Despite what people say the polution in ChiangMai is not too bad.

What the hel_l is that suposed to mean - everyone thinks Chiang Mai has bad pollution except you?

Is CM polluted or not? Personally, I wouldn't live there as it's polluted with farang.

I have lived in Thailand for going on 9 years, I lived in Pattaya and Sattahip for 5 years ,met my wife and on a visit to her little village, I fell in love with rural central Thailand and its friendly people, the people are the greatest asset Thailand has, the low cost of living ,good medical care.

The pluses outweighs the negatives, I came from a high powered "lets get things done now" but now I adjusted to a slower pace of living. I am the only Falang in my village and I do not speak Thai as Thai is a tonal language and I am hearing disabled. I love the people, the pace of living, the cohesiveness of the people.

My only contact to the outside world is the telephone, satellite TV and the Internet. And I love it, Thailand may not be made for all but it is perfect for me!

I never forget that I am but a visitor in the country of Thailand and as such, I greatly appreciate their sharing their beautiful country/ customs with me.

The answer for most (80-90%) people is: its cheap here to build yourself a kind of petty bourgeois lifestyle they could not afford in their homecountries.

This means usually a house for the family, a garden, alcohol (beer is expensive but liquor is cheap) and affordable pussy 10 or more years their junior.

Think this is one of the most accurate descriptions I have ever read regarding the "Farang condition" in Thailand for the vast majority of expats.....Well done "uhuh"...

But we must add at this juncture that this description is not applicable in any way to TV posters, as we all know all our esteemed TV posters are married to various HiSo Thai/Chinese, who all have at least a doctorate but usually a double doctorate and are well connected within the Goverment/Police/Army.

When said esteemed TV members are stopped by the local BIB on their Honda Waves, because their BMW, Merc or Aston Martin is in the garage being fixed all they have to do is pull out a business card of the above mentioned or show them a telephone number on the mobile phone to scare off Thailands finest...