How Far Out Do You Have To Go From Center Cm To Not Go Mad From...

[jingjoke]

^ 'Accept that CM is growing at a phenomenal rate...'

How true. And so are the house(land prices). Had we not bought in what is still an almost idyllic spot 8months ago; we could not afford to, today.

[villagefarang]

Chiang Rai?

[masuk]

Try Chiang Mai Golden Land near Doi Saket. Many empty and abandoned houses on good land.

[OldChinaHam]

"I live in a house, in a field, in a valley with a view and love every minute of it..."

Environmentally speaking, you really cannot ask for much more. Especially if one also has access to the city when necessary.

[arunsakda]

That looks like a backyard pool in a southern California suburb. Quiet, clean, and so boring you really could go mad. I"ll stick with CM.

"the sky is filled with stars."

Seeing stars is nice, although many do not care or do not have time to lie on one of these. Stars would just be an added benefit but not a deal breaker during the burning season or the raining season.

Stars is not the highest priority, just quality rentals with high speed internet, reliable electric and water, maybe close to a telephone sub-station for good telecom services. Transportation is not a problem but I don't want to hire a car and ride any more than about 20 - 25 minutes to CM center. We can joke all we like about escaping to the 'burbs, but it really does become an important issue when we find Rock Bands and Low Frequency Woofers disturbing our peace. Tourists usually like plenty of noise, and so do teenagers, and so do those with behavioral problems, and most drunks in discos, but anyone reading a book normally finds quiet more conducive.

[OldChinaHam]

"That looks like a backyard pool in a southern California"

I think you may be correct, I do not know where the photo was actually taken.

But what I do know is that some things go well together and some do not:

Lanudromats and Bars or Cafes are good.

Gas stations and 7-Elevens together work real well.

But Libraries and KTVs, or Karaokes, I don't like so much.

And that is why I don't like Rock Bands next to my house when I have something needing some reading.

[OldChinaHam]

Or, maybe what we need is more Moo Baans, but somehow separate the tenants according to their Apollonian or Dionysian bent.

We could have some Moo Baans which are reserved for those who are filled with Apollonian reason and dreams.

And then we can have another housing development reserved for Dionysians, who devote themselves to wine, ecstasy and intoxication, and loud Rock Music.

As for me, I will prefer to rent a house in the Dionysian sector and buy a house in the Apollonian part of town.

You never can tell when the Dionysians really get going, they just might burn down a few houses or set fire to themselves, who knows?

Of course all that is really required is a bit of moderation and then all will be well,

More or less.

[SunsetT]

Market Trader, I am confident that we all feel pretty much as you about Chiang Mai. This is why it is true that to be able to better appreciate many of the good things that Chiang Mai offers, it might be nice to find a few places where there is not very loud music played sometimes until 3:00 AM. A place that provides some assurance of stable power supply, high speed internet, freedom from inordinately loud music played at levels not acceptable to the large majority of residents in a given area is not an unreasonable desire.

I was just trying to tie the noise in, somehow, to 'desire', and a 'streetcar', but

Depends what u want to rent, but when travelling around staying in cheaper hotels, I always ask for a 'high floor', and city centre hotels I return to are one's which I have found to have a 'quiet side' away from a main road, and even a pleasant outlook, often a piece of waste ground or unused land overgrown with banana trees and the like. The high floor means noise from traffic, dogs and roosters are distanced, minimal traffic pollution and mosquitoes, and more breeze when leaving terrace doors and windows open. You also have a huge block of concrete behind you blocking the noisy side if u know what I mean. I spent much time in the noisy centre of Udon last winter, but 5th floor up on my hotel quiet side was fine until a pile driver started and pounded away all day for about a week on a small construction site right behind the hotel. I went away for a week or 2, and on return, to avoid the ongoing construction, I took a room for a month on the hotel's noisier side which faces UD town etc. only about 2kls away. This side is generally noisier but tolerable unless there is a festival or rock concert or big noisy promotion going on in UD town or centre. Then earplugs r a must for me to sleep. But after a few days a daily pile driver also started up on a much bigger site on this side of the hotel. You cant win! Anyway, sorry but no knowledge of 'living' in CM, but renting a condo or apartment, or long term hotel room on a high floor carefully chosen to face the right way would be my solution to long term city centre living.

