Moving to Chiang Mai

[CGTR]

Hello all - virgin to this forum so please go easy on me. Myself (33) and my 30 year old fiancée from Australia are moving to Chiang Mai at the end of this year; ED Visa at reputable school (our Australian Thai teacher is a former senior teacher at this school) with a view to living in Northern Thailand long term. Obviously I have plenty of questions, but I figure I will narrow them down to these 3:

(1) ED Visa: Are there currently any problems with visas being granted, in light of recent political events? I don't imagine so, but figure I would draw on the expertise of this community for some in-the-ground info.

(2) Banking: We want to transfer money from Australia to Thailand in 6-monthly transfers - IE send across 6 months of money and draw down from a local bank. Any recommendations for a good local bank with good ATM coverage and a good history of stability?

(3) How much it costs: Related to question 2, just wanted to throw a question out for debate / advice. Would you say that $20,000 AUD (600,000 THB) per year would be enough for 2 people to live comfortably in Chiang Mai. I know it is very dependant on lifestyle, but we don't want to live inside the old city, are not huge spenders, and just want reasonable quality of life. Perhaps most important is internet connection with decent speed, and the consideration that we like to eat out (but mostly roadside, not restaurant) and drink our fair share of Chang. I know this is a very subjective question, but just looking for some guidance.

Being new here I hope that I have posted in the right part of the forum; so kindly don't tear me a new ass if I haven't done this correctly. I have heaps of other questions, so linking up with people who are currently living in Chiang Mai would be fantastic - we will be there soon and are appreciative of any help we can find.

Cheers to all, and look forward to hearing back.

Chris

[TimCM]

Hi Chris

Currently in Aust myself but was living in CM a few months ago so will try to assist

1. No issues getting an Ed Visa, just do it before you go. The school can arrange the needed paperwork for you and will take a day to get

2. For the bank, I would wait until you find a place so you have a local branch nearby. There are a number of banks here and you will need to be here with your visa to open an account. No real difference in quality between them or risk so choose convenience.

3. B50k per month would be reasonable providing you were not living too extravagant. The average wage is less than a third of that and man English teachers around Thailand live comfortably off B30k and still save for their holidays. If you want to eat western food out each night, this would not hold true. Hire a scooter for B1500 month and street food is B30 a meal. Rent will vary but you can find some nice large western apartments for under B15k. Internet can vary depending on the quality, but I am not the one to ask for that

Apart from that, there is heaps of apartments around at the moment so no need to rush, just get someone who has been living here to advise on the areas to look.

Hope this helps and if any of this advise is no good, could the long ter residents please correct

Cheers

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Not much street food in CM I would be prepared to eat at 30bht/dish.

60-100bth for a meal out.

Much cheaper if you cook at home yourself.

50k/month would be fine with 1 meal out (for 2) a day IMHO.

[ThePunPun]

Hi Chris & welcome to the forum.

You have asked good questions and are getting and will receive good answers I'm sure. Buuuutttt you forgot to ask maybe the most important question. ? = forgetting the 30 baht street stalls, where is a GOOD place to get a hale and hearty full plate delicious meal????

Ans. The Pun Pun of course.

When you next get here, you will have a thousand more questions of course....... we also provide good answers...

Again welcome to the forum....Look to see many positive posts from you.

Gonzo

[Thakkar]

50k/month will suffice and will even allow for an occasional splurge.

Remember this though: come with full accident and health insurance.

T

[roathai]

Hi,

We are expat Aussie living in CM

I think if your going to pay about 15000 for rent you will need to live fairly modestly on 50000.

50000 is our monthly budget but we do own our house. We also run a car we own.

I add that we are not big spenders either.

I suggest you look at opening an OZFOREX account before you leave Aust.

Typically they are very close to the BKK/CM money changer rates and much better than WU or Aust. banks.

(eg money changer last month 30.35 Ozforex 30.1)

They also deliver within 1 to 2 days .

We use K Bank who charge 200 to receive our funds.

