller. It feels very much like a Thai town with all the benefits and shortcomings thereof.

The beaches both north and south of Cha Am are great. Most of them have limited access and few amenities which means they are pretty much empty most of the time. (Who wants to go to a beach with no toilet or shower and no beer for sale?)

About ten years ago I bought my own condo south of Cha Am and right on the beach. It's almost 100% Thai owned and generally nearly 100% empty. If we're there during the week we usually have the pool and other facilities all to ourselves. The beach is pretty much empty except on long weekends and a few other holidays.

If you like Thai food, Cha Am has a few gems including Cha Am Little Shop, ป้าแมว (Aunt Cat) Seafood and Aroy.

Cycling in and around Cha Am is great. Good roads. Not much traffic. Plenty to see. My favorite ride is in the foothills in the vicinity of Kaeng Krachan, but I also like to just ride north and explore the many beaches and small fishing villages along the way.

The disadvantages of Cha Am include the lack of Western food restaurants and not much of an expat community. (But, I live in Korat which is even worse.)

We never go to Hua Hin anymore unless my wife has to meet a client and I tag along. It's just too much of a mess.

[Dannie Boy]

As far as expats go, the community is (IMO) a reasonable size - I don’t know where they all live, but if you visit the Wednesday evening night market there are a few bar/restaurants near the market that are packed with many (mainly European) expats.


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