Advice required for newbies in Chiang Mai

[Oscar2]

Something seems wrong with the initial post.

A married couple moves to a different country first and then asks questions of the most fundamental nature afterward? Something even so mundane as if appliances will work? I can't imagine that "starting a new life" would mean doing no homework before you made that jump. All the replies and more can be found online. Is this thread for real or was it just that someone was bored and posted to see what would happen?

I doubt there is anything amiss...

Some people are very cautious. Others more daring. Some are careful and study a situation before making decisions Others rely upon intuition.

When I moved to California back in the late 60's, the only thing I knew about it was the names of some of the cities. We chose our route because of the TV show 'Route 66.' That took us into L.A. so that's where we stopped. We took the Hollywood Freeway because we knew that name. We decided to get off the Freeway because we saw a sign that said 'Sunset Strip. because we know the TV show '77 Sunset Strip. We were home. We lived there several years and enjoyed it all.

When I moved to Japan, I decided on the move two weeks before. It took me one week to sell off the contents of my apartment and close out various accounts, say goodby to friends and family, and buy a one-way ticket to Osaka. I had read that name in a James Clavell novel. I wasn't going to be a tourist. I was moving there. I stayed 15 years. It became my home.

Then decided to move to Thailand. We came with tourist visas. We shipped all our Japanese household goods via freight, to a holding facility in Bangkok, and flew to Chiang Mai. We had never been here before. Had absolutely no idea what it was like.

We stayed in the Empress Hotel for a month. One day we'd go sight-seeing and the next we'd go looking for a place to live. We rented hired a car and driver to just drive us around and around for several days, looking at different environments. By the third week we knew where we wanted to live, found a house there, called the freight company and gave them the address so they could deliver our stuff, and we were 'home.' That was in 2001...

Home is where you don't have to put paper on the toilet seats.

nice post. sounds like you never had to worry too much about earning a living.

[Postmaster]

Move to the seaside. Thai air is better than in Chiang Mai !

[FolkGuitar]

Something seems wrong with the initial post.

A married couple moves to a different country first and then asks questions of the most fundamental nature afterward? Something even so mundane as if appliances will work? I can't imagine that "starting a new life" would mean doing no homework before you made that jump. All the replies and more can be found online. Is this thread for real or was it just that someone was bored and posted to see what would happen?

I doubt there is anything amiss...

Some people are very cautious. Others more daring. Some are careful and study a situation before making decisions Others rely upon intuition.

When I moved to California back in the late 60's, the only thing I knew about it was the names of some of the cities. We chose our route because of the TV show 'Route 66.' That took us into L.A. so that's where we stopped. We took the Hollywood Freeway because we knew that name. We decided to get off the Freeway because we saw a sign that said 'Sunset Strip. because we know the TV show '77 Sunset Strip. We were home. We lived there several years and enjoyed it all.

When I moved to Japan, I decided on the move two weeks before. It took me one week to sell off the contents of my apartment and close out various accounts, say goodby to friends and family, and buy a one-way ticket to Osaka. I had read that name in a James Clavell novel. I wasn't going to be a tourist. I was moving there. I stayed 15 years. It became my home.

Then decided to move to Thailand. We came with tourist visas. We shipped all our Japanese household goods via freight, to a holding facility in Bangkok, and flew to Chiang Mai. We had never been here before. Had absolutely no idea what it was like.

We stayed in the Empress Hotel for a month. One day we'd go sight-seeing and the next we'd go looking for a place to live. We rented hired a car and driver to just drive us around and around for several days, looking at different environments. By the third week we knew where we wanted to live, found a house there, called the freight company and gave them the address so they could deliver our stuff, and we were 'home.' That was in 2001...

Home is where you don't have to put paper on the toilet seats.

nice post. sounds like you never had to worry too much about earning a living.

On the contrary, I've ALWAYS had to earn my own way.

My parents would throw me a hundred bucks on my birthday, but that was about it. I made my money a dozen different ways, from teaching guitar, skiing, fencing, mountaineering guide, etc. to selling insurance, retail sales, then on to teaching in Academia. When I moved to Thailand, I started a business here, running it for 10 years. After a brief return to Japan, we both retired and came back to Chiang Mai.

