You could try Nan, where I had a house built in a village outside. A great historic town centre with the famous temple paintings. Only in last few years has it got the 3 main supermarkets. A wonderful weekend street market. A few tourists, mainly Thai, and few farangs live and visit there. It's still very, very Thai but big enough for required amenities and a short hop to the hills, hill tribes and Laos border. Recommended to at least take a look as there are cheap but good bijou hotels there.