Hey All,

I'm thinking of moving to Chiang Rai next year. I've been living in Bangkok for a few years and the pollution and lack of nature/places to walk without coughing is starting to wear on me.

Stable, decently fast internet is important for me--good enough for video chat on skype. Is this easily available throughout Chiang Rai? I'm also hoping to rent a place with a nice view and maybe a bit rural, is it easy to find places like that that still have DSL internet available?

Also, what is the best way to check before renting a place? I'm thinking to call the companies (True, ToT, and 3bb, right?) and ask if they service the address before I lease a house. Thanks a lot for any info!

You are dreaming. Chiang Rai is a part of the Peoples Republic Of up country where rice growing is the only important thing. Internet is slow and most people drive in the middle of the road without lights at night. They also ignore stop signs. You can rent a nice house for 5k per month. There is no good beef or pork here so plan to eat a lot of good Thai food. Chiang Rai is a great place to live but you can forget about The Peoples Republic of Bangkok.

I think Donald Battles may be playing the part of trying to deter newcomers to the paradise we live in because he does not want to share.

It may be true that local beef is poor but frozen australian beef can be obtained here at close to the same prices that you pay in Australia as margins are smaller here. Pork is quite reasonable.

I have 3bb internet and it quite good on local sites and anything in its cache such as popular current youtube videos but the actual gateway to international sites is limited and it is not allways possible to video by skype particularly in larger sizes. Audio is usually ol but the video can be problematic,

If you have a land line the internet is fine, I have the basic level that cost about 800 a month and while I don't do a lot of skype video it's all I need.

The local Brahma type cattle are never going to produce world class steaks so you just cook it a little longer.

If you have a land line the internet is fine, I have the basic level that cost about 800 a month and while I don't do a lot of skype video it's all I need.

The local Brahma type cattle are never going to produce world class steaks so you just cook it a little longer.

Isn't that why they invented mincing machines.

Come to think of it is is years since I have seen them mincing it with the two cleavers. Another lost skill.

Generally speaking using Skype is not a problem in Chiang Rai but vendors, dependability and speed will depend on location, so to check the speed you might want to log on with wifi in any area you find attractive.

I probably have the worst connection in our village because I am located at the end of the pipe, but I get by. You will have to check each location separately but that is not hard to do.

As per usual, we always recommend people spend some time in Chiang Rai first. Come look around and get the lay of the land before you make a final decision about a move. That said, I would be very surprised if you are not impressed by our little town and the nature that surrounds it.

Australian grass fed beef at Tops is 1500 Baht per kilo and the quality is not good.

Chiang Rai is the best place in the world to live but the internet of TOT outside of town sucks and they don't intend to improve it.

Australian grass fed beef at Tops is 1500 Baht per kilo and the quality is not good.

Chiang Rai is the best place in the world to live but the internet of TOT outside of town sucks and they don't intend to improve it.

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Generally speaking using Skype is not a problem in Chiang Rai but vendors, dependability and speed will depend on location, so to check the speed you might want to log on with wifi in any area you find attractive.

I probably have the worst connection in our village because I am located at the end of the pipe, but I get by. You will have to check each location separately but that is not hard to do.

As per usual, we always recommend people spend some time in Chiang Rai first. Come look around and get the lay of the land before you make a final decision about a move. That said, I would be very surprised if you are not impressed by our little town and the nature that surrounds it.

Thanks for this and the other people who replied about the internet situation. I definitely plan on visiting Chiang Rai first before moving. From pictures it looks like one of the most beautiful places in Thailand--I'm more a fan of mountains than beaches. As far as the beef thing goes, I don't really care about that, probably priority #987 on my list

I live out in the rice paddies and my internet works just fine...in fact better this year than ever and only one shutdown/problem in six months....I use TOT.

While I agree that the beef in CR and all over Thailand is not very good and the imports as usual are overprice d(so I simply don't eat beef in Thailand) I find the chicken and pork in CR to be of good taste and quality and priced a fraction of what it would be back in the USA.

The drivers in Chiang Rai seem no different to me than the drivers in any other small rural area in Thailand....but try and remember they were driving like this before we falangs arrived and they will be driving the same long after we are gone....you can drive around muttering and cursing or you can just try and go with the flow and spend your energy on something positive....not always easy but I do at least try to find the "humour" in the way so many CR drivers just don't seem to care much for what a falang or anyone else might think of their driving...for example, if a CR driver sees a friend and wants to stop his car/truck/motorcy right smack in the middle of the road and have a ten minute chat then that is what they do....If they want to park in the middle of the road and run into a store for a few minutes they just do it.....actually reminds me of my old home town long ago and far away in rural America...before everyone got into such a rush with life and the tow truck Nazi's appeared on every corner.

