I've only been to thailand once and I stayed in Nonthaburi while I was there. I'm looking to fully move to thailand soon and when I'm looking for a place on renthub I'm completely clueless on where I should look into renting an apartment. https://gyazo.com/81ae87616d2d70d8301ddd12fbf36dff this is what I see on the front page of renthub. My main requirement for a place is having a good Wifi and air conditioning. So if you have any recommendation on the best areas to live in bangkok I'd love to hear why. I am not interested in living in rich areas with high rent cost, I'd like a cheaper rent per month, like 4-8k / month range.

Check Google. www.google.com or www.google.co.th

The real question is what is your preferred lifestyle ? What things are important besides WIFI and AC (which are ubiquitous). What about transportation ? What about Street Food ? What about Shopping ? Do you speak any Thai ? The best thing to do is come for an extended visit (BTW not many first time visitors stay in Nonthaburi !) so you really can experience lifestyle of several different areas. Book a hotel or guesthouse in 3 or 4 different areas, 3 or 4 nights in each and see how you like the surrounding vibe. Nobody can give you sound advice because an area that we like might be horrible to your tastes.

Anywhere but Sukhumvit Road. 

Did a little checking and the only things I found in your suggested price range are hostels, shared rooms. dormatories. Not sure what you are really interested in. Good luck.

7 minutes ago, paulbrow said:

Did a little checking and the only things I found in your suggested price range are hostels, shared rooms. dormatories. Not sure what you are really interested in. Good luck.

That's ridiculous...there are literally thousands of Apartments renting from 5000 to 8000 baht per month, during my first two years in Bangkok I rented in 3 different areas (Suttishan, BangKapi, Talat Phlu) based upon job location. All had private bathrooms, balconies and were quite livable.

Id be looking out at Talat Phlu and the stations further out. Tons of condos right on the BTS.

24 minutes ago, paulbrow said:

Did a little checking and the only things I found in your suggested price range are hostels, shared rooms. dormatories. Not sure what you are really interested in. Good luck.

plenty of condo buildings with large room and own bathroom ... modern with wifi and air-con 3500-6000thb

Just come and get a cheap hotel for a month or so.  Explore the city and find a neighborhood that appeals to you.  There are many apps available that will help find a room once you know where you want to live.   Keep in mind, any room or apartment you find will require 3 months rent to get started: 2 months security and first month.

1 hour ago, tonray said:

The real question is what is your preferred lifestyle ? What things are important besides WIFI and AC (which are ubiquitous). What about transportation ? What about Street Food ? What about Shopping ? Do you speak any Thai ? The best thing to do is come for an extended visit (BTW not many first time visitors stay in Nonthaburi !) so you really can experience lifestyle of several different areas. Book a hotel or guesthouse in 3 or 4 different areas, 3 or 4 nights in each and see how you like the surrounding vibe. Nobody can give you sound advice because an area that we like might be horrible to your tastes.

To all these very useful questions I will add

 

I would first like to know why want to move to Bangkok?

Is it for work or for retirement?

If it is for work, given the mega traffic congestion throughout the day, it is better not to stay too far from work unless you want to waste as much time as possible on public transport;
because if driving in Bangkok is  already a big  problem, finding the right parking spot may be very problematic.

And if you use public transport, you will have to spot the n * of buses to take, where take them, where get off ...
The taxi is good, there is airco and you will be alone with the driver who will sometimes give you cold sweats .. but much more expensive than the buses; and it won't roll much faster

 

To spend your retirement there, why not?
Not my cup of tea at all, but everyone has different tastes ...

Bangkok is an assembly of many cities;
living in one of Lad Phrao’s ones has its charms; stray dogs chatting for a good part of the night with those of the residents who are cloisters behind high walls or fences ...

I stayed for a moment in a soi, the 97 or the 99,I forgot the number .. which ended up almost opposite the BigC of lad Phrao; in addition there is a raised passage for pedestrians; and lots of restaurants at the foot of this walkway.

The rent was nice, around 4,000 baht a month to which must be added , electricity , 

water, fiber subscription ...
and then you will have to pay for the motorsai each time you want to go to the main road, which is often several hundred meters away;
.
There is everything in this bigC, even an ice rink and a bowling alley ... and of course a food court;
and every night a night market just in front, ..

and even a golf practice a few dozen meters on the same sidewalk as the bigC

 

 

Where ever in Bangkok, just stay close to BTS or MRT. 

