Best tropical place to live?

[PassinBy]

I haven't been to Pattaya because I've heard it's basically an open-air brothel.
I have met some people who loved it, but they were gross sexpats... But maybe it's better outside the touristic areas?
I've also heard that the average age for Westerners is more like 60-70+...

Walking Street yes, but there’s nice beaches and pleasant local towns further south. Go where Thai people go!

 

[PassinBy]

Really depends on what you're looking for.
But basically Downtown and Palm Jumeirah. There are also some family-friendly communities like Arabian Ranches and Al Bahari, but I haven't been there.
But prices are crazy everywhere.

Deira and Al Barsha appeal to me more.
I like a local vibe and street life.

 

[providenceventurer]

Deira and Al Barsha appeal to me more.
I like a local vibe and street life.

I have stayed in Deira specially during my early commodities brokerage days- its pretty crowded although full of filipino and Indian chicks ( Indian chicks are useless).My evening pastime used to be hunting for filipino chicks.Al Barsha is not bad stayed there too..But i like greens more i bought one apartment nearby to greens.Greens and beyond is area of Russian Chicks.So going by metro stations before business bay Indian and Filipino Chicks are available and after Business Bay area of Russian Chicks- this is the division roughly.Now based on this you can understand why its pricier after you cross Business bay metro towards Greens etc.Its a price for the type of Chicks basically. You go to Palm Jumeirah even more pricier Chicks and buildings.

 

[PassinBy]

I have stayed in Deira specially during my early commodities brokerage days- its pretty crowded although full of filipino and Indian chicks ( Indian chicks are useless).My evening pastime used to be hunting for filipino chicks.Al Barsha is not bad stayed there too..But i like greens more i bought one apartment nearby to greens.Greens and beyond is area of Russian Chicks.So going by metro stations before business bay Indian and Filipino Chicks are available and after Business Bay area of Russian Chicks- this is the division roughly.Now based on this you can understand why its pricier after you cross Business bay metro towards Greens etc.Its a price for the type of Chicks basically. You go to Palm Jumeirah even more pricier Chicks and buildings.

Vital information. Thank you

I’m told RAK is pretty and chilled.

 

[providenceventurer]

I have stayed in Deira specially during my early commodities brokerage days- its pretty crowded although full of filipino and Indian chicks ( Indian chicks are useless).My evening pastime used to be hunting for filipino chicks.Al Barsha is not bad stayed there too..But i like greens more i bought one apartment nearby to greens.Greens and beyond is area of Russian Chicks.So going by metro stations before business bay Indian and Filipino Chicks are available and after Business Bay area of Russian Chicks- this is the division roughly.Now based on this you can understand why its pricier after you cross Business bay metro towards Greens etc.Its a price for the type of Chicks basically. You go to Palm Jumeirah even more pricier Chicks and buildings.

Bigger the buildings ,bigger the hole and bigger the whore.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

Unless you live in very high end (and I mean almost true 5-star/luxurious) place, it will never feel high-quality to me.

I'm talking about very high end only.

Let me list a few examples of things that are often more of a miss than a hit:

- No privacy when bringing guests/girls (staff and cameras)

This is a big issue in the Burj Khalifa actually. Super annoying.
I was looking at apartments there during covid, it was super cheap. I still almost regret not renting it. But then again, the gym is s**t and there isn't even a proper pool.

But it's otherwise not an issue, and you have staff and cameras in basically every building in Dubai, even if you rent an unfurnished apartments.
My friend didn't have to register me.

- TVs. Generally they are shitty, and even if you get a decent one, it is probably a low cost model (I don't think they would put an OLED TV, even in a FS residence for example)

Don't care. I don't watch TV.

- Walkway passage & irregular cleaning times. Can't stand corridor noises and people knocking on the door at random times

In what I am thinking of, the residences are typically on a different floor or separate wing/building, so you wouldn't have such issues.

- Door cards regularly demagnetizing

Never happened to me, and I stay in hotels a lot. Even the Burj Khalifa only has keycards.

- Generic furniture and cheap decorations and paintings

Not in high-end places. I'm only talking about high end.

- The people around you are all here temporarily = it just feels like a hotel; because it is.

Not really, in the residences, most people should be staying at least a few months.

- Kitchen is generally under equipped, equipment is shitty (most of them use electric stove, or weak/cheap induction ones). I never came across a proper induction or gas stove.

I don't really care as I don't cook, but I believe they usually have decent equipment.

- More expensive than renting a place yourself, furnishing it is not that expensive if you have a bit of a longer term vision (1-2 years)

Sure, but I don't want to furnish. It's annoying, then you have to sell everything if you decide after 2 years you want to move?

- Reliance on staff for everything. I don't want to depend on someone to do my laundry. I also don't want the staff to burn my expensive clothes because they wash them at 60 degrees and tumble dry them.

Hotel residences should come with washing machines.

- Can not always be used as a place of residence to justify your residence for tax purposes

I think we're talking about different things here.
They are regular apartments. They typically aren't even owned by the hotel, they are privately owned. They're just furnished and you get some additional benefits.

 

[providenceventurer]

I'm talking about very high end only.



This is a big issue in the Burj Khalifa actually. Super annoying.
I was looking at apartments there during covid, it was super cheap. I still almost regret not renting it. But then again, the gym is s**t and there isn't even a proper pool.

But it's otherwise not an issue, and you have staff and cameras in basically every building in Dubai, even if you rent an unfurnished apartments.
My friend didn't have to register me.



