Why So Many Farangs Choose Chiang Mai To Live?

[Renoir]

Hi,

Why did you choose to live in Chiang May instead of other places in Thailand. I am planning to take an early retirement in two years (I will be 54) and want to stay at least a few months each year in Thailand. At first I thought that, Chiang May could be a good choice to me as it is in the north and supposed to be cooler. However, I found out during my last trip to Thailand that Chiang May can be just as hot and even hotter than in the South. Chiang May is certainly a charming city but I wonder why so many foreigners choose this city instead of other beautiful city in Thailand. Is it because it costs less living there or do you feel safer there or something else?

Thanks,

Renoir

[Semper]

Compared to the south, CM is cool (ish)

[Chiangmai Foxy]

Cooler Weather,Nicer more Genuine People(Many places down south we are just another farang ie too many of us),cheaper Prices,good countryside,very safe in the city,less rip off low life merchants up here as a rule(ie the Boiler room telephone boys) ETC ETC

NO BEACH in Chiang Mai,so less SCUM come here on Holiday is a massive plus:)

Good looking women (not talking about the Darker skinned ladies of the night either,although im sure many of the dirty old men that are here,live here because there is too much competition in certain other places for said ladies of the night:))

Think this thread could go on a while!!!!

Edited July 20, 2011 by Chiangmai Foxy

[richard10365]

I think people don't answer because they want to keep Chiang Mai a secret.

[MangoAndCo]

I think people don't answer because they want to keep Chiang Mai a secret.

Don't worry about this, it is already overly crowded with farangs... ;-)

Medical facilities, holistic treatments, golf courses, spiritual atmosphere with all these Wats, cooler (especially the cold season)

several expat-groups, timid character of the North, green surrounding.

[Sparkles]

Compared to the south, CM is cool (ish)

Lets qualify that, at certain times of the year, November through to February very pleasant day temperatures. April ,May daytime temps can get up around 40 degrees.Because of its altitude the area is cooler at night then say Bangkok.I think many people come to live here as the infrastructure, hospitals, education facilities , choice of supermarkets for essentials, wide variety of restaurants and an international /domestic airport that services many routes.Cost of living is reasonable and many markets to browse for fresh produce.Ticks all the boxes for most people.

[challenger99]

I was living 5 month in CNX (Hang Dong), everything I like much except the very bad air in the down town (statistic show it is the most pollution and bad air) but this wasn't the main reson I changed for the Golf of Bangkok. At my time was near impossible fly out of Thailand without a stop and change in Bangkok and by national carrier as fly12.go etc. I lost few times my connection to Europe in BKK. May I come back again but then in the Mae Rim Valley.

[Okertes]

For me CM is the best choice living in LOS for it is asmall and almost village like city very pleasant to live in and yet it has manyof the things we look for in a big city without being too sleazy with ladiestourism and the like so it is also great for family life .

[Patronus]

For me CM is the best choice living in LOS for it is asmall and almost village like city very pleasant to live in and yet it has manyof the things we look for in a big city without being too sleazy with ladiestourism and the like so it is also great for family life .

To be fair, you can get a shag as well.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Compared to the south, CM is cool (ish)

Lets qualify that, at certain times of the year, November through to February very pleasant day temperatures. April ,May daytim

Well, wait; it's not just the time of year, it's also the time of day. Evenings, nights and mornings are cooler and/or less humid pretty much year round. Like right now (about midnight) it's 24 degrees. That's just fine for me to sleep without aircon (just fan to move the air around a bit). But if I check Pattaya (or Bangkok) right now at the same time then it's 28/29. That's a big difference in comfort. It means the difference between being a mess taking just a short walk outside, or being comfortable.

Other than that, it's hell. Don't come here.

[Beetlejuice]

Why So Many Farangs Choose Chiang Mai To Live?

They don`t.

We just seem to end up here.

Edited July 20, 2011 by Beetlejuice

[NancyL]

It's not just farangs. I see many Japanese and Korean nationals living here. Why not ask why so many foreigners choose to live here?

Edited July 20, 2011 by NancyL

[23423981]

It's not just farangs. I see many Japanese and Korean nationals living here. Why not ask why so many foreigners choose to live here?

Many Korean nationals send their children to international schools in Chiang Mai and the parents often stay here with their children for many years.

[el jefe]

CM is the best place in Thailand to find large groups of friends (both Thai and farang) to share outdoor activities like bicycling and hiking, while still living in a small city with excellent restaurants.

