This post isn’t about finding a place to live in Bangkok, but I wanted to write about what can change when you do move to a new apartment or house in Bangkok, which often goes several layers deep. Finding a new place here can be a hell of a task, as we covered in our podcast on the subject. Oh, you can find a great place if you’re willing to pay a ton for it, but finding a great place for a good price is hard and time-consuming. In western culture, moving to a new neighborhood is largely an easy process. Sure, the driving and transit routes change and you have to look into where the schools and hospitals are, but the strip-mall pervasiveness of western development largely takes any real surprise out of the operation. Not so in Bangkok, where a move to a new place in the city can have some drastic effects on your wallet, your commute, you social life and even your diet.
I’ll use myself as a test case here, largely because it’s the best I can do while sitting in a chair at my computer. Also, I just moved to a new neighborhood on the other side of the city to where I was before, and that seems relevant somehow. I used to live in Chinatown but have just recently relocated to the Ari area, on the BTS line up near Chatuchak Market. I work on lower Sukhumvit, so let me freestyle a bit on how things have changed in the past month.
Commute: In Chinatown, I could either take a tuk-tuk to the MRT (30b), the MRT to the BTS (26b) and the BTS to work (20b) for a total of 86 baht and about 40 minutes. I could also take a taxi, which took about 30 minutes and cost about 80 baht. That’s about 3,200 a month. In Ari, I can walk to the BTS in a few minutes, and each trip – with the appropriate card – costs 20 baht, or about 800 baht a month.
Of course, if I had a car it would be a whole other ball game. During the rush hour commute the traffic is different in different places and at different times, and you need to know the locations of the expressways and shortcuts if you want to avoid sitting in traffic for hours because you took the wrong turn. If you’re driving in Bangkok and move to a new place, you need to do some serious reconnoitering to make sure you get to work on time on your first day after moving.
Bills: In my place in Chinatown I lived in a corner unit, so I could open my windows and get a breeze through the place, largely negating the need for air-con. But my new place doesn’t have the same type of layout, and in Bangkok, unless you have a fan in your face the whole time you’re at home (or really enjoy sweating), that air-con has to be turned on at least sometimes. That means my electric bills will go up – by how much I’m not sure yet, but let me get back to you on that.
Diet: Actually, for me this hasn’t been much of a big deal. Chinatown and Ari are two of the best-known Bangkok neighborhoods for food so I’m lucky in that my options really haven’t been affected that much. However, I do know people who have moved to neighborhoods where the street food offerings are either very sparse and/or unrecognizable to the western palate, or upscale and expensive, with nary a street food cluster in sight. When this happens it takes a considerable amount of time to source new locations where you can get regular, varied meals.
For instance, a friend of mine just moved into upper-Sukhumvit. Because his condo is located down a soi off of the main drag with no food stalls (as many residential spaces in Bangkok are), he has two choices: make the 400m hike out to Sukhumvit every time he wants a meal, or stock his place with food (in western countries, this is normal; in Bangkok, with its thriving street food culture, it’s much less common). Add to this that 400m is that awkward sweet spot – too far away to be convenient, but close enough that you sound like a knob complaining about it. This all sounds like a severe over-analysis of a pretty simple problem, but it’s something you have to think about when moving to a new place in the Big Mango.
Social Life: Again, unless you have a car and know all the shortcuts, moving away from central Bangkok can have its drawbacks. I have several friends who live in the ‘boonies’ and for them, getting in to town – where most of the socializing goes on – is a chore. I would often call up a friend and invite him places, but it was just too much trouble. “Should I shower, get dressed, leave my comfortable apartment, find a cab, and sit in traffic, or should I just continue sitting here relaxing?” Spontaneity is largely eliminated and most social activities have to be planned in advance.
There are plenty more ways you’ll have to rearrange things when you move. Any other ones?
I've lived in the three different places in BKK, and my only word of advice is never trust a landlord who speaks English. For farangs, the more Thai the neighborhood, the less likely you are to get ripped off.
Your place in Chinatown was convenient for those of us just visiting Bangkok and crashing nearby. Plus you gave the best Chinatown walking tours!
Great post.
The social life post has to be emphasized more. In the West, most activities are planned, so it doesn't seem like a big deal. In Bangkok, meeting up with friends or going for a run/walk tends to be far more spontaneous, so if there's a substantial obstacle, your lifestyle may change dramatically (e.g. going out once in 2 weeks as opposed to 3 times per week).
I sympathize both with your friend who lives on upper Sukhumvit and your friend who lived in the boonies.
Thanks for the comments. Paul, I wouldn't say ALL English-speaking landlords are evil, but you do have to watch your back and make sure everything's on the up-and-up…at least as much as it can be in Thailand.
Serene, yeah, I'll miss that Chinatown place, but nothing lasts forever. 🙂
I'm looking forward to meeting you in the City when I visit home next time! I suffer the reverse issue. I live in Soi Langsuan and being a pampered metro BKK girl, I have no idea how to get anywhere else off the BTS line without a car. Weeknights or even Friday night, friends refuse to come see me in town because they'd be stuck in traffic forever. Fortunately, Emporium seems to be the best "middle ground" somehow.
And I really don't know my way around Bangkok outside of Siam, Silom, and upper Sukhumvit. So if I come back to visit, you'll gonna have to come see me. LOL.
Thanks Oak! I work on Ruamrudee so I know the area well. I'm always surprised how many Thais don't know how to get around Bangkok, it seems very strange to me, but then again I get out on my bike a lot and explore. But okay, I'll come to Langsuan if you're in town. 🙂