Where are some good areas to live in CM?

[BKK24]

- We have been doing some research and are still couldn't find the right one. 

Mae Rim - seems too lonely,& only one 24hr hospital,  but cooler weather thou

Along the canal road - seems interesting, but nothing in our price range (3.5 - 4m bth) close to town

Mae Hia (South of airport area) - Serene Lake mooban seems nice, but out of our price range

Doi Saket road - prices are cheaper along this road, but there is not much thing to do

- Hope you guys here have some good suggestions, or which are some good value and well maintained subdivision

- We don't want to be too far from the airport, hospital, and schools nearby

- We also have noticed that the foods here are quite compatible in prices as in BKK, thought they would be cheaper.  This is a tourist town, I guess

Thank you in advance of any suggestion

[bignok]

Chang Phueak

Ban Sathaphon

 

These areas are north of the old city.

[nglodnig]

Hang Dong - centre of the Universe. We have our own shopping centre here called Kad Falang!

[bignok]

Phuket is cheaper than Chiang Mai for food. Websites say the opposite. 

[scottiejohn]

Suggest you rent very near where you finally decide you want to stay for a week  and see what the noise, traffic etc is before committing yourself.

A nice quiet back SOI in daytime can be a nightmare at night/early morning if there is a nearby temple/karaoke/late night rowdy establishment!

[Hummin]

2 minutes ago, bignok said:

Phuket is cheaper than Chiang Mai for food. Websites say the opposite. 

No it is not! And why on earth do you think Phuket is an better option, when he ask about CM? 

 

Chiang Rai is an option you should check out, and in my opinion a much better place when it comes to pollution and also city. At least my experience.

[bignok]

18 minutes ago, nglodnig said:

Hang Dong - centre of the Universe. We have our own shopping centre here called Kad Falang!

Many falangs go there?

[bignok]

1 minute ago, Hummin said:

No it is not! And why on earth do you think Phuket is an better option, when he ask about CM? 

 

Chiang Rai is an option you should check out, and in my opinion a much better place when it comes to pollution and also city. At least my experience.

In my experience CM food isnt that cheap. Good food though. I can buy a good Khao Soi in Phuket for 60 baht. Lots of places charge 80 baht in Chiang Mai. Chiang Rai has awful AQIs in March and April. Often worse than CM.

[1FinickyOne]

Mae Rim and Chang Puek, the road going into town is always a traffic jam, 2 lanes and one blocked w/people turning... 

 

I also never liked the road into town from Hang Dong though many like it...

 

From what I have seen of moo baans, people get tired of living there. 

 

There are some reasonable places close to town and more so outside of town. You should figure your priorities first... How important is it to you to be near 'the action' of town

 

I would also recommend renting for a year before buying anything. 

[bignok]

 

I like the area near the UN Irish Pub in the old city. But if you need a school for kids I don't know. 

[bkk6060]

What are your goals and lifestyle? The Mae RIm road 107 is a nightmare. CM can be very boring outiside the main city there are limited non Thai restaurants, shopping.  I go there a lot and play golf, but usually finish by 10 or 11 am then what?

Walking around the malls seems to be a popular activity.  It is popular for Gay or those who like  eating Vegetarian food, it may work out long time.  For me it is OK I think for a short visit, but could never live there cannot really recommend any place.

[bignok]

3 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

eating Vegetarian food

Is it? Most restaurants serve up meat. Lots of restaurants and cafes. 

 

The best food court is in Central Airport mall.

 

 

 

 

[Hummin]

14 minutes ago, bignok said:

In my experience CM food isnt that cheap. Good food though. I can buy a good Khao Soi in Phuket for 60 baht. Lots of places charge 80 baht in Chiang Mai. Chiang Rai has awful AQIs in March and April. Often worse than CM.

Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai have different topographic surrounding the cities, and thats why Chiang Rai is not as bad as Chiang Mai. 

 

Im not even considering 20 bath difference on a single meal like your comparison. I consider total living costs.

[bignok]

1 minute ago, Hummin said:

Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai have different topographic surrounding the cities, and thats why Chiang Rai is not as bad as Chiang Mai. 

Rai is a lot smaller so be more boring.

[Hummin]

Just now, bignok said:

Rai is a lot smaller so be more boring.

Thats a personal opinion and experience. 

