Has Chiang Mai changed since late-2016?

[puukao]

Yes, only two years.  I've heard apartment prices have gone up a few thousand baht a month, and just curious if that is true.  I know, it's not "life-changing" money, but curious.  I guess that's my main question, and hopefully someone will tell me the pollution is worse, traffic worse, food more expensive, and not bother coming........55555

 

don't worry, i plan on bringing 10,000 of my closet backpackers.......the richest has 109 baht to his name.  

[Thailand]

Come and check it out,again. ????

[EricTh]

cons:

 

More traffic jam 

food prices have gone up,

tourists have increased,

immigration queues have gone from bad to worse,

 

pros:

 

there is a public bus alternative now

 

[ChakaKhan]

4 hours ago, EricTh said:

cons:

 

More traffic jam 

food prices have gone up,

tourists have increased,

immigration queues have gone from bad to worse,

 

pros:

 

there is a public bus alternative now

 

sounds about right....chinese have invaded

[johnoko]

7 hours ago, ChakaKhan said:

sounds about right....chinese have invaded

Don't know if you have been following the news numbers of Chinese visitors are down dramatically. Up to 40 to 50% some sources quoted compared to last year. If you walk around in the old town you hardly see any of them   

[simoh1490]

Yup, that's going to be a big problem for the local tourist industry.

[LomSak27]

People want more money for condos but ... their is a hotel and condo glut in this town. They now depend on increasing numbers of Chinese visiting. Hope it all pans out, a lot of hotel owners and TAT people seem desperate and depressed though. Go figure what that means.

 

Just this week.

 

Quote

 

A crisis meeting of tourism operators at a downtown hotel heard that Chinese tourism to Chiang Mai was down by half in the first three quarters of 2018. 

 

A series of measures were proposed to woo them back - including setting up Chinese language classes to avoid misunderstandings. 

 

uh oh

[jgarbo]

16 hours ago, Thailand said:

Come and check it out,again. ????

Fortunately the Chiang Mai Preservation Society have been hard at work. Chiang Mai has been frozen in time by a new mystic patented process. We can guarantee the city is exactly the same as it was 2016. Not even a new blade of grass. Welcome. 

[moe666]

Except for more chinese and yes down a bit but this is low season at present. My rent is the same as 2 years ago. The townhouse next to me has been empty for more than 6 months. Really in my little slice of Chiang Mai not much has changed.

[lipflipper]

Everything goes a bit in two years that's normal basic economics. There does seem to be a lack of tourists of all types at this time and it is more noticable, at least to me. I would love to think that this stay the same and Chiang Mai will be the quiet, quaint place I enjoy living in.

Sent from my CMR-AL19 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[1FinickyOne]

does not seem to have changed much to me. and it is low season now which always looks sorrowful for tourist oriented places. but yes it does seem that properties for rent or  sale are higher with not many comprimising and plenty available. a buyers markett with no advantage for the buyer.  

[AhFarangJa]

4 hours ago, johnoko said:

Don't know if you have been following the news numbers of Chinese visitors are down dramatically. Up to 40 to 50% some sources quoted compared to last year. If you walk around in the old town you hardly see any of them   

Always nice to read a good news post...

[Foxy52]

Apart from prices, old CM hasn't changed a great deal since 1978, let alone 2016

 

[connda]

19 hours ago, EricTh said:

cons:

 

More traffic jam 

food prices have gone up,

tourists have increased,

immigration queues have gone from bad to worse,

 

pros:

 

there is a public bus alternative now

 

Move to Lamphun.

Pros:
No traffic jams.

Buy from the many local markets and the food price 'increases' become inconsequential.
Not a tourist hot-spot other than Wat Phra That Hariphunchai
No Immigration queues

Public transport from downtown to Chiang Mai easily available

 

Cons:
It ain't Chiang Mai - however, imho that could also be a 'Pro'. 

[thecyclist]

Has Chiang Mai changed since 1979, the last time I was there? 

