Why Digital Nomads & Entrepreneurs Keep Choosing Chiang Mai

When Erica Blair left Chiang Mai in 2011, she knew it wasn’t goodbye forever. Blair had spent a year teaching English in the northern Thai city and planned to return once she built a sustainable business.  

After developing an online marketing brand in Boulder, Colorado, Blair moved back to Chiang Mai in December 2015. She already knew the perks: low cost of living, balmy weather, beautiful countryside. What she didn’t expect to find was a thriving digital nomad scene.

In the years since Blair had left, Chiang Mai became a go-to destination for online entrepreneurs, freelancers, and remote workers—otherwise known as digital nomads. A rising number of expats are choosing to call Chiang Mai home as they bootstrap digital businesses or scale up their already-successful enterprises.

“It’s been nice to connect with people who are really on top of their game … [and to be inspired by] people who are really successful, badass entrepreneurs,” Blair said.

City Of Possibilities

Chiang Mai offers a mix of affordability, infrastructure, and quality of life that’s difficult to find elsewhere. Monthly accommodations in Chiang Mai range from $100 to several thousand dollars a month, depending on budget and preferences. Dining options range from $1 street food dishes to gourmet cuisines. Travel + Leisure recently named Chiang Mai the best city in Asia and second best in the world, thanks to its relaxed atmosphere, good food, and historical significance.

Blair, a marketing strategist, is taking advantage of the city’s affordability by decreasing the amount of client work she does. She’s focused on developing training materials and strategy guides—what she calls “the scaleable side of my business.” She shares insights into life as a digital nomad as “theericablair” on Snapchat.

Dan O’Donnell also moved to Thailand to ramp up his online earnings. O’Donnell was already earning money from Google’s AdSense revenue when he landed in Chiang Mai. But his primary focus was Better Me, a board game based on personal growth. O’Donnell held numerous play sessions in the city to gain feedback from fellow entrepreneurs before its official launch. The game is now his primary source of income, and he says that living in Chiang Mai provided the freedom and resources to make that happen.

“For bootstrappers, it’s excellent because of the community and what you can learn from other people, the cost of living, and the general quality of life,” O’Donnell said. “As people do better [financially], it’s still a pretty cool home base. I don’t pinch pennies and my expenses are $750 USD tops.”

That amount varies by person, what neighborhood they live in, and how much they’re willing to spend on food and accommodations. But even lavish lifestyles are affordable in Chiang Mai.

“It’s really hard to spend more than $2,500 USD per month here,” said Sam Marks, an entrepreneur and angel investor who sold his e-cigarette company for $100 million in 2013.

Marks owns a condo in Chiang Mai and spends three to four months out of each year there. He first visited in 2012 and was struck by the peacefulness and amenities.

“I think it’s the best place I’ve ever been in terms of work-life balance,” Marks said.

An Ecosystem For Success

Reflecting on Chiang Mai’s continued popularity, Marks said that he believes good co-working spaces put cities on the map for digital nomads. Chiang Mai also has one of those.

Euam and Vichaya Sirisanthana opened Punspace in 2013. Both had worked as programmers in Bangkok, and they missed having a central workspace. Punspace became so popular among the location independent crowd that the husband and wife opened a second location in 2014, where they’ve since held events hosted by Amazon and Fiverr. BBC will hold an exclusive design and UX event at Punspace Thapae Gate on July 28. 

“If it wasn’t for being in Chiang Mai, I never would have met other entrepreneurs and digital nomads who gave me support in growing [my] businesses,” said Johnny FD, who has built a number of profitable income streams while in Chiang Mai.

FD launched a dropshipping business in 2013 and figured that if he could make just one sale per day, he’d earn enough to cover his expenses in Chiang Mai. But he made far more than that. Since that initial sale, he’s built multiple dropshipping stores, written books, launched Udemy courses, and set up affiliate marketing income streams. He publishes regular income reports on his site johnnyfd.com, and he recently shared that he made nearly $83,000 from passive income in May.

FD also pays it forward in the digital nomad community. He organizes a weekly nomad coffee club, a free gathering at which location independent folks discuss business practices, opportunities, and ideas. He also founded the Nomad Summit, an annual weekend-long event where attendees learn from experts in different fields.

Asked why he offers that support to the community, FD said, “There was a big chance I would have gone back to a normal life, gone back to a corporate job because I would have been scared,” if he had not found a path toward independence. “I almost feel like I’m the crab that got out of the cage. I feel I have an obligation to put down that ladder for everyone else.”