Cait CharlesWhy I love Chiang Mai and keep coming back
I’ve been traveling for 14 years; I’ve lived in 12 countries and visited 30-something, but somehow keep ending up back in Chiang Mai. I’ve spent a total of nine months here over the course of a few trips, become an admin of the local digital nomad group, organized dozens of community events, and met countless inspiring people.
What stands out about Chiang Mai is that it’s full of interesting, creative, entrepreneurial nomads who are searching for connection on a meaningful level. Chiang Mai is also small enough to meet the same people regularly enough to foster a real sense of community, but big enough that there’s always something novel and interesting happening. One night you might attend a board game meetup; the next you could find yourself at an international book fair, a cacao-fueled connection-building event, a painting evening, or a wine meetup after a group waterfall hike.
As a digital nomad, it isn’t always easy to make friends and feel like a part of the group when moving to a new place. In Chiang Mai, however, it has consistently been easier than almost anywhere else I’ve lived.
Making Friends and Having Fun in Chiang Mai
There are plenty of effective ways to find your crew in Chiang Mai. You can live in a coliving residence and/or work in a coworking space, attend meetups, organize your own, or do the nightlife thing. Below are my top recommendations for each.
Top 4 Co-working and/or Co-living Spaces for Making Friends
1.) Realspace
This is the most social and versatile co-working environment I’ve ever been to. It’s a workspace by day and more of a social space by night, as they have events almost every evening: Mafia nights. Social quiz. Board games. Karaoke. Chess. The list goes on. Events are free for members or 100 baht for non members.
The space is also big enough to support many different activities; the first floor is set up like a cafe with drinks available, the second floor has an extensive collection of board games as well as a couple of long tables for co-working, the third floor has VR booths that double as semi-private workspaces with ergonomic chairs + a soundproof booth, and the fourth floor is home to a chill zone with comfy chairs, beanbags, sofas, and a karaoke setup.
What’s really special about Realspace is the sense of community. The people who go there frequently have formed a very tight-knit, supportive, and fun community of mostly late 20’s and early 30’s digital nomads. While this level of community spirit exists sometimes in some co-living spaces, it’s almost unheard of to find it in a co-working. Realspace may also offer a co-living option in the future.
2.) Alt_ Chiang Mai and Alt_ Ping River
These two are co-working and co-living spaces set within quiet, comfortable environments. Alt_ is really great at offering residents and members top-notch work as well as play opportunities. The co-working areas are filled with comfortable desk chairs, booths, and tables, and there are monitors for rent as well as private meeting rooms and lightning-fast internet. Additionally, beds are convertible into super-convenient work desks for those who prefer to work in their rooms.
On the ‘play’ side of things, the living areas are comfortable and feature fully-equipped kitchens and indoor and outdoor common areas designed to encourage meeting and socializing with fellow residents. Alt_ also has a weekly tradition called ‘Family Meeting’ that fosters strong community bonds; at the beginning of every week, residents and active co-working members sit together, share any event ideas that they can offer to the community in the coming days, and make a schedule of activities. These events are open to residents as well as Alt_ coworking members. Sometimes outside organizers also use Alt_’s spaces to host their events, in which case Alt_ members get to attend for half price.
Prices for coliving start from around 20,000 baht per month, which is around $600. All in all, both Alt_’s offer comfortable and modern living and coworking and a strong sense of community.
The Social Club scores top marks for its location (in the Old City and nearby Nimman and Santitham) and quality. The setup is compact, encouraging socializing, and rooms (all of them a spacious 21 square meters) are available starting at 25,500 baht per month in the rainy season, or around $750. The space can accommodate about 25 residents. Social events are frequent, with residents regularly spending time together as well as going on weekend excursions together.
Yellow is a co-working space located in the popular and central ‘digital nomad’ neighborhood of Nimman. They offer a sleek, contemporary work environment, and they and some of their members sometimes host events for the Yellow community as well as the greater Chiang Mai digital nomad community. Recent events have included workshops on tackling procrastination and decision making, a burger night, and a talk on crypto done by Binance Thailand, for example. They’ve also recently launched a digital nomad newsletter aimed at providing helpful information for digital nomads in Chiang Mai and beyond.
Although Yellow isn’t quite as obviously social as the spaces mentioned above, it’s very popular, and I know many people who have found community by working there.
Making friends by attending events
Chiang Mai has a vibrant network of interconnected Whatsapp groups through which digital nomads can find relevant events where they will meet like-minded people. The main digital nomad group is here, and here’s a document put together by a community member which contains links to a range of these groups, including the digital nomads group, entrepreneur’s group, various meal/drink meetup groups, and other groups organized by activity or interest. A few examples are hiking, racquet, creative activities, Spanish language practice, fitness, e-commerce, AI, spirituality, karaoke, ping pong, veganism, and more. Most of these groups and others meet regularly to connect over their activities.
Making friends by organizing events
This is my personal favorite way to meet people in Chiang Mai and elsewhere; so far, it’s a nearly foolproof way to make friends and grow my network in a new place. Here are the steps I follow.
- Join local Whatsapp and Facebook groups and check what kinds of events for the target community (in my case, digital nomads) are already happening.
- Identify what you’d like to see happening that isn’t already. For me, this has been everything from a weekly meditation group to digital nomad meal meetups to mafia game nights to connection-building events.
