Did you know that there are approximately 15000 ex=pats who live in Chiang Mai full time. Some of the residence live here because they can have a have decent quality life style on less than $500.00 a month.
Others having planned for a nice retirement live on 4 or five times that amount.
Actually, if you have say between $650.00 and $1000.00 a month you give live a very high quality life style in Chiang Mai.
My personal budget is under $600.0 a month.
That means living in a nice quiet room and eating out three times a day.If you frequent bars and get involve with Thai ladies romantically then the sky is the limit on what you will spend.
I hang around with folks who live here full time and others who like myself spend six to eight months a year here.
The conversation today at lunch centred at where could you receive the amenities and lifestyle anywhere on the planet that you can in Chiang Mai. We came to the conclusion that you can get some of the same benefits or advantages in other countries but not all the benefits together that one can obtain in Chiang Mai.
You can buy a cheap phone or if your phone is unlock a sim card and phone time for about six dollars a month.
I recently purchased a new ipad 3 with a 3g data capability.
In the west data plans are expensive. Here in thailand I was able to buy a sim card and data time for under six bucks as the airport at around 10 p.m. in the evening when I landed.
If you plan to be here a month or so buying a cheap phone makes sense. You can buy one for around 20 bucks.
Most Androids are unlocked so you can just pick up a sim card when you arrive at the airport and put some time on it. Unlocked iphones work also but are expensive to buy.
The best months to come to Thailand is Oct. Nov. Jan. and Feb.
By mid March it becomes quite hot in the Kingdom. Also at this time there is a lot of burning that creates a thick smog that makes it difficult for many people to breathe. The burning is in the North East and the North West. You can escape it by going to the beaches in the south of Thailand.
