Bad news for Pattaya haters.

Chris ranks Rural Thailand lower than Pattaya as best place to retire.

You seem to post a lot of "Chris" videos

Perhaps open up a advertising account.....Chris !

Only #7 for us, and below Hua Hin, nothing north of. The rest, too expensive, too trashed / polluted, too congested.

He needs to get more, down south.

17 hours ago, save the frogs said:

Chris ranks Rural Thailand lower than Pattaya as best place to retire.

Who is Chris? Never heard of him.

8 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Who is Chris? Never heard of him.

now you did.

the survey is bs though. he admits he left bangkok due to air pollution and he would live in chiang mai if it weren't for the burning season.

and some people like rural areas, so let's not beat up too much on rural Isaan.

On 1/3/2026 at 7:42 AM, GreasyFingers said:

Who is Chris? Never heard of him.

Yet another Johnny come lately expert trying to eek out a living on youtube.

6 minutes ago, trucking said:

Yet another Johnny come lately expert trying to eek out a living on youtube.

he's not trying.

he is.

and so what?

everyone hates youtubers because they're jealous?

24 minutes ago, trucking said:

Yet another Johnny come lately expert trying to eek out a living on youtube.

Actually he has been sucking up to Thailand forever. He's also from Toronto.

But he posted some old videos when he met his wife in Korea. She was cute. He seems to have traveled a lot before it was "popular"

9 minutes ago, Celsius said:

Actually he has been sucking up to Thailand forever.

As opposed to what?

Starting a Youtube channel to bash the country?

Some Youtubers are not allowed in some countries anymore for too many negative comments.

11 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

As opposed to what?

Starting a Youtube channel to bash the country?

Some Youtubers are not allowed in some countries anymore for too many negative comments.

I am not judging. Just stating the facts. I enjoy about 70% of his videos that are not about real estate or amazing Thai healthcare.

Samui is nice but too difficult to get to/from and too crowded. Chiang Mai is again isolated and impossible in the burning season. Phuket is FAR too crowded and now a Russian enclave. Bangkok is OK IF you like city life. Pattaya and Hua Hun imo are the only viable options.

12 minutes ago, henryford1958 said:

Samui is nice but too difficult to get to/from and too crowded. Chiang Mai is again isolated and impossible in the burning season. Phuket is FAR too crowded and now a Russian enclave. Bangkok is OK IF you like city life. Pattaya and Hua Hun imo are the only viable options.

CM is still great at the moment, will be out cycling soon.

Just waiting for it to warm up a bit.

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

he's not trying.

he is.

and so what?

everyone hates youtubers because they're jealous?

Is being popular on Youtube the same as being the cool one in the mental asylum cafe. (apologies for a Facebook joke)

2 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Is being popular on Youtube the same as being the cool one in the mental asylum cafe. (apologies for a Facebook joke)

Well, AN may be considered a mental asylum cafe.

And trying to be the coolest kid on AN may not be flattering.

On 1/2/2026 at 1:53 PM, save the frogs said:

Bad news for Pattaya haters.

Chris ranks Rural Thailand lower than Pattaya as best place to retire.

Chris opinions?

🤨🫩🤔👏

I'd say the further south you can go the better.

Better air quality, fewer idiot tourists, fewer Chinese/Russian visa scammers/criminals.

Just might be some Muslim outbursts from time to time if you can hack it.

I wouldn't want to live in the countryside because of the lack of facilities. Northern Bangkok is peaceful yet has cinemas, shopping and some quiet local restaurants in Nonthaburi.

On 1/2/2026 at 1:53 PM, save the frogs said:

Bad news for Pattaya haters.

Chris ranks Rural Thailand lower than Pattaya as best place to retire.

I skipped through it, and will not dismiss his rankings.

Rural life is not for everyone, and you need a good wife and a great family to thrive there. And if you can not cope with boring life, or make boring life interesting, and do not have a good solid economy, there is better budget places than becoming stuck in rural villages. Money can buy you freedom, also in rural Thailand.

And neighbors is like every other part of the world, either you cope with them or hate them. We do not have close neighbors.

42 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Rural life is not for everyone,

good post, Hum-boy

there is no one place that ticks all the boxes.

1 hour ago, Hummin said:

I skipped through it, and will not dismiss his rankings.

Rural life is not for everyone, and you need a good wife and a great family to thrive there. And if you can not cope with boring life, or make boring life interesting, and do not have a good solid economy, there is better budget places than becoming stuck in rural villages. Money can buy you freedom, also in rural Thailand.

And neighbors is like every other part of the world, either you cope with them or hate them. We do not have close neighbors.

