borneo diving looks chai yoo!

Any reasonably-sized computer store will have several models.

if you have a decent phone you can use it for thetering now

Just visited Phuket for the first time (live in Chiang Mai) and loved it.

How practical is living there for those of you that do? Chiang Mai generally makes living pretty easy/efficient/cheap for consistent grinding. Any thoughts on how different it might be living in Phuket?

Stayed in Karon and partied in Patong, no experience anywhere else there.

Any info appreciated. Thanks.

this - iphone/blackberry tethering > air card imo.

i got a dtac aircard awhile back tho, was alright, can probably get them at any dtac/ais/true shop w/ passport and maybe proof of address

Lonely Beach on Koh Chang is the nuts! not really close to phuket though.

CM is cheaper, although i think it's a bit easier to live in Phuket than CM, they're pretty close on that scale. it's still not too expensive here in phuket. i think that the strongest selling points for phuket are beauty (mountains and beaches really are spectacular here) and community (having interacted with the other communities on a limited basis in thailand, i don't think it's even close....)

CM is lacking in Falang oriented nightlife of any quality, but I think the non-falang oriented nightlife in CM is better than phuket's... Karon is an ok area, although no one here is staying there long term. the community in this thread is mostly in kata/Chalong/Rawai

Interesting, what exactly about the community do you like more?

Agree with you about the appeal, the nature/topography of course and the diversity in night-life and general population stuck out the most.

Chalong/Rawai seem a little far from Patong which I understand is the night-life capitol. What types of places do you get there and in Kata anyway? Houses seem a lot more expensive then up here in Chiang Mai. Can pretty much only find apartment villas.

As for internet, gym, groceries, maid services etc, pretty easy to get at a high quality?

Understand internet you can just use mobile tethering which I did on this recent trip down, could only pick up 2G but was still pretty fast.

You guys must be loving living in that paradise. Not that Chiang Mai isn't beautiful and really enjoyable in its own right, but those beaches are pretty unreal.

Thanks for the response.

well, i'll admit that i like the community more b/c I've had some influence in it's creation... for quite a while now a high percentage of the more helpful people ITT have been phuketeers, so naturally when 2+2'ers come to thailand, the ones looking for a community are slightly predisposed to coming here. We're not very cliquish, if you aren't a social leper or a dick, you'll quickly be welcome to join us for sports, dinners, nights out, etc. there's usually someone willing to help people learn their way around, etc, learn the ropes. we're a pretty open group in general, and most of us who are long termers here really like having the transient element of the community around.

others can elaborate on gyms better than I can. I've been to Don's Gym in kata, which is alright. guys who are much more knowledgable about fitness seem to prefer Chalong Gym.

Internet is good if you pick the right package, or use CDMA (on most parts of the island)

i'm sure maids are slightly more expensive here than in CM. I think we do slightly better at groceries than CM, but i didn't really get to know the town that well, guys who've spent a good amount of time in both will have a better idea than i do, i've only been to CM for a little less than a month.

The biggest drawback to Phuket is transportation, IMO. no metered taxis and corrupt Tuk Tuks make it more expensive than anywhere else in thailand to get rides. we usually use our buddy who is a private driver, or ride motorbikes. having someone drive you isn't cheap, though. if you're not interested in riding a motorbike, that's a big strike against phuket.

those of us who live here only go to patong once or twice a week, and that's the ones of us that go out 4-7 nights a week... and very few want to live there. the food is better in the south, and it's also where most of us live (as stated before, community is a big plus here, and staying in patong makes it less valuable) Karon would not have that drawback, though. at least not much.

houses are cheaper in CM, although living anywhere in the popular areas of BKK is probably more expensive. I've got a 2br/2ba house that i'm paying 15k/month for, right in the middle of Kata, but that's on the cheaper end of what people pay here. last year i was staying in a 4 1/2 BR place for 90k/mo.... but it was sick.

for guy deciding between cm or phuket just ask yourself 3 questions:

mountains or beach?
touristy or not touristy?
light or dark?

