Video: 5 Reasons Why it Sucks to Retire & Live in Chiang Mai Thailand

The pros and cons of living in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

I’m going to talk about my personal feelings and experiences during my time in Chiang Mai. I’ll talk about the stuff that I really don't like about Chiang Mai and why I think it might be a bit over rated.

Tag: Chiang Mai Viator, Thailand Vacation Tours

Watch why I love Chiang Mai: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svGiVhZhkXw

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Some people don’t want to talk about the bad things because they want to keep it positive and that’s fine, but for me, I just want to share my experiences and keep things honest. Not just raving about the good stuff.

Pros and Cons Living in Chiang Mai I think you need to weigh the pros as well as the cons. Giving our honest opinions and different point of views is a way we can learn in this world and to make an informed decisions.

If you’re just visiting Chiang Mai for a few days or a week or two, you probably won’t notice a lot of my dislikes. I’m talking about living in Chiang Mai for many months.

1. Super Touristy: This can be a good thing since more locals can speak a bit of English and the city is full of Western amenities. This is also a good thing if you have a local business, but to me, it was too touristy for my taste.

Lots of Chinese, Japanese, European, American and everyone else come here. The Chinese come in busloads.

2. Air Quality & Traffic Congestion: The air quality is a serious issue. Before I came to Chiang Mai, I heard many people talk about how bad the air quality was but I didn’t listen. I’m one of those people who thought I was invisible.

3. The burning season (Jan - Apr): The first few months of each year between January to March is the annual burning of the rice fields. The side effect of that is haze and smog.

4. No Beaches: There are no beaches in Chiang Mai, so if you want to swim in the sea or take long walks on the beaches - Chiang Mai is not for you. But you can always rent a place with a nice swimming pool. Then again, I can’t imagine how many tourists and expats would be living there if there was a beach.

5. Lack of Mass Transportation: There is no subway and there is no skytrain like the one they have in Bangkok. You will be tempted to rent a scouter or motorbike, but if you do not have any experience riding one, I would avoid doing it and get a bicycle instead or take tuk-tuk, red truck or walk. I never saw so many foreigners wearing a cast or walking around with crutches during my time there.