Aliens, are they leaving?,if so why?

[Larry001]

Thighlander, on 28 Aug 2014 - 14:12, said:

chiang mai, on 28 Aug 2014 - 13:11, said:

mesquite, on 28 Aug 2014 - 13:03, said:

shirtless, on 28 Aug 2014 - 12:31, said:

Maybe people are fed up with be treated like second class citizens and are moving to countries that want their economic input. Or its becoming to expensive and regulated , and of course all the visa crackdowns and nominee company crackdowns may be forcing people out, Thailand is still a great place but its losing its advantages one step at a time.

I think this is at least part of the reason.

Yet again I find myself the odd one out with this thinking, I'm very OK with the way I'm treated here, 90 day reports are a minor hassle (transferred to a visa agent for 1k a year), visa renewal, once a year, I can handle that, that's about it really.

agreed....some can't seem to realize that we are still "visitors."

But without the Alien money that comes into the country there would be hundreds of thousands of families with no work or income at all

[Ridercnx808]

But without the Alien money that comes into the country there would be hundreds of thousands of families with no work or income at all

They would just do something else.

The farang economy is miniscule. .

[chiang mai]

Thighlander, on 28 Aug 2014 - 14:12, said:

chiang mai, on 28 Aug 2014 - 13:11, said:

Yet again I find myself the odd one out with this thinking, I'm very OK with the way I'm treated here, 90 day reports are a minor hassle (transferred to a visa agent for 1k a year), visa renewal, once a year, I can handle that, that's about it really.

agreed....some can't seem to realize that we are still "visitors."

But without the Alien money that comes into the country there would be hundreds of thousands of families with no work or income at all

Not true, there are loads of money earning opportunities for locals, Thailand is reliant on imported labor.

[Jip66]

Hi, Worgeordie

A better way to judge whether there are fewer aliens is the crowd at immigration. By that measure, it doesn't look like the numbers are decreasing at all.

...................................................

T

Immigration has always been busy and will continue to be. The bulk of business there is done by long term residents who are fully documented, with a sprinkling of extension applications. You can always run into somebody you know at immigration,

The real yard stick is to drive around and look at the incredible ammount of houses for rent that have exploded in recent months.

No wonder people have been moving out if these properties have been blowing up on their own....

[northernjohn]

Thighlander, on 28 Aug 2014 - 14:12, said:

chiang mai, on 28 Aug 2014 - 13:11, said:

mesquite, on 28 Aug 2014 - 13:03, said:

I think this is at least part of the reason.

Yet again I find myself the odd one out with this thinking, I'm very OK with the way I'm treated here, 90 day reports are a minor hassle (transferred to a visa agent for 1k a year), visa renewal, once a year, I can handle that, that's about it really.

agreed....some can't seem to realize that we are still "visitors."

But without the Alien money that comes into the country there would be hundreds of thousands of families with no work or income at all

The education system is not that bad. Those people would have found different sources years ago.

Remember it is probably the western culture intruding into Thailand that makes the cost of living so high for the Thai's.

I personally have no problem with living here I do not feel in the least unwanted. Immigration can be a pain once a year. But that is it. If I choose to do so I can have some one else do it for me and just show up at a pre arranged time for 5 minutes. 90 days are a breeze for me. Then again I don't live way out in the country and if I did I could mail them in.

[opalred]

over the years never had any problem at immigration90day 30min year fill papers and pick up next day

but i see many times frangs bad manners impolite and they let them sit there remember we are only guests in the country

[n210mp]

Your post is completely illogical and unrepresentative of most of those like me who can find easy fault in the Thai bureaucratic logic when it comes to the Thai idea of fairness and reciprocity.

Firstly I didn't marry a Turk or a Japanese person, I married a Thai lady so the ease of integration in those Countries becomes irrelevant like you post!

I certainly in any event wouldn't want to reside in a Muslim Country ( least said soonest mended)

As far as Japan is concerned not sure whether they are on an even mental keel ( I am old enough to remember the last war and still find it hard to forgive them for their atrocities.

