Phuket vs Pattaya, Hua Hin, Bali and Chiang Mai: where to live

Thailand's largest island, and the most complete package of the five. You get beaches, an international airport on the island, more than 20 international schools and private hospitals in Phuket Town, with clinics on the west coast.

The trade-offs are cost and the rainy season. Numbeo puts Phuket as the most expensive of the four Thai options, and the west coast takes the brunt of the monsoon from around May to October, when the sea is rougher.

Where you live on the island matters as much as the island itself. The area guides cover Bang Tao and Laguna, Layan, Surin and Kamala, Rawai and Nai Harn and Cape Yamu.

A busy coastal city on the eastern Gulf, with a large expat community, a big high-rise condo market and a lively nightlife centre, plus quieter neighbourhoods such as Jomtien to the south.

Its biggest advantage is Bangkok. Suvarnabhumi Airport is reached by road, and most residents fly from there. U-Tapao, the nearest airport, has few scheduled flights. Rents are lower than in Phuket: Numbeo puts them about 21% lower.

For families, Regents International School Pattaya offers both A Levels and the IB Diploma, and Rugby School Thailand is nearby. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya is the main private hospital.

A royal seaside town on the western Gulf, popular with retirees and Bangkok weekenders. Life is calmer than Phuket or Pattaya, with golf courses, a long beach and villa estates inland.

Hua Hin is one of the drier spots on the coast, with most heavy rain falling in September and October. The trade-off is connections: most residents fly from Suvarnabhumi, around three hours away by road, and the local airport has only a few flights.

Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin covers everyday private care. The choice of international schools is narrow, with Hua Hin International School the main through-school, so families with older children often look elsewhere.

Northern Thailand's cultural capital: temples, mountains, a cooler season from late in the year and a large community of remote workers and retirees. It is the cheapest of the five. Numbeo puts living costs including rent about 30% below Phuket, and rents about 47% lower.

The serious drawback is air quality. Agricultural burning across the region usually brings a smoky season from around February to April, when PM2.5 levels regularly reach unhealthy levels. Many residents leave for those months. Anyone with asthma or young children should take it seriously.

Chiang Mai has its own international airport, good private hospitals including Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai, and established international schools such as Prem Tinsulanonda and Nakornpayap. There is no sea.

Indonesia's best-known island draws remote workers, surfers and families who love its culture, rice terraces and creative scene. Day to day, Numbeo puts living costs excluding rent about 14% below Phuket, but rents about 36% higher.

Bali's wet season runs roughly from November to March or April, the opposite of Phuket's. Ngurah Rai International Airport has wide international links. Private hospitals such as BIMC and Siloam handle routine and emergency care, but serious cases are often evacuated, usually to Singapore, so international health insurance with evacuation cover matters.

Schools include Green School Bali, Canggu Community School and Bali Island School. The biggest difference for a buyer is the law, covered below.

Thailand (Phuket, Pattaya, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai). The rules are national, so they are the same in all four. A foreigner can own a condo outright on foreign freehold title, provided total foreign ownership in the building stays within 49% of the floor area and the money comes in from abroad in foreign currency. Foreigners cannot own land, so villas are usually bought on a registered land lease of up to 30 years, with ownership of the building. Thai companies with nominee shareholders are illegal. The freehold vs leasehold guide explains each structure, and the buying guide walks through the process.

Bali (Indonesia). Foreigners cannot hold Hak Milik, Indonesia's freehold title. There are three main legal routes:

• Hak Pakai (right to use): a registered title for a home you live in, available only to foreigners with an Indonesian residence permit (KITAS or KITAP). It runs for an initial 30 years with extensions, and a minimum price applies. The published floor in Bali is IDR 5 billion for a house and IDR 2 billion for an apartment.
• Hak Sewa (leasehold): a notarised lease from an Indonesian landowner, often for 25 to 30 years. No residency is needed. This is the route most foreign villa buyers use.
• PT PMA: a foreign-owned Indonesian company holding a Hak Guna Bangunan (right to build) title. It suits genuine businesses and investors, and carries capital, licensing and reporting obligations.

Nominee arrangements, where an Indonesian citizen holds freehold for a foreigner, are illegal in Indonesia, just as nominee companies are in Thailand. Owning or leasing a villa in Bali also does not automatically give you a licence to let it to holidaymakers.

In both countries, use an independent lawyer, or in Indonesia a notary, acting only for you.

This is general guidance, not legal advice.