Ideas?

[mzmann]

Hi all,

Ok, so I will be coming to Chiang Mai sometime over the next 3-6months to live for anywhere from3-5yrs and up, depending on how easily I fall in love with the place and life there that is!! Anyways, I have been advised to steer clear of finding a place to live over the internet as I would end up paying "tourist prices" far higher than I could get a place for if I am to just find a place upon arriving instead. Sounds logical enough to me, any other thoughts or opinions on this?

Also do any of you have any ideas/thoughts/recommendations as to my options for doing so? Ie: Hire a driver to drive me around to find a place and if so do any of you have any trusted recommendations? A decent place to stay while I am looking? Good areas to look for places? I am more so looking for a place maybe in more of a rural type setting or at least one with a decent view, close to nature type place I guess one could say. But this does not by any means have to be mandatory, just a possible preference.

Maybe there is someone here who could even show me around themselves when I got there? I know it may be a bit of a long shot but hey ya never know unless ya ask right!!

Anyways, any thoughts/info, ect regarding any of the above would be very helpful. Feel free to PM me as well regarding it if you want.

Thanks all,

Mike

Edited March 14, 2010 by mzmann

[OOB]

I have been advised to steer clear of finding a place to live over the internet as I would end up paying "tourist prices" far higher than I could get

a place for if I am to just find a place upon arriving instead

Personally, I'd take this 'advice' with a pinch of salt. The moo ban we live on has properties advertised with agencies such as Chiang Mai House and it also has properties that are not with agencies. There is virtually no difference in the prices at all. The use of an agency is purely down to the landlord - our landlord lives in Bangkok and thus having a local agent makes life easier for him...

[Donnyboy]

are you wanting to rent or buy?

Im assuming rent; it wouldnt be the end of the world if you ended up in a place you didnt like for the first month, just move

im sure during that time you would have had a better look around and feel which areas, condos, houses etc suit you

regards

[mzmann]

are you wanting to rent or buy?

Im assuming rent; it wouldnt be the end of the world if you ended up in a place you didnt like for the first month, just move

im sure during that time you would have had a better look around and feel which areas, condos, houses etc suit you

regards

Yes, you are correct in assuming that I am just looking to rent. I was kind of thinking along the same lines as well, however I have noticed that alot of the places on the internet are looking for a minimum of one year rental which was another reason why I was contemplating on waiting until I got there to find a place

[millwall_fan]

are you wanting to rent or buy?

Im assuming rent; it wouldnt be the end of the world if you ended up in a place you didnt like for the first month, just move

im sure during that time you would have had a better look around and feel which areas, condos, houses etc suit you

regards

Yes, you are correct in assuming that I am just looking to rent. I was kind of thinking along the same lines as well, however I have noticed that alot of the places on the internet are looking for a minimum of one year rental which was another reason why I was contemplating on waiting until I got there to find a place

Why don't you stay in a hotel or guest house for a couple of weeks, just to get the lie of the land, then you could research the possibilities from here and you could make decisions about urban or rural etc as donnyboy mentions. It's defintiely a renters market at the moment, so bargain hard!

[mzmann]

are you wanting to rent or buy?

Im assuming rent; it wouldnt be the end of the world if you ended up in a place you didnt like for the first month, just move

im sure during that time you would have had a better look around and feel which areas, condos, houses etc suit you

regards

Yes, you are correct in assuming that I am just looking to rent. I was kind of thinking along the same lines as well, however I have noticed that alot of the places on the internet are looking for a minimum of one year rental which was another reason why I was contemplating on waiting until I got there to find a place

Why don't you stay in a hotel or guest house for a couple of weeks, just to get the lie of the land, then you could research the possibilities from here and you could make decisions about urban or rural etc as donnyboy mentions. It's defintiely a renters market at the moment, so bargain hard!

Yes, that is another good option but I will only have just under 5 weeks there as my work schedule is 5 weeks on and 5 weeks off so I have to kind of plan accordingly to that as well.

Is it fairly standard and easily done to bargain/haggle on the rental cost of homes as well there??? Just not something I am at all used, actually being able to haggle on rental prices for my home!

[IanForbes]

If you rent a small home that would save the problem of where to store your stuff (including a motorscooter) when you are gone. I would take others advice here and rent a hotel room for your first few visits. It would give you a far better idea of what Chiang Mai is like and what part of the city you would enjoy more. My hotel room only costs me 4000 baht a month, whereas the daily rate is 350 baht per night. There are basically 4 areas to stay where there is housing: North towards Chiang Rai, south towards Hang Dong, west towards the mountain (most expensive) and east beyond the Ping River. A lot will depend on your life style and what you like to do. No sense in living 20 km outside of town in a lovely home if you want the night life.

Chiang Mai has the central core inside the moat where it's mostly guest houses, bars, cafes and shopping bazaars. Along the outside of the moat and towards the river (east) is where the higher end hotels are located... along with the seedier nightlife. The western area (towards the mountain) is where the main hospital and university is located. There are main highways that circle the main core of the city. They are called "Ring roads". The main bus station and train station are located to the east of the city, beyond the Ping River. Google earth has pretty good detail of the city.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I completely agree with Millwall_fan; book a hotel or guesthouse for a couple days, then perhaps negotiate a weekly or monthly rate at that place or another, and in that week you can start looking for longer term accommodation.

I wouldn't get a driver; get some directions, get a bike or car and explore. It's fun exploring.