Hope this helps and you enjoy CM

[mizztraveller]

We lived in CM for 7 months, returning in April. We rented a serviced apartment for 30,000 a month, ate out for 2 lunches and 2 dinners a week (Thai food but restaurants, not street carts) and also went out for a couple of drinks a couple of extra nights a week. Also went out for coffee every morning. We easily came within 50,000 baht a month. As long as you don't want to regularly eat Western food you'll be fine! Enjoy Chiang Mai.

Sent from my GT-I8552 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[BlackArtemis]

Also 32, I just moved back to the US, but I was in Chiang Mai for 6+ years

A lot o people complain about how 50-60k will get you a modest life. You can get a modest life there on a whole lot less. I made a very decent wage and chose to live on way less. Granted I managed to find a room in a townhouse for 3000/m all inclusive in the Nimman area. Basically had a 3 story townhouse to myself for 90% of the time.

However, there are plenty of 2 story townhouses for 7-9k within the city. This could get you a house outside the city, but if you enjoy spending time inside the city I found it safer as you wouldn't be riding back home on empty roads with drunks.

Food, you can easily find streetfood for 30-60baht and eat in for 45-120. Look at behind the univerisity pronounced (lahng maw) and in front (naa maw) as well as Chiang Mai gate (Pra-doo Chiang Mai)

you will find plenty others, these are just large areas.

As for bikes, these are the 2nd deadliest roads in the world. I had my first accident on my last day. On a one way street and the kid in fron of my decided to do a U turn a fe meters in front of me. I had to dump the scooter to stop from t-boning him. This is a very MINOR accident here.

Renting will cost 2-3k a month for anything decent.

I suggest getting a decent semi auto for around 14k or an auto for 16-22k. You want low miles on a used auto. people trash these things. Beware of any honda/yamaha scooters for cheap, 8-12k. They will cost you in the long run with 3000B engine repairs etc. If you want to save money, but a Suzuki. Thais are very brand loyal and the suzuki's devalue faster and can be had for 20-30% less than their Honda/Yamaha counterparts

As for drinking, make some Thai friends and head over to the Nimman area. Tons of sit down bars with beer promotions. The foreigner bars tend to be more $$$$$

As for meeting westerners your age. I suggest North Gate bar and Small House. Small house is behind Salsa Kitchen and Lemontree (Both excellent restaurants) across from the Shell station on Huay Kaew.

Focus Gallery on Huay Kaew close to the canal road intersection. This is where the CM couchsurfers group meet up

Check out FB groups like Secondhand Chiang AMi, Second hand motorbikes etc. Though people are often off on the true value of things...

I would be you could easily live on 40k/month and save that extra 10k/month for an awesome tour of SEA after your year (rarely do people just stay 1 year in CM, just a warning) here.

Don't be shy to send me a message and ask further questions

[Saan]

You are getting pretty good advice here and you can have a good life here for 50,000 baht a month.

As for banking I use Bangkok Bank as I think it has many more ATMs than most other banks and gives me a good rate on exchange. I transfer money from my Australian NAB account at a cost of $22 for whatever amount. But make sure you get the money sent over in Australian dollars as the exchange rate is much better here than what Australian banks offer. As someone has already mentioned get health insurance before you leave. At your ages travel insurance shouldn't be too costly. Make sure, if you are going to use a scooter while hear, that you include that on your insurance otherwise you probably won't be covered if involved in an accident while riding.

Good luck, have a great time.

[evenstevens]

Also 32, I just moved back to the US, but I was in Chiang Mai for 6+ years

A lot o people complain about how 50-60k will get you a modest life. You can get a modest life there on a whole lot less. I made a very decent wage and chose to live on way less. Granted I managed to find a room in a townhouse for 3000/m all inclusive in the Nimman area. Basically had a 3 story townhouse to myself for 90% of the time.

However, there are plenty of 2 story townhouses for 7-9k within the city.

enjoyed your post, brought a smile to my dial

just came off the luxury condo thread, where a condo monthly price rental in nimman area 50k to 60 k has been mentioned

your above comments are very refreshing, and are still able to obtain

but they will say u are in the wrong post code etc etc in nimman,

thats their music they wished to hear

remember its a great life if you dont weaken

[BlackArtemis]

Also 32, I just moved back to the US, but I was in Chiang Mai for 6+ years

A lot o people complain about how 50-60k will get you a modest life. You can get a modest life there on a whole lot less. I made a very decent wage and chose to live on way less. Granted I managed to find a room in a townhouse for 3000/m all inclusive in the Nimman area. Basically had a 3 story townhouse to myself for 90% of the time.

