Similar city as alternative to Chang Mai to avoid air problems?

[JimmyJ]

This is a great thread. Thanks for all the suggestions, and please keep them coming if anyone has other suggestions or comments or wants to second some of the places mentioned.

 

Mentioning neighboring countries is also very helpful, as I was planning on checking those also, at least very briefly, so your suggestions of which cities is great.

 

Here's something I posted in "The Multi-Entry Visa" thread recently:

 

"My situation:

 

USA citizen living in the USA. Will be making my first trip to Thailand, exploring it with a view towards moving there permanently.

 

Planning about 3 months in Thailand, also quick visits to neighboring countries just in case something grabs me in one as an alternative.

 

Then returning to USA, closing out there, and moving to Thailand on a 1 year retirement visa."

 

Thought I may rent a car during the trip from time to time.

Now, with the wealth of riches in this thread giving me so many places I'd like to see, considering depending on price spending most of the trip with a rental.

 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2016 by JimmyJ

[PETDCAT]

Get yourself down to AAA and get an international drivers license before you get here. 

[heybruce]

18 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

 

I just don't see why its attractive unless you are here for sex ............... all the time.

LOL. having been up on Loy Kroh a few nights now I have given up any idea of that sort of thing. Forum rules mean I can't go into details, but if you are serious about that sort of thing go to Pattaya.

Getting drunk isn't a problem anywhere in Thailand.

It's not even that cheap. Restaurant meals are more expensive than Pattaya, IMO, and accomodation is not more expensive in Pattaya ( and probably cheaper if looking around ).

For cheap one has to go to a non tourist town like Lamphun.

The more western and/or tourist oriented the restaurant, the more expensive the food is. Food is reasonable in most Thai restaurants, but you may not get an English menu.

 

A few nights on Loi Kroh?  I assume you just couldn't believe how bad it was on the first night, or the second night, etc. 

[AGLV0121]

On 11/10/2016 at 1:20 AM, sawadee1947 said:

any city in developed countries

 

Not Montreal. Not Ottawa. Not Toronto. Which - if I am not mistaken - are cities in developed countries.

 

I am just back from Kathmandu with lungs bruised from extreme pollution there. Now in Canada (before going back to BKK), what a difference.

[KhonKaenKowboy]

Udon thani..

[jonwilly]

I have a 97 year old friend resident in CM since 1960.

He has told me the smog was never as bad as now. 

However he could not remember when matters got so bad, about 20 years ago he thought. 

I mailed Pim editor of CM City Life knowing she was born and bred here but she could not confirm for she did her education in Europe and missed the time the smog stared.

Did CM uni not do a study and suggest it was when Farmers where paid more to grow Corn and this produced massive amounts of waste to be burned off ?

 

john

[jobin]

Yes, i've read that too.  To fuel the cars with ethanol, corn (maize) starch is converted  to alcohol.  So to get enough corn, farmers abandoned the traditional rice and went for corn, with subsidies galore.

The beneficiaries?  The big ethanol factories owned by the HI_SO folks, the car dealers, also owned by the HI_SO folks, various govt agencies (holding hands with the HI_SO folks), the farm implements dealers, etc.  The losers are the farmers who ruin the soil, the public who must breath in the dirty air when the burning starts and the everyday Thai who must suffer massive car jams due to uncontrolled vehicularization of the cities and towns.

[Sparkles]

On ‎11‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 11:44 PM, HannahD said:

If you can't find anything to your liking in Thailand you might try Taunggyi in Myanmar. Approx 4700' above sea level. Capital of Shan State so similar language, culture and cuisine. Many speakers of English.  Another alternative would be Baguio City in Republic of Philippines. 5000' above sea level. Very pleasant weather. English widely spoken. Excellent cuisine. All road signs in Roman characters. A 50km drive down spectacular mountain roads to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

I lived and worked in San Fernando,on the ocean, directly down from Baguio and my recollections of 20 years ago were vastly different to yours regarding Baguio and the general area.

 

Firstly our resort was beachside and my living quarters next door.The sand was grey ,water was so polluted we had to advise our guests to swim in the pool at the resort next door.Sure there were a few sandy beaches slightly to the north of us but could hardly be called beautiful with the amount of rubbish washed up on the beach.Dynamiting for fish was almost a weekly occurrence.Coral had long been destroyed

 

To walk along the beach was uncomfortable as children would demand money and throw rocks at you if you did not comply. When the whole beach strip was  in its hey day, full of the US forces enjoying R & R at resorts from the base at Subic Bay and Clark Air  the local economy was thriving. Now with them long gone they are crumbling ruins if still standing.

 

I went once to Baguio, on my day off, and was subjected to a pick pocket in the town park ,luckily as this hand crept into my left pocket I swung around and my elbow connected with the teenagers nose and he ran off chased by a few kind observers .I was told I was lucky he didnt have a knife and pick pocketing was common ,this was around lunchtime.

 

Baguuio is also subject to earthquakes,2 mild ones while I was there and massive landslides, with high loss of life, as the typhoons come through .350,000 people live there, from memory, mostly dirt poor hence the crime rate.

