Retirement worth living in Chiangmai

Retirement is a time to enjoy more of life, spend the hard earned money and embrace new changes. The retirement place is important to achieve the kind of lifestyle each retiree desires. One of the best places to retire is in Chiangmai. Retirement in Chiangmai offers a high quality of life at a low cost and much better than retirement in Bangkok. See also other writings about retirement in Thailand and it advantages.

Retirement worth living in Chiangmai

Chiangmai is located in the Northern part of Thailand, in the mountains. It has a tropical wet and dry climate. There is no beach but there are many places and pools for swimming. There is a mountain full of lush forests, flowers, rice fields, elephants, gardens, lakes, caves, temples and national parks

Cost of Living

One of the many reasons why Chiangmai is a best place to retire is because of its low cost of living. Studio type rooms costs 150 USD and 2-3 bedrooms is around 500 USD per month. As for transportation, motorbikes (rent 1000 baht/week) are popular means of getting around. Songtaews (20 baht/person/120 baht to rent) and tuktuks (120 baht per ride) are also available.

Chiangmai has an international airport and is just an hour plane ride from Bangkok.  If you retire in Chiangmai, traveling around Asia is easier. The Chiang Mai International Airport has flights to Laos, Cambodia, Burma, China, and Hong Kong, Singapore.

Food is available everywhere not to mention that they are cheap. You can get a delicious meal for 30 baht or 0.75 cents. There are also a lot of coffee shops with Wi-Fi with prices approximately 1-3 USD per cup.

What to do?

To add more fun when you retire, why not take a Thai cooking class. Thai cooking class ranges from 20-50 USD per person of a 4-6 hour class that includes a trip to the local market and 3 dishes. Traditional and advanced massage classes are also available. Price is approximately 263 USD for a 10 days/60 hours class. Engaging into the local community is a sure way to learn the Thai language. A beginner course costs approximately 55 USD for a 2 hour/class, runs 3 times a week with a total of 24 hour class.

Chiangmai also has many factories and villages dedicated to arts. There are various workshops about silk production or hand crafted souvenirs.

Chiangmai has a lot of expats and retirees who chose to stay thus making an international community there. Retirement life is laid back in Chiangmai but nightlife is also available. Retirement in Chiangmai is highly recommended as Thailand provides retirement visa for foreigners

The application is sent to the Thai embassy in your country or any Thai embassy in Asia. Thailand requires at least 50 years old to apply for a retirement visa (Non-O-A). The financial requirements include a security deposit of 800,000 baht in a Thai Bank Account for 2 months prior to the visa application. Monthly income or pension should be at least 65,000 baht. Police clearance and medical clearance must also be presented. Work is not allowed while holding the retirement visa.