DExpatWife

Hi all,

We are a family of 5, 3 kids all school age. The company hubby works for first told us that we are moving to Bangkok, then came back and said nope, it'll be Ho Chi Minh City. I posted on this forum couple of weeks ago, in the BKK section, and got many replies, so many useful information, hoping for the same now

We are Americans, we would like to enroll the kids in a school that offers an American curriculum, so we are looking at AIS, is it a good school? Feed back would be highly appreciated. Any other American school we should be looking at? We are thinking about checking ISHCMC out as well, although an IB curriculum, but seems like a good option, thoughts?

From what i've gathered just reading on different forums, District 2 is where we should be living, thoughts? What's the medical care like there, decent hospitals/doctors? Afraid to ask, but am i going to be able to find organic meat/vegetable/fruits there? What's the expat community like (play dates, meetings, gatherings...etc)? Company is going to ship our belongings, anything in particular i should stuck up on and bring with? Am i going to be able to ship things from the States (Aramex) to HCMH with no issues? How's living in HCMC for an expat family in general? Living expenses....etc?

Sorry, i know i have many questions, all answers, feed back and suggestions are highly appreciated.

Thank you

We do have a forum for that area:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/123-southeast-asia-forum/

I'd recommend doing a post over there. We have a few members who are active in that forum who have a lot of knowledge to share.

That's great! Thank you! Will do

Thank you all for your replies, this forum and members are beyond awesome! I am sad to announce that the company changed location on us, it looks like we are going to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

I am completely lost as i can't find much information on the new location (was able to find couple of forums, not as active as this one), still in the process of researching though, if any of you have been or have an advise please contact me. Meanwhile, hoping to find more info on HCMC, keeping fingers crossed they change their mind again and send us to BKK instead

Hi again,

In some countries, expats depend heavily on Aramex. I looked them up and they sure have an office in Bangkok so i am assuming they service Thailand. Anyone currently using them? How reliable is their service there? Any missing items or custom charges?

Thanks

Hmmm...i sound very demanding and a little spoiled J/K, thank you for your pointers, i think we are going to try to stay in/around Nichada Thani because we have our hearts set on ISB for the kids, after the wonderful people of this forum told me about it, i did an extensive search and been in touch with ISB, all goes well, fingers crossed

You will have to live near a big mall or cook yourself. I bet you and the kids love Sizzlers so make sure it is near. You have to choose if you want to live in the city in a condo or outside in a villapark with much green.

Traffic is very busy so try to be not in it or use the skytrain or tollways.

I guess you want a pool around for the kids and a bakery so look for all those things you need every day.

Ha! "high-powered job", not at all We are blessed for sure, but these are perks most American companies threw in for American Expats when they need them over-seas as kind of an incentive. If you are an American you know, we have to pay loads of taxes, even working over-seas (taxes become worse actually) , without the "perks", it wouldn't be worth it for anyone

You will do find, expat wife. Great to have a husband with such a high-powered job! Not that you couldn't do the same, yourself, though. Is he a banker, shipping, etc.?

As for the traffic, I just want to put in my two cents. My friend once got stuck in a traffic jam for about 3 and half hours, and moved about one and half miles only. I too, one of the worst I can remember was when it took me almost 2 hours to go just a few miles. It can really suck if you get in the wrong place and don't know the traffic patterns. That's key.

As for all the other stuff, looks like you are well taken care of with all the suggestions, here.

As for street food, I ate hundreds and hundreds of meals on the street, never got sick!

I think the driver is hired by the company, not us (not sure though). The maid is still up in the air for me, was never comfortable with the idea, i grew up (over seas) with maids and some were not great, like you said, there's the good and the bad. Thanks for the info

I have never had a live in maid. My first maid, a friend of the family, worked for us approximately 4 years. Had to let her go as she was stealing small amounts of money - 500 baht, 1000 baht, etc. The current maid has been with us for about 15 years. Speaks English, is intelligent, and most important, is completely honest and trustworthy. If you happen to hire a questionable maid, do not hesitate to replace her. There are some fantastic people here, just like everywhere. Same goes for drivers. Find one that suits your needs. Not all drivers are reckless as indicated on a precious post.


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Thank you Razzell : )

I haven't got much to add but best best wishes to the OP!

This thread really shows the best of TV

RAZZ

Thank you all for taking the time out to answer my questions and point me in the right direction, i really appreciate it

RBOP- Thank you for all the information you've provided me with. I will buy couple of books for sure to familiarize myself and my family with customs, culture and traditions. I've gotten in touch with ISB and it's looking good, fingers crossed!

