# Chiang Mai area



## Eyeball97 (Oct 4, 2011)

Quick question for you good folks...

Am a 16 year veteran expat in Tanzania, which has finally wrestled me into submission... My GF has already departed (she's Thai) soon to be joined by myself...

We'll be renting a house near where she works - which is around Mae Taeng

I've been searching for up to date info on Internet in Thailand, and I don't know how up to date it is but I gather there's 8mbps ADSL in Chiang Mai - I am wondering if their service extends as far as Mae Taeng (or Mae Rim - best I can figure at the moment we'll be somewhere between those two areas).

Anybody around that area with a clue?

I'm a little shocked with what I hear of the prices over there, she tells me she's looking at places in the region of b3000-4000/month. In Tanzania you'd be lucky to find a house at that price per DAY  (and you have to cough up a year in advance). If I budget for b10,000 a month is that really going to cover house, electricity, water, gas, Internet & 3g (blackberry & android phones)? Seems a little too good to be true...

TIA for any info/advice

Bob


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## cnx_bruce (Feb 2, 2010)

bob

1. one of the things about internet in thailand is that it almost depends on what street you live in with regards to what your internet options are and what performance will be like. so until such time as you are in place and can ask the neighbours then you won't really know the answer to this one

2. If you look in this and other online fora and you will find countless threads on the issue of "how much do i need to live in/retire to thailand". there are so many variables in answering this. 

the short answer is that if you can live like a thai then it really is VERY cheap to live here BUT the more you want to live like a westerner then the more expensive it becomes. at one end of this spectrum it can even be more expensive to live here than a western country .... think big house with euro cars and aircon, hot water, western food, international schools etc etc


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## Digitalwolf2017 (Oct 21, 2011)

Greetings Expatforum,

I lived in Korea for 4 years, Germany for almost 2. I have been to Thailand for about 3 weeks and I am retired army with about a 1,500.00 "pension". My wife and I have plan to retire from our current jobs in 6 years (2017) and move to Chiang Mai. The six years are to build up savings, and equity in our home - so when we sell it we will have more money to bank. (I want a good size nest egg incase we decide at some point to move back to the US. We do not want to have to go back to work again just to survive, should we move back later).

Here are my questions, my wife is American. If there are any American women (or European/Ausi etc) on this forum, or husband with American wives living in Chaing Mai...that can give me your opinion on the following.

1. How safe do you feel (ladies) if you have to go to the market yourself (for example), and 

2. Do you get bored living in Thailand?

As we get closer to our big move we hope to possibly find some friends that already live there who would be willing to show us around and help us get set up. We will be 49 years old at that time. We are hoping to find a place, as we have seen on Youtube, for around 300-400 us dollars a month. I would like to put maybe 1,000.00 into it, to make it nice, and then still have the low monthly rent.

I plan on taking her over there once for about a month to help her make sure she still wants to move there. She is all about it now, but I really want to make sure she will be happy before we sell the house, cars and everything. We will probably do the trial 30 day vacation in a year or two from now. Up until now she has only been out of the US once, to Cozumel, Mexico.

I welcome all thoughts from anyone on any matter listed above or other suggestions etc.

Thanks,

Digitalwolf2017


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