Places I should explore

Hi everyone!  My name is Louis. I am a Canadian living currently in Quebec, Canada. Since I am retired, I am looking to emigrate to Thailand. I explored Chiang Mai last year, but the air pollution during the burning field season made this a bad choice for me. I am planning trips to Ko Samoi this November-December and also in February-March to explore the place and see if this is a fit for me. I am looking forward to my trips but still have a lot to figure out. Hope to get some info from this site and insights from any expat who is currently living there. Looking forward to connecting online and in person.