Where to live in Thailand, the 51st biggest country in the world

[arithai12]

12 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

Try 10 times

Let me guess... not Tasmania?

[KhunLA]

14 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

Try 10 times

https://www.thetruesize.com/#?borders=1~!MTI1OTk5NjM.MjkzOTM3OQ*NDQyOTA2Nw(MTYxNTM2Nzc~!TH*NTMxMTgyMQ.MzE5Nzg4MDg)Mw

[Sparktrader]

90% of oz desert

[Old Croc]

48 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

Try 10 times

I was talking about the state of Western Australia, not the whole country. That is nearly 15 times bigger than Thailand. 

[BE88]

2 hours ago, kuzmabruk said:

Known locally as the Land of Stupid.  The smile reflex is the result of ignorance.  This is according to my Thai wife who tells me her entire family back on the farm, if working together as one, could not change a lightbulb.  

In Italy there is this saying the smile abounds on the mouth of fools.

 

[martand]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

You're right, can't hear myself think for all the birds tweeting.

Not to mention the buffalo splashing in the klong just over my garden wall.

 

And the strange thing is that when the birds are silent, you still can't hear yourself thinking, right? Go for a swim with the buffalo and don't blame the poor birds. You already have a black heart, whatever that means, swimming in the puddle completes the work

[10baht]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

To put it into perspective, this land area is approximately 74% of the area of Texas. 

 

Does that make Texas the 50th largest country in the world?????

[martand]

1 hour ago, arithai12 said:

Wherever you choose to go in Thailand, please don't come to Chiang Mai. It's a horrible place, no bars, very unfriendly people who never smile, terrible climate, no greenery, no nature only traffic, immigration is the worst in the country, no attractions, abysmal medical care, no shopping places, it takes hours just to get the simplest things done, girls are ugly and so are boys and ladyboys whatever your inclination, no decent local food,  no swimming pools, banks are always closed. Every expat that moved here regrets it.

Special for digital nomads, there are no co-working spaces and internet here is mostly done with telnet. A coffee is 500B/hour.

You have been warned.

A way to keep people away from your beloved Chiang mai

[martand]

1 hour ago, BE88 said:

In Italy there is this saying the smile abounds on the mouth of fools.

 

Thai smile is all to be understood. Ignorance? Foolishness? Harsh as a judgment. I don't feel like speaking ill of those who haven't had the same opportunities I've had in life

[Burma Bill]

2 hours ago, arithai12 said:

Wherever you choose to go in Thailand, please don't come to Chiang Mai. It's a horrible place, no bars, very unfriendly people who never smile, terrible climate, no greenery, no nature only traffic, immigration is the worst in the country, no attractions, abysmal medical care, no shopping places, it takes hours just to get the simplest things done, girls are ugly and so are boys and ladyboys whatever your inclination, no decent local food,  no swimming pools, banks are always closed. Every expat that moved here regrets it.

Special for digital nomads, there are no co-working spaces and internet here is mostly done with telnet. A coffee is 500B/hour.

You have been warned.

During 20 years of living in Northern Thailand, I made numerous visits to Chiang Mai and IMO what you have quoted is totally incorrect. Are you referring to Chiang Mai on another planet???? (with respect, I have no intention of entering a verbal "ding dong" on this subject).

[Burma Bill]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

My internet in rural Chiang Mai is waaaay faster than my internet was in rural Cornwall.

Very interesting to note. Where I lived among the mountains bordering Phayao and Chiang Rai Provinces, once mobile phone masts were erected and internet connections established by AIS (no other SP's at that time), access to the internet became very fast with no problems.

[Burma Bill]

6 hours ago, 10baht said:

No ! No! You don't want to stay here. Go South, live with the tourists. Too cold and hilly. Hard to drive in the winter when there is snow and ice on the mountain roads.???? You'd need to spend extra money on 4 wheel drive cars.

With respect, it is a matter of personal choice. Maybe No! No! for you, but Yes! Yes! for me - I did so for 20 years! The sun, sea, sand and living among tourists in the South were definitely not my scene, give me mountains, hills, lakes and forests any day. I found the cooler air much more refreshing. For reference, I never saw snow or ice on the roads during Winter - occasional frost and hailstones during a storm "yes". The need for a 4 wheel drive vehicle was not essential. Where I lived, most of the local Government officials, school teachers, medical staff etc. drove 2 wheel drive saloon cars.

[mrfill]

3 hours ago, Old Croc said:

I was talking about the state of Western Australia, not the whole country. That is nearly 15 times bigger than Thailand. 

Factually,

Thailand - 513120 sq km

W. Australia - 2527013 sq km

 

i.e. about 5 times the size

[10baht]

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

My internet in rural Chiang Mai is waaaay faster than my internet was in rural Cornwall.

Cornwall??? help me out is that near Kanchanaburi or Khao Lak?  Seriously, in the real north of Thailand. not Chiang Mai,  we only have 2BB not 3BB internet provider. And True Vision is blurry. ????

[Sparktrader]

1 hour ago, Burma Bill said:

During 20 years of living in Northern Thailand, I made numerous visits to Chiang Mai and IMO what you have quoted is totally incorrect. Are you referring to Chiang Mai on another planet???? (with respect, I have no intention of entering a verbal "ding dong" on this subject).