I'm living rural life 12Km from the moat in Chiang Mai.

Fields and lake on 2 sides of my home, 200m from traffic free rural roads, cows, chickens and Buffalos everywhere I go. You don't have to live far from civilisation to enjoy the countryside.

Out cycling ...........

12 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I'm living rural life 12Km from the moat in Chiang Mai.

Fields and lake on 2 sides of my home, 200m from traffic free rural roads, cows, chickens and Buffalos everywhere I go. You don't have to live far from civilisation to enjoy the countryside.

Out cycling ...........

12 km from a larger city I wouldn't reckon as rural, but of course it is more village associated than living inside the city.

We living 86km from city center, and got our first 7/11 two years ago, and now we got two + one CJ.

It was only two ATM's before first 7/11

Personally I do not find rural life possible or interesting without gf/wife and family.

There is so many better places to live.

Im a Bangkok guy

Chiang Mai has always worked well for us. All the benefits of a city, but with the feel of a small town. When I was a young man, I preferred building my house in the woods of northern New England. I didn’t mind the drive to town once a week for groceries. We were young and in love, and the seclusion suited us. Now we’re old. We prefer the different lifestyle that Chiang Mai offers. The tourists don’t bother us, and the traffic is just a mild irritation. In fact, we LIKE to go to tourist venues as they are far more interesting than the small sois with their Mom&Pop shops. Those are great for shopping, but do little to spur the imagination.

If I had to move, it would be to Chiang Rai rather than south.

5 hours ago, save the frogs said:

he's not trying.

he is.

and so what?

everyone hates youtubers because they're jealous?

I do not know who he is, nor have I watched his videos. His hairdo was enough to tell me all I needed to know. I did look into him and it became evident that he was not qualified to be offering financial advice. He is a self promoter pushing real estate. Good for him that he loves Koh Samui. I did not. I could not wait to get back on my over priced seat on an aircraft that had seen better days 25 years ago.

5 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

Chiang Mai has always worked well for us. All the benefits of a city, but with the feel of a small town. When I was a young man, I preferred building my house in the woods of northern New England. I didn’t mind the drive to town once a week for groceries. We were young and in love, and the seclusion suited us. Now we’re old. We prefer the different lifestyle that Chiang Mai offers. The tourists don’t bother us, and the traffic is just a mild irritation. In fact, we LIKE to go to tourist venues as they are far more interesting than the small sois with their Mom&Pop shops. Those are great for shopping, but do little to spur the imagination.

If I had to move, it would be to Chiang Rai rather than south.

We have lived in a few places in Thailand - Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Rayong, Khon Kaen, Chonburi (Si Racha) and Hua Hin. IMO Chiang Mai was the best place for us - had everything we needed (especially golf courses) and living is easy and there are lots of services and things for Expats (except the Pattaya stuff). But the annual smoke period became worse and worse - visiting next month and keen to see how it is now.

"visiting next month and keen to see how it is now"

@XRules

Was out at dawn this morning, walking around my local lake next to MaeJo golf course.

Weather absolutely perfect, mist over the water, no smog.

For some reason the 'smoke on water' effect never photographs well.

I can't imagine anywhere better to retire!

But next month ......... who knows?

37 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

"visiting next month and keen to see how it is now"

@XRules

Was out at dawn this morning, walking around my local lake next to MaeJo golf course.

Weather absolutely perfect, mist over the water, no smog.

For some reason the 'smoke on water' effect never photographs well.

I can't imagine anywhere better to retire!

But next month ......... who knows?

We have played golf there - hope to get in another game - and at a few of the other golf courses around Chiang Mai. IMO Chiang Mai Tourism should turn itself into the golfing capital of Thailand. There are more and overall better golf courses there than is any other location in Thailand. There are more in total in Chonburi - but they are all a long way to travel in time and via very busy inadequate roads. Plus they are very much over-priced compared to Chiang Mai. But then again - if it became popular the Thais would put the prices up to make more money. Best to keep it an Expat's secret - the best place to go for an extended golfing holiday in Thailand - great courses, easy to get to and around, cheaper and less busy than anywhere else.

59 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

For some reason the 'smoke on water' effect never photographs well.

Lower the shutter / exposure speed, for longer exposure time in your camera settings. Need to have a steady hand to do, or use timer while camera is stationary on something, to avoid blurry results.

Test out some settings with a lit doobie on an ashtray, or steaming cup of tea. See how low the setting need to be, to get a balance of movement & lighting.

Watching this now.

This UK guy built a nice house in the sticks.

Both he and his wife seem to enjoy spending a lot of time gardening.