Should I Move To Chiang Mai?

[anonymouse]

Thanks for the info and links pjclark1. By all accounts, it appears it's entirely a buyer's market. Makes me wonder if we should ever consider buying a house here, certainly not for the next 5 years and until I'm sure I'm happy with my child's education. It sounds an absolute nightmare to offload one if one needs to. Maybe building/buying a cheap place that matches the cost of rental would make sense, though I'd guess it'd have to be way out of town to get the price down, but renting seems the way forward for the foreseeable. I also hear you on the agents.

Your day to day costs make interesting reading. Seems my family should be OK. What are you doing about education further down the line? Having read some of the posts on the forum, the views seem to be pretty polarized. International schools are strongly recommended by those that can afford it, but I understand you only get real value if you part with about 500K a year. Plus I understand the education is all in English so no Thai is learnt - which I consider a massive disadvantage.

A Thai woman and her daughter who are friends of ours and live in London strongly favour Thai private education over "international", and this seems to have cost her around 150K a year. She sent her daughter to private bi-lingual school before she came over to the UK (and her daughter currently goes to a UK comprehensive but will return to Thai private bi-lingual) and the mother herself was educated at a Thai private bi-lingual school and not at an international. She's currently in the final year of her Phd and speaks near-perfect English, so private Thai schools can't be that bad! She's from BKK though. Can the standard of education be so radically different between two cities?

Oddly though, she couldn't imagine us living in an 8-15K rented property and thinks we should be looking at a min. of 20K, so there's no 100% consensus on anything. She just returned to London having spent 2 weeks in Chiang Mai as part of her Aston University (UK) research for her Phd. She really loved it, and hadn't really been there before, which was another good sign!

As Peace Blondie says Prem will set you back around 500k, the other International Schools a lot less, English programme's at Thai Private Schools around 100k.

As you mention opinion is very polarized on what the best option is, Prem is the Chiang Mai equivelent of a Harrow or Eton in the UK.

I know Thai's who have attended Private Schools in Chiang Mai and are now Lawyers or hold management positions and are doing well but obviously they are not competing in the international market.

My view is that my family will be living in Thailand and that with the advantage of being fluent in Thai and English and attending a good Thai private school with an English Programme my children will have a headstart for a successful career in Thailand.

Your Thai friends take on the rental prices might be based on Bangkok prices or what she has seen on the internet.

[pjclark1]

I just noticed in an earlier post you asked about "red light districts"

This is not like the western world, pretty much every bar and coffee shop has working girls so the whole town could be considered a red light district.

The ladies are all very pleasant, most western women don't evan realise what is happening around them.

My views on schooling is that you send them to a local school and integrate with the community.

They already have a big enough advantage in life, they will speak Thai and English.

I don't really approve of those ex-pats who segregate themselves away in little enclaves ... and neither do many Thais. You know ho I mean. Live here for ten years, can't speak, read or write Thai at all.

Strangely enough they tend to be the same sort of people who live in the UK and winge about foreigners, etc.

PS

After that other housing post, my gf asked around, and has been offered a 3 story town house, within 200m of the moat (near ChiangMai gate) for 6000bht a month. These are usually operated as 2 floors for living and the ground floor for a shop or business of some sort.

Edited September 21, 2009 by pjclark1

[chriswatson]

Thanks for the info and links pjclark1. By all accounts, it appears it's entirely a buyer's market. Makes me wonder if we should ever consider buying a house here, certainly not for the next 5 years and until I'm sure I'm happy with my child's education. It sounds an absolute nightmare to offload one if one needs to. Maybe building/buying a cheap place that matches the cost of rental would make sense, though I'd guess it'd have to be way out of town to get the price down, but renting seems the way forward for the foreseeable. I also hear you on the agents.

