Why Are So Many People Opting for Chiang Mai Retirement?

Ask a hundred of young adults in their teens to talk about Chiang Mai, and very few would probably know about it. But among senior citizens, Chiang Mai retirement has somehow attained a mystical status. It’s the Shangri-La of all retirement destinations.

Chiang Mai is a beautiful city in Thailand, though the entire province is called Chiang Mai too. It’s an ancient city founded way back in 1296. It’s the “second city” of Thailand and it’s the polar opposite of Bangkok. Chiang Mai retirement living offers a slower pace of life and a very chilled out vibe, filled with great international community, great food, and picturesque mountain surroundings.

It’s quite clear why it’s a great place to go to when you retire, and here are some reasons why you should retire in Chiang Mai:

Retire close to some amazing mountain scene’s

Thailand Is a Popular Destination for Medical Vacations

As you get older, you may worry about the quality of the health care you get wherever you may be. Yet here in Thailand and in Chiang Mai in particular, the quality of the health care is fantastically first rate. Their doctors, nurses, and caregivers are just as good as any in the world.

What about the cost of care in Chiang Mai? In countries like the US and the UK, health care costs may be scandalously expensive, and even with health insurance it’s common for some people to go bankrupt when a family member because seriously ill. Here in Chiang Mai, the cost of living in Chiang Mai is lower and that applies to the majority of their health care costs as well.

If you visit a doctor for a basic medical checkup (blood tests, Xrays, ECG) and you don’t have insurance in the US, how much will those cost you? Here in Chiang Mai, it will cost you anything from 2000 Baht to 6000 Baht approximately. That sounds like a lot until you remember that 1 dollar is approximately 34 baht in US currency.

So you’re forking very little for a medical check-up. Back in the US, you would spend that in an evening out at a restaurant for a meal for two. For a stay in a private ward in a Chiang Mai hospital, it’s about 2,000 baht a day. So that’s just $60 a day and that’s a lot cheaper than many hotel rooms.

The country basically offers first rate care with good prices, and the same is true for the medical care in Chiang Mai. That’s one of the reasons why it’s among the top destinations for medical vacations in the world.

You know how French waiters are supposed to act? Here the people are the exact opposite of that. The people are extremely friendly here, so much so that people call Thailand “The Land of Smiles”.

Here you have caring people who treat foreigners with camaraderie. They also hold a deep respect for the elderly, and as a retiree here you get to enjoy the kind of respect that’s not as common in Western cities.

You Won’t Get Bored

Some young adults seem to think of retirement as just sitting on a rocking chair on a porch, looking at the same view day in and day out. But that’s not exactly the life you will live here in Chiang Mai if you don’t want to. Instead, you can fill your days with exciting new adventures so that your friends and family back home can feel just a bit of envy of how you’re doing.

It’s not just the parades, festivals, the Buddhist temples and local galleries, and all the other tourist spots that will hold your attention here. You can find plenty of classes on a wide variety of subjects, and you certainly can find excellent cooking classes and lesson on local arts and crafts. In fact, you can be a teacher here too if you want subject to the right qualifications. Chiang Mai offers many opportunities to do volunteer work, so you can help out in whatever way you can.

As you get older, you may not be as eager to get on trips to various places even though they’re very inexpensive. Still, you can sit on a porch chair and gaze at the spectacular mountain views. You can also people-watch, and with the locals and the tourists moving on and about, it makes for a very fascinating scene. The days can just pass by very quickly here, and you certainly won’t get bored.

Plenty of Expats Here Can Help You Out

The country has about 40,000 people in the expat community. You’ve got plenty of different groups you can join so you can hang out with people who share your language and interests. Many of them are eager to give you tips on where you can find items like good coffee, affordable beddings, and the latest electronics.

Just by doing a basic search on face book will produce a listing of all kind of groups for example: Chiang Mai Latin Dance; Chiang Mai Animal Lovers; Eat in Chiang Mai; Chiang Mai Nomad Girls; Chiang Mai Expat Women’s Group; Chiang Mai Digital Nomads; Friends of Chiang Mai; Chiang Mai Wellness Community the list goes on and on…… You may be wondering why I listed a couple of Digital Nomad groups, as most people associate those groups with the younger generation. I personally know many digital nomads here in Chiang Mai, but the most successful ones are fifty – sixty plus in age!

Obviously, moving to Chiang Mai Thailand can present challenges and that’s especially true when you don’t know much. However, the other expats can help you out with your visa situation, and provide you tips on where to go so you can buy items you want. When you’re feeling homesick, a quick get-together with some people from the same country can perk you right up.

Final Word on Chiang Mai Retirement

I constantly see senior couples out and about doing all kinds of things here in Chiang Mai and I must admit from personal experience if they were back in England they would be at home sitting in their living room in front of a TV, because most of the time the weather would be against them limiting the things they could do outside.

If you retire in your home country, you end up basically looking back at your life. It doesn’t matter if you live in a retirement home, with your adult children, or alone in your own house. For the most part, you’re just reminiscing and thinking of old memories.

That’s the real lure of Chiang Mai retirement. You don’t have much time looking back because you have so much to look forward to. Every day is a new adventure—yet you get excellent care for a small fraction of the cost. For a retiree, it’s the nearest thing to reaching heaven on earth.

If you’re thinking of visiting Chiang Mai for a vacation or for considering it as a place for retiring and you need some help then go here.