Moving To Chiang Mai

[Lithobid]

Hi all, I've been a Phuket resient for 2 years now, and in May I will be moving up to Chiang Mai to study at Phayap University. I will be comming up in early may to scout out appartments, and was wondering if anyone had any "ideas" on nice places to look. I've aquired much furniture already, so my ideal place would be a 2 bedroom town house, something with a small yard. Any ideas on prices and locations, new developments. I don't need to be right next to the University as I have a car and don't mind a short drive (20 min max) to the University.

Anyone with long term Chiang Mai experience, I welcome your advice

Thanks

Lithobid!

[Dustoff]

Hi all, I've been a Phuket resient for 2 years now, and in May I will be moving up to Chiang Mai to study at Phayap University. I will be comming up in early may to scout out appartments, and was wondering if anyone had any "ideas" on nice places to look. I've aquired much furniture already, so my ideal place would be a 2 bedroom town house, something with a small yard. Any ideas on prices and locations, new developments. I don't need to be right next to the University as I have a car and don't mind a short drive (20 min max) to the University.

Anyone with long term Chiang Mai experience, I welcome your advice

Thanks

Lithobid!

"Phayap" University is an excellent choice and they will do wonders for your spelling!

After two years in Thailand, one would hope that you found the time to explore before your move but if you do a search within these forums, you will find almost endless references to apartments, condos, etc.. Perhaps leave the "much furniture" behind, find an inexpensive guesthouse or hotel and do your own search. I, for one, have found that recommending places to suit other's tastes is risky business.

Your own signature line seems to indicate a preference for broccoli or spinach as gifts - over spontaneous cards and gestures of friendship - and gives the impression that you have very specific ideas about what you want and are willing to live with, yes...?

Best of luck...

[The Dan Sai Kid]

I used to work quite close to Payap - take your bike, the traffic is a nightmare round there in the morning...

[Lithobid]

Thanks for the spelling advice, appreciate it! All my Thai collegues down here in Phuket spell it with a Ph, must be a Phuket thing!

Dan Sai Kid - Excellent, that's exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. Appreciate it.

Dustoff- Take more risks, it's only an online chat forum, what's the lay of the land? Of course, in your opinion.

Thanks

Lithobid

[sylviex]

Thanks for the spelling advice, appreciate it! All my Thai collegues down here in Phuket spell it with a Ph, must be a Phuket thing!

Dan Sai Kid - Excellent, that's exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. Appreciate it.

Dustoff- Take more risks, it's only an online chat forum, what's the lay of the land? Of course, in your opinion.

Thanks

Lithobid

Googling "Phayap" turned up more than a few replies. It's a transliteration rather than a spelling, so variations are no surprise.

The traffic will indeed be an issue, if travelling at peak hours. Living close by might keep travel time to 20 minutes.

My advice is to first visit a few real estate agents, who will take you to a very select number of vastly over-priced rental properties. This will help you get some idea of what's available in the area. Then, take a taxi with a Thai driver who speaks adequate English (can recommend if needed) and drive around the target locale, looking for hand-made signs as well as gathering and leaving infomation in local shops and restaurants.

Have a Thai help you negotiate the rental. Perhaps give this person a few thousand baht to help you get a reasonable rental price & conditions.

[Gravelrash]

Thanks for the spelling advice, appreciate it! All my Thai collegues down here in Phuket spell it with a Ph, must be a Phuket thing!

Dan Sai Kid - Excellent, that's exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. Appreciate it.

Dustoff- Take more risks, it's only an online chat forum, what's the lay of the land? Of course, in your opinion.

Thanks

Lithobid

Googling "Phayap" turned up more than a few replies. It's a transliteration rather than a spelling, so variations are no surprise.

The traffic will indeed be an issue, if travelling at peak hours. Living close by might keep travel time to 20 minutes.

My advice is to first visit a few real estate agents, who will take you to a very select number of vastly over-priced rental properties. This will help you get some idea of what's available in the area. Then, take a taxi with a Thai driver who speaks adequate English (can recommend if needed) and drive around the target locale, looking for hand-made signs as well as gathering and leaving infomation in local shops and restaurants.

Have a Thai help you negotiate the rental. Perhaps give this person a few thousand baht to help you get a reasonable rental price & conditions.

That's a good idea about the real estate agents, why not completely waste someones time amd petrol (money) for nothing? Better still if you are free why don't you drive the OP around at your expense, being such an authority on googling should cut out the agent altogether.

Perhaps you could open a new thread on how to screw various occupations, I suspect you have a wealth of hard earned knowledge you are dying to share.

[sylviex]

Well, it was not my intention to waste the real estate agents' time. However, they wasted a good deal of mine; more than one taking me to a certain large apartment block when I had specifically stated I wasn't interested in living there, for example, and to a string of other patently undesirable/unsuitable places. They really weren't much help at all, I am afraid. I was not so much recommending Lithobid waste his/others' time this way as passing on my experience, from which he can draw his own conclusions. Should have used a .