You only have to watch some of their TV games to wonder just what it is that makes them tick or more important turns them On, they seem to have a built in sense of sadism.

<SNIP>

We (The Ex Pats) bring money, expertise and support to a community that does nothing (Generally) but attempts to suck the life blood out of us one way or another in their attempts at getting as much money out of us as possible.

Indeed it is a national sport or havnt you noticed?

The only thing that pacifies me is that they are (the typical Thai community) the same with each other and attempt to get the best advantage from any situation , lies being a Nationally accepted way of resolving situations

Seems like you have been well brainwashed if you try to justify their draconian and unjust racist rules on the laws applied to the spouses of Thai people.

Four points, in bold, I'll address one by one.

1 & 2

Very racist statements. My grandfather was a coal miner so exempt from conscription but my husband's grandfather spent 5 years in prisoner of war camps - he escaped twice and when recaptured the second time he was moved to a high security one in Italy. He doesn't hate the Germans or Italians. I lived in Australia for 20 years, working for 13 of those at a non-profit organisation which had hundreds of volunteers. It was a computer group and the volunteers were mostly retired professionals. I had my group of a couple of dozen special ones who came into the office for a morning or an afternoon once every week or second week. They had all been in the army, some had been sent straight to Europe but most had been in PNG and Malaya in the early part of the war. Not one of those men, not even the one who had been in Changi for most of his war service, hated the Japanese. Not one. They had come back from the war, gone to Uni and got on with life, some rising very high in their chosen professions, and those who had gone to very senior management travelled on business between Melbourne and Tokyo on a very regular basis (one of them twice a month), negotiating deals, drawing plans, doing whatever they did with the Japanese who had been their enemy during the war. My husband's grandad, despite not hating the Germans, never once spoke about what happened to him; from the day he returned until the day he died the subject was off limits and being from a mining family myself with no great uncles who had been in the war, I had no experience of talking to people who had gone away to fight. I had read about the things the Japanese did during the war, and was genuinely surprised that these men didn't passionately hate the Japanese and had forgiven them for the atrocities they carried out on them. You say you are old enough to remember the last war, not that you fought in the last war. Those that fought, even those held in Changi, forgave. But you can't? Saying the Japanese are not on a even mental keel is a racist statement.

3

Bargirls suck the lifeblood out of their victims, that's what they're there for but Thai's in general don't. In all tourist area's in every country around the world there are dodgy taxi drivers and stall-holders on tourist markets ripping off naive tourists. I don't like Thai food, cooking is my hobby so I cook every day. I go to local markets for meat, fruit, vegetables and fish and I do the rest of my shopping at Tesco for run of the mill stuff and Rimping or Central Festival for imported food. I go to the shopping malls when I need new clothes or anything else and I walk or take yellow songtoews. I don't ask the price, I know it's 10 baht from Rimping Condo to the bus station who's name I have forgotten and 10 baht from the bus station to Airport Plaza. If I go as far as Tesco, Big C or Makro, I give them 20 baht. I know I don't have to,nine times out of ten they say 'No, no, sip bat'. but when I change songtoew at the bus station I ask for Hang Dong, wait in the shade until the engine starts then ask if it's OK for me to sit in the front so I have an open window or aircon. Rarely, when someone has beaten me to the passenger seat, I sit in the back, but it's still a long way and well worth 20 baht. I'm happy to pay it Occasionally if I've gone to airport Plaza a bit later in the day and the yellow songteow's have stopped running a red songteow driver will try it on a bit, 100 (me smile) 80 (me smile) 60 (me smile). I say 'Plaza to pratu cheingmai (Chiang Mai Gate) sow baht, pratu cheingmai Rimping Condo sow baht, so ha sip baht ka' and it is almost always accepted. An odd few are greedy and won't do it, but most will. Most Thai's do not rip you off. Most Thai's are there to make an honest living. They are certainly not sucking the lifeblood out of us.

