I have touched on this subject previously when I posted my initial impressions about our new home in Chiang Mai, which can be found HERE.
We have just completed six months living here and I thought I would expand the topic to cover my experience of living in a Thai Moo Baan, village or in this case a gated community.
Gated communities are very popular in the cities of Thailand and well adopted by both Thai and farang residents. There are many new Moo Baans being constructed on the outskirts of Chiang Mai to keep up with the fast expansion of Thailand’s number 2 city – no it isn’t a little backwater no matter what the tourist brochures tell you.
Having lived in a Moo Baan for a while I can appreciate the benefits as well as acknowledge some of their limitations.
These are self contained communities with security to limit access, which means they are quiet without intrusive traffic other than resident cars. As a contrast to traffic burdened Chiang Mai this is a welcome oasis of peace. Our Moo Baan has a double security layer. The complex itself is made up of five separate Moo Baans within a huge walled enclosure. There is a main security point entering the main complex:
The main security point at the front. This road leads directly onto the 1001. Turn left, do a U turn and head right into Chiang Mai city.
Our mostly smiley security guys. We get a salute on entry and exit. Visitors or trades people have to leave ID, which is picked up on leaving.
We then have a second security gate coming into “our” Moo Baan within the complex:
“Chonlada” – our Moo Baan and its security gates. More salutes. We feel very important.
The complex is maintained by a body corporate type central organisation. Water, electricity, grounds maintenance and supporting facilities such as the sports centre and shops come under this umbrella.
The central road through the complex feeding into the five Moo Baans.
These structures pop up around the place but only seem to be used by the Myanmar workers at lunch time and for a post-lunch snooze.
The grounds are meticulously looked after by a small army of Myanmar workers. There are about a dozen people working six days a week just watering grass, mowing and generally manicuring this main thoroughfare. There are other teams working within the separate Moo Baans. Our road and paths are swept once a week by hand.
A Myanmar lady watering the grass. If you think working for the public service is boring try doing this six and sometimes seven days a week from 8 am to 5 pm.
Myanmar workers within our Moo Baan. Our gardens are visited twice a week by one of these gardeners for a water and clean-up.
The complex has a small shopping centre with a restaurant, massage place, shop and laundry. The restaurant is 100% Thai. Most residents are Thai not foreigners and the facilities like this reflect that.
The small shopping centre for residents.
A mini local market sets up to sell food on a weekend. They get plenty of business too.
The water is filtered within the Moo Baan and is good for general use but Thais, and me too, prefer to use freshly filtered water for drinking and cooking. We buy water from these filtered water stations beside the shops. 1.5 litres costs a bit over 3 cents. We provide our own containers and fill them every couple of weeks. My house in Si Bun Ruang when built will have its own filtration system.
This little bloke was checking out the reject coin slots not buying water!
The alternative is to have water delivered. These are twenty litre containers being driven through one of the other Moo Baan security check points.
Many Moo Baans use their recreation facilities as a selling point but I’m not sure why because hardly anyone uses our fitness centre. Looks good on the brochures I guess. We have got into a routine – finally – of going to the gym one day and then swimming the next, with Sunday off! It is unusual to see anyone else there.
The central admin and sports building. The pool sits behind this.
Entry area to the pool and other faculties.
Recently the water in the pool has been almost too warm to be refreshing but as we move into a wetter period we are getting regular evening storms, which has made the water slightly cooler. Who would think I would be complaining about the water being too warm?
The 50 metre pool.
Children’s pool.
The small but adequate gym.
Yes we do use it these days. Trying to combat retirement flab.
The view from the treadmills overlooking the pool.
Three tennis courts. I have seen them in use once.
Two indoor badminton courts. Thais like badminton.
For a more sedate games experience. There are two of these.
On the way out you can refresh yourself and put the calories back on at the local cafe:
The last coffee I had here wasn’t great.
Once inside our Moo Baan, which is called Chonlada, we turn right at this lake into our part of the bigger village area:
Those waterfront houses at the back are deserted for some unknown reason.