Your day to day costs make interesting reading. Seems my family should be OK. What are you doing about education further down the line? Having read some of the posts on the forum, the views seem to be pretty polarized. International schools are strongly recommended by those that can afford it, but I understand you only get real value if you part with about 500K a year. Plus I understand the education is all in English so no Thai is learnt - which I consider a massive disadvantage.

A Thai woman and her daughter who are friends of ours and live in London strongly favour Thai private education over "international", and this seems to have cost her around 150K a year. She sent her daughter to private bi-lingual school before she came over to the UK (and her daughter currently goes to a UK comprehensive but will return to Thai private bi-lingual) and the mother herself was educated at a Thai private bi-lingual school and not at an international. She's currently in the final year of her Phd and speaks near-perfect English, so private Thai schools can't be that bad! She's from BKK though. Can the standard of education be so radically different between two cities?

Oddly though, she couldn't imagine us living in an 8-15K rented property and thinks we should be looking at a min. of 20K, so there's no 100% consensus on anything. She just returned to London having spent 2 weeks in Chiang Mai as part of her Aston University (UK) research for her Phd. She really loved it, and hadn't really been there before, which was another good sign!

As Peace Blondie says Prem will set you back around 500k, the other International Schools a lot less, English programme's at Thai Private Schools around 100k.

As you mention opinion is very polarized on what the best option is, Prem is the Chiang Mai equivelent of a Harrow or Eton in the UK.

I know Thai's who have attended Private Schools in Chiang Mai and are now Lawyers or hold management positions and are doing well but obviously they are not competing in the international market.

My view is that my family will be living in Thailand and that with the advantage of being fluent in Thai and English and attending a good Thai private school with an English Programme my children will have a headstart for a successful career in Thailand.

Your Thai friends take on the rental prices might be based on Bangkok prices or what she has seen on the internet.

Anonymouse, may I ask which Private schools you'd recommend? Sorry if this has been done to death on other threads...

[chriswatson]

I just noticed in an earlier post you asked about "red light districts"

This is not like the western world, pretty much every bar and coffee shop has working girls so the whole town could be considered a red light district.

The ladies are all very pleasant, most western women don't evan realise what is happening around them.

My views on schooling is that you send them to a local school and integrate with the community.

They already have a big enough advantage in life, they will speak Thai and English.

I don't really approve of those ex-pats who segregate themselves away in little enclaves ... and neither do many Thais. You know ho I mean. Live here for ten years, can't speak, read or write Thai at all.

Strangely enough they tend to be the same sort of people who live in the UK and winge about foreigners, etc.

PS

After that other housing post, my gf asked around, and has been offered a 3 story town house, within 200m of the moat (near ChiangMai gate) for 6000bht a month. These are usually operated as 2 floors for living and the ground floor for a shop or business of some sort.

Yes, I'm aware of Thai bar culture, and I was implying not wanting to live smack bang in a Chiang Mai equivalent of Patpong or in an area full of go-go bars etc. - especially if I've got to walk past it everyday. It's OK my being incredibly handsome in the first place, but it gets tiring being told this 100 times a day, believe me!

I tend to agree with your take on education, particularly having spoken to my BKK friend. I think if I did end up sending our child to Prem, we'd end up with one of the (finanically) poorest pupils there and living in a shack, or at least have spent a sizable amount of cash my child may wish to put to better use as an adult. I can see it would be good for future connections/business networking/old-school tie etc, but I'm not interested in "keeping up with the Jones'" and the inevitable "extras" that must come with a Prem or similar either now or in the future, especially if it means a hefty financial drain on future capital. Each to their own and all that.

Again, your g/f's quote on a town house (although unseen) seems very reasonable. However, I take it this would be an annual contract? I'm looking to build up my renting in stages to make sure I'm not locked into an area/building we could end up being unhappy with or not suitable for school. So, thinking of weekly rents in a serviced apartment first, followed by 1-3 month contracts, then 6-12 months and finally 1-2 year deals in about 18 months time, assuming we last the course that is.

