Couple Of Questions (a Search Couldnt Quite Answer)?

[tonychang]

Are there many youngish farangs living in Chiang Mai as there used to be mainly just old guys where I used to live? I would imagine there is a reasonable sized population of English teachers.

Are there many places that expats go to (i.e. bars) that are not mainly bargirl orientated?

I noticed there are certain cheaper condos that the younger people lean towards. Is this generally where people who don’t earn a lot of money live? I understand longer termers rent houses (easier if your Thai is better) but does anyone share? I found this a cheaper and more pleasant than living alone (or with your Thai girlfriend).

Are there many farang girls living in Chiang Mai, as there were none where I used to live?

Is the climate noticeably cooler than Bangers and the south?

Would you say the Thai people in Chiang Mai are more accepting and tolerant than in the other popular resort parts of Thailand due to the fact they are not there necessarily to work in the tourist (and sex tourism) industry?

Appologies for all these questions and thanks in advance for any answers. I have searched the forum and found a lot of great information on Chiang Mai but have never been myself. I live in England but am thinking of coming over for 6 months to a year and fancied something a bit different to where I lived before (Hua Hin). I especially enjoyed meeting all the different people from around the world either expats or just passing through but HH is apparently a retirement village these days and Samui and the south are a bit too hot and expensive for my tastes.

Cheers

ที.สี.

[BlackArtemis]

Since I fit into quite a few of these categories I think I will lend any help I can. I have met quite a few other young farangs who live here. Usually they are teachers like myself. It might take awhile to make a network of farang friends but it can be done.

Bars, there are tons of none BG bars. Warm Up, Monkey Club, Old School, Fine Thanks, The Glass Onion, Banrak, Neimenhamind road is a great place since it's close to CMU.

I am stuck in huay kaew Residence for another month, I will either more to a better apartment or find people to share with. What do you consider cheap price wise?

Farang girls, meh I don't pay too much attention to them. The only ones i know are leaving the country in two weeks and I knew them through an exchange program I did last year. The majority of young farang girls I see dress slutty by Thai standards and are clueless about the place, or are the backpacking yoga dreadlocked farangs. Personally I hang out more with Thai people than Farang.

Chiang Mai is much more "cultural" After spending a month in Phuket town I got sick of it. Beaches only make you happy for a short amount of time. But metting people who don't view you as another tourist is nice. I get a better reception up here, because I don' have to break through so many perceptions. But don't think there isn't a sex industry up here.

The climate is much nicer, often by 5+ degrees C

It's pretty easy to meet up with a good group of people and avoid all the shitty bargirl facilities in Chiang Mai. I have been here 5 months so far this year and 4 months last year. I may not have the experience some of the older guys have on the forum and being a Yank seems to be a bad thing here, but I hope I was of help to you

Edited June 4, 2006 by BlackArtemis

[meadish_sweetball]

There are quite a few young people living here, but the majority of long-term stayers still seem to be over 35 (if that is any limit to go by). You do not mention your own age so it's hard to know where you set your limit for young(ish).

BlackArtemis has summed it up pretty well I think.

It is fully possible to not take part in the bar scene - I don't - although it does seem that many of those you meet 'out and about', do.

One thing you may be faced with is that many of your friends will only be passing through, and if you are determined to stay, that may feel a bit sad. I had that experience myself in Bangkok in the beginning, and it sucks to say goodbye to people you really like all the time, and be the one still sticking it out. But I do guess you get better at dealing with this as time goes by.

The climate in Chiang Mai city from February - May is not that much colder than Bangkok - sometimes actually hotter. The humidity is always lower though, which is nice. The air quality is rather bad during the hot season as well.

IMO, the cool season and rainy season are far more pleasant in Chiang Mai than in Bangkok.

[earlofwindermere]

I think that my wife and I still fit into the "Younger" category (I'm 30 and she's 29). We have quite a few friends who are in their mid-20's here. I know that there's a lot in our area but I'm sure that you'll find younger people in every part of the city. (In Mae Joe / Sansai - the people I know are either teachers, work for NGOs or have a business here - quite a mix).

I do know that there's quite a few University students staying around Nimenhemin. My wife ran into 10 girls from the University of Alberta who are here for 6 months. They all work out at Powerhouse Gym and stay at the condo building directly beside it. (If I were coming alone, I would probably choose to find a place in that area first because it does have a younger, trendier feel to it).

Hope this helps

[BlackArtemis]

Ooo forgot to mention my age. I am 24, most of my Thai friends are 20-24 and goto CMU.

