Living here
Written for families weighing up an actual move rather than a fortnight. That means the inconvenient parts are in here too.
Ao Nang itself puts you within walking distance of the beach, the restaurants and the school, at the cost of being in the busiest part of town during high season.
Nong Thale and Klong Muang are quieter, greener and more residential — most families there rent a house with a garden and drive in.
Long-term rentals are usually agreed directly with an owner rather than through an agency, and are considerably cheaper than the nightly rates you will see online.
Housing, food and everyday life cost substantially less than the UK, Ireland, Australia or western Europe. A family house with a pool rents for less than a two-bedroom flat in most European cities.
The costs that catch families out are the ones that are not local: international schooling as children get older, private health insurance, and flights home.
Budget realistically for a car. Ao Nang is walkable in parts, but family life here is much easier with one.
Krabi Town, twenty minutes away, has both public and private hospitals that handle everyday illness, injuries and childhood medicine perfectly well.
Anything specialist means Phuket, two hours by road, or Bangkok by air.
Private health insurance is standard among international families here, and worth arranging before you arrive rather than after.
The dry season, roughly November to April, is what the postcards show — and it is also high season, when the town is busy and prices rise.
The wet season is genuinely wet, in short heavy bursts rather than all-day drizzle. The town empties, the landscape turns spectacular, and life carries on.
School runs through both. Children here spend more of the year outdoors than they would almost anywhere in Europe.
Ao Nang has a sizeable international population and a much smaller one with young children — which means the families who are here find each other fast.
Our own families come from Thailand, the UK, Ireland, across Europe, Australia and beyond, and the classroom mix is one of the reasons children settle quickly.
If you are moving here and would like to be introduced to other families before you arrive, ask us. It is the single most useful thing we can do for a family in transit.
Next step
Even if it is a year away and you are only half serious. We would rather answer questions early than have you arrive with a surprise.