Not interested in setting up a shop or business of any sort though, so would probably prefer somewhere intended 100% for living in only, rather than having a shop front. Are all properties of this price subject to having a shop front?

[getgoin]

I just noticed in an earlier post you asked about "red light districts"

This is not like the western world, pretty much every bar and coffee shop has working girls so the whole town could be considered a red light district.

The ladies are all very pleasant, most western women don't evan realise what is happening around them.

My views on schooling is that you send them to a local school and integrate with the community.

They already have a big enough advantage in life, they will speak Thai and English.

I don't really approve of those ex-pats who segregate themselves away in little enclaves ... and neither do many Thais. You know ho I mean. Live here for ten years, can't speak, read or write Thai at all.

Strangely enough they tend to be the same sort of people who live in the UK and winge about foreigners, etc.

PS

After that other housing post, my gf asked around, and has been offered a 3 story town house, within 200m of the moat (near ChiangMai gate) for 6000bht a month. These are usually operated as 2 floors for living and the ground floor for a shop or business of some sort.

Yes, I'm aware of Thai bar culture, and I was implying not wanting to live smack bang in a Chiang Mai equivalent of Patpong or in an area full of go-go bars etc. - especially if I've got to walk past it everyday. It's OK my being incredibly handsome in the first place, but it gets tiring being told this 100 times a day, believe me!

I tend to agree with your take on education, particularly having spoken to my BKK friend. I think if I did end up sending our child to Prem, we'd end up with one of the (finanically) poorest pupils there and living in a shack, or at least have spent a sizable amount of cash my child may wish to put to better use as an adult. I can see it would be good for future connections/business networking/old-school tie etc, but I'm not interested in "keeping up with the Jones'" and the inevitable "extras" that must come with a Prem or similar either now or in the future, especially if it means a hefty financial drain on future capital. Each to their own and all that.

Again, your g/f's quote on a town house (although unseen) seems very reasonable. However, I take it this would be an annual contract? I'm looking to build up my renting in stages to make sure I'm not locked into an area/building we could end up being unhappy with or not suitable for school. So, thinking of weekly rents in a serviced apartment first, followed by 1-3 month contracts, then 6-12 months and finally 1-2 year deals in about 18 months time, assuming we last the course that is.

Not interested in setting up a shop or business of any sort though, so would probably prefer somewhere intended 100% for living in only, rather than having a shop front. Are all properties of this price subject to having a shop front?

It is a rare breed that translates. Although we disagree on many thing we agree on more. I am not going to try to tell you about the mind set of the expat or even the UBER EXPAT that many have called a few of the posters here. (Myself not included.)

In the last 10 to 20 years I have seen a lot more people with reservations do this translation, that I call it. If you ask me it dilutes the gene pool.

The big question is, do you have the balls and do you have the financial means to make it. It is also called guts.

So to you, my unknown unfriend I have to say, grow some balls or stay home.

I might apologize ahead of time but do not ask about a girl that ripped you off or that you fell in love with.

[chriswatson]

I just noticed in an earlier post you asked about "red light districts"

This is not like the western world, pretty much every bar and coffee shop has working girls so the whole town could be considered a red light district.

The ladies are all very pleasant, most western women don't evan realise what is happening around them.

My views on schooling is that you send them to a local school and integrate with the community.

They already have a big enough advantage in life, they will speak Thai and English.

I don't really approve of those ex-pats who segregate themselves away in little enclaves ... and neither do many Thais. You know ho I mean. Live here for ten years, can't speak, read or write Thai at all.

Strangely enough they tend to be the same sort of people who live in the UK and winge about foreigners, etc.

PS

After that other housing post, my gf asked around, and has been offered a 3 story town house, within 200m of the moat (near ChiangMai gate) for 6000bht a month. These are usually operated as 2 floors for living and the ground floor for a shop or business of some sort.

