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Yes, Thailand has four-million-dollar properties, but you’ll also find nice homes for well under $150,000. (And if you’re prepared to go off the beaten track, you’ll find them for below $25,000.) Even in beach resorts like Pattaya, you can buy a basic studio for under $17,000. In short, there are properties to meet most people’s pockets. Eating out, living costs, health care, spa treatments: everything is so affordable it’s almost ridiculous. Put it this way. A couple can feast like the old royalty of Siam for under $10—and Thai food is one of the world’s great cuisines. In the heart of southeast Asia, the Kingdom of Thailand borders Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. Until 1939, it was called the Kingdom of Siam. The land’s area is around the size of Texas, but it’s such a long skinny country, from north to south you’re traveling almost 1,200 miles. 60 Sixty million people live here, most of the time pretty peaceably. There’s a Muslim presence in the far south, but the vast majority of the Thai people are Buddhists. Phuket
Phuket is Thailand’s largest island. Before the tsunami struck, it was the country’s richest province, richer even than Bangkok. In the past, the wealth largely came from tin production, but nowadays its strength is as a sophisticated tropical vacation paradise—the Andaman Sea forms part of the Indian Ocean. Ringed by 32 small islands, and myriad rocky pillars and hump-backed outcrops smothered in jungle vegetation, Phuket is only eight degrees north of the Equator. With a 300,000-strong population and a land mass roughly the same size as Singapore, it isn’t only for vacationers and sailing enthusiasts. Around 8,000 expatriates are resident here, enjoying the easy-going Thai lifestyle. There’s a good international hospital, mega-sized supermarkets, and Dulwich College is one of southeast Asia’s most prestigious international schools. Flights to Bangkok take an hour, and Phuket is connected by bridges to southern Thailand’s mainland. Although land and house prices doubled in the past five years, the island still offers good value homes in one of the world’s most awesomely-beautiful locations. Surprisingly, the current lack of tourists has had limited impact on property prices. In fact, prices rose by 4% in the first six months of this year. The average price for new condominium projects is now $136 per square foot. Developers remain committed, with more new projects coming on stream on the island’s east coast. However, the majority are still located on the west coast, home to the island’s most famous white sandy beaches. New project take-ups are averaging 51%, as opposed to pre-tsunami levels of 60%. Depending on
what you’re seeking, properties go from $35,000 for small apartments to
$250,000 and upward for villas of 2,000 to 2,500 square feet. Like elsewhere
in the world, beachfront or ocean views hike up the price. For small quality
homes of around 1,300 square feet in an up-and-coming beach area like Nai
Harn, think more like $140,000..
To be honest, you’ll either love Bangkok or hate it. If you find noise and crowds bothersome, it’s probably not for you. Much of the time, there’s not enough space to walk freely on the sidewalks—they’re spilling over with clothes stalls, food stalls, people doing outdoor cooking, women making flower garlands for the temples, people making clothes on sewing machines—it really is life lived on the street. Be warned that the pollution can be pretty fierce in summer. Even in winter, the street sweepers wear masks. And while Bangkok isn’t really a dirty city, it’s definitely not Switzerland. Condominium homes near a Skytrain, or subway stop, score high on the location factor for both expats and investors. Whether you plan to live or invest in Bangkok, traffic congestion needs to be taken into consideration. There’s no city center as such, but several busy and popular ones. They include the CBD (Central Business District), Sathorn, Central Lumpini, Sukhumvit Road, Pathumwan, and Riverside. They’re all areas which attract expat interest. At the end of 2002, quality “Grade A” condos in the Central Business Districts ranged from $148 to $170 per square foot. Ongoing projects in the same area now sell for $193 to $273. Both expats and investors mostly seek two- and three-bedroom units. But if you drop down from luxury to “decent” level, you’ll find plenty of resale properties in the $62 to $227 per square foot bracket. As in most cities, the smaller the property, the more expensive the cost of floor space. Rental houses can be more difficult to find. Unlike highrise buildings, they’re rarely situated on main roads. More often than not, the developments are a few miles out of the central area. Depending on location, four-bedroom houses mostly rent for between $1,350 and $2,930 monthly. Chiang Mai
Beyond the city, Chiang Mai province is a mosaic of whitewater rafting rivers, jungly mountains, and hill-tribe villages. This is the old kingdom of Lanna, a land of gabled teakwood houses, elephant work camps, and a million rice-fields. With artisan traditions going back centuries, Chiang Mai is Thailand’s arts and crafts center. Major draw cards are hand-loomed fabrics, teak furniture, silver-smithing and metalwork, woodcarving, lacquerware, paper-making, and ceramics. It’s also good for hunting down genuine and replica antiques. Best known for its mammoth Night Bazaar, the city attracts scores of wholesale buyers—prices here are generally cheaper than elsewhere in Thailand. On average, wholesale discounts are 20% to 50% lower than retail. But even retail prices are substantially below what similar items cost back home. Chiang Mai’s name translates as “the new city.” All depends on how you qualify “new”—it was actually founded back in 1296. However, there’s a modern city outside the historic core and there are plenty of opportunities to buy a condo. Udon Thani
Once you’ve rented or bought a property, expats say it’s easily possible to live here on $490 per month. It’s hard putting an exact figure on monthly grocery/eating out bills. Much depends on your tastes, how often you eat out, and also how much alcohol you drink. In the City Lodge, Farang food such as steak pie and fries is $4.40; full English fry-up breakfast served with toast, orange juice, tea or coffee is $2.93. Thai food dishes
are a lot cheaper—between $1.47 and $2.20. Menu choices include local favorites
as Khow Tom Gung (shrimp rice porridge) and Pat Grapow (chicken or pork
fried in basil and chili). “Eat street” and it’s even less—but be aware
that some Isaan food might not tempt your tastebuds. Spicy toad stew is
a rural staple.
