Chiang Mai, the capitol city of Northern Thailand and Thailand’s “Second City” is listed among the five cities in the world most friendly to foreigners.  This is an important factor in choosing a location for your business.  Street signs are in Thai and English as are many of the commercial signs that advertise local businesses.  Modern conveniences are readily available at numerous modern shopping malls, department stores, super markets as well as boutique shops that cater to foreign tastes. 

Northern Thai food is fantastic, but Chiang Mai offers a wide variety of choices with authentic German, French, Italian, Japanese, British, American, Arabic, Indian,  Hebrew, and other restaurants many of which are owned and operated by residents from these various cultures who’ve made Chiang Mai their home.  Entertainment venues abound in Chiang Mai.

Banking services and communications facilities are state-of-the-art and readily available.  In these specialized areas as well as in the community as a whole, many Thais learn English in an effort to communicate with you and be of better assistance.

Chiang Mai has an unusually high ex-pat population which gives this small city a cosmopolitan atmosphere while the Northern Thai (Lanna) culture remains strong and vibrant and available at every turn.

Chiang Mai is peaceful and safe.  It’s people are gentile, kind and exceptionally flexible.  Most ex-pats that have settled in Chiang Mai or made it their second home love it here.

CHIANG MAI: A BETTER OVERALL VALUE

There are some redeeming qualities and values that offset locating in or around Bangkok.   Bangkok has the “big city” problems typical of most other large Asian capital cities.  Crime is a constant consideration.  Pollution is ever present. Urban gridlock is a huge problem that negatively impacts the use of your time on a daily basis.  It is typical in Bangkok to make no more than two appointments per day due to the time it takes to get through traffic to travel from one place to another.  If you value your time, Chiang Mai is a much better option. Very much lower land values, construction costs and rents make Chiang Mai a bargain by comparison . Availability and costs of labor, and general living expenses are far lower in Chiang Mai.  All factors considered, Chiang Mai is not only a much nicer place to live, but also a better value in terms of where you might wish to locate your business.

Chiang Mai is destined to become a focal point for the South East Asian Economic Quadrangle – an economic union between S. China, Burma, Thailand, and Laos.  The roads, bridges, international airport and other infrastructure are already being built to accommodate Chiang Mai’s role in the huge potential growth of this area of the world.