Yes, I'm aware of Thai bar culture, and I was implying not wanting to live smack bang in a Chiang Mai equivalent of Patpong or in an area full of go-go bars etc. - especially if I've got to walk past it everyday. It's OK my being incredibly handsome in the first place, but it gets tiring being told this 100 times a day, believe me!

I tend to agree with your take on education, particularly having spoken to my BKK friend. I think if I did end up sending our child to Prem, we'd end up with one of the (finanically) poorest pupils there and living in a shack, or at least have spent a sizable amount of cash my child may wish to put to better use as an adult. I can see it would be good for future connections/business networking/old-school tie etc, but I'm not interested in "keeping up with the Jones'" and the inevitable "extras" that must come with a Prem or similar either now or in the future, especially if it means a hefty financial drain on future capital. Each to their own and all that.

Again, your g/f's quote on a town house (although unseen) seems very reasonable. However, I take it this would be an annual contract? I'm looking to build up my renting in stages to make sure I'm not locked into an area/building we could end up being unhappy with or not suitable for school. So, thinking of weekly rents in a serviced apartment first, followed by 1-3 month contracts, then 6-12 months and finally 1-2 year deals in about 18 months time, assuming we last the course that is.

Not interested in setting up a shop or business of any sort though, so would probably prefer somewhere intended 100% for living in only, rather than having a shop front. Are all properties of this price subject to having a shop front?

It is a rare breed that translates. Although we disagree on many thing we agree on more. I am not going to try to tell you about the mind set of the expat or even the UBER EXPAT that many have called a few of the posters here. (Myself not included.)

In the last 10 to 20 years I have seen a lot more people with reservations do this translation, that I call it. If you ask me it dilutes the gene pool.

The big question is, do you have the balls and do you have the financial means to make it. It is also called guts.

So to you, my unknown unfriend I have to say, grow some balls or stay home.

I might apologize ahead of time but do not ask about a girl that ripped you off or that you fell in love with.

Thanks! That's all sorted then.

Edited September 21, 2009 by chriswatson

[tezzaaa]

Hi,

I live in london too and with my wife we were thinking of moving to CM in a few years but i've done some research and won't be moving there! there is a real problem with pollution levels (PM10) which is way to high (it's quite scary). If you do your own research you will see what i mean!

There is quite a high cancer rate as a result also, check it out on google.

best wishes

T

[pjclark1]

Hi,

I live in london too and with my wife we were thinking of moving to CM in a few years but i've done some research and won't be moving there! there is a real problem with pollution levels (PM10) which is way to high (it's quite scary). If you do your own research you will see what i mean!

There is quite a high cancer rate as a result also, check it out on google.

best wishes

T

The pollution in Chiang Mai is really bad ...... in March

The farmers all burn the stubble on the rice fields in one big burn.

The rest of the year is fine.

Weekly rents are very high up here, if you stay anywhere longer than 10 days, pay the monthly rate. You are looking at 3500bht to 6000bth a month for a 1 room condo or guest house at a monthly price. I did find a very nice 2 bed apartment (with jacuzzi) for 10000bht a month, but it has a long term occupant. I have found 10 days short term costs the same as 1 month.

For example

Naunpranee Guest House, pay 7000bht when you move in, get 1500bht back when you leave at the end of the month. No contract, no agreement, no obligation. No main road, safe for kids, car park and reception area for them to run around in.

What you do is this

Come up with no bookings (everywhere is empty)

Get Taxi from airport (120bht fixed price)

Book into Top North Guest House at 500bht a night (aircon/fridge/tv/nice swimming pool)

Find a monthly rental within the first 2 days, pay 5000bht a month

Look for what you really want!

Pretty much the only "hello handsome man" area is Loy Krow road.

Very easy to avoid.

Edited September 22, 2009 by pjclark1

[Priceless]

Hi,

I live in london too and with my wife we were thinking of moving to CM in a few years but i've done some research and won't be moving there! there is a real problem with pollution levels (PM10) which is way to high (it's quite scary). If you do your own research you will see what i mean!

