Living in Chiang Mai
Whether you are thinking about starting a new life in Chiang Mai, have recently moved to the area, or you are an established resident with a burning question that you just can’t seem to find answers to, this section has lots of useful information aimed at make living in Chiang Mai easier.
Practical information covers an array of topics, such as how much your utility bills might cost, finding a plumber, healthcare, contacting the police, hiring a vehicle, local transportation, international schools, and finding work. There are also great posts dedicated to the social and leisure aspects of living in Chiang Mai, including how to meet people, groups for expats, where to take the kids, and Thai language courses, through to more specialist interest articles including cookery classes, massage courses, and being a vegetarian.
There are also some personal accounts where you can read about real situations experienced by people living in Chiang Mai. Some might make you laugh and some might make you cringe, but all will give you a good understanding of life in the northern Thai city.
Make sure you also scroll to the comments section of any post you read; very often there is some very handy supplementary information and opinions submitted by other users – regular citizens of Chiang Mai, just like you!
The articles in this section are a terrific resource for anyone interested in moving to, or already living in, Chiang Mai.
The tenant/landlord dynamic in Thailand isn’t always a happy or pain-free one! Odds are you’ll have heard the horror stories from seemingly model tenants of how they were stiffed out of their security deposit by a shady landlord. Or the…
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Guess who is behind the DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT? Almost three and a half decades in the business; just shy of 300 residential properties nationwide under their belt (plus a few beyond these shores) with builds catering to the tastes and…
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Keep hearing that Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand? Read our article to find out the facts! It may have begun life as a “New City” back in the late 13th century, but Chiang Mai didn’t actually…
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Volumes could be written on Chiang Mai’s multitude of virtues but as a holiday destination and especially as an adopted home, the milder climate of Northern Thailand is a major draw. Unlike so many other places in the Tropics which…
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Moving Home in Chiang Mai…made easy! So you’ve just landed yourself a new pad in a different part of Chiang Mai. Maybe you wanted to upgrade or needed to downsize; perhaps you finally took the plunge and bought your very…
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Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last nine years, you’ll no doubt have heard of Airbnb – the mother of all hospitality startups who’ve taken the world by storm with their web-based marketplace which connects those who…
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So what exactly is a Wing 41 Pass? Quite simply, it’s a special permit that allows everyday folk to drive their car or motorcycle on the 2km or so stretch of two-way road that runs through the Wing 41 Royal…
Read moreLiving in Chiang Mai, chances are you’ve never given a second thought to the fact that you’re actually smack dab in the Tropics. But, believe us, you are! And in this land of plantations and forests, criss-crossed with natural waterways…
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So what exactly is a yellow house book? Quite simply, it’s a type of government-issued document called a Tabien Baan (literally ‘House Registration’ in Thai) which lists all foreign individuals holding a ‘Temporary Stay’ or a ‘Long Stay’ visa/visa exemption…
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If cleanliness is next to Godliness then the Thai are surely divine. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a more fastidious people anywhere on the planet. Among the locals, standards of personal hygiene are taken very seriously…
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