Advice On Buying Condo In Thailand

[desi]

I was wondering if I could get comments on where you believe the best area is for what I'm looking for.

1] at least 4 hours out of Bangkok

2] reasonable amount of retired/working expats

3] reasonably priced condo

4] green

5] good internet connections available

6] decent shopping

thanks in advance

Desi

[paulfr]

A lot of expats 4 hours out of BKK ?? Chaing Mai or Phuket maybe ??

Just curious about why you want to be 4 hours from BKK.

Do you mean you want to be in a very rural area ?

Or an area that is very inexpensive ?

Or both ??

[desi]

Thank-you for responding.

Due to flights out of Bangkok, my concerns are being able to get to Bangkok without a lot of hassle. So in all actuality, one hour would be reasonable if the price wasn't outrageous. Also, friends coming in would be more likely to visit if there wasn't a time consuming additional leg to their trip (been there).

My main concern is money. I'm coming in with a set amount and will need to live on that without eating too much into it (for retirement), while reviving a business (I work online).

And although I intend on learning Thai and mingling, I want to be able to reach out to other expats. Also, I'm shy (and a workaholic) so would need some sort of support system with those of my own culture, with enough going on I'd be forced to push away from the keyboard.

I am not into nightlife. I'm more into a quiet life with the enjoyment of nature, visiting with good people and the arts. I do not mind living in a big city as long as my surroundings have a bit of green (and I can afford it). I do not know Bangkok very well, or the surrounding areas (not enough to make a good choice).

[monty]

You might take a look at Jomtien. Being just past Pattaya it's a lot quiter and has hardly any nightlife compared with it's infamous neighbour!

If you take your time to look around, you can still find reasonably priced condo units, all of Jomtien has adsl available (through TT&T) and you're about 2.5 hours away from Don Muang (probably less then an hour when the new airport opens end of this year)

There are a lot of very nice nature places around, a very short drive away from where the tourists are, you'll find them soon enough if you live here!

Big expat base to socialize with, especially in Jomtien where there's a lot of people out for a beer without wanting to hit the naughty nightlife...

Perfect place to get friends come over with an abundance of very competitively priced accomodation (so you don't have to put them in you'r guestroom all the time )

All western luxuries available with most big megastores present (BigC, Lotus, Carrefour)

Guideline for condo prices currently would be between 12000 and 45000 baht/sqm.

A 12000 Baht/sqm studio would have a very basic interior, but could be upgraded very nicely by one of the local contractors for very little money!

By the way, if you didn't get it yet, I live in Jomtien

[PeaceBlondie]

Chiang Mai meets a lot of your apparent requirements, except it's about 11 hours by nice train or bus or car, 1.5 hours by airplane to Bangkok. Plenty of expats, nearby green areas, but noticeable air pollution and traffic congestions (just not half as bad as BKK). Expats and tourists abound, you don't have to be fluent in Thai, you can get anything you want.

Condos abound in CMai also, of almost all types. I'm totally opposed to owning real estate, so I'm biased. Regardless, I'd recommend to anybody moving to a new country that you rent for 12 months to figure out the local situation.

Most folks think Chiang Mai is charming, even if it's lost some of its original charm. You don't hear that term applied to BKK. You didn't mention wanting to be near the water; we're at the foot of the mountains.