There is quite a high cancer rate as a result also, check it out on google.

best wishes

T

What you are saying about pollution levels is for the most part plainly wrong, please see e.g. post #50 above.

As for the incidence of cancer this is not, according to all academic research that I've been able to find, in any way related to ambient air pollution. If you have further interest in this, please do a search of the CM forum, it's all been covered numerous times.

/ Priceless

[chriswatson]

Yes, I'd heard about the smog resulting from farmer's burning stubble. Good to know it's only really a problem in March. Sounds like a good time to take a holiday down south etc.

Also, thanks for info on the serviced apartment. Hotel for a couple of days and a cheapish monthly rent seems the way to go. Probably need to spend a few weeks with wife's folks in Li District first though, before setting off and hunting property in earnest.

In terms of bringing stuff over from the UK, other than the marmite and Coleman mustard cravings (which no doubt I can buy in Chiang Mai somewhere anyway), what else should I bring. Are Apple products same/more expensive in CM than they are in Europe? Can Xbox's, Nintendo's be bought cheap over there or is there really no difference in price? Can you get 'phone post-paid contracts with Internet access for Blackberry's etc? Anything one would recommend bringing?

[Thakkar]

<snip> Are Apple products same/more expensive in CM than they are in Europe? Can Xbox's, Nintendo's be bought cheap over there or is there really no difference in price? Can you get 'phone post-paid contracts with Internet access for Blackberry's etc? Anything one would recommend bringing?

Apple has an online store in Thailand with free shipping within Thailand. You can check the prices here: http://store.apple.com/th

If you buy electrical products in the UK, you'll get them with the UK plugs and will need to use an adapter when using the product here.

There's also an Apple dealer in CM whose prices are in most cases the same as the prices you'll see at the Apple Thailand online store. Sometimes the dealer has promotions that the online store might not. Sometimes the online store has promotions that the dealer might not.

The iPhone is available here from True for about 28k baht untethered. Cheaper if with contract. They also sell Blackberries.

Blackberries are available from AIS, don't know about the pricing.

Most electronics are available here, and at reasonable prices, but seldom at bargain prices. Some of the hottest, latest stuff is not available, at least not in CM. perhaps in BKK.

As to what you might need to bring, all I can say is that when I travel, there isn't much that I can think of to bring back with me.

[anonymouse]

Thanks for the info and links pjclark1. By all accounts, it appears it's entirely a buyer's market. Makes me wonder if we should ever consider buying a house here, certainly not for the next 5 years and until I'm sure I'm happy with my child's education. It sounds an absolute nightmare to offload one if one needs to. Maybe building/buying a cheap place that matches the cost of rental would make sense, though I'd guess it'd have to be way out of town to get the price down, but renting seems the way forward for the foreseeable. I also hear you on the agents.

Your day to day costs make interesting reading. Seems my family should be OK. What are you doing about education further down the line? Having read some of the posts on the forum, the views seem to be pretty polarized. International schools are strongly recommended by those that can afford it, but I understand you only get real value if you part with about 500K a year. Plus I understand the education is all in English so no Thai is learnt - which I consider a massive disadvantage.

A Thai woman and her daughter who are friends of ours and live in London strongly favour Thai private education over "international", and this seems to have cost her around 150K a year. She sent her daughter to private bi-lingual school before she came over to the UK (and her daughter currently goes to a UK comprehensive but will return to Thai private bi-lingual) and the mother herself was educated at a Thai private bi-lingual school and not at an international. She's currently in the final year of her Phd and speaks near-perfect English, so private Thai schools can't be that bad! She's from BKK though. Can the standard of education be so radically different between two cities?

Oddly though, she couldn't imagine us living in an 8-15K rented property and thinks we should be looking at a min. of 20K, so there's no 100% consensus on anything. She just returned to London having spent 2 weeks in Chiang Mai as part of her Aston University (UK) research for her Phd. She really loved it, and hadn't really been there before, which was another good sign!

