iyah

Ya but as long as you live on/near the main road, there are buses and mini van going there. 3km in that part of town means 10 minutes away (as opposed to somewhere like sukumvit where it mght take you 30 minutes to cover that distance). Until then, bus no 11 goes straight to siam, or petchaburi BTS, but it does take a while, especially during rush hours. It takes me 1h30 min to commute to work everyday. But to me, it's worth it (i don't have long working hours and i'm home usually by 4pm). I do own a motorbike and it comes handy for grocery shoping, going to the mall and market, but i could do without it (cycling instead..).

i meant 'if u live EAST you're already 1/3 of the way to the beach'..bad spelling and no cap letters hehe, good thing this ain't a teachers' forum ; )

around suan luang park: Chalorm praket (? spelling) (continuation of Udom suk/suk 103). This is the best choice IMO if you want to live in/near bkk in a green/calm neighbourhood. Bts and airport link will open 1 year from now.

We have considered something around Suan Luang. After all, it's a big park with lots of room for running, but besides that there aren't any nature around, so there is no room for biking, etc.

Isn't the planned BTS station around 5 km from Suan Luang park?

well the area is really green. If you drive behind the park, behind seri center, you get the feeliing that you're in isaan or something. Once you're off the main road (Chalorm Praket), many 'country like' areas where i guess you could cycle. You'd just have to find yourself a good cycling itinary. Around the housing estate "The Balcony" it's really green.

Yes, the new bts station udom suk will be about 5km from the park. The airport link bts line much closer. A good thing about this area to is that it's clean, modern and safe. Kind of upscale.

I think if u want to live in an area that's it even more green/less developed than this area (Prawet) you'll be far from the center, like minburi. If u have a car or don't have to commute everyday to the center for work, than it might be fine. Otherwise you're gonna have to find a compromise. This is the best i've found. Lots of houses for sale in the area (price start around 3 million, 2.5 for townhouses). Rentals strart at 10000baht/month (for a basic 2 bedroom townhouse). I pay 7000, but i'm in an older townhouse (no hot water), just 1 ac unit, but still ok if u don't have kids. pm me if u want more details.

Otherwise Talingchan area might suit you. It is green, but it seems to 'remote' for me + I don't particularly like west bkk that much (Thonburi, Bang Kae, pin klao etc). If you live west bkk you're already 1/3 of the way to the beach ; ) Also depends if/where you'll be working. Prawet is east, Taling chan west. Opposite.

Good luck!

can't bother to read 8 pages of comment but here is mine anyways:

Got the eee when it first got out. I wish i waited until the 'full screen' version came out + 4 gig not enough. 8 would be sufficient. Other than that, no complains. I don't trust Acer anymore as a brand (too many problems in the past, friends of mine too). So i would go for Asus's eee if i were you.

living in a modern city (well some parts at least) at third world prices (even though prices have gone up).

Yes, i think living in the suburbs away from touristic areas (with its unhealthy sexpatcolics, clueless backpackers, and anoying touts) keeps me sane. The excitement of living here wore off after a year or two, but overall I think it is still a good place to live.

What keeps me in Thailand/Bkk? Cost of living and climate. I probably would live in SF if I was rich (at least half ot the year during rainy season/summer there).

around suan luang park: Chalorm praket (? spelling) (continuation of Udom suk/suk 103). This is the best choice IMO if you want to live in/near bkk in a green/calm neighbourhood. Bts and airport link will open 1 year from now.

Hi Mangotogo. I have actually been to the pet stores behind Seri Center not so long ago (I live near there). Many chihuahuas.

A breeder that is picky about who he sells his dogs to? Sounds good to me. Would u happen to know when and where the next dog show is. There was one in Central Bangna a couple weeks ago. No whippets there. Thanks

I've seen them at the imported dog dealers before but that trade has recently dried away.

Which 'imported dog dealer' ?

Yes, you guessed right.

They can.

Unfortunately, I don' t think anyone is breeding them in Thailand.

