Job Discussion Forums

mimi81 · Joined: 23 Feb 2006 Posts: 14

Hey everybody! I've been offered a job in Khon Khaen with a company that works with the local university there. I was wondering if anybody had been to that city and what their thoughts were of it? My original plans was to live in Chiang Mai, but if the job offer seems good enough, I might change my plans... Question

isanity · Joined: 05 Nov 2004 Posts: 179

I worked in KK for a couple of months. It's very different from Chiang Mai; you would be mad to take a job there without going there yourself to see whether you like it. Khon Kaen university is quite good by Thai standards. The town itself is utterly nondescript, but not actively offensive. Reasonable supermarkets, pizza places and so on, but no real shopping mall. No park, though there is a lake. There are a fair number of palefaces, but they tend to be long-stayers glued to their barstools.

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

mimi81 · Joined: 23 Feb 2006 Posts: 14

Thank you for all your advice, after reading some sites on Khon Kaen, I realized it is not the place for me at this point of time. I feel settled on Chiang Mai, it has a lot to offer - but Khon Kaen will be a definite destination when I have some time off.

isanity · Joined: 05 Nov 2004 Posts: 179

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

isanity · Joined: 05 Nov 2004 Posts: 179

Don't be presumtuous. I suspect I know rather more about the place than you, given how helpful you've been to the OP.

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

Indeed. You spent an entire two months there and correctly warned the OP that it wasn't the place to find the creature comforts of home. You're both obviously happier elsewhere.

Pauleddy · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 295 Location: The Big Mango

I have been in discussions with a potential employer in KK (as well).

Any more info about the place would be welcomed. Does it get REALLY hot, as I am told? Dry or humid? Are there any public pools?

Is it safe to walk the streets late at night? Stupid question, I realise that you can get unlucky anywhere, but......

On the map, it looks to be a small place. Is it the size of, say, Changmai? Pattaya?

Thanks

Shocked

Kent F. Kruhoeffer · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 2129 Location: 中国

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

Courtesy of Kent Kruhoeffer, there is a wealth of information here at your fingertips: click "The Master Index Thailand", which is one of the stickies at the top of this Thailand forum.

In the Master Index, check the "Virtual Thailand: General Information" sites as well as the "Virtual Tourists: Northern Thailand" sites. Among the latter, there are some links that will give you quite good info about Khon Kaen.

If you consider consistent temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s F (33 to 38 C) as "hot" -- well, yes, it's plenty hot right now. The temperatures at this time of year are pretty much the same in Chiang Mai.

It's quite safe to walk streets in the evening -- but compared to where? Wink

Fud · Joined: 01 Mar 2005 Posts: 27 Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand

I'm not going to get into what exactly tastes best in a banana leaf, but I've been here working at KKU since July so I have a few opinions. Generally the above posters are correct.

I think what distinguishes KK from other Isan cities is it's "livability." I don't find creature comforts at all lacking here. We have Big C, TESCO-LOTUS, several pizza options, The Golden Arches, KFC, sukiyaki, Japanese noodles, Chinese food, and even a good Italian restaurant! And a wet market, night market, and about 300 different places where you can buy a backpack that will fall apart in 4 days. I've been to Nong Khai, Ubon, Udon, Roi Et, Muang Loei, etc etc etc, and have never found any of them unfavorable, but compared to them, Khon Kaen is a breeze. I would recommend living here more than I would recommend visiting here.

But maybe that's just me? However, I say all of that but didn't sign up for another year--going back to the States to recharge and get my MA. I wonder if I can get dung beetles back in DC?

isanity · Joined: 05 Nov 2004 Posts: 179

joe beets · Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 37

Data from http://www.citypopulation.de/Thailand.html

Khon Kaen
141,202

Chiang Mai
174,438

Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima)
204,641

(Did someone mention)
Pattaya
117,044

Chiang Mai feels bigger, perhaps because it is so much more cosmopolitan than the cities in Isaan.

Fud's comment on how he "would recommend living here more than I would recommend visiting here" is spot on.

The place - and even moreso the people - just charmed the pants off me...

... not necessarily literally.. Surprised

I used to live in KK, and yeah, I spent a lot of weekends traveling around, but I still miss it a lot.

jb

isanity · Joined: 05 Nov 2004 Posts: 179