[Ulysses G.]

Never trust anyone living in Thailand who is under 30!

[ThaiPauly]

I have freinds here under 40 and over 60...what difference does it make......none at all

TP

[Ulysses G.]

The young whipper-snappers insist on shopping for girlfriends at Spotlight Bar.

They grab the new, hot ones a few weeks after they start working, give them almost no money and then a few years later dump them when they get old and start to look run down.

They finally fugure out that they were prostitutes and are not up to their standards once they lose their looks.

I don't like young handsome men!

[rishi]

... and they foolishly thinks, there are things more interesting than food ...

[BlackArtemis]

Hmm yeah us young guys are horrible. But I am making sure to grow that farang gut and if I don't go bald I will shave it off. I gotta get fat bald and old fast so I can go to spicey and pick up a girl 20 years younger than me and is way outta my league, but hey I offer $ and maybe a greencard!

(this post is in total jest to the young people comment)

Not all of us are complete idiots, and I used the same baton on bargirls as i do the soi dogs

[tonychang]

Thanks for all the replies and I guess I should explain my reasons for asking the questions I have.

As far as asking is there a youngish community living in Chiang Mai has a lot to do with living in Hua Hin where the bulk of the farang population were retirees living with or married to Thais so the social scene was quite limited. I am actually 36 (though was 30 when I lived in HH) but coming from Brighton I’m used to a younger more cosmopolitan vibe. My close friends in HH actually ranged from 17-55 years old.

As far as the bar scene goes I tended to prefer to hang out at my friends guesthouse/bar rather than the girlie bars as it was more relaxed and I would meet people who were not just there for the women , though the bar scene is pretty laid back and full of cool people aswell.

The reason I ask about condos is they seem the easiest way to instantly find an afordable place to live without having to endure the perils of renting a house (I don’t speak much Thai) without the help of a good Thai or Thai speaking friend. I know sharing a house is quite uncommon but it is something I got used to in England (because its so expensive) and enjoyed in Thailand (because its nice to have the company of people with similar language/culture).

There were no farang girls living in HH and a good percentage of my friends are farang girls, so I missed their company while living in Thailand. Infact my only Thai girlfriend at the time left me because she was jelous of the farang girls I used to drink with who were usually just passing through.

The fact that a lot of you socialise with Thai people says a lot about the place as the only Thais I knew were either visiting from Bangkok or bargirls and extended families of bargirls married to farang men. I do like the bar scene, I just prefer to make friends with people in bars because they like drinking and talking with you rather than for any other reasons. I was used to hangin out with a small and bizarre mix of westerns in Thailand all of which it was a pleasure to meet. It has also been interesting to read the thread by peaceblondie about moving back from HH to CM.

Thanks ever so much to BlackArtemis, meadish sweetball and the earlofwindermere. Your comments have been of great help.

Cheers

t.c.

[Fraktalkid]

From what I see the vast majority of expat long termers here are 50+, but there is also a community of younger farangs. Plus lots of really great Thai people too - in Chiang Mai the farang community is less developed and so you tend to make friends more with local Thai people if you stay on as a long termer. Anyway, I'm 25 from the UK (Brighton too ), have lived in Thailand for 2 years (Phuket and then moved to Chiang Mai a year ago). Phuket's expat community is bigger and more supportive, only because the people down there don't integrate with the locals as well as the farangs up here in Chiang Mai generally do.

From what I can make out, your ability to make friends depends on what you're doing (workwise) and who you're mixing with.. Also if you're a nice person and sociable too you'll make friends pretty easily here.

Personally I rent a 4 bed house 'cause it's pretty cheap (relative to what we pay in the UK) and feels more homely than an apartment. I have friends stay from time to time, sometimes for a few months or so. Also I've known other people who have got together with a group of friends and rented a place together - if you can get a good 3-4 bed house for 10k baht or less then it can work out really well - and having the company is good too.

Msg me offlist if you wanna meet up for a drink :-) Me and my friends generally hang out on Nimmanhemin road a couple of times a week - Warmup, Mao Dok Mai, places like that. We also do lunch and film nights too :-) All very civilised

Frak

Edited June 4, 2006 by Fraktalkid

[...Ken]

I have freinds here under 40 and over 60...what difference does it make......none at all

TP

Hmmm.....it does seem that more chaps who stay too long, and who are under 30, overdose by the time they are 35. Simply makes sense to wait until the crowd thins out .