However, there are plenty of 2 story townhouses for 7-9k within the city.

enjoyed your post, brought a smile to my dial

just came off the luxury condo thread, where a condo monthly price rental in nimman area 50k to 60 k has been mentioned

your above comments are very refreshing, and are still able to obtain

but they will say u are in the wrong post code etc etc in nimman,

thats their music they wished to hear

remember its a great life if you dont weaken

Yeah, it's crazy about what people think it costs to be here. Some months I would manage only spending 25,000

And that's with spending 3-4k on fuel for my Ninja 650, going out at least 8 times a week with friends around the Nimman area. I ate foreign food when I wanted. Work provided me an amazing lunch, and I loved moo ping and omletes for breakfast. Now, add on about 5000B more for realistic rent, but I could be VERY social in CM and eat, do, and go what/where I wanted. I didn't actively try to be cheap, I just didn't need to spend the money to have an awesome lifestyle. Didn't cost much to get on my bike and ride out into the countryside and decide to eat at some little roadside place full of people and have a great afternoon chatting with people. :shrug:

It also helped that I kept winning the halloween contest at Warm up, so I was given 12L of "whiskey" (100pipers is swill) as a prize and always had free booze hahahaha

[evenstevens]

Also 32, I just moved back to the US, but I was in Chiang Mai for 6+ years

A lot o people complain about how 50-60k will get you a modest life. You can get a modest life there on a whole lot less. I made a very decent wage and chose to live on way less. Granted I managed to find a room in a townhouse for 3000/m all inclusive in the Nimman area. Basically had a 3 story townhouse to myself for 90% of the time.

However, there are plenty of 2 story townhouses for 7-9k within the city.

enjoyed your post, brought a smile to my dial

just came off the luxury condo thread, where a condo monthly price rental in nimman area 50k to 60 k has been mentioned

your above comments are very refreshing, and are still able to obtain

but they will say u are in the wrong post code etc etc in nimman,

thats their music they wished to hear

remember its a great life if you dont weaken

Yeah, it's crazy about what people think it costs to be here. Some months I would manage only spending 25,000

And that's with spending 3-4k on fuel for my Ninja 650, going out at least 8 times a week with friends around the Nimman area. I ate foreign food when I wanted. Work provided me an amazing lunch, and I loved moo ping and omletes for breakfast. Now, add on about 5000B more for realistic rent, but I could be VERY social in CM and eat, do, and go what/where I wanted. I didn't actively try to be cheap, I just didn't need to spend the money to have an awesome lifestyle. Didn't cost much to get on my bike and ride out into the countryside and decide to eat at some little roadside place full of people and have a great afternoon chatting with people. :shrug:

It also helped that I kept winning the halloween contest at Warm up, so I was given 12L of "whiskey" (100pipers is swill) as a prize and always had free booze hahahaha

you certainly have a good head on your shoulders, can clearly remember hitch hiking around europe early seventies clutching a book called how to travel in europe on 5 u.s dollars a day

and most days did it, and in c/mai your numbers can be done , when one learn the ropes

on the rental side your realistic figure of 5,000 baht, is so too true

and if u need a house around 10,000,will fetch a older one,

your posts are just good commonsense,and clearly show one can live in c/mai with out a frugal personality

received a call, last nite from a long term c/mai expat ,who i have known for yonks, he built a nest of modern bunglalows,up until now, his occupancy rate was always around the 90% mark

and receiving a very healthy bungalow rate, he told me ,that due to a overheated supply of accomadation( condo/houses) he had to lower his rates,substantially to keep his long term renters happy

as they know, that greener pastures are appearing all over c/mai, he bursted out laughing when i mentioned the common call of expat c/mai investors are penciling, in a nett 6%return from their investment number, he said they are in disneyland, and will be lucky to make 4% p.a. in a top notch location he again said that the rental market has reached mammonth proportions of a oversupply in c.mai, and at both ends of the market, he finnally said..., it is that dire , that rental punters hold all the cards and can literally name the monthly rate

so in the long term, very reasonble acc rates in c/mai can be easlily accuired

good news for the renters and bad news for the investors (J.M.O.)