Our street – Soi 3. Only eight houses, two of which are empty. Maybe half a dozen car movements in the day.
Home. The best $530 a month I have ever spent. Three bedrooms, three en-suites.
So on the plus side a Moo Baan gives you a very sheltered, secure and civilised living experience. Chiang Mai is a busy city and coming back to a wonderfully peaceful, garden environment is a pleasure.
Our small garden terrace. A favourite breakfast spot.
On the downside having a home within a Moo Baan isolates you from the “real” Thai living experience. This is something I will experience when we build in Si Bun Ruang and become just another house in a Thai village street. The comparison will be interesting.
If you enjoyed this story please leave a comment below. It is nice to know someone is reading!
Thanks for dropping by.
How many people typically live in a moo baan?
Thanks
Not a lot. They vary in size of course but I would suspect only a few hundred on average in a rural village situation.
I’m moving there at the end of this month into Nantana 2 moo baan. Looking forward to some peace and quiet after 4 months not too far from the moat. Great insight into what I can expect there in your post. Thanks!
Hi Ian.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. I can well imagine wanting to get away from the centre of Chiang Mai, which for me was enjoyable in short bursts but not for everyday living. Each to their own of course but it sounds as if a peaceful base with the option to join in the rat race when the urge strikes is more your thing. I hope I haven’t mislead you in anything I wrote as it is a bit out of date now.
Thank you for the feedback.
Tony
I actually viewed the place and signed the contract before even seeing your blog post. No need to be wracked with guilt if I don’t like it 🙂 I hope the gym is still underused, as I fully intend to get my money’s worth for my moo baan fees. I just want peace and quiet, away from the hoardes of inscrutable tourists who arrive in coach loads every weekend. I’m sure it will suit my purposes perfectly.
Phew 🙂
I am sure that both the gym and the pool will be as empty as when we left it. Good for the brochure photos but never used in reality. No complaints from this farang. I hope they have done some work on replacing the tiles in the pool, which were rapidly falling off when we were there. Mind you they’d have to empty it first, which would be a daunting task. The tourists really ruined Chiang Mai central as they do everywhere especially the ones that looked as if they had just had a death in the family! A more unsmiling lot would be hard to find.
Enjoy your new quiet life and all the best from us in Isaan.
I’ve just found this blog, after writing a similar piece about Village living in East Pattaya http://www.iangoudie.eu/village-life-in-east-pattaya-chonburi-thailand. Pattaya isn’t for me, not great for my triathlete lifestyle, during the day at least.
I’m going to give Chiang Mai a try and was thinking that North West of the city would be best for me as it has access to the National Park, the University and the 700-year sports centre. Your moon baan was about 10k away, do you know of any good villages closer to the sports centre?
Hi Ian.
We have just got back from a few days in Phuket as a holiday treat for a couple of my in-laws. Three days was perfect but I could never see myself living in such a farang intensive and traffic clogged environment. Much like Pattaya in that respect so I can understand your desire to move to Chiang Mai. Given a total freedom to choose without my connections to my lovely Thai family I would have aimed at Chiang Rai or I thought Nan had possibilities. I prefer a little less big city than you maybe and don’t have your sporting connections.
Back to your question. No I don’t have any insights I can pass on. The moo bans seemed to be further out because that’s where the undeveloped land was. I have a reader of the blog who became a friend and he recommended an estate agent in Chiang Mai the details of whom I have given you below. Bob is a guy who takes his recommending seriously so I would trust his judgement:
“We used a couple who are very nice, and they are both good people. They have an office in Promenada Mall – but they will come to you, or meet you at a property.
Realtor Chiang Mai – Paul and Esther Chuenchai – 085 614 8205
http://www.realtorchiangmai.com/index.php/en/about-us
Esther is the brains of the operation – talk to her first.”
Maybe contacting them would help.
Good luck with your move and finding suitable accommodation.
