Best Part Of Chiang Mai To Live In (from A Rider's Perspective)?

Kawboy

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May 16, 2013
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I'm considering making a move to a different part of LOS, and Chiang Mai is near the top of the list. I've visited several times (usually staying in the center of town), but I realize that actually living there is a very different proposition from being a tourist.

What would the best choice be as far as a great spot to launch a ride from, without being too isolated? A rental budget would ideally be somewhere around 50K, which would hopefully get a two or three bedroom gated house on at least 1/2 rai or so.

I would appreciate any suggestions of specific areas that are worth a look- any advice would be helpful.;)
 

Kawboy

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May 16, 2013
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I should be heading up there in a few weeks, but it's good to have some specific info to narrow down my search, especially as I'll only have a couple of days to look around.

Thanks again.;)
 
Sep 19, 2006
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www.chiangmai-xcentre.com
I Live on the North Side of Town in Mae Rim. For Me this is the nicest side of Town. Easy to get to a Highway in any Direction and lots of Hills around plus the Temperature is a few Degrees Less than in Town. They are doing Major Road Works on the 107 at the Moment which is a bit of an Inconvenience to put it Mildly but once that is all finished things should return to Normal again! Check it out!
 

DavidFL

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If you're into riding, then it is a no brainer for me. Only on the North-North East side of town = Mae Rim - San Sai / Mae Jo.

Just about all the bike rides "head north"
1. To Pai via R107 & 1095
2. To Fang / Doi Mae Salong via R107
3. To Chiang Rai via R118
4. To Nan via Phayao R118 & R120 & ...
5. The Samoeng Loop & the X-Centre is on the northside.

On the "south" side of town you have the airport & the airport plaza intersection, the busiest around; Kuang Sing on the north is probably # 2.
Current downside to R107 & the north side is the new underpass being built at the outer ring road R121 junction with R107 - a mess & 2 years of construction to go.
If I was you Id just come & rent a condo / apartment for 6 months to see suss everything out & how it works for you, then make your decision. Better not to jump in feet first.

I'm living out in Mae Rim, house is 18 kms from Thapae gate, & after 28 years in the city centre & wonder now how I ever lasted that long in the centre of town.

On the "north side" you have Meechok Plaza shopping Centre, Tesco Lotus, Central Festival - newest biggest shopping mall.

Look here
http://www.chiangmainews.com/shopping/
for some older shopping mall info.
Here with the master plans
http://www.chiangmaicitynews.com/news.php?id=382
most of these are completed now.

Hope this is a help.
 
May 9, 2014
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Best place to live in/around CM is surely San Sai.
Its close (10+minutes) to town, and here are great best starting point towards riding a nice long trip, as all the best places is north east of town.. Also the rent here is fairly cheap for great houses ;-)
 
Nov 12, 2013
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Great,been looking at houses online in the San Sai area.
As my wife is the worst driver in Australia I am reluctant to have her drive back in her home country.....scared she will kill someone.
I assume there will be some form of public transport to get her into the city?

hawkeye76;299132 wrote: Best place to live in/around CM is surely San Sai.
Its close (10+minutes) to town, and here are great best starting point towards riding a nice long trip, as all the best places is north east of town.. Also the rent here is fairly cheap for great houses ;-)
 

Kawboy

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May 16, 2013
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More great info- I definitely appreciate the fact I won't be stepping in blindly and stumbling around trying to figure out the best spots.:cool:
 
May 9, 2014
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Poompui;299140 wrote: Great,been looking at houses online in the San Sai area.
As my wife is the worst driver in Australia I am reluctant to have her drive back in her home country.....scared she will kill someone.
I assume there will be some form of public transport to get her into the city?
Hi Poompui.
I think good to stay in San sai area if your wife is so bad as your mentioning.. Traffic here is not bad. "Nobody" is driving like crazy, and i think she be fine here in that regards.
If you need to find a house when you get over here, then try not to set your sights on something you find online, you can get a much better deal when you get here. 9 out of 10 houses is not being rented out online.
 

DavidFL

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Kawboy

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May 16, 2013
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Not yet- some business stuff I thought would be finished by now remains ongoing (though the end is in sight;)).

I hope to make it up by September.
 
Nov 12, 2013
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And I will be up there in CM on 1st August.....looking around for places to live,and to see what job/business prospects are around for the wife.
Me??
Oh I will be a kept man......wonder how I can fill in my days.......

:happy4:
 
Jul 18, 2009
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Quite a few Aussies living here also :lol: . You may wish to also explore the Hang Dong area. Its only about 16kms to the city center . Surrounded by mountains yet only a short 10 -15 minutes ride into town. We've been living there for several years with no complaints ( perhaps only from our neighbors ) . Oh and buy the way, if your Mrs. is a lousy driver she'll fit right in :shh:
 
Nov 12, 2013
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schackster;300414 wrote: Quite a few Aussies living here also :lol: . You may wish to also explore the Hang Dong area. Its only about 16kms to the city center . Surrounded by mountains yet only a short 10 -15 minutes ride into town. We've been living there for several years with no complaints ( perhaps only from our neighbors ) . Oh and buy the way, if your Mrs. is a lousy driver she'll fit right in :shh:
Any Aussies needing any care packages? Vegemite,Tim Tams etc?
Will be bringing a bottle of Bundy to share with whoever sits down with me to give me a crash course in plotting GPS points....can squeeze another bottle in if required.

