Obviouslly it depends on what one wants, but what are the disadvantages and advantages of both Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. I assume more expats choose Chiang mai, is this assumption wrong? And if not then why is this? Gotta delegate my 5 months in Thailand coming up.

Thanks

Prospective Chiang Mai/Rai visitor

the most obvious answer from me would be of course chiang mai.

1. got everything available yet not too much!

2. easy to get around anywhere. well planned city.

3. fantastic choices of restaurants. (i think we are spoiled for choice)

Yeah that's the thing

I didn't wanna go somewhere too populated with heaps of tourists...but didn't wanna go somewhere with NOTHING. Maybe living 20 minutes drive out of Chiang Mai would be perfect?

I keep having dreams about drinking leo beer near some river...on my porch of a wooden house..and this place has a tree swing and a bit of forrest. LOL! Hope I can find this place or something like it, it looks great!

Yeah that's the thing

I didn't wanna go somewhere too populated with heaps of tourists...but didn't wanna go somewhere with NOTHING. Maybe living 20 minutes drive out of Chiang Mai would be perfect?

I keep having dreams about drinking leo beer near some river...on my porch of a wooden house..and this place has a tree swing and a bit of forrest. LOL! Hope I can find this place or something like it, it looks great!

If you got enough money, anything is possible here. I like Chiang Mai for the food. I like Chiang Rai for everything else. Great places to see, Great People... And it's got internet and satelite, too

the most obvious answer from me would be of course chiang mai.

1. got everything available yet not too much!

2. easy to get around anywhere. well planned city.

3. fantastic choices of restaurants. (i think we are spoiled for choice)

"2. easy to get around anywhere. well planned city"

With respect I would like to know what in your opinion is a badly planned city !!

Chiangmai, is, IMHO a good example of bad planning in the extreme.

A blind (& drunk) town planner could not possibly do worse.

For starters there is no good reason why all the streets and lanes meander around haphazardly "well is there"

Edited May 7, 200818 yr by john b good

With respect I would like to know what in your opinion is a badly planned city !!

Bangkok, for starters. Or anything ever built in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Chiang Mai is very well planned. It's got three ring roads with TUNNELS under the main roads out of town. In Thailand, that's completely unheard of. Your turn.

Chiangmai, is, IMHO a good example of bad planning in the extreme. A blind (& drunk) town planner could not possibly do worse.

Time to get someone to delivery another Chang to your arm chair.

For starters there is no good reason why all the streets and lanes meander around haphazardly "well is there"

What does that even mean? Can you start by planning your posts better?

The inner city layout as planned 700+ years ago is BRILLIANT, and the chanelling of development away from it and towards the ring roads is pretty good too.

Maybe you want it to look like Chicago? A nice grid eh! Sheesh.

My opinion:

Urbanization, city feel, character, international flavour: Advantage Chiang Mai

Tranquility, laid back 'Thai' feel: Advantage Chiang Rai

Nature: Draw (Chiang Mai's proximity to the Samoeng loop is a strong point though, does Chiang Rai town have such scenery and elevation within 30 minutes drive of the city?).

Expat population: More young people in Chiang Mai, more retirees in Chiang Rai.

Tourism: More tourists in Chiang Mai (for better and worse depending on perspective).

Traffic jams: Chiang Mai most likely worse.

Proximity to border for ease of visa runs: Advantage Chiang Rai (but fully manageable to do a visa run in a day from CM, too).

Shopping, communications: Advantage Chiang Mai

To continue your list:

Food

Hospitals

Schools if you have kids

Airport connections

Cultural events & sights

Historical sites

Nightlife

etc.

My opinion: Is Chiang Mai everything to everyone who wants the perfect retirement place? Of course not. But if your personal answer is 'no', then I really have to question your (apprently only) alternative of of Chiang Rai.... If I didn't live in Chiang Mai then I'd choose places like Khon Kaen, Phuket and probably even Phrae, Kanchanaburi and Ayudthaya (etc, etc) long before Chiang Rai. It's the ass-end of Thailand.

(Ok, got slightly carried away, but I hope the point is made. )

Edited May 7, 200818 yr by Jefferson

I like living in big cities with good restaurants, book stores, cultural events and sleaze, so Chiang Mai is perfect for me, but for all those folks who complain about cars and pollution, "too many tourists" and such, it seems like Chiang Rai would be perfect.