Cheers Tony
Hi Tony,
Really enjoyed reading your blog. My husband and I are planning on moving up to Chiang Mai middle of 2017 for a couple of years. We are in our mid 50″s and have spent a great deal of time in Chiang Mai over the years and love it. We will be taking our 12 year old little dog with us, so would be keen to know if there are any restrictions of having a small animal in the Moo Baans. We would like to live closer to the city as we really do not want to buy a car, would prefer to get a bike, but kind of also like the idea of the Moo Baans especially with pools and gyms etc. Are they too far out to ride a bike into Chiang Mai? We also would like to have local Thai restaurants, street food stalls near where we live. We are travelling up to CM in Jan to meet with a couple of real estate agents to see what is on offer. Any suggestions that you have would be appreciated.
Can you give me the name of the agency who you used as you mentioned in your blog. Hope you are still enjoying your time up there. Thank you.
Hi Donna.
A future welcome to Thailand and thanks for your comment.
Firstly about your dog. You might like to check out this entry posted by a friend on his very useful Facebook site Thailand Starter Kit https://www.thailandstarterkit.com/moving/thailand-pet-import/
I am not aware of any restrictions on having a dog in one of the gated moo bans in that people had them in the the one we stayed at in Chiang Mai, but honestly because I left my dog in Canberra (the hardest part about moving to Thailand) I never asked. Thais are very dog oriented in that they have them around but they tend to be either over-spoiled or largely ignored.
The moo bans in Chiang Mai tend to be further out. Logically you can understand why as they require large plots of land, often reclaimed rice paddies, which just aren’t available closer in. The one we lived in for 12 months was a 30 minute drive from the centre of CM, the timing not so much related to distance but waiting for the endless number of traffic lights to change to green. I don’t know what your “fitness” levels are for bike riding into the centre but it would be doable but not as a quick hop on and ten minutes later enjoying a latte! Also Thailand is more risky once you get on a motorbike and I would think that a pushbike would raise the odds for problems again. You would be at war with both motorbikes and cars. As you would already know CM is not the most laid-back place on the traffic side of things.
You have the usual big-city challenges – wanting the space of the “suburbs” and the convenience and facilities of the inner city. A gated community house offers the space and a condo the other!
Unfortunately I no longer have the agent’s number that we used. Farang tend to come and go and as it was three years ago I doubt that he is still working. I will ask a knowledgeable contact I have in CM and see if he can recommend someone and I will forward the details to your private mailbox if I get more info.
We are still enjoying a small rural town lifestyle in the north east. Not for everyone but it seems to suit me (thank goodness!)
All the very best for your time in Thailand.
Tony
You have the usual mixed
Tony,
Thank you so much for the information, very useful.
Regards
Donna
My wife and I are coming to Chiang Mai next month just for two days before travelling onto Hong Kong to attend a trade show.
Great you have taken the time to create a blog about your experiences in Chang Mai, and I wondered if you were able to make some suggestions on where to go and what to see for two young pensioners looking possibly for an investment for part time retirement.
Your comments and observations particularly regarding Moo Baans have been an education, many thanks!
Hi Tim. Thanks for the feedback.
If you are questioning if I have any insights to housing investment in Chiang Mai then I am afraid I can’t help you. We were always “part-time” in Chiang Mai as it was always our intention to move to North Eastern Thailand (Isaan) and build a house on some land we had bought there. Chiang Mai was a farang “safe” environment for me to adjust to Thai life after retiring here before our move to a small rural Thai village, which would have been more of a culture shock.
If you are asking for sightseeing ideas for CM then this post is a good start https://tonyinthailand.com/chiang-mai-top-10/. Otherwise if you just search on “Chiang Mai” within the blog you will find heaps of posts covering our travels in and around the city as we lived there for 12 months. If I can be of any further help please let me know. Enjoy.
Tony
Hi Tony,
well it looks like you have found a great place to retire, I am coming to Chiang Rai for my education study course from Qld Australia and will be there for one year and then plan on moving to Chiang Mai with my partner who is completing her PhD at the moment. Just want to say I enjoyed your review on the Moo Baan in Chiang Mai. Thank you.
Kind regards
Allan & Shaan
Yes I believe so Allan. Life takes odd directions sometimes but in this case it all seems to have worked for me as I am very happy here.