 

We had a couple of foreigners who lived in Baguio and would come down to our resort for a break and invariable when they returned home thay had been burgled.

 

So I would think carefully about the Philippines as a comfortable retirement plan. Most do speak English, a plus, but its a lawless country with heavily armed  guards even in 7/11's and now the country now  has a physcotic  President who has ordered police to shoot to kill if police  suspect drug involvement ,very convenient for a very corrupt police force. I found the local cuisine on the street inedible,semingly everything is deep fried.

 

There are many nice beaches way down south but mostly short stay,touristy and expensive. There are I am sure much better alternatives

Edited November 12, 2016 by Sparkles
spelling

[elephant45]

We have no idea what the micro particulate matter pollution here does to our bodies in CM , our minds and souls, and add in the noise.

The new fashion, loud motorcycle pipes with teenagers racing around 24/7 in most of this town. I just don't understand why all the these dumb websites with tonnes of ads on them rate this place so high as a reasonable retirement place. Its a joke, "Beautiful Beaches, Wonderful People etc etc." yes I have many Thai acquaintances but they will never be my friend, as it seems to be illegal for some reason. This was told to me way back when while working for the Thai Military. And the heat? Personally I am done with it, and moving for at least 8 months a year out of here.

Also please don't comment with things like good riddance , move if you don't like it etc, or cheap replies. If you want to comment in a nasty way PM me and we will meet in person and have a coffee or a beer and discuss it as kind human beings would do. 

[Thaiwrath]

7 minutes ago, elephant45 said:

We have no idea what the micro particulate matter pollution here does to our bodies in CM , our minds and souls, and add in the noise.

The new fashion, loud motorcycle pipes with teenagers racing around 24/7 in most of this town. I just don't understand why all the these dumb websites with tonnes of ads on them rate this place so high as a reasonable retirement place. Its a joke, "Beautiful Beaches, Wonderful People etc etc." yes I have many Thai acquaintances but they will never be my friend, as it seems to be illegal for some reason. This was told to me way back when while working for the Thai Military. And the heat? Personally I am done with it, and moving for at least 8 months a year out of here.

Also please don't comment with things like good riddance , move if you don't like it etc, or cheap replies. If you want to comment in a nasty way PM me and we will meet in person and have a coffee or a beer and discuss it as kind human beings would do. 

 

Are you paying for the beer ? 

[elephant45]

Sure

[rogeroc]

15 hours ago, elephant45 said:

We have no idea what the micro particulate matter pollution here does to our bodies in CM , our minds and souls, and add in the noise.

 

 

 

A very good point, i have not noticed any ill effects from the pollution but in my mind if you can see it and smell it, i reckon it cannot be doing our bodies any good. 

[stament]

On 11 November 2016 at 11:06 PM, KhonKaenKowboy said:

Udon thani..

I think it would help to be able to speak some Thai in Issan

[KhonKaenKowboy]

22 hours ago, jobin said:

Yes, i've read that too.  To fuel the cars with ethanol, corn (maize) starch is converted  to alcohol.  So to get enough corn, farmers abandoned the traditional rice and went for corn, with subsidies galore.

The beneficiaries?  The big ethanol factories owned by the HI_SO folks, the car dealers, also owned by the HI_SO folks, various govt agencies (holding hands with the HI_SO folks), the farm implements dealers, etc.  The losers are the farmers who ruin the soil, the public who must breath in the dirty air when the burning starts and the everyday Thai who must suffer massive car jams due to uncontrolled vehicularization of the cities and towns.

Sorry to question your manifesto, but how is it Nebraska produces 6 times more corn than LOS without the air quality issues?

[villagefarang]

16 minutes ago, KhonKaenKowboy said:

Sorry to question your manifesto, but how is it Nebraska produces 6 times more corn than LOS without the air quality issues?

Different farming techniques I would guess.  Here it is all done by hand on mountain slopes where big machinery has no access.  In Nebraska it is all on flat land, mechanized and they have the more expensive ways of dealing with the biomass.  Here they just burn it because it is the cheapest alternative for dirt poor farmers contracted out by big business.

[Sandy Freckle]

I remember many visits to Dalat and other places in the Vietnamese central highlands where I was impressed with the soil, geography and lower heat/humidity of the general area..., as compared to the coastal plane of VN. I think there can also be smoky times in the central highlands too, but coastal breezes can and do reach this area to more easily blow away any settled smoke.
Personally, in my not so humble opine..., my home area - the wine region's of the Margaret River catchment, in south Western Australia is a very healthy place to live...., although it may not be to healthy on your hip pocket nerve if you have to start from scratch.
Good fortune to you sir  

Edited November 13, 2016 by Sandy Freckle

[JaseTheBass]

I think it would help to be able to speak some Thai in Issan

Udon isn't all red dirt roads and toothless farmers...

