Scott Beecham from Baan Phu Thara Mountainside in Hua Hin offers an insightful look at how to fully embrace the lifestyle here while avoiding common pitfalls.
He shares advice drawn from his 18 years of experience living in the area, touching on everything from social habits to staying active, adapting to cultural differences, and making the most of Hua Hin’s incredible food scene.
It is always so easy for us to wax lyrical about how great living in Thailand is, but I am going to be somewhat negative for once because, if you are not careful, Thailand can chew you up and spit you out. I have seen it happen many times, whereby the party lifestyle takes over, or people let frustrations with cultural differences affect them too much. Here are a few areas that I feel are worth attention, and having lived here for 18 years now, I am in a good position to give advice.
Partying
Thailand is fun, and it’s a great place to let your hair down and have a party. However, as I have seen many times, once you are actually living here, it’s a good idea to be aware of how often it is happening, as it can easily take over and have very negative effects. Alcohol goes very well with the tropical lifestyle, and it is cheap—very cheap, if you need it to be. Do not underestimate the negative effects it has on your health, and try to be aware of how much you are consuming. If you have come to Thailand to hopefully meet someone to settle down with, then meeting people while partying in bars is probably not the best strategy. Take your time and don’t fall in love with the first person to flutter their eyelids at you.
Don’t get bored
This is closely related to the first point, especially if you do not have a job to keep you occupied. It’s very easy to fall into a cycle of drinking and lazing around, so get active and get yourself out there.
Hua Hin has a great expat community, and there are many fantastic activities and clubs to get you moving and meeting new people.
A few good suggestions would be the Hua Hin Trail Runners, pickleball teams, Take 5 Golf Society, cycling clubs, kite surfing, CrossFit, martial arts gyms (and gyms in general).
There is so much to do here. The great thing about living in the tropics is that it’s easy to embrace an outdoor lifestyle, which is excellent for your health and overall mood, and Hua Hin is the perfect place to meet positive, like-minded people.
Cultural differences
If you allow yourself to get bored and fall into a negative cycle of behaviour, it’s easy to find fault in everything. We see it all the time with the negative comments on Facebook forums—all the whining expats complaining about the roads, the service, and the fact people are late, etc. We can learn a lot from the Thais and the way they approach life. It is much more ‘go with the flow,’ and I would say they are far less likely to let small details bother them in the way some of us expats do. I make sure to stop and be grateful for small things several times a day, which really helps to keep my mind in the right place.
Read more from Scott Beecham on property and living in Hua Hin
Food
I’ll hold my hands up as a total hypocrite here and say: try not to eat too much. The food here is amazing, and there is such a huge variety. Intermittent fasting is a good strategy to monitor calorie intake, and also try to cook at home sometimes so you know exactly what you are eating. But it’s hard with so many amazing restaurants and options in Hua Hin. On that note, I am off to the Centara for Christmas lunch to consume thousands of calories.
If you’re considering relocating to Hua Hin or looking to buy property, reach out to Scott today for more information and guidance.
🌐 https://thaicountryhomes.com/
📞 092 760 5589
📧 thaicountryhomes@gmail.com
📱 https://www.facebook.com/baanphuthara
