I'm moving to Thailand!

[huskychemist]

Sawadee krap.

It's official. I'm moving with my family (wife and five year old son) to Pattaya. We're hoping to actually live either in Naklua or Jomtien, to avoid the touristy madness of Pattaya. I'll be teaching at International School Eastern Seaboard, which is near the Bhupara (sp?) golf course, east of Chonburi. At this point, the plan is to teach there for two years, and then decide what to do next... (Stay for more, move to another country, or move back to the US.)

I am incredibly excited to experience another culture, learn another language (as much as I can...), and see places I never thought I'd get to.

And...of course, I'm excited about the diving, even if Pattaya isn't the best in Thailand.


So...any advice on the area? If you were moving to this area, where would you live? What about local dive shops for purchasing gear? I have all my own gear, but I'm contemplating getting new tanks once I'm in Thailand, as my steel 120s are heavy, and would be expensive to ship. Any thoughts on tanks? I've found quite a bit of information on dive ops in Pattaya...but not on shops to buy gear.


Thanks! Feel free to PM if you'd like.

Lowell

 

[limbo]

Hi Lowell,

Congrats with your asignment and move to Thailand.

There's plenty of options on everything in PTY. The rent in PTY is about the lowest in all of Thailand and education for children is good and affordable, in contrast to other places in Thailand, where either one is lacking.

There are plenty of Dive Shops, two of the bigger ones are Mermaids (located in Jomtien) and Aquanauts.
There are retail shops as well, Dive Supply is probably the biggest in Thailand. In the LOS (Land of Smiles), as far as I know, everybody dives on Alu tanks, which Dive Supply sell.

Naklua or Jomtien sound good to me to live in, I would not recommend to live in the PTY 'downtown' area. Possibly at the 'other' side of Sukhumvit. Unfortunately I'm not too familiar with the 'good' living areas.

 

[josh]

And...of course, I'm excited about the diving, even if Pattaya isn't the best in Thailand.

Lowell

Maybe not the best in Thailand, but you should find enough to keep you occupied. Some interesting and challenging dives, good wrecks and some nice small critters. You will have fun.

Most of the diving is done off boats on day trips, and tanks are included, so unless you have a special reason, it may not be worth bringing your own. However, the normal ones are the 12 liter al tanks, so if you want anything different from that, you may have to hunt around.
-j-

 

[ams511]

Good luck on your move.

 

[Batfish]

Welcome to Thailand

 

[Matt S.]

Congrats. PM me if you decide to sell your steel tanks.

 

[Arizona]

Lowell.
Welcome to Thailand I've been teaching internationally for about 5 years. So far I've been in Bangkok for a year and been to many dive sites around Thailand. Let me know if you need any advice. I will be doing my DM this summer in Samui. Pattaya wrecks are interesting. I did the Hardeep last weekend.
Gear is much cheaper in the US. I bought most of my gear from Scubatoys on line and have had no problems. I would suggest buying big items at home. You can get anything you need here, but again it will be a bit more.
Arizona

 

[h90]

Sattahip should be near and there is a Thai DC which is friendly (on the emails) and offer good prices. Maybe worth to look...

 

[Scuba-Jay]

congrats on the move! I myself am moving to Utila Honduras April 1st to continue my diving carreer. soo excited to finally get everything into place. good luck!!

 

[Batfish]

Enjoy Utila S-J, and don't eat too many Johnny Cakes. If you happen by Utila Dive Centre, well hell they won't remember me anyway. Been too long. Have a Salva Vida for me.