Sent from my R2D2 using my C3P0 manservant

[mikey88]

I live here.

most of the year is fine.

i avoid March April and some of May though....I just take a holiday elsewhere.

everyone is different of course but I couldn't compare Phuket or Jomtien with Chiang Mai myself.

Chiang Mai is a Thai city that welcomes tourists...the other places are tourist places...the feeling there is overwhelmingly tourist.

 

Edited November 14, 2016 by mikey88

[Jingthing]

I live here.
most of the year is fine.
i avoid March April and some of May though....I just take a holiday elsewhere.
everyone is different of course but I couldn't compare Phuket or Jomtien with Chiang Mai myself.
Chiang Mai is a Thai city that welcomes tourists...the other places are tourist places...the feeling there is overwhelmingly tourist.
 

Pattaya does have large areas that are mostly local but essentially you're correct.

[cardinalblue]

Traffic is much more of a problem than air pollution in CM...

 

just avoid march and april - May is extremely hot but air pollution lessened...feb is starting to show signs of air pollution which is unfortunate...

 

best time for CM - June thru January...find another place to reside for feb - may until June rains...

[puukao]

the pollution will shorten your life, that is a 99% certainty unless you have some bad luck....

 

but you will save 100 baht!!!  

 

people are healthier in mild climates with good air...... go figure!!

 

but here you can meet your wife in 11-minutes and she really love you!!!!  

Edited November 15, 2016 by puukao

[MickeyMaow]

Cebu Philippines, Perth Australia.

[MickeyMaow]

11 minutes ago, puukao said:

the pollution will shorten your life, that is a 99% certainty unless you have some bad luck....

 

but you will save 100 baht!!!  

 

people are healthier in mild climates with good air...... go figure!!

 

but here you can meet your wife in 11-minutes and she really love you!!!!  

?

[Berkshire]

4 hours ago, puukao said:

the pollution will shorten your life, that is a 99% certainty unless you have some bad luck....

 

but you will save 100 baht!!!  

 

people are healthier in mild climates with good air...... go figure!!

 

Yes, that's certainly true....assuming you exercise regularly, don't eat fatty or fried foods, eat your vegetables, avoid sweets, don't smoke, don't drink in excess, don't get stressed out, wear sun protection, get your flu shots, drink lots of water, watch your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, take your vitamins, etc., etc.  Oh nevermind. 

[amexpat]

C'mon mom.  You don't have to do everything in order to benefit from some things. 

[JimmyJ]

On 11/9/2016 at 6:45 AM, daveAustin said:

Escaping the Don are we? 

 

Lived there for many years. Outside the smokey season, it is no worse than any big city in Thailand. CRai has the same smoke problem at the same time, just quieter. Have a look at Loei

 

" Have a look at Loei"

 

Does Loei have the smoke problem as well?

Edited January 5, 2017 by JimmyJ

[SinKhaPoChin]

The smog problem is not just particularly in CM and CR or generally Thailand. It's the entire South East Asian countries. Personally i feel it's worse south when the Indonesian farmers burn fields bigger than some towns. Cities like SG and KL got hit so bad that it becomes a health hazard.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[canopy]

Loei does get smoke, but the levels are nothing like the upper north. I live one province away from it and was once driving through Loei during the burning season, curious what it would be like. The haze was noticeable. I asked a local about it and they said it was the mist in the air this time of year. I can clearly know the difference between mist and smog unlike this person so it's important to get your information from a reliable source. The other thing about Loei is the city is night and day compared to Chiang Mai. Loei will seem barren compared to what you can find and do in Chiang Mai. Loei is known as the province with the coolest weather. Just note you need to be at high altitudes within Loei to get this cool weather.

 

Online you can look at current air quality index (AQI) levels all over Thailand and look through historic data for just about anywhere. Just remember that to be within international standards an AQI below 50 is good, above can be harmful to health. Don't let the Thai government sites fool you into believing 100 is quite ok.

 

I concur with others Kanchanaburi seems a decent choice to throw in the mix.

 

[WinnieTheKhwai]

12 hours ago, canopy said:

Online you can look at current air quality index (AQI) levels all over Thailand and look through historic data for just about anywhere. Just remember that to be within international standards an AQI below 50 is good, above can be harmful to health. Don't let the Thai government sites fool you into believing 100 is quite ok.

 

Nowhere in South East Asia is below 50 the whole year, or even any significant part of the year. 

 

Do you know how many months in Chiang Mai are below 50?   One. 

 

And as an aside, do you know how many months in Phuket are below 50?  Also one.  (In a good year, last year Phuket didn't have a month below 50.  Chiang Mai had one. (June))

 

People need to have realistic expectations, otherwise Asia may just not be a good fit for them.

 

I suggest a Fjord, with your nose in the Atlantic breeze. Or coastal Australia.  Everywhere else, forget it.

 

Edited January 7, 2017 by WinnieTheKhwai

[jobin]

I liked Yachats, Oregon when i lived nearby. I mean the closet road was 5000 km away, to the west, so the air was pretty good.  Lots of cloud and foggy/rain during the cold winter so  some wood smoke but that too was blown away towards the east.