4

Pot. Kettle.

I cannot in all fairness disagree with your sentiment and think a very well worded post.

If like me you were brought up in a family that lost Uncles and family friends in that war then your opinions would maybe be a little more affected and at odds with the sentiment you show.

From a moral and a Christian point of view and I came from that kind of back ground, you have reminded me that maybe the time for rancour and hate is over.

However I am reminded in my minds eye too much of the suffering and pain that was cause within my families living memory and so will have to stick to those thoughts and memories however uncomfortable they make others feel.

Maybe if we thought a little more about the sacrifices that others made we would be more careful in dealing with those whom we now consider giving so much of our heritage and history too so freely.

No not racist my kind friend just a genetic result of being born in a situation where the pain and anguish was shared and felt by those who were there at the time and who lost Fathers, brothers and children.

I do not apologise for my remarks but understand that Pain and stress is soon forgotten by those who didn't have it and for those who did experience it it never escapes them, such was the intensity that it affected people of my generation who were no even there.

I recognise that those who were there and didn't wish to talk about their experiences were all old school, maybe if they did talk about it then it would have stopped the majority or imposed reasonable limits of mass immigration to our old Country and also Europe

MODS I apologise for this post and understand that it is a little off topic but felt that there is another point of view shared by an awful lot of people who may well be the "Vast majority".

My father served in the second world war and never shared any of his experiences. Most of the ones I know who were in it did not share either. That is why so many of us do not suffer over it. To be a part of it and share the horrors is just to perpetuate the horror. The only thing my father ever said was he remembers a friend of his leading a patrol out and being the only one to come back. Absolutely no other details.

For those of us who did not feel the suffering or have it constantly reminded to us by those who did all we can do is learn from the history books what not to do. Germany and Japan have come along way by putting it behind them and moving on based on the lessons they learned.

"My father served in the second world war and never shared any of his experiences. Most of the ones I know who were in it did not share either."

I wonder why, could it be that he or them indeed were not any of those thousands who suffered so badly in concentration camps or like my late Uncle John cited for the VC who "served" on the Burma railway of death and lost many friends and compatriots in the process?

If my reply is a little under the belt then I am sorry but you asked for it in a way because if you didn't know because no one told you then how can you procrastinate on how a person should feel or react to a regime that was cruel and responsible for so much death, pain and suffering by so many of our compatriots?

My late Grandmother was devastated by the death of her three sons and the effect on her and the family was also devastating to the effect that she and they were never the same again!

Do you understand what the atmosphere in that household was like, it never recovered, In other words the family or what was left of it was destroyed by those sad and terrible deaths and the situation was lived daily and without any relief.

Maybe you should use a little of your writing and creative skills to think about what you are saying!

Maybe God can forgive and so can many Christians but dont expect those higher qualities on those who understood and felt the suffering of a member of their families who were involved in a daily fight for survival that you could not ever dream about.

( because of course nobody ever told you about such things, did they?

The men who returned after the war who had been involved in the "front" in many cases were ill and badly damaged, both mentally and physically.

They had been starved beaten, sometimes killed and sometime lost their minds.

One of my teachers in my old school was a former prisoner of the Japanese and bore the scars on his face ( he had his cheek bones demolished by a Jap officer in a merciless beating) and his mind set was understood by most of the juveniles at that time because they too knew about the damage and problem the returning Soldiers had, to the extent that He was given great respect even when He occasionally lost the plot.

I also remember the many ex service men in the town who used to congregate in the market square who had lost their minds because of the war or being badly treated as prisoners of war and were treated with patience , understanding and respect by the community

"For those of us who did not feel the suffering or have it constantly reminded to us by those who did all we can do is learn from the history books what not to do."

You really dont understand do you my friend. for you to say " Constantly reminded to us by those who did" is not only insulting to those who where there including maybe members of your own family but shows a complete lack of understanding, empathy or sensitivity to the Nth degree.

