The main reason I liked cm was the extremely affordable rents for what you get (I had a lanna style house with a koi pond walkable just outside the city wall for 20k baht), not a crush of people, and necessities all there, baht bus transportation, etc. The air quality was a problem, but just tolerated.
It sounds like there is a crush of people now, and a lot of weird upscale cafes, etc, so maybe not what I’m looking for any longer. Chiang Rai was too quiet/small for me. Never tried Hua Hin but saw a blog on it and scratched it off my list. Hat Yai felt too different, mostly Muslim.
Not sure what a better option would be for me. Phuket seems too pricey, Pattaya too sleazy maybe the last two serious options would be either getting a smaller affordable apt in central Bangkok or a nicer central place in Nong khai.
I feel like I’m running out of options and not happy with my living situation like I was 7-10 years ago.