Taking the search into my own hands, as described above, proved far more fruitful.

Googling was not much help either, by the way, nor emailing. (I'd bet you can still find several of the same unrentable properties advertised on line.) Definitely best to deal in person, so there's little you can do until you get here, unless you have friends who can put the word out.

Lithobid - you might consider making some flyers with your phone no. and a description of the kind of place you want, to leave around the area.

Edited March 26, 2008 by sylviex

[Bananaman]

Lithobid, why not grab a cheap apartment for just a few months (many offer 3-month contracts) while you scope out the area? This gives you time to try estate agents, post adverts and trawl through the various moobans looking for vacant properties. This site gives a comprehensive low down on apartments in CM: http://www.chiangmai-online.com/apart.html.

Sure it'll be a pain in the butt having to move all your gear again when you find the place of your dreams but better that than taking somewhere hastily and suffering for six months or a year (or whatever the length of the contract) when you find out there's a rooster farm behind you, a karaoke bar on the next soi and a neighbour who sets fire to anything that isn't nailed down during the dry season.

There's an apartment block on that site called Imsuwan Mansion, I've known a few farang guys who lived there. It ain't the Ritz but it's clean and good enough for a 3-month stint for sure. The telephone number is 053 892 180.

Good luck

[elephantkungfu]

around payap, there's loads of places to live. spend a day riding your bike around that area, and hit some smaller sois, and i'm sure you'll find some places to live. you could find a 2 bedroom town house for as little as 3-4k a month, or a detached house for 6k. its an alright area to live too.

the good thing is that payap is right by the super highway, so easy to get to from many areas around chiang mai. if arriving by car from the superhighway, the traffic is not too bad at all. its only bad if you are coming through town. so if you don't want to stay directly around payap, try doi saket, san sai, chang peuak... all areas you could stay within easy reach of the uni.

[BigFish]

Thanks for the spelling advice, appreciate it! All my Thai collegues down here in Phuket spell it with a Ph, must be a Phuket thing!

Lithobid

Go

errmmm, I think he may have been poking fun at your spelling of various English words actually!

like your "collegues" above

and the "resient and comming and appartments" in your original post

never mind, I am sure we all understood

[marshall]

Thanks for the spelling advice, appreciate it! All my Thai collegues down here in Phuket spell it with a Ph, must be a Phuket thing!

Dan Sai Kid - Excellent, that's exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. Appreciate it.

Dustoff- Take more risks, it's only an online chat forum, what's the lay of the land? Of course, in your opinion.

Thanks

Lithobid

Googling "Phayap" turned up more than a few replies. It's a transliteration rather than a spelling, so variations are no surprise.

The traffic will indeed be an issue, if travelling at peak hours. Living close by might keep travel time to 20 minutes.

My advice is to first visit a few real estate agents, who will take you to a very select number of vastly over-priced rental properties. This will help you get some idea of what's available in the area. Then, take a taxi with a Thai driver who speaks adequate English (can recommend if needed) and drive around the target locale, looking for hand-made signs as well as gathering and leaving infomation in local shops and restaurants.

Have a Thai help you negotiate the rental. Perhaps give this person a few thousand baht to help you get a reasonable rental price & conditions.

That's a good idea about the real estate agents, why not completely waste someones time amd petrol (money) for nothing? Better still if you are free why don't you drive the OP around at your expense, being such an authority on googling should cut out the agent altogether.

Perhaps you could open a new thread on how to screw various occupations, I suspect you have a wealth of hard earned knowledge you are dying to share.

Hi Im living in a private Village with swimming pool and all that jazz, Its a 2 Bedroom Bungalow, with 2 Bathrooms, Kitchen and big Living room, We are moving out at the end of April so you can have a look at this if you want. give me a PM and i will send you more Details cheers.

[marshall]

Oops Sorry the rents 5500 Baht a month.

[sendbaht]

H or no H we all know what you mean. Not sure where to live but my daughter gradulated from Payap univ and is now working in CM as a nurse. Seems I was always senting them a check so I changed to name to PayUP. Anyway, a great school

The university only conductsone graduation ceremony per year and it's always in November. So she won't "officially" graduate until November 2008.

Don

[gpdjohn]

H or no H we all know what you mean. Not sure where to live but my daughter gradulated from Payap univ and is now working in CM as a nurse. Seems I was always senting them a check so I changed to name to PayUP. Anyway, a great school

The university only conductsone graduation ceremony per year and it's always in November. So she won't "officially" graduate until November 2008.

Don

HUH???

[Lithobid]

Thanks all for your great advice, I will make a survey of the land soon, and appreciate the insight. See you in Chiang Mai.

Lithobid