[CNXBKKMAN]

Not a lot has changed but older properties are continually being cleared and much bigger "room for rent" buildings or boutique hotels pop up. It always surprises me how massively bigger the new building is compared to the small wooden house and garden that it replaced on what looked like a small plot of land. This was in full swing in 2016 and today it might be happening at a faster pace. It hasn't slowed down since 2016. Thats my impression.

[EricTh]

2 hours ago, connda said:

Move to Lamphun.

Pros:
No traffic jams.

Buy from the many local markets and the food price 'increases' become inconsequential.
Not a tourist hot-spot other than Wat Phra That Hariphunchai
No Immigration queues

Public transport from downtown to Chiang Mai easily available

 

Cons:
It ain't Chiang Mai - however, imho that could also be a 'Pro'. 

 

I might consider in the future .

 

Other than Lamphun, would Chiang Rai  be better?

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, EricTh said:

 

I might consider in the future .

 

Other than Lamphun, would Chiang Rai  be better?

Chiang Rai would be my number one choice, Lamphun would be close to the bottom of my list, somewhere after a hut in a swamp on the Cambodian border.

[NancyL]

They remodeled the basement of Kad Suan Kaew and Elvis has left the building to be replaced with sleek and modern food stalls with designer coffees, smoothies, expensive ice cream and things on a stick to be eaten in low lighting with piped-in techno music.  No more beer towers, pad thai or fried rice.   Not a grizzled farang or Japanese retiree to be seen.  Just trendy Asian tourists and college students who can successfully balance on the high stools that pass for seating.

 

However, the new buses are very good and have opened up new horizons for those of us who refuse to get a car and are growing weary sitting in traffic in tuk-tuks and songthaews.  Yes, the traffic is worse and it's a much more comfortable way to be stuck in traffic in a bus, in bone-chilling aircon with free wifi.  Their online app makes it easy to see when the next bus is coming to a bus stop near you.

 

 

 

 

[puukao]

Thanks for the responses.  Good, should be about the same then.  Let me attempt some comedy after a long day in the sun...

 

1.  Has every restaurant remained open?

2.  Are the karaoke places still fun to visit for farangs?

3.  Is the road to Doi Suthep closed to cars?

4.  Does Sunday market still only attract about 11 people?

5.  Is the moat water still super safe to drink?

6.  Do all the cars still obey each stop light?

 

funny to me....

 

I'm maybe 500 kms south, and the one thing I am hoping for is that CM has less stray dogs than here....i swear I see about 50 stray dogs a day, and I really don't remember a dog problem in CM.  

 

but i am getting older, my memory......

[nickmondo]

6 hours ago, connda said:

Move to Lamphun.

Pros:
No traffic jams.

Buy from the many local markets and the food price 'increases' become inconsequential.
Not a tourist hot-spot other than Wat Phra That Hariphunchai
No Immigration queues

Public transport from downtown to Chiang Mai easily available

 

Cons:
It ain't Chiang Mai - however, imho that could also be a 'Pro'. 

since Lamphun is in Chiang Mai province, is it possible to go there if you live in Chiang Mai to get a Resident Certificate or Retirement visa extension?  

[CNXBKKMAN]

No because Lamphun is in Lamphun province, not Chiang Mai province. The smallest province in Thailand i believe.

[Trujillo]

We have Grab now.  Nearly useless map, but it's something. 

[naboo]

Just now, nickmondo said:

since Lamphun is in Chiang Mai province, is it possible to go there if you live in Chiang Mai to get a Resident Certificate or Retirement visa extension?  

 

Lamphun immigration is actually very busy. It is best you stick to Chiang Mai. And if anyone else suggests Lamphun immigration is not busy, I suggest you tell them otherwise. And there's no air-con in the hut. I had to wait for 3 minutes once, I was on the verge of breaking sweat! A horror show. Stay away.