Trentham- Wow! Thank you. I am not sure about street food, i am a very picky eater (because there are many things i just don't like), my kids have some food allergies, i have to be careful when it comes to food around my family, hubby on the other hand, pretty sure he can eat rocks and he would be just fine. Can you elaborate about the "face"? I don't get it You also got me a little scared, not just from driving there, but from being on the road all together. We've lived in areas with pretty insane driving "standards", hopefully this won't be as bad as everyone is saying it is.

donmuang37, thank you, you made great points! Have to look into the maid situation as i would rather not get a maid, i know i sound crazy, i am not, i promise We'll see though, thanks for the advise on that. My "Western logic" is not , how i should say, very straight forward. I was born and raised over-seas, since moving back to the US, i've lived in several different States, meanwhile, been living on and off as an expat (due to hubby's job). I am a mix of few different things myself, hoping i'll find common ground with Thais. I'll still read on it and do my research of course, every country is different.

samran Thanks again for your feed back. Yes, life most certainly does revolve around the kids. Not sure i like "The Accidental Butcher", name sounds fishy to me J/K Thank you for all the info/link very useful.

craigt3365, good to know, thanks! I don't think we'll be doing much of "street eating", kids have few food allergies and i have a long list of things i don't like, hubby on the other hand.....i can see him putting on few pounds : ). I do like wine but not very picky about selection, don't mind having a beer instead really.

Bubba45, Good idea! Thank you!

WorriedNoodle, thank you, i think if i do consider bringing in a maid, it'll be mostly so she can show me where to go to buy things and to translate, okay, and to help me out with the house : ) Do you know if there are part time maids/house keepers available or is it always a live-in full time?

enufsaid, thank you! Contacted them yesterday, haven't heard from them yet.

TallGuyJohninBKK, thank you for your post. Ugh! Really dreading the food situation, my kids have food allergies and very sensitive stomachs. I have been doing mostly organic for years now, but this year we have been strictly 100% organic and gluten free, except for when we go out to eat of course or get invited over friends' house....etc. We are not health nuts or anything like that, it just makes sense to eat clean, we've never felt better. I hope i'll be able to find reasonably priced, decent selection of fresh organic-ish food there.

TheRascal, thank you for all the info, very useful, I took notes.

khunPer, thank you!

"Here's a silly question regarding food, i know most countries have better quality food than the US but while in the US, i like to buy everything i can organic (including junk food lol), how's the food quality in Thailand? I'd imagine crazy selection and very fresh, but is it organically grown/raised?"

Biggest misconception about Thailand is the 'crazy and very fresh' food thing.

Expect organic to be hideously priced and being Thailand how could you be sure it was organic?

Supermarkets often offer damaged, old rotten fruit, simply wouldn't be for sale in the West.

Best to put that image of healthy living Thailand out of you mind so you won't be disappointed.

Oil (lots of it) and sugar are the stables here, jesus they deep fry omelets!

Oh no I guess i am going to have to do a lot of cooking, not looking forward to the no organic options though

Oh another questions is for the dryer, do they have the venting system there? Or i shouldn't bring it with?

Many items you find plentiful and cheap in the US, can be either hard to find here or very expensive. Quality bed sheets, pillows, towels, cutlery, dishes, etc. Are all quite expensive here. Cheap stuff is easy to find, but it's just that...cheap. Same goes for clothes. Easy to find cheap clothes here, but they are just that. Quality clothing is expensive with a limited selection. At least compared to what you have in larger cities in the US.

Stereo equipment is another one. Unfortunately, you need transformers to run electrical appliances brought over from the US. I've found stereo equipment here to be about double what you'd pay in the US.

I also found computers to be cheaper in the US, and many more options. Plus, you'll get a proper OS. Same with cameras...cheaper in the US and many more options. Musical instruments is another one. Kitchen appliances is another, but again, have that electrical issue to deal with. I'd love to get a nice espresso machine. What I had back in the US is at least double what you'd pay here.

There are some pretty good hospitals here, but if there is anything you can get done before you leave, probably best to do so.

Thank you! Very helpful

Okay, found where hubby's office will be, Rangsit Road, Kwaeng Jompol, Khet Chatuchak Bangkok, 10900. Hope this will help narrow things down.

A great opportunity. It would be a good idea to indicate roughly where your husband's office is as this would get you better targeted answers on accommodation and schools. Traffic in Bangkok is really, really bad so it really, really needs to be taken into consideration if you are using the roads.

Good luck.