That CM is cooler and has a very reasonable cost of living is just a bonus. The international travel options from CM, while not as good as from BKK, are still better than anywhere else in Thailand.

[CMX]

OP,

You mention 'spending a few months.' Obviously, if you select November through January (February, it is true, shows increasing air pollution), you'll probably find yourself enjoying perfect temperatures for those of us coming from temperate climates. Many of us become fond of the rainy season as well.

At present, Chiang Mai is a small city with many of the advantages of a larger one. Moving around involves busy times and places such as rush hours and a hospital row called Suthep Road, but we do not suffer anything like the universally hectic movement of Bangkok or most big cities. Here, it is 'do-able.'

I too enjoy advantages listed above by neighbors in town, particularly the ease with which we can get out of town into the countryside.

However, it is my view (and my principal reason for being here) that ours is an inexpensive place in which to live well. If money were not a consideration, I would relocate to a place without the heat of the hellish "Hot Season" or the miserable Burning Season - during which times it is well to travel away.

Nevertheless, although there are exceptions caused mostly by duties and taxes for manufactured things, what we have available here (take it all around), Chiang Mai is not merely inexpensive; it is fundamentally cheap, cheap, cheap!

Cheep-cheep .

Edited July 20, 2011 by CMX

[WinnieTheKhwai]

It's not just farangs. I see many Japanese and Korean nationals living here. Why not ask why so many foreigners choose to live here?

And many Thais. Why not ask why so many Thais choose to move to Chiang Mai?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

CM is the best place in Thailand to find large groups of friends (both Thai and farang) to share outdoor activities like bicycling and hiking, while still living in a small city with excellent restaurants.

That CM is cooler and has a very reasonable cost of living is just a bonus. The international travel options from CM, while not as good as from BKK, are still better than anywhere else in Thailand.

Ehm.. International travel options are also far better from Pattaya, (and Sri Racha, etc.) as you can be at BKK Airport in around 1 hour.

[endure]

CM is the best place in Thailand to find large groups of friends (both Thai and farang) to share outdoor activities like bicycling and hiking, while still living in a small city with excellent restaurants.

That CM is cooler and has a very reasonable cost of living is just a bonus. The international travel options from CM, while not as good as from BKK, are still better than anywhere else in Thailand.

Ehm.. International travel options are also far better from Pattaya, (and Sri Racha, etc.) as you can be at BKK Airport in around 1 hour.

The flight time from CNX to BKK is 55 minutes. Chiang Mai is an international airport with its own Immigration Department thus you can pass through Immigration in Chiang Mai and transit Bangkok without any further hassle. Try that from Pattaya.

[uptheos]

Why So Many Farangs Choose Chiang Mai To Live?

They don`t.

We just seem to end up here.

http://www.thaivisa....-for-fugitives/

No seriously, it's a good place that seems to attract the 'cream of the crop' and if you move here I'm sure you will enjoy it like most of us do.

Edited July 21, 2011 by uptheos

[uptheos]

DP

Edited July 21, 2011 by uptheos

[anselpixel]

I have a Bangkok Thai friend who says she loves coming to Chiang Mai because all the temples make her spirit feel cool. Also, she's under the impression all Thai people in CM are rich and beautiful.

It's just a really nice place to be, whether you're a foreigner or not. The only person who heatedly advised against me even visiting here was a Pattaya farang who had run lady bars for twenty years. He thought everybody in CM had "gone native" and were "cowboys."

Then he offered to introduce me to some really nice girls...

I lasted one day in Pits, four days in Pattaya and five months in Bangkok.

Chiang Mai for me. Guess I'm a cowboy.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

CM is the best place in Thailand to find large groups of friends (both Thai and farang) to share outdoor activities like bicycling and hiking, while still living in a small city with excellent restaurants.

That CM is cooler and has a very reasonable cost of living is just a bonus. The international travel options from CM, while not as good as from BKK, are still better than anywhere else in Thailand.

Ehm.. International travel options are also far better from Pattaya, (and Sri Racha, etc.) as you can be at BKK Airport in around 1 hour.

The flight time from CNX to BKK is 55 minutes. Chiang Mai is an international airport with its own Immigration Department thus you can pass through Immigration in Chiang Mai and transit Bangkok without any further hassle. Try that from Pattaya.

