What’s the best Asian Country to Retire?
February 10, 2026
New Restaurant Openings in Chiang Mai Thailand
February 10, 2026Overall living in Thailand can be best described as exciting exotic simple living. The people work every day in what most cases at their own individual shop, with the seemly daily flow of people appears constant from day to day. Living in any particular location, everyone seems to know each other quite well with daily hellos and good mornings, very minimum you’ll quickly learn everyone’s face.
From a personal view, living in Thailand requires staying in tune with your visa requirements and dates, remembering to check-in every 90 days and so on. Also monitoring the constant flow of money and aware of covering monthly expenses, recognizing it’s always done anyways but remembering the 2-3 day lag time for money transfers.
Living spaces are apartments, condos and houses, with most spaces typically around 33 s/m for a city Thai condo. It can be a bit shocking on the reduced space living in Thailand, but one always has the house rental option too starting at $ 250/Mo but generally a bit further out from the city. Living in the city (condo, apartment) has its benefits though, quick access to events, food and amenities. Getting around the city can be a mammoth exercise at times depending on the time. Traveling by car is going to take much longer than by motorbike as a result of heavy traffic, but it all seems to eventually flow through in time.
Motorbikes historically have a bad reputation of not being safe, adding to the stories of Thailand deadly roads, but I can help add to this story. Firstly, experience obviously will be the best prevention to an accident, and the other is simply drive defensively. Sadly its speed, DUI and recklessness as the leading causes for motorbike accidents, and find myself watching my rear view mirror 70% of the time while riding. It’s the other guy you gotta worry about, and unlike a car there’s zero room for error. I’ll just add one more observation, it’s really sad and shocking to see the number of people not wearing a helmet, and then watching foreigners fall into this poor riding example too. Wearing a helmet is our life insurance, I love mine!
Thailand has basically 4 main ways of obtaining ones essentials. Open air market for many homemade foods, fruits and meats. Enclosed markets a mirror image of the western market with welcomed air conditioning, but can be in some ways limited on the known typical selections and choices. Beer as an example, the market has no light beer offered. 7-11 is another main stream way of getting essentials and can be found almost on every block it seems, they’re everywhere. And the last is the independent Mom Pop stores with the Thai family trying to make a living. I like to try and frequent these places as much as possible to lend my support and also in exchange for happy smiles. It can really make ones day, and you can just see how grateful they all are when frequenting their shop.
In the evening hours is when things begin to get lively in Thailand, people come out for the cooler temperatures, eat/ drink and spend time with friends and family. Live music can be found at almost every trendy venue with sometimes fun stage performances (beauty contest, traditional fashion show etc.). Also discovering the Universities street food scene is another fun way to spend an evening. It can be up to ½ mile of side to side street cooks selling an array of unique specialty food items (fried chicken, deep fried ice cream, roti, noodles and more noodles, rice dishes and more). They incredibly set up in the afternoon and then break it all down at the end of evening, giving way to the next day of traffic.
It’s no secret that the red light districts are prevalent in Thailand mainly in Pattaya and Bangkok. The Thais mainly view it as a tourism draw and really not a local people’s thing. Incredibly the monies earned by the girl (dancer) often is then sent back to their respective village in support of the family unit. Confused foreigners can often fall victim to “foggy brain” when meeting these beauties, with endless bar stories of “ love gone missing the next day”, but if one really what’s to find a lasting relationship it would be best served by taking steps away from these types of areas. I’d have to admit though it must be the best medicine checking out these spots with constant heckling (handsome man, sexy man). It can quickly fill ones ego.
The real excitement about living in Thailand though is the convenience and affordability of seeing the entire country. One can usually fly for about $50 – $100 to the various other spots in the country including the beaches and stay in a hotel for around $15/ night. It’s such a real adventure getting to see and meet so many different places and people. With such a laid back feel, it’s the perfect backdrop for online work and enjoyment at the same time.
Smiles