Today I was kicked out of my hotel even though I had booked the room until Friday. To say I was pissed of is an understatement. With rain pouring down, I was in no mood to venture out to find a hotel room during the busiest season of the year.
As luck would have it, I had gotten to know an old Thai man in his 70’s over coffee in the hotel’s coffee shop over the last week. He was located in the hotel lobby when I was being told the shocking news, and he kindly offered to drive me around the town in his car to look for a room. Luckily the first hotel we stopped at had a free room and it has faster internet than my previous hotel, so I’m now a happy bunny.
Over the last few days, I’ve started to wonder if living out of hotels, which I’ve only been doing for around 75 days now, is really my thing. With work and other commitments, I’m finding it a real struggle. So I’ve decided I’m going to start looking for a place I can call home… ahhh, just the sound of the word home makes my tingly and puts a smile on my face!
But the big question is: where?
I haven’t got a Scooby doo. If I had to make the decision on the spot right now, it would be Hanoi – But I’m not going to make any commitments before I check out 5 or so places, spending 2 months in each place in rented apartments. This will still allow me to travel, but at the same time be able to settle into somewhere that I can call home – even if it means only for a short period.
Please help me!
If anyone has any suggestions, please do leave a comment below as I really need some inspiration right now. Here is a short list of the criteria I ideally need in my ideal town or city:
Reliable internet
No internet to me translates to no income – So I guess this makes this the most important out of the list.
A cinema
In Bangkok myself and my girlfriend used to go to the cinema 2 to 3 times a week – So a cinema showing English language films is a must have!
A good bakery
I’m a sucker for good pastries and breads, so a really good bakery would be a great bonus.
Good selection of restaurants
Over the last 2 weeks I’ve only been stuffing my cake-hole with Thai food. Although I like to eat the local food, variety is important.
Cheaper the better
I don’t mind to splurge from time to time, but overall I want the daily cost of living to be cheap.
A good coffee shop
For me, a good coffee shop must have fast internet, decent coffee, comfortable seats and good lighting to create a nice ambiance for working. Sounds simple doesn’t it? But so many coffee shops get it wrong.
Nice scenery
Either nice architecture or beautiful nature are must haves for sanity and state of mind.
Easy to obtain visas
As my girlfriend is Thai, obtaining long term visas for her is not always easy.
Somewhere in Asia
It’s hard to describe why I want to stay in Asia, apart from I seem to belong here.
If anyone reading this has visited anywhere in Asia that ticks all of the boxes above, please add your suggestions in the comments below – I would really appreciate it!
Don’t mean to be funny Chris, but isn’t Bangkok a good fit for your requirements?
Bangkok does fit my requirements, but I want a change – Been there, done that :)
Sounds like Bangkok would be ideal — cinemas, Internet, bakeries, coffee shops, great food, no visa probs for your GF and possible to find affordable places to live. Despite political turmoil, it is still quite okay.
Funny, i would suggest Bangkok as well.
we have beautiful 80is architecture here, don’t we :)
I think Thailand has the right balance for foreigners between low cost living and good infrastructure.
“A good bakery, Good selection of restaurants, A good coffee shop, Nice scenery” – that almost directly translates to popular tourism destinations. So maybe Bali? But i have never been there. Don’t think visas are easy for Thais anywhere in the world or are they?
Now Bali does sound nice! I’ve been there before but unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to really check the place out.
I was also going to suggest Bangkok – All of the check boxes above can be found within 3 minutes of my condo :-) And as an added bonus, you can get to Hua Hin for a relaxing weekend at the beach in about 2 hours by car.
Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai !!!
The trouble with Thailand is the internet :(
Hi, I just happened to pass by your site while searching on how to change Blogger’s language, and I decided to read a few other posts before logging off.
I’m from Malaysia, and I guess this place kinda fits your description. I’m not sure if the internet here is reliable enough (slower than singapore, faster than indonesia. Not sure about how it is compared to Thailand as I haven’t been there before..)
I’d suggest Penang or Kuala Lumpur. Haha. If you’re willing, do come and check it out! You MIGHT like it.
Darryn
Thanks for the comment! I’ve been to Penang and KL before but not with an eye to live there – defo worth checking out!
Hi Chris,
Sounds like your having lots of fun!
I second Kuala Lumpur, was their over christmas and really thought it was a super place. Also, cheap cheap provided you keep out of the bars!
However, I agree with you, Hanoi what an amazing place!
Both these places are also a very cheap (air asia) and short time (hehe) from Bangkok.
On other thing I would consider, boring I know, is medical care. For me anywhere I was living for an extended period of time would need to have top medical care very close to hand.
Good luck Chris!
Philip
I’ve never thought about Medical Care… But that is something I should start taking more seriously!
I agree with Darryn. I think you’d be very happy in Penang or Kuala Lumpur. Just last week I had this discussion with several of my more travelled clients. The common agreement was that Bangkok, Penang, and Kuala Lumpur are the most livable.
I’ve also had this convo before and everyone I talk to agrees that Bangkok is the best place to live. Just not for me at this time.
India is the place you would like to be on your next stop i guess.
Decent Internet, Long list of coffee shops, good bakery, Almost each English movies released is played here, cheap living cost, easiest to get Visa.
New Delhi, Bangalore or Pune are three places i would suggest but don’t think of Mumbai. Its overcrowded there and is deadly expensive.
Or, if you want more cheap then try your luck into Kathmandu. But its not a great place to work and live
Now were talking – My Dad keeps on saying that I should check out Goa – Not sure about the Visa’s for the missus though… Will head on over to the India’s embassy web site now!
That’s great. Goa is a exciting place to live.
i dont think there would be much problem to get a Visa for your missus.
Sorry mate. But you can’t beat Bangkok. Otherwise, I think Penang, KL, or Johor Baru (because of proximity to Singapore) would be a cool place to live.
Have to recommend Chiang Mai, its got everything on your list, unles your determined on a change, good connections to Singapore Japan, Laos for somewhere more interesting. Nice places available cheaply. Enjoying the blog.
I am staying here for 6 months, have to go back because of VIsa, next year I will be coming back and start to move business here, do you get many clients from Thailand, like foreign companies? Or you just outsource from bkk
Internet is good in thailand, even wirelss, right now i stay in a hotel that has very good internet if you pay, but you can always buy dedicated line