Is living in Chiang Mai on a DTV visa a good choice compared to Pattaya?

Also.. from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi is 2 hours. From most of Chiang Mai to CNX airport is 15 minutes. And then you have international flights to really a lot of places; multiple destinations in Vietnam, or Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. And if flying to Europe then there are connections in Qatar and Abu Dhabi now, so that's still one stop, the same as when flying from Bangkok. (Although Bangkok of course has direct flights to many places in Europe) Or to the USA you can connect in Taiwan, Hong Kong or Korea. You're also closer to China, there's actually a lot to see in Southern China. My last trip to Europe I went Chiang Mai to Beijing, then from there direct to Rome.

While certainly not at the same level as BKK, calling the choice from CNX very limited is a stretch. Current direct international flights from CNX include Abu Dhabi, Beijing Capital, Busan, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur International, Luang Prabang, Mandalay, Manila, Osaka Kansai, Sapporo Chitose, Seoul Incheon, Shenzhen, Singapore, Taipei Taoyuan, Xi’an, Xishuangbanna and Yangon.

Where do you want to fly to?

It’s cheaper in Chiang Mai, you’d likely be able to make up the difference in the budget anyway, unless you only buy the best of everything, and eat only western food.

Chiang Mai to Vientiane is a great option, Air Asia, less than 10,000 baht return ticket. Some decent places to hang out in Vientiane for a couple of days, if you know where to look.

Or Hanoi, around 12,000 baht return tickets, and such a vibrant place, and cultural delights

Chiang Mai a great place to live, and no problem for servicing the exit/entry requirements of DTV.

To only downside to Chiang Mai is the severe air pollution February through to April. Forest fire smoke suffocates the city.

I lived there for 3 years, and the pollution was terrible every year during these months

Nonsense

Frequent travel required by DTV? You mean 2x per year??

There are loads of direct intl flights and the time you save traveling to BKK from pattaya means you could even make indirect flights in less time

direct flight destinations from CNX: Laos, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Abu Dhabi… and even a flight to Bkk just takes 1 hour. Chiang Mai is a perfect place to be on DTV 👌

If it is travel only to renew the DTV 180 days then there is Hanoi from CNX on AirAsia. Land border at Chiang Kong is another option