It would have been a very different life if someone else had been supporting me, but I was never in that situation. Frankly, I'm not sure I would have wanted to be...

[Diplomatico]

If there was ever a thread to discourage someone from asking advice on moving to CM, it'd be this one.

OP, welcome to Chiang Mai. Hopefully, you'll never meet many of the old, bitter gits that post on this forum.

When you get here, attend one of the CM Expat Club's breakfasts. Brilliant opportunity to meet like-minded folks in a very informal atmosphere. Helped me out a lot.

[Konini]

Home is where you don't have to put paper on the toilet seats.

Excellent post. I wrote the following somewhere else today, I don't remember where, it could even have been in this thread.

Life is for living.

Do it.

Absolutely!

I guess the real point is, I'm not a tree.

If I don't like where the wind took me I can move somewhere else. It's just not that big of a deal. People spend millions of dollars every year for amusement parks and adventure travel vacations. Our entire lives can be that just as easily, but it requires 'letting go.'

Since selling up 7 years ago, we've been going whichever way the wind blows us. Early in the second year we were at a bus station, looking for a bus to take us to Cambodia. 'Yes, have. 8pm'. 'Whaaa. But it's only 10am.......Oh, look. There's a bus going to Laos leaving in 30 minutes'. We had a magnificent month there, saw a poster in a window in Vientiane advertising an elephant festival. Yeah, we'll be in that. Some place that I forget the name of, only 281km away. Local bus, bumpity bump, man 2 seats in front of us on the other side had a baby goat that had diarrhea, and thanks to the American bombers, every time we got to a river crossing there was no bridge. We all had to get off the bus, take our belongings off and the bus went over on a manually pulled raft which wasn't strong enough to carry us and the bus, then it came back and took us over and the bus got all packed up again and we started bumpity bump, stinky bum, all get off, there's another bridge that isn't there. 28 hours that trip took us. Seriously. I thought it would never end. I'd kept popping pain killers because of my back playing up which also gave me leg cramps so I had to take a histamine-based relaxant which is the only thing that works for them but also turns me into a zombie, so most of the journey was very hazy. I do know that I got stuck in a half squat position at one of the toilet breaks, too far away from any of the walls to have something to lean on to give me a bit of leverage to get up, each time I'd get so far up and either drop back to a full squat or worse, rip my leg open on something very sharp, and Mr K had to come in and climb over the top of the cubicle to rescue me when everybody realised that I wasn't on the bus and I wasn't off in a corner somewhere having a ciggie. 281 km in 28 hours.

Awful (what I remember of it) but there was a famous basketball player on the bus, he was Korean, I forget his name, something Park, but he was teaching physical education at a school or university or something, and everybody knew who he was because he was this top basketball player. A couple of weeks later when we were pretty lost in this remote place between Luang Prabang and Van Vieng, in the middle of nowhere because we got on the wrong bus, talking (or trying) to a young bloke, my husband mentioned his name and this young man's eyes lit up, 'You know him?' he asked. Mr K just nodded sagely, got his phone out and pressed a couple of buttons. 'I've got someone here who would like to talk to you' and handed his phone over. It was one of those magical moments that you just couldn't make up. He was so excited, he could barely speak at first. I think we made his day.

When we were finished there, we went to Udon Thani for a couple of nights, got an overnight bus to Chiang Mai, Very early morning, still in a 5 week long codeine induced haze, a woman on the bus said you should come where I go, many nice places to stay. I sat down with the bags whilst hubby went off looking for somewhere for us to stay (we used to take turns to sit with the bags, makes you look less interested and able to get a better price). He came back and said 'I've found a great place, wait until you see it' and a minute or two later there I was, standing in one of the suites at Smith Residence, all nice and modern and flat screen TV's and cooking facilities and separate bedroom and we stayed 6 weeks, right over Songkran.

We wandered off, came back, wandered off, came back, and kept doing that until we were keeping the suite on even when we were going off because I'd stated to accumulate things for the kitchen, and we wanted to make sure we didn't lose our place in high season, and we were starting to get over the constant travelling, fun even though it had been, the novelty had worn off. The going away got less and less and the staying in Chiang Mai got more and more until we went to Australia, spent 2 months in Penang on and intended to stay in Chiang Mai for 2 months, but that turned into 3, then 4, then we were off to England and back for 2 months, then we stopped pretending and we were back for good.