Hua Hin
For much of its history, Hua Hin traditionally focused on domestic tourism rather than the international trade. But that’s changing fast. Proximity to Bangkok—new international standard hotels—restaurants built on stilts in the sea that now cater to foreign as well as Thai tastes. It’s not surprising that the developers have moved in. Hua Hin’s history as a resort goes back to the early 1920s when King Rama VII came here to escape Bangkok’s sultriness. He built a palace called Klai Kangwon (Far From Worries) Palace and it’s still an official royal residence. Naturally many of old Siam’s moneyed classes emulated their King and built their own beachfront homes. Koh Samui
With over 30 top class spas, Koh Samui can keep even the most ardent health and wellness freak blissed out for weeks. The Chedi, one of the island’s best spas, is styled like a Thai village. In your own private wooden pavilion, you’ll pay $85 for a three-hour pampering session that includes a bergamot oil body massage, a Thai honey facial, and a herbal steam. On the beach, an hour’s foot reflexology or a traditional Thai massage costs $8 to $10. Home to 40,000 people, Samui is dubbed Coconut Island. For good reason—along with tourism and fishing, coconuts form a major part of its economy. Around two million are exported to Bangkok and the Thai mainland each month, most of them picked by specially trained monkeys. Most go to make coconut oil and coconut cream, an ingredient in Thai green curry. Samui’s silver strands are its major draw. The sea is warm and mostly crystal-clear, with lots of opportunities for sea kayaking, sailing and boat excursions. Samui is just one of an archipelago of 80 smaller islands—those of Ang Thong National Marine Park are prime locations for scuba-diving and snorkeling. There are few “sights,” but if relaxation tops your priority list, it’s hard finding fault with the area. Beyond the beaches, the forested interior offers treks on foot or by elephant to waterfalls and natural rock bathing pools curtained with emerald ferns. There’s an 18-hole golf course and you can catch Muay Thai kick-boxing bouts twice weekly at Chaweng Stadium. Tickets start at $7.80. Although dining out costs more than most other places in Thailand, you won’t be ripped off. Many restaurants display the day’s seafood catch—it’s sold by weight and you pick whatever takes your fancy. In Chaweng, at the Long Table restaurant, two people can have a sumptuous meal of grilled tiger prawns with a lemon and chili dip, spring rolls with plum sauce, then silver snapper in ginger and coconut for less than $20. Pattaya
Like neighboring Jomtien, Rayong, and other locations along the Chonburi coast, Pattaya is booming. High-end condo developments and business centers are going up everywhere. Prices have risen 20% in the last year. And the trend is likely to continue in the coming years. Here’s the reason. When Bangkok’s new international airport comes into operation next spring, it will slash the current two-hour road journey between the capital and Pattaya by half. Frustrated by Bangkok’s pollution and traffic problems, Thai and international companies are already moving into Rayong’s industrial park, creating a big demand for rental property in nearby Pattaya and Jomtien. More and more people are also buying houses and condominiums as first homes, vacation homes, or retirement residences. The increased availability of retail outlets, recreational activities, health services, and international schools have combined to increase the area’s attractiveness to prospective long-term residents. The demand for new residential properties, especially quality condominiums, is huge. Very few Grade “A” condo developments were launched in the last decade, and this has resulted in a limited supply. Showing good capital appreciation, most of the activity over the last few years has been in resales. One example is the Royal Cliff condominiums. Until the end of 2003, it was possible to buy a 2,150-square-foot unit for $171,000. Today, that same unit sells for $244,000. A more basic bolt-hole? At the bargain basement end, $16,000 to $25,000 buys small studios in the Jomtien Suites, the Majestic, and View Talay—the latter a pair of massive highrise condo residences on Jomtien’s outskirts. Practically a Pattaya suburb, Jomtien is only a 15-minute drive away. For these types of studio properties, annual maintenance fees come in at around $88. Although Jomtien
possesses some tawdry bars, it has more of a family feel than Pattaya.
The British, Scandinavians, and Russians are here in sizable numbers, as
couples or with their kiddies. But like in Pattaya, Jomtien beach isn’t
great. The bay forms a magnificent blue horseshoe, but the coarse brown
sands are very narrow.
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