Permanent move to Thailand

[Ricardo]

We have running water here to wet my compost pile.....you must really be in the sticks

Air fine where we are - Suthep/Hang Dong...... but the smoke should be rolling in within a week or 2.

I just want to put a differrent perspective on burning...as a home own...dweller.

I need to make fire myself but only leaves.

Last june I made a compost area and it gets filled with garden debris and cooking veggie stuff.

The leaves just don't break down unless there is a lot of rain.

In the uk the leaves fall from the trees in sept oct and then weeks and weeks of rain,snow ,shot makes it compost in no time.

Here leaves fall now only to be followed by the hottest driest weather, my compost bin is overflowing with no hope of rain till next june.

the soil here has about one worm per rai so making good compost and fertiliser is wishfulthinking.

So as a way of getting rid of piles of leaves a fire is the answer. Isn't it?

And the ash can be mixed into the clay.

Well silly me built my compost area one meter further away than the hosepipe reaches, so watering it like a fireman with low pressure isn't great.

Are you saying spend 200bt on a longer hose and I don't need to burn.?

Or perhaps move the tap one meter closer ? Simples ! The power of lateral-thinking.

Istanbul , where they burn a lot of brown-coal, was the worst air-pollution I ever saw myself.

And welcome to the OP, Chiang Mai is a wonderful place, just don't tell too many other people, or they'll all want to come !

Edited February 19, 2014 by Ricardo

[crusader79]

Sound very unpleasant. Glad we have clean air to breath in Florida.

Breath easy while watching the paint dry.

Edited February 19, 2014 by crusader79

[FolkGuitar]

If Chiang Mai is so bad, I wonder why so many people choose to live here?

As a traveler, I've seen many places prettier; small green valleys in Switzerland surrounded by majestic mountains, tiny islands in the South Pacific that you can walk completely around in less than a day, with sparkling white sand, palm tress, and blue skies, or modern metropolis' in the US or Europe with every convenience one can dream of... etc., etc. but I wouldn't want to live in any of them.

I chose Chiang Mai. Glad I did. In 11+ years spent here, I haven't regretted the choice.

Edited February 19, 2014 by FolkGuitar

[Maggusoil]

'existance' is certainly the right choice of word.

I prefer a 'life' myself, down here in glorious Pattaya.

PP

Never been to either of them, but whatever, you know, 'life' which is our own, is what we make of it wherever we are. One of our locals in the far, far, far nor'east of Eastarn!, is from England. Whenever i hear him complaining about "anything', I say

"better than living in Manchester though, isn't it?"

That shuts him up.

I had been to Thai several times, but when I met my first real locals, who took me to their "home", a second hand timber and corrugated iron, laborer's dormitory, in the then, new, Bangkok power station's building site, I got a great introduction to their creativity and hospitality.

Without a stove, or fridge, and ingredients from the local market in plastic bags with fresh herbs, they produced a 17 course meal. I bought the beer and paid for the tobacco. Not a bad trade.

I have never eaten so much in years. It was so delicious. Every time I started to feel uncomfortable from the hard floor or heat, water was produced, or a pillow, or a fan as if they anticipated my feelings. It was an interesting experience and one I won't forget.

The Thai people have unique qualities, and I believe you can experience it everywhere in this fantastic country.

I love Thailand and think Nok Air and the way they decorate the exterior of their aeroplanes is a good indication of where they are coming from.

Hilarious. It makes me very sad that they have become victims to a certain extent of their own kind in this current political foment.

You need a dose of reality, and see the dark side where life is so cheap, cops so bent along with half of the population, yes there are good Thais but as a farang you will find you are viewed as simply a money sorce.

This is a very good point, however this money thing is not unique to Thailand. No way. Wait till someone in your family dies who has a bit of money and see who you "think" your family was.. .

[louse1953]

Air fine where we are - Suthep/Hang Dong...... but the smoke should be rolling in within a week or 2.

I just want to put a differrent perspective on burning...as a home own...dweller.

I need to make fire myself but only leaves.

Last june I made a compost area and it gets filled with garden debris and cooking veggie stuff.

The leaves just don't break down unless there is a lot of rain.

In the uk the leaves fall from the trees in sept oct and then weeks and weeks of rain,snow ,shot makes it compost in no time.

Here leaves fall now only to be followed by the hottest driest weather, my compost bin is overflowing with no hope of rain till next june.

the soil here has about one worm per rai so making good compost and fertiliser is wishfulthinking.

So as a way of getting rid of piles of leaves a fire is the answer. Isn't it?

And the ash can be mixed into the clay.

You got a tap on your property,or do you wash in the river.In Oz it rains every 5 years but still have good compost.Google is your friend.

[louse1953]

'existance' is certainly the right choice of word.

I prefer a 'life' myself, down here in glorious Pattaya.

