living in Lamphun in 2019

[jctv1944]

anyone have some up to date information about living in Lamphun now? I would appreciate all that I can get. Thanks

 

[1FinickyOne]

No idea what sort of information you are looking for... I expect it is relatively the same as it has been in relation to everyplace else nearby... surely some growth through the years... still much more Thai than Chiang Mai in that it has fewer expats, but near enough to CM to avail of movies and shopping. 

[jctv1944]

Thank you for your reply. What about air pollution? I have some respiratory problems and am concerned about that.

[Samuel Smith]

3 hours ago, jctv1944 said:

Thank you for your reply. What about air pollution? I have some respiratory problems and am concerned about that.

Same as Chiang mai, or maybe worse because of being more agricultural.

[naboo]

Which part of Lamphun? My experience on here is most people don't know the difference between Lamphun and Lampang.

 

I've lived in Chiang Mai and Lamphun, both in the cities. Lamphun is equally as polluted as Chiang Mai during February to May. I still have a house there, but I won't be living there again until I am at a point where I don't have to be there from Febnruary to May.

 

Recent developments - more coffee shops, more commercialised, but still far less traffic than Chiang Mai. There is a new ring road on the Western side which will remove the traffic that heads south from Chiang Mai towards Li. Once fully open (plagued with corruption and poor planning), Lamphun will be again free of traffic.

 

Connections to Chiang Mai currently being upgraded.

[1FinickyOne]

18 hours ago, jctv1944 said:

Thank you for your reply. What about air pollution? I have some respiratory problems and am concerned about that.

It's not far enough away from CM to matter as to air quality... I really like Lamphun and if you are sensitive, just plan on getting out of town for a couple of months... 

[Bassosa]

On a daily basis Lamphun has better air quality than Chiang Mai. The amount of traffic, most notably songthaews, means that in Chiang Mai has polluted air year round, especially come evening time. In the afternoon and evening, if it doesn't rain, the air is thick with toxic smoke no matter what season. At least where I live (old town).

 

In the smokey season I imagine Lamphun to be equally as bad as CM if not worse.

Edited September 14, 2019 by Bassosa

[at15]

18 hours ago, jctv1944 said:

Thank you for your reply. What about air pollution? I have some respiratory problems and am concerned about that.

absolutely insane to consider this. you have no idea what you are getting into, especially with existing respiratory problems. Northern thailand is completely unlivable December-May if your concerned about your health. I am a healthy male in their 20's and even I can feel some negative effects during the burning season. Not only the burning season, but Lamphun is filled with factories. Also keep in mind burning occurs year round, so there will always be a low level of exposure regardless of time of year. 

[sfokevin]

The mall in Lamphun has a Dukes!!!...

[bkk6060]

Lampun is the future growth of this area.

 

They are building a new 2 story immigration office,  possible airport, major road work to and from, and apparently a big mall is coming.

 

I think it could be one of the few places for positive return investment.

[1FinickyOne]

4 hours ago, Bassosa said:

if it doesn't rain, the air is thick with toxic smoke no matter what season. At least where I live (old town).

You must be a heavy smoker... 

[bkk6060]

4 hours ago, at15 said:

Northern thailand is completely unlivable December-May i

Totally false and exaggerated.

[ZeVonderBearz]

56 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Totally false and exaggerated.

I figure you were in CM from December to May this year? I was and I completely agree with the original poster. 

[sfokevin]

20 minutes ago, ZeVonderBearz said:

I figure you were in CM from December to May this year? I was and I completely agree with the original poster. 

I was here and I’ll give you March & April but the rest of that time the weather was fine... That being said March & April were pretty unbearable to go outside...