Sure, but you know the drill right.. Be at the airport 30 minutes before at least (often 45 at least with Air Asia), then actual time in the air may be 55 minutes but you spend easily 20 minutes on the taxiways before takeoff and before you're actually out of the plane, then transiting international is at least an hour especially if you have to visit the transit desk and don't want to leave it too close. So overall you're looking at 3 hours minimum, but as flights typically don't match perfectly down to the minute you can easily lose 4 hours; i.e. half a working day. Plus some international flights depart too early for a Chiang Mai connection to be feasible, so sometimes you end up spending a night in BKK. None of that applies if you live in Pattaya or other places on the Eastern Seaboard; you just make sure you're in a taxi 2 hours before take-off time. (Granted, immigration takes a bit longer in Suvarnabhumi compared to the almost unnoticeable event that it is in CNX. )

[Priceless]

CM is the best place in Thailand to find large groups of friends (both Thai and farang) to share outdoor activities like bicycling and hiking, while still living in a small city with excellent restaurants.

That CM is cooler and has a very reasonable cost of living is just a bonus. The international travel options from CM, while not as good as from BKK, are still better than anywhere else in Thailand.

Ehm.. International travel options are also far better from Pattaya, (and Sri Racha, etc.) as you can be at BKK Airport in around 1 hour.

The flight time from CNX to BKK is 55 minutes. Chiang Mai is an international airport with its own Immigration Department thus you can pass through Immigration in Chiang Mai and transit Bangkok without any further hassle. Try that from Pattaya.

Sure, but you know the drill right.. Be at the airport 30 minutes before at least (often 45 at least with Air Asia), then actual time in the air may be 55 minutes but you spend easily 20 minutes on the taxiways before takeoff and before you're actually out of the plane, then transiting international is at least an hour especially if you have to visit the transit desk and don't want to leave it too close. So overall you're looking at 3 hours minimum, but as flights typically don't match perfectly down to the minute you can easily lose 4 hours; i.e. half a working day. Plus some international flights depart too early for a Chiang Mai connection to be feasible, so sometimes you end up spending a night in BKK. None of that applies if you live in Pattaya or other places on the Eastern Seaboard; you just make sure you're in a taxi 2 hours before take-off time. (Granted, immigration takes a bit longer in Suvarnabhumi compared to the almost unnoticeable event that it is in CNX. )

I agree! The nicest thing about Pattaya is that it is so easy to get away from

/ Priceless

[elektrified]

I have a Bangkok Thai friend who says she loves coming to Chiang Mai because all the temples make her spirit feel cool. Also, she's under the impression all Thai people in CM are rich and beautiful.

It's just a really nice place to be, whether you're a foreigner or not. The only person who heatedly advised against me even visiting here was a Pattaya farang who had run lady bars for twenty years. He thought everybody in CM had "gone native" and were "cowboys."

Then he offered to introduce me to some really nice girls...

I lasted one day in Pits, four days in Pattaya and five months in Bangkok.

Chiang Mai for me. Guess I'm a cowboy.

All of my Thai friends in BKK love coming to Chiang Mai for numerous reasons. I think, generally speaking, most Thais living elsewhere in the country, love Chiang Mai

Edited July 21, 2011 by elektrified

[Ricardo]

I enjoy its cosmopolitan atmosphere, the locals can be Lanna or Central-Thai or hill-tribe, the farangs are from all over the world, and this is also reflected in the wide range of restaurants available here.

There are good hospitals & international/local-schools & supermarkets (God Bless Rimping !) and several good book-exchanges (much better than Patters for this essential feature).

It's a cultured & historic city, colourful and small-town, and a good jumping-off point to explore elsewhere in N.W.Thailand, the one loss is the lack-of-a-beach, which I personally can live without, just make seaside-trips when I feel like it.

Oh, and it's 800 km from the MIL.

[JimGant]

then actual time in the air may be 55 minutes but you spend easily 20 minutes on the taxiways

At CNX? Not unless you have a flat tire. Heck, it gets lonely taxiing at CNX these days -- not even a friendly OV-10 to queue up behind anymore. Sigh.

[JimGant]

Many Korean nationals send their children to international schools in Chiang Mai

Ah, CM now has Golf Academies....?

[Jingthing]

Visit during the fire burning months before making a major commitment to CM. I thinks its a no go for people with existing lung disease issues like asthmatics.

[Renoir]

Visit during the fire burning months before making a major commitment to CM. I thinks its a no go for people with existing lung disease issues like asthmatics.

When does the burning season start? How long does it last? Why does Chiang Mai population accept to have their quality of life diminished every year by something that could simply be prohibited?

Renoir

[Ulysses G.]

Because the seasonal burning is all over Northern Thailand, Laos, Burma and into China and there is no way to make all these places stop it.