I don't suspect, but any chance of crime statistics tracked by area in Thailand? If one were to decide to move to a certain area (NE in my case), any way to find out the safer areas?

Thai wife and I are interested in the Khon Kaen area, but not KK specifically. Maybe outside the "ring" road. Something close to KK by car or train or bus, but cheaper and less hectic.

It's hard to tell how good an area is by looking at it. Semi-rural/rural can be a problem just as it is in the USA. Last year in Chaiyaphum I remarked to her how I liked an area of town and she said, no, not safe. Crime. On our way back from there to KK, we saw the police pulling over any car that was full of younger men and administering pee tests.

I guess you don't know what is safe and what is not. My wife's friend has a husband from England and he was walking around Udon Thani, up some alley where there were construction workers working on houses. He thought it was cool. She said, no, you must not go by there.

At least in America (the west?) you can pull up statistics by area or have a hunch how bad a place is with some reliability (barred up windows, mattresses in the front yards, trash everywhere).

Any chance of finding stats? What to look out for? We'd like to ourselves find a place just off the main highway between KK and Chaiyaphum. But in America, main highway areas can be problematic for crime.

Statistics are good in most cases as an indicator, sure. But they can be easily adjusted to suite.

IMO, the best and only way to check an area out is to move there, staying in a hotel or short term rental for a minimum of a month and seeing for yourselves.

It might also be an idea for the OP to go for some walks on his own as he seems to have an over protective other half with him....................

That said, its not that good for a relationship unless both partners are happy with where they are living.

Yes, good to know. And a good area can turn bad.

For us, at least, we don't plan to have anything of real value, at least as we have here in the states. Although in Thailand, what's not of value not in Thailand could easily be of value there.

It's too bad about rural drug problems, well, urban too, but it seems to happen everywhere.

It might be best to rent for awhile. We will reconnoiter in the next week or two when we get there.

Any larger town is going to be more problematic than a rural village where everyone knows everyone else and where village justice is quick and effective. Many of the crooks in the towns are guys that have been banned from their village. Nothing can move here at night without the dogs starting up.

Interesting. I've always felt safe more often in the city/near the city. Not a big one, but suburbanish. We have a lot of sketchy people who are in the rural areas on meth and whatnot. With those people you have issues with breakins because no one is around at all. But that can happen in suburbia as well.

Use the local area forums on this site to ask the people that actually live there.

Then as suggested rent somewhere and live there a short time and get a "feel" for the place yourself.

Statististics can be made to say anything, nothing better than on the ground exoerience.

I live just outside Pranburi ( rural) never had any crime issues although some guy was caught in the village and beaten shitless by the locals, I have no dogs, no gates you can just walk in, then again Ive got no tv.

I do have sensor security lights which i think would be a bigger surprise for anyone wandering in Ive got 8 of them they stay on for 8 minutes ,led's use almost no electricity.

Wife said her nephew or dad have to go sleep at the farm (house is in the village) with gun due to the people (druggies?) who come by and try to steal anything not nailed down.