PP

Never been to either of them, but whatever, you know, 'life' which is our own, is what we make of it wherever we are. One of our locals in the far, far, far nor'east of Eastarn!, is from England. Whenever i hear him complaining about "anything', I say

"better than living in Manchester though, isn't it?"

That shuts him up.

I had been to Thai several times, but when I met my first real locals, who took me to their "home", a second hand timber and corrugated iron, laborer's dormitory, in the then, new, Bangkok power station's building site, I got a great introduction to their creativity and hospitality.

Without a stove, or fridge, and ingredients from the local market in plastic bags with fresh herbs, they produced a 17 course meal. I bought the beer and paid for the tobacco. Not a bad trade.

I have never eaten so much in years. It was so delicious. Every time I started to feel uncomfortable from the hard floor or heat, water was produced, or a pillow, or a fan as if they anticipated my feelings. It was an interesting experience and one I won't forget.

The Thai people have unique qualities, and I believe you can experience it everywhere in this fantastic country.

I love Thailand and think Nok Air and the way they decorate the exterior of their aeroplanes is a good indication of where they are coming from.

Hilarious. It makes me very sad that they have become victims to a certain extent of their own kind in this current political foment.

You need a dose of reality, and see the dark side where life is so cheap, cops so bent along with half of the population, yes there are good Thais but as a farang you will find you are viewed as simply a money sorce.

The reality is all yours,which maybe confused with paranoia.

[quidnunc]

'existance' is certainly the right choice of word.

I prefer a 'life' myself, down here in glorious Pattaya.

PP

Never been to either of them, but whatever, you know, 'life' which is our own, is what we make of it wherever we are. One of our locals in the far, far, far nor'east of Eastarn!, is from England. Whenever i hear him complaining about "anything', I say

"better than living in Manchester though, isn't it?"

That shuts him up.

I had been to Thai several times, but when I met my first real locals, who took me to their "home", a second hand timber and corrugated iron, laborer's dormitory, in the then, new, Bangkok power station's building site, I got a great introduction to their creativity and hospitality.

Without a stove, or fridge, and ingredients from the local market in plastic bags with fresh herbs, they produced a 17 course meal. I bought the beer and paid for the tobacco. Not a bad trade.

I have never eaten so much in years. It was so delicious. Every time I started to feel uncomfortable from the hard floor or heat, water was produced, or a pillow, or a fan as if they anticipated my feelings. It was an interesting experience and one I won't forget.

The Thai people have unique qualities, and I believe you can experience it everywhere in this fantastic country.

I love Thailand and think Nok Air and the way they decorate the exterior of their aeroplanes is a good indication of where they are coming from.

Hilarious. It makes me very sad that they have become victims to a certain extent of their own kind in this current political foment.

You need a dose of reality, and see the dark side where life is so cheap, cops so bent along with half of the population, yes there are good Thais but as a farang you will find you are viewed as simply a money sorce.

Perhaps, given your sourness, that's all there is to see.

[HaleySabai]

the soil here has about one worm per rai so making good compost and fertiliser is wishful thinking.

So as a way of getting rid of piles of leaves a fire is the answer. Isn't it?

And the ash can be mixed into the clay.

On the small home-owner scale composting is a healthy solution to burning...we have a massive 300yr old Bo-tree on our property and is an almost daily job to rake the leaves,in April the leaves fall like rain until completely gone then,like magic, within 48hrs wha-la the whole tree is alive with the most vibrant green glow of new foliage.

I could be burning daily but rather take the extra steps to gather and spread the leaves in a elongated pile near the tree. We pail our off-cut kitchen scrapes...being voracious veggie-juicers we have a lot of organic waste and simply throw it in with the "browns". I don't bother to keep it wet because the pile is rather large,I let nature break it down into the ground during the rainy season and this becomes food for the old tree. All our neighbors burn their yard piles regardless of the size....taking the extra-steps with a productive sense of recycling is something most people are unwilling to bother with. @ Eyecatcher... check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compost and find out what you are missing in creating a successful compost heap - it's easy.

"Burning" here in the North is defined in an agri-context ,much larger scale and seems to be a necessary evil of living in an agricultural belt,especially in mountainous areas. But like other posters here have alluded to; the "smoke-season" is not that bad on its own but can be compounded by forest fires near and far,along with wind directions et... just this morning I walked up to Doi Kham temple and the visibility was the best its been in months.....

Having digressed..... Welcome to the OP - Wishing you & yours a smooth transition into the Land of Impermanence!

Edited February 19, 2014 by HaleySabai

[wolf5370]

Air fine where we are - Suthep/Hang Dong...... but the smoke should be rolling in within a week or 2.

I just want to put a differrent perspective on burning...as a home own...dweller.

I need to make fire myself but only leaves.

Last june I made a compost area and it gets filled with garden debris and cooking veggie stuff.

The leaves just don't break down unless there is a lot of rain.

