Laos
Best arrival window: November, in the cool dry season before the slash-and-burn haze season starts in March. Long-stay foreigners cluster in Vientiane (Sisattanak, Chanthaboury) and Luang Prabang's old town; Vang Vieng draws shorter-stay nomads off the Vientiane to Luang Prabang fast train. Luang Prabang PM2.5 routinely hits 200 to 400 µg/m³ (hazardous) in March, briefly worse than Chiang Mai; the south (Pakse, 4000 Islands) stays materially clearer.
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City air quality
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Surface PM2.5 forecast from ECMWF, via Windy. Open larger map →
Quick facts
Visa
Detailed Laos guides
Country-specific deep dives. Each page is verified and dated.
Visa
Tourist, retirement and long-stay routes.
Taxes
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Housing
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Healthcare
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Internet
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Safety
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Banking
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Pets
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Transport
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Culture
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Cost of living
Sample budgets and regional variation.