The Politically Correct bull shizer that make any Nationalism or Patriotism sound wrong to you and others who are like minded of your opinions, Opinions incidentally that were fought for by those who you apparently deride will be the death Nell of our once great culture.

Just have a look around the world my innocent friend, the end is near for our great Western civilisation and its because people dont remember and know and understand just what it was that my three Uncles fought and died for.

Anyway I tire of trying to show some understanding of people with your opinions and maybe when I think about it one of the biggest reasons for me to escape the UK was because of people who were so politically correct that they couldn't see or understand that they, with their Liberal and pansy PC points of view were actually destroying both our culture and our inheritance far better than any Japanese or German army could have ever done.

Edited September 1, 2014 by n210mp

[evenstevens]

me think its time, to kick this thread in the guts, a nice good nite to all

[DaamNaam]

me think its time, to kick this thread in the guts, a nice good nite to all

One can only hope.

[Oww]

Take one look at the immigration office, compare with 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago and tell me again that people are leaving.

In case you hadn't noticed, the SAME 8-11 Immigration officers have been there for the past 5-10+ years.

They have only expanded to do residency certs in that time. They are only able/willing to process a few

people per day each. ("today already full") Do you think they are just unable to train new people?

Or are they unwilling to do so because they are raking in too much money?

Yes there are more foreigners that need to be processed at Imm (by the same # of staff).

By the way, lots of them are students and exchange teachers from China that will not stay long-term.

And none of this takes into consideration how many would-be long-term stayers are LEAVING at the airport.

Just a bigger crowd at Imm doesn't mean cm is not taking a net loss on long-term foreigners.

Utter tosh, a reply to that babble is not needed!

Go ahead and try. Why didn't you? Because you can't. It's all true.

[Oww]

And by the way,..."tosh" ?!

[worgeordie]

I asked the question,because of what was happening in my Moo Bahn,

and was wondering if this was the case in other parts of Chiang Mai,

Some people report,yes people have also left their areas too,then the

other side of the debate,if people are leaving why is immigration so full

all the time,as we all know it takes longer to get any process done there,

90 days can take 10 mins-2hrs,depending what time you arrive there, you

could be there a better part of the day if you are doing extensions,and how

many people at any given time are long stay ,how many are just there to

extent their tourist visa.

The reason why,if they are leaving could be many,one family that moved in

the last month,they had 5 kids,each one born in a different country,they left

as the mother was carrying another baby and wanted it born in China,theres

nowt as queer as folk.then another man moved to cheaper pastures in Doi

Saket,paying less rent meant he had more money for booze,unfortunately he

he died after only one week of moving.i had a couple of PM asking where this

Moo Bahn was,as they or a friend was looking for a house to rent and by the

description i gave looked like a good area,how much were the rents going

for there?,when i replied 12-20-40K pm,they both replied they were looking

for 4-5K pm.

So thats another factor,are people having to move to cheaper housing,or

depart Thailand altogether as its getting too expensive for some people?

As for myself i will be here till i die,immigration willing,Chiang Mai ticks most of

the boxes for me,weather,wide range of foods,economics of the place (but it

is getting more expensive),the people,(but still not sure what they are REALLY thinking)

only negative is the traffic and the drivers.

regards Worgeordie

Edited September 2, 2014 by worgeordie

[northernjohn]

Take one look at the immigration office, compare with 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago and tell me again that people are leaving.

In case you hadn't noticed, the SAME 8-11 Immigration officers have been there for the past 5-10+ years.

They have only expanded to do residency certs in that time. They are only able/willing to process a few

people per day each. ("today already full") Do you think they are just unable to train new people?

Or are they unwilling to do so because they are raking in too much money?

Yes there are more foreigners that need to be processed at Imm (by the same # of staff).

By the way, lots of them are students and exchange teachers from China that will not stay long-term.

And none of this takes into consideration how many would-be long-term stayers are LEAVING at the airport.