It all depends on your own personal tastes.  Will you be working?  If so find a place near your work site.  Do you workout?  You might want to be near a gym.  Want to run in a park?  Perhaps live near a park.  Being close to the BTS or MRT is great if you don't have a car.  Even if you do have  acar it might be better due to the traffic.  You'll find a lot of condos and apts. in your price range a little further out such as Onnut or Ratchada.  As others have said do some short term rentals in different parts of the city to get a feel if that's what works best for you.  

As others have said, it really depends what you plan on doing in Bangkok. Best advice is stay as close as possible to the places you'll be visiting regularly. My thing is nightlife - I go out almost every night - so when I lived in a cheapo 5000 baht apartment in Phra Khanong I thought I was getting a great deal, but in reality after utilities it ended up being more like 9000, and when you add in round-trip taxi to nightlife it adds another 6000 a month, and that's not counting wasted time. I did myself a favor and moved to lower sukhumvit - rent is 15k which is about the same overall cost (actually the apartment was way more expensive because it came unfurnished and I had to buy furniture, TV, etc. - condo all is included).

You can get studios off Oh Nuts and a short mb ride from the Skype train for 5,000b.  In a clean low story building.  I know a girl who has one about 4 minutes to the train.  Just a room and a shower.  She put in a hot plate and microwave.

Doubt anthing in low Sukhumvit but at Oh Nuts going toward Siam for several stops you can find places in your range.  I do not think a new highrise condo though.

I would rather live in huay kwang, din dang, suttisan than On Nut/Bang Na.  Especially if the numbers of Chinese keeps dipping.  Also a website called myhipflat.

An off topic post has been removed.

8 hours ago, Thainess said:

What's the Skype train? Never heard of it. Also it's On Nut, not Oh Nuts but I wouldn't expect you to know that.

You’re a proper ****, aren’t you and I damn sure expect you and anyone who has contact with you knows that.  

21 hours ago, dddave said:

Just come and get a cheap hotel for a month or so.  Explore the city and find a neighborhood that appeals to you.  There are many apps available that will help find a room once you know where you want to live.   Keep in mind, any room or apartment you find will require 3 months rent to get started: 2 months security and first month.

What apps would you recommend? I only know of renthub website to find a place permanently, and airbnb or hotels for temporary stays

22 hours ago, paulbrow said:

Did a little checking and the only things I found in your suggested price range are hostels, shared rooms. dormatories. Not sure what you are really interested in. Good luck.

on renthub theres LOTS of places 2-8k range so idk what you're talking about

23 hours ago, tonray said:

The real question is what is your preferred lifestyle ? What things are important besides WIFI and AC (which are ubiquitous). What about transportation ? What about Street Food ? What about Shopping ? Do you speak any Thai ? The best thing to do is come for an extended visit (BTW not many first time visitors stay in Nonthaburi !) so you really can experience lifestyle of several different areas. Book a hotel or guesthouse in 3 or 4 different areas, 3 or 4 nights in each and see how you like the surrounding vibe. Nobody can give you sound advice because an area that we like might be horrible to your tastes.

my friend says a good idea is to be the closest to the center of the town as possible which is Siam BTS, is this true? as for transportation i used grab everywhere, never used a train but would be interested in using mrt or bts, i dont speak thai. I love to get street food for most of my meals. When i move i plan on getting a job teaching, so should I look for a job first and then find a place near that job? Or should I find a district I like and find a job near that?

My secret when searching was to use the words "newly renovated" . The apartments are all larger as they are older. I settled on On Nut near BTS 44 square meters my own internet for 11000 baht month plus utilities. Brand new mini kitchen foldaway bed and room divider newly decorated

I would be doing the exploring thing first and foremost. There are some nice condos all along the river on the east side that have some pretty good connections to either water taxis or BTS or both. 

 

The charoen krung road has some interesting stuff going on and you are actually contemplating moving to the city at one of it's most expansive times in terms of public transport network. So if you choose something central for the first 12 months and get bored with the hussle you will soon have a ridiculous amount of options for places further out that are much cheaper and a lot more thai-centric as opposed to farang ghetto style of lower Sukhumvit. 

 

I've tried both and I prefer being in amoungst the thais for the most part but I also ride a bike that sees me escaping the city so I also prefer to live a bit futher out so I can hit the bangna-trat road quickly without sitting in downtown traffic. 

 

As others have mentioned, hobbies should play a big part in factoring in where you decide to live and play.