[OldChinaHam]

"but 5th floor up on my hotel quiet side was fine until a pile driver started and pounded away all day for about a week on a small construction site right behind the hotel."

Even though we complain about noise in CM, and you about pile drivers on the "quiet side" of your hotel, I have heard one of the worst places for jack hammers is HK. Hong Kong never tires of tearing up the streets, and even the HK residents don't know why exactly. So I am lucky I have not heard but 5 minutes of jackhammering on a nearby construction site during the past few months in Chiang Mai. (Maybe I should go out and find some jack hammering in CM if I really want something to complain about.)

[Torrens54]

Just move away from niemenheimen and cmu and you should be ok.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Maybe what you're looking for is www.chiangmaiproperty.net

Not far from the CBD, just past the airport you'll find Koolpuntville: 5, 6,7, 8 and 9. Buy (if you have a Thai wife as foreigners can't own the land) or just rent, there are plenty of houses available at reasonable prices. Our village is so secure (24/7), we went to Australia for several years and left the house unattended, except for visits by a family member just to keep an eye on the place and pick up the mail. Not even an attempted burglary!!! Amazing...couldn't hope for that security in Australia.

[junglechef]

Some (helpful) points:

Thai's are immune to noise.

Bands/parties are legally supposed to pack it in at midnight

A peaceful daytime environment can turn into a noisy nighttime environment

All Thais have dogs and most of these bark & howl. At. Night.

I've happily lived in the San Sai/Mae Jo area for 6 years. Non-moobaan. Yes, there are sometimes issues but the road connections are as good as can be hoped for.

Get yourself a scooter - preferably a fuel injected auto for ease of use and economy.

3BB works well in my area but it all depends on how close to an exchange you are and availability. 3BB in AP will pull up Google Maps if you give them an address and show you their coverage.

Get yourself a VPN to watch blocked sites.

Accept that CM is growing at a phenominal rate and that what is today a quiet suburb could well get swallowed up by the city within a decade.

Relax and let it wash over you (not easy sometimes, I know )

Cheers,

Pikey.

I live it this area too and also not in a moo ban, 30 min to the city, quiet day and night except an occasional motorbike. 5 min from 7/11 and fresh market and 15 from Rimping. There are roosters, but I like that, and some dogs, incl. mine but not howling all night. Someone (or some Temple) might have a party or house warming and loud but not often. It sounds like you need to get out and do some exploring and find what you like, there's a good chance that it's here as long as your realistic (not wanting a real nice place for real little money or taxis at your beck and call). And then you make a life, get a good taxi guy you can call, figure out what's good local and what you need to make a trip into town for and do everything there once a week. More difficult w/o speaking Thai but I don't and love it

[OldChinaHam]

Thank you Junglechef, this is really good advice, especially the once a week trip into town.

My feeling is that once one has enjoyed a week or two of what the city offers, then there is really not much to miss if one continues to visit 4 times a month.

[denny1000]

Hang Dong has some nice villages. Ours has no soi dogs and music is off at 10 pm weekdays and midnight weekends. 25 minutes ride to c.m. center with not that much bad traffic.

[Dean1953]

Market Trader, I am confident that we all feel pretty much as you about Chiang Mai. This is why it is true that to be able to better appreciate many of the good things that Chiang Mai offers, it might be nice to find a few places where there is not very loud music played sometimes until 3:00 AM. A place that provides some assurance of stable power supply, high speed internet, freedom from inordinately loud music played at levels not acceptable to the large majority of residents in a given area is not an unreasonable desire.