Chalong and rawai are a bit far from patong but it hasnt slowed down people from going there if they want a night out. there are also one club each in rawai and nai harn where ppl frequent phuket town having a few more. the kata/chalong/rawai area is still in the center considering all the night life in phuket. distances to all 3 of the spots i mentioned is pretty much the same from kata.

for internet you have reliable adsl options and CDMA aircard for backup and i guess gprs for 2nd backup as phuket doenst have much (if any) 3G yet

we have villamarket near here for us in chalong and phuket has a few more stores that import food from around the world so you do get more than just the tesco stuff here.

the community in phuket plays a lot of sports (football, basketball, frisbee & beach volleyball), has nights&dinners&BBQs etc.

been to CM only once back when myironthumb was the only 2+2er there so i guess a lot of things has changed since so i dont know what they do

for me CM was cheaper yes but i just missed the scenery in phuket pretty fast. cant see myself moving there anytime soon :/

Dont expect too much diversity in nightlife though.
Its just girlybars and clubs filled with sexpats and freelancers that play commercial club music that you would typically hear on a highschool party.
There are quite a few good (beach)clubs around in phuket, but we never go there cause klauses gotta klaus.

I didnt realise there was that much of a community down in Phuket,its good to hear tbh.

How many are actually there full time or long term?

I was in vegas for a few months a couple of years ago,just before i came to Pattaya,and i met alot of great ppl there.

I cam to Pattaya thinking the same thing was going to happen,and it just didnt.

Totally different (on the whole) type/class of person here.

Its taken time,but ive finally got some great pals here now.

If anyone wants any tips about Pattaya give me a nudge, no problem.

10-15 longterm + ppl randomly staying 3-6months all the time

Rutang: didn't realize you meant 2+2 community. Don't know if there's much of one in Chiang Mai, a couple good friends from back home and I here.

Yea the Phuket nightlife seemed pretty sexpat heavy, then again it is Thailand. Phuket has some good "normal" clubs from what I hear that get big headliners etc as well, anyone with experience?

The beach, sports, and their combination is the biggest appeal for sure.

Have a lease in Chiang Mai for a couple more months then deciding on whether to stay or head down South. Until then, will definately be frequenting Phuket. Should look into when you guys are organizing another pickup game perhaps.

Thanks for the replies.

Spent last 3 months in Phuket and found the nightlife absolutely atrocious, so went back to BKK. I'll miss the beach, the big house and clean air, but that's about it.

Phuket is overpriced, has crappy service, no transportation and seems to have 80% bar girls. Just my opinion obviously^^

80% bargirls and 19% coyote girls amirite?

no just 80% bar girls, haven't seen any girl worth describing as coyote

Is the speeds faster on an aircard or about the same as iphone - I wanted to be able to torrent tv shows which was one of my concerns.

Phuket has tons of good nightlife all over. There is actually a really cool spot 2 mins away from RobbieV's house that hosts full moon party's every month with big names performing. Also these places get frequented by heaps of beautiful of non-working girls, both Thai and expats.

If you do end up here Somnius pm me and ill show you around.

phuket has beautiful mountains also, the fist one is a wash for phuket. while they both have touristy and non touristy areas, CM's non touristy bar scene is absolutely fantastic... and the third one is definitely dead on. the girls in CM have a way lighter skin than both the Isaan imports in Phuket, and the chocolate brown southern girls, who IMO are the hottest type of girls in Thailand. Most people find CM girls to be hotter, though.... and thai people, who love pale skin, pretty much have a consensus that CM has the hottest girls.

only if you like house music, and an empty dance floor.

having clarified that he really enjoyed patong, i'm guessing that there is little crossover with your nightlife tastes.

Last time I was in Phuket this girl I met took me to some really cool Thai-oriented bars/clubs. I was the only white dude I saw the whole night and the places were packed. Just like a lot of places you'd see in Thonglor Ekkami area of BKK. They either played Thai music or standard top-40 pop stuff.

look empty to you?
this was last night. def one of the coolest parties iv'e been to in phuket.

so the opening gala with roger sanchez had people at it? sounds like the place is a lock to overcome the horrible location, and staff that screwed up so much when it was sound club.....

Sound Club, Clublime, Stereolab... all tried and failed to get people in the door.

i might have come last night, vincent, but paying a 750 baht cover to hear a DJ I already know will play music i won't like..... while my friends visiting sit in my house their last night in town without me, seemed like a bad idea, just to see some girls swimming in bikinis... well, maybe i made the "klausy" choice or something...

there are some cool thai oriented discos in phuket town and some less cool ones in various spots around the island. everybody is different. i'd rather go to those than to a place that plays house music, but what i want is Hip Hop, DnB, Dubstep, etc. there's no question that BKK is the place for those scenes... but i'll make do with Seduction while i'm here.