I am 70 year old from belgium, and want to relocate to bangkok.
I need good air quality, can you advice witch part of bengkok has best air quality.
And if not bangkok, what part of thailand would you recommend, with good air, good hospitals close, and close to an airport with flights to bangkok suvarnabhumi
Thank you for quality replies
eduard
Hi Eduard,
Thank you for joining the forum!
I’ve only visited Bangkok myself (I visited three times for a month each over the past three years) and haven’t lived there, so I’m not the best person to answer this. However, based on some research, this is what I’ve found:
Based on the 2023 annual (and monthly) averages, it looks like Bangkok is actually the least polluted city - at least out of those included in the IQAir 2023 report. Notably, this doesn’t include some cities like Phuket and Pattaya, which I believe would be better as they’re coastal cities, and air pollution is less likely to accumulate with the stronger coastal winds.
Unfortunately, this report also notes that air pollution looks to be increasing in most parts of Thailand. If you’re worried about air quality, I would also avoid mid and northern Thailand as the crop burning there can cause significant air pollution for a few months every year. I discuss this in more detail here:
I also took a look at the Air Quality Life Index (which I recommend checking out in more detail if you want to learn more), and it lists Phuket as the city in Thailand with the lowest annual concentration of PM2.5.
Out of these, Phuket is also a popular city to live in and has a (relatively) major airport with easy flights to Bangkok. It’s also large enough to have good infrastructure, but I would check with someone living there before committing to the city.
I will see if I can find more information on specific areas of Bangkok, too. However, that information is a bit harder to find. Generally speaking, the further north you go in Thailand the worse the air quality gets. The opposite applies as you head south.
thank you so much, i have read your insights more then once, but i had forget to thank you.
first because i am not familiar to the reply function.
but thanks 
still not decided where i will locate.
bit chiang mai is No no (burning effects)
khon kaen, nice city but lots of manufacturing activity, same for Rayong.
i have visited about 15 places, but i prefer bangkok.
maybe udon thani…
if bangkok, i am not sure witch side, witch suburb to choose for best air quality.
i like to read your insights
thank you
eduard
Hi @eduard,
No problem, I will try to make the site easier to use and navigate. I appreciate your feedback 
I think Thailand is a beautiful country, and I will actually be in Chang Mai in a few months’ time. However, I agree that it isn’t ideal to live there due to the burning season, which makes the air quality very bad for a few months every year. Bangkok does have some pollution (mostly from urban traffic), but it is one of the better places in Thailand for air quality. The southern cities are definitely the best place, but they might not suit your lifestyle as well, so Bangkok is a good choice.
It’s quite hard to tell where the best place in Bangkok is for air quality, but it does definitely appear that the closer to the outskirts that you are, the better the air quality. I will see if I can do some more research into this to give a more definitive answer!
