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Retiring In The Provinces ....


gobbledonk

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There seems to be far more expats in CM than Udon.

You can buy virtually anything your farang heart desires there and there is a selection of women covering a wide range of ethnic groups from almost pure white Chinese from the Koumintang mountain communities to their small dark hills tribe neighbours.

The restaurants are first class and an ongoing argument (for years) in the local forum is where to get the best Mexican food.

 

I did find a really awesome resto right on the water when I was there. Open air place with great prices, food and service.

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OK, I still have two years left in this Farang hellhole, but you dont have to be a Rhodes Scholar to see that BKK is expensive if you cant discipline yourself to staying away from the Farang bars, and that is my exact fear. My initial 3 month stint was characterised by the intake of more alcohol than I had imbibed in the previous 3-5 years ....

 

Given that I dont handle cold weather, I guess that rules out Udon and Chiang Mai. Hua Hin seems like a halfway-house between the madness of BKK and the monotony of somewhere like Chumphon, but I've never spent more than two nights there at any one time (!). I've also considered Rayong a possibility - far enough away from the Pattaya scene to save a few baht, but still large enough to (possibly) have some life after 5pm. I realise I need to learn Thai (no, really, this time I'll actually go to the classes ...) to survive in a town like that.

 

Suggestions ?

 

(I'm not going to nominate a budget - lets just say I wont be spending 100k baht a month. The upside of that kind of spending is that I wont have to spend too long experiencing the trials of old age ;) ).

Retiring..??

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As you would know, it varies with location and facilities.

I found this place for 15,000B.

http://www.chiangmai-realestate.com/productDetail.php?product_id=692&PHPSESSID=ddeb4ec368e985f171fcf695a9199e4c

 

This for 12,000. Brilliant location, but only "partly" furnished.

http://www.chiangmai-realestate.com/productDetail.php?product_id=643&PHPSESSID=ddeb4ec368e985f171fcf695a9199e4c

 

I get a few inquiries about Chiang Rai from ThaiVisa people and my general advice is to come up here for a few weeks and shop around.

A lot of stuff is advertised by word of mouth but I think you will see from these examples that you could get something decent for under 20,000 a month.

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I guess its a similar story here, but you can get a very nice house ('nice' based on the photos) just outside Chiang Rai for about the same money that a lot of Farang are paying for a single room in BKK : I'm talking 15k a month and even less. Naturally, you would expect to pay more in places like Chiang Mai, and there is no getting around the added cost of buying a car, but for those with longterm plans its tempting.

 

Not entirely sure that I want to be this close to a rather wild looking river, but here in Oz people pay big money for something like this:

 

http://www.lannarealty.com/index.php?action=listingview&listingID=497

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Sure, but you have to live in Surin... :neener:

 

Seriously though, these sites are what we call mugs prices.

I know half a dozen guys in Chiang Mai and most of them live in great places at a great price.. they keep upgrading... location, facilities and a better price.

But someone straight off the plane isn't going to get this unless they are extremely lucky.

The Bangkok guys will know all about his, it's not what you know it's who you know.

So get something that will "do" for now and sit back and wait for a better option.

Personally if I was retiring I'd buy or build once I was settled, then you pay NO rent. :tuxedo:

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Hi,

 

"Seriously though, these sites are what we call mugs prices."

 

Agree. Even in Bangkok it is certainly possible to find houses for a good price. I'm paying 12.5K / month for a 3 bedroom house, 260 sq.m. (incl outside), covered parking place. Sure, the place is getting old, but it is still a very good price considering I am only about 5 min away from the subway by motorbike.

 

Here's a tip when trying to find a house, go to the area you want to live in and talk to the motorbike guys sitting around. You can bet they know most of the houses for rent in the area and can take you to go see them.

 

Sanuk!

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