Anyone living in PHUKET?.....or Bali?

[laptopwieldingharpy]

A number of friends currently living in Singapore and Hong Kong are thinking of moving their family to Phuket or Bali to cut expenses whilst continuing to live in HK or Singapore and commuting weekends.
Economically its a very viable option as housing, schools and living costs are way cheaper and most importantly due to the lack of school places it is looking much more attractive than the possibility of sending kids back to boarding school.

would very much appreciate any thoughts or experiences on the subject.

TIA

Well I would not want to move to Bali because the traffic is even worse than blardy Hong Kong and it's too overdeveloped now.

Given the choice, and assuming kids were secondary school and willing, I'd opt for BS in the UK or we'd all move back.

I think it's too much of a faff to split the family when you're already all overseas.

I wouldn't want to live on Phuket TBH. It's too small and the school isn't all that. We lived in Bangkok for four years and went to Phuket at least once a month.
Bear in mind that foreigners - ie people who don't have a Thai passport can't own land. They can own appartments, but not a house.

The Green School looks pretty good- but Bali is expensive and crowded. Phuket schools aren't anything to write home about.

Perhaps living in Johor and sending the children to Marlborough might work if you are happy to commute across the border to Singapore.

Personally I think it is a step too far on the " expat trail" to live in Bali or Phuket. I would find it mind numbingly boring. Saying that I know people at the green school and they love it. You need to have inherent hippy genes tho to get the full benefit
Me? I love the bustle of hong kong and would rather lower my living standards than move to a beach resort to save cash. But each to their own. Know people who do it and love it. Sri Lanka is also another place where more and more expat families are going too.

Thank you for your replies.
Am thinking along the same lines....Island fever might set in very quickly.

My children are still little so Boarding out of the question for at least another 5-6 years for the eldest.
That said, I absolutely love HK but would seriously consider instead of Singapore.
It has become so expensive and congested and smug (the latter is not new but just getting worse - Singaporeans dont's compare well with the feisty creative HKers, or maybe am just a contrarian at heart and the general ethos here doesn't sit with me too well)

Anyway just rambling. Sick of paying extortionate rents and waiting for places in a (not even great) school!

I live in Bangkok and go to Phuket at least once a month. I am bored of the island after a weekend - its v hippy trail once you are off the beaches, with a significant drug and prostitution issue. So depending on how old the kids are, it may not be a healthy environment for them to live in. Its also utter dullsville, very little to do, and with very average schools.

We looked at the weekend commute from Phuket, also Samui, but decided against it for the above reasons.

Bali is also v dull.

Oh well, am sick of weekends in Phuket too tbh, you are right of course.

TheBossofMe,, true about drugs and prostitution culture. For years we only went to Malaysia on weekends as I was really put of by that....And then you start becoming oblivious to that and stay in the resort.

Thanks. Not a great idea after all.

I also thought it was a great idea when I first moved here - Asian cities are v dirty and smoggy.

Chiang Mai is gorgeous - no idea about schools though, is that doable? Much more to do, and the bliss of the cools hills, the beautiful clear streams, very active lifestyle. Someone I work with does a weekend commute from Chiang Mai and loves it - albeit he doesn't have kids. I think the drug/hooker problem is much less prevalent than other parts of Thailand.

Two very good schools in Chiang Mai.
Same number of bar girls/boys and drugs. Less visible.

Really, that's a shame. To be fair, I've spent most of my time in Chiang Mai hurtling down rivers on kayaks and rafts, so may not be the best person to advise!

Hi laptop,
Just stumbled across this as we're considering this too. Off this weekend to look at BIS again and compare it with Phuket academy which I keep hearing rave reviews about...
Still thinking about it?