and a very nice morning to all

[zeichen]

monthly budgets are not yearly budgets. Anyone who claims to live off of any number a month is not usually accurate because there will be hidden costs from month to month. Also there will be considerable start up costs. 600k baht should be enough but might get tight. You will have to budget well and will not be too luxurious. You will probably spend 100k baht your first month. 3 months of rent up front, furniture, comforts that you forgot to bring. Make sure that you have medical coverage of some sort as other posters mentioned.

You will also have to pay for your schooling for the ed visa. I imagine that your school isn't free. If you are busy studying, then you might spend less but you will spend a lot more money keeping yourself busy with too much free time. Chiang Mai is not a 30 something crowd for those that are in retirement mode. Most your age will be working.

Just have an exit plan and make sure that you don't get stuck in a rut. Keep busy with hobbies and activities.

You can live on a lot less than 40k a month but it depends on what you call comfortable and what incidentals arise.

[Jdiddy]

I'm similar age and just got here, looked at a nice house for 5000 a month and apartments for 2500 and 2200 per month yesterday, not far from festival plaza, none were listed in English though which is I think the key, found out about them by talking to my hotel lady who lives in the area, she showed me them and did the talking

Best to come here and stay in a hotel and scout out the place for a few weeks imo

Best of luck

[CGTR]

Hello All - first up thank you all for the vast volume of replies; very glad I took the time to sign up (and the fact that I haven't copped it from anyone suggests I may have just posted in the right area).

So it looks like 600,000 THB is potentially doable; there are a different answers that all seem to have their merits, but the main concern in all of them is lifestyle; AKA no living like a prince on 600K. I guess we never thought that we would be able to pull off a luxury lifestyle on that sort of money, so the answers have really confirmed our suspicions.

Lots of good suggestions about where to live and what to look for - these responses have given us a bit of a plan. I have an uncle who lives in CM, and he will be useful for all of the expected family reasons - a few nights of accommodation, a place to store stuff, and some "wisdom" about where to live, what to do, and where to go... We have kind of figured that a good plan would go as follows:

(1) Arrive... Find somewhere cheap to crash for a few weeks to a month. Haven't got any idea where that will be, but a backpackers that we stayed in during our previous 6 month trip to SEA called Deejai Backpackers (within the Old City), is looking like a plan. Reasonably sure that they will do a deal on a monthly rate.

(2) Recon: We will need to hit the ground and do some looking about to see where we want to live, and what those places are like. We have no interest in Western bars and getting hammered with ladies of the night, so we are thinking that a good suburb, with some good local bars and pool halls within walking distance (or close scooter ride) to the Old City will be the ticket. Our language school is just outside of the Old City in the Commercial district to the NW, so that won't be a major issue RE transport. A couple of people have even suggested that living in or right near the Old City could be a good bet. We figure that seeing all of this in person will solidify any ideas that we might have, but we are grateful for any further ideas...

(3) Getting a Thai / Local Wingman: We have spent enough time in SEA to know that we will get royally jacked if we go into any negotiations about housing and its associated needs and wants if we go in by ourselves speaking english. Every time that we lucked-in to a good thing when we travelled, we always had a local on point for negotiations. I understand that we will pay at least some farang-premium on whatever we choose and wherever we stay, but having someone to guide us through it is probably going to go a long way in helping us out.

A few people mentioned the use of m-bikes and scooters. I have ridden big-bikes in Australia for quite a few years, but i realise that my dream of doing some of the mountain runs around CM / Pai is going to have to take a BIG backseat for starters when we arrive. I am interested to know one thing; a lot of people have talked about renting scooters at a monthly rate of circa 1500 THB. I was thinking that a solid idea would be to just buy a scooter - one of the little 250 auto / semi-auto numbers that we spent most of our times on during our travels. Any ideas / comments here? I just figure that because we intend to spend multiple (3+) years in CM, it would be a better bet to buy than rent... but perhaps I am wrong? Thoughts?

Once again I greatly appreciate all of the time and answers that people have provided here, and am deeply grateful... I am going to push my luck just a bit here and ask a couple of questions about things I still unsure of:

(1) This site: Some people seem to have sent messages for me to read personally, and others have just posted to this thread... How does all of this work? I am eager to make as many friends (and offend as few people) as possible. Is there some way that I "add" these people to my profile? Keep in mind that I am pretty anti social media, so I don't have FB / Twitter / Instagram (thus making me somewhat of a social media idiot I guess ha ha). I just want to repay the respect and kindness that people have show to me right back... Any pointers would be great. P.S: To any who have PM'd or added me in some way and I haven't returned the favour, this is why...

(2) Working: I know that a lot of people have talked about teaching language as a working option. Both myself and my partner are degree qualified (her in Physical Education and myself in Business). Just wondering if there are other options available to foreigners living / working in CM? Her background in in schools and government and mine is in mining/engineering and financial services...

(3) Health Insurance: Almost everyone is unanimous on this one - GET INSURANCE. After the last two trips (where accidents and incidents would have cost me well over $50K AUD without it) I would never leave home without insurance. But I was wondering if there is "Thai insurance" that foreigners can buy when they are in situ... Anyone know about this? Also, I have heard that due to recent political events, most western companies are not willing to offer insurance to people travelling to / living in Thailand (which seems pretty stupid but oh well). I would also imagine it would be pretty damn expensive to pay western rates for insurance on a YEARLY basis. Again - Any ideas?

I am sure I will have plenty more to ask as time goes on, and hope that I am not pushing a friendship by putting all of these questions / ideas out there... Once again - big thankyous to all who have shown a newbie some love

Chris

[zeichen]

"250 auto / semi-auto numbers"

The automatic scooters are 125-150. The 250 cc engines are what is called a "big bike" Usually the phantom or the like. The 250 cc bikes cost around 100k Baht, the scooters are about 45-55k baht.

If you are going to stay more than a year then it might be worth it or perhaps get a used scooter. They last a long time.

As for work. There are jobs teaching EFL but they don't pay well in CM. The University has part time jobs that might be better since you want to be more flexible. Most other jobs are full time and you work longer hours for little.

The days of 30k baht living like a king are over. The cost of living in the past 10 years is nearly 40% higher.

I wouldn't really let my dog stay in a flat that is 2k baht a month. Be careful finding a good place. 10k baht a month for a 2 bedroom is more on par. Any small flat for 5k or less might be stressful for 2.

You seem to have your head on your shoulders but expect some serious ups and downs. Living is a lot different than backpacking through a country.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

There are some very nice condos near Huay Keow Road for 3,300/month + utils.

That's within walking distance of two shopping malls and Nimanhamman.

[Oscar2]

3. and street food is B30 a meal.

LOL for 30 Baht you will get a small portion of the lowest-grade polished white rice with 'something' on top like some sauce with a piece of chicken bone or something that has been fried in recycled palm oil cleaned with bleach. just take a look at the price of food in the markets to know that any decent food at this price is a thing of the past. 30 Baht meals are what immigrant construction workers buy off of mobile lunch carts...

seriously now, for 60-90 Baht you can get a decent meal.

[Oscar2]

It also helped that I kept winning the halloween contest at Warm up, so I was given 12L of "whiskey" (100pipers is swill) as a prize and always had free booze hahahaha

hahaha LOL love it! only in Thailand.

[Diplomatico]

3. and street food is B30 a meal.

seriously now, for 60-90 Baht you can get a decent meal.

Sounds like someone is getting charged farang price and doesn't realize it.

[Oscar2]

3. and street food is B30 a meal.

seriously now, for 60-90 Baht you can get a decent meal.

Sounds like someone is getting charged farang price and doesn't realize it.

sounds like you haven't got a clue (or haven't got any taste buds). I don't know any Thais that eat 30 Baht meals off roach coaches. maybe a few years ago.