I loved Chiang Mai. It is a quiet city, a city of backpackers, that is, backpackers who are here to visit, walk around, discover the mountains, but not for the less pleasant aspects of Thailand, that is, the nightlife, the girls in the bars and the more or less seedy massage parlours. This does not mean that one is necessarily bored at night in Chiang Mai; you can go out, there is life in the streets, there are also lively night markets.
But it is a city that changes from the frenzy of Bangkok or southern cities like Patong (in Phuket) or Pattaya 
Few cars, almost empty streets at certain times of the day.
It is a city where you can cross the street quietly, there are even people who stop if you are in a crosswalk is the only place in Thailand where I have seen this so far. And life is not expensive both for the Guesthouses, hotels and restaurants.
As in all cities in Thailand there are beautiful temples, an amazing modern historical museum 
and above all Chiang Mai is the ideal base camp to go to visit the mountains of northern Thailand culminating at 2500 m where you can really do (with a guide of course, otherwise it can be really dangerous) trekking and visits of authentic villages.
There are many foreigners living here all year round, it is a very cosmopolitan city with bars, restaurants and guesthouses run by people of different nationalities.
It’s really a city that I loved and could imagine living in all year round, especially as the south of Thailand, either Bangkok or the islands, is very easily accessible from the airport.
