Few questions about Chiang Mai

My home is in Chiang Mai, but I don't think I would recommend CM for you because it does not seem to fit what you are looking for.  CM is fairly sedate, with not much farang-oriented wild nightlife like what you find in Pattaya.  Lots of exploring can be done in the North on a motorcyc going up in the mountains, with good national parks, interesting isolated towns, but it sounds like this is not your cup of tea.  Lots of good restaurants in CM, the best temples for sure, and I think it is a great place to live.  But a young guy looking for more modern excitement should probably look south of BKK.
http://americanexpatchiangmai.com

Well, i'm not looking exactly wild parties and stuff. But from time to time i would like to sit in a bar meet or whatever new people. I'm guessing chiang mai being a laid back place, still have some locations where you can do that. Thing is, i'll be alone, and thats the only way of socializing with people i can figure out. Since i won't have a job therr, and no friends, gf or anyone. Wild parties are not my cup of tea, i been through that 10yrs ago, but something like khao san in bkk is. Mainly cuz if you want to hang out with someone, you can, and having that as a possibility is great, for me at least.

Any recomendations for southern part of thai ? I'm not big on pataya.

There are lots of good places south of BKK that work for those to make LOS their home.  The obvious one that comes up first is Phuket because it has such a variety of living options and plenty of other expats.  Koh Samui would be another, and perhaps Hua Hin.  Then there are so many paradises in Thailand that are not so well known, like Koh Chang, Koh Samut or Rayong.  They key is to find the best fit for you, and that takes some experimentation.  Stay a week somewhere to see it the lifestyle fits you.
Before I settled on Chiang Mai as the place for me, my wife & I visited and stayed in dozens of Thai cities looking around.  We are happy we are because we looked carefully how it fit us.  For sure, our town is not for everybody, and even Thailand is not everyone's cup of tea.  But finding the right place is half the fun, discovering new places.

You're right, it's hard to tell without experimenting a bit, and that's certainly fun.

Maybe for the start I should stay in BKK or go south from it, until I get more comfortable with the change, especially because BKK and south is already familiar to me, and this would be second time i'm leaving my country, but this time for a lot longer.

I also enjoy nature, I heard North Thai has a lot of it. Driving a motorbike through mountains, forests, etc. is very inspiring for me, and I miss those things while living in bigger cities. But one can't have everything I suppose.

Hi

I suggest you do try CM.  It probably does have everything you want except the sea and beaches.  Range of diffeneren kinds of bars, lots of live music.  Big choice of different things to do in the evening.  Nice and compact (unlike BKK) so it's easy to get anywhere quickly.  Motorbike or hiking are great up in the mountains that are within an hour's drive.  Better weather than in BKK.  We do have quite a lot of lakes / reservoirs around here with simple wooden hut restaurants and the possibility of kayaking which is just getting going here.

Hope that helps.

Regards

Just try to living around Nimmanhemin road for a couple of weeks, and you would know CM is suitable for you or not...

I think you need to spend a couple weeks in places that offer items you mention before making a final decision. Like you I enjoy Bangkok but after 8 years I tired of the place and moved to Pattaya.  My likes are similar to your's and I find Pattaya a great place to live but it may not be right for everyone. It offers everything you mention.