Living in Hua Hin

Until a decade ago, Hua Hin was one of those places where Thais went to get away from Bangkok and enjoy some fresh seafood. One of the residences of His Majesty added to the allure.

In more recent times, long-stay travelers and expats have built homes and bought condominiums. It isn't "Pattaya West", but it seems headed that direction. The sois in the central area have numerous beer bars. But that aspect of Hua Hin is easy to avoid. Map of restaurants in Hua Hin

An expat doing his due diligence will find the Hua Hin has a startling variety of housing available. Townhouses rent for as little as Bt 6,000. Single condo rooms start at around Bt 7,000. High rise condos on the south end of greater Hua Hin sell above Bt 10 million.

A recent billboard in Pranburi, 30 km south of Hua Hin, touted some pool villas adajacent to the fancy Evason Resort at Bt 36 million.

Generally speaking, Hua Hin housing is expensive. Much of that can be attributed to well-off westerners who visit Hua Hin on holiday, fall in love with the area and buy a vacation home.

Besides a wide array of normal small shops selling everything from clothing to garden tools, Hua Hin has a modern shopping mall. Market Village has a Tesco, Home Pro, Sizzlers, Pizza Company, KFC, Swensens, Haagen Dazs, Starbucks. Add a food court, movie thearer, bowling alley, bank branches and and IT shops .. and some traffic issues.