In the uk the leaves fall from the trees in sept oct and then weeks and weeks of rain,snow ,shot makes it compost in no time.

Here leaves fall now only to be followed by the hottest driest weather, my compost bin is overflowing with no hope of rain till next june.

the soil here has about one worm per rai so making good compost and fertiliser is wishfulthinking.

So as a way of getting rid of piles of leaves a fire is the answer. Isn't it?

And the ash can be mixed into the clay.

You got a tap on your property,or do you wash in the river.In Oz it rains every 5 years but still have good compost.Google is your friend.

There that's answered that, just move your compost heap to Oz

[homeownership]

Best of luck. Is your better half Thai?

No were both English.

[VegasVic]

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'existance' is certainly the right choice of word.

I prefer a 'life' myself, down here in glorious Pattaya.

PP

I trust you are having a little joke with us.

I think not... Did you notice the name he goes by? To each their own, I guess. I went to Pattaya once. Didn't even stay the night. Can't say that I'd ever want to go there again. But Chiang Mai has a lot of charm (IMHO), and I only get to visit there.

I am in agreement with you about Pattaya it is becoming more of a cesspool every time I visit, however if you wander down the coast just a bit before Rayong you will find Ban Chang which is a nice little community with relatively decent beaches (certainly much nicer than Patters) and a couple good golf courses

[VegasVic]

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I hope you will not regret soon your step. For me, no valid option, low quality of live in Chiang Mai, I lived there several times for a short time. Traffic jam, air pollution, crowded city center, too many farangs. There are many nicer places in Thailand, e.g. Mae Hong Son or Chiang Rai, for not speaking of nice places in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia. And continental Europe is simply too beautiful, I would not miss it. Thailand is good enough for a visit in European winter time, but even then neighbouring countries offer more then Chiang Mai.

You will not find modern infrastructure like in Chiang mai in any of those places mentioned except for continental Europe, and you will pay through the nose to live there BTW I agree that Chiang Rai and mae hong song are nice places but then again it comes back to modern infrastructure and modern conveniences! Chiang Rai is likely the next best choice if they could improve their transportation and internet a little, of course there is a lot of Korean and Chinese investment as of late in Chinag rai, talk about a quick way to ruin a neighborhood!!!

[sirineou]

same boat as you , me and wife come to Thailand every year, when I have time from work. This year I had to spend my time off from work having an medical operation, not what I was looking forward too.

welcome to Thailand Homeownership

I am very jealous of you. Still seven years to go until retirement, play the Loto every week so who knows. maybe sooner.

Good Luck

[Kitsune]

http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/chiangmai/city-hall/

What's in yellow and they call "moderate" is actually considered as dangerous (above 50PM10)

What's they good "good" is actually just below the dangerous line

And that's the "good" season.

Now if I am a millionaire like the OP, and I could live anywhere I like, I think I would choose to live in a place where the air is clean, but that's me

I don't think you can buy property in the middle of the ocean.

yes you are right to correct me, technically there is no such thing as clean air on the planet, but you don't have to chose the more dangerously polluted zone

[Kitsune]

If Chiang Mai is so bad, I wonder why so many people choose to live here?

The same reason people don't want to believe in global warming.

2.4 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution.

Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air pollution than to automobile accidents.

[FolkGuitar]

If Chiang Mai is so bad, I wonder why so many people choose to live here?

The same reason people don't want to believe in global warming.

2.4 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution.

Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air pollution than to automobile accidents.

About the same number as alcohol-related deaths each year.

Maybe it's Mother Nature's way of 'pruning?'

[harrry]

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I hope you will not regret soon your step. For me, no valid option, low quality of live in Chiang Mai, I lived there several times for a short time. Traffic jam, air pollution, crowded city center, too many farangs. There are many nicer places in Thailand, e.g. Mae Hong Son or Chiang Rai, for not speaking of nice places in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia. And continental Europe is simply too beautiful, I would not miss it. Thailand is good enough for a visit in European winter time, but even then neighbouring countries offer more then Chiang Mai.

You will not find modern infrastructure like in Chiang mai in any of those places mentioned except for continental Europe, and you will pay through the nose to live there BTW I agree that Chiang Rai and mae hong song are nice places but then again it comes back to modern infrastructure and modern conveniences! Chiang Rai is likely the next best choice if they could improve their transportation and internet a little, of course there is a lot of Korean and Chinese investment as of late in Chinag rai, talk about a quick way to ruin a neighborhood!!!

No problem at all with my Internet.

And what other thai city has taxis that instantly use their meter which they do not turn on until you are comfortably settled in to your seat and come within about 5 minutes of being called through a call centre for 20 baht surchage.

A 3 km or so trip I do regularly costs me 60 baht including call charge.

On second thoughts please do not come, we like it as it is.

[HaleySabai]

If you complain about the smoke in CM then most definitely do not live in CR...it is far worst.