I never understand why Chiang Rai isn't very popular with foreigners, but it never has been. I often wonder if people really know what they want.

Chiang mai, hands down. Chiang Rai sprawls like a large city but has small city amenities. Figure an hours drive out of Chiang Rai to get to anyplace interesting. To live near Chiang Mai, but not in Chiang Mai, is my idea of the perfect tradeoff.

With respect I would like to know what in your opinion is a badly planned city !!

Bangkok, for starters. Or anything ever built in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Chiang Mai is very well planned. It's got three ring roads with TUNNELS under the main roads out of town. In Thailand, that's completely unheard of. Your turn.

Chiangmai, is, IMHO a good example of bad planning in the extreme. A blind (& drunk) town planner could not possibly do worse.

Time to get someone to delivery another Chang to your arm chair.

For starters there is no good reason why all the streets and lanes meander around haphazardly "well is there"

What does that even mean? Can you start by planning your posts better?

The inner city layout as planned 700+ years ago is BRILLIANT, and the chanelling of development away from it and towards the ring roads is pretty good too.

Maybe you want it to look like Chicago? A nice grid eh! Sheesh.

C'mon, planned seven hundred years ago. You gotta be joking

Personal tastes differ of course, but Chiang Rai would be too, err... countrified for my liking. It's a very charming town, of course, but Chiang Mai has better access to good hospitals, schools, universities, cultural venues, etc. Which maybe important if you plan to live here with a family.

I didn't wanna go somewhere too populated with heaps of tourists...but didn't wanna go somewhere with NOTHING. Maybe living 20 minutes drive out of Chiang Mai would be perfect?

I live only 7 min drive from the city and I haven't seen a single tourist here in almost three years. It appears that the tourists are not very interested in local housing estates.

Cheers, CMX

The inner city layout as planned 700+ years ago is BRILLIANT, and the chanelling of development away from it and towards the ring roads is pretty good too.

C'mon, planned seven hundred years ago. You gotta be joking

I like to joke, but here I was merely stating something that's I think is widely agreed upon here?

Basically what happened is that King Mengrai got together with his buddies (the Three Kings) on (Thai) New Year's eve on April 12, AD 1296 and stuck a stick in the sand and said 'here'. To this day I think this has proven an excellent and auspicious choice; he picked a spot that was shielded by mountains on one side and by a river on the other, with plane fertile fields in the valley stretching out North and South for hundreds of miles. This gave the city easy access to acres of fertile ground for farming with a river there for transport. It was high enough to be free of flooding (old city, remember, only later it expanded on the other side of the river which is more prone to flooding), yet flat enough to easily build on.

I really wasn't kidding when I said 'brilliant'...

The inner city layout as planned 700+ years ago is BRILLIANT, and the chanelling of development away from it and towards the ring roads is pretty good too.

C'mon, planned seven hundred years ago. You gotta be joking

I like to joke, but here I was merely stating something that's I think is widely agreed upon here?

Basically what happened is that King Mengrai got together with his buddies (the Three Kings) on (Thai) New Year's eve on April 12, AD 1296 and stuck a stick in the sand and said 'here'. To this day I think this has proven an excellent and auspicious choice; he picked a spot that was shielded by mountains on one side and by a river on the other, with plane fertile fields in the valley stretching out North and South for hundreds of miles. This gave the city easy access to acres of fertile ground for farming with a river there for transport. It was high enough to be free of flooding (old city, remember, only later it expanded on the other side of the river which is more prone to flooding), yet flat enough to easily build on.

I really wasn't kidding when I said 'brilliant'...

great post jefferson.

I like living in big cities with good book stores,

Now THAT IS a surprise UG

At least I listed it as number two.

Basically what happened is that King Mengrai got together with his buddies (the Three Kings) on (Thai) New Year's eve on April 12, AD 1296 and stuck a stick in the sand and said 'here'. To this day I think this has proven an excellent and auspicious choice; he picked a spot that was shielded by mountains on one side and by a river on the other, with plane fertile fields in the valley stretching out North and South for hundreds of miles. This gave the city easy access to acres of fertile ground for farming with a river there for transport. It was high enough to be free of flooding (old city, remember, only later it expanded on the other side of the river which is more prone to flooding), yet flat enough to easily build on.

I really wasn't kidding when I said 'brilliant'...

He had learnt from his first mistake: Wiang Khum Kam.