@johannespe

This city is not for everyone, if you like shopping malls and big crowded cities it is for you. It may be cheap but if you want to live in a good location with swimming pool, go to nice rooftops and restaurants, use taxis then it is similar cost to western countries. In many areas there are no sidewalks, big and dangerous traffic all the time, pollution, taxis do not want to go with meter, it can get really hot. Definitely try to live by the metro. Many foreigners, mostly friendly people, cheap

Chiang Mai has had a deep Buddhist influence running over the last 1,000 years and this can be felt in the helpfulness, patience and generosity of the Thai and long-term transplants you come across. The city has an active community scene (nomads, spiritual seekers, hikers, creatives), several mountains with hiking spots and waterfalls surrounding the city, over 20 water bodies inside the city -- many have cafes and walks around, several public parks, and over 13 national parks with campgrounds w

The island is beautiful. Many tourists, especially for overrated Full Moon Party that elevates prices a lot. Roads are in good condition, you would need a scooter to get around, tourists drive very bad and irresponsibly. Wear a helmet! It is not a computer game, do not let the paradise island delude you, there are many accidents. A few places to work from. To get here you need to fly to Samui or Surat Thani and then take a ferry. Prices are not so different from other Thai islands. Nice beaches,

Lived in Phuket for a year now. Amazing place, especially the Bang Tao area. The further you go up north, the more beautiful it gets. Amazing beaches, beach clubs, restaurants and people. Patong is nice for a few days, but if you're not into partying just stay away. A lot of police check on the roads around Patong (and accidents), so always bring your international license. You can make it as expensive (or cheap) as you want, if you eat local like I do a meal is around 60 - 120 baht. Stay away

Penang is really, really hot and humid. It's pretty affordable but it's relatively small. Personally, I think traveling Penang is great because you have a mix of cultures but I couldn't stay here for a longer time because it is so unbelievable hot.

The other reviews are right—it's a good city with excellent value for money. The people are nice enough. The infrastructure is good. You *should* like it, but you don't—it's incredibly, incomprehensibly boring. The vibe is aggressively lukewarm. You will find more excitement in a rural Japanese village than here—I'm not joking.

So… amazing food. Great public transportation. Very clean. But very conformist. Self expression limited. The irony of seeing an exhibit on graffiti, yet no actual graffiti in the streets. And the causal racism especially if you’re brown. You could be British born but still expect to be sat far away from everyone else at cocktail bars, experience comments and have weird assumptions made.