We were home.

[FolkGuitar]

nice post. sounds like you never had to worry too much about earning a living.

On the contrary, I've ALWAYS had to earn my own way.

My parents would throw me a hundred bucks on my birthday, but that was about it. I made my money a dozen different ways, from teaching guitar, skiing, fencing, mountaineering guide, etc. to selling insurance, retail sales, then on to teaching in Academia. When I moved to Thailand, I started a business here, running it for 10 years. After a brief return to Japan, we both retired and came back to Chiang Mai.

It would have been a very different life if someone else had been supporting me, but I was never in that situation. Frankly, I'm not sure I would have wanted to be...

I just wanted to amend my post, but the 'edit' button was gone...

I should have written it to say 'I've ALWAYS had to earn my own way. I've just never worried about earning my own way.'

[elgenon]

NancyL

I will be in CM for Loy Krathong, my favorite place for LK. I am thinking about living in CM. Would like to do a coffee meeting while there. Can you please PM me about any coffee morning during my stay 4 Nov-leave 13 Nov?

Thanks

[2020]

Now someone has mentioned old gits, maybe you should look at other options apart from the expat club.

First, go to one of the christian churchs run by well meaning expats and ask their advice, I'm sure they'd be very glad to help any way they could.

If thats not your cup of tea, go to a good quality expat bar for a drink, maybe one like Mad Bogs. Meander up to the bar and casually ask any of the gentlemen sitting there for their advice, on any subject that tickles your fancy. You will marvel at the reply given there!

If these all fail, go to the expat club. And for the record, I enquired about going there a couple of years back but just got the hard sell BS. The demise of this person/s at the club is well documented and since Nancy L has taken charge, I have only heard good things. But I am well established here and do not really have the time or need for their services.

Anyways, good luck whatever you do!

[NancyL]

A lot of old-timers come to the CEC Coffee Mornings, it's not just for newbies. The breakfast buffet is good value and the setting at River Market lovely. Plus, the conversation is good.

I just talked with David, owner of The Dukes/RiverMarket/Ragu empire yesterday evening to confirm that we'll have a Coffee Morning on Friday, November 7. That's right after the big River Market Loy Krathong party, the night before. It's a 2500 baht per person shindig with fabulous buffet, open bar, krathong floating, fireworks, Thai dancing performances, etc. It's quite an evening. Hubby and I went last year and had a great time. Wonderful way to watch all the Loy Krathong merriment right at the center of the celebrations.

Anyway, David insisted that his staff would be ready for a CEC Coffee Morning on November 7, 10 am - 12:00 noon. Only hours after their Loy Krathong party will end the night before. Hmmm, ok. I wonder if he's run that by the restaurant manager, the ever-cheerful and capable Khun Chan. (I'm sure it will be just fine. Everyone may be moving a little more slowly, though!)

[sfokevin]

When looking into Internet cable options I would reccomed Trues Knowledge package... I have it and it seems to have 2-3 Australian channels that appear most intertaining !... But me only being able to speak English can not understand a word of what they say...

Edited October 8, 2014 by sfokevin

[onthedarkside]

Cleaned out a number of unhelpful and inflammatory posts.

[CMKiwi]

I've got 2 x 10m heavy duty Oz power leads and 1 x 10m medium duty, if you're interested. Unused.

I'm in for them if CMKiwi doesn't want all of them, it'll save me lugging them back.

Please send me a PM if you have any leftover, I'll pay whatever you did (Aus $ or baht, up to you).

Go for it Konini,

I ended up going to an electrical store and getting some good (Read: better than usual) cable and rewiring the extn cords. The plug/socket parts were fine just the original cable was crap.

A very fine offer from Masuk none the less... cheers cobber

[Konini]

Go for it Konini,

I ended up going to an electrical store and getting some good (Read: better than usual) cable and rewiring the extn cords. The plug/socket parts were fine just the original cable was crap.

A very fine offer from Masuk none the less... cheers cobber

Thanks, the wheels are already in motion.