Confused66

I wonder if anyone could help me please? I am moving to Bangkok and heard Sukhumvit Rd/Silom is the place to live. I need to be easily commutable to Sukhumvit Rd, Klong Toey area (I won't have a car) and want to be close to other expats and spend £500 pm max. Could someone please suggest and would you recommend a cheap hotel for the first month or tow or an apartment/condo right away? Thanks in advance.

nonthaburi

Where to start.

Firstly and this is JMO but SKMV / Silom is the place to avoid. They are foreign ghettos where you are paying for not a lot really. Lot of foreigner orientated red light districts around there though so if that is your thing.....

Secondly, if you are going to stay around there then 25,000 baht a month ( 500 quid ) is peanuts. Just for a shitty room you will be looking at 10 + a month. For a single man staying in the city you will find that that will not go very far at all. Central BKK is not cheap either with many pubs actually being more expensive than the UK. Depends what you are into though. Can you live on Thai street food ? Anything foreigner orientated is expensive.

Because of your budget I would say either stay out in Onnut. Way down on the skytrain ( but still easily commutable ) from where you have to go. Or up somewhere in the north of the city ( maybe near Morchit / Chatuchak ) where you can commute on the underground.

On another level. I know you are new to all this but SKMV / Silom aren't really that great when you have been here for a while and you would probably get more out of your stay being somewhere that isn't geared up for foreigners. You will probably find that everything is a lot cheaper / friendlier and with better service too.

What brings you over here anyway ? How long are you going to be here for ?

Hope this helps, feel free to ask anything else.

Welcome to the Big Mango !

nonthaburi

just rereading your post. did you mean 500 on just rent or everything ?

Confused66

Thanks very much indeed for the detailed reply.
Moving for the foreseeable future with a new job. £500 budget just for the rental. My only concern for living too far away was travelling in the heat hence the Sukhumvut location.

nonthaburi

that will be fine then if that's just for rental. You can get a decent condo for that price but if you stayed a bit further out you could get a very nice house. You won't have to worry about travelling in heat as everything is aircon, trains and taxis etc. The best thing to do is probably rent somewhere on a monthly basis , maybe close to where you will be working, and then have more of a detailed look around when you get here. Why don't you try looking on thaiapartment.com

when do you arrive ?

are you coming alone or with your family ?

what's the job ?

Confused66

Thanks very much again for this. I will be working as a sales manager in business services. Coming on my own at the end of October.

MonsterP

Hi Mr Confused66!

Agree with everything from Nonthaburi.

Hotel - Hotels in BKK are generally cheap compared with HKG, SHA, SIN, etc, and certainly a world away from any that you'll pay three times the price for in the UK. I've used a number of hotels in the capital and my favourite in the end was Cape House on Langsuan Road, just 5 mins walk from Chit Lom BTS Station. www.capehouse.com
You'll find them very friendly and you'll get a 45SQM studio for around THB2000 including tax, service, breakfast, etc. (the last time I looked). Call or email in advance and you can negotiate a little better than what's on their website.

As Nonthaburi said, move further up the Sky Train (BTS) line. Try Phra Khanong which is not so far as On Nut. I lived in Sukhumvit Soi 67 which is quiet and has developed nicely in the last 3 years.

Hope your company has confirmed to arrange your work permit upon arrival and you get your self a business visa before you leave the UK.

Cheers
MP