Hello there,

55 years old, planning to retire in the next year and settle somewhere in Asia with a retirement income of around 100,000 baht a month. I checked out Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket a few years ago but at my age I'm looking for somewhere a bit more quiet and hopefully safer. I've been to Japan (expensive), Philippines (hmm) and a few other countries in the area. Never really found what I'm looking for.

As it's the Chiang Mai forum I'm hoping to get some feedback from the people living here as to what it's like in Chiang Mai and why they picked Chiang Mai over other destinations in Thailand. Also did anyone consider any other countries in Asia.

I hope to hear some good advice.

I never choose Chiang Mai as my retirement destination.

Somehow I just ended up here.

After living in Texas, Nicaragua and southernmost Mexico, I chose CMai. Tried Hua Hin; no hospitals, Came back here.

Chiang Mai is terrible.. it's boring, no nightlife worthy of the word 'life', it's polluted, congested, unsafe, ugly with all the concrete box type architecture, ugly electrical and telephone wiring all over the place, stench of (almost) open sewers, many areas in town are prone to flooding, you can't own houses or land, you're effectively illiterate unless you learn the local script, few people speak good English, Fugitive ex PM Thaksin is from Chiang Mai, beer is expensive and not very good, the food's too spicy and comes from open air markets where flies and bacteria are all over, (this is why the only topic you can talk to other expats about is where to find a half decent hamburger), you'll be ripped off for everything you want to buy (including that hamburger), Chiang Mai is an arts & culture Sahara, for nightlife you better really enjoy "Kantoke Dinner" because everything else is a joke, the weather ranges from 'very uncomfortable' to 'downright toxic' with the possible exception of a couple weeks in December or January.. I could go on. Look at Channel 18, even the panda's are depressed, and they're supposedly the main attraction! Yes, a Panda Jail is actually a main attraction, go figure.

Terrible, terrible place.

And TV sports events are on at really awkward times. It's ridiculous.

And there's no beach. But if there was a beach, I bet it would suck, too.

Really the only highlight is the good spirit and general positive attitude of the Western expats in town. Not sure if that swings it for you.

Edited November 5, 200916 yr by WinnieTheKhwai

If your interested in A nice little city,you should check out udonthani. go to udon map forum and check it out.Many western people there.And the prices haven't been ruined like places like chiang mai and pattaya.Happy hunting

If your interested in A nice little city,you should check out udonthani. go to udon map forum and check it out.Many western people there.And the prices haven't been ruined like places like chiang mai and pattaya.Happy hunting

How about Cuenca Ecuador? I hear that's a nice quiet city with great weather, and Ecuador is very affordable and has an attractive retirement visa program.

http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/html/cuenca.html

Lovely people, all.

Walt

Chiang Mai is terrible.. it's boring, no nightlife worthy of the word 'life', it's polluted, congested, unsafe, ugly with all the concrete box type architecture, ugly electrical and telephone wiring all over the place, stench of (almost) open sewers, many areas in town are prone to flooding, you can't own houses or land, you're effectively illiterate unless you learn the local script, few people speak good English, Fugitive ex PM Thaksin is from Chiang Mai, beer is expensive and not very good, the food's too spicy and comes from open air markets where flies and bacteria are all over, (this is why the only topic you can talk to other expats about is where to find a half decent hamburger), you'll be ripped off for everything you want to buy (including that hamburger), Chiang Mai is an arts & culture Sahara, for nightlife you better really enjoy "Kantoke Dinner" because everything else is a joke, the weather ranges from 'very uncomfortable' to 'downright toxic' with the possible exception of a couple weeks in December or January.. I could go on. Look at Channel 18, even the panda's are depressed, and they're supposedly the main attraction! Yes, a Panda Jail is actually a main attraction, go figure.

Terrible, terrible place.

And TV sports events are on at really awkward times. It's ridiculous.

And there's no beach. But if there was a beach, I bet it would suck, too.

Really the only highlight is the good spirit and general positive attitude of the Western expats in town. Not sure if that swings it for you.

So I gather you don`t like it than?