CR is like so many other places. Those who come with a positive attitude and recognize that things are not and will not ever be just like "back home" will likely love the place. To my thinking CR is the best of the semi small towns in all of Thailand.....one of the reasons I chose to spend so much time here.

Yet another excellent reflection on life here in the Rai.

If you have a land line the internet is fine, I have the basic level that cost about 800 a month and while I don't do a lot of skype video it's all I need.

The local Brahma type cattle are never going to produce world class steaks so you just cook it a little longer.

Isn't that why they invented mincing machines.

Come to think of it is is years since I have seen them mincing it with the two cleavers. Another lost skill.

Actually I'm quite a dab hand at it, but prefer to use one cleaver. Works a treat

Well I live up in a mountain village in Chiang Rai and my internet is very slow on a good day and missing on most. I've got 45 minutes of hair pin corners till I reach a highway in either direction from the house. There are few cars on the road so everyone cuts the corners. You can be assured of a couple of hard butt clinches every trip. I can't say that beef availability is better or worse here, but father in law brings home everything he shoots. We have cows, but I don't think we ever ate one. they're not much larger than a big dog. We rented our sister in law's place for 1500 a month. We don't live there, we just did it to keep other people of our yard. I have one European neighbor 20 km away. We have talked twice.

Well I live up in a mountain village in Chiang Rai and my internet is very slow on a good day and missing on most. I've got 45 minutes of hair pin corners till I reach a highway in either direction from the house. There are few cars on the road so everyone cuts the corners. You can be assured of a couple of hard butt clinches every trip. I can't say that beef availability is better or worse here, but father in law brings home everything he shoots. We have cows, but I don't think we ever ate one. they're not much larger than a big dog. We rented our sister in law's place for 1500 a month. We don't live there, we just did it to keep other people of our yard. I have one European neighbor 20 km away. We have talked twice.

So where do you go to unwind when you feel the need to get away from civilization? I thought I lived out in the sticks.

Oh, I have a place that is more remote, just waiting to get some more grass for the roof.

Is it just me or has the internet been a real mess today?

Is it just me or has the internet been a real mess today?

Yes

Is it just me or has the internet been a real mess today?

Yes

Does that mean yes to both?

Is it just me or has the internet been a real mess today?

Yes

Does that mean yes to both?

yes and yes

Mine was fine.

Mine was fine.

Mine was fair overall but terrible for ThaiVisa.

Mine was fine.

Mine was fair overall but terrible for ThaiVisa.

Yesterday was a very rough day for Thaivisa's server. Not an internet problem.

I have more problems with ThaiVisa than any other site I visit.....

And that's before I start winding people up.

Internet was out all day today, but so was the power so it didn't matter.

Well I live up in a mountain village in Chiang Rai and my internet is very slow on a good day and missing on most. I've got 45 minutes of hair pin corners till I reach a highway in either direction from the house. There are few cars on the road so everyone cuts the corners. You can be assured of a couple of hard butt clinches every trip. I can't say that beef availability is better or worse here, but father in law brings home everything he shoots. We have cows, but I don't think we ever ate one. they're not much larger than a big dog. We rented our sister in law's place for 1500 a month. We don't live there, we just did it to keep other people of our yard. I have one European neighbor 20 km away. We have talked twice.

Internet was out all day today, but so was the power so it didn't matter.

I think you live in a bit more rural place than I am planning on...I'm looking for quiet and hopefully a nice view and places to walk, but as close to Chiang Rai city center as possible. Hopefully the infrastructure problems won't be as bad as they can be out in the sticks.

That said, a few years ago I lived in semi-rural US and day+ long power outages and DSL outages were a 2 or 3 times a year occurrence there. Bangkok has been far more reliable than my last US home as far as utilities.

I think you will enjoy Chiang Rai and you will find that closer to town you will get the connectivity you need. Things are soon to get better for me as well (3G they say).

I got 6MB internet from TOT for ฿599/month (land line)...very decent, no problem watching TV series too.

TOT has a new promotion program. I am still on the 599 program but the service is greatly improved during the past 2 months.