Where the long-stay community actually is, what each base is like for a month or more, and where to book.
Quick answer
Nimman in Chiang Mai if you want the coworking spaces and the café scene at your door. Ari in Bangkok for a city month without the tourist strip. Srithanu on Koh Phangan if you want to work from an island with a real long-stay crowd. Sairee on Koh Tao if diving is half the plan.
| Area | Best for | Feel | To the beach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nimman | Coworking, cafés | Modern, café-heavy | Everything on foot |
| Ari | A Bangkok month | Local, leafy | By BTS |
| Srithanu | Island long stays | Calm, health-focused | On or near the beach |
| Sairee | Work and dive | Small, focused | On the beach |
See where the places are
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The district west of the Old City where most of Chiang Mai's coworking spaces, laptop cafés and long-stay apartments are. The most established remote-work base in the country.
Skip it if: February to April, the burning season, when air quality drops sharply.
A residential district on the Skytrain north of the centre, with cafés, markets and none of the tourist strip. Where people who work in Bangkok for a while tend to live.
Skip it if: you want temples and nightlife on your doorstep.
Koh Phangan's west coast, with a long-stay community, coworking spaces and shallow, sheltered water. The island alternative to Chiang Mai.
Skip it if: you need fast, reliable internet for video all day: check before a long booking.
Koh Tao's main beach, where people combine a dive course with a few weeks of work. Small, sociable, and built around the water.
Skip it if: you want variety beyond the island.
Places we can point to by name, checked on the date below. No ratings, no sponsored entries: if a listing ever becomes a paid partnership, it will say so on this page.
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Chiang Mai first, and Nimman within it, then Bangkok and Koh Phangan. Chiang Mai has the most coworking spaces and the lowest cost for the comfort.
Chiang Mai for community, cost and calm. Bangkok for a real city, better flights and a wider choice of everything. Many alternate.
From roughly February to April, agricultural burning across the north pushes Chiang Mai's air quality to levels that regularly rank among the worst in the world. Many long-stayers leave for the islands in those months.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
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