On 2/18/2020 at 7:07 PM, moontang said:

I would rather live in huay kwang, din dang, suttisan than On Nut/Bang Na.  Especially if the numbers of Chinese keeps dipping.  Also a website called myhipflat.

 

I lived in Din Daeng / Huay Kwang years ago and the area is pretty <deleted> now compared to what it once was.

 

Huay Kwang night market was killed off when they started banning street markets

Most of the soapies are shut down

Chinese took over the area and killed the vibe.

Talad Rod Fai was great then killed off by the Chinese

The best chicken restaurant ever moved out of the area (this one gutted me as its nearly impossible to get quality gai yang in central bkk)

 

Hell, even my favorite seafood buffet got destroyed by the chinese. it went from 299 for unlimited seafood and beers, to 500 baht for unlimited seafood and no beer.

 

The area has really taken a hit and the construction in rama9 is insane and making the traffic in the area worse than it already was.

 

I still like the area, but its not the lowkey bargain and cool spot that it used to be

 

 

On 2/18/2020 at 9:34 AM, tonray said:

The real question is what is your preferred lifestyle ? What things are important besides WIFI and AC (which are ubiquitous). What about transportation ? What about Street Food ? What about Shopping ? Do you speak any Thai ? The best thing to do is come for an extended visit (BTW not many first time visitors stay in Nonthaburi !) so you really can experience lifestyle of several different areas. Book a hotel or guesthouse in 3 or 4 different areas, 3 or 4 nights in each and see how you like the surrounding vibe. Nobody can give you sound advice because an area that we like might be horrible to your tastes.

 

That's exactly what I did before relocating here, except I probably deliberately sampled staying in a half dozen or more different areas/neighborhoods around BKK to get a feel for them... And then once I decided on the neighborhood I wanted, it probably took me sorting thru close to 40 different apartments/condos before I found the right one. And I've been living there happily every since.

 

On 2/19/2020 at 9:06 AM, noodleslayer said:

my friend says a good idea is to be the closest to the center of the town as possible which is Siam BTS, is this true? as for transportation i used grab everywhere, never used a train but would be interested in using mrt or bts, i dont speak thai. I love to get street food for most of my meals. When i move i plan on getting a job teaching, so should I look for a job first and then find a place near that job? Or should I find a district I like and find a job near that?

 There are several areas like that... But the closer you are to BTS and MRT, generally, the higher the prices are going to be.

 

We live near the intersection of the BTS and MRT lines at Asoke and Sukhumvit, and it's been great for my wife because pretty much anywhere she's working, the easy access to both MRT and BTS (walking distance from our home) makes it easy to get around.

 

The Siam area where the Sukhumvit and Siam BTS lines meet is another such area, as is the Saladaeng area where the MRT and BTS lines meet at Saladaeng BTS/Silom MRT. But whether you can find a suitably priced place in any of those areas is the question. There are some out there, but it's gonna take some looking and perseverance.

 

On 2/23/2020 at 1:22 PM, Metapod said:

 

Hell, even my favorite seafood buffet got destroyed by the chinese. it went from 299 for unlimited seafood and beers, to 500 baht for unlimited seafood and no beer.

 

 

 

299 for unlimited seafood and unlimited beer?? Jeez, no wonder they changed it!! Incredible deal

 

they changed the deal now.

Unlimited wildlife, rats, bats, monkeys as much as you can eat for 99baht.

On 2/18/2020 at 10:08 AM, stephen tracy said:

Anywhere but Sukhumvit Road. 

 

Lots of good and cheap Ideo(t) condos after bagna BTS. A real bargain, really.

20 hours ago, Pravda said:

 

Lots of good and cheap Ideo(t) condos after bagna BTS. A real bargain, really.

 

You can find cheap rooms in most areas of the city. 

 

I had a 55sqm 1 bedroom in Nana that was literally less than 2min walk to the BTS for 13,500. If you looked online for the same building, you cant even get a 30sqm studio in there for less than 16,000. 

 

Like a lot of things in life, it really pays to have a social network and meet people. You can get much better deals as a 'friend of a friend' than as a random farang.

 

 

I think it is better to stay closer to your work place anyway - to avoid Bangkok's heavy traffic - in rush hours it is even difficult to get on a Skytrain because the trains are filled by the people from the beginning stations of the lines.

It also depends on your interests - for example how often to go to the center of Bangkok.

Maybe it is good to live and work close to the center/in the center but the rent rates must be higher there.