I have no idea what you are talking about. I've been living on the road for the past 18 months living in Sydney, Singapore, Nairobi, New York, Istanbul, Phuket and a few months in Chiang Mai.

I can't think of a much better location for "Digital Nomad" (as much as I despise the term) than Chiang Mai, I would move back there in a heartbeat. Cheap amazing food, cheap and amazing accommodation, insanely friendly people, very strong and well connected expat / entrepreneur community.

Genuinely I am confused why in your experience Chiang Mai is a horrible choice. I think it is currently at the top of that list for a pretty good reason.

Thailand has been clamping down on tourist visa abuse recently and getting any kind of proper work permit there is not easy at all. I guess a lot of people just fly under the radar there but it's risky and getting to be increasingly difficult.

It's not for everyone, but there's hundreds of digital nomads living there now I think, and I've lived there myself

I have been living in Chiang Mai for over 2 years now and I can definitely recommend this city for living. People who are interested to live and work here should check this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiUofaCeZT4

It's an incredibly popular place for startups and to work remotely. By far one of the most popular places I know. It's affordable, great international scene, decent internet, and large community. Still, I'm a bit tired of how many people I know move there to work remotely.

I'm in Chiang Mai right now. Granted it's not a huge city, but it's got basically everything you need to work as a nomad; Cheap rent, internet, malls, coworking, gyms, cafes, bars, tourist sites, etc.

Chiang Mai can be one of the best locations to bootstrap a biz by many many factors. There are hundreds of entrepreneurs in varying stages at any given time. I've met ex-Googlers, ex-Applers, developers, consultants, writers, artists etc. etc.. It's a cheap and convenient place to live and focus. Depending on your budget, you can have whatever you please as far as standards go. A quick search on Google will show you that even mass media picked up on CM as a location for digital nomads.

I agree. After 2 months there I became awfully bored as almost no one spoke English as well as anywhere in Thailand (normal English, not just "yes", "no").

Yes, it's a nice city for living but if you're not alone. Don't forget about the troubles about the visas and visa-runs.

Why? (I've been there only for holiday so far, seemed nice)

True, but if your budget <$5k month, it's pretty sweet. If more, why live in 3rd world country when you can stay in much sweeter Hong Kong.

Not everybody is looking for an island in the middle of paradise. Chiang Mai is incredibly colourful in its own ways.