 

The town is dreadful too. No tailors selling overpriced suits, and no massage girls screaming "handsome man". The shopping mall only stocks things you might buy and the coffee shops can cost as much as 40B. After 5 years, I still can't get out of my head the time someone tried to up the price of some oranges because I'm white, and the museum in town charges white people 20B instead of 10. A horror show of dual pricing.

 

House rental can cost as much as 5000B/month and to buy can be as much as half the price of the same place in Chiang Mai. The road upgrades mean it is currently taking me a full 15 minutes to get to the Don Chan intersection (though this may be reduced once the road upgrades are complete).

 

The Chang Girls are only 9.5/10, the Singha Girls not much better and they have Lao Khao girls who are nearly as ugly as the girls down Loi Kroh. And some of the places ask 90B for a big Heineken. I don't know how they get away with it.

 

Madness. Stay away.

[cyberfarang]

A lot has changed in Chiang Mai over the years. It`s become boring. The worse I think is the lack of nightlife, everyone seems to go to bed by 10.00pm.

 

Great for those that enjoy an endless array of coffee shops, that seem to come and go every 6 months, massage parlours staffed by old grannies and hanging about shopping malls. Besides that not much else going for it, pretty dead.

 

The centre of town is in a state of decay and during the hot and smoky season the air is practically non breathable.

 

I think the city is well suited for the elderly but the zest has gone.

[sanemax]

29 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

A lot has changed in Chiang Mai over the years. It`s become boring. The worse I think is the lack of nightlife, everyone seems to go to bed by 10.00pm.

Great for those that enjoy an endless array of coffee shops, that seem to come and go every 6 months, massage parlours staffed by old grannies and hanging about shopping malls. Besides that not much else going for it, pretty dead.

The centre of town is in a state of decay and during the hot and smoky season the air is practically non breathable.

I think the city is well suited for the elderly but the zest has gone.

What kind of nightlife are you looking for ?

 

[balo]

I lived in CM in 2016 and moved back to Pattaya in 2017 ..  

 

I would be surprised if the city has changed that much in less than 2 years .  You have the big shopping mall , popular among the young crowd , and all the street stalls near the old city . I used to walk around and bicycle , always something local food and good coffee everywhere. So I do not think that CM has lost it's charm .  

 

I rented a 1 br condo for 6000 baht monthly , I would think the price would be the same today. 

[bkk6060]

21 hours ago, johnoko said:

Don't know if you have been following the news numbers of Chinese visitors are down dramatically. Up to 40 to 50% some sources quoted compared to last year. If you walk around in the old town you hardly see any of them   

Nimman is always full of Chinese daily as is Maya mall and Central mall.

They usually do not hang out in hippie backpacker old town.

[bkk6060]

5 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

A lot has changed in Chiang Mai over the years. It`s become boring. The worse I think is the lack of nightlife, everyone seems to go to bed by 10.00pm.

 

Great for those that enjoy an endless array of coffee shops, that seem to come and go every 6 months, massage parlours staffed by old grannies and hanging about shopping malls. Besides that not much else going for it, pretty dead.

 

The centre of town is in a state of decay and during the hot and smoky season the air is practically non breathable.

 

I think the city is well suited for the elderly but the zest has gone.

I have been spending 10 days a month in CM from Pattaya each month.  

Your comments are pretty much right on.  I do add golf to the mix 3 days a week which helps me get some exercise and fill up my day.  Besides that it can be boring and suited more for older folks who do not want to do much.

Yes, they do have the mountain areas with waterfalls, nice views and cool places to ride a motorbike.  So, you see a waterfall or ride around once or twice for for an hour or two then what?

As you say, I find myself going to one of the malls everyday for a movie or just to walk.

It is not a bad lifestyle, just is what it is..

[NancyL]

Yes, the malls in Chiang Mai are great for movies, walking, coffee, wifi and buying things to make your dinner, but I think all that was here in 2016.  The one advantage that wasn't here in 2016 are the blue buses to take you to the far-flung malls.  Turns going to the distant malls into an all-day adventure in comfort, rather than sitting in the back of a free "mall van" that is really a pick-up truck.