Thanks

Ok. Thanks for the replies. It sounds easy enough. I will probably commute to work till then. I do have a work permit.

Yes, driving outside Bkk is very different. I'm usually not bothered by the cops in the provinces. They don't really know how to deal with Farangs (ouside Pattaya and tourist destinations) so they actually might turn a blind eye even if u've done something wrong to save themselves the hassle of trying to communicate with u.

Hi,

I am planning on buying a house in the next few months. Are their any yearly taxes associated with owning a house (under a Thai name)? Anything else I should know?

Thanks in advance

Please do not stereotype all Thai police on what you have seen in BKK during the last three weeks. In the provinces I have lived and worked, they do their job better than the cops in Houston, and bust less heads in the process.

Hey, I never said I liked US cops

Ya, I guess Bkk cops are the worst.

This motorbike 'bribing' thing is common in Thailand. You have to pay, even if u havn't done anything wrong. They'll always fine a bogus reason if it's time to collect some dough. This just wouldn't happen in the States (not on a regular basis at least). Other kind of shit would though.

My previous post was in response to Wangsuda.

Hum. So it doesn't seem that difficult to obtain a Thai license after all. So I have to get a translation of my license in one of those accredited places? And then, do you know where i can go to take those tests?

I presume your Thai is pretty good if you're able to get away without paying. Not my case.

I see. So i guess paying those fine is just part of the cost of driving a bike here. 'Sucks. I hate those cops. They always seem to be on a power trip or something to and really rude and agressive. It seems like they pull me over for no valid reason, but trying to complain about it (my Thai is minimal anyways) is just a waste of time, so I'm usually just polite hoping that next time they see me they'll just let me go through. Corrupted and arrogant police's got to be one of the top 5 anoying things about Thailand. At least the fines only amount to a few bucks. I feel more sorry for the Thai workers who queue with me to pay those fines. It represents half their daily income or something.

Hi,

Are any of u driving a motorbike in bkk on a regular basis without a proper Thai license? How often do u get fined? I have been fined twice already and let go a couple times to (that's in 3 weeks). I have an American driver's license and havn't bothered so far to try to get a Thai license, but this is becoming costly, and a little stressful to. It doesn't seem that easy to get a Thai license since it would involved either taking some tests (in Thai I presume) or going back to the States to get an international license.

Thanks Joe

Sorry if i was not being clear. What i meant by 'visa run' is the one-day visa run to get a 30 days stamp. For some reason, I don't call going to Vientiane to get a tourist visa or non-im B a 'visa run' cos one has to stay a couple days there..eventhough i guess it still is a kind of 'visa run'.

Anyways, i'll go to Vientiane to get a non B. Easy.

and how easy is it to switch from a visa exemption stamp to a single entry B visa at immigration in BKK? Would my school know what documents they have to provide in order to do that?

Thanks again for the help. So It sounds like going to Vientiane is my best bet. I will forget about trying to change my visa stamp to non-B in BKK then. I just hope that my school can round up all necessary documents within a few days.

Thanks Moonfruit for your reply. I'm not sure I understand in what way the fact that the last units are not selling would affect your friends negatively? By sayng that 'the noobaan looks quiet tired already', do you imply that maintenance is not what it could be?

Thanks for your replies guys. So i will either do a quick visa run and try to change my no-visa stamp to a non-b (I think that would be the easiest and cheapest solution) or go to Vientiane (closer than Singapor or other) if needed.

Are the documents required to change visa type at immigration in BKK the same that i would need in Vientiane to apply for a non-b?

Thanks Eljeque for your reply and advice. I am actually renting a townhouse right now (under a 6 months contract) in the area around where i am planning to buy a house. The estate (moobaan) i am looking into is still under construction. Some houses are done and have already been sold, others are still being built. No one is renting their house there and, from my experience going around moobaans, there are no 'for rent' signs in those new moobaans still under construction (unlike older moobaans). Only sell. Lalin property have about 20 moobaans in BKK so i was hoping to get some feedback from someone possibly living in one of these moobaans.