[bignok]

3 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Thats a personal opinion and experience. 

It is smaller so fact not opinion. Less bars, entertainment.

[nglodnig]

27 minutes ago, bignok said:

Many falangs go there?

One or two....

[Hummin]

19 minutes ago, bignok said:

It is smaller so fact not opinion. Less bars, entertainment.

Im not here to argue about prices or entertainment in OP post, because I do not know his preferences, but personally, I enjoy smaller cities, and also less entertainment is okay, as long I can enjoy quality food and beer once and awhile which can be done in Chiang Rai. 

 

So I think we can leave the discussion now after we both had our say ????

[bignok]

2 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Im not here to argue about prices or entertainment in OP post, because I do not know his preferences, but personally, I enjoy smaller cities, and also less entertainment is okay, as long I can enjoy quality fod and beer once and awhile which can be done in Chiang Rai. 

 

So I think we can leave the discussion now after we both had our say ????

I agree. I like some small towns. You need other hobbies though.

 

The traffic can be bad in CM during peak times so best to pick a spot near where you spend most time. For singles and couples no kids the Old City be ideal. 

[Dante99]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

The Mae RIm road 107 is a nightmare.

Drive it often and never thought it was anything like a nightmare.

[BKK24]

Thank you all for the replies, they are very interesting and quite helpful. 

We already have our eyes on 2 moobaans (one in ChangPheuak high on the river bank, and one in north of Hangdong-Mae Hia area 5 mins to airport & 24hrs hospital), they are still just under 4m. At one point we're considering building new, but this would take too long and no way to inspect it periodically, since we're not in Thailand yet. The mrs is a thai. We thought of looking for more helps here for any area/moobaan or tips, we may have overlooked. 

- Our lifestyle is quite simple. Both of us don't drink & will be working from home (8pm-3am) so we need  a bit quiet and cooler place at nighttime so the windows can be open without having to turn on AC all day & night. We both enjoy good value thai and fusion foods (but not at  tourist price though), that's why we would like to have easy access to a lot of food places & will be spending time on weekends exploring mountains, many organic farms and village lives - for our instagramable photos to share with friends and family - we love photography and a bit hiking

- As for schools, we're thinking on fostering a child (or two if sibling) from the government orphanage here - to get them to better school and have better opportunities in life , the mrs said the cost is free for a thai to even adopting them. That's why a school nearby is a plus, just in case we go ahead with this plan.

 

Thanks again for all your insights and taking your time to reply, we're very appreciated

 

[motdaeng]

14 hours ago, Hummin said:

Chiang Rai is an option you should check out, and in my opinion a much better place when it comes to pollution and also city. At least my experience.

i am sorry but it appears that you are unaware about the extrem air pollution in chiang rai.

 

do yourself a favour and don't move to the north if you want to spend the entire year

at your house due to the terrible air pollution!
 

[clokwise]

Since you say you are not in CM yet, I'd recommend on renting a condo for 2 to 6 months, and during that time you'll have a chance to drive to all parts of town and get a feel for the different areas. And you won't have to hurry to buy somewhere and possibly regret it later.

 

Surprised no one has mention it yet, the vicinity of the Ruamchok intersection is a really good choice. Right there you have a big wet market, Lotus's, Tops's, Rimping, plus all the usual banks, drug stores and all the other usual stores, plus heaps of great restaurants including farang favorites Dukes, Good View, Salsa Kitchen and Ohkajhu. Plus Central Festival is 10 minutes drive if you want to go there. All ranges of moobans - from the massive cookie cutter corporate style, to the build-your-own estates. Plenty of lo-rise inexpensive condos too. Hospitals nearby. International schools are around there too. Traffic is bad only at that intersection roughly for an hour and a half in the morning and in the evening (much like everywhere else in CM), but otherwise it's fine. Certainly beats Hang Dong traffic. Plus you have easy access to MaeJo and Huay Tung Tao, the superhighway, and the inner and outer ring roads.

 

[bignok]

51 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

i am sorry but it appears that you are unaware about the extrem air pollution in chiang rai.

 

do yourself a favour and don't move to the north if you want to spend the entire year

at your house due to the terrible air pollution!
 

Northern air is fine now.