As Peace Blondie says Prem will set you back around 500k, the other International Schools a lot less, English programme's at Thai Private Schools around 100k.

As you mention opinion is very polarized on what the best option is, Prem is the Chiang Mai equivelent of a Harrow or Eton in the UK.

I know Thai's who have attended Private Schools in Chiang Mai and are now Lawyers or hold management positions and are doing well but obviously they are not competing in the international market.

My view is that my family will be living in Thailand and that with the advantage of being fluent in Thai and English and attending a good Thai private school with an English Programme my children will have a headstart for a successful career in Thailand.

Your Thai friends take on the rental prices might be based on Bangkok prices or what she has seen on the internet.

Anonymouse, may I ask which Private schools you'd recommend? Sorry if this has been done to death on other threads...

I wouldn't like to recommend any as it has been done to death on other threads and the opinions cover a wide range, have a look at the Varee topic that was recently posted.

One factor to take into account is where you will be living, some of the kids on my moo baan spend two/three hours commuting backwards and forwards to school every day.

Private schools to look at; Varee, Sacred Heart, Yuparaj, Prince Royal, Sarasas and Dara in no particular order.

Priceless is the resident pollution expert look through some of his older posts to get a balanced view on it.

My personal view is that unless you or your family have any underlying health issues you should be ok.

Loi Kroh area is the nearest to a red light distict but also contains a lot of non girlie bar restaurants and bars, it's not really a residental area anyway.

Your wife might remember areas like santitam and kampaeng din that did have a seedy reputation a decade or so back but not now.

[Ulysses G.]

Priceless is the resident pollution expert look through some of his older posts to get a balanced view on it.

My personal view is that unless you or your family have any underlying health issues you should be ok.

Excellent advice. Priceless mixes common sense with a real knowledge of statistics to give a balanced view of the pollution problem.

[chriswatson]

<snip> Are Apple products same/more expensive in CM than they are in Europe? Can Xbox's, Nintendo's be bought cheap over there or is there really no difference in price? Can you get 'phone post-paid contracts with Internet access for Blackberry's etc? Anything one would recommend bringing?

Apple has an online store in Thailand with free shipping within Thailand. You can check the prices here: http://store.apple.com/th

If you buy electrical products in the UK, you'll get them with the UK plugs and will need to use an adapter when using the product here.

There's also an Apple dealer in CM whose prices are in most cases the same as the prices you'll see at the Apple Thailand online store. Sometimes the dealer has promotions that the online store might not. Sometimes the online store has promotions that the dealer might not.

The iPhone is available here from True for about 28k baht untethered. Cheaper if with contract. They also sell Blackberries.

Blackberries are available from AIS, don't know about the pricing.

Most electronics are available here, and at reasonable prices, but seldom at bargain prices. Some of the hottest, latest stuff is not available, at least not in CM. perhaps in BKK.

As to what you might need to bring, all I can say is that when I travel, there isn't much that I can think of to bring back with me.

Thanks for that Thakkar. The Apple hardware costs are comparable to UK prices, but the True tariff is significantly cheaper than a basic contract with a network equivalent in the UK. Shame one is locked in for 24 months, rather than the typical 12-18 months in Europe. I was thinking of bringing my own (untethered) Blackberry and will check out AIS to see what kind of contract they can offer without providing the device.

[pjclark1]

In terms of bringing stuff over from the UK, other than the marmite and Coleman mustard cravings (which no doubt I can buy in Chiang Mai somewhere anyway), what else should I bring. Are Apple products same/more expensive in CM than they are in Europe? Can Xbox's, Nintendo's be bought cheap over there or is there really no difference in price? Can you get 'phone post-paid contracts with Internet access for Blackberry's etc? Anything one would recommend bringing?

Bring marmite, they do sell the Australian 'original marmite' locally but it's disgusting.

