I’m in Udon Thani right now, so I decided to throw together a quick data sheet in case anyone is interested.
Udon Thani, a city of several hundred thousand, lies in the Isaan region of northern Thailand. If you’ve ever been to Bangkok you’ve probably met ladies from Isaan. The city has all the amenities of modern life; hospitals, shopping centers, restaurants and bars. There is a concentration of (mostly older) westerners/falangs near Central Plaza mall. In this area you’ll find the typical girlie bars and restaurants catering to western tastes and desires.
If you’re under 40, I’d give it a miss. If you’re over 40 I’d still give it a miss unless you want a simple life with a simple, younger lady. The reason I decided to visit is because I have an acquaintance, who is an impressive 60ish guy, who lives here very happily with his young, attractive wife and their small child. I won’t go into detail about them specifically. He has the means to travel a lot and I think that enables him to accept the many limitations of Isaan life.
If you like asian women you’ll find many attractive and willing potential partners. The average IQ in Thailand is low 90s. I’m guessing it’s slightly lower in Isaan.
If you don’t speak Thai, you’ll want to get up to speed on that if you’re going to live here. Even in the falang area it’s hard to find ladies who speak passable english.
There’s a good selection of Thai and European cuisines available, especially Italian, for some reason.
I really like wine. Thailand imposes something like a 400% tax on imported wine. In Bangkok you can get decent wine in a nice restaurant for around 250 baht per glass. Not cheap, but in line with what you would pay in the states. Up here I guess it’s too financially risky to try to have a decent wine list so you end up paying 150 baht for horse piss, and 300 baht for slightly better horse piss.
Probably the biggest reason Isaan won’t be on my list of places to retire is the low quality of the expat community (my friend excluded). Old falang alcoholics sit at bars, drinking and staring vacantly into space. I guess it’s a product of the low effort required to score an attractive lady. I imagine it would be very difficult to establish a circle of intellectually stimulating friends.
I’ll be here for a couple more days if anyone wants specific intel while I’m in the area. I'm headed to Chiang Rai next, then possibly Hua Hin.
Udon Thani, a city of several hundred thousand, lies in the Isaan region of northern Thailand. If you’ve ever been to Bangkok you’ve probably met ladies from Isaan. The city has all the amenities of modern life; hospitals, shopping centers, restaurants and bars. There is a concentration of (mostly older) westerners/falangs near Central Plaza mall. In this area you’ll find the typical girlie bars and restaurants catering to western tastes and desires.
If you’re under 40, I’d give it a miss. If you’re over 40 I’d still give it a miss unless you want a simple life with a simple, younger lady. The reason I decided to visit is because I have an acquaintance, who is an impressive 60ish guy, who lives here very happily with his young, attractive wife and their small child. I won’t go into detail about them specifically. He has the means to travel a lot and I think that enables him to accept the many limitations of Isaan life.
If you like asian women you’ll find many attractive and willing potential partners. The average IQ in Thailand is low 90s. I’m guessing it’s slightly lower in Isaan.
If you don’t speak Thai, you’ll want to get up to speed on that if you’re going to live here. Even in the falang area it’s hard to find ladies who speak passable english.
There’s a good selection of Thai and European cuisines available, especially Italian, for some reason.
I really like wine. Thailand imposes something like a 400% tax on imported wine. In Bangkok you can get decent wine in a nice restaurant for around 250 baht per glass. Not cheap, but in line with what you would pay in the states. Up here I guess it’s too financially risky to try to have a decent wine list so you end up paying 150 baht for horse piss, and 300 baht for slightly better horse piss.
Probably the biggest reason Isaan won’t be on my list of places to retire is the low quality of the expat community (my friend excluded). Old falang alcoholics sit at bars, drinking and staring vacantly into space. I guess it’s a product of the low effort required to score an attractive lady. I imagine it would be very difficult to establish a circle of intellectually stimulating friends.
I’ll be here for a couple more days if anyone wants specific intel while I’m in the area. I'm headed to Chiang Rai next, then possibly Hua Hin.
