Why Chiang Mai?

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, elgenon said:

Where is that?

Photo 1: Chang Kian waterfall, 2Km hike above Scout Camp near the Zoo.

Photo 2: Huay Tung Tao lake, 5km drive north along canal road.

Photo 2: Mae Kuang Dam, 2Km drive west of Doi Saket.

Edited October 3, 2018 by BritManToo

[Gecko123]

20 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

[edited for brevity]

 

My only complaint: Too damn many farangs moving here. lol

 

For me, too many foreigners is a big part of why I've never considered Chiang Mai.

 

I've always believed that when a place gets too touristy or has too large of an expat population that the level of interaction with the locals goes down because everyone assumes you're hanging out with other foreigners. Also, everyone starts speaking English to you no matter how good your Thai is. I like living in an area where foreigners are few and far between and most people don't speak English. But I can see how CM would have a big appeal if you value the social support of a large expat community and more of the conveniences of back home.

[blackhorse]

For me, too many foreigners is a big part of why I've never considered Chiang Mai.
 
I've always believed that when a place gets too touristy or has too large of an expat population that the level of interaction with the locals goes down because everyone assumes you're hanging out with other foreigners. Also, everyone starts speaking English to you no matter how good your Thai is. I like living in an area where foreigners are few and far between and most people don't speak English. But I can see how CM would have a big appeal if you value the social support of a large expat community and more of the conveniences of back home.

Exactly my experience. It felt more like I was in Europe than Thailand and was surprised to see a lot of women retirees as well. I didn't actual mind it as I far prefer the company of my own people

[Vacuum]

22 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

Don't find that the heat is oppressive here at all.....I head south & it's a whole other higher & less pleasant level....

 

It's all about the humidity level in the south.

[Vacuum]

21 hours ago, SpeakeasyThai said:

If you like Chinese spitting on the street and poor air quality CM is for you.

 

Compared to getting whacked on the head with high heeled shoes, I know what I would prefer.

 

 

[Dick Crank]

I liked cm for about 5 years. After that started going stir crazy with nothing new to do. Lived in town. Chiang rai was even slower. A month there was too long.

 

Ultimately decided to just travel around during retirement and stay for several months in different spots. Often going in a large circle which includes other countries as we'll.

[jak2002003]

Lived CM over 10 years.

 

Would not choose anywhere else in Thailand.  

 

I am not a city person... hate the concrete jungle... prefer the real tree one.

 

Very scenic here, always new places to go and see.  Mountains are fantastic and lots of beautiful views, waterfalls, wildlife and places to explore. Lots of old Lanna culture here too.

 

Weather is very good.  The smoky hot dry season can be bad, but I have noticed (despite what people are saying on here) that over the years its getting better in general, will less pollution and for shorter time.

 

I don't dive, and love CM because there are very cheap and frequent Song Taew busses that will take you anywhere you want.  There are also routs for them outside the city center.

 

Like another poster said, people enjoy different things in their lives.  If you want lots of busy bars, shows and touristy entertainment, then CM will not be top of the list.  If you want countryside and a more relaxed way of life (with delicious food and cheap prices), then CM will be great for you.

 

I also really like the south region... as I like the sea.  However I just go there on holiday a couple times a year.  I decided I would not like to live there as the sun and heat seem stronger than in CM, the prices of things are more expensive, and the Thai people seem to always see a farang as a tourist so it is harder to integrate into the community.

 

 

 

 

[ramrod711]

On ‎10‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 2:04 PM, jesimps said:

Managed three days there a few years back. Was bored to tears after a day. Never again. I have everything I need jn the Pattaya area.

I also believe that their immig office is horrendous and the burning season is hard on the lungs.

Won't argue your immigration point, but it is only once a year for extension. The burning season is not as bad as it used to be, there are bad days but not as many or as bad. Having said that it isn't for everyone. A Canadian friend of mine visited for seven weeks last year, told me that he was going to Pattaya for most of his vacation next year and Chiang Mai for only one week. I've been here for 13 years, enjoy it.

[1FinickyOne]

16 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Can i ask when the smoke period is in and where i cimes from?

 

is it back burning ?

When my neighbor in a small village burns the leaves and the wind is blowing toward my house, that is burning season...

 

as to CM... for me, it is only ugly for a brief period in March... others are much more sensitive. I had a friend deeply complaining about bad air - 1 hour out of CM - I looked out my window and had a perfectly clear view of Doi Suthep... I'm not sure where this guy can live... but pretty much all cities have some pollution problems at times...