Chiang Mai is terrible.. it's boring, no nightlife worthy of the word 'life', it's polluted, congested, unsafe, ugly with all the concrete box type architecture, ugly electrical and telephone wiring all over the place, stench of (almost) open sewers, many areas in town are prone to flooding, you can't own houses or land, you're effectively illiterate unless you learn the local script, few people speak good English, Fugitive ex PM Thaksin is from Chiang Mai, beer is expensive and not very good, the food's too spicy and comes from open air markets where flies and bacteria are all over, (this is why the only topic you can talk to other expats about is where to find a half decent hamburger), you'll be ripped off for everything you want to buy (including that hamburger), Chiang Mai is an arts & culture Sahara, for nightlife you better really enjoy "Kantoke Dinner" because everything else is a joke, the weather ranges from 'very uncomfortable' to 'downright toxic' with the possible exception of a couple weeks in December or January.. I could go on. Look at Channel 18, even the panda's are depressed, and they're supposedly the main attraction! Yes, a Panda Jail is actually a main attraction, go figure.

Terrible, terrible place.

And TV sports events are on at really awkward times. It's ridiculous.

And there's no beach. But if there was a beach, I bet it would suck, too.

Really the only highlight is the good spirit and general positive attitude of the Western expats in town. Not sure if that swings it for you.

So I gather you don`t like it than?

Obviously a spoof, the line about the western expats is the give-away.

PS . when did the spell-check on TV start? Great idea. It didn't pick up on your 'than' though.

What spelll checkk?

How about Cuenca Ecuador? I hear that's a nice quiet city with great weather, and Ecuador is very affordable and has an attractive retirement visa program.

http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/html/cuenca.html

And very sexy women too.

And

The average daily temperature is 14.6 degrees Celsius - 58 degrees Fahrenheit.

If I had to live in Ecuador I would chose Atacames on the coast, Spent some time there in the early 80's and it was not bad. The food in Ecuador is rubbish though, nothing to compare with thai food.

Edited November 5, 200916 yr by Dontdisturb

Hello there,

55 years old, planning to retire in the next year and settle somewhere in Asia with a retirement income of around 100,000 baht a month. I checked out Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket a few years ago but at my age I'm looking for somewhere a bit more quiet and hopefully safer. I've been to Japan (expensive), Philippines (hmm) and a few other countries in the area. Never really found what I'm looking for.

As it's the Chiang Mai forum I'm hoping to get some feedback from the people living here as to what it's like in Chiang Mai and why they picked Chiang Mai over other destinations in Thailand. Also did anyone consider any other countries in Asia.

I hope to hear some good advice.

Quite like Chiang Mai.

Quite like Bangkok, too.

Same-same goes for Pattaya.

And Koh Chang.

Can't abide Koh Samui (apart from the fact that it's part of Thailand - sort of).

Have heard Hua Hin's nice (not been there yet).

Have you had a look at my own favourite corner of the globe, Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai?

Might be worth a look.

Good luck, wherever you end up.

Everyone will have different reasons no doubt but some will no doubt have moved to CM based on name appeal alone. Tell people that you live in Pattaya and they'll guess that you're a hard drinking sex tourist, Huan Hin and you must be retired and play golf a lot, Phuketians must have money and folks who move to Issan must be impoverished. But tell Westerners you live in Chiang Mai and they will start to take you seriously, Chiang Mai you say, hmm, now I hear that's a very interesting place, has a certain mystique and cachet about it and that I think is because CM has not been pigeon holed yet in the same way that many other tourist destination in Thailand have.

Tell people that you live in Pattaya and they'll guess that you're a hard drinking sex tourist, Huan Hin and you must be retired and play golf a lot, Phuketians must have money and folks who move to Issan must be impoverished. But tell Westerners you live in Chiang Mai and they will start to take you seriously,

Hm, I think that people who have earned to retire and are moving to Thailand are probably past the phase where they care about what other people might think...

Chiang Mai is terrible.. it's boring, no nightlife worthy of the word 'life', it's polluted, congested, unsafe, ugly with all the concrete box type architecture, ugly electrical and telephone wiring all over the place, stench of (almost) open sewers, many areas in town are prone to flooding, you can't own houses or land, you're effectively illiterate unless you learn the local script, few people speak good English, Fugitive ex PM Thaksin is from Chiang Mai, beer is expensive and not very good, the food's too spicy and comes from open air markets where flies and bacteria are all over, (this is why the only topic you can talk to other expats about is where to find a half decent hamburger), you'll be ripped off for everything you want to buy (including that hamburger), Chiang Mai is an arts & culture Sahara, for nightlife you better really enjoy "Kantoke Dinner" because everything else is a joke, the weather ranges from 'very uncomfortable' to 'downright toxic' with the possible exception of a couple weeks in December or January.. I could go on. Look at Channel 18, even the panda's are depressed, and they're supposedly the main attraction! Yes, a Panda Jail is actually a main attraction, go figure.

