Just spent a week in Samui and 2 weeks in Phuket and have to say that in my opinion HH is a far superior place to live for so many reasons, among them :-
1 - The weather - Shocking doesn't even come close, so many holidaymakers really pissed off at spending loads of dosh and having everything rained off. (March is the 3rd driest month of the year)
2 - Prices - General rule of thumb, take a HH price and double it.
3 - Attitude - All farang are ATM's and ripping them off is fair sport, if you object to being ripped off it is OK to verbally abuse you, (they don't expect farangs to understand what they are saying). Smiles are also much rarer.
4 - Traffic - Phuket traffic is a nightmare, far worse than HH at any time.
5 - Too many bloody foreigners. Especially tearing around on motorbikes, going into bars and restaurants shirtless and treating Thai staff as if they are worthless.