Pre-relocation advice much appreciated!!

[jazzed]

My wife and I are going to be retiring in Thailand in about 1 to 1.5 years. We are 62 and live in San Diego, California. I'm a marketing designer, jazz musician and my wife has been a elementary level Montessori teacher for over 30 years.

We have been traveling freelance in South East Asia for almost 18 years, mainly in Thailand, Philippines and Cambodia (some in Vietnam and China). We fully understand what we are getting into and have put a lot of effort and thought into the move over the years. That said, we believe we need to live in Thailand for 6 months to 1 year in order to make a long term plans.

We have family living in Luzon and have had a good friend living in Thailand for 13 years that has provided us with ongoing first hand knowledge of life in LOS, the good the bad and the ugly.

We visited Hua Hin for 4 days and although we explored mainly on foot, we were very impressed with the area for life style, infrastructure, beaches and the easy access to Bangkok for culture, entertainment, medical facilities and airports.

We will be visiting Hua Hin again in early 2011 and would like to focus on researching the area for possible locations for an initial move. If anyone could help us with information and suggestions before we come it would be greatly appreciated.

Specifically, we will need to explore suitable areas/neighborhoods around Hua Hin to get a general idea of the housing market. Are motorbike rentals still available or will we need to rent or hire a car? Are there other coastal towns/communities either north or south of Hua Hin we should consider looking? Is Cha-Am also worth looking into?

The Expat Hua Hin website is very helpful but any personal thoughts, advice or information anyone can offer is greatly appreciated. There is no substitute for insider ground intel. We thank you in advance and look forward to becoming part of and contributing to the community!!

Kind regards. . .
Chris & Christine

[poosmate]

Plenty of housing. I would drive around a bit first and get a feel for an area. Maybe find a local bar and chat to the residents and get an insight into anywhere you feel looks good. In my opinion a good real estate agent who has lived in the area for a long time should be able to give you some of his local knowledge. I would recommend John Walker who I believe to be as honest as a estate agent can be. He also remains high profile ( look up user JW on this forum) and is friendly with many of his previous clients.
As for north and south of Hua Hin I think North - Chaam does not share the expansion and growth of Hua Hin in recent years as a consequence it is quite run down - dare I say cheap looking
I like to go to Chaam and sit on the beach but for me living there would be out.
South some good areas but again the further out the less Farrang type infrastructure. These areas suit some but personally as a father of school age children I have to be near somewhere that can school them ( even Hua Hin only just scrapes by). I also do not want to have to travel if I want to buy something that is unusual and hard to obtain in Thai only areas like
Butter and other essentials like Dishwasher powder and chicken nuggets
I hope you find what you are looking for there are many on here with good experience - you have to get used to filtering out the doom and gloom house renters

[jazzed]

I should add, we will have retirement, passive and business income of at least 1 million Baht per year but plan on living in a modest style with a reasonable amount of western comforts. I would say security (from break-ins and theft), a clean, quiet neighborhood and 5 or 10 minute access to a beach would be our ideal but we realize there are always trade-offs. A 2 to 3 bedroom (150+ sqm) house or condo would be the right size.

Thanks to all!!

Chris & Christine

[margaretcarnes]

Location wise - for what you describe in HuaHin I would be looking just South of the town centre on Petkhasem Rd. Nowhere is guaranteed crime free, and you will have seen reports here and there about spates of burglaries no doubt. But for proximity to beach and reasonable security there are condos and security controlled developments along that stretch of road up to KhaoTakiap.
Beach access to the North of town is restricted by the palace for a way.
Most people recommend renting for at least 6 months before deciding whether - and where - to buy, and IMO that is good advice.
You will find that pretty much all everyday supplies and household goods are available in HuaHin - no need to travel far to buy anything.
ChaAm is always a controversial subject on here! Good beach - plenty of expats - people either love it or hate it. Best to see for yourselves. It certainly isn't so overun with expats as HuaHin, but neither is there such a wide choice of facilities. Peaceful weekdays and busy with Thai tourists weekends.
Very best of luck - you'll get plenty of advice on here.

[Nereus]

For retirement I would not consider a stand alone house (called a Villa here), and I have both. A Villa is a stone around your neck in many ways. You will have to pay more initially for a Condo, but the advantages far offset that. Most of the Condos in this area are built along the beach, so you also get a view and cool breezes. The security alone with a Condo, cannot be matched with a Villa.

[jazzed]

Thank you all for taking the time to share your expertise and advice.
Kind regards. . .

Chris & Christine

[migrant]

Greetings from another Southern Californian (Orange County)

Not much to add, but you did ask about rentals. We always use Mr. Dang. He's in Cha Am and has been reliable and a good price. He's also a ex cop so helps to be on his good side!!

His Number is 081-5704236 and e-mail is D-carrent@hotmail.com

Tell him George and Dusadee from America gave you his number.

[jazzed]

Thanks for the reference George. Does Mr. Dang rent property, motorbikes or car/driver?

[migrant]

Sorry, quick post!

He rents cars and can probably arrange motorbikes.

[sparrowman]

Loads of property, look around but define your requirements first.
Do you need a big house, think about resale etcs
I always use huahinthaipropertyshop. They sort everything from housing, motor insurance, buying, open bank accounts etc. Good service

[morts]

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[margaretcarnes]

Just a quick update on the Condo situation (for the benefit of the OP) I've heard that 2 new blocks are either planned or already going up on Petkasem - one either side of Condo Chain?