Thinking of moving to Chiang Mai - Questions!

[thelongshoot]

Hello all.

I have lived in Thailand full time for 11 years and whilst I still think it's an amazing country, I am bored of the place to be honest. At the moment I live in Hua Hin and have been here for the last 3 years. It may be that the country has changed too much for the worse (I could be wrong), or maybe I have changed (definitely)..... Its probably a bit of both but either way, for most of those 11 years I loved the place and before I throw the towel in, I think I am going to give Chiang Mai a shot.

I go there with the GF every New Year for a week and sometimes have the odd spur of the moment weekend trip up there, and I love it. The people seem genuine friendly, love the food, love the winter climate and the green lush mountains are amazing. I've never been that fussed about the beach anyway.

Its a bloody huge city though and I need a little help in getting my head around it, if you guys could help me out and give me a few pointers:

*We are looking to rent a house on a long term basis. I need 3 or 4 bedrooms (one of them for an office). Large garden a must as we have 2 huge dogs. Which areas of CM should I be looking at to rent something like this? Within a 10-15 minute drive of the city would be ideal if that's possible. I am happy to come up for a few days and drive around on my own but I would need to know the areas I should be looking at first

*Whats the best way to find a house like this? In Hua Hin the best bet is to jump in your car and drive around looking for 'house to rent' signs. I have looked at a few property websites but the prices seem way over the top, as is typical with agents. Can anyone suggest a property agent with more 'fair' rental prices? I have no issue with anyone making a living but I am convinced some of these guys double up on the rental.

*Somewhere nice and green with mountain views would be nice but I'm guessing that's only possible if you go quite far out?

*Whats the traffic like in an around CM? The center always seems real busy or have I got that wrong?

*What are the pubs like in CM? I struggle with Hua Hin as they are mostly beer bars which i grew bored of years ago. I found one half decent spot that has Guinness on tap called Number 1 pub. Any other places like this where the local e-pats hang out? I'm going to need to make a few pals up there, so where would be a good place to start with this?

*Apart from the city center, are there any other areas of CM where local ex-pats hang out?

*Supermarkets. Anything like Villa or Tops in CM?

*Dog kennels in CM? if so are they good and trust worthy?

*I used to be a keen golfer but fell out of love with it a few years back and i'm thinking of taking it up again. Are the prices reasonable for local courses? Its insane in Hua HIn with an average price of 4000 baht per round including carts and caddies. That's part of the reason i gave up - I was spending around 50K per month on golf and the society's I played with were a bit rigid and stuffy, very hard to have a laugh with them. Any society's in CM?

Many thanks in advance, much appreciated.

If anyone can be bothered to put a map together showing the areas I should be looking at house wise I would appreciate it very much indeed

[evenstevens]

with no replys as yet

feel that your best shot is to do it on the tod, u have 11 yrs experience , so i am sure you can make the jump

the very best of luck

[NancyL]

So many questions, long shot. You and your GF may want to come here for a couple weeks and hang out with the local expats. Perhaps come to a few gatherings of the Chiang Mai Expats Club's many sub groups (check out their newly remodeled website and Facebook page) to ask your questions of fellow expats, rather than estate agents and anonymous people on the internet.

Everything you mentioned is possible. Well, perhaps not lush mountain views within 10-15 minutes drive. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong. I'm a city girl in a high rise condo, but my impression of the housing within 10-15 minute drive is mostly housing estates (moo baans) that we would have called subdivisions in the U.S. Some charming ones do have nice gardens, but not the mountain views. You have to get further out for that. I have great mountain views from my condo! And yes, you do find housing by driving around looking for signs -- or by talking to people. That's how we found the last two condos we rented. By telling people we were in the market. The best places are never advertised.

The rest of what you want is here. Pubs, supermarkets, golf courses, good people to golf with, good people to drink a beer with -- got 'em all here.