Xboxs, never seen one out here, they do have nintendo and playstation, but at a horrendous price. You want one, bring it with you.

I wish I had brought Marmite and my Xbox 360!

Other electronics easily available.

SIMS are very cheap and easy to get out here.

I have a Vodaphone 950 EDGE/GPRS dongle (1900bht from Pantrip Plaza level 2) in my Netbook and use a DTAC sim in it for all my internet access 460kbs. That gives me internet almost everywhere out here, from the darkest depths of Issan to the brightest beaches of Phi Phi. Cost 100bth for the SIM (Centrum Plaza DTAC shop), then 200bht a month in advance for 100hrs internet connection (pay at the shop, start of each month).

Don't bother with True, very limited area ... I'm ditching them from my phone.

[debcmai]

A year ago did what your thinking about; started out renting a nice large 2 bedroom furnished apartment for 16,000B near Kad Suan Kaew Mall with pool (lots of fun for our son) and 16th floor views of Doh Suthep. 6 months later found a nice double lot with 3 bedrooms, 4 baths for 8000 B 10 mins from the moat - but recommend with your plan you'll plenty of time to negotiate rental amounts. Prices vary and there is plenty of moving room if your willing to ask.

Had the same idea for a truck, but bought a used truck and a couple of new motorbikes....stuck the rest in the bank......

May I ask where this is?? Now that my son has graduated, we are wanting to down size and this sounds just about right. May I ask, did that price include electric, and if not, how much would that be? thanks

[chriswatson]

In terms of bringing stuff over from the UK, other than the marmite and Coleman mustard cravings (which no doubt I can buy in Chiang Mai somewhere anyway), what else should I bring. Are Apple products same/more expensive in CM than they are in Europe? Can Xbox's, Nintendo's be bought cheap over there or is there really no difference in price? Can you get 'phone post-paid contracts with Internet access for Blackberry's etc? Anything one would recommend bringing?

Bring marmite, they do sell the Australian 'original marmite' locally but it's disgusting.

Xboxs, never seen one out here, they do have nintendo and playstation, but at a horrendous price. You want one, bring it with you.

I wish I had brought Marmite and my Xbox 360!

Other electronics easily available.

SIMS are very cheap and easy to get out here.

I have a Vodaphone 950 EDGE/GPRS dongle (1900bht from Pantrip Plaza level 2) in my Netbook and use a DTAC sim in it for all my internet access 460kbs. That gives me internet almost everywhere out here, from the darkest depths of Issan to the brightest beaches of Phi Phi. Cost 100bth for the SIM (Centrum Plaza DTAC shop), then 200bht a month in advance for 100hrs internet connection (pay at the shop, start of each month).

Don't bother with True, very limited area ... I'm ditching them from my phone.

Alright! This is very good to hear.

[purplehaze]

I just noticed in an earlier post you asked about "red light districts"

This is not like the western world, pretty much every bar and coffee shop has working girls so the whole town could be considered a red light district.

The ladies are all very pleasant, most western women don't evan realise what is happening around them.

Are you sure you live in Chiang Mai?

Maybe your confused with Pattaya or your regular night out is Lo kroh road and nowhere else.

[Ulysses G.]

Bring marmite, they do sell the Australian 'original marmite' locally but it's disgusting.

That just proves that it is the real thing!

Edited September 24, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[harrry]

Bring marmite, they do sell the Australian 'original marmite' locally but it's disgusting.

That just proves that it is the real thing!

Not really it was great till the Americans took the company over.

[Ulysses G.]

Marmite and Vegemite are two products that Americans should have nothing to do with.

[chriswatson]

So what is it expats miss from their country, other than relatives and friends?

Being English, I think it will be the "obvious" for me...

