Living in Chiang Mai on $500 a month?

[Saan]

NancyL,

How many people in the situation you describe, or a similar situation, do you think (or know) there are in Chiang Mai city?

Good question -- let's leave out the part about 84 years old and simply focus on people who are frail, living on limited means and without savings or a back-up plan if they have a major health crisis. I'd estimate there are several thousand foreigners in this situation in the area around Chiang Mai.

Consider that during the six weeks that Nakorn Ping hospital opened enrollment in their gov't health insurance program to non-migrant labor foreigners, they had 100 people enroll who were over age 60, with a surprising number over age 80 -- many in very poor health and in need of immediate attention.

I don't know if that enrollment figure signifies much in this discussion as I know several very wealthy farangs who were just about first on the queue for the government health insurance.

[sappersrest]

Yup, spend an extra 10,000 baht/month to rent a nice house or condo in town vs. living out in the sticks and you can walk to almost every place you want, take a tuk-tuk or songthaew to the others and if you want to go someplace out of town, you can always rent a van and driver for about 1500 baht/day and travel in comfort. I never could understand why someone would want the hassle of living in the 'burbs away from the action and having the expense and bother of maintaining a car. Besides, with the driving skill of both the Thai people and me, I'd live in fear of killing someone.

Most days, I can walk to Maya Mall from my condo faster than taking a tuk-tuk because of the traffic snarl on Huey Kaew. Why anyone would drive there is a mystery.

Because it suits some people to live out in the suburbs. Having a garden is a big plus for me,Every time I go into town I can taste the traffic fumes .City living not for us, having the convenience of owning a car is great, much more freedom.Driving here is easy and fun.

Still each to their own

[bangmai]

Because it suits some people to live out in the suburbs. Having a garden is a big plus for me,Every time I go into town I can taste the traffic fumes .City living not for us, having the convenience of owning a car is great, much more freedom.Driving here is easy and fun.

reads like an ad for Prozac.

Edited February 18, 2016 by bangmai

[LivinLOS]

Yup, spend an extra 10,000 baht/month to rent a nice house or condo in town vs. living out in the sticks and you can walk to almost every place you want, take a tuk-tuk or songthaew to the others and if you want to go someplace out of town, you can always rent a van and driver for about 1500 baht/day and travel in comfort. I never could understand why someone would want the hassle of living in the 'burbs away from the action and having the expense and bother of maintaining a car. Besides, with the driving skill of both the Thai people and me, I'd live in fear of killing someone.

Most days, I can walk to Maya Mall from my condo faster than taking a tuk-tuk because of the traffic snarl on Huey Kaew. Why anyone would drive there is a mystery.

Because it suits some people to live out in the suburbs. Having a garden is a big plus for me,Every time I go into town I can taste the traffic fumes .City living not for us, having the convenience of owning a car is great, much more freedom.Driving here is easy and fun.

Still each to their own

With my windows open I can hear no traffic noise, no village speakers, no karaoke, just birdsong right now floating around the pool zone..

As to vehicles, 3 cars and 7 bikes.. Actually need to trim that down, I no longer have the garage space after a recent move.

With luck I wont move again until I have built on my 5 rai plot.. That should be enough room to breathe and insulate me from other people.

Edited February 18, 2016 by LivinLOS

[Trujillo]

Yup, spend an extra 10,000 baht/month to rent a nice house or condo in town vs. living out in the sticks ... Why anyone would drive there is a mystery.

I guess this is the "500 a month" page...but 10,000 baht should really be neither here nor there for a retiree.

Let me demystify it for you.

When I first moved to Asia in 1985, I thought the driving was manic and dangerous. But as I began to actually be a part of the traffic, controlling my own vehicle (not just white-knuckling it in the back seat of a taxi), and understanding the driving styles and techniques, I found driving to be a pure pleasure.

I drove a Vespa for 20 years. In Thailand I have a scooter and a 400cc chopper, and recently a vintage automobile.

Yes, you could hire a car and driver to take you around the Mae Hong Son loop, but I think you can appreciate doing it on a bike with the wind in your hair and the freedom to take a side road to discover what might be there. YOU are in control. And it's YOUR vehicle -- be it a bike or a car. Hiring a car and/or a driver makes the entire thing impersonal, like taking a bus.

I understand the concept of living in the middle of the city for walking convenience, but personally, I like nature. I would be terribly unhappy if I didn't have my dog and a yard for her to run around in. I have numerous plants and trees and a garden and I can't imagine living in a concrete box on top of other concrete boxes with shared walls with strangers literally inches away from me. (BHONG BHONG BHONG..."Turn down your fracking TV!") The trade-off for me isn't worth it.

And driving is fun. People have had a love affair with the horseless carriage since its inception.

Besides, unless you have a full-time driver, finding a tuk-tuk or songtao is not always easy or even possible. I had some work done on my car recently in Maejo and waiting for some public transport to come along was ridiculous. So I hitchhiked. Much faster and, for the 500 a month people, it was free.

By the way, as I alluded to earlier, driving here is not nearly as crazy and dangerous as you might think. Sure, there are dickheads and folks that seriously should not be operating heavy machinery ever, but for the most part it's pretty pedestrian, pardon the pun.