[Presnock]

some indicate that the pollution in C/M was only bad for about two months mar and April.  I am an individual who exercises outside 7 days a week.  I have my own 2.5 measuring device and I can attest that Jan through may was above the safe level for ALL countries.  My meter starts flashing at 116 which is above all for safety.  My dau goes to school at CMIS in town and they also have measurements hour or bi-hourly and they too were even higher than at my house in Sankamphaeng about 13 kms distant.  Nowadays even though it rains every day, if one checks the AQI Chiang Mai via google, daily it is in the yellow for 2.5 and reads 80-90 most of the day except very early.  It is easy to check and the AQI chiang Mai will provide you with readings of almost every city in the province . 

[orchis]

It's nice to live there but I agree with the other posters January to May this year were horrible because of the air pollution, in my case Mae Tha.

Edited September 14, 2019 by orchis

[Samuel Smith]

Lot of fruit orchards around Lamphun.  Lot's of burning after harvests throughout the year.

[Lacessit]

9 hours ago, sfokevin said:

The mall in Lamphun has a Dukes!!!...

Be still my fluttering heart. American cuisine has arrived. Apologies for the oxymoron.

Edited September 14, 2019 by Lacessit

[donnacha]

Regardless of whether you currently have health problems, no one with options should be anywhere in northern Thailand during January, February, March or April. The air during those months is an unprecedented experiment, the medical results of which will play out for decades. The north already has massively higher levels of lung cancer than the rest of Thailand.

I love living in Chiang Mai (in a gated community in the suburbs) but, at the latest, fly out in the first week or two of January, once the airfares have come done again after the holiday season. I always notice it starting to get bad by the time I leave - the haze you can see is not actually the dangerous part.

I have spent a lot of time in Lamphun because my girl's family have a business there renting "dorms" to factory workers - dorms are what they call simple, single-room accommodation with shower + western toilet, built in single-storey rows in which each room has its own front door and, at the back, a private outdoor cooking/sink area. They are simple but spacious enough, and the monthly rent is shockingly cheap, something like 1.5K per month with no deposit or long-term commitment. WiFi is included, but metered electricity and water are not.

During the burn season, I would say that the air is equally bad in Chiang Mai or Lamphun or anywhere else in the region. During the rest of the year, Lamphun would be better than Chiang Mai because it doesn't have gridlocked traffic and red buses. A big city will always be worse, and around Nimman is particularly bad, but the burn season takes everything to another level.

For younger folks who are primarily here to hang out with other digital nomads or backpackers, Chiang Mai is the more exciting option, there is a lot going on, particularly in October, November, and December.

For folks who want to enjoy a more relaxed, easy-going pace of life, I think Lamphun is better and certainly a lot cheaper. It now has all the malls, fast food, cinemas etc but without the traffic jams and hordes of Chinese.

In the main town there are a lot of bars and restaurants serving the young, relatively well-off population of factory workers. There is a fun atmosphere and the prices are noticeably cheaper than Chiang Mai. People are friendlier, and farangs are more of a rarity, but only some have good English, it is not a tourist town. If you were to date Thai girls in Lamphun, on average they would have far lower financial expectations than girls in Chiang Mai and, again, as a farang, you are more of a novelty.

Different people have different priorities, some are in Thailand because they can afford a big house here, but I always figured there was probably a demographic of farang who would prefer to rent a simple dorm room and live more cheaply, month to month, with no commitments. I can imagine that there are people who, if the pound or the Euro collapses, would prefer to stay living simply in Thailand rather than return to their own countries.

I talked to my girl's family about actually offering some of their dorms as budget accommodation for farangs - perhaps we could name it "Kee Nok Residences" ???? - but they seem to believe that farangs want only luxury. Perhaps they are right, I might be a bit of an oddball in thinking that a cheaper, more basic lifestyle would be rather attractive to some folks.

 

Edited September 14, 2019 by donnacha

[daveAustin]

13 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Lampun is the future growth of this area.

 

They are building a new 2 story immigration office,  possible airport, major road work to and from, and apparently a big mall is coming.

 

I think it could be one of the few places for positive return investment.

Getting ready for the Sino-Indian influx. ????

[Bill97]

The mall in Lamphun has a Dukes!!!...

So go South to Lampang, it is Dukes free.


