Living in Chiang Mai for £280 a month? Seriously?? http://

Mate, I've lived in london for £300 a month. Didn't live well but I've done it

that's like $15/day...wouldn't even get you a decent room in a cheap guesthouse. maybe living in the dorms, eating street food and not going out...but rent on an apartment alone would probably be $300

>>1192932
May be possible for locals. Unlikely for anyone else. It was already said, accommodations alone will cost more than that.

>>1192938
Including rent? Unless you were homeless I don't believe you.

>>1192947
Not true, you can find tons of apartments for under even £100. Granted, their lease is usually at least a few months minimum rental period, but there are quite a few of them. He says "living" in Chiang Mai, not vacationing, so it's reasonable that if you want to stay under that budget you'd have to live there for a while.

http://chiangmaiproperties.co.th/EN/condo/rent/Fully-furnished-studio-with-1-bathroom(s)-in-PP-Condo,-Tha-Sala,-Mueang-Chiang-Mai/C3020.aspx
Here's one for about £60, most of them are more, but if you look around you can rent apartments very cheaply, Chiang Mai is famous for cheap rentals.

It's very possible. Just Google apartments and you'll find 75$/month places. You can easily live off 10£/day if you cook your own food, probably even if you eat out every meal as well...

>>1192983
I find in most of Asia it's cheaper or the same to eat out or to buy groceries, probably because of the cheapness of labor.

>>1192932
Look on agoda or booking right now and you will see single room available for like $7. And the author stated he doesn't drink alcohol or go out except for the cheap movie theater (which I think the one listedonky plays Thai movies, now) and he listed what he eats for meals. It's very doable, but you won't be doing much. But I reckon if you are staying at a place with free wifi you can shit post all day.

>>1192991
>But I reckon if you are staying at a place with free wifi you can shit post all day
The hallmark of modern civilization.

I live in Chiang Mai at the Siriruk apartments. 3500 baht per month which is under $100. I eat western food every day in restaurants so my meals are about $5 each. Living on thai food, you can do $2 a meal easy.

>>1193036

You are working out there I take it? Whats it like, man?

>>1193041
I run an online business, so it's all remote. I moved here out of efficiency. I'd say it's one of the best values for a city. I live in the nimman district which is the hip and trendy area. Feels like I'm in America at times. It's very English friendly. You can live here without knowing a single thai word. Large expat community, great culture, great food, lots to explore... it's a great city.

I'm on a week trip in Pai right now. It's even cheaper than chiang mai and quite peaceful. Large amount of western hippies here.

I would highly recommend living here for a month to test it out. If nothing else, explore this beautiful country.

>>1193044
What do you do for a visa? Visa runs?

>>1193044
how do you manage visas?

>>1193046
>>1193045
I do visa runs because I enjoy traveling often and it gives me a reason to travel every month.

It's pretty easy to bullshit a volunteer or student visa from what I hear. I have no experience in it. You can get a 60 day tourist visa right off to he bat though, no questions asked.

>>1193044

I travelled to Thailand last year. Spent a month there in all but never made it to Chiang Mai which I massively regret now.

I have dreamed of nomading for a couple of years but I have no income. I have some graphic design skills but no clients and not sure spec work would bring in the cash required.

I think to myself how amazing it would be to have a semi-decent online income, live cheaply in CM and actually save some cash to go home with in a couple of years.

May I ask what your business involves?

>>1193080
If you have good skills and are willing to put in the effort, you can make a decent online income. I don't have experience if gfx design, but I know there are nomads here that do it.

Basically, I trade e-currencies. A lot of it is automated, so it's like the perfect setup for me.

>>1192932
It's quite possible even on lower cost. His 5,8K bht apartment can be brought down to 3K easily (it will be shithole but not complete shithole).

The main point is this:
>Entertainment
>total: 320 Baht (£6.40)
and the whole reason for living in Chiang Mai for... what?

Plus, if it's a part of long stay in Thailand, visa expenses should be considered.

>>1193044
is there some sort of expat (or expat-accepting - don't know what that'd be though) community to try to get a social life from?

Guys should I ditch 3 days in Bangkok for 3 days in Chiang Mai? Help me decide.I have been to Bangkok twice already. I can fly from Pattaya to Chiang Mai, is it worth visiting in June?

See
>>>1193416

>>1193048

Me too, I would be traveling out of the country every 30 days anyway, but don't they refuse entry after doing this many times?

>>1192976
Probably a backpacker hostel and living off of rice.

OP here

Seriously considering working for a few months back home to save about £3000 then head out to Chaing Mai for 5-6 months and try and get some remote income from freelance/spec work.

Feels like running away but I have nothing going for me back home. Ideally I'd love to be able to save a good amount of money each month whilst living abroad but I think that is unlikely with my lack of real skills and business savvy and ideas

>>1194176
Go for it. No shame in saving money and going somewhere else for a while. After 5 or 6 months you might pick up some Thai too, so that'd be useful.

>>1193423
Yes

>>1193242
Not previous anon, but is it difficult to get into this sort of business? I always was intrigued by remote business. Currently I'm a translator but I barely have any written work - it's cheap and very competitive. That's why I mostly work as a simultaneous interpreter. Pays well but I have to be in my city.

So I was thinking about branching out to other fields. Tell me about yours, pls

>>1192991
What kind of living is that? Might as well shit post from the basement.

Very interested in how one trades e currencies. Where would I start?

>>1194176
Freelance/spec work doing what?

What's the rent like in Bangkok? Say somewhere near a metro station.

I make about 40k USD per year and have the ability to work remotely. Would it be worth it to live in Chiang Mai for 3 months?

>>1197370
Depends on if you like Chiang Mai. We know nothing about you and your likes. You could consider it too far from the beach, too spread out, or too sleepy.

>>1197370
I'm friend is doing exactly this right now in Chiang Mai. He's working remotely and there for 3 months... Although he's been traveling the world for the last few months. He leaving for Czech republic next week but says Chiang Mai is super cheap.

Do it anon.

I went to chiang mai. Its pretty overrated.
Its just people trying to escape from their lives.
I was working remotely so I had to check this place out. Was very disappointed.

>>1197512

Any other place around there that you liked for the remote working lifestyle?

>>1197514
Bangkok is better. At least its not à "digital nomad" City. Real people live there.
Saigon is fun. danang is good as well.

>>1197512
Exactly why I said this >>1197379

>>1197370
You could spend half that, save the rest, and still live like a king in Thailand.

Even 1K a month would be pretty comfy, unless you like high end clubs.

>>1197518
Can you offer any tips for someone looking for a BKK apartment?

>>1197512
Was anyone else there actually working remotely or was it just drop shippers and bloggers?

>>1197626
I lived in a awesome flat because I knew some friends already living there so he introduced me to the french expat connection.

>>1192932

>living in a shithole is cheap

whodathunkit

>>1196055
I pay 11,000 baht a month but you could get cheaper I'm sure. I'm paying for an awesome view of the river

>>1198951
Tbf, living in shitholes isn't always cheap. Lioe many places in Africa and elsewhere you have to pay a premium for luxuries because they are harder to come by.

To me Thailand is the happy medium. There are places more developed, there are places more lawless, there are places with better amenities, there are places cheaper, it's the best of East meets West. The only place that has it all without really sacrificing anything, though one by one, there are better choices. But not another place that has a little of everything.

>>1196055
On average you need to make about 10,000 more baht a month to live as comfortably in Bangkok as you could in any other major city, outside of the even more expensive (because of tourism) Phuket and surrounding area.