Just a bigger crowd at Imm doesn't mean cm is not taking a net loss on long-term foreigners.

Utter tosh, a reply to that babble is not needed!

Go ahead and try. Why didn't you? Because you can't. It's all true.

There are new officers there at the 90 day and the center counter.

Where do you propose to locate more officers in the parking lot?

[Berkshire]

Anyone has any data that would suggest foreigners are leaving? My subjective view is rather the opposite, still more foreigners moving to Thailand.

Agree. There's a heck of a lot more farangs (and other foreigners) in Chiang Mai today than a decade ago. Not just double, but more like three, four times. I'd expect the trend to continue, especially Asian foreigners.

[Sparkles]

Anyone has any data that would suggest foreigners are leaving? My subjective view is rather the opposite, still more foreigners moving to Thailand.

Agree. There's a heck of a lot more farangs (and other foreigners) in Chiang Mai today than a decade ago. Not just double, but more like three, four times. I'd expect the trend to continue, especially Asian foreigners.

I think your estimate is quite conservative.5 years ago my wife and I moved here from Bangkok and a visit to Big C ,Hang Dong, you might see 3 or 4 foreigners now dozens and they are not tourists.

In our village the influx of eastern Europeans has more than tripled and I think a more dependable survey might be, as reported by many, you have to be at immigration at 5 am to get a queue no.

I don't understand the comments about increased costs of living,inflation is world wide, not a product of Thailand

[chiang mai]

Take one look at the immigration office, compare with 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago and tell me again that people are leaving.

In case you hadn't noticed, the SAME 8-11 Immigration officers have been there for the past 5-10+ years.

They have only expanded to do residency certs in that time. They are only able/willing to process a few

people per day each. ("today already full") Do you think they are just unable to train new people?

Or are they unwilling to do so because they are raking in too much money?

Yes there are more foreigners that need to be processed at Imm (by the same # of staff).

By the way, lots of them are students and exchange teachers from China that will not stay long-term.

And none of this takes into consideration how many would-be long-term stayers are LEAVING at the airport.

Just a bigger crowd at Imm doesn't mean cm is not taking a net loss on long-term foreigners.

Utter tosh, a reply to that babble is not needed!

Go ahead and try. Why didn't you? Because you can't. It's all true.

The issue is premises space and budget:

http://www.chiangmainews.com/ecmn/viewfa.php?id=3724

And there is actually a staff of 52, not 8/11, not even 7/11!

If you look carefully behind the counter, you'll see that every available space is being used and that all the desks are staffed, despite being understaffed there is no physical space to put the additional people.

Finally, I'm aware of three officers who have been transferred over the years, all to Bangkok because that's where the career progression line leads, Captain Jutamard being one, Captain Watana was another.

Re; tosh - http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=149259

[onthedarkside]

You have wandered off into language lessons long enough. off topic posts all removed.

[northernjohn]

Anyone has any data that would suggest foreigners are leaving? My subjective view is rather the opposite, still more foreigners moving to Thailand.

Agree. There's a heck of a lot more farangs (and other foreigners) in Chiang Mai today than a decade ago. Not just double, but more like three, four times. I'd expect the trend to continue, especially Asian foreigners.

I think your estimate is quite conservative.5 years ago my wife and I moved here from Bangkok and a visit to Big C ,Hang Dong, you might see 3 or 4 foreigners now dozens and they are not tourists.

In our village the influx of eastern Europeans has more than tripled and I think a more dependable survey might be, as reported by many, you have to be at immigration at 5 am to get a queue no.

I don't understand the comments about increased costs of living,inflation is world wide, not a product of Thailand

What you say about inflation being world wide is true. How ever my pensions have not kept up with it. Fortunately I have large enough ones that it doesn't hinder me from living in Thailand or Canada or the States for that matter.

[Puwa]

It seems to me that the original question was one of rate of loss--Are aliens departing more than usual?; but many of the replies instead address volume--there are a lot of aliens around.