You will enjoy Chiang Rai. If I hadn’t met a lady from Isaan, which drew me here, I would have have probably made that area my base in Thailand. I prefer it to Chiang Mai, which for my tastes, is too big and busy even though it offers more for expat amusement. To me the relationship between Chiang Rai and Mai is a bit like Canberra and Sydney. Canberra was so easy on an everyday basis but sometimes it was great to spend a weekend in the big city, see the lights and and breath some pollution 🙂
I have a number of posts covering some of the sights of Chiang Rai if you don’t know the area because we lived there for 10 weeks and have made several visits back since then.
Good luck with your time over here.
Tony
Hello,
Sounds so beautiful! I am looking for a home for rent in a Moo Baan for the family I work for here in the US. They planning on coming to Chiang Mai during May, June, and July 2015. Would you be able to give me some ideas on where to look for something like this? Thank you so much!
It is a great way of life if a more organised home base Thailand is your goal Amy. The Moo Baans are a more recent innovation and require lots of space, so you won’t find them in the land poor and expensive central area of Chiang Mai as you wouldn’t in any city.
You will find a lot of walled communities in the Hang Dong area to the South, check you’re not under a flight path as the planes come in that way. Drive down the 118 and then turn right onto the 121. There are several new Moo Baans in that area. My post in “Information” on the CM road system will help you. Our place was off the 1001 heading North and there are several along that road. I didn’t explore Mae Rim for Moo Baans but that’s a lovely area if they have them.
It’s a bit hard to make a recommendation without knowing exactly what your situation is and I didn’t look at a lot of places before deciding on Land & House Park in San Sai, so can’t give you a long list of alternatives.
As with any house decision you need to match your requirements with the possibilities. If you don’t have a car/bike then make sure that the Moo Baan is on a transport route. Are there shops close by – our Moo Baan required driving to find markets and shops. Look for facilities in the Moo Baan itself. Security arrangements, general maintenance and whether they have a shop, cafe, pool if that’s your thing, etc.
Drive around the area and see if there are any Karaoke bars nearby. Not joking they can make your life a misery at night until they close at 2.00 am. Make sure the Moo Baan doesn’t back a local village. Many have loud speakers and make announcements at 6.00 am.
The internet rental sites are totally farang orientated and have prices to match. Find/hire a Thai speaker once you find a couple of Moo Baans you like the look of. Have a drive around them and you will see lots of for rent signs with a phone number. Get your Thai speaker to phone and get details and a rental cost. You will also get a feel for neighbours, a lucky draw as everywhere, and the house condition. I think you’ll end up with a better result this way. Good Luck Tony
Hi Tony, thank you so much for your quick reply! I thought I had subscribed and thus would be notified of your reply…
That sounds like a good way to go about it, however it will be a little difficult still from here in the US haha. The family that is coming to CM for 3 months may have some contacts there that can do some looking around for me; I will check on that.
Thank you again for your reply!
Nice nice nice!! Cant wait to see! And to see you guys! X
Hello Tony, we are thinking to move next autumn/winter to Chiang Mai with 2 kids. Only for 12 months. Which Moo Baan would you recommend which is close to the Airport and the German school?
I think for a foreign family it is the best to live in a Moo Baan.
I appreciate any advise.
Thank you!
Hi Jacqui. I am sorry that I can’t help you with a specific recommendation for a Moo Baan in the South of Chiang Mai. We have always lived in the North. I do know that there are many Moo Baans that way – Hang Dong would be a good search area. Make sure you take care you don’t end up under a flight path. We flew in from Hong Kong this week and came in over that area.
I would recommend Moo Baan living especially with children. The slightly more expensive ones have security and are well maintained without the traffic, dogs and travelling loudspeakers that can plague life here sometimes. Many of them will offer a pool and other recreational activities for the kids and adults too. Some have a shop, maybe a eating place or coffee shop. You will get a feel for the quality as soon as you hit the entry gate. Chiang Mai life is great but it is a big and busy city and coming home to an oasis is an important aspect to life here, for me anyway. If I can help in any way please let me know. Tony