Here's our top 10 reasons why you should teach english in Chiang Mai, Thailand and you can see for yourself if it feels right for you. Chiang Mai, Thailand was voted as "Best City in Asia" by Travel and Leisure Magazine, three years in a row. It also came in third in the "World's Top 15 Cities." Each city is ranked on culture, food, friendliness, value, and many other factors.
1. The Quality of Life
Services are very affordable, so you'll find yourself having extra time doing things you love, instead of laundry, cooking, and cleaning (unless you love those activities, go for it!).
2. It's Cheap
Teaching salaries in Chiang Mai do not boast as high of wages as say Korea or Japan, but the workload is much lower. The salary you make is more than enough to save or live a luxurious lifestyle. An entry level teaching job pays 30,000 baht a month about $950 USD. To put that in perspective, you can have a luxury condo with a 24 hr security guard, pool, and gym in a central location for $250 a month. You can live a lifestyle that you'd never thought you'd be able to.
3. The Convenience
Everything is at your fingertips in Chiang Mai! Thailand is considered a third world country, but when you step foot inside its cities you would never know. The city has extremely modern shopping malls with everything from ice skating rinks to kiosks where you can get a picture of your face printed on a pancake.
Paying for bills has never been easier. Every mall has the kiosks you need to pay your bills. In some cases, you can even pay your bills at 7-Eleven. Yes, 7/11! These convenience stores are a staple in Thailand. There are over 10,000 7-Elevens in Thailand.
4. Safety
Thailand is an extremely safe country. Of course any common sense related to traveling must be used here. More stories are told about people losing items and getting them returned in a generous way, over people actually getting things stolen. Thai people are some of the nicest in the world. Women are respected and the country is very accepting towards foreigners. It is also a popular country for solo female travelers.
5. Nature
Chiang Mai is a city surrounded by mountains. Waterfalls, viewpoints, and hot springs are all within reach from the city. Hop on your motorbike, grab a songthaew (red trucks used for mass transit), or call an Uber and you'll be in another world in 30 mins.
6. The Food Scene
Not only does Chiang Mai have amazing Thai food, it also has incredibly high quality international food from all over the world. Many foreigners from different countries start restaurants which enable many of us to have special tastes in our new home away from home. Mexican food, Middle Eastern Food, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, and Italian are just some cuisines easily accessible.
The city is also extremely vegan and vegetarian friendly. There are both Thai and Western restaurants dedicated soley to vegetarians and clean eating. Also, if you have any food allergies, they are very accepting of them.
7. The Markets
At any time of the day or night, 7 days a week, you will be able to find a market to explore. Instead of paying for overpriced produce at grocery stores, markets are gold minds of the freshest fruit and vegetables. You can buy 8 kilos of fresh fruit and veggies for $25.Markets also have fresh prepared food available. So many options!
There are also many shopping markets in Chiang Mai perfect for souvenirs and clothing.
8. Travel Opportunities
CNX, Chiang Mai International Airport, is only becoming more and more accessible to long-haul international travel. China Southern, China Eastern, and Air China boast very affordable flights to the East and West Coast of the USA. In the past it would be necessary to fly from Chiang Mai to Bangkok for all International flights, but now there are even more direct flight options.
Budget airlines, such a Air Asia and Thai Lion, make it very cheap and accessible to fly to top destinations in South East Asia including, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Laos. You can easily get anywhere in the whole world from Chiang Mai.
9. Affordable Health Care/ Health Services
Health services are very convenient in this country. If you are sick or injured, you do not go to a "doctor's office," you just go directly to the hospital, which are all open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Most hospitals have signs saying "If you've been waiting for 20 minutes, please notify us," which is an incredibly short time for any of us who have spent hours in western Emergency rooms. The hospitals are extremely clean and modern. As a foreigner when you walk into the hospital, they'll be sure to direct you to an English speaking doctor or nurse.
They handle everything at the hospital. In 3 hours it is possible to have seen 4 nurses, 2 doctors, had a flu test, blood test, received the results, and were given your antibiotics. All in one location, in two hours, and for $60USD (without insurance). Many schools provide insurance for the teachers, which is very helpful as it will cover basic visits.
10. The Expat Community
Chiang Mai attracts creative and driven people. So many people move to Chiang Mai to have the opportunity to pursue passions that they didn't have the time for in their home country. Due to the affordability of the city, they are able to pursue less lucrative side projects, the ones that make them the happiest. This leaves passionate happy people all around this city, excited about life. There's always events going on and you'll never be bored. The amount of options can even be overwhelming at times. You'll never feel alone in Chiang Mai, there is always someone with the same interests and story as you.