[OJAS]

@georgegeorgia What does not appear to have been mentioned on this thread so far (unless I've missed something) is the fact that the Chiang Mai Immigration Office stands head and shoulders above most (if not all) its counterparts in LOS when it comes to brazen incompetence which would make Fawlty Towers look like a paragon of efficiency in comparison! Just check out the many horror stories about that particular office on the 2 relevant pinned threads here.

 

In particular, if you are currently on (or will soon be applying for) a retirement extension, you should be aware that queuing up outside that office from the wee small hours will be the strict order of the day when the time comes for you to renew this - unless, of course, you are prepared to fork out extra in order to engage someone who provides agency services (which appears to be a local cottage industry, the likes of which are not, to the best of my knowledge, found elsewhere in LOS) to facilitate this task.

 

Several years ago, my wife did hint at the possibility at our moving from Rayong to Chiang Mai. But, despite the many positive attractions which Chiang Mai no doubt has for us retirees, the crucial deciding factor as far as I was concerned were the many tales of woe on here about the dreaded local immigration office. For me, moving from an area which had (and still has) an efficient immigration office to one which did not was a clear no-brainer. Thankfully my wife has, wisely, not resurrected this possibility ever since - most likely because I have threatened her with divorce and an instant return to my home country if she were to!

Edited October 3, 2018 by OJAS

[The manic]

On 10/2/2018 at 8:04 AM, jesimps said:

Managed three days there a few years back. Was bored to tears after a day. Never again. I have everything I need jn the Pattaya area.

I also believe that their immig office is horrendous and the burning season is hard on the lungs.

Traffic pollution is very bad

[Vacuum]

4 minutes ago, OJAS said:

@georgegeorgia What does not appear to have been mentioned on this thread so far (unless I've missed something) is the fact that the Chiang Mai Immigration Office stands head and shoulders above most (if not all) its counterparts in LOS when it comes to brazen incompetence which would make Fawlty Towers look like a paragon of efficiency in comparison! Just check out the many horror stories about that particular office on the 2 relevant pinned threads here.

 

In particular, if you are currently on (or will soon be applying for) a retirement extension, you should be aware that queuing up outside that office from the wee small hours will be the strict order of the day when the time comes for you to renew this - unless, of course, you are prepared to fork out extra in order to engage someone who provides agency services (which appears to be a local cottage industry, the likes of which are not, to the best of my knowledge, found elsewhere in LOS) to facilitate this task.

 

Several years ago, my wife did hint at the possibility at our moving from Rayong to Chiang Mai. But, despite the many positive attractions which Chiang Mai might have for us retirees, the crucial deciding factor as far as I was concerned were the many tales of woe on here about the dreaded local immigration office. For me, moving from an area which had (and still has) an efficient immigration office to one which did not was a clear no-brainer. Thankfully my wife has, wisely, not resurrected this possibility ever since - most likely because I have threatened her with divorce and an instant return to my home country if she were to!

 

Divorce for having to queue a few hours 1 time per year. How do you mangage traffic queues?

[OJAS]

1 minute ago, Vacuum said:

 

Divorce for having to queue a few hours 1 time per year. How do you mangage traffic queues?

No need to queue at all for retirement extensions at Rayong! So yours is an academic question as far as I am concerned.

[OJAS]

On 10/2/2018 at 2:04 PM, jesimps said:

I also believe that their immig office is horrendous

Drats, missed this ref! 

[sanemax]

23 hours ago, SpeakeasyThai said:

If you like Chinese spitting on the street and poor air quality CM is for you.

 

   Are you seriously suggesting that the Chinese behave differently in CM than they do in other parts of Thailand ?

  That just doesnt make sense .

[CharlieH]

derogatory post removed and response to it. Also Off topic post.

[blackhorse]

When my neighbor in a small village burns the leaves and the wind is blowing toward my house, that is burning season...
 
as to CM... for me, it is only ugly for a brief period in March... others are much more sensitive. I had a friend deeply complaining about bad air - 1 hour out of CM - I looked out my window and had a perfectly clear view of Doi Suthep... I'm not sure where this guy can live... but pretty much all cities have some pollution problems at times...

