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better climate in CM, but not when you factor in the burn. I sold my house in Hang Dong, about 7 miles south of the old city in 2008...Traffic has gotten four times worse on 118 since then. My attorney and I bought a house in Baan Wangtan in 2006 for 23,500 USD. I hate the dog problems on the outskirts, but it was fine...had sold in Arizona in 2005..could see the crash coming like a freight train.
Yeah if you have any breathing issues, CM is not going to work for you. I have friends in CM that just vacation during burning season but I would probably agree that the smoke negates the climate advantage.
General period of pollution in CM is between October and February. That said, we've been to CM in December, January and February many times. Out daughter and her family live there, and I have a number of Thai friends who live there. I can only speak for myself, but we've seldom encountered any heavy smoke problems. It's clearly a problem there (our daughter was having a difficult time with it this last season), but we've been lucky to not experience it.
I agree that traffic has indeed increased, but it's still nothing like it is in BKK, primarily because KK is vastly larger than CM. I know what you mean about dog problems, a number of which are stray soi dogs. Nasty, ragged, sore-ridden mutts that live in the streets. The problem isn't as bad in gated communities, but is kind of problem in other communities as well as around the city. Most are owned by residents, but they let them wander around at night. What I don't like about such dogs are that they lay right out in the drives at night, and barely move out of the way when cars are headed home. Soi dogs are a big problem in most of Bangkok, and elsewhere around Thailand.
One time, long ago, when I was staying in the Sukhumvit Road area, I took a shortcut in the morning through Soi Cowboy to head for a laundry. There was just a single lane of bars then. A lady was out sweeping out front of a bar, and a soi dog ran up behind her and nipped her in the leg. She swatted at it with her broom. They're a real pest.
Back in the early 1990s, we looked at a few places in the Koolpunt Ville area, Project 5, also out in the Hang Dong district. We had some good Thai friends who live in Project 3 or 4 (can't remember). It's south of the airport, off to the west of 108. More recently, we've been considering the house at Koolpunt Ville's Park Avenue Project 15, located somewhat NE of the city, just off Hwy 121 (Outer Ring Road). It's a nice area, but property space is almost completely filled up. There are other areas of interest as well around Sankampaeng and Sansai. Nothing in the price range you've mentioned though. I'm guessing that the houses you bought were pre-owned and older. That's not to say they weren't nice. Most of the places we've seen that were close to but a little higher priced than what you bought, were pretty run down and described as "fixer-uppers" or "good for person with handyman skills" . Your house at Mu Ban Wang Tan is kind of in the same area south of the airport, off to the east of 108. $23,500 is a very good price. What size was the house?
I figure if the smoke gets too bad in Chiang Mai, we can always head south to Saraburi Province where we built sort of a single story 4-plex in a village area. I don't really like it all that much because it's kind of out in the sticks, and there's definitely nothing much to do there, but it's okay. My wife's family live in the area, and most of the other people there are pretty friendly with a few squirrely people here and there. The closest sizable "cities" (sort of ) are Saraburi or Ayutthaya. Bangkok is about an hour or so away.
March is the worst, and it can continue into May in a late rainy season. My house was 915.000...but Dollar was 39.00 in 2006...240 sm land, 88 sm house..2 bedroom, two bath. The lot would be about that, now. NE of the city sounds like San Sai...I would avoid. Mae Rim, maybe doable.
March is the worst, and it can continue into May in a late rainy season. My house was 915.000...but Dollar was 39.00 in 2006...240 sm land, 88 sm house..2 bedroom, two bath. The lot would be about that, now. NE of the city sounds like San Sai...I would avoid. Mae Rim, maybe doable.
I agree, land prices are pretty high. Okay, I get your figures now. Thanks. For what it's worth to the benefit of other posters, the exchange rates are currently about 32+ baht to the dollar.
I've seen a lot of houses in CM being bought up by Thais (ethnic Chinese) in Bangkok as an investment. They rent out the houses, then eventually sell. Some keep houses as a second home or as a retirement home. I've also seen Thais buy home to live it, and later try to sell them, but at a much higher price than they paid for it and refuse to sell for current value. I guess they figure if they hold off long enough someone will eventually come along a pay what they're asking. These are houses that are for sale by the owners.
We've looked at a few places that seemed nice in description, 2-story, 3 to 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, for around 2 million baht. But they were complete junk and a long way from the city. Back in the late-1990s, we looked at a couple of places that were priced at 1.5 to 2 million baht (previously owned). At one place, the front door was jammed and wouldn't unlock, broken porch light fixtures, a broken toilet, bedroom door with a hole in it as well as bedroom walls with holes, a thick amount of tree saplings and trash covering the entire yard. It was a mess. The only way to get in was through a sliding glass door behind the house. The neighborhood looked kind of sleezy. We suspect that druggies had been using the vacant house. There were too many clues to avoid that place. And this was being sold by the land office. I'm pretty sure there's also the attempt to jack prices up when they know a farang comes by for a look.
Take a look at some of the listed prices for new homes at Park Avenue. These are all built to order. It takes about 5 or so months to finish construction. Prices reflect a very basic package with no real fringes, and cheap fixtures. No air con or fans included. If you want better fixtures, etc., the price goes up. With regard to air-con, people seem to suggest buying from local stores who will install it much cheaper than the land sales office charges. The project includes a community pool, an exercise building, a small khlong, walking trails. I think they said there's a nurse on duty (for minor issues) for the residents
Koolpunt Ville Project 15 (Park Avenue), is at tambon San Pu Loei, Doi Saket district, to the east of the north part of the city. Generally, it looks pretty clean and friendly. Not far from hospitals or shopping, although too far to walk. Park Avenue By Koolpunt Ville 15
There are some okay places at San Sai in the vicinity of Maejo University. For me, it's a little farther out from the city than I'd want to be. I've been in Chiang Mai in the early part of March. I know what you mean. It can get very toasty.
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. Your house at Mu Ban Wang Tan is kind of in the same area south of the airport, off to the east of 108. $23,500 is a very good price. What size was the house?