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[pgrahmm]

49 minutes ago, Bill97 said:

So go South to Lampang, it is Dukes free.


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Don't they wood burn for energy in Lampang?

[Bill97]

Don't they wood burn for energy in Lampang?

Yep like half the people in CM do for cooking and winter heating.


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[elektrified]

I disagree with those who have stated that the air pollution is bad in January and February. In March, April and May....yes 100%. This year was the first year I did not go to the beach for a month, due to commitments here. And it was the worst year ever and I felt sick even staying locked up in the house with air filters and A/C running 24/7 and wearing a mask even to go outside and retrieve the laundry and water the garden. I did go to Lamphun a couple of times to go shopping and it was just as bad there.

[bkk6060]

21 minutes ago, elektrified said:

I disagree with those who have stated that the air pollution is bad in January and February. In March, April and May....yes 100%. This year was the first year I did not go to the beach for a month, due to commitments here. And it was the worst year ever and I felt sick even staying locked up in the house with air filters and A/C running 24/7 and wearing a mask even to go outside and retrieve the laundry and water the garden. I did go to Lamphun a couple of times to go shopping and it was just as bad there.

Yes.

I have no idea why they are making up December and January.  Did not see an issue those months last year.

That being said, the 4 months after are generally not good.

Sad.

Look out today it is beautiful.

[bkk6060]

6 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Getting ready for the Sino-Indian influx. ????

I cannot see CM area ever being a major Indian or Arab hangout.  There are some families, but not the many groups of them influx in BKK and especially Pattaya now.

I rarely have seen any large tour groups in buses here.

The males want to get away from their family and culture restraints so coming for drink and sex is very attractive.

CM does not have that reputation in fact these type of venues seem quite a bit less in the past 7 years.

And there really is nothing of the sort in Lamphun.

So, I believe your post comment will be futile.

[pgrahmm]

For those mentioning Lampang....

Isn't there a coal fired generator/power plant there?

 

That would seem to be a year around unhealthy hazardous condition.....

[connda]

On 9/13/2019 at 2:37 PM, jctv1944 said:

Thank you for your reply. What about air pollution? I have some respiratory problems and am concerned about that.

Air pollution is not a provincial problem in Lamphun.  It's a regional problem in this country.  So - Northern Thailand - all of it, is subjected to choking smoke from mid-February until as late a June.  Lamphun province suffers from extremely high levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 particulate just like most of the North and for the same reasons: villagers commit arson and set their local forests on fire in order to clear the underbush and stimulate the growth of mushrooms, especially the Het Dawp mushroom.  Then once ag burning is allow, their they set fire to their fields.  
The local health authorities in our Amphur say that upwards of 100 deaths are year due to respiratory disease is attributable to these fires and resultant smoke.  You can live here about 8 months out of the year relatively smoke free.  I say relatively, because now it is mango and lumyai season so in July through August the locals are burning the limbs and leaves of fruit trees that they trim after the fruit harvest. 
It's difficult to get away from the smoke here.

[Retdent]

I think that the immigration office in Lamphun is pretty good. No problems with staff and things get done quickly unlike a few other offices that I have had to do immigration related matters with.

 

Agree that mid Feb. until after Songkran that the air quality is not too flash and can be very hot until the end of May. I leave for the smokey season.

 

If you prefer country living over the city, then it can be a good place to live BUT it can get boring, not a lot of falangs from which ever country you may originate from to talk <deleted>; ie. sport, politics, finance etc. No falang bars out my way, but a good excuse to head off to CM or further afield occassionally.

[LomSak27]

On 9/14/2019 at 7:26 PM, Lacessit said:

On 9/14/2019 at 9:27 AM, sfokevin said:

The mall in Lamphun has a Dukes!!!...

Be still my fluttering heart. American cuisine has arrived. Apologies for the oxymoron.

Good to know you are in CM then. You can flutter on down to Kad Suan Gaeow, and hang out with the Brits.    Knock yourself out.

 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2019 by LomSak27