An air purifier can be bought cheaper these days on lazada. I have a 4 filter one that handles the smog on bangkok and they do really work. The second I drop oil into the frying pan the damn thing ramps up to the highest fan speed making a racket but it does the job

I've often wondered why CM expats don't use them

[lannarebirth]

8 hours ago, OJAS said:

@georgegeorgia What does not appear to have been mentioned on this thread so far (unless I've missed something) is the fact that the Chiang Mai Immigration Office stands head and shoulders above most (if not all) its counterparts in LOS when it comes to brazen incompetence which would make Fawlty Towers look like a paragon of efficiency in comparison! Just check out the many horror stories about that particular office on the 2 relevant pinned threads here.

 

In particular, if you are currently on (or will soon be applying for) a retirement extension, you should be aware that queuing up outside that office from the wee small hours will be the strict order of the day when the time comes for you to renew this - unless, of course, you are prepared to fork out extra in order to engage someone who provides agency services (which appears to be a local cottage industry, the likes of which are not, to the best of my knowledge, found elsewhere in LOS) to facilitate this task.

 

Several years ago, my wife did hint at the possibility at our moving from Rayong to Chiang Mai. But, despite the many positive attractions which Chiang Mai no doubt has for us retirees, the crucial deciding factor as far as I was concerned were the many tales of woe on here about the dreaded local immigration office. For me, moving from an area which had (and still has) an efficient immigration office to one which did not was a clear no-brainer. Thankfully my wife has, wisely, not resurrected this possibility ever since - most likely because I have threatened her with divorce and an instant return to my home country if she were to!

 

You threatened to divorce your wife and move to another country over the costof an immigration agency? What is it, a few thousand baht per year?

[Dick Crank]

12 hours ago, Vacuum said:

 

Divorce for having to queue a few hours 1 time per year. How do you mangage traffic queues?

 

hires someone to do it most likely

Edited October 3, 2018 by Dick Crank

[boonrawdcnx]

After living in Bangkok from 1986 to 1990 I moved to Chiang Mai and never looked back.
Yes there are pros and cons everywhere.
Yes the city has grown immensely and I have moved further out.

I enjoy living in the outskirts in Doi Saket - yet in no time I am at Central Festival or other places to do my shopping when I need to.

Great quality of life out here, lovely local people, great expats to hang out with - and I really enjoy my motorbike tours around the north.

I would put it this way for me it just feels right here - whenever I travel in Thailand to other places like Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket I usually have enough after a few days and I am somehow always glad when my plane touches down here and I return home to Chiang Mai!



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[orang37]

11 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

What is it, a few thousand baht per year?

 

I would guess the price is based on the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

~o:37;

[Jingthing]

A bit off topic but I just saw a video describing Danang Vietnam as an earlier stage Chiang Mai but with a beach. I'm intrigued.

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[The manic]

4 hours ago, boonrawdcnx said:

After living in Bangkok from 1986 to 1990 I moved to Chiang Mai and never looked back.
Yes there are pros and cons everywhere.
Yes the city has grown immensely and I have moved further out.

I enjoy living in the outskirts in Doi Saket - yet in no time I am at Central Festival or other places to do my shopping when I need to.

Great quality of life out here, lovely local people, great expats to hang out with - and I really enjoy my motorbike tours around the north.

I would put it this way for me it just feels right here - whenever I travel in Thailand to other places like Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket I usually have enough after a few days and I am somehow always glad when my plane touches down here and I return home to Chiang Mai!



Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

When I refer to CM I mean the city. I do not mean the province, the rural country side. The country side, anywhere in the world, is just about the same.

[The manic]

On 10/2/2018 at 9:05 AM, thaiguzzi said:

Er dude, you aint been up here in Dec-Jan-early Feb.

The same periods it is cold in CM are the same periods it's cold in Northern Isaan.

Loei (one of my favourite provinces) can be colder than anywhere in Thailand. I've seen 6C up here in UT province.

And just like CM and the NW, Isaan is extremely hot in the summer season Mar-Apr-May before the rains come.

Is Loei classified as Northern Thailand or Issan. Its an interesting place. Much more real than CM.

 

[thaiguzzi]

7 minutes ago, The manic said:

Is Loei classified as Northern Thailand or Issan. Its an interesting place. Much more real than CM.

 

Isaan.

Beautiful countryside. Very low population count.

Certainly not spoiled by tourism, Thai nor foreign.

[totally thaied up]

Depending on the smokey season this year, I will either go to the ocean or go to Vietnam for a spell with the wife on a beach. Last year was not too bad here in Chiang Mai but I have seen a lot of people now getting sick from the smoke via allergies or some other breathing condition and I am wondering if my health is much more important then the want to stay here for the worst of it. 