I was just trying to tie the noise in, somehow, to 'desire', and a 'streetcar', but

Depends what u want to rent, but when travelling around staying in cheaper hotels, I always ask for a 'high floor', and city centre hotels I return to are one's which I have found to have a 'quiet side' away from a main road, and even a pleasant outlook, often a piece of waste ground or unused land overgrown with banana trees and the like. The high floor means noise from traffic, dogs and roosters are distanced, minimal traffic pollution and mosquitoes, and more breeze when leaving terrace doors and windows open. You also have a huge block of concrete behind you blocking the noisy side if u know what I mean. I spent much time in the noisy centre of Udon last winter, but 5th floor up on my hotel quiet side was fine until a pile driver started and pounded away all day for about a week on a small construction site right behind the hotel. I went away for a week or 2, and on return, to avoid the ongoing construction, I took a room for a month on the hotel's noisier side which faces UD town etc. only about 2kls away. This side is generally noisier but tolerable unless there is a festival or rock concert or big noisy promotion going on in UD town or centre. Then earplugs r a must for me to sleep. But after a few days a daily pile driver also started up on a much bigger site on this side of the hotel. You cant win! Anyway, sorry but no knowledge of 'living' in CM, but renting a condo or apartment, or long term hotel room on a high floor carefully chosen to face the right way would be my solution to long term city centre living.

If you do go with the upper floors, check out the exits in case of fire. And check for fire sprinklers.

[onthedarkside]

'how far out' do some members have to go off topic ? 2 long posts not related to CM removed. Warning(s) may be issued for trolling.

[rubberduck]

The west side of Moo baan Intrachitchay (between Saisai and Doisaket) it actually quite peaceful, many open space and nature and privacy.

See it on Google maps

Edited May 27, 2013 by rubberduck

[bobl]

Fwiw I live 40-ish Km out, in butcreek nowhere and it's great. But I'm only 500m off a decent road, and 10 minutes from a town (Mae Taeng) where I get most of what I need. Visit Mae Rim & CM several times a month, which is plenty for me...

You could hear a pin drop 95% of the time, when the neighbourhood roosters aren't making a racket and it's not mating season for the dogs... Oftentimes it's too quiet and the accursed tinnitus is the biggest headache...

I do occasionally miss having a social life but not so much I'd want to move back into the city, yet.

[OldChinaHam]

bobl, I know you use and need the internet, what about the reliability and the speeds? I have found that if you live very close to a telecom-telephone company sub-station then you can expect good quality 20 Mbps. And also that when it stops working it is difficult to have it fixed in a hurry. I have found it easier to keep a good quality working internet connection when living in the city. Some cities are better than others depending on the providers. Some are quickly converting to fiber. So any thoughts about living 40 Km out, regarding internet reliability? This is key to being able to enjoy almost everything via computer, no matter where you happen to be. Thanks.

[bobl]

bobl, I know you use and need the internet, what about the reliability and the speeds? I have found that if you live very close to a telecom-telephone company sub-station then you can expect good quality 20 Mbps. And also that when it stops working it is difficult to have it fixed in a hurry. I have found it easier to keep a good quality working internet connection when living in the city. Some cities are better than others depending on the providers. Some are quickly converting to fiber. So any thoughts about living 40 Km out, regarding internet reliability? This is key to being able to enjoy almost everything via computer, no matter where you happen to be. Thanks.

Good point. Even telephones don't work great here, and the interwebs stop at Wat Tong Luang, on the very edge of Mae Taeng about 3km from here.

I use CAT 3G via a mifi that lives in the kitchen, which is more than enough. When the 4GB expires and I get clamped at 384kbps can be a tad irritating but I've learned to live with it. Certainly better than getting clamped at 128k or 64k on true or dtac.

I'm a somewhat above average user so I do, however, pick up my 'heavy' stuff from Mrs Bobl's house in Mae Rim on 3BB (we stay out here because it's only 4km to her work).

[pachoderm]

Hello, my sympathies for your noise problems. I too am having similar issues, maybe not as bad but got me considering moving. Just moved into a condo facing the sports ground at CMU and every night so far there is a lot of screaming and drum beating going on until about 9.30 am. Is this just a seasonal thing with some sort of parade practice this month (November), or is it permanent? Tonight there is some sporting match on and alot of hollering from the spectators.