Don't care. I don't watch TV.



In what I am thinking of, the residences are typically on a different floor or separate wing/building, so you wouldn't have such issues.



Never happened to me, and I stay in hotels a lot. Even the Burj Khalifa only has keycards.



Not in high-end places. I'm only talking about high end.



Not really, in the residences, most people should be staying at least a few months.



I don't really care as I don't cook, but I believe they usually have decent equipment.



Sure, but I don't want to furnish. It's annoying, then you have to sell everything if you decide after 2 years you want to move?



Hotel residences should come with washing machines.



I think we're talking about different things here.
They are regular apartments. They typically aren't even owned by the hotel, they are privately owned. They're just furnished and you get some additional benefits.

Well most are there for the business benefits and slowly evaporating tax benefits i suppose else why would you live in a fucking desert.What more can we expect there.Treat the countries like shops whatever goodies you get from there and make a run to other shops to grab their best goodies.
In that sense quality of life and cost wise probably Malaysia is better maybe even though i havent been there.

 

[Radko]

You need to get on a plane and visit Pattaya and Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo and Punta Cana)
Similar weather, very green, affordable, nice friendly people, good infrastructure.
You'll just have to decide if you want to be in south east Asia, or in the Caribbean, both are great.

 

[Dandyline]

Which are the few areas worth living in Dubai as per you?

- Bluewaters Island
- Emaar Beachfront - Some buildings
- Some buildings on the Palm / Some Villas on the palm (Villas rent from 50-70k/month though)
- City Walk
- Some Address buildings - Opera/Sky View

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

Exactly, that's the issue. Something nice can easily cost you $10k+ per month in Dubai/Abu Dhabi.

 

[providenceventurer]

Exactly, that's the issue. Something nice can easily cost you $10k+ per month in Dubai/Abu Dhabi.

Better to buy maybe .

 

[Konstanz]

It depends on your budget.
I personally don't like Dubai. Dubai is not tropical. It's desert with 0 nature. Btw., winter is not that warm in Dubai.
Caribbean has similar nice warm weather all year round.

There is no perfect place. Just matter of preference.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

Better to buy maybe .

Not really. Quality is usually s**t. There have been cases where buildings had to be demolished few years after construction. Ok, those were probably lower-end quality buildings, but still. Do you think anyone saw compensation for that?
Also, the climate really takes a toll on the buildings, developers are often dodgy, there is no true rule of law and so on.
The government can always just change their mind on an area. For example, La Mer was a nice beachfront area with lots of restaurants, brand new. Two years later, everything was torn down because they decided to build something else instead.
I know someone who bought an apartment on JBR in 2016 or so, by 2020, it had lost 60% or so of its value and that person sold at a loss, not even enough to cover the remaining mortgage. Now it's probably worth more than they paid, but what help is that...
It's not a normal real estate market.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

Caribbean has similar nice warm weather all year round.

There is no perfect place. Just matter of preference.

That's why I'm asking. The Carribean sounds interesting to me, but I don't want to live in a place with poor infrastructure, cheap quality buildings and so on.
It's also one of the reasons why I don't like Cyprus. I'm sure there are some high-quality developments, but most of the buildings are s**t.

 

[Konstanz]

That's why I'm asking. The Carribean sounds interesting to me, but I don't want to live in a place with poor infrastructure, cheap quality buildings and so on.
It's also one of the reasons why I don't like Cyprus. I'm sure there are some high-quality developments, but most of the buildings are s**t.

It depends on your budget. You can have good quality but it costs money. What you mean by infrastructure? You will not find big nice cities like Singapore in Caribbean.
St Barths has nice . clean, luxury infrastructure, but it's small and very expensive.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

That's why I'm asking. The Carribean sounds interesting to me, but I don't want to live in a place with poor infrastructure, cheap quality buildings and so on.
It's also one of the reasons why I don't like Cyprus. I'm sure there are some high-quality developments, but most of the buildings are s**t.

Infrastructure can be built. If you don’t have the budget, go to Dubai.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

It depends on your budget. You can have good quality but it costs money.

I guess you can usually find a nice hotel or gated community, but what does it look like outside?
If it looks like this and you feel like you're in a small village, I'm not really interested:

https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/vie...-city-barbados-port-carlisle-bay-77933548.jpg

Or like this, minus the skyscrapers:

https://images6.alphacoders.com/647/thumb-1920-647374.jpg

Or this (looks nice at a first glance, but when you take a closer look, you see the buildings have a very simple standard):

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8d/be/44/8dbe4460cbe76eb925c5d2c7e9d75c6b.jpg

Or this:

https://imgcld.yatra.com/ytimages/image/upload/v1461912238/Phuket-Patong_Beach_and_Town1.jpg

Compare this to beautiful downtown Abu Dhabi:

https://content.r9cdn.net/rimg/dimg/a8/85/bbf8aa0b-city-9457-164d6a9147e.jpg

Or Miami:

https://cdn.getyourguide.com/img/location/5c0935da3cadc.jpeg/88.jpg

Properly developed, not just a beach town with some huts.

What you mean by infrastructure? You will not find big nice cities like Singapore in Caribbean.

I mean nice gyms, restaurants, not just some surfer huts.

St Barths has nice . clean, luxury infrastructure, but it's small and very expensive.

Exactly. I would guess I might like St Barths (unless it's too small/boring), but the cost would likely be prohibitive.