Imagine that you install a swimming pool in your Chiang Mai dream house. Suspecting a leak, you call in the contractor and ask, am I losing water at a higher than normal rate? If he replies, don't worry, there is still a lot of water in the pool, will your question have been answered? Such a reply would probably spark a new topic about "Thai logic."

Since none of us knows the true answer, naturally we have to speculate. Probably the most relevant anecdotes are personal observations of people leaving from within our own local areas or social networks. Jump in, the water's great!

[jaideeguy]

Maybe people are fed up with be treated like second class citizens and are moving to countries that want their economic input. Or its becoming to expensive and regulated , and of course all the visa crackdowns and nominee company crackdowns may be forcing people out, Thailand is still a great place but its losing its advantages one step at a time.

Agree with the above and many others. The 'flow' does seem to be going out more than in and I think for a variety of reasons.

Baby boomers aging and wanting to return to the homeland for medical, cultural, educational, family and financial reasons. LOS is not as cheap as it once was and that was a big draw, nor is LOS as Falang friendly. And baby boomers are also getting too old to fully appreciate the cheap sex business.

Plus I think that there are some of us that have simply overdosed on Thai culture and realize that they will never 'fit in' here except on a superficial level.

It would be interesting to see the actual numbers and I have looked all over the www and can't find any figures that I would trust.

[worgeordie]

Maybe new government policy, You can come,bring your money,now bugger off.

i think that would suit them fine.

regards worgeordie

[northernjohn]

Maybe people are fed up with be treated like second class citizens and are moving to countries that want their economic input. Or its becoming to expensive and regulated , and of course all the visa crackdowns and nominee company crackdowns may be forcing people out, Thailand is still a great place but its losing its advantages one step at a time.

Agree with the above and many others. The 'flow' does seem to be going out more than in and I think for a variety of reasons.

Baby boomers aging and wanting to return to the homeland for medical, cultural, educational, family and financial reasons. LOS is not as cheap as it once was and that was a big draw, nor is LOS as Falang friendly. And baby boomers are also getting too old to fully appreciate the cheap sex business.

Plus I think that there are some of us that have simply overdosed on Thai culture and realize that they will never 'fit in' here except on a superficial level.

It would be interesting to see the actual numbers and I have looked all over the www and can't find any figures that I would trust.

Have to agree that perhaps the baby boomers who did not prepare properly for living in Thailand are going back. Particularly to the countries with social medicine.

Another factor is they did not figure in the rate of inflation. I have yet to get a raise equal to the cost of inflation on any of my pay checks one year between 4 different sources I got $2 Canadian. When I first visited Thailand the year after the tsunami the American dollar was around 40 now it is around 31 to 32. The Canadian dollar was around 35 now it is below 3o. The cost of living has gone up but my spending power has gone down. In the last 4 years my income has barely moved up but the cost of living has. I now pay 1,000 baht a month more for my residence than I did when I first moved in here 4 years ago. Plus every thing else has gone up.

I can only imagine what it is like for those who came here in the 40 baht to the American dollar years.

[evenstevens]

^^^^^^ another whinger

the airport is always available to yous lot

(first line of post was edited ,for clarafication purposes)

Edited September 4, 2014 by evenstevens

[theoldgit]

Nonsense post removed

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Another factor is they did not figure in the rate of inflation. I have yet to get a raise equal to the cost of inflation on any of my pay checks one year between 4 different sources I got $2 Canadian. When I first visited Thailand the year after the tsunami the American dollar was around 40 now it is around 31 to 32. The Canadian dollar was around 35 now it is below 3o. The cost of living has gone up but my spending power has gone down. In the last 4 years my income has barely moved up but the cost of living has. I now pay 1,000 baht a month more for my residence than I did when I first moved in here 4 years ago. Plus every thing else has gone up.

I can only imagine what it is like for those who came here in the 40 baht to the American dollar years.

Not inflation, your problem is currency fluctuation.