Terrible, terrible place.

And TV sports events are on at really awkward times. It's ridiculous.

And there's no beach. But if there was a beach, I bet it would suck, too.

Really the only highlight is the good spirit and general positive attitude of the Western expats in town. Not sure if that swings it for you.

So I gather you don`t like it than?

Obviously a spoof, the line about the western expats is the give-away.

PS . when did the spell-check on TV start? Great idea. It didn't pick up on your 'than' though.

A spell check would not pick up "than" as incorrect, would it? Anyway, welcome back. Is your new role the TV grammar nazi and are you combining it with your old job.

Sawasdee Khrup Old Mike,

It was love at first night.

best, ~o:37;

Got to be the mountains for me - great biking roads, beautiful scenery (except March/April) and very friendly locals. In the city, all the conveniences an expat could want all within a fairly compact area. The only downside is the whinging feckers on here but it's a choice to be here (TV and CM) or not.

Hope you enjoy wherever you end up.

Cheers,

Pikey.

To me there are three places in Thailand that I like: Chiang Mai, Kanchanaburi and Krabi. All have their good and bad points... but mostly all good. I like Krabi for being close to the Andaman Sea and not so over priced as Phuket. I like Kanchanaburi because it's close to the mountains and rivers. I like Chiang Mai because it has a little bit of everything, but it's still not too big. It just doesn't have the ocean, but I can live with that. Too many of the smaller cities in Thailand do not have enough English speaking people and the night life sucks. Because I have so many good friends in Chiang Mai, that is where I hang my hat most of the time. I visit the other locations on a regular basis.

Came to Bangkok for a holiday. hated it, said send me somewhere else, arrived in CM.

Never went home!

Not the hustle and bustle of Bangkok.

A quieter more relaxed way of life with girls and booze if you want it.

Plenty of English bookshops.

Plenty of people who speak English (for those that can't be bothered to learn Thai)

Easy to live in the countryside, but still be near the city.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to reply. Every day I try to read about 50 of the posts here on TM and it seems to me that CM has a lot going for it. I'll keep reading and asking more questions. I hope you don't all get tired of my questions.

BKK : traffic is unbearable, expensive,not freindly

Phuket : Tourist junk with lots of gangsters, good hospitals, right by the beach and sea

Huahin : Lovely little sea side town. There is nothing much to do after a the first week. No good hospital.

Pattaya : Tourist junk with plenty of gansters, XX, XY and XY with external XX, beach and sea, good Hospital.

Udonthani : Upcountry with shopping mall, a pretty ok hospital, nothing else, quiet.

Khon Kaen : Big universities town, new shopping mall( central group)plenty of good food with reasonable price, not many expats, not many english speaking local,

good hospital.

Chiang rai: Quiet lovely town, nice weather, not much to do.

Chiang mai : Lovely quiet city, lots of shopping mall and super market, you can find almost everything you want here, good hospital,nightlife in town(if you wish) great food both western and thai(you may ask UG) there are plenty of great food on the side of the road that just come out of the stove/BBQ you only need to find out ( Sticky rice and BBQ chicken for less than 50B a meal). Lots of local speak english, people are friendly and helpful.

Chiang Mai is terrible.. it's boring, no nightlife worthy of the word 'life', it's polluted, congested, unsafe, ugly with all the concrete box type architecture, ugly electrical and telephone wiring all over the place, stench of (almost) open sewers, many areas in town are prone to flooding, you can't own houses or land, you're effectively illiterate unless you learn the local script, few people speak good English, Fugitive ex PM Thaksin is from Chiang Mai, beer is expensive and not very good, the food's too spicy and comes from open air markets where flies and bacteria are all over, (this is why the only topic you can talk to other expats about is where to find a half decent hamburger), you'll be ripped off for everything you want to buy (including that hamburger), Chiang Mai is an arts & culture Sahara, for nightlife you better really enjoy "Kantoke Dinner" because everything else is a joke, the weather ranges from 'very uncomfortable' to 'downright toxic' with the possible exception of a couple weeks in December or January.. I could go on. Look at Channel 18, even the panda's are depressed, and they're supposedly the main attraction! Yes, a Panda Jail is actually a main attraction, go figure.

Terrible, terrible place.

And TV sports events are on at really awkward times. It's ridiculous.

And there's no beach. But if there was a beach, I bet it would suck, too.

Really the only highlight is the good spirit and general positive attitude of the Western expats in town. Not sure if that swings it for you.

I think most of expats here are quite happy with CNX, surprised you have negative experience.

If you can live without a beach it has to be CM. I live in Isaan (not impoverished thankfully) to try out being close to my pregnant wife's family for a few years, but will choose CM when given a free hand.

If you want to stay away from tourists and be part of a small but growing quickly ex-pat community then take a look at Ubon Ratchatani.

If you can live without a beach it has to be CM. I live in Isaan (not impoverished thankfully) to try out being close to my pregnant wife's family for a few years, but will choose CM when given a free hand.

If you want to stay away from tourists and be part of a small but growing quickly ex-pat community then take a look at Ubon Ratchatani.

There is a beach in Chiang Mai and a very pleasant one it is too, seriously.

There is a beach in Chiang Mai and a very pleasant one it is too, seriously.

There is "sort of" a beach at the local small lake... more like a lawn really. I don't know of any other beaches. The lake is a good place to spend an afternoon though, and okay for swimming. Nice place for meal in a lake side hut as well.

Chiang Mai is terrible.. it's boring, no nightlife worthy of the word 'life', it's polluted, congested, unsafe, ugly with all the concrete box type architecture, ugly electrical and telephone wiring all over the place, stench of (almost) open sewers, many areas in town are prone to flooding, you can't own houses or land, you're effectively illiterate unless you learn the local script, few people speak good English, Fugitive ex PM Thaksin is from Chiang Mai, beer is expensive and not very good, the food's too spicy and comes from open air markets where flies and bacteria are all over, (this is why the only topic you can talk to other expats about is where to find a half decent hamburger), you'll be ripped off for everything you want to buy (including that hamburger), Chiang Mai is an arts & culture Sahara, for nightlife you better really enjoy "Kantoke Dinner" because everything else is a joke, the weather ranges from 'very uncomfortable' to 'downright toxic' with the possible exception of a couple weeks in December or January.. I could go on. Look at Channel 18, even the panda's are depressed, and they're supposedly the main attraction! Yes, a Panda Jail is actually a main attraction, go figure.

Terrible, terrible place.

And TV sports events are on at really awkward times. It's ridiculous.

And there's no beach. But if there was a beach, I bet it would suck, too.

Really the only highlight is the good spirit and general positive attitude of the Western expats in town. Not sure if that swings it for you.

This really made me laugh, thanks!

What has Taksin coming from CM got anything to do with moving there?

Food too spicy??? I'll help you, just say Mai Phet when ordering, couldn't be simpler and only two words of the local language for you to deal with.

Can only talk to other expats about where to find a decent hamburger??? You must have loads of expat friends.

And there's no beach. Did you go there expecting to find one?

Please give us more of your insights to Thailand, they are priceless.

I so love irony sometimes.

Concubine or progeny Mr Forbes?

Chiang Mai is terrible.. it's boring, no nightlife worthy of the word 'life', it's polluted, congested, unsafe, ugly with all the concrete box type architecture, ugly electrical and telephone wiring all over the place, stench of (almost) open sewers, many areas in town are prone to flooding, you can't own houses or land, you're effectively illiterate unless you learn the local script, few people speak good English, Fugitive ex PM Thaksin is from Chiang Mai, beer is expensive and not very good, the food's too spicy and comes from open air markets where flies and bacteria are all over, (this is why the only topic you can talk to other expats about is where to find a half decent hamburger), you'll be ripped off for everything you want to buy (including that hamburger), Chiang Mai is an arts & culture Sahara, for nightlife you better really enjoy "Kantoke Dinner" because everything else is a joke, the weather ranges from 'very uncomfortable' to 'downright toxic' with the possible exception of a couple weeks in December or January.. I could go on. Look at Channel 18, even the panda's are depressed, and they're supposedly the main attraction! Yes, a Panda Jail is actually a main attraction, go figure.

Terrible, terrible place.

And TV sports events are on at really awkward times. It's ridiculous.

And there's no beach. But if there was a beach, I bet it would suck, too.

Really the only highlight is the good spirit and general positive attitude of the Western expats in town. Not sure if that swings it for you.

This really made me laugh, thanks!

What has Taksin coming from CM got anything to do with moving there?

Food too spicy??? I'll help you, just say Mai Phet when ordering, couldn't be simpler and only two words of the local language for you to deal with.

Can only talk to other expats about where to find a decent hamburger??? You must have loads of expat friends.

And there's no beach. Did you go there expecting to find one?

Please give us more of your insights to Thailand, they are priceless.

I think you should google the expression "tongue in cheek"

/ Priceless