 

Chiang Mai is getting boring compared to how it was 10 years ago. The increase in traffic and the Chinese influx makes going into town not as much fun as it use to be. I live out not far from the city in a village but even my air purifier is getting very, very junky during the worst parts of the season with black gum showing up in parts of the filter. Not too sure what it is doing to our lungs or other parts of our body but I think it is not good. I love the wet season and the start to winter. Great Weather for most the parts of it all. You just need to get out of the city and explore other places.

[cardinalblue]

Cost is the over-riding factor why ex-pats live here...the fortunate ones are those who can escape the Mar-May time-frame. The other nine months are tolerable...

 

the growing lack of public transportation will continue to reduce the quality of life as the population increases....

[sanemax]

6 minutes ago, cardinalblue said:

the growing lack of public transportation will continue to reduce the quality of life as the population increases....

 

   There have been numerous new bus routes started recently 

[Spidey]

On ‎10‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 6:26 AM, Jingthing said:

I know both places.

Obviously Pattaya better.

The reasons I reluctantly rejected Chiang Mai were the smoky season and the transport situation as I have no interest in running a bike or car in Thailand.

Pattaya features the almost free baht buses. You know I love them even though I often hate some of the thuggish drivers.

As far as the CM smoky season, as an asthmatic I don't think that would work for me and needing to evacuate for months out of the year doesn't really fit my budget or something I would want to do regardless.

If you don't have respiratory health issues before you move to CM, there is a good chance you will develop them because of living there. 

Depending on your Pattaya area housing location you've got the pollution clearing ocean breezes here, as opposed to the mountains trapping the garbage air in situation in CM.

Yes, it's true, CM summer is hot and CM winter much colder than Pattaya.

The nature of the expats in CM would definitely suit me much better than Pattaya. The architecture and vibe are much more charming, putting it mildly.

But weighing the pros and cons, I don't regret my choice.

But I can understand growing tired and bored of Pattaya, but if I got there I still wouldn't move to CM. 

 

 

Same here. Before coming here to settle, I toured all four corners of Thailand with my future wife.

 

Spent a day at an elephant sanctuary outside CM. It was the day that I truly fell in love with my wife and Thailand. Stunning countryside, lovely people and found the city a good mix of nightlife and laid back.

 

After the holiday, I opted for CM as my retirement venue but my wife was insistent on Pattaya, so Pattaya it was.

 

The more I've experienced Pattaya, the more I've nott regretted my choice.

 

All my life, I've lived by the sea, I don't think that I'd ever feel at home so far from the sea. I'm also a lifelong asthmatic and wouldn't be able to cope with the burning season, which I wasn't aware of at the time.

 

Knowing both places, I think I would get bored sooner living in CM. The are of Pattaya that I live in is quiet and laid back but I'm only 15 minutes from the hustle and bustle of central Pattaya. And the sea of course.

 

The climate is probably  the best in Thailand. Not ridiculously hot in Summer and warm and dry in Winter. Glad I made the right choice (or my wife did) and have no regrets.

 

[bkk6060]

30 minutes ago, Spidey said:

 

Same here. Before coming here to settle, I toured all four corners of Thailand with my future wife.

 

Spent a day at an elephant sanctuary outside CM. It was the day that I truly fell in love with my wife and Thailand. Stunning countryside, lovely people and found the city a good mix of nightlife and laid back.

 

After the holiday, I opted for CM as my retirement venue but my wife was insistent on Pattaya, so Pattaya it was.

 

The more I've experienced Pattaya, the more I've nott regretted my choice.

 

All my life, I've lived by the sea, I don't think that I'd ever feel at home so far from the sea. I'm also a lifelong asthmatic and wouldn't be able to cope with the burning season, which I wasn't aware of at the time.

 

Knowing both places, I think I would get bored sooner living in CM. The are of Pattaya that I live in is quiet and laid back but I'm only 15 minutes from the hustle and bustle of central Pattaya. And the sea of course.

 

The climate is probably  the best in Thailand. Not ridiculously hot in Summer and warm and dry in Winter. Glad I made the right choice (or my wife did) and have no regrets.

 

You might be the only person I have ever heard about who has a Thai wife who wanted to stay in Pattaya.  Most want to leave big time.

Why is that?  She have friends or family in town? 

I think CM far out weighs Pattaya as a retirement venue.  Much much better quality of life and I think the people are much more low key, less deperate and friendlier.