พื้นที่ชานเมืองทางตะวันตกเฉียงใต้ ใกล้สนามบินและ Central Airport Plaza เป็นที่นิยมในหมู่ครอบครัวชาวต่างชาติ ด้วยหมู่บ้านจัดสรรแบบมีรั้วรอบขอบชิดในราคาที่จับต้องได้ เข้าถึงโรงเรียนได้สะดวก และมีซูเปอร์มาร์เก็ตใหญ่ครบทุกแห่งอยู่ใกล้
รุนแรง: อยู่ในแอ่งกระทะเชียงใหม่ ค่า AQI สูงกว่า 200 ในช่วงสัปดาห์ที่หนักที่สุด ฤดูเผาของเชียงใหม่อยู่ในช่วงเดือนกุมภาพันธ์ถึงเมษายน ตรวจสอบค่า AQI แบบเรียลไทม์บน IQAir ก่อนตัดสินใจ
Mae Hia is a roughly 16 km² tambon in the southwest corner of Mueang Chiang Mai district, hosting Chiang Mai International Airport on its eastern edge and Royal Park Rajapruek — the 80-hectare royal botanical garden site built for the 2006 Royal Flora exposition per Wikipedia — on its western edge. Between those two anchors sits the densest concentration of expat family housing in Chiang Mai: dozens of moo baan developments built between the late 1990s and mid-2010s, each offering gated 3-bedroom villas on 60–120 square wah plots with private parking, swimming pools or shared clubhouse amenities, and walled security.
The rental market is cleanly family-oriented. A 1-bedroom condo (rare in Mae Hia, which favors houses) runs ฿8,000–13,000 per month; a 2-bedroom trends ฿13,000–22,000; and the dominant product — a 3-bedroom moo baan villa with garden, parking, and basic furnishing — rents for ฿15,000–28,000. Family-oriented new builds in Mae Hia command roughly 15–25% less than equivalent Hang Dong villas with comparable schools access, which is why families that tour both often choose Mae Hia for the shorter airport commute.
Schools are the defining amenity. Within 5 km of the tambon center sit four international schools including Grace International School, Lanna International School, Nakornpayap International School, and Prem Tinsulanonda adjacent. The school commute is car-only (walkability scores 3/10 and most sois lack sidewalks entirely), but daily school runs average 5–15 minutes door to door. Central Chiangmai Airport mall — Central Group's first Chiang Mai mall, with a full Tops supermarket, cinema, food court, and banking — sits 5 minutes east, and Royal Park Rajapruek 5 minutes west, giving families a clean daily infrastructure that most central Chiang Mai tambons cannot match.
The honest downsides are burning season and the airport tradeoff. Southern-basin PM2.5 is severe — IQAir averages track ~32 μg/m³ annually with February–April spikes over 200 μg/m³, no elevation relief — and families with young children routinely install HEPA filtration system-wide. CNX noise is less pronounced than in Pa Daet (Mae Hia sits to the west of the primary approach path, not directly under it), but morning and evening flight waves are audible. Finally, Mae Hia is a car-required neighborhood; public transport is effectively zero and scooter-only families find it less comfortable than the walkable central tambons.
Central Group's first Chiang Mai mall with a full Tops supermarket, cinema, food court, and banking — 5 minutes east of most Mae Hia estates.
80-hectare royal botanical gardens built for the 2006 Royal Flora exposition — the largest public park in western Chiang Mai.
American-curriculum K-12 international school with a large expat family enrollment — a primary Mae Hia school-choice anchor.
British-curriculum international school within the 5 km school cluster serving southwest Chiang Mai families.
Bilingual international school with strong American curriculum — popular with both expat and Thai families.
Thailand's fourth-busiest airport by passenger count with ~10 million annual passengers — 5 minutes east of Mae Hia.
Mid-range supermarket within the airport mall — imported groceries and Western staples for the Mae Hia family community.
Eastern suburban tambon anchored by Payap University and the famous Khao Soi Lam Duan; historically a Korean missionary/church community hub — strong family × /ko/ locale correlation.
Family villas, international schools, and pools — 25 minutes south of the city.
Mountain foothills north of the city — retiree favorite, cleaner air, cooler weather.
