We walked into the lobby, which was full of plants
and also doubled as a co-working space,
and then we saw the prices, which were totally reasonable,
and I looked at Leah and said: “Leah, we’re home."
Then we saw the rooms...
(Music)
Hi, my name is Megan and welcome back to my channel,
where we talk all things travel, adventure,
and working remotely from all over the world.
Today I'm going to be covering what you can expect
when trying to find an apartment in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
You're probably watching this video because you've read about Chiang Mai
as being a hub for online workers.
Well, it totally is.
It's one of the best value-for-money destinations in the world,
where rent, food and transportation
is a fraction of the price of what you would pay in western cities.
It's also very safe, the Wi-Fi is epic, and culture shock is pretty minimal,
considering most of the Thai speak English.
It's also one of my favorite cities in the world,
evident in the fact that this is my third time back this year.
(Music)
You can find an apartment, book, and move in, all in one day,
no problem.
Leah and I were each looking for our own apartment
in the Nimman area, which is most popular for expats,
for around ฿12,000 a month - or USD 400.
It needed to be quiet, with a working desk,
excellent Wi-Fi, lots of natural light, AC, and very safe.
We had quite the list.
There was a gym but the rooms were dark and basic,
not very clean, honestly.
We just knew that we could afford better.
Finding a fully furnished apartment on a month-to-month lease
in Chiang Mai is pretty easy,
but totally different from how I would do it back in Canada.
You don't book in advance and schedule viewings.
You literally go building to building, walk in,
ask if they do month-to-month leases,
and if an apartment is available immediately.
Next we headed over into Hillside 2, which we ruled out pretty quickly.
It was almost 10 o'clock at night and they just handed us the keys
to go walk around the apartment buildings and view the rooms ourselves.
The rooms themselves were even more basic than they were in Hillside 3,
and there was no gym and no pool.
(Music)
It was time for a new plan.
There were a million apartments in Chiang Mai, side by side by side,
and it will take you all week to get through them all.
Two websites that we found very helpful were NomadRentals
and PerfectHomes.com.
Both of these have user reviews as well as list all of the amenities
and the prices of the apartments in the area.
You do have the option to book for several months online
but don't do it, okay?
The prices that they quoted on NomadRentals and PerfectHomes
were several thousand thai baht higher
than the prices when we went into the reception in person.
Don't book online, research online.
First up, Monday morning was Pansook, the Quality Condo.
We loved Pansook from my research online.
There was tons of natural light, 24/7 security, they offered both one-bed
and studio apartments, there was a bit of a kitchenette,
a large bathroom, balcony, washing machine, flat screen TV,
and very clean.
(Music)
After Pansook, we went next door - literally next door -
(Laughter)
to Chiang Mai Lodge to check out their rooms.
As you can see, they were very basic, more hotel-style.
They were clean but, honestly, I don't know, I just…
I wouldn't want to be working from there or living there for several months.
It would be fine for an overnight stay,
or if you were here in the city for a few days.
(Music)
After Chiang Mai Lodge, we went across the street to "Puwananon…"
Oh man! I knew this was going to be a struggle.
Puwanon Place - I think that's how you say it -
where the rooms are quite similar to Chiang Mai Lodge.
This was the cheapest option that we saw all day.
Their rooms were slightly more modern, a little bit smaller,
there was a bit of a desk space, no real kitchen area,
but probably one of the best value-for-money destinations.
I would take Puwanon Place over Chiang Mai Lodge.
Next, we headed over to the Dome.
Now, when you walk into the Dome, there's plants everywhere,
they have a book library area, they have a little cafe,
a co-working space, and the prices were very reasonable at around ฿10,000.
We're very happy and pretty much sold on living at the dome.
Then, when we went into the rooms, the furniture is so large
that it all just seemed like such a waste of space.
We kept trying to rearrange in our minds
how we could work out a desk area
and make the apartments work for our needs,
but it just wasn't happening, which was too bad.
It was a great price and really loved the vibe of the Dome.
They also had a gym, which was included.
(Music)
Next, we headed over to Pansook number two,
which was Pansook the Urban Condo.
The rooms were nice like Pansook 1, but we found them to be slightly smaller
and enjoyed the layouts of Pansook 1 better.
(Music)
Our last stop of the day was Huay Kaew Luxury,
right beside Pansook the Urban Condo.
We made it past security, up to a section, and saw the price list
and didn't get any further.
The cheapest room, which was a small studio,
was going for ฿18,000.
(Music)
So, you've probably guessed, but we opted to upper budget
and go with Pansook the Quality Condo,
which was the first one that we saw on Saturday morning.
I went with a studio room and Leah took a one-bedroom one floor above me.
Not only is the landlord amazing but this place is so quiet!
Just to finish up this video with a few tips
if you are looking for your own apartment in Chiang Mai.
Number one is make sure that you budget for water and utilities.
The bill came in for our first month here
and it ended up being ฿2,000 on top of our rent.
Now, I don't use that much electricity,
I ran the AC probably eight hours overnight each night,
and then take one five to 10-minute shower every day,
so the costs add up pretty quickly.
Second tip would be consider asking your landlord
if they would accept an online transfer for your first month's rent
and your month's rent deposit, which is equivalent.
So for us that meant making ฿28,000 in cash,
and if you know anything about the ATM fees in Thailand,
it's very expensive to take out large amounts of money.
We ended up using TransferWise, where the fees were under $10
to transfer all of the money from our Canadian accounts
into their thai baht account,
and they were very happy and receptive with receiving it that way.
I do have a link for TransferWise down below,
if it's your first time you'll get the first transfer free,
so maybe give that a shot.
My last tip is that most of the rooms that we saw
have beautiful flat screen TVs in them.
The buildings are going to charge you for cable
and it's probably channels that you don't really want to watch anyway.
So, for me, personally, I wouldn't use my TV at all
if I didn't bring my Chromecast from home.
If you're familiar with a Chromecast, it's the same as an Amazon Fire Stick
or a Roku stick, where you could cast anything like Netflix or YouTube
from your phone or your laptop onto the TV.
So I use it all the time. You can get it on Amazon, it's linked below.
You can also get them, if you're already in Chiang Mai,
at any of the AIS stores.
Leah bought one day one.
Alright, that’s it for me. Thank you for watching.
Please leave any questions or comments below,
I'd love to get back to you and help you with your search.
Feel free to like this video and subscribe,
share it with any friends if you think they'd be interested,
and I'll see you next Tuesday for another video on travel, adventure,
and working remotely from somewhere in the world.
I'll be in Chiang Mai. Bye!