[YaiJung]

You have gotten some great replies.  There are so many good areas to live in CM...mostly just depends on your lifestyle and what you like to do.  I like the area around the canal rd and 121 in the south.  You have multiple routes into the city with the canal rd, and the ring roads.  If one way is busy you can easily take another route.  To the west, mountains and nature.  Also, and this is a small thing, but when driving up from bkk, you get home quicker and without having to fight traffic after a long day on the road.  The southern suburbs also have more western amenities like import supermarkets and farang restaurants. 

 

Definitely rent for a year first.  It is impossible to know what is really going on in your neighborhood until you have spent an extended period there.  It took us three rentals to find a house we are satisfied with...had problems with bad neighbors, loud dogs, loud businesses popping up that weren't there before, etc. 

[Pink Mist]

A reported grammar police post has been removed.

[LaosLover]

Not a lot of rental inventory or turnover in The Old City. Looked for a month solid last July when it was still covid-times. Municipal buildings take up a lot of space.

 

And there's a lot of single family homes and thai style cheap apartment double floor places. Think about it, if you had a large attractive building there, you'd want it to be a hotel.

 

I love Nimman. Around 20K a month for a small condo with a pool or a larger one without one.

 

The other big condo area near Shangri La Hotel lacks western amenities but has some good deals.

[BKK24]

Just from my observation

 -It seems there are too many moobaans got built spreading all over the place without many basic essential supported services close by - like police, fire dept, school, hospitals.  

- House designs in most moobaans 3-6m here are so unattractive 2 story cookie cutter and very difficult to find cute one story close to the city. The homeplan/floorplan seems like in 1940s-1980s era

In addition to unattractive DIY carport extension by most owners, why didn't those builders build the carport big enough to cover a car knowing that what they built mostly is too short? I find this a very strange practice

[DrPhibes]

On 6/12/2023 at 7:59 AM, clokwise said:

Since you say you are not in CM yet, I'd recommend on renting a condo for 2 to 6 months, and during that time you'll have a chance to drive to all parts of town and get a feel for the different areas. And you won't have to hurry to buy somewhere and possibly regret it later.

 

Surprised no one has mention it yet, the vicinity of the Ruamchok intersection is a really good choice. Right there you have a big wet market, Lotus's, Tops's, Rimping, plus all the usual banks, drug stores and all the other usual stores, plus heaps of great restaurants including farang favorites Dukes, Good View, Salsa Kitchen and Ohkajhu. Plus Central Festival is 10 minutes drive if you want to go there. All ranges of moobans - from the massive cookie cutter corporate style, to the build-your-own estates. Plenty of lo-rise inexpensive condos too. Hospitals nearby. International schools are around there too. Traffic is bad only at that intersection roughly for an hour and a half in the morning and in the evening (much like everywhere else in CM), but otherwise it's fine. Certainly beats Hang Dong traffic. Plus you have easy access to MaeJo and Huay Tung Tao, the superhighway, and the inner and outer ring roads.

 

Shhhhh, best way to ruin something is to advertise it ???? Seriously, spent a good amount of time looking for a strategic location and this is it for us.  NIS school 4min from house on top of the aforementioned.

[OnTheLash]

On 6/12/2023 at 3:59 AM, clokwise said:

Since you say you are not in CM yet, I'd recommend on renting a condo for 2 to 6 months, and during that time you'll have a chance to drive to all parts of town and get a feel for the different areas. And you won't have to hurry to buy somewhere and possibly regret it later.

 

Surprised no one has mention it yet, the vicinity of the Ruamchok intersection is a really good choice. Right there you have a big wet market, Lotus's, Tops's, Rimping, plus all the usual banks, drug stores and all the other usual stores, plus heaps of great restaurants including farang favorites Dukes, Good View, Salsa Kitchen and Ohkajhu. Plus Central Festival is 10 minutes drive if you want to go there. All ranges of moobans - from the massive cookie cutter corporate style, to the build-your-own estates. Plenty of lo-rise inexpensive condos too. Hospitals nearby. International schools are around there too. Traffic is bad only at that intersection roughly for an hour and a half in the morning and in the evening (much like everywhere else in CM), but otherwise it's fine. Certainly beats Hang Dong traffic. Plus you have easy access to MaeJo and Huay Tung Tao, the superhighway, and the inner and outer ring roads.

 

100% agree with the above. Best area to live in Chiang Mai.