Another Aussie saying hello...

[JAGfx]

Hey guys, the wife and I are in the process on selling up, so we can travel through SE Asia and beyond in the next few years. Plan on leaving the Gold Coast early 2015 and we were thinking of using Thailand as our base. As I am just over 50, I qualify for the retirement type visa, so Thailand makes sense. We were leaning towards Chiang Mi but we do like being near the beach, so we were looking at other options. To be honest, I'd never heard of Hua Hin before, but now I'm interested. Looking forward to searching through this forum to get more info. I like what I see so far and there appears to be plenty of info here to help make an informed decision. Thanks. Jim

[kendo]

Welcome to the forum have a read of our Forum Start Pack and have a good dig around enjoy

Kendo.

[JAGfx]

Thanks Kendo. Well, we made the big move to Hua Hin and have been here just over a week now. Enjoying it so far and starting to find our way round. It is certainly laid back and not too busy. I especially like the lack of in your face touting you get in the more well known Thai tourist areas. Looking forward to seeing more of the area and meeting up with other expats in our travels. Cheers.

[jimmy40]

Glad you made it my fellow ozzie !!!! As you settle in you will learn heaps, and meet plenty of ex pats.
I think the one piece of advice for you is be very wary of some ex pats, some survive on ripping the newbies.
I was done over by 2 brits when I first got here. You know the seen, they have the flash car the big house and you think oh well he just needs 5k till his cheque clears etc. Next thing there gone.
And its not just the British, I was out one night and an Ozzie had no money on him he claimed he left it back at his house. So I said look here is 7000 baht just meet me up when ever, Never seen him again over $200, so be carefull mate cheers

[JAGfx]

Thanks for the heads up Jimmy. I'm an ex-copper (NT & QLD), so hopefully I'll be a little more switched on and sniff out the scammers before I give them too much And having said that, we are not really running into any other Aussies here at all. Spoke with a few Brits in our travels to date, but most Caucasian tourists seem to be non English speaking Euros or Russians. I am surprised how many travel here but it could be to do with them having colder winters at this time of the year. We've got a rental scooter now, so starting to get out a bit more. All good so far. Cheers.

[jimmy40]

Mate if you go to El murpheys or soi 88 maria bar or Monica bar you will run into some Ozzie blokes.
Most are really nice people. And yes there is a bucket load of pommies, and i think it is to do with the shit weather in there home towns. Careful on the scooter mate, i got plenty of race time under my belt. And i see some of the most bizarre things ever here. The rule is there is not any...

[meross]

Hi JAGfx
Looks like we moved to Hua Hin about the same time. I am from West Oz and lived in Pattaya for 4 years before moving to Hua hin at the end of January. Have bought a house and settling in well. Loved my time in Pattaya but now looking forward to a more relaxed lifestyle here. If you want to catch up or want some advice on visas or life in Thailand in general give us a yell. Oh and I am a self funded retiree and in no need of your money!!!

[JAGfx]

Thanks for the replies guys. Yes, already found El Murpheys and a couple of other bars in that area that may have chance of showing some NRL or Super 15 games. Did a recce a couple of days ago. Also, thanks for the offer meross, as I may take you up on that one day.
Probably just stuck in a crappy age group for this town as technically retired at 51, and the Aussie wife is 49. Don't quite fit into the usual HH retirement scene yet. Not suntanned enough for a start as not that keen to lay out in the stinking hot sun all day. But it is only early days, so plenty of time to socialize. Cheers.

[MareeT]

Hi JagFX
Hubby & I (also younger retired Aussies) arrived here 2 years ago and came with similar intentions...a great base to explore SE Asia. Thus far we have managed to roam far and wide, although probably not as much as we originally thought we would, because I decided that I would like to learn Thai which has tied us down a bit. That said we have managed to explore Thailand extensively, as well as trips to Vietnam & China and on occasion taken spur of the moment trips to Bangkok, Hong Kong & Singapore. Next trip will be Myanmar later this year.

Unfortunately we are currently cooling our heels in Australia for 6 months to keep our residency for tax purposes. This is the only downside to our retirement, but it's not that bad. We are anticipating our return in 8 weeks.

Have fun, get a car .........as riding a motorbike can be a whole world of pain (we have a bike......but only use it to the corner 7/11 and back.

Take Care

[Jimbob]

H iJagfx welcome to a good forum. No trolling but plenty of ribbing if you are a minority like the Welsh and Aussies, and you can talk about cricket!

[dtaai-maai]

... if you are a minority like the Welsh and Aussies...

A very noisy minority!!

Welcome to the forum.

[JAGfx]

Thanks for the welcome guys. Cricket? As I type this, the Kiwis have just rolled the Aussies for about 150 in the World Cup. Not looking good, but it ain't over yet...
And talking of the Welch, one of our Welch friends is actually coming to visit us next weekend. She likes a wine or two, and combined with my wife, the noise levels may rise a tad in HH over that period. At least I don't have to stay sober and drive them around like I had to in Oz. Tuk tuks all the way here...cheers.

[dtaai-maai]

"The Welch" - thanks JAG, I think I'll be able torment a certain pharvey boyo with that one for some time to come!

[Grunter]

Welcome JAGfx,

I am also another Aussie as well. Lived in Southern Thailand for a few years (Songkhla) for work reasons as worked in the Gulf Of Thailand for Chevron & Unocal for a few years. Headed back to Aussie after that for a period & kept returning back to Thailand every few months, was costing a small fortune in flights & hotels. So made the plunge & moved to Thailand full-time, Lived in Bangkok of a few years & after traveling around on my days off from work found Hua Hin & then kept coming here on weekends with my girlfriend at the time when she could get away from work. She owned her own hairdresser shop in BKK & weekends where the only time she could make the time to come to Hua Hin, but we then seemed to spend more time in Hua Hin then BKK. So we planned on a move to Hua Hin. Well she is no longer the girlfriend & now my wife. We have been here coming up to 2 years now & really like the vibe & feel of Hua Hin & currently just finishing off building our new house. I am not in the retirement age as of yet either & she is no where near it as well. But in the project we are building i think there are 5 or 6 Aussies in our street, next door is i know for sure. So there are a few Aussies around here.
You will certainly like Hua Hin & enjoy your time here.

[JAGfx]

Thanks Grunter. We've only been in HH for a month today so still getting a feel for the place. Slowly but surely getting out of the tourist mentality. We are enjoying our time here so far and really like the laid back sort of lifestyle. The wife is not missing her job at all and seems way more de-stressed, so that in itself makes it all worth it. Now it is just up to me to make enough money to live off without dipping into our capital. No pressure! Cheers.