Ubon, Udon or elsewhere

Post by **reamer** » June 13, 2013, 4:27 pm

I am planning to up sticks and leave Bangkok shortly. Anyone spent much time in Ubon and how did you find it ? I look for a place with a bit of land to rent long term for a small non commercial farming project.

I am interested to hear about any spots people have found nice to live as very flexible with where i go.

Post by **jimboLV** » June 14, 2013, 1:03 pm

Reamer, it's hard to give you advice without knowing more about you. But I can give you some thoughts based on my experience. I lived in UDon for about two years, then we moved to a small town about 70 km from UBon. Mainly because it is my wife's hometown, she has a large extended family, knows practically everybody in town, owns property here, and when our baby was born The grandparents gifted her (the baby) with several rai of farmland. We then built our house here.

In general we found Udon to be a nice place to live. There are lots of falangs living there, which means lots of falang restaurant and shops. It is terribly overcrowded in Udon, traffic congestion can be maddening and probably is the main reason we left. Although you can always work around that. We enjoy an occasional visit to Udon although we go into Ubon every couple of weeks for some shopping.

The major difference between the two is that there are not as many farangs in Ubon. I still get stared at a lot, especially when I'm with my wife and 3 year old daughter (plus wife is pregnant again, so even more stares). I can go to the local Big C and Tesco and occasionally spot one or two other farangs. And when you smile at them they actually return the smile and sometimes engage in some chit chat which they don't seem to do anymore in Udon.

You can probably find some land to rent close in to Ubon, unless you really want to be out in the sticks. Don't know about Udon.

Can't comment on the bar situation as I don't partake. As for the women I would give a slight edge to Ubon. I don't know why, but the women here seem to somewhat cuter than in Udon. A slight stroll around Big C and I see at least a dozen "stunners". One thing I have noticed is that if you happen to make eye contact with the cuteys they almost always return the smile.

So that will give you a rough idea of the two. If you have any specific questions feel free to post away or PM me. And I'm sure some other members on here can fill you in.

Post by **thrilled** » June 15, 2013, 3:10 am

You can find farangs to say Hi to you in Udon.But you might have to start it off.Depends on the situation

Post by **thaiguzzi** » June 15, 2013, 1:52 pm

Ubon has a much nicer landscape... river, mountains etc. The countryside is much prettier.

Post by **reamer** » June 18, 2013, 6:10 pm

Thank you for the detailed reply. I am like the sound of Ubon thus far and think a few week holiday will be on the agenda very soon. River and mountains sounds more palatable than a barren dust bowl. I like driving so will be happy to be up to 50 km outside Ubon. For the farm project i need at least 1 acre.

Post by **KHONDAHM** » June 21, 2013, 2:40 am

In Ubon, people (Thais and foreigners) are more friendly whereas that seems to be fading away here in Udon. But Udon beats Ubon easily from an infrastructure and future potential perspective.

Retiree with no kids and wanting less interaction with the world = Ubon
Raising a family = Udon

Post by **farlong68** » June 21, 2013, 4:51 am

in the some where else group how about ban phai or roi et just asking any ideas thanks john

Post by **WBU ALUM** » June 21, 2013, 7:28 am

farlong68 wrote:in the some where else group how about ban phai or roi et just asking any ideas thanks john

In my travels in the last few years, I have found many places in Thailand where I would enjoy living.

Roi Et is one. Ban Phai is a tad small, but it's just a skip away from Khon Kaen, which is a city I enjoy visiting very much. Surin and Buriram hold some attraction, but Surin would get the edge. Surin has a larger foreigner community than Buriram, which is still a small, rural town. I would characterize Kalasin as a "nice, quiet place."

It's all a matter of what one prefers. The best way to gauge it is to travel, stay there awhile over several days, talk to people and make return trips. It's not a decision that I would make overnight or even after one visit.

Post by **farlong68** » June 21, 2013, 8:55 am

wbu thanks for the input sounds like you've got a bit of traveling in issan behind you...weve been in and out of issan for 45plus years and thought we had a plan we would retire to udorn but our last two trips 3 and 4 years ago we were stunned at the growth and traffic in udorn and are now seeking a new base smaller but close to kk or udorn for medical reasons and of course the food hotels and shopping....prefer to be on rail line as my driving days are coming to end in just a few years (im diabetic) and my wifes driving well its Asian housewife driving ouch....any more info you could provide would be helpful....oh thanks for standing up to lefty libs on this forum as a vet I just don't get where they've misplaced their logic chips.... thanks john

Post by **WBU ALUM** » June 21, 2013, 9:56 am

farlong68 wrote:wbu thanks for the input sounds like you've got a bit of traveling in issan behind you...weve been in and out of issan for 45plus years and thought we had a plan we would retire to udorn but our last two trips 3 and 4 years ago we were stunned at the growth and traffic in udorn and are now seeking a new base smaller but close to kk or udorn for medical reasons and of course the food hotels and shopping....prefer to be on rail line as my driving days are coming to end in just a few years (im diabetic) and my wifes driving well its Asian housewife driving ouch....any more info you could provide would be helpful....oh thanks for standing up to lefty libs on this forum as a vet I just don't get where they've misplaced their logic chips.... thanks john

I sent you a PM. Holler any time.

Post by **parrot** » June 21, 2013, 8:50 pm

You can easily live on the outskirts of Udon (5-20km outside the city) and be within easy range of what it has to offer. The highway between Udon and Nongbualamphu, as an example, is a split, 4 lane road, no congestion, good electric.
It's been a few years since I've been on the trains here.....I stopped because they became too ratty, slow, behind schedule. Maybe that's changed. If you want to invest a little money, find yourself a dependable driver (maybe a gardener/driver) and let him do the hard work for you.
For all its growth over the past few years, my wife and I find it relatively easy to avoid the traffic....we're retired. We can arrange our schedule around the busy times.
Good luck with your move.