@Brandon ***********

great advice.

Pattaya and Jomtien are very similar as they are next to each other and the main attraction is the bar girl scene with a lot of sex tourists. I wouldn't swim in the sea there either.

Hua Hin is a nicer place IMO with cleaner beaches, but the population is mainly retired expats.

Phuket has a bit of everything including a lovely old town and nice beaches.

Krabi is lovely, but I think it would get boring quickly if you lived there and the main resort area gets very busy in high season.

Koh Samui has a young vibe and nice beaches, so it could be a good choice for you.

Places like Samui, Krabi and Phuket are much more expensive than Pattaya/Jomtien/Hua Hin, if that is a consideration.

As others have stated, travel around and see where you like.

If you are over 50 and intend to apply for the non o retirement visa, it makes sense to apply for the visa before you come to Thailand for a couple of reasons.

1. It makes it much easier to open a bank account in Thailand.

2. You do not need to have an onward flight booked.

@Kim ********

you were lucky, but as always this is Thailand so it varies between offices. When I did mine a couple of months ago, I booked and there were about 30 people waiting when I got there! Without an appointment I doubt you would have been seen that week!

@Christopher ************

I thought the same thing and Thai food is expensive in the UK, so as students they probably ate horrible low standard food.

@Annie ***********

is she the one involved in the Puff Diddy scandal? Perhaps she's afraid someone might want to poison her for other reasons!

@Janelle ****

as Tony stated, they went to the wrong places.

There are thousands of authentic Thai restaurants amongst every other type of food available.

I dislike traditional UK food as well as it is bland, so I never really eat it or cook it.

@Sarah *****

utter nonsense.

Let me guess, you think we speak with an accent like 'corr blimey, strike lite maaaaate' too!

You can buy any food in the UK including Thai food in thousands of restaurants and take away places.

@Janelle ****

uninformed comment, of course it is not.

If you believe the nonsense on the Internet you will think that all British people eat is beans and fried breakfasts!

You can get food from pretty much anywhere in the world in most places.

The food in the UK is good quality with excellent restaurants everywhere. Of course if someone wants trashy food they can find it, the same as the USA.

You will need to make an appointment at the DLT.