He is joking obviously

[StayinThailand2much]

12 hours ago, timendres said:

Indeed. The title should be "The six regions of Thailand", as nothing more is offered.

The title should be: "The most useless statistics and comparisons, no-one even cares about, of one Asian country"

 

12 hours ago, webfact said:

Many expats retiree to this region.

Obviously written by a Filipino... 

Edited June 6, 2022 by StayinThailand2much

[StayinThailand2much]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

To put it into perspective, this land area is approximately 74% of the area of Texas. 

Yeah, and the same number of cattle, but less than 1% of Texas' oil... Yawn!

[Red Forever]

5 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Are you trying to get a job with TAT ? most of your posts are out of date and IMO dribble.

Not as much "dribble" as that which Asean Now's resident bore churns out weekly.

Luckily his name was prominent in the list of posts so that those of discerning taste could swerve his drivel. 

I think this post about Thailand is is of as much use as an ashtray on a motorcycle.

[VocalNeal]

6 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Listing the different regions and highlighting the climate may be helpful for some prospective residents who have yet to undertake research.

 

[CM Dad]

I have lived in Thailand for more than 35 years, primarily in the North and the Northeast.  I have also driven through all of the provinces to the north, east, and west of Bangkok.  I don't understand how I could have missed the first listed "major" city of the Northeast - "Ubon Thai".

[Tropposurfer]

Depends on ones criteria of needs wants and the budget parameters to meet those.

If you have only a pension and just enough to meet the mandatory security lump-sum in Thai bank then a provincial (not coastal) life would probably not suit the budget best i.e. will see you quite restricted in what you can do in daily life. 

If you have more disposable income (say 2 to 3 times the average western pension) then coastal living with car, holidays, bigger digs is within a comfortably possibility.

If you love the mountains and can insulate yourself from the months of horrendous pollution with good aircon then the North West is lovely. If real farm rural living is your bag then Trat province, or thereabouts, or the North East is ripe and cheap.

 

I love the sea and being in it so access to clean swimmable [and if possible - surf-able water] was a must.

Living on the Gulf side did not interest me as the water is nowhere near as clean with the beaches nowhere near as nice as Phuket (sorry Samui????).

I/we want to be able to travel with relative ease (not many hours drive, with multiple connections to get either to Swampy international airport or fly direct from Phuket to get O/S), peace and quiet in and around my home (separation from karaoke maniacs, traffic noise and the stench of burning plastics), a big garden, access to good golfing, a bit of sailing, good gym, lap pool for monsoon season swimming, variety in restaurants and western food stuffs for those must have items - Vegemite being one lol ????, some variety in dining-out options, delicious Thai food, reliable safe servicing of my cars, some Malls for the occasional 'thing', good yoga classes. I chose northern west coastline of Phuket.  But as our dear Thai landlords would say; 'Up to you'.

[spidermike007]

10 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Probably comes down to 2 things only.

 

1. Where can you afford to live reasonably.

2. Availability of young women.

 

And that leaves only Thailand and???

 

It eliminates all of Europe, the US, Canada, NZ, Australia and some others. 

[BritManToo]

10 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

And that leaves only Thailand and???

 

It eliminates all of Europe, the US, Canada, NZ, Australia and some others. 

But includes all countries that don't provide welfare to single moms.

Let's face it, our home governments pay our women not to have sex with us.

[scorecard]

13 hours ago, scorecard said:

Yep your heating bills go up in Europe because it's cold, but you move to Thailand and your electric bill soars because it's so hot in summer have to use the air-con all night and part of the day.

 

Which bill is bigger?

Reality is of course that it's not an apples to apples comparison.

[scorecard]

6 hours ago, curtklay said:

Or worse yet, drivel.

And missing the most relevant points for a well focused discussion...

Edited June 6, 2022 by scorecard

[billd766]

10 hours ago, panengfan said:

Anyone know where “Ubon Thai” is - unless it’s “Udon Thani”…

It might be Ubon Ratchathani over in the far bottom right of Issan. Go to Buri Ram, hang a right turn and keep going.

 

https://www.tourismthailand.org/Destinations/Provinces/Ubon-Ratchathani/587

Edited June 6, 2022 by billd766
Added extra text

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

But includes all countries that don't provide welfare to single moms.

Let's face it, our home governments pay our women not to have sex with us.

I really go out of my way to avoid having sex with any mom. I consider breast feeding to be a form of martyrdom. 

[BobfromNYC]

Funny how there's no mention of the massive air pollution problem in this massive country.

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, BobfromNYC said:

Funny how there's no mention of the massive air pollution problem in this massive country.

No need to worry........ it is being closely monitored every minute of every day.

[nglodnig]

13 hours ago, arithai12 said:

Wherever you choose to go in Thailand, please don't come to Chiang Mai. It's a horrible place, no bars, very unfriendly people who never smile, terrible climate, no greenery, no nature only traffic, immigration is the worst in the country, no attractions, abysmal medical care, no shopping places, it takes hours just to get the simplest things done, girls are ugly and so are boys and ladyboys whatever your inclination, no decent local food,  no swimming pools, banks are always closed. Every expat that moved here regrets it.

Special for digital nomads, there are no co-working spaces and internet here is mostly done with telnet. A coffee is 500B/hour.

You have been warned.

Is there another place in Thailand called Chiang Mai? Because I don't recognize it from this description, unless you are trying to put yet more expats off from living here.... ????