Free houses with real ale, going to the football, light evenings, four seasons, the BBC (not BBC News 24 which is pants and I've seen enough of in hotels during business trips), Sky satellite, roast dinners, doner kebabs, Bangledeshi curries, Coleman's mustard, Heinz baked beans, Heinz salad cream, Stella Artois, blackberries, blueberries & strawberries, Cox's apples, public library's with CD-borrowing schemes, "free" local doctor's and prescriptions (for child), being able to buy non-mainstream music, newspapers, horseradish, cheese from the UK and Europe, wine, Jacob's cracker's, Walker's crisps, pork scratchings, olive oil, the cuts of meat, brocolli & sprouts, proper sausages, bacon & chips, haggis, black pudding, white pudding, ham baguettes, cold prawns, whole grain bread ...

sorry if I'm making any Brits hungry!

How about anyone else? Would be interested to hear.

Also, could someone kindly let me know when school terms and holidays typically fall in Chinag Mai and what time it typically gets dark (1800?).

Cheers

[Rasseru]

So what is it expats miss from their country, other than relatives and friends?

Absolutely nothing, in my case.

[IanForbes]

Not being an expat, and only living in Chiang Mai for 5 months of the year, it is hard to make a real comparison. I get the best of both worlds. I live in BC for spring, summer and fall, and move to Chiang Mai for the winter. I miss some of what Chiang Mai offers while I'm in Canada, and I miss some of what BC offers when I'm in Chiang Mai. I haven't found a way to clone myself to have both at the same time. On many threads I've stated what I like about both places and there's no need to repeat myself.

[el jefe]

People who miss that many things usually don't last long here. Fortunately, most of those items (the ones I understood, anyway) are available here, although you may have to increase the budget you stated earlier.

[slapout]

Bring marmite, they do sell the Australian 'original marmite' locally but it's disgusting.

That just proves that it is the real thing!

Not really it was great till the Americans took the company over.

Although the rumor is unproven, I heard that the addition of peanut butte to Marmite was instigated by Jimmy Carter to improve the texture/taste.

[Ulysses G.]

Like many things that Jimmy Carter has come up with, it is not a bad idea, but it did not work.

[PeaceBlondie]

Also, could someone kindly let me know when school terms and holidays typically fall in Chinag Mai and what time it typically gets dark (1800?).

Cheers

School schedules vary. International schools start in mid-August. Thai academic calendar starts in May; first semester ends this week.

Today is equinox; sun rises and sets abruptly at 6:14 local time. Never daylight savings; days vary from 13:20 to 10:40 hours. Northern hemisphere; very short and mild winters.

[Priceless]

So what is it expats miss from their country, other than relatives and friends?

Being English, I think it will be the "obvious" for me...

Free houses with real ale, going to the football, light evenings, four seasons, the BBC (not BBC News 24 which is pants and I've seen enough of in hotels during business trips), Sky satellite, roast dinners, doner kebabs, Bangledeshi curries, Coleman's mustard, Heinz baked beans, Heinz salad cream, Stella Artois, blackberries, blueberries & strawberries, Cox's apples, public library's with CD-borrowing schemes, "free" local doctor's and prescriptions (for child), being able to buy non-mainstream music, newspapers, horseradish, cheese from the UK and Europe, wine, Jacob's cracker's, Walker's crisps, pork scratchings, olive oil, the cuts of meat, brocolli & sprouts, proper sausages, bacon & chips, haggis, black pudding, white pudding, ham baguettes, cold prawns, whole grain bread ...

sorry if I'm making any Brits hungry!

How about anyone else? Would be interested to hear.

Also, could someone kindly let me know when school terms and holidays typically fall in Chinag Mai and what time it typically gets dark (1800?).

Cheers

Not to turn this into a food thread, but the things I've highlighted above are certainly available in Chiang Mai. I am sure there are others that I just don't know about

/ Priceless

[Ulysses G.]

Also, bacon, chips, roast dinners, ham baguettes, cold prawns, strawberries are easily available and imported blackberries, blueberries are available for an expensive price sometimes.

Edited September 29, 2009 by Ulysses G.