Yeah, I know.....that comment was soooo unfair.

...Ken

[chanchao]

> the majority of long-term stayers still seem to be over 35

Yikes.. 3 weeks from now I will be in that group..

> Are there many youngish farangs living in Chiang Mai as there used

> to be mainly just old guys where I used to live? I would imagine there is

> a reasonable sized population of English teachers.

Yeah. Anyway, let me tell you the main problem with young people in Chiang Mai (the following applies to ALL other non-Bangkok areas of Thailand) Anyway, the main problem with young people in Chiang Mai is that they leave. Very rarely are they in it for the long haul, meaning that no matter what great friendships you start, inevitably they return to 'the real world' whatever that is.

Retired people on the other hand are more likely to be around for a much longer time.

For me, the CMECSMSP (Chiang Mai Expat Community of Sane and Mostly Sober People) is such a small group that inevitably some of the best people will be in their 40s, 50s, 60s etc. And after a while you realize that's perfectly okay. Back home there's so many people in your age group that people raraly hang out or become friends with people outside of that... But why's really? Anyway in CHiang mai whenever you get a group of 5 or more residents together, you have pretty much every age group right there. But that's okay.

> LAre there many places that expats go to (i.e. bars) that are not

> mainly bargirl orientated?

Yes. Many people at first hang at either girly bars or backpacker bars (both having in common that they're primarily foreign/tourist oriented) but give it some time and effort and you'll graduate form that. (if you so choose)

> I noticed there are certain cheaper condos that the younger people

> lean towards. Is this generally where people who don’t earn a lot of

> money live?

I think it's safe to say there's absolutely nothing you can generalize or assume about foreign people in Chiang mai of any age or nationality. One of the cheapest "condo's" of them all (Veerachai Court) ALWAYS at any time of the day or night has some older & crustier folks outside with a collection of empty Chang Bottles...

> I understand longer termers rent houses (easier if your Thai is better)

Sure. Having just one room when for virtually the same money you can have a house and a kitchen and a garden becomes pretty much a no-brainer, especially after acquiring some wheels (be it 2 or 4) so being 10 minutes out of town also doesn't mean a whole lot anymore.

> but does anyone share?

No, people get girlfriends. And when you can rent a house for 3500-4000-4500 or so, then what's really the point of sharing? It sure isn't cost! If you like the idea of having people around then pick a guesthouse or something where long timers stay that offers monthly rates.. Very friendly, lots of people to chat with, and convenient because food or laundry is just a yell away. I did this for the first year in Chiang Mai.

> Are there many farang girls living in Chiang Mai, as there were none

> where I used to live?

They're on the WWF endangered species list, especially younger ones here for a longer time, but there are some, yes.

> Is the climate noticeably cooler than Bangers and the south?

YES. Grand exception to this would be the month of April, give or take 2 weeks on either side. That time of year sucks. Very hot, dry, dusty, hazy. Also it's nice that it's not as humid as areas around Bangkok or further South. In the winter months it gets downright chilly at night up North.

> Would you say the Thai people in Chiang Mai are more accepting

> and tolerant than in the other popular resort parts of Thailand due to

> the fact they are not there necessarily to work in the tourist (and

> sex tourism) industry?

Yes. 'tolerant and accepting' aren't the right words though, as the tolerance of Thais in, say, Pattaya never seizes to amaze me. But substitute those words with 'friendlyness, open-ness and the inclination to view you as things other than a potential source of baht, then, yes. There's exceptions of course, like you wouldn't really want (or need) to live in the Night Bazar or Thapae area.

> Appologies for all these questions and thanks in advance for any answers.

In the end though it's your own experience and opinions on these things that matter... Come stay for a while, don't burn bridges anywhere and see how it goes.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[Blinky Bill]

Hmm yeah us young guys are horrible. But I am making sure to grow that farang gut and if I don't go bald I will shave it off. I gotta get fat bald and old fast so I can go to spicey and pick up a girl 20 years younger than me and is way outta my league, but hey I offer $ and maybe a greencard!

(this post is in total jest to the young people comment)

Not all of us are complete idiots, and I used the same baton on bargirls as i do the soi dogs

Screwing dogs is illegal in some countries. I'm not sure about the rules on bestiality in Thailand but each to their own BA.

[BlackArtemis]

Screwing dogs is illegal in some countries. I'm not sure about the rules on bestiality in Thailand but each to their own BA.

O crap!

O well, I was planning on moving to Holland now since that new political party opened up....

(and touche on the quote)