I am fairly tolerant of a certain amount of noise, but this really interferes with the quiet enjoyment of my place - its quite intrusive, coming straight through my closed windows like it was much closer. I cannot even enjoy watching a movie, as the noise still penetrates the ambient sound of my air conditioner.

I can put up with two roosters that occasionally wake up everyone at 3 am, barking dogs and planes going over at 2 am, but frankly I have found much greater peace in a hotel near Tarpae Gate! Maybe I will shift back there. But if the racket at the moment is only temporary, maybe I will hang around.

Any serious suggestions, jokes aside!

[puukao]

I do think CM will only get worse, not better. sounds like you are sick and tired of it all, and we all know the south has more problems (except better air quality). I would take a trip to CR and then some Issan countryside in the middle of nowhere. see what your gut tells you. When you live in a place with a "low barrier to entry" (read: cheap for the long-term), there will be some problems. It's one of those things: you work a lot in USA, live in a nice place that is totally quiet, good neighborhood, good food nearby, good air quality, safe, no rock star bands......but the sacrifice is big and other problems are created. anyhow, go with your gut. if it's time to go, go. only live once, don't suffer if you don't have to.

[BillyBobThai]

Old China Ham, Hang Dong might be the place you have been looking for. We have a nice daily market as well as being close to Chiang Mai. I can be at Makro, Tesco or the airport in 15 minutes. There is also an ATM at the Big C here in HangDong that will let let you make a withdrawal without having to pay the 150 baht fee. There are yellow taxis that go every few seconds to the heart of the city. Picking the right location seems to be a matter of just doing some good research. After 10 years in Thailand, this is now home. If you do would like someone to show you around the area, give me a PM I will be happy to pick you up and show you the area. Please give me a call, would love to show you around.

Edited November 5, 2013 by BillyBobThai

[anselpixel]

In the area around the intersection of Canal Road and Samoeng Road. Very little traffic compared to the 108. I've ridden my bicycle to and from Kad Suan Kaew many times with minimal terror. It's reasonably quiet, and inexpensive.

Living away from the city pretty much requires you have some kind of independent transportation. Period. Many amenities are available to me, but not without my motorbike or bicycle.

[CMKiwi]

Ive been in Mae Rim now for about a year, love the place and dont miss the city a great deal. Every time I return to Mae Rim I count my blessings for living there. Have a small motorbike for when I 'need' to go into the city otherwise I stay around the area.

Never had a problem with internet and great neighbours in the area. Mae Rim plaza is growing and slowly seeing more and more foreigners in the place.

I had stayed in Galae Thong and Hillside 4 condos before.....they filled a spot but wont return to that cycle anytime soon.

Great weather at the moment and plants are into their flowering, everything is looking good.

Hope you fine your patch of paradise soon

[kcore]

When I first arrived over 4 years ago, I was lucky to discover the Jed Yod neighborhood. In particular the Karnkanok 3 condos. I lived in2 different condos there ( 1- 12k/ mos and 1 30k/ mos) for 2 years before seeing how would fair in the moo baan. Needless to say, I still miss that area and visit it often for a beer and a feed. This area is behind Wat Jed Jod. Recommended. Since then, I have faired well in the moo baans of Pimuck and now in Laguna in the San Sai area. Also very convienient and if need to hit brassiers to see Tuk play once in awhile, easy. Good life here and meets your requirements with amenities. Good luck and as one poster stated, no need to suffer. Just get out and rent here and there.

[mikey88]

When in town i stay in chang phuak.....no real noise problem for me...it depends on the quality of the Accomodation. I am near a Karaoke place but the design of the apartment screens all noise....i believe you have yo do a bit of homework to get what you want. Getting transport was essential for me.....the red taxi/tuk tuk thing doesnt really cut it for me...i got a car. Many get their own bikes or rent them...good luck. Just get away from downtown....