I'll have hubby find out, i think we are pretty set on ISB for school though, it just seem to make sense, things may change once we find out more and get there of course. Sucks about the traffic, i was hoping to move away from all of that since we have pretty bad traffic here as well *sigh*, thanks for your reply

Just be aware that the electrical system here is 220V/50HZ, so don't bring electronics/appliances that can not support the power. Check all the power transformers first. You can buy literally everything you can possibly need (there are some exceptions). You can rent houses fully furnished, partially furnished, or not furnished. Pack your household stuff for both storage and for shipping clearly labeling them and make your self a record of it.. Once you get here then after you find a place to live, its an easy matter of having your states side contact ship only the boxes or items you really need. The rest goes into storage. Some planning goes a long way.

Oh thank you! I didn't even think about that. Dealt with it in Abu Dhabi and got around it by buying electrical transmitters/converters from 110 to 220. I still have some of them, i will bring them with for sure. Since company will be paying to ship belongings, i will be looking at not furnished, just easier and cheaper than having to buy ev everything all over.

Thank you all for the reply! You guys are awesome!

kblaze- i will check the Nichada Thani community and school there, thank you so much for all the pointers, if you think of anything else, please share.

Samran- Thank you for your reply. Do you think it would be more important to be closer to the school or hubby's work? I guess i'll have a clearer picture when i get there. I'll check out NiST although i'd really rather have them in a school that offers an American curriculum, it'll be easier for them to adjust moving there then back to the States (at some point). The American curriculum came a long way especially in the past few years, it used to be a joke honestly, i am very impressed by how far it came. I hope that change carried on @ the American Schools over-seas as well. What matters most to me is that they get an excellent education.
I will check out Bambi as well, thank you!

CharlesHH- Thank you for the hospital advise, hopefully we won't need it, but if we do, i now know where to go I don't think the company has a beach place to use, but man, sounds nice! They might need to look into that Regarding the maids, there are part times ones, right? Like cleaning agencies? I lived in Abu Dhabi before moving to Houston, everyone and their mother had a maid, good for them! I just can't do it, i can't get my family used to that (i'd imagine i'd have to pay for it later when we move back to the States or anywhere without our beloved maid). I don't know, might change my mind That being said, even now in the States, i get a house keeper to come out once a week, sometimes every other week, to help me with deep cleaning, would like to have that there as well. As you can tell, i have a mind of my own. I have seen people suffer and life destroyed because they were "keeping up with Jones" or letting negativity take over, i like making lemonade, well, i have my moments but for the most part, i'll be making lemonade I have met amazing people during my moves and some became life-long friends , can not wait for that part of the experience

Suradit69- Thank you for your reply! A big part of why we are doing this, is so our kids can experience different cultures and meet amazing people from different parts of the world. Both my husband and i had that growing up and we want that for our kids. So i agree with you, i am not going to isolate myself We are looking forward to making new friends both "Westerners" and Thais. Appriciate the feed back, if you can think of anything else, please share

ericthai- Good point, i have no idea where his office is going to be, i doubt he does yet either. Ugh! I was hoping traffic would be on the okay side, we have pretty brutal traffic jams in Houston. I think the company will provide us with a real estate agent but that's about it (if it's going to be anything like all the other International moves), we usually ask questions ahead, see if we know people already living in the country we are moving to, or have lived there, get on forums and ask wonderful people like yourself questions and suggestions then get there and discover on our own.

Here's a silly question regarding food, i know most countries have better quality food than the US but while in the US, i like to buy everything i can organic (including junk food lol), how's the food quality in Thailand? I'd imagine crazy selection and very fresh, but is it organically grown/raised?

Thank you all for your time again, you have no idea how much i appreciate it.

Hi all,

Glad i found this forum. My husband got an offer to move to Bangkok (same company he currently works for). We are Americans and have three kids, all school age. We have lived as expats and visited many countries before, never been to Thailand though, so excuse my ignorance in advance
We were told we can pick any school and the company will cover the expenses. We would like to keep them in the American System so we would like to enroll them in an American school unless the American school there is horrible in which case, we would consider a school with an IB curriculum or similar. Is the American International School in Bangkok a good school? Is there a long waiting list for schools and when does the school starts there? Suggestions and feed back on schools are highly appreciated.

What kind of a house budget are we going to be looking at? Which areas should we consider? We would like a nice 4 bedrooms house/apartment in a decent area (preferably where other American and expat families live). Are there expat compounds there? How's the medical system there, decent doctors/hospitals? They said they will provide a car and a driver so i am assuming driving there is a bit of a challenge.

How's the expat community (events, play dates, gatherings....etc)? We have been living in Houston for 3 years and we will be leaving many beloved friends behind, but are very much looking forward to making new friends and be exposed to a new wonderful culture
Anything we should bring with us we may not be able to find easily there? Company will ship our belonging so if there are things we'd need to buy and ship it won't be an issue.

All your feed back, suggestions and advise are greatly appreciated as i am a bit nervous about all of this, but very excited at the same time.

Thank you