Will check out Hang Dong and San Sai areas....only here for a month this trip.....back soon!
 

ray23

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Oct 14, 2005
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David Your the man, this was very kind of you I will send it to him.

Man it's been so long since I've had something to say is my user name Bump.

Got the lowering kit for the Honda 700x and looking forward to some good riding this year. Have a video camera and can almost edit to share some fun with.
 

ray23

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Oct 14, 2005
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Sadly my friend had a death in his family, he should return in two weeks and will probably have lots of questions then, I want to thank all of you who responded. I believe are a unique group of people always willing to help, I've met a lot great people over the years and I'm really proud to be a part of you.
 
Aug 28, 2014
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I've lived in Chiang Mai for a little over 2 years now. If you are a serious rider and your world revolves around your life on cycles, as mine does, Chiang Mai is maybe the best place on Earth to live. In Chiang Mai, there are a few decent places to live. Many have been mentioned in this thread already. The key is to "stay close to the Super Highway" and stay away from the city's center. If you choose to live in the center of the city, you will be stuck with fighting traffic out of the city as you venture on your cruise, and venturing back in when your cruise is complete. Cruising WITHIN the city is no fun at all and is suicide. Again, find yourself a place nearest the Super Highway (Rt 11), which wraps around the north of the city and heads down south to Lamphun and Lampang. The only other guidance I can give you is to watch out for extremely noisy places. Night bars make a terrible racket until midnight or sometimes later. In choosing your digs, do a proper recon first AT NIGHT to see how the noise level is at your prospective apartment or house. If it's noisy at 9 PM when you do your recon, this is what you can expect every night! With your budget of 50K a month, that will get you a veritable palace in this area. Feel free to contact me at [email protected]. I'm retired and ready to assist cycle lovers in any way possible.
 

DavidFL

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Funny how it goes...but I've moved on after 35 years in Chiang Mai!

It was with a very heavy heart & great sadness that I made the decision last month in March, but I'd finally come to the conclusion that Chiang Mai had lost a lot of it's charm & there were certainly better places to live in North Thailand nowadays.

Chiang Mai is still the centre of the universe for motorcycling in the North, but long term I think that the traffic & pollution issues in the valley are going to be horrendous & if you have to commute into the city frequently then the quality of life is only going downhill & fast.

So my new abode is in fabulous Chiang Khong on the Mekong,

29749331_10156524710543755_4127942215385258490_o.jpg

a place that has always been my favourite town in North Thailand, plus the Tammila guesthouse my all time favourite guesthouse as well.

There's still a lot to be said for Chiang Mai, especially the infrastructure, but I have quite a few solid reasons for moving on. I would like to elaborate on these a bit in the coming days, plus what I think about finding the right place in North Thailand to settle down in.
There are dramatic changes going on in some parts of the North & if you're looking for somewhere to "hang out long term, some ideas may help some of you guys.

So that means I'm no longer "resident" at the Kafe downtown Chiang Mai but in Chiang Khong.
Should anyone want to hook up I live 500 meres from the Tammila guesthouse, the Bamboo Mexican, Rin's Bar & the Chiang Roy Bar. Check into the Tammila in CK & they will send me a message to come on down for a cuppa.

A big thanks to all the guys who came to my send off at the Kafe a week ago.
It was a fabulous night & loads of fun seeing everyone together again

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DavidFL

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Funny how it goes...but I've moved on after 35 years in Chiang Mai!

It was with a very heavy heart & great sadness that I made the decision last month in March, but I'd finally come to the conclusion that Chiang Mai had lost a lot of it's charm & there were certainly better places to live in North Thailand nowadays.

Chiang Mai is still the centre of the universe for motorcycling in the North, but long term I think that the traffic & pollution issues in the valley are going to be horrendous & if you have to commute into the city frequently then the quality of life is only going downhill & fast.

So my new abode is in fabulous Chiang Khong on the Mekong,

View attachment 121237
a place that has always been my favourite town in North Thailand, plus the Tammila guesthouse my all time favourite guesthouse as well.

There's still a lot to be said for Chiang Mai, especially the infrastructure, but I have quite a few solid reasons for moving on. I would like to elaborate on these a bit in the coming days, plus what I think about finding the right place in North Thailand to settle down in.
There are dramatic changes going on in some parts of the North & if you're looking for somewhere to "hang out long term, some ideas may help some of you guys.

So that means I'm no longer "resident" at the Kafe downtown Chiang Mai but in Chiang Khong.
Should anyone want to hook up I live 500 meres from the Tammila guesthouse, the Bamboo Mexican, Rin's Bar & the Chiang Roy Bar. Check into the Tammila in CK & they will send me a message to come on down for a cuppa.

A big thanks to all the guys who came to my send off at the Kafe a week ago.
It was a fabulous night & loads of fun seeing everyone together again

View attachment 121238
View attachment 121239
View attachment 121240

You can follow this thread here now: Moving On..
Moving On - Chiang Mai To Chiang Khong- David Unk