- Gauge interest by asking in Facebook and Whatsapp groups whether people would like to attend the kind of event(s) you’d like to propose.
- Find a suitable venue. In doing so, about what kind of setup will maximize opportunities for connection and identify any factors that could hinder connection, such as overly large chairs that create too much space in the group, excessive noise, or a space that’s too small to move around and mingle.
- Make a Whatsapp group to act as a signup for your event, or use an existing group as a signup group if appropriate. Promote the event in all relevant Whatsapp and Facebook groups starting a few days in advance, with a link to your signup group if relevant. In the signup group, write the details of your event + start a sign up list, all in one message, and ask people to sign up by copy-pasting the whole message and adding their name to the bottom of the list. Collecting RSVPs publicly rather than privately like this means that often there’s a snowball effect; people see that others have signed up, and they don’t want to miss out.
- Have your event! Protip: If it’s an unstructured meal meetup, include a fun icebreaker activity part way through to get people moving around and talking to each other.
Making friends through nightlife
If you like to socialize by night and thrive in a crowd, here are Chiang Mai’s top venues for different vibes.
North Gate Jazz Club: North Gate offers live music at the street level as well as at the speakeasy-style smaller, more intimate space on one of the upper floors. It’s a great place to chat with others and attracts locals as well as those just passing through.
Zoe in Yellow: This is Chiang Mai’s most stereotypical club that everyone loves to hate yet still frequents, with crowds of young backpackers and upbeat pop favorites to match.
Red Room: Featuring live music every night, Red Room is a great place to chill out with a beer in a friendly atmosphere. Add your name to the chalkboard to sign up to play pool.
Digital Nomad-Friendly Accommodation in Chiang Mai
When it comes to accommodation, Chiang Mai has a lot to offer at a range of budgets. It’s also one of the most affordable places to live in Thailand, especially considering its convenience, natural beauty, quality of life, and the amount of activities on offer. Here are my top picks for each budget:
Budget options
1.) Srisuwan Mansion (ศรีสุวรรณแมนชั่น)
Srisuwan Mansion is the cheapest of the cheap, with studio apartments at the rock-bottom price of 3,200 baht, or $84 USD. Apartments are around 22 square meters, each with a dresser, nightstand, computer table, balcony, and private bathroom. While it’s relatively no-frills, it’s everything you need and tends to book up in advance – so call ahead to check for availability. Month-to-month rental is possible, provided you give 30 days notice before moving out.
2.) The Pacific Cool Chic
This is my absolute favorite place to stay in Chiang Mai. It’s a hotel for both short and long stays, with a couple of condo/studio apartment rentals as well. Prices range from 6,500-14,000 per month depending on the unit you choose, and month-to-month rentals are available. Most rooms are spacious, with big windows and pretty views of the mountains and the city. There is a pool, but it’s quite small. The hotel is located in Santitham, a neighborhood nearby both Nimman and the old city. Santitham is replete with cute eateries, street food, a great local market, and nightlife. It’s also cheaper than most of the other neighborhoods that are in such a central location.
I recommend buying an AIS SIM card with a good data package and using your phone as a mobile hotspot for a backup internet solution in case the wifi is not always at its best. While this is a good idea at any accommodation budget, it’s particularly important when opting for budget accommodation.
Mid-range options
1.) The Cosy Huay Kaew
This is a popular favorite among digital nomads. It’s a comfy, modern condo building down a quiet road right on the border of Nimman and Santitham, with easy access to both neighborhoods as well as the old city. Its comfortable one-bedroom condo units are priced around 14,000-15,000 baht ($415-$450 USD) per month, available on a month-to-month basis, and the building also has a large pool and a small gym.
2.) Hillside 4 is another well-reputed condominium in the heart of Nimman. The building itself is rather old, but the condo units are individually owned, and range from polished and renovated to vintage in style. Most are large studios of around 45 square meters, with balconies. Many offer month-to-month rental. Prices vary, but it tends to be around 14,000 baht per month, or $415. The building also features two swimming pools and is home to a spacious and modern gym with many machines I couldn’t figure out how to use, which I took to mean that it’s a well-equipped and advanced gym. The gym is not included in rent, but it’s very affordable.
Higher End Options
1.) Astra Sky River: Probably the most luxurious option one can find in Chiang Mai, 1-bedroom condos here start at around 27,000 baht per month for 45 square meters including bills ($800) and go up 20,000 baht for each additional room. Their gym is one of the nicest around and they also have a sauna, a huge infinity pool with stunning views, and a common workspace for residents.
2.) Arise Condo: Although this is a little bit outside of town, Arise is loved for its bigger, comfortable apartments, state-of-the-art gym, quiet environs, and large, beautiful pool. A two-bedroom apartment goes for 18,000 baht per month, or $537.
Chiang Mai isn’t just another stop on the digital nomad trail; it’s a city that captures the heart and offers an ideal environment for connection, community, and quality of life. From its wide range of modern co-working spaces to its welcoming locals and awe-inspiring nature, Chiang Mai provides everything a digital nomad could ask for. This city has earned its reputation as a global hub for remote workers, and it’s easy to see why.
Trevor Carlson
Yvelle Corrielus