Historically, 25Bht = 1USD, the 2000s were a currency exchange bonus for Americans.

Most of us have index linked pensions, my pension has risen 50% in the last 5 years, but Thai prices have only risen about 10% in that time.

So why hasn't your income risen?

As for housing costs, bought mine last year on a 25 year home loan, my repayments are fixed for the next 25 years.

[northernjohn]

Another factor is they did not figure in the rate of inflation. I have yet to get a raise equal to the cost of inflation on any of my pay checks one year between 4 different sources I got $2 Canadian. When I first visited Thailand the year after the tsunami the American dollar was around 40 now it is around 31 to 32. The Canadian dollar was around 35 now it is below 3o. The cost of living has gone up but my spending power has gone down. In the last 4 years my income has barely moved up but the cost of living has. I now pay 1,000 baht a month more for my residence than I did when I first moved in here 4 years ago. Plus every thing else has gone up.

I can only imagine what it is like for those who came here in the 40 baht to the American dollar years.

Not inflation, your problem is currency fluctuation.

Historically, 25Bht = 1USD, the 2000s were a currency exchange bonus for Americans.

Most of us have index linked pensions, my pension has risen 50% in the last 5 years, but Thai prices have only risen about 10% in that time.

So why hasn't your income risen?

As for housing costs, bought mine last year on a 25 year home loan, my repayments are fixed for the next 25 years.

Well one of them is Social Security in the states. Another is CPP both supposedly linked to cost of living. That pretty well covers a lot of people here. The other two also. As for currency fluctuations in the 8 years I have been coming to Thailand I have yet to see the American dollar slip below 29 baht to the dollar. As I say when I first came over here it was 40 baht to the dollar. I wonder how you know what kind of a pension every one else has.

[hml367]

Maybe some people are leaving because they don't understand the difference between: cost of living related to the country paying the benefits; and currency fluctuation, and this causes them to become frustrated.

[northernjohn]

Maybe some people are leaving because they don't understand the difference between: cost of living related to the country paying the benefits; and currency fluctuation, and this causes them to become frustrated.

I think they are leaving because their dollar doesn't go as far as it did when they moved here and their pensions are not keeping up with it. Especially the Brits.

Play semantics all you want a lot of people are not getting as much for their money here in Thailand any more.

True some may be moving to smaller locales where the cost of living is cheaper than Chiang Mai.

Edited September 4, 2014 by northernjohn

[canarysun]

I don't agree with any of this " nonsense " of how things are more expensive! If you are a single farang living alone in Chiang Mai ( or anywhere else in Thailand ) and like myself you are " not materialistic " ie you rent a nice house for under 3,000 baht and ride a bicycle and don't drink/smoke and keep away from farang food you can live on under 8,000 baht a month " all in " easy!!!! I think that is very reasonable! don't know many places in the world that you can live on that amount of money! Most of Thailand is 3rd World with 3rd World prices.I read on here about farang renting condos in Chiang Mai City for 9,000 baht a month but when I was there a few weeks ago most were on average at 3,500 baht a month and lovely!!!

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I don't agree with any of this " nonsense " of how things are more expensive! If you are a single farang living alone in Chiang Mai ( or anywhere else in Thailand ) and like myself you are " not materialistic " ie you rent a nice house for under 3,000 baht and ride a bicycle and don't drink/smoke and keep away from farang food you can live on under 8,000 baht a month " all in " easy!!!! I think that is very reasonable! don't know many places in the world that you can live on that amount of money! Most of Thailand is 3rd World with 3rd World prices.I read on here about farang renting condos in Chiang Mai City for 9,000 baht a month but when I was there a few weeks ago most were on average at 3,500 baht a month and lovely!!!

I agree, plenty of decent condo units suitable for a single man in CM at 3,500 bht/month.

Within walking distance of Maya, Santhitham, KSK, Nimmanhimen.

Usually with air-con unit and